Mini-ITX (Carputer) suggestions, please

S

shocksyde

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 24, 2001
Messages
2,355
My ipod (40gb) is dangerously close to being full, and it's time for an upgrade. Instead of buying a larger capacity MP3 player, I'm considering a computer in my car.

The computer would need to:

1. Connect to 2 amps in the trunk
2. Play MP3s
3. Control touchscreen (either in-dash or mounted somewhere)
4. Connect wirelessly to home network to download new songs from computer inside
5. Bluetooth connect to phone for internet access (Big "?" on that one)

I don't want:

1. GPS
2. Gaming (Maaaaaaybe some NES/SNES emaulation)
3. Cameras
4. Videos

Here's my (very tentative) parts list:

1. Intel "Little Valley" Mini-ITX mobo/cpu/vga combo [LINK] - $59.99

2. 1GB DDR2 533mhz Kingston Ram [LINK] - $20.99

3. Western Digital 120GB 5400rpm 2.5" HDD [LINK] - $69.99

4. Samsung Combo Drive [LINK] - $36.99

5. VoomPC-2 Mini-ITX Car Enclosure [LINK] - $98.99

6. 160w DC Power Supply [LINK] - $89.94

I haven't yet decided what touchscreen to use. I'd like one that fits into my stereo location, but those are kind of pricey. We'll see what I can figure out.

How do my current selections look? It'll run Windows XP as well as a frontend that I haven't picked out yet.

Thanks for any help!
 
shocksyde said:
Here's my (very tentative) parts list:

1. Intel "Little Valley" Mini-ITX mobo/cpu/vga combo [LINK] - $59.99

2. 1GB DDR2 533mhz Kingston Ram [LINK] - $20.99

3. Western Digital 120GB 5400rpm 2.5" HDD [LINK] - $69.99

4. Samsung Combo Drive [LINK] - $36.99

5. VoomPC-2 Mini-ITX Car Enclosure [LINK] - $98.99

6. 160w DC Power Supply [LINK] - $89.94

I haven't yet decided what touchscreen to use. I'd like one that fits into my stereo location, but those are kind of pricey. We'll see what I can figure out.

How do my current selections look? It'll run Windows XP as well as a frontend that I haven't picked out yet.

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...
You know, I just saw the Little Valley and it's an awesome choice over the VIA solutions. Unfortunately, it's going to make selling things for me difficult...

1. Little Valley - good choice. If you want faster boot times, look at a faster processor.
2. 512MB is actually a better choice if you want to use hibernate. The more physical RAM you have, the more XP will page when you hibernate. I'm using a C2D, but still only 512MB. Plus 512MB is cheaper. ;)
3. Good, but I would consider the new Hitachi 7K200. It's about 66% faster than any 7200RPM currently available and probably twice as fast as a 5400RPM. Fast hard drive will seriously improve your boot times. Too many treat drives as just storage and don't realize what an impact they have, especially already slow laptop drives. All laptop drives are basically silent compared to desktop brethren, so don't worry about noise.
4. Sure
5. Okay
6. M%-ATX PSUs are junk. I had an M1-ATX - it died after about 6 months. Sold the replacement and bought an M2-ATX. It died within a month using a 135w system. Overspec'd with no overvolt protection.

Opus 150w - excellent PSU. Does exactly what it says and been 100% reliable and trouble free for over a year.

I also briefly tried a DS-ATX, because I wanted something that would fit in my case. Basically, it looks like it has major compatibility issues with intel systems that are taken for granted with the other two power supplies and the designer is doing nothing to fix them. First I had to build a reverse polarity switch to get it to boot. He actually details this on his forums. That only worked if I unplugged the switch as the car was turned on. That problem was never resolved and the brainstem never worked. Support was good at first and then he just disappeared, it took over a month to get a replacement PSU with the same problems from him!

Lilliputs have a shelf life of maybe 6 months to 2 years. They seem to have tons of problems. You will end up replacing it and paying just as much as a Xenarc! Do it right the first time. Get a Xenarc, they look better and the quality is better. Bondoing it into your dash is easier than you think and they have an in stereo option. There's a reason they have an 18 month no dead pixel warranty vs 12 for the Lilliput. There's also a reason people are moving transflective displays over to Xenarc internals! Shame MP3car didn't use the transflective on the Xenarcs. They are still sunlight readable, in the worst conditions, but when you wear polarized glasses and there is a glare, let's just hope you remember where the buttons are. ;)

Ask the guys on the MP3car forums. There is a wealth of information.
 
Thanks a lot! You've been a great help.

So do you still have a system in your car? What are the specs?
 
My specs are a bit overkill, but I love listening to music in my Jeep, so I went all out. Yours is much more practical and really all the gear you need: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/members/wicked-5-9l.html

I use MediaEngine, which is not for everyone and has seen limited updates, but I liked the interface and look more than the rest.

To connect to your amps, you would run a stereo to RCA interconnect cable out to them. Depends on how they are wired up.

To connect wirelessly, look for an external USB option with an antenna. I'm using a Buffalo adapter and have not yet hooked up an antenna. It has enough range to connect to the internet if you are parked about 50 feet away.

No idea about Bluetooth.
 
you also need a frontend.

like he said, he uses mediaengine.. i dont know why.. but okay

you really have two major choices when it comes to a frontend..

open-source RoadRunner, which is good but doesnt have that polished feel to it..

or (my favorite)

Centrafuse

unfortunately centrafuse is no longer free (out of beta) but it would meet everything you want extremely easily. it has its own plugins which are built to perfection regaurding WiFi connectiosn (if you arent connecting to what you usually connect to), picture perfect phone intergration (if your phone is supported at least.. just dont get a chocolate (vx8500-vx8600) )

for bluetooth, any bluetooth 2.0 dongle really works, just be sure to use the microsoft stack because in everything i have seen regaurding bluetooth and CarPCs.. other stacks like toshibas have caused problems (especally with phonecontrol.net)

Also, i wouldnt go with the HDD that sleepeeg3 suggested. you have to realize that your car will be mobile and be bouncing around everywhere.. and my experience with Hitachi's are that they do not stand up to the g forces they have to face in the car.

its much better to go with ones with high g-force tolerances.. my seagate survived my sister crashing my car almost exactly a year ago and its still going strong (december 22)

you say you dont want GPS, but you might as well get it, you can get something like iguidance cheaply (i got mine for 70 bucks w/ receiver) or be even cheaper on tpb if thats your thing.. but doing it also gives you maps when you need it as well as cool features such as autovolume.. which changes the volume of your music on how fast you are going..

works well when you are going around a track for fun and dont have time to turn the music up lol.

but yeah, head over to MP3Car.com they have much more information regaurding that stuff and check out the frontends whilst you are there.

and if you need any help feel free to pm me on here or mp3car (my name is Redian on it) or just post in mp3car, they will help you out in a second.
 
Thanks again for the insight.

I have been perusing MP3Car.com but I always respect the opinion of my fellow [H]ers.

So, what is the recommended screen? Xenarc? I've been reading some bad things about their build quality.
 
the two choices are lilliput and xenarc..

either way neither are too good. however the xenarc does give a slightly better picture quality.

i went with a lilliput though, wired directly to the carPC's PSU and w/ auto on (i dont know if a xenarc can do that on its own.. probably can)

overall you dont end up staring at it for more than 10 seconds at a time (hopefully) and the either screen is good enough to show all the details you would want.

so.. its up to you.

my first lilliput was DOA, however MP3Car's RMA took 4 days for me to get a new one (with shipping from CT -> DC -> CT)
the replacement lilliput has been working well for about 1.5 years now, at one point the glass on the touchscreen sensor cracked on the side and screwed it up but that was a 20 dollar repair that took about 4 minutes total, so not bad.. and it cracked in the accident my sister had.. so it is not really the usual wear and tear on it.

cliffs:

lilliput: cheaper, close but not as good as zenarc. but works well.

zenarc: tendancy to break more than lilliputs from other peoples experience, but better screen quality, more expensive than lilliput.


one note though, the zenarc's failing might be because they were wired directly to the battery (DO NOT DO THIS) and failed due to power fluctuation and getting overvolted. just do what i did, get a molex connector and cut one of the two adapters you get for the lilliput/xenarc (home and Car adapter) then add on some extra length to it can reach the computer and put them into the respective 12v and ground cable plugs on the molex connector. it will provide a good and reliable power source for the CarPC.

and it only uses about 24 watts so it shouldnt be a problem.
 
Never any kind of problems with my Xenarc or read of any common issues. Should power either through your PSU.
 
How does THIS look at a viable option? It contains pretty much the same components I was considering. Has the m2-atx power spply, but if that fails I could always get a different one.
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Looks pretty good. Never heard or seen of a hard drive recovery card. That is interesting...
 
shocksyde said:
How does THIS look at a viable option? It contains pretty much the same components I was considering. Has the m2-atx power spply, but if that fails I could always get a different one.
Click to expand...
Military grade bushings! Wow!
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
shocksyde said:
How does THIS look at a viable option? It contains pretty much the same components I was considering. Has the m2-atx power spply, but if that fails I could always get a different one.
Click to expand...

If I only had $400.... :(
 
As an eBay Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
thats like 40% increase in price for the same exact components... just build it yerself.. thats just in an ampy case..


hell, he probably just bought all the components on mp3car and then resold it for more...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top