im new and want to put vista in my car if i can. need help

smokeymic12 · 03-07-2007, 08:44 PM

the system i have been thinking about getting this. http://cgi.ebay.com/Carputer-P4-2-6g...QQcmdZViewItem

it has about every thing a person would need but i don't think it can run vista because of the video card in it. my thing is i have looked every where it seems that i go online like tiger and newegg. where do you guys get the carputer parts? i want to run uatx bored with the am2 amd chip. but i don't know what cases i can put them in and i don't know any thing about car power supply's for this setup. but i like the one that comes with that computer i listed. i build normal computers all the time. so if some of you could help me out and point me to places that sell these parts that would help a lot. mp3car doesn't have the uatx boards or i just can't find them. do any of there cases take uatx boards?
what a good hard drive that can be in a fast moving car and not drive from bumps and turns ? thanks for all the help .

DarquePervert · 03-07-2007, 09:05 PM

why do you think you need to run Vista?

And to learn, I suggest doing some research here. A great starting point: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=78795

2k1Toaster · 03-07-2007, 10:11 PM

Vista is unsupported on all the frontends. Streetdeck and RoadRunner both have issues with Vista. I can't remember what the SD issue is, but with RR it has to do with the new way Vista directs sound output. It is program oriented instead of line oriented.

And what would the advantages of Vista be in the car? I see the XP startup logo, and then a quick flash of the desktop and then into the frontend. You will never notice what is behind the frontend.

smokeymic12 · 03-08-2007, 01:49 AM

well its like why not use vista. i use i tunes for my music so don't know how street deck or roadrunner is even going to be able to read my music. i don't know how to convert it back to whatever those programs can read. i read that newb thing all ready. so can some one point me the way to where you find uatx boards and the cases you guys are using? even if i don't go with visa at first i want to use it some day. plus im going to run my aem ems throw the carpc to so i well see the desktop more. im puting in a 8" widescreen in my integra. what did you guys think about that carputer from ebay? thanks for any help you can give

DarquePervert · 03-08-2007, 06:29 AM

You can get microATX boards at any computer store.
Try Best Buy, Fry's, Circuit City or a local mom-n-pop computer store. For online, try Outpost.com, Directron.com or Newegg.com (all reputable online resellers with good pricing and variety).

And most users go for miniITX, which is even smaller than microATX. You can get miniITX from a number of sources, both in person and online.
I suggest becoming friends with Google and Pricewatch. Searching is fun, and it's how you'll find good deals. Trust me.

That carputer from Ebay is just a SFF Dell Optiplex (probably refurbished) and a Carnetix power supply (also available here: http://store.mp3car.com/ProductDetai...Code=PWR%2D026). You could easily find or build the same thing cheaper than the sellers BIN price.

joshh385 · 03-08-2007, 11:35 AM

There are some strong pros and cons to using Vista on your carpc. There are software incompatibilities, or at least inconveniences, and it can be fairly resource intensive (make sure you have a decent amount of RAM or you'll be hating life). However, it does offer additional power management options, it is quite stable, and you can run the Origami Experience Pack, which I've found to be quite slick as a front-end. Just my $.02.

TruckinMP3 · 03-08-2007, 12:05 PM

Itunes does not run on vista last I heard.

Not interested in itunes or vista personally and the above may be out of date.

2k1Toaster · 03-08-2007, 12:07 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by TruckinMP3

Itunes does not run on vista last I heard.

Not interested in itunes or vista personally and the above may be out of date.

I think your all might Celery might have a bit of a problem with the Aero effects.

Redian · 03-08-2007, 12:13 PM

meh the new itunes works fine for me on vista, i just dont see why you would install something with so many incopatiblities in a carPC, it wont boot faster, ou will need at least 1.5gigs to make it run as nice as a typical carpc, you will never see the aero affects (cuz.... you would be running a front end), the mysql based searching will never be used, nor will the enhanced security on vista.. most carpc hardware (like the radios, xm radio, and all of that jazz) wont work on vista, no drivers coming for any external sound card (to my knewledge) for vista...

vista is not for carPCs... if anything run XP... or if you can get yer hands on it..... some version of windows embedded =p

joshh385 · 03-08-2007, 12:19 PM

Yep iTunes runs fine. Aero doesn't really have a place on the carpc, unless you aren't going with a front-end... the new version of Media Center in Vista is pretty slick as a front-end too.

TruckinMP3 · 03-08-2007, 12:32 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

I think your all might Celery might have a bit of a problem with the Aero effects.

It will be a very long time before I am interested in vista on my home PC as well.... my preferances do not see the value.

The celery does handle XP just fine

I doubt any hardware I own would be able to say that of vista....

EricE · 03-08-2007, 12:40 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by smokeymic12

well its like why not use vista. i use i tunes for my music so don't know how street deck or roadrunner is even going to be able to read my music. i don't know how to convert it back to whatever those programs can read. i read that newb thing all ready. so can some one point me the way to where you find uatx boards and the cases you guys are using? even if i don't go with visa at first i want to use it some day. plus im going to run my aem ems throw the carpc to so i well see the desktop more. im puting in a 8" widescreen in my integra. what did you guys think about that carputer from ebay? thanks for any help you can give

When I first envisioned a car computer I thought iTunes would be the pefect interface too. It didn't take much research here to figure out why it was completely impractical. The biggest problem is the screen size issue. Then there is the input constraints. Do a lot of research before deciding that iTunes is the way to go.

smokeymic12 · 03-08-2007, 01:48 PM

ok soo if i built a normal mirco atx computer what power supply would i use to run it in the car that would plug in to it? could i use this?
Carnetix CNX-P2140 185W Dual Output Intelligent DC-DC Regulator

i don't see how it plugs in. is there a place that sells mirco atx cases that are ready for cars like the mini itx cases?

i use newegg about every day so if im going to buy normal parts its coming from there. is there some one that shows how to setup a car pc or a walk throw? i read that newb stuff but didn't really see any thing in there.

like i said before i need a lot of cpu power because of the aem ems setup im going to run to. so i well see windows a lot not just front end. i have seen it like 3 times on cpu's under 2 gig's and that software likes a lot of power.

thanks for all the help you been given.

Mickey21 · 04-12-2007, 06:02 PM

Personally I run Vista on my carPC and have no issues with streetdeck working properly or any issues. I dont see the problem. Your results may vary of course. I use Vista because I like it better than XP and it works so why not. Of course most comments above are true though. Make sure you have enough ram 1GB minimum. (Using 2GB here) Runs fine on my Mac Mini Core Duo...

blauhung · 04-12-2007, 08:19 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by smokeymic12

ok soo if i built a normal mirco atx computer what power supply would i use to run it in the car that would plug in to it? could i use this?
Carnetix CNX-P2140 185W Dual Output Intelligent DC-DC Regulator

the carnetix is just a DC regulator. It takes DC power from your battery/alternator and steadies it out so that you don't get the unstable power that normally comes out while the engine is running and feeds that to another PSU that splits off the regulated voltage to the varrious rails of power that a computer needs. It is mostly used with laptops or other PC's that need an external AC-DC power brick to run off a wall outlet. If you are just going to use a PC you are going to have to get a full on DC-DC power supply like the ones sold in the MP3car store.

Quote: Originally Posted by smokeymic12

i don't see how it plugs in. is there a place that sells mirco atx cases that are ready for cars like the mini itx cases?

If you are going uATX, you most likely won't find any that are already setup for a car. they are big. That's not to say you won't be able to use it, you will just need a much more capable power supply

Quote: Originally Posted by smokeymic12

i use newegg about every day so if im going to buy normal parts its coming from there. is there some one that shows how to setup a car pc or a walk throw? i read that newb stuff but didn't really see any thing in there.

There are lots and lots of people that have shown off their installs in the worklog section under Show off your project on the main page of the forums.

Quote: Originally Posted by smokeymic12

like i said before i need a lot of cpu power because of the aem ems setup im going to run to. so i well see windows a lot not just front end. i have seen it like 3 times on cpu's under 2 gig's and that software likes a lot of power.

AEM/EMS refering to engine monitoring and such? You probably need a lot less CPU power then you think, i have a friend that does this with a 8 year old palm pilot. What software are you looking at?

Finally, are you going to use a touch screen? How large? windows doesn't really like tiny screens anymore and you might find yourself squinting for a lot of programs and fighting to touch the right button.