Would U Ever Consider A Carputer

[R34NRG]

the things sound so wickid......being able to control a computer with touch screen capabilities and GPS.

but would u trust getting one off ebay

Ebay Carputer

i really want a GPS system inside my car....not like a bolt on nav man on the dash or anything...like a acutal screen.

[Mr Italy!]

Meh if i owned a campervan and travelled around Australia 4 times a year then yeah i would consider it.

Not for me i dont think.

[Mr Italy!]

On a very unrelated subjet does anyone remember watching the guys from Westcoast Customs use like a 10 grand computer in this guys van when they Pimped it on Pimp My Ride?

The thing was the shit, ran like everything in this van, it would have been awesome for the kid. It took the guys ages to install and set up and everything, massive amounts of hours.

What i bet you didnt hear was that after they produced that eppisode MTV made the WCC guys rip it out of the van and they sold it off... leaving the kid with an amazing system in his car, minus the computer to run it. The WCC guys were sooo pissed coz they set it up for the long run, they were under the impression it was to stay in there..

So there you go, dont trust MTV. Sorry for the thread hijack :-p

[n15m0]

Read all about it here.....a few ppl on here have achieved this.

Carputer

[POOMBAH]

I'd be too paranoid that someone might steal it or at least cause some major damage to my car to get at it

[scathing]

I have yet to see a production Carputer that I'd install in my car, but I am looking at doing it in the future.

I was thinking about running a Mac Mini on it. Its a small form factor, with low power internals, so heat shouldn't be an issue. It comes natively with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and has most of the software I'd want (A/V basically, since I have a standalone GPS).

Either that or I'll retire a Windows laptop for the cause.

[RANDY]

There are a few American companies that make dedicated carputers. Lots of people make their own because it's a little cheaper.

If you're going to make one yourself, there's a bit of work in it. The GPS aspect would be a minor consideration, you'd only build this if you were going to use it for cd's, mp3's and dvd's... gps and wifi are just bits you add to a PC, no big deal there.

Other option is to buy a screen like that (with touchscreen built in) and scour ebay for laptops with busted screens. That's the cheapest way.

But, to answer a theoretical question, I think eventually everyone would consider a carputer at some point, and it won't be long until manufacturers come out with their own implementation of a carputer (not running windows or anything, but using their own interactive software)... prolly see a CarBox or CarStation in a couple of years the way riceboxes are going!

[MrBurns]

I've had mine running for about 2 years now that i built from old road signs

Basically, i'd never go back to a head unit: carPC's crap all over them. Head units are dead: carPC's are tons cheaper, infinite features and u can customise it in anyway u want.

The sound is incredible, especially with a 5.1 Audigy card.

Goto http://www.mp3car.com if you want more info - this site is the birthplace of carPC's It'll tell you anything u want to know.

[Nav2k]

mines almost complete, just waiting till i get back to aust and get a decent sound card and then put it all in there.

IMO car pc's are around the same price as a decent headunit and u have far better tuning options depending on the soundcard.

[s2o0o]

Hell yeah!

I'm all for technology!

[scathing]

Here is a custom-made Carputer rig that made my geek mouth drool.

[R34NRG]

for those who have got one where did u get urs and how much/?

[Nav2k]

a car pc is just a normal computer basically. theres software for downloado n the net like the menu screen seen in that above post. basically all u need special is a power supply. there are quite a few to choose from, but the popular models seem to be the opus ones which support boot up and soft boot down when ur accessories is turned on.

the most expensive part of a carputer is the fabrication for the screen in my opinion. an LCD touch screen (basic non fold out) is about $300ish. moulding it in nicely so it sits flush and blends in with ur cars stock appearance will cost a bit depending on ur car..unless ofcourse u want to do it urself which would be the best way.. doing this will cost a bit if professionally done..expect like $300ish for labour. lots of fancy things u can put in like a slot loading cd rom , etc. personally i have USB ports underneath it.

u can also do some neat things with the nissan consult port to monitor various things, but simple things like GPS etc. is only $60 more. if ur a real audiophile then u want a good sound card for tuning purposes.

basically a carputer can cost u $500 or $5000 depending on how far u want to go. u can get all these shuttle pc's etc to save room, or u can build the case urself and make it look nice etc. a lot of ppl have built mini pc's to sit behind their dash even with some cooling options.

[yoshimitsu9]

[quote name='Nav2k' date='28 May 2006, 01:11 AM' post='2207245'

the most expensive part of a carputer is the fabrication for the screen in my opinion. an LCD touch screen (basic non fold out) is about $300ish. moulding it in nicely so it sits flush and blends in with ur cars stock appearance will cost a bit depending on ur car..unless ofcourse u want to do it urself which would be the best way.. doing this will cost a bit if professionally done..expect like $300ish for labour. lots of fancy things u can put in like a slot loading cd rom , etc. personally i have USB ports underneath it.

pay the extra $50 for the fold out screen that sits in the spot where the head unit goes, imo it will save alot of time and tears. you would spend more than $50 in time custom making a spot to keep the screen

[gexenon]

The company i work for are working on a production ready carputer and will be released around Sep this year. It will be ready to install out of the box so there is no mucking around with software, front ends, etc. It will make carputers accessible to the mainstream. Supported features are:

Comupter specs:

Windows XP with custom touch screen frontend (easy to use while driving)

7" touchscreen or motorised 7" touchscreen

40GB Harddrive (other options avaliable on request)

4 USB 2.0 ports

2 firewire ports

DVD burner

What you can do

- store upto 15,000 mp3s

- GPS - much better than the hand held ones (includes speed camera database!)

- Divx, Xvid, mpeg video playback

- bluetooth phone integration - like a bluetooth car kit

- reverse camera

- ECU diognostics and live tuning (though nissan consult port in this case, very cool!)

- WiFi internet

- anyother program that runs on Windows XP!

It will be launched at the Adelide AutoSalon

[R34NRG]

The company i work for are working on a production ready carputer and will be released around Sep this year. It will be ready to install out of the box so there is no mucking around with software, front ends, etc. It will make carputers accessible to the mainstream. Supported features are:

Comupter specs:

Windows XP with custom touch screen frontend (easy to use while driving)

7" touchscreen or motorised 7" touchscreen

40GB Harddrive (other options avaliable on request)

4 USB 2.0 ports

2 firewire ports

DVD burner

What you can do

- store upto 15,000 mp3s

- GPS - much better than the hand held ones (includes speed camera database!)

- Divx, Xvid, mpeg video playback

- bluetooth phone integration - like a bluetooth car kit

- reverse camera

- ECU diognostics and live tuning (though nissan consult port in this case, very cool!)

- WiFi internet

- anyother program that runs on Windows XP!

It will be launched at the Adelide AutoSalon

please let us know asap when its availible...as i dont no nothing about these things and will need someone to install lol.....do u no how much u will be charging

[gexenon]

please let us know asap when its availible...as i dont no nothing about these things and will need someone to install lol.....do u no how much u will be charging

Our carputer are designed to be run in a car so its different to a desktop PC. For example, it runs of 12V DC and includes a startup and shutdown controller. This means that you can turn your car on the computer detects that the car ign is on and turns on. It will boot and go straight into the frontend and start playing music without touching any other buttons. When you turn your car off, the computer will detect this aswell and will shut down windows automatically before the power is cut. Installation is the same as other car audio equipment, just hook up power, ground and ign and off you go. I don't know the exact price beucase there are so many options avaliable. I'll keep everyone posted close to the release date.

[gexenon]

There are a few American companies that make dedicated carputers. Lots of people make their own because it's a little cheaper.

If you're going to make one yourself, there's a bit of work in it. The GPS aspect would be a minor consideration, you'd only build this if you were going to use it for cd's, mp3's and dvd's... gps and wifi are just bits you add to a PC, no big deal there.

Other option is to buy a screen like that (with touchscreen built in) and scour ebay for laptops with busted screens. That's the cheapest way.

But, to answer a theoretical question, I think eventually everyone would consider a carputer at some point, and it won't be long until manufacturers come out with their own implementation of a carputer (not running windows or anything, but using their own interactive software)... prolly see a CarBox or CarStation in a couple of years the way riceboxes are going!

But the whole idea of a car computer is that it is just like a normal computer. If you use a custom operation system, it defeats of the whole idea. Why not just go and get a pioneer DVD player. The beautiful thing about a carputer is that you can add the software and hardware yourself and make it fully to your liking.

[Nav2k]

ive had fold out monitors and they suck. and i mean not el cheapo ones off ebay but but motorized branded ones..

they look ugly when they're out, hide controls (heater controls in an s14) etc.

moulding it into the dash looks much better IMO as it blends in with the stock feel of the car. like it just rolled out of the factory, no flashy stuff. ive gone to great lenghts to do this, even trying to recrate the 'rough' plastic parts so it blends with the rest of the dash. and the way its positioned in my car its angled upwards slightly just near the shifter..easy access for ur fingers. like i said, i just wanted the stock look u find in more expensive cars rather than the aftermarket look. I wish i had a pic to show u all but ..my location...my car..in diff places

with the carpc company, r u guys redesigning the pc's boards etcs or something? or just whacking in the power supplies etc that were talked about earlier?

Edited May 28, 2006 by Nav2k

[gexenon]

ive had fold out monitors and they suck. and i mean not el cheapo ones off ebay but but motorized branded ones..

they look ugly when they're out, hide controls (heater controls in an s14) etc.

moulding it into the dash looks much better IMO as it blends in with the stock feel of the car. like it just rolled out of the factory, no flashy stuff. ive gone to great lenghts to do this, even trying to recrate the 'rough' plastic parts so it blends with the rest of the dash. and the way its positioned in my car its angled upwards slightly just near the shifter..easy access for ur fingers. like i said, i just wanted the stock look u find in more expensive cars rather than the aftermarket look. I wish i had a pic to show u all but ..my location...my car..in diff places

with the carpc company, r u guys redesigning the pc's boards etcs or something? or just whacking in the power supplies etc that were talked about earlier?

Car computing is really tricky and many thingings can go wrong. Our products will be suitable for both the main stream and hardcore. We have designed our own interface for the car PC which runs on top of windows (front end) This makes it really easy to navigate while driving. We'll support things out of the box like

GPS

mp3 playback

Divx, mpg, Xvid,

HD TV

bluetooth

BT phone kit

WiFi

iPod integration

Performance tuning & monitoring

Motorsied screens are the easy option, just intall it into a single DIN slot and your off. Stand along LCDs need more work (integrate into console). Theres advantages in both, thats why we're going to offer both.