Anyone install a car computer in their fit? I have seen several double din car computers on the web and am interested if anyone has one yet.
Thanks,
Utnorris

 

I've got most of the parts for mine in my apt. Buying the schosche kit and an amp next week. Haven't worked out all of the install details. I'm not using the double din computer with the slide out screen. I have a 7'' touchscreen that will be mounted fixed (like an OEM navi would be). I'm using Streetdeck as the front end.

 

I am going to assume that you got your stuff at MP3car.com or did you just buy your streetdeck off the shelf? If so where? A few more questions:

1 - What MB combo are you using?

2 - Case?

3 - Where are you going to mount the computer itself?

Thanks,

Utnorris

 

Most of it came from MP3car.com... their prices are pretty good.

MB is a Via M10000. 1Gig. Onboard video and a Turtle Beach sound card.

Built the case myself (most everything came from home depot). None of the cases on the market will support 2 PCI cards over the board... the only ones that will fit 2 PCI are rack mount size.

Computer is going in trunk against the outer wall (right in front of the access panel for the tail lights). Amp will go on the opposite side if I can find an amp that's pysically small enough.

John

 

I'm waiting on my friend's cousin to call me so I can go pick up my stuff, but he brought up a Kenwood amp that was small enough for me to fit in my Spyder. If you want I can give you the name of the shop in North Carolina that sold it to me. The price was actually pretty good and it's a fairly powerful amp for it's size. I can't remember exactly what the dimensions are, but IIRC, it's about the size of a DVD case or something like that.

I've been thinking about putting my carputer back in my Legend. I'm going to change some components, but I originally built it with a few pieces from my laptop and my old PC since I had 2 LPs and the PC just sitting around.


Are you using Lexan for your case? A lot of the Mp3car.com'ers like myself are. lol

 

i used lexan for my first case, but it never went in the car. it wasn't as sturdy as i wanted, plus i want it to be as discrete looking as possible... it's black plastic and will prob be covered in carpet too.

Would definately like any recomendations on an amp.... I don't keep up with that stuff at all. I definately need a 4 channel (or 2 2 channels if that works out to be more compact), and something small (wattage) 4x35 or so... no big speakers for me.

mp3car.com has a custom bezel for a 7'' lcd in subaru's... do you know what makes it subaru specific? i mean, double din is double din, right? it's an ISO standard i think. Would be REALLY nice if i could use that.

 

Any reason neither of you decided to do the in-dash solution whether it be the one from MP3.com or another source? I have seen then for as low as $1000. They have the screen, computer and amp all built into one double din size box. Just curious if you guys had heard anything about them.
Thanks,
Utnorris

 

I looked at them, but they were mostly $2K+...
Also, they all use the fanless version of the VIA cpu... it's an even weaker version of an already weak MB. The fan would be noisy in the dash.
Also, I have some concerns about heat w/ the MB and amp cramed into such a small place.
They usually have the slide out screens as well... not a fan of that look.
Mostly, I'm a dork and like playing with the bits and pieces myself....

 

The unit's themselves haven't caught up with the quality of audio manufacturers yet. As been pointed out, some of the quality of the components had to be sacrificed in order to fit within the unit itself and keep the costs low. The method with the least hassle is probably getting a Mac mini, an amp and a VGA screen and going from there. Are you looking to do this yourself?