IntegraKarim

Hello everyone! 0l33l (first emoticon use =P)

Anyway, my name is Karim and I'm new obviously ^_^. My friend and I are planning a car setup and we need some help. We got everything planned out, then we got it planned out again, and again, and now we need some advice before we actually start buying things.

We want to use this Carputer mostly for GPS/Music/and sometimes movies or Anime in my case.

I've built computers before but when it comes to Mini-itx it seems like not many sites have them for sale (at least where i usually shop at a warehouse nearby).

We wanna spend less than 1,000 dollars (around 500-700 if we can). The monitor i've chosen is the Liliput 7" (on the mp3 car site, for about 254.95). Now we've tried a carputer setup on mp3 car and also looking on ebay. On ebay what I found was carputer with 800mhz (800 c3 processor), 5.1 surround sound and whatnot, 256 low profile memory ddr266.

So basically all I need is a hard drive, and a wireless card if i choose.

Now for my questions (which I hope you will kindly answer).

1. For my purposes (music, gps, etc) does this carputer seem like a decent setup?

2. How hard is it to hook my speakers up to this setup, would i need to buy a sound card to be able to do so, also would i need an amplifier?

3. I read that without startup/shutdown timing you need a switch to start the computer up and to shut it down everytime you leave your car. What does it take to make this switch, welding wires onto the motherboard? Or would the computer just startup whenever i started the car?

4. With carputers like this with a Dc-Dc 12v supply already, i wont have to do any wiring to my battery correct?

More questions to come when I get these answered, again, I REALLY appreciate any and all help. Thank you

MP3Car.com

 

DJiK

1. It will be good for music and GPS. I don't think it'd work well with movies (anime) unless you have an external video card. The 733MHz I have in my sig (leftmost one) was running music and GPS just fine.
2. You have a choice of either running mini-to-RCA to the headunit (your car's radio) or mini-to-RCA to amp (thus controlling the volume of your music via the carputer).
3. Wires are never welded! At most, you'd solder them, but that too doesn't necessarily apply to your situation. You just have to extend the wires from the Power Switch on the motherboard to whereever you feel comfortable.
4. Wiring to the battery = Power. No computer is going to work without it.

If you shop around and purchase the components wisely, you should be able to have everything for around $750. <-- That's just a rough estimate based on your requirements and other people's similar setups.

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Newsflash: Take a look at my unsold stuff above, thanks!
Up Next: Make an OBD to Serial cable & Redo the "MMI buttons"

IntegraKarim

Sorry, I meant solder. Just shows how much a newb I am =P

When you say to wire the mini-to rca to amp is the mini referring to the carputer?

Also instead of wiring to the battery could I just use the 12v dc-dc adaptor that plugs into the cigarette lighter?

Also you said to power on the computer I'd need to extend wires from the power switch on the carputer? So these computers do have a way to turn them on manually by just flicking a switch or? Thanks =)

DarquePervert

The cigarette lighter will reduce the amperage you can use. You're better off wiring direct to the battery

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RawsonDR

The more specific your questions, the more specific information we need.

The motherboard will have a header for an on/off switch. You'll just have to plug a switch into it.

Without knowing anything about your car stereo, there's not much more we can tell you. Your motherboard has a line level audio output - somewhere in your car you need a line level audio input. That's usually either on your headunit (aux in) or on your amp.

You mentioned that you wanted GPS but didn't say you were buying the hardware for it. Do you all ready have a GPS unit?

IntegraKarim

For the audio, I believe they switched out the stock speakers because they always had an amp and subwoofer but i gave them away and I plan on getting (im told to get) a 4-channel amplifier.

As for the GPS, I was thinking of the USB GPS that mp3car sells. Im not sure though because I want the GPS to be usb but at the same time it'd be useful if it had wireless but then again I hear that GPS antennas should be only GPS antennas or they might not work too well.

IntegraKarim

Ok lemme kinda start this over and give my actual setup that I've thought over for a while and seems decent to me (if you dont think so, PLEASE tell me why)

Here it is:

-VIA EPIA M10000 Motherboard

-512mb PC2700 ram

-"Probably" a 3.5" 40-60gb Hard drive.

-M1-ATX 90Watt power supply (Having problems choosing a power supply, ill explain what I wanna do with this setup later, lemme know if you think this is enough, also will this be all I need to power the carputer or is there another power source involved?)

-"Maybe" if power allows, but its not a NEED, a Generic 24x Notebook CD-Rom, refurbished.

-Lilliput 7" VGA Touchscreen (1,152,000 pixels)

-BU-303 USB GPS Receiver

Ok, as far as the questions go..

With this setup is the power supply I have chosen enough?

Also with this GPS Receiver, will it work fine within the car (seems so) and what software do you guys recommend, Google Earth, Microsoft Streets.. other?

To wire to 2 front and 2 rear speakers will I need a sound car or will it work fine with just the motherboard?

With an Ampie Car Case, will everything fit or will I have to downsize to 2.5" hard drive? Thank you =)

IntegraKarim

Sorry I cant find the edit button so im posting again, another question is: If I want wireless also should i go with Roof top GPS/Cellular/PCS/WiFi antenna or just a regular gps plus a wireless card?

My cart on mp3car.com is basically a motherboard, gps receiver, monitor, and M1-ATX power supply. I plan to get 512mb ram and hard drive from another source. Anything im missing? Any cables I should order along with it (assuming the motherboard is close to the monitor) before I send my order in? Thanks again guys!

MP3Car.com

 

IntegraKarim

Ok, I found out that I'll probably need to go with the M2-ITX just to be safe because my setup is between 85-100 right now and i might use more later. So I guess you can disregard that question =)

EsKALad

karim salam! welcome to the boards. my little brothers name is karim. anyway. i can make a nice system for you with a sweet *** case along with a brand new xenarc 7 inch touchscreen if your interested pm me we can talk

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RawsonDR

Depends on if you can stomach the cost. The added antenna makes for a cleaner, more professional install. If you buy a GPS receiver and Wifi unit with integrated antennas, you have to be able to route them at least to one of your windshields.
Just to make sure, but you realize that after buying the antenna, you still need to buy a separate gps receiver and wireless card right? Your wording is a bit ambiguous and I just want to be clear.

Ignoring the antenna discussion, I don't know if there is any reason to go with the BU-303 over the BU-353 (besides 8 dollars). The 353 is a newer product, based on a newer GPS chipset. Maybe somebody else knows something I don't?

IntegraKarim

Sorry for the ambigious wording. Ok I guess I will go with the BU-353 since its newer and waterpoof but the question I was asking is..

If I go with the BU-353 I will need to buy a wireless card (like the ones that go into the PCI slot in the computer) to get wireless internet

If I go with the rooftop, it says it comes with GPS/Cellular/PCS/WiFi

So wouldnt it be easier to go with that one that already comes with WiFi to connect to the internet? But even if its easier will it last and not have any problems having so much within one antenna? Thanks for the reply =)

EsKALad

karim the pm i sent you. ill include a wirless pci with antenna extention for that price. lemme know.

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i got dat ***** sittin on 22s! SUPERMAN EDITION!

RawsonDR

That's what I was questioning. Once more: the product you referenced is an antenna only. Even if you bought it, you'd have to buy a separate gps receiver and a separate wireless card. It's a bundle of antennas suitable for GPS, PCS, Cell, and Wifi. It doesn't plug into your computer at all.

natepizzle

The Gps/Gsm/Wifi is what the antenna can pick up! You still need the hardware to utilize the antenna! Kinda like needing a TV to use the antenna on your roof!

MP3Car.com