Carputer 101

[barneythedino 10+ year member]

Hey guys, i'm attempting to build my first carputer... right now this is what i'm looking at:

MHW2040AC-E Fujitsu HD Auto 40 gb 4200rpm - 130 $

 

 

Jetway J7F2WE1G5D Mini ITX MBD + 1GB DDR2 Memory $170

 

 

M2-ATX Car PC Carputer Power Supply +VoomPC-2 Enclosure $195

 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827131046 $50

DVD slim drive

http://cgi.ebay.com/Siberia-7-1-USB...oryZ3666QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

Icemat Siberia USB Soundcard $37.00

Headphone to RCA cable $5.00ish

Other various cables $10.00ish ? (any ideas on some i would need)

The HD is a new one that can withstand cold temps, which I need because I live in Vermont and soon Montana. I'm pretty set on that but open to ideas for cheaper/better mobo's, dvd drive, ram, case, psu. That stuff look okay?

Should i switch the mobo for a VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX Motherboard + 512mb for about $60 cheaper? Opinions on that would help.

Also, what else do I need... mini keyboard, touchscreen, possibly gps? I'm trying not to get too crazy on the price, this is supposed to be a budget system. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

With the stuff stated above and about 200 dollars for a touch screen i'm lookin at about 800 dollars. Could I find a better deal, and/or better budget system for less?

 

[DragonCub 10+ year member]

I found them, i ordered them moments ago. bought a lot..25 fuses lolhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170120671854&rd=1&rd=1

Did you really need 25?

Hope you good with soldering

Easier way would have been if you went to ratshack and about a 1 amp inline fuse and soldered it to the contacts on the old fuse.

 

[barneythedino 10+ year member]

Also am thinking about selling my Alpine 7998 and taking that money plus a hundred and just get an indash LCD with minimal features but from a decent company, perhaps buy a used on. I don't really know where i'm going to be able to mount a LCD touch screen if I buy one seperately unless I can find the mount i'm looking for.

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

Did you really need 25? Hope you good with soldering

Easier way would have been if you went to ratshack and about a 1 amp inline fuse and soldered it to the contacts on the old fuse.

Did I really need 25?

- No, going to radio shack never occurred to me at the time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif maybe i'll slide by there and check it out.

Jes: I got your pm, i am getting ready for work right now, i will answer yours questions a bit later. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[barneythedino 10+ year member]

edit update, i'm thinking about just getting this

I added the costs of all the parts I would need and such, and basically it would cost just about the same so I might as well just get it all together and not deal with the case work and internals as much. I've got a great idea on how i'm planning on mounting the touch screen but there are a lot of things I have to work out first, and its going to be a hit or miss install with people. You'll either like the idea or think it's really stupid =p haha

Also read that it can function in down to -30C which realistically what I need.

 

[Ceezer 10+ year member]

I've been procrastinating about putting a carputer in for 4 years now due to too many projects around the house. I was thinking about finally following through now and was also wanting to beef up my audio at the same time but I wondered if an increase in volume/spl (which is probably going to increase naturally with a volume increase) would be an issue with the harddrives.

I would be putting this in my daily driver which is a 97 Impreza Outback Sport and there's really not many places I could mount a PC so it would probably have to go in the hatch were my subs are/would be. I might be able to fit it in the glovebox but even it is pretty small.

But again, would skipping or even malfunction/deterioration be a problem with vibrations from the subs?

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

no

 

[Ceezer 10+ year member]

Even if I had to locate the PC close to the subs?

 

[barneythedino 10+ year member]

i'm getting itchy, might order my stuff tonight =)

want some feedback first though D=

 

[DragonCub 10+ year member]

Even if I had to locate the PC close to the subs?

Forget close, how about on top of the subs?

Thats where my computer is located, not even bolted down or anything and I've never had a issue with skipping or fail hard drive or anything else

 

[Ceezer 10+ year member]

Very cool and good to know! Thanks, fellas.

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

My carpc is about 1 foot from my subwoofer, directly in front of the cone and the port, never had a problem yet, been going for about a year.

 

[Megalomaniac 5,000+ posts]

ok so i swapped all fuses. i think its official that the lilli is gone //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

i got that white screen of death.

so which lcd should i get now? i think i want to try a xenarc

 

[Defiler 10+ year member]

Xenarc seems to have better build quality from what I have gathered on other forums.

 

[AltarCrystal 10+ year member]

For people worried about hard drives getting messed up from the vibrations of a subwoofer...remember, you're going to be DRIVING this car, and not all roads are perfectly flat.