jross Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 Well, there are a few things to consider. Laptop hdd's use far less power (slower RPMs), run cooler and are more immune to vibrations. From what I know, laptop hard drives "lock up" the head when they detect vibrations, this prevents damage to the plater. But at the same time for a 30 gigger you are going to shell out $70. With a regular 3.5" hd, let's say a 7200RPM, you are going to drain a bit more power (something to take into consideration due to the price of DC-DC PSUs), be less immune to bumps but at the same time you get like a 200 gigger for $100. That will probably be my solution. The power and heat issue I am not worried about (heat-regulated fan sounds like a good solution). The vibration issue can be solved with some small shock absorbers (ie, springs w/ a rubber mount). Similar to how CD changers are setup.CF is way too slow when compared to hard drives. Unless it's RAM, solid state won't be any faster than mechanical drives.You are correct. But the touch screens on most LCDs will work with ANY OS. It's just like a USB or PS/2 interface, doesn't need drivers.As for running Linux as an OS, I was really really considering it. But the lack of any GPS/navi software scrapped that idea. It would be ideal though, because you can talor it to the button. It would be a very elegant solution though. You can use LinuxBIOS on many mobos (VIA EPIAs for instance) and boot directly into Linux. Super quick boot time.I will be using XP for my carputer setup, just because of the software support issue. The beauty of using this is that I can just put the machine into suspend mode using STR. It'll only power the RAM, so that won't drain any battery power. It takes literally a second to shut down, and somewhere around 10 seconds to boot up back to where it was. Seems like the most elegant solution.←I'll look into the laptop drive. I don't think I want/need huge amounts of HD space in the car -- my carputer would primarily be doing audio & nav duty. I'm pretty sure I've seen Linux carputers with GPS setups.. I'll have to go datatrawling later to see if I can find them again. I'm still worried about the vibration issue. Even with additional rubber mounts on my CD changer, I get mad skip, and CDs go bad if I keep them in there too long. I probably need to try and mount it better, but my car rides rough.. the beauty(?) of a stock R suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted February 26, 2005 Report Share Posted February 26, 2005 I'll look into the laptop drive. I don't think I want/need huge amounts of HD space in the car -- my carputer would primarily be doing audio & nav duty. I'm pretty sure I've seen Linux carputers with GPS setups.. I'll have to go datatrawling later to see if I can find them again. I'm still worried about the vibration issue. Even with additional rubber mounts on my CD changer, I get mad skip, and CDs go bad if I keep them in there too long. I probably need to try and mount it better, but my car rides rough.. the beauty(?) of a stock R suspension.←There are GPS packages for Linux, but none of them provide vector maps. Which translates into to no navigation, just GPS.I have 80 gigs of MP3s at home, I need atleast a 120 gigger in my car. I want to keep lots of music, videos and movies on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jross Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 There are GPS packages for Linux, but none of them provide vector maps. Which translates into to no navigation, just GPS.I have 80 gigs of MP3s at home, I need atleast a 120 gigger in my car. I want to keep lots of music, videos and movies on there.←See, if I tried to match my car's HD space to what I have in music and maybe a couple of my movies... I'd be in real trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legbend Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 my laptop drive is 7200rpm :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 my laptop drive is 7200rpm ←Yeah, mine is 5400 (atleast not the 4200 ones that we used to have on laptops).. biggest bottle neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickThatClutch Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Go mini-ITX! Best packaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
td1 Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 http://www.classicresto.com/macnova.htmlcheck it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Go mini-ITX! Best packaging.←You are correct sir. Mini-ITX w/ a DC-DC PSU and Lilliput is the way to go! That's my path!I am going to put the mobo and parts inside of a sheetmetal case painted the color of my car (w/ clear coat and everything), which will then sit in my trunk. I will then retrofit the (Lilliput 7") LCD into a spare stock deck by hollowing it out and then using the case so I can have that OEM look (after much bondo work). Slot-load DVD drive (connected via USB to the machine in the trunk) in the glove box with something like 4 USB ports, all of which are powered.I have lots of plans for my machine.. just need money to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickThatClutch Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 You are correct sir. Mini-ITX w/ a DC-DC PSU and Lilliput is the way to go! That's my path!I am going to put the mobo and parts inside of a sheetmetal case painted the color of my car (w/ clear coat and everything), which will then sit in my trunk. I will then retrofit the (Lilliput 7") LCD into a spare stock deck by hollowing it out and then using the case so I can have that OEM look (after much bondo work). Slot-load DVD drive (connected via USB to the machine in the trunk) in the glove box with something like 4 USB ports, all of which are powered.I have lots of plans for my machine.. just need money to do it.←Whoa, please post pictures! You going to set it up to run navi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Whoa, please post pictures! You going to set it up to run navi?←Oh you have no idea how many pics I will have! This is probably a summer project... unless I get a huge surge of cash all of a sudden, and a lot of free time opens up.Most likely. Navi is SUCH a big help, especially in places I have never been before. I plan to use STR in the machine to speed up boot times. That way only the RAM is powered when it's off and takes literally seconds to come back up to its original state. Not to mention shutting down is much faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickThatClutch Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Serge, That sounds awesome. VIA is going to be releasing the EPIA NL soon it will support sata and 2x IDE so you can run a bunch of devices while doing navi. Look foward to updates when you start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maiku Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 car computers are cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Franke Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 http://theradblog.typepad.com/theradblog/2...ini_in_a_l.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 http://theradblog.typepad.com/theradblog/2...ini_in_a_l.html←The only thing that I'm not fond of is the LCD setup. Not a big fan of the motorized LCDs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serge Posted March 3, 2005 Report Share Posted March 3, 2005 Serge, That sounds awesome. VIA is going to be releasing the EPIA NL soon it will support sata and 2x IDE so you can run a bunch of devices while doing navi. Look foward to updates when you start.←I just saw the VIA Nano-ITX boards... 4.7" on each side... FREAKIN INSANE! I am uber impressed by that. However, due to budgetary contraints I will just go for one of the earlier ITX boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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