Ok guys after seeing the excellent work of MagTech and MitchellO on their carputers, im thinking i might wana try this for myself, building the carputer wont be the problem, the problem will be wiring it to the speakers and amp i have in place currently. can anyone give me a heads up as to how long the project might last, what parts i might wana get and how in the hell would i wire the carputer to the speakers and amp (generally speaking), over all any tips, hints and or suggestions would be appreciated as i wana weigh this up before jumping in with both feet.

Kind Regards

Quick link
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/newbie/78795-new-carpcs-don-t-know-where-start.html

Quick link
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/newbie/78795-new-carpcs-don-t-know-where-start.html

Thanks heaps, this looks quite helpfull :)

Just wondering what kinda power supply i want, im thinking of using a VIA mobo with a VIA CPU but im not sure the power consumption details, also id need a decent soundcard on the carputer which goes back to the amp correct?

Well the install took me and my dad about 8-10hrs all up, including installing the amp. Since we both have no experience with wiring car amps and stuff, I'm sure you could do it quicker if you've done it before (installing amps that is).

My system uses an Intel D201GLY mobo (integrated 1.3Ghz Celeron) and an M2-ATX PSU and I am very impressed with both. Today with the temperature being about 36C and terrible humidity, the Car PC soldiered on in my boot no problem.

I highly recommend the Intel board, the Celeron is surprisingly fast and competent. Running a high-res DivX file whilst running MapMonkey, it didn't have any trouble. No experience with the VIA personally, but I have heard they can be rather slow. And they are considerably more expensive than the Intel.

I used an old SoundBlaster Live! PCI sound card in my system. It has 4ch out via two 3.5mm RCA sockets, and it's working great with my 4ch amp. I get separate signals to each speaker.

Well the install took me and my dad about 8-10hrs all up, including installing the amp. Since we both have no experience with wiring car amps and stuff, I'm sure you could do it quicker if you've done it before (installing amps that is).

My system uses an Intel D201GLY mobo (integrated 1.3Ghz Celeron) and an M2-ATX PSU and I am very impressed with both. Today with the temperature being about 36C and terrible humidity, the Car PC soldiered on in my boot no problem.

I highly recommend the Intel board, the Celeron is surprisingly fast and competent. Running a high-res DivX file whilst running MapMonkey, it didn't have any trouble. No experience with the VIA personally, but I have heard they can be rather slow. And they are considerably more expensive than the Intel.

I used an old SoundBlaster Live! PCI sound card in my system. It has 4ch out via two 3.5mm RCA sockets, and it's working great with my 4ch amp. I get separate signals to each speaker.

Thanks for the reply, just wondering what did your Car PC + LCD end up costing you? and what case did you end up using? or did you make your own? thanks

Well this will all go in my writeup (and I'm sure it's gonna scare me), but here goes:

* Intel D201GLY Mobo - US$70 (plus post)
* M2-ATX 160W - US$96 (plus post)

Total cost of these two was US$207 delivered (yeah, $41 postage?!?!)

* Screen - $100 (bought off AMC member)
* 1GB RAM - $40 (you can find it for as low as $26 at stores like MSY and ITEstate)
* 250GB HDD - $85
* SoundBlaster Live! 4 channel soundcard - had lying around
* Griffin PowerMate - $50 delivered (eBay)
* Griffin RadioShark - $25 (eBay, bargain!)
* USB WiFi - $25
* USB Bluetooth - $15
* USB GPS - $60 (works really well!)
* USB Hubs x2 - $15ea
* 5m USB Extension - $12
* Bunch of extra USB extensions - lying around

I made my own case out of a $20 briefcase thing (looks metal but is really cheap ribbed plastic stuck to super-cheap wood) with a $5 vent bolted to the top for ventilation (most likely going to add a fan for extra air circulation).

I also had to install an amp, so I picked up a Sony 4 channel at Strathfield for $168 plus wiring kit for $45. Sounds pretty good to me, although I do need to replace the front stock speakers. Will add a sub at some stage in the future, but it's not a priority.

End result is this:

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4919/img1833ks9.jpg

Total cost (inc. amp): $920

Ahh ok kool, just wondering where you have put your carputer? and how did you power the LCD? all in all looks like an awesome job, welldone friend

Thanks mate!

The computer and amp are mounted on a piece of timber in the boot. I put the timber under the carpet then screwed through. I'm powering the screen off the motherboard using a molex connector mated to a wire with the monitors round plug on the end. The yellow wire on the molex provides a nice steady stream of 12V power, and since my system uses nowhere near the power the PSU provides (160W) I have no problem running it this way. Also means that the screen powers off when the PC is off.

Don't actually have a photo of the finished boot yet to show you, will take one tomorrow.

thanks heaps man, you have given me a fair few good ideas :), now im confused as to what you meant about powering the lcd with a molex connection , sounds like a good idea though

Haha yeah I reread what I wrote about that and it sounded crap :P

Basically I chopped the molex connector (the white 4 pin plug) off an old PSU, and made a cable with the molex on one end (the yellow 12V and black ground) and the circular plug the screen uses on the other end.

thats making heaps more sense now, but as to how you connected the bare wires (yellow and black) to the circular plug on the monitor, im still lost lol sorry lack of sleep does this to me

Just found an old cable with a connector that fitted the monitor, and pieced it together,

Just found an old cable with a connector that fitted the monitor, and pieced it together,

lol i see, kool, im thinking of getting some screen off ebay probably from hongkong, anything i should look for specifically? i know it needs to have VGA and such plus a USB Plug for the touchscreen capability. thanks

The Lilliputs are pretty common in these setups, as are Xenarcs. Mines a Lilliput and with some PowerStrip tweaking (to get it running at 800x480), it's excellent! Does wash out a little bit in the sun though.

thanks for that, will look into it some more tommorrow, in the mean time i might go watch some Aqua Teen Hunger Force LOL, cheers again

carputers seem to be the in thing atm. i started one myself. got everything i need but need to make a custom case for it and need a power supply.... sorry for thr hijack but these M1 atx power supplys... i cant find much on how the fit to the pc and to the car... can sum1 let me no were they connect to?? cheers.. good luck with your install mate..

Well MP3Car is a good place to start of all these things.

I'm using an M2-ATX PSU and you plug it into the motherboard like any other power supply, and either use a case that has a space for the M2-ATX, or make your own like I did and bolt it down next to the mobo.

yeah thought it fitted like the normal power supply... thanks for clearing it up for me

hmm i wonder how the storage tray would go as a carputer case...:think:

discovered i had a passenger seat tray a week or so ago (after a year of owning the car lol), thought with enough drill work, it could work :) enough ventilation and fans would keep it cool (could mount a fan at the back and front to go into the footwells), and its centrally located so its easier to run cables...

and wat else am i gonna use that thing for? lol


ah well, its a distant dream, credit card to pay off first :(