ok so i have become really interested in getting a carputer for my 8. i dont have the greatest techonology skills, so i dont trust myself to build one, but at the same time i dont have the money to take it some place and tell them to do it.

any ideas on what is a good solution?

ive tried doing some research and nothing i read really makes sense to me haha. i think i need to get more technology advanced

 

What is your experience level with car stereo installation?

You might just want to save your money and get it done by a pro.

 

i think u should pm WarmFreedom... he has it in his car...

 

hwo much do u think it would cost to get it proffesionally instaled?

 

Howdy,

As the sometimes proud owner of a CarPC I can tell you it will almost impossible to have it installed professionally. Very very very very did I say very, few installers that deal with CarPC installation.

If you wanna do a LOT of reading on installing a CarPC visit Mp3Car.com everything you ever wanted and didn’t want to know about CarPC is there.

Good news is there are some double din after market options from Pioneer and Eclipse that have a lot of the CarPC functionality that can be professionally installed but they are not cheap (neither is a CarPC awww that depends).

If technology intimidates you I'd stay away from a CarPC it’s a LOT of work not just the installation but tinkering with software to make it play nice. If your feeling really brave hell go the CarPC route but do yourself a favor and do a few weeks of reading at MP3Car.com first

 

look into a mac mini

 

^ Dude, that's hilarious. Everyone does a Carputer (PC)... I have yet to see a Macputer or whatever you call it.

 

There's a whole forum dedicated to Mac carputers at mp3car.com. Mac minis have been the preferred machine for Mac users because of low power consumption and footprint, not to mention others.

 

not to mention lack of software

 

just load windows on the intel mac mini's and you can choose between mac software or windows software

edit:
just wanted to add, I never could figure out a good reason NOT to use a mac mini as a carputer. They price for a mini is competitive towards other mini-itx intel systems (and for the features I think it is competitive with the via's), they are small, and they have low power usage.

THE only reasons I could ever really think of was how hot they run (not sure how hot they actually run) and I wish it had better audio outs (which you could get a usb sound card for it).

 

Yep, not a huge selection of front-ends compared to the PC counterparts. You can boot XP on the Mactels, and I assume you can run windows apps. Not entirely sure about stability though.

 

intel macs run windows xp just as well as regular PCs, and osx now has a nav program along with a built in dvd program and itunes, which is all i really need, i am probably gonna attempt this, the only problem right now is deciding where to mount my screen.

I plan on throwing the mini into the trunk, and routing an external DVD drive into the front console, or glovebox. I want to replace the whole stereo panel with a indash LCD screen but that requires getting the corksport kit, which is another 500 bux, or i could go with a nav tray up top, but i originally wanted to mount gauges there ...

 

here is my install. follow the link in my sig to my website for more pictures.

 

WOW RR, i had NO idea you had SOO much into your car...

the computer setup alon is amazing, i cant say i am surprised though coming from you! props bro, wish i knew someone like you locally to pick their brain and learn from..

 

here's mine with the mac mini.

 

Nice Tolorati! More details please! Did you retrofit the nav hood or did yours come with the factory nav option?

 

mine came with the factory nav, all i did was replaced the factory lcd with a lilliput eby701 touch screen. The buttons for the nav hood still works as normal. Nothing has changed except I can now control the mac by touching the screen.

Do you have the factory nav hood?

here's what you'll need

1) mac mini obviously..
2) 7" touch screen
3) carnetix p1900 power supply
4) stereo 3.5mm to rca y adapter (for sound output from mini)
5) i tapped the tv tuner's wiring to input the sound from mini
If youdo not have a oem tv tuner, you might need auxmod

I have a JDM rx8.

 

thanks man!

send me a PM if you have any questions.

 

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately mine didn't come with nav so I have to retro fit everything. Getting the hood buttons to power and control open/tilt will be a challenge.

 

thanks for the parts list


picking up the Mini tonight, probably gonna be a while before it goes into the car though, do you think i can have the mini completely replace the headunit, since once i have the carMac in i dont think i'd ever use the stereo again, and i was thinking of the corksport kit and putting in an Indash LCD screen, the mini will probably be mounted in the trunk and i will probably run a usb dvd drive into the glove box

 

tolorati, is your eby701 the plain non-transflective one? How does it hold up to sunlight? Do you have tint? How well did it fit in the Nav enclosure?

Sorry for the string of questions, but I was thinking of going the exact same route for the display. Only major difference is that I plan on using my 12" laptop with cracked screen for the computer.

 

well, it depends whether you listen to digital radio or not?

i have my mini in the glovebox because it's hot where i'm at. the glovebox is cool cos that's where the air-cond pipes are.

do you actually watch dvd's in the car? it's better to use a portable hard disk or thumb drives to have files transferred.

i suggest you to get an exernal usb hub and have it wired from the trunk to the glovebox. if you do that remember to get the +5v cable option when purchasing the carnetix power supply. That power supply will be powering the mini (get the macpac power cable if you do not want to splice the oem power brick, $25), the screen of course and the usb hub. Just remember to go through the manual and have all your jumpers set before installing the carnetix.

 

i have the plain one and it is very hard to read during the day. I have tint but on the 2 front doors and windshield it's very minimal, almost no tint. If you have the resources get the better transflective ones. well, fitting was not perfect, on both left and right of the screen now, there's very little additional space, this does not bother at all but the height of the nav hood, that you may wanna do something about it cos the screen is a lil taller but the nav hood lcd opening is not that tall. you might wanna sand it. I left it alone as i don't really find it bothering as of yet. besides, browsing music with cover flow you'll never notice it.

are u using a macbook or pc notebook?

 

I don't think I'm going to be able to get any tint on my car, as no tint whatsoever is allowed here, and I never see cars with it, so I don't feel comfortable that I could get away with anything more than like 50%. I'll probably go with the trasnflective because it's so much work to put the thing in, might as well not put a screen I might regret.
I've got a PC laptop. Will put a fresh install of XP home on it if I use it as a car computer.