Car PC

T

thejawn

Weaksauce
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
77
I'm in the process of transforming my 2007 Pontiac G5 into a fully functional carputer.

What I Want It To Do
Play music original car head unit (will be done through auxilary)
Play movies
Be a fully functional computer
Touchscreen
GPS
Look cool

How I Want It Done
Mount a touchscreen above the head unit in the car, approximately 6-7 inch screen, which will support all the needed functionality. Have the computer be discrete in the car (possibly under a seat) while still working off the car battery. Fast boot up would be nice, but its not a thing that I'm deeply concerned about. Probably run on windows XP (unless there are other suggestion). I would like it to be so when i open up the glove compartment, the DVD drive is mounted inside so I can put dvds/cds ect in it. The music will be played through the cars speakers by taping into the auxiliary jack from inside the dash.

What I Have To Work With
Hard drives
External Drive Enclosure
Plenty of cables
RAM
DVD/CD drives
Power Supplys (?)

Whats I Need
Motherboard
CPU
Some kind of case?
Touchscreen

I want to do all this (minus the touchscreen) for about 100 dollars. I know that sounds cheap but I am broke and have no job. If you can help me out and find me the things needed (minus a touchscreen, I can do that on my own) that would be great. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
The problem is that building a decent car PC for $100 is next to impossible. The best way to pull it off would be by using/building a mini-ITX setup -- check out mini-box.com to see what I'm talking about -- but you would be paying a high price premium for the smaller size.

Even the cheapest mini-ITX combo that I could find -- the APEX MI-100 mini-ITX case (with 250W power supply) and the Intel Celeron/mini-ITX mobo combo -- breaks your budget even before shipping comes into play. (Plus, you would want a case durable enough to survive in your car -- as well as keep your parts running -- and a power solution that can run off the battery. I know that the case I chose doesn't meet your requirements, but the point is that finding one that does won't come cheap.)

My suggestions is to rethink this car PC until you can acquire enough funds to make it work. And take a look at MP3Car.com -- muzzle79 was on the right track there.
 
I realize the 100 dollar PC is pretty much impossible. As of know, these are the parts that I am interested in buying.
Intel BLKD201GLYL Intel Celeron 215 with a 533 MHz system bus 479 SiS 662 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo
APEX MI-100 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply
2008 Lilliput 7" VGA Touchscreen 629GL-70NP
Click to expand...
Funny thing is, I picked these out before tiraides pointed them out to me.
I'm not the biggest computer guy on this earth so heres a dumb question.
The motherboard only have one of the IDE cable port things... can I still hook up 2 devices ( HDD and DVD drive) to that one port using master/slave?
 
thejawn said:
The motherboard only have one of the IDE cable port things... can I still hook up 2 devices ( HDD and DVD drive) to that one port using master/slave?
Click to expand...

Sure you can.

If you already have something in mind, list it so we don't have to needlessly suggest shit to you. If you've checked out mp3car.com, mention it, so we don't suggest it to you. If you don't want certain replies, address them in the OP to preempt any unwanted/un-needed suggestions.

The mp3car forum would still be a better resource for what you want than genhard.
 
I am planning on using the Apex Case and the mini-ITX motherboard.
Will that be able to withstand driving? Don't get me wrong, the car drives smooth, but I don't know how the case will hold up.
For a screen, I'm looking at This one from mp3 car.
 
That case is not a good choice. You would want something more rugged that can handle any unexpected shocks from the car (e.g., the unexpected, random pothole). The case would also have to deal with possible/multiple temperature shifts inside the car, and protect/prevent the insides from dust and moisture. The case may handle the rigors of daily driving around town, but I don't know how well it would hold up during a long-distance trip, or during the summer-/wintertime.

The power supply also uses a standard AC connection. You would need to have/purchase a power inverter to use the power supply as-is inside the car.

However, I don't know which cases and/or power supplies would work best for your car PC. You may want to check the MP3Car forums to see their suggestions.
 
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