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http://www.highonthehogliving.com/co...rputernew.html
All updates will be posted there from now on... See my sig for link, as well.
The new stuff from it can be found in my last post at the end of this thread. I'm tired of editing this first post.
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MAJOR UPDATE
I decided to keep the old pics at the end of this post in order to contrast the new system with the old.
Because of the flash you cant see it, but behind the acrylic STi logo is a pair of red laser LEDs that makes the computer and acrylic glow in a brilliant red. That's the computer behind the acrylic. It's hard to take a good pic of it.
MUCH THANKS goes to my buddy Steve without whom the trunk would still look like it does below.
As you can see, I've upgraded quite a bit. Added 2 12" Rockford Fosgate Subwoofers powered by an Audiopipe. I am still running the stock speakers because I dont care if they blow. The old amp is back where it belongs, on a shelf in my closet. Replaced by a JL Audio 300/4 Slash series amp. And when you're using amps like this, on-board audio just wont cut it. I put in the Audigy2 ZS PCI soundcard.
Now my audio system scares the neighbors. Muahahaha.
As for the aesthetics. Steve and I custom-built the housing for the two woofers to fit the trunk. Well, we built the entire housing you see in the pictures above. Took about a week of intensive labor. The color is designed to emulate the interior of the STi. If you dont know it, check out some of the other pictures. It looks really good and it's soft and smooth.
Updated Specs:
1. Epia Via M10000
2. Opus 150W
3. 120Gig 3.5" 7200 RPM 8MB cache Western Digital Harddrive
4. 512 MB RAM
5. In-Dash Xenarc prepared by Audiomotivegruppe
6. 4-port USB 1.1 hub where the ash tray used to be
7. 2 switches (on the left side of the steering column; one kills the power to the screen and the other interrupts the IGN signal to the OPUS so I can keep the computer off even when I start the car if I so desire.
8. JL Audio 300/4 Slash Series Amplifier
8.3 Audiopipe 2-channel subwoofer amplifier
8.6 A pair of 12" Rockford Fosgate Subwoofers
9. Frodoplayer
10. 5700+ mp3s, 20+ movies, 20+ music videos (Still using less than 50% of the harddrive)
11. Griffin PowerMate [Not pictured]
12. Cross-over cable from ethernet port in trunk up through center armrest console. [Allows me to connect my laptop for EASY and FAST updates, plus then I can use the laptop wireless for internet] [Also not pictured]
13. IGuidance v2.1 & Royaltek Sapphire GPS receiver [Not pictured]
14. Blue sound-activated LEDs mounted inside the front center two A/C vents [Not pictured]
15. Red laser LEDs highlighting the custom laser-etched acrylic piece with the STi logo [Pictured, but you cant see the lights]
16. Months of blood, sweat, and tears.
17. The secret ingredient is love.
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Finally got it all installed. Of course, it's a work in progress. Has anyone ever said "Thank god my install is finally done"?
The next step is definitely to find a better way to mount the computer. For now, it is housed in the shell of an old Dell desktop. I am going to build a nice plexi-glass case for it in the next few weeks. Until then, nothing else goes in the trunk, and I have to take it easy around turns. I dont think the 4 bungee cords holding the computer down can handle the 300 horsepower that my car can dish out.
Here are some pics (in alphabetical order). They're big, so these are just thumbnails. Click on the links for the full-size versions.
The Amp
Ashtray Closed
Cockpit
Computer
See how nice and flush the monitor is?
Ashtray open. See the USB hub in there?
The two switches
The USB hub
Some visualizations
Also, here are a few links to movies I made of the functionality, though it's basically just a run-through of what frodoplayer can do, so you all most-likely wont see anything you haven't seen before.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five