I'm trying to put together a VERY CHEAP CarPC. It doesn't have to have anything more than 1 Ghz (probably even less), or anything. What I want it to do is just be kind of like an audio center. So just basically play music and put through sound from an input. The important thing is that I want something that I can leave on CONTINUOUSLY for a few days without worrying about battery drain (in standby mode maybe.) What would you people recommend? I'd like it to be as small as possible but also as CHEAP as can be while still being reliable. I'd like it to run XP too, so something that wont be TOO slow. I guess all I'm looking for is a mobo, CPU, RAM, and maybe a HDD (I may go for a small SSD tho.)

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

I'm trying to put together a VERY CHEAP CarPC. It doesn't have to have anything more than 1 Ghz (probably even less), or anything. What I want it to do is just be kind of like an audio center. So just basically play music and put through sound from an input. The important thing is that I want something that I can leave on CONTINUOUSLY for a few days without worrying about battery drain (in standby mode maybe.) What would you people recommend? I'd like it to be as small as possible but also as CHEAP as can be while still being reliable. I'd like it to run XP too, so something that wont be TOO slow. I guess all I'm looking for is a mobo, CPU, RAM, and maybe a HDD (I may go for a small SSD tho.)

You could look into the Small-Form-Factor area. You can squeeze a mighty PC into a tiny space, then just hook it up to a screen and your away.

Yeah, I was looking at a mini-ITX maybe... but IDK yet...

maybe something like the Asus EEE

I have an Asus Eee with XP and it can do standby overnight but when you start it again it will only have about 30% battery left.

Brilliant little PC though.

Quote from TiJay :

I have an Asus Eee with XP and it can do standby overnight but when you start it again it will only have about 30% battery left.

Brilliant little PC though.

is it fast?

you could also work out some little thing in the cigarette lighter thing, to charge it when you need it on, so its sort of like a desktop

Yeah, it's quicker for MSN/internet from a cold start than my Vista laptop.

It's not fast, but it is a nice little laptop. According to EeePC.Asus.com, these are the specs.

Quote from harjun :

maybe something like the Asus EEE

Not really an In-car PC. Its just a laptop, you wouldn't call the Asus EEE an in-plane PC, would you?

Here's a quick list of things that could go into a SFF PC.

Basic Start Point (Motherboard+PSU included)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... duct.php?prodid=FS-084-SH

Thats a bit over £163, I'd say around $240 if your lucky. Then Processor, E2140 Dual Core (Core 2 Duo architecture) which is around $70, 1GB of ram, Crucial Ballistix PC5300 is $50.

Thats a pretty bitching little fella for around $360.

Yeah, but that's way overkill for my application. I was looking at more like one of those $80 Jetway Mini-ITX boards with a C3 processor, and maybe 512 mb RAM. It's just gotta be able to display playlists on a small touchscreen...

That's exactly what I'd suggest. An embedded (possibly passively cooled) <1Ghz cpu/graphics chip/mobo combo, 512mb ram, maybe a compact flash card as HDD? Unless big storage is needed for music, then a laptop size HDD would do I guess and small <100w power supply that can be run direct from 12v source. Sorted.

The only problem is these small components cost a fair bit. I looked into a PC like this for media playback and you can get some fairly well specced boards, but it does depend how much you want to pay. Tbf the ones I was looking at were able to decode HD video etc, with component video outputs.

I was also looking at something silent (not a problem in a car I guess) and something with no mechanical moving parts (which is something to look into for a car PC).

I'd say you'd probably be looking at $250 overall.

I found a neat Car PC with a slot-loading DVD drive that fits in a single-din car slot, lol. Looked cool until the $600 price...

...by far, though, the most expensive component is going to be the small touch screen to mount on the dash. That alone will be an additional $200-ish.

can't you just buy an MP3 car head unit...whats wrong with that?, radio etc. etc.

Not for my application. I wont go into the details...

...cause I brought it up in this forum like a year or two ago and got flamed repeatedly for it

*cue frantic searches through Stang70Fastback's history*

but you;ve only been here for a little more than a year

Its going to be VERY hard for what you want, i think it would be best JUST for a laptop or something, which can be charged using the 12V thing...because you aint gonna get 12V powering what you want, unless its like, some £20 mobo, Intel P D, onboard graphics, 512mb RAM? XP £50....it'll all add upto around...£100-£120 i guess, but that power supply will be VERY expensive i recon, i have never come across one of them, not sure if Jack has though

No, they do have some Auto-Oriented PSUs... like this one:

http://www.mini-box.com/M2-ATX ... ply?sc=8&category=101

You can get ultra-small PC cases for cars to go under the seat, their like the size of a CD-ROM drive external caddy, and they sell PSu's that go inside them.

No idea of any names, though, i'll have a look through some Custom PC's...

Quote from harjun :

Its going to be VERY hard for what you want, i think it would be best JUST for a laptop or something, which can be charged using the 12V thing...because you aint gonna get 12V powering what you want, unless its like, some £20 mobo, Intel P D, onboard graphics, 512mb RAM? XP £50....it'll all add upto around...£100-£120 i guess, but that power supply will be VERY expensive i recon, i have never come across one of them, not sure if Jack has though

This sounds harsh but you have literally no idea what you are talking about, so think twice before offering 'advice'. People build car PCs all the time.

It's not at all hard to build a micro-ITX PC. Here are some links I found when looking at a mini-ITX PC:

http://www.icp-epia.co.uk/ - UK prices so likely to be less in USA.
http://www.mini-itx.com/ - Tad expensive but loads there. edit: Just seen they've got some pico-ITX stuff in now, expensive but so small
http://www.morex.com.tw/products/productdetail.php?fd_id=40 - Great micro case there.
Ebay for micro 12v DC-DC PSUs and IDE-Compact Flash converters.
Newegg or other favourite store for RAM and Flash card etc.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-0Ghz-C ... ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/In-car-P ... ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Check these...

I helped my friend out in his car pc for his lincoln navigator and i picked these up for him along with the psu stang mentioned and the price came out under $800 with his custom made Plexiglases case

mobo cpu combo- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16813153045

ram- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ ... aspx?Item=N82E16820141172

He had a 7" touchscreen LCD lying around can't remember the name and added a 30gig laptop hdd and a wifi card. He mainly uses the pc for his media and stuff and his college work.

The first one's cool. The second one is also very interesting... though I wonder how much power it would use...

Then again, they would both be on standby when the car is off, so it wouldn't matter. Thanks guys. I discovered that mini-itx.com site earlier today - very interesting stuff.