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Someone asked some info on putting a computer in their car and now I can't find the post, but heres my 2 cents:
I was about to hook up a PC in my Accord so I might have some valuable info. First off I'm not the person to discuss engine management with, but I know there is someone with a silver 02 coupe on this site who put a computer WITH engine management and molded it to his dash. As far as your engine goes contact him. For all other purposes, DVD, MP3, etc. You need an able PC, I'd say at least a 450 MHz. I was going to use a 233 but the processor isn't the best for DVD or high output (i.e. Winamp will make funny noises when playing MP3's, etc due to lack of RAM and running out a virtual memory) See, when a computer runs out of RAM, it writes the info to the hard drive and fakes the computer into thinking it has more memory. This would be an easy task for a 1.2 GHz, but a 233 just can't keep up. Obviously you'll need a good sized hard drive, a nice video card with TV out, a nice sound card, and enough RAM, but enough hardware talk. The trick part is the OS. OS = Operating System. Windows doesn't like to be shut down instantly when you turn off your car. How many times have you seen Windows run Scandisk because you got pissed off when it wouldn't respond and you shut it off? An OS like Linux is much happier and doesn't mind the shut down instantly part. Now I'm not a huge Linux fan but there are many MP3 utilities out there for it, and I'm sure that there are some DVD ones as well. Use Google.com and do a seach for it. I'm sure it will turn up. Obviously you'll need a power inverter. Something to run the PC off of. They are easily purchased and can be wired into your electrical easily. If you want to get tricky, hardware exists that can tell when the voltage of your car drops. When it drops your computer can begin the shutdown process on it's own. Thus, Windows can be used. Rather than send the sound via RCA's, I have seen 2.4GHz wireless setups. You plug the RCA's into a little box by the PC, and it send it to another little box with RCAs via wireless. Personally, I'd by a laptop to do it, because of space, but then you're options become limited to what is available for that laptop or laptops in general. I might still do it in my 03 Civic, but I'll run the RCA's into my Alpine IVA-C800. If any of you guys are really into Car Stereo, let me know as I'm doing an audio project in my Civic and I'd like to see some photos of custom installs. Hope thats answers some questions. dallis_hughes@hotmail.com

 
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As said before 5 Speed PC has the best setup for computers. They have diagnostic capabilities along with any type of touch screen, flatpanel, whatever you want.

 
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or you can be like a cop and buy and loptop and incar stand.. keke
but thanks Rufus, a very detailed post

 
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pinkytoe has one in his car with a touch screen

 
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Yea, but pinkytoe sold his car on ebay.

 
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just make sure that when you are playin ny type of media on your laptop over your system that you keep the volume on your laptop at 1. if you crank it up you will get an awful high pitch squeal. always adjust your volume by your hu.

 
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You can by-pass scandisk by going to www.microsoft.com and downloading PowerTools for Windows.
As for the 2.4Ghz wireless transmitter....the signal from that would get messed up if placed close to subs or an inverter because of the electrical "noise" produced by them.

 
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pinkytoe still has his car, i live near him never sokd it on ebay

 
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If I had a bawx in my car I'd rather it not crashing...... [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-puke.gif[/IMG] windows
Run Linux [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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Not if you run XP, it doesnt crash. Apple's copyright ran out and Bill Gates was finally able to do a full copy version of a True WIndows program.

 
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i thought we had all of this covered?

 
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Sorry, but the Via edens are cheaper. For about $700 I can build a setup with indash lcd with touch screen and have gps.
This is a ruf break down of my setups cost....
lcd $200
cpu+case $260
gps (usb) $100
gps software $20
touch screen plate(usb) $45
Dvd drive $50
ac to dc 300w $40
------------------------------------------
usb external dvd $20-$200
ecu to car plugin $50-$200
mic $5-$100

Just say no to xp and 2000 if you decide to go the with the eden board. They both have too much crap running that bogs them down even
if you cut them down to bone. I've got the total boot time down to 29seconds. Every app starts in about 1.5-.5 seconds. I also have voice control. I need to work the bugs out of the touch screen and voice control system. Looks like I'll need to put the power supply in lead lined wooden box to cut down the noise.(I'll just smelt down some fishing weights). Something is realy f-ing with my touch screen signal....

 
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OMega.........what processor is running in the pc...etc? You get what you pay for and The equipment you are listing sounds cheap.

 
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Via eden 800mhz has every thing built in rca tv out,svideo, lan and a pci slot. 800mhz is all you need if you gut the windows 98 os. I say gut I mean gut my windows director is about 50megs. No internet explore, running 95 explore modified to run in windows 98. My setup is fast and stable. The only slow thing is the dvd and thats causes I'm running threw usb 1.1. Oh, forget to put in wireless mini key board price $20.
90% of my setup is new the memory I already had.

Ebay is where I got everything. Took about 3 months to get it all at a good price. I got ac inverter and usb cables at wallmart. It was cheaper to buy the amp kit from walmart. I justed used the fuse and power wire. I'm saying this cause I couldn't belive how cheap the 4 gauge wire kit was.

 
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I knew that there was gonna be something totally different in these setups. 5SpeedPC's setups are much higher quality. The are Celeron Pentium 3 & 4 processors. Also their speed starts at 1.4 Ghz at its lowest. And how big is your harddrive? 5SpeedPC's start at 20 gigs, but you can get any size you want. These hardrdrives are 7200 RPM, and not the old 5400 RPM. Also you have 512mb RAM.

THe person can run any OS they want. They aren't stuck with crappy 98os because of their slow pc. XP will never crash and has many more capabilities with it. People can also run TV, DVD, GPS, car diagnostics with these pc's. It's all standard.

Like I said you get what you pay for. And for this setup, someone could get it for around $1100. I would gladly pay $300 more to get tremendously higher quality items than your ebay melting pot of "deal" items.

 
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Yeah. Whatever. Mine crashed daily. It's becuase of some VIA drivers. MS even warns that XP will crash often with these drivers. Of course, they're motherboard drivers, so I can't really do anything about it. Might as well just get a new computer.

Anyway, it depends on your hardware. Get some top of the line Intel stuff and you should be fine. Put a computer together yourself and you'll get blue screens of death 24/7. I tuned everything "perfectly" too, so it's not me. It's the drivers. Of course, Linux works beautifully with my VIA chipset. Go figure...

 
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Sorry, speed dosen't = quality. Xp is not built proof I've seen it crash on many different system and It's a resource hog. You can run xp all you want with on your 1.4ghz machine and I'll still hang with ya

I picked the eden board for two reasons: cost and power consumsion. It only pulls 4.58amps and dosen't need a fan. You can put in up to 1gig of memory. If I wanted to be super anil about speed I could put the hole os in ram do that with xp. Via is trying to make the eden foot print a standard. The other system is too propritary(spelling) and dosen't have any extra slots. From what I know about the other system none of that stuff is standard DVD, GPS, and car diagnostics. They are add ons=more$$$ You also got to rember this is not a home pc. I've seen It sold with out that stuff for a lot less on other sites.

Your going to have to deal with a finite source of power. Don't get me wrong the other system is cool I just would like a little bit more bang for my buck.

 
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k so can we regroup real quick, if you guys can list bunch of stuff i need...so far i need a power inverter for my laptop...my battery dont last that long, wat else do i need? if i play mp3s and movies from laptop, will it sound bad coming from our speaker? cause i got a sony p3 800mhz, 256 mb, 20gig should be enough but sound card is intergrated...appreciate if you guys can list me all the parts i need.

 
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Windows 98, 95, NT...........any of them you name. They all crash. I have never EVER seen a blue screen from XP. Yes it does take a lot of power to run, but it is worth it because it doesn't crash.

Now, no fan? Are you crazy!!! This is why the PSone sucks so bad even though it was made very small for cars. In order to get it so lite and small they removed the cooling fan. And now it burns up all the time. Let's see how long it takes for yours to overheat. 5speedPC's computers also have capabilities of adding different slots, etc........

What's the point of having a pc that doesn't work like a home pc? I don't know about you but I want all of the comforts of home in my car pc. I don't want something that is gonna do minimal performance just because it is in a car.

Every in-car pc now-a-days only takes 3.3 volts. Your system is out of date.

Finite power source? There is always more ways to get power. I.E. second battery and more powerful alternator if you want to go that route. Putting a PC in a car is like putting a turbo charger on a car. If you really want to get the full potential out of it you need to be willing to re-inforce it with stronger internals. But it sounds like you just want a tiny PC in your car so that you can say "Hey, everyone look at the computer I have in my car". I have this need to go all out on my car and get only the best. Sure you can find a cheaper pc and parts but that's all you are getting. Sooner or later you will find out just how worthy your product is.

 
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I have seen the blue screen of death from XP.... it is there.... and someday.... you will see it too.
But yes... XP is the most stable OS I've ever seen (more stable than linux and Mac OS X)

 
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Alright, so a few things to note here.

1. The prices you listed for your system are great... but the average person doesn't want to wait 3 months to put a system together, nor are the chances likely that they'll get the same deals you did.

2. FlyriceRacer has a couple ver good points. Most importantly, you get what you pay for. Our company has spent thousands of hours researching and developing matching components for these sytems, as well as designing the custom software package that is included with all system purchases.

3. You talk about power consumption: Great, the Eden MB has low power consumption - but you're using an inverter in your vehicle to power this system. The BEST inverters you can purchase are only 75% efficient, and sinec you bought yours at Wallmart, the chances that you got a truly great inverter are slim. Also another important note on the topic of inverters... it's VERY important to obtain a regulated output inverter, otherwise you're feeding your MB inconsistent voltage which can cause serious damage over time.

4. Your system w/ the Eden MB in your car might be fine for you, or for maybe 4 out of 5 people... but the likelihood of failure of these systems in a car is much higher than our systems. One needs to be careful about proper mounting of the HD/CD unit, careful about how all the wires are placed inside the case (which you should spend plenty of time building to say the least). If HD's are mounted wrong you could end up with a pooched HD in no time. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but the changes are very high. Also the same goes for wiring your system. Careful placement of IDE cables and Power cables is important in a system that's being jostled all the time.

5. Our "proprietary" systems as you call it, can have any Socket 370 Processor, or 478 processor (depending on model), contain SODIM memory (notebook), and 2.5" Hd's (also notebook). This "proprietary" system is LESS proprietary than the average Compaq you can purchase at Radio Shack. Now don't get me wrong... I wouldn't ever buy that system myself at RadioShack... but plenty of people do because it's easy for the average person w/o a clue.

6. All CPU's operate at the same voltage now. Power consumption is a non-issue, and comes down to the extra peripherals that are installed on your machine. Our systems are powered by 14-18v DC, and are therefore close to 95% efficient as the output of the internal power supply is +-12V DC and +-5v DC. Notebook components (like the memory and HD) are much lower power than standard PC components, at no sacrifice in performance.

7. Windows XP, on a clean install, and for the average user is fantastic. I highly recommend Windows 2k for anyone who is more literate than most. The ironic thing is that windows XP is based on the same architecture as 2k, and essentially is very similar, less the "cosmetic" upgrade that clouds most peoples' ideas about Windows XP.

8. If power was an issue, FlyriceRacer's comment about upgrading the support in your car for more performance is a very valid point... however, due to the effieciency of these systems, it's not necessary. Certainly if I were to put a supercharger on my Tahoe, I'd buy a new rear end, get better headers, and probably get a locker for my rear differential... That's above and beyond the actual unit that's giving me more power. It's all in how much you want to do with it. Our systems give you limitless functionality - no restrictions. Period.

In the end, you can really do it however you want. Our goal at 5 Speed PC was to offer a sytem that anyone could purchase with the confidence that it's been tested and approved via trial and error. No wondering, no figuring. Kinda like getting a body kit for your car - chances are that you will have someone else do the work because you just dont' want the aggravation, and want to make sure it's done right. Again, not always the case, but for the latter part of society, it is.

I'd be happy to answer anyone's questions regarding this issue, and I'm also open to suggestions! Very shortly we will be releasing a 5 Speed PC community were these topics can be discussed. I will keep it posted. Thanks for the great points you all made.

I would be happy to work a deal with anyone participating in this thread, as it clearly shows interest in the technology. Simply contact me.

 
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Alright guys, the 5 Speed PC Community is up and running. Feel free to continue this thread there, post any suggestions, or questions, etc! Please stop by!

5 Speed PC Online Forum Community

 
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Rock on

 
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so wat do i need again

 
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Stop by the forums - post the question there and one of us will get ahold of you. We'll have all your contact info at that point so it'll be easier to help you out.

Click here to visit the forum

-§

 
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correct

correct; of Microsoft's operating $ystem$


well 2 out of 3 isn't bad; Window$ can't touch Linux (Slackware to Calerda to RedHat) or OS X (FreeBSD). XP is a HUGE step in the right direction and will probably be very close with 2k3/.NET/whatever-they-will-name-it, but the bottom line is that Linux & OS X offer superior stability for almost every computer enviornment (all the ones I can think of)

but I am a Mac user who runs a Linux cluster so take all of this for what you will

 
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xp has been more stable for me than ANY linux or MAC I've ever worked on.

I still laugh when the mac gets an error and says "error... it is not my fault". So funny that they try to blame someone else other than the computer. haha

 
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LMAO! I met a guy at a conference once w/ a Mac and he was trying to push his "mac"ism on everyone... got that error and I just about pissed my pants.

Linux is stable, but not by comparison. Think about all the software that can run on Windows... ok, now think about all the software that runs on Linux... there's not NEARLY as much. The software support just isn't there, so of course it seems like it runs more stable. Besides, who the hell wants to recompile their Kernel to play a fricken game anyhow?

 
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Where do you get your info? XP crashes plenty

I am a computer tech, i work on XP units all the time, including WHY IT CRASHES.

BTW ever heard of Hardware stop error? XP has them just like NT, and 2000.

No OS is perfect. They all have flaws... XP is good, but not perfect.