My CarPC adventure starteds pretty about 3 months ago with the purchase of a barebones Gen IV from MoCoSo. I settled on Centrafuse pretty fast as the only frontend that felt "mature".
Hardware Config:
MoCoSo Gen IV case with M2-ATX 160watt power
Intel D945gclf2 motherboard with Atom 330 1.6gb dual core
2gb ram
64gb SSD sata drive
640gb WD Caviar sata drive
XMPCR XM reciever
Visteon HDZ300 HD am/fm receiver
Mitch's serial control cable for Visteon
NetGear 802.11n USB WiFi dongle
BlueTooth
MoCoSo Lilliput 2din TouchScreen
ELM327 OBDII reader
GPS reciever
Creative FX-s 5.1 USB sound card
USB hub/SD card reader
(all 8 usb ports in use)
Dialup Broadband anywhere via Verizon LG VX8550 Chocolate and usb cable
Some observations:
a. Not a build for beginners. Took me more than a week to get a stable system with all the right drivers.
b. Runs VERY hot. I understand that's normal for the Atom processor and the case serves to disappate the heat, but ouch. Very hot. Combined with the normal in-car temps here in Vegas during the summer, and it can't be good for the life of various components.
c. Audio/Video playback is choppy. I have about as fast an Atom-base system as you're going to get and media playback is not nearly as smooth as I would like. All the latest drivers and codecs are on board. Throw NAV into the mix and processor usage climbs above 70% continuous.
This led me to stike out on my own to try and get a system that ran cool, had all the power I might need but would run comfortably on the exiting PSU ( I didn't what to run some screwy DC/AC inverter setup).
Step 1: Research into ACTUAL power consumption. Great article on xBit comparing real world power consumtion amongst intel-based systems showed that my proposed build should consume something less than 130 watts MAX at extreme load, and more like 60-70 under normal conditions. Well inside the threshold for the M2-ATX.
Step 2: Newegg for a reasonably priced microATX mobo. Size isn't a huge factor, but smaller is better. The GigaByte GA-G41M-ES2L had everything I wanted and more. Very power efficient, plenty of expandability if I need it, and good onboard video, so I DON'T have to run a video card(less power drain).
Step 3: Newegg for a Intel E5200 DualCore. 45nm Wolfdale actually uses 12 watts LESS than the dualcore used in the power consumption tests. Plenty fast for this job. 4gb of DDR2 800 RAM and we're all set.
Step 4. This is where I got a little tricky. I took a SilverStone 3.5" USB/Audio panel and modded it for this bulid. I drilled 4 holes in the side panel for power and HD LEDs, a reset button and the power plug for the touch screen.
Step 5: Added all the other peripherals except the Creative Sound Card. Decided to use the onboard RealTek HD audio. One less draw on the 5v circuit.
The Tacoma has quite a lot of room behind the rear seats, so I decided to mount everything there. I built a custom tray to hold the motherboard and PSU which is attached by velcro vertically to the back of the cab. The USB/control panel and both hard drives are mounted in this fashion. I though about building a custom case, but really couldn't see the upside (other than asthetics, and with the seats closed, you can't see anything).
Everything is easily accessable, Everything runs COOL and most importantly, everthing runs FAST and SMOOTH. audio and video playback is perfect. I have small Phase Linear 4ch amp that puts out all the sound I need or want. I have ground loop filters on both front and rear inputs and power filters on the main 12v circuit from the battery. About as quiet as this truck is every going to get.
Conclusion: This is NOT a showcar build. But it IS a very affordable, very expandable and very powerful car PC. If you have the room (the critical factor in this case) I would highly recommend this setup. There are a couple of mini-ITX boards that will take a standard intel dual or quadcore processor, but for what you gain in size, you lose in flexibility and cooling options.
[UPDATE]
I've added a Uniden BCT8 scanner and a Beltronics Vector 995 Radar detector to the mix and am working on integrating them both into Centrafuse.
Not a perfect fit, but not bad. Once my fusion brain arrives, I plan to integrate the Radar detector into something like this:
There's a thread on the Centrafuse board where I argue with myself about the pros and cons of doing a detector integration, but ultimately, the geek wins out.
{UPDATE #2]
Almost forgot, I added an HD TV tuner to the mix as well, but it's not yet integrated into CF. Windows Media Center only, but that's okay since the only place I'll probably use it is when I'm parked somewhere waiting for the wife.
Cheers!
VegasGuy
Linear Mode
