Ok so I been wanting to try a carputer for awhile and think I might actually jump in now. My problem is I don't know much about it. Now I know many of you are going to say go to MP3car.com. I have done that and read quite a bit however members there aren't scionlife members. 75% are assnuts who say "search" Yea I used the search button a thousand times and read a thousand different opinions etc etc etc.

Anyway I was going to build one (which I can give specifics if anyone wants them) or I was thinking of using a cheap Dell laptop. One o fthese


http://www.dell.com/content/products...=19&l=en&s=dhs

Along with this all I want is GPS, Sirius, and DVD/CD ability. I know GPS uses serial or usb and Sirius uses serial. I guess my concern is will the laptop be able to handle these options?

 

wassup homey,
im an mp3car.com member and, last time i checked, i wasnt an assnut ;] lol

check the link in my signature to see my tablet laptop setup in my xb.

any of the dells on that link that you posted will be fine for what you said. i would reccomment getting a model with a pentium m processor just in case you wanted to take the laptop with you (to work, class, etc) and need a machine that is more powerful than your traditional celeron powered machine.

you need usb for the gps. those dell models on your link all have many usb ports and have dvd drives for movies. all you gotta do is figure out how to mount the laptop in your box and you're set.

you can either come up with your own mount - a nice challenge. or if you have the cash to blow, go to www.ram-mount.com

i hope i've helped. basically any pentium m/centrio 1ghz+ laptop with 512mb ram, AT LEAST 20 gigs disk space and a cd/dvd or cd-rw/dvd combo drive will serve your purpose.

also check out craigslist if you want to save some cash on the laptop. do ur homework tho.

Just remember that having a "smaller" laptop in an xb makes it easier to move around/mount. unless you plan on just having it sit on the passenger seat! lol

the even SLICKER option, and most functional, would be one of these puppies:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...n/s7400_series

it's a really fast PC about a 3rd the size of a regular pc. you can mount this in the rear cargo area of ur xb then just have a 7" xenarc/lilliput touch screen by you in the front...

I am thinking of doing this but i spent so much on my tablet, that im not going to do it. lol. i was thinking about mounting the hp slimline pc in the rear cargo area, then having the 7" xenarc touch screen in the xb cubby, next to the driver. that way, i can slide it in and out as needed (i'd build a mount/chasis for this)...

just an option.... you can run a pc on/off button to the drivers area as well as a usb hub. that way you can just get in the car with a usb flash drive (that u copied stuff to) and plug in and play ;]

my tablet doesnt have a dvd player but that's fine since most of the movies my passengers watch are in divx format - on my hd

hth,
- sh00k

 

Sweet a non-assnut Thanks for the info. While the laptop would have a DVD/CD drive I would like to remove it and fiberglass it into my dash in some fashion. I assume I would need an external drive for this. This is more of what I was looking for a l ittle less tech talk.

 

then i reccommend getting a usb dvd drive that is SELF POWERED! otherwise, some drives run off of your laptop batterys' power - making it lose power quicker!
- sh00k

 

wont the laptop power be wired into the car? shouldn't lose power then should it?

 

check pm's, dawggie. if u get one of them power controllers (like the ones from the mp3car.com store) then your comp. equip. will have enough power until it shuts down - even if you turn off your car beforehand.
- sh00k

 

I am also on MP3Car and this is my setup.
http://webpages.charter.net/cookscastle/

 

Hey all -

I've been going over this in my head since the day I bought my xB, but I've not acted on anything yet.

The power hook up thing that I know about for car computers is called opus.

I checked out yours sh00k, and I like it - even went searching for and found some laptop mounts that bolt to teh seat mounts on the floorboards and have flexible legs or swivel mounts, boom extension poles, etc. (like the po po's)

There's room under the seat, or in the back, for a shuttle pc, - a micro mini ATX form factor.
You could probably build/buy a stronger 'desktop' class machine than if you went with a laptop, so then you could build a shuttle micro PC with a good nvidia card and have USB devices, external DVD/CD, etc., mount all that crap into the dash or oven or somewhere.

What I'm struggling with is the keyboard / mouse. A laptop would supply that. If you go micro-ATX, then you have to get like an infrared keyboard/mouse or something.

If you got big money, go touchscreen.

I was thinking about hard-mounting a trackball mouse into the center console or armrest... OK no one copy me I said it first

Myself, I want like a 15" or larger screen.. so
Expand your mind and envision this with me here:
right above the AC controls, continuing up into the radio space, dremel cut a 1U tall by 19" wide hole. This will cut into the plastic sides of center dash, but below the air vents.
Mount a rack mount 1U keyboard LCD combo drawer, like whats for a server cabinet.
http://www.i-techcompany.com/eld115e.html

That one is like 17.5" deep. I don't think this one will fit, but I haven't been back under the dash yet to see... but it's like right at 17" from the glass to the front of the dash...but the dash slants outwards... If there's empty space back there, or if what's there can be relocated, this may work, but is very ambitous, even if you found a 16" long drawer.

What I'll probably end up doing is going with the micro form factor PC in the back, mount USB hubs and DVD/CD into the dash, and getting this style of monitor for teh dash area:
http://www.i-techcompany.com/mrp7150.html

I refuse to do this mod if I must accept a puny monitor.

I guess the million dollar question is if you want the computer removable or not. If yes, throw a laptop on a bracket mount and get a power inverter from wal-mart and you're done.

The main-est main reason I haven't done anything yet is that I want to perm. install mine - but I heard the xB's are SUPER easy to pop the locks, like mere seconds and with only a screwdriver, and it turns off the alarm too :/

- Saylor

 

Something you can consider, if you really want to go in-deep on a project like this, is a Shuttle system. I would recommend digging around on ebay or the the like for something like an SK45G model. The mobo's really small, it has usb, on-board vid / tv out (if you wanted to do a small tv screen instead of a small monitor), audio, lan, and some models (like the 45g) start up / power up when they're plugged in (so when they get power, they'll come on).

More than anything is the benefit of the small size of the system (mobo / power supply in particular); if you really wanted to it's small enough that you could probably mount it behind the dash of your ride (assuming xB's have any space back there).

Also, considering the 'storage surfaces' along the dash of the xB, it's pretty well set up for some kind of wired / wireless (I'd go with wired though, no interference / battery issues) keyboard with a touchpad built into it.

 

I like the Mac Mini option the best. It hides beautifully inside the dash, with the GPS. Put the monitor anywhere the size you want allows. You can run the audio out through the stereo for killer sound, and watch DVDs or broadcast television with this setup.

 

any one know where i can get a doc for it so all the ports are in the front
also how will i allow for power in the efront to torun on the mac mini.