Just wanted to share this with guys that want a pre assembled computer for car pc.

Its size of a wifi router and fits perfectly under a fbody's seat too.

you 'd need the usual stuff like the touch screen lcd to make it complete car pc.

Picked it up for $200 at Best buy.



Asus-EeeBox-EB1501

 

I must admit that is pretty cool. Looked up the dimensions and comes at a big 5.5" x 5.5" x 1.5" Would not be hard to fit and still have access to the front panel.

 

Yea man It sits perfectly under the passenger seat.

I'm just on a flipout screen with connection for computer.

It ll be nice n stealthy.

 

not a bad option.

However, I was thinking about using my toshiba netbook as the main hardware if and when I decide to do a carputer project. As least if you use a laptop, you can still run on the laptops battery when you have the engine turned off, so you wont be draining your cars battery. Its even small enough to fit in the glove compartment without any major modification. Then all you need to do is get a car adapter for the netbook, hardwire it to a 12v source, then just run the inputs for your monitor and audio. Ive been researching the idea of building a carputer before I even had my license. Prices have dropped a lot on the hardware components and touchscreen LCD's, so you can build a decent CarPc for cheap now. 6LE even makes double din bezels now, so thats one less custom piece you have to worry about.

 

btw, the ASUS you posted, the cheapest I found was $478...you got one heck of a deal. You can buy a decent netbook for $275-300 on newegg if you wait for a holiday sale

 

Good point about netbooks having rechargeable battery for when ignition is off.

I knew 6le double din bezel is an option but i prefer to have a stealth look.

Another idea That I had was to relocate the hvac controls.
Mount a 12" LCD vertically, basically from the sgs button and all the way down.

 

have you started a project or are you just considering one at this point? ive been contemplating something like this for the past 4 years, but now i seriously want to do something.

 

Also, if you have a screen that is some custom size we can make it fit that for (most times) the same price we charge for the DDs...

 

I already have the Asus as the brain, webcam/mic, Bluetooth.

Just waiting for funds for a flipout screen or a double din.

You should definitely do it.

Let me know if I can chime in any where in the process.

 

thanks for the offer.

im a member on mp3car.com. theres atleast 20 fbody guys on there that have carpc build pages which are a lot of help. it might help you out

 

Yeah, the first thing I did was see where I could get that same eeebox. You truly did get a heck of a deal at $200!

 

I checked msrp on this at bestbuy today just outa curiosity.
It was listed for 479.00. I asked em if it's ever been on sale they said no.

I guess the only other explaination is that there was a mix up at best buy, since I got this on black Friday.

Sorry :/ guys

 

Ebxb202 Is another asus small desktop pc that's similar to this but it's listed on newegg for 300.

I suppose it's still better than 479.00

 

How do you plan to power it?

I do like the idea of using a netbook for the battery. I would like a way to tell the machine to go into hibernate when you turn the car off and to come on when you start the car.

This is pretty much the only thing stopping me.

 

powering it is easy. just get a 120v-12v conversion adapter from radio shack and hardwire it behind the cigarette lighter or onto a custom fuse block.

as for the hibernate thing, you can make a shortcut icon on your desktop and just tap it on the touch screen to go into hibernation mode. i dont think you make it go into hibernation right after you turn the engine off, but you can make it go into hibernation after 2 minutes of inactivity on battery power.

i would be more worried of how to turn the damn thing on with the engine; you would probably have to dismantle the netbook and relocate the power button to the dash or something. atleast if you running an actual desktop pc all you have to do is lengthen a few wires

 

Exactly. The whole power adapter is easy. As for a 12v on/off switch I haven't found anything.

For a desktop it's even more difficult. It would be nice to have some kind of small battery so it had time to turn off/hibernate after you shut the car off.

I would want it to act like it was supposed to be there. Say I go somewhere, I want to just turn the car off and jump out. I don't want to worry about turning it off everytime. Turning it on wouldn't be as big of a deal.

 

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/how-...er-switch.html

^^i just removed the cover to my net book and it seems possible. i would probably take it to a small electronics repair store because you need some precise soldering done. atleast with this mod in the link, you can still unplug all the connections from your "carputer" and then carry it around like any other netbook. just google "external power button laptop" and youll actually find some good matches.

the whole shutting down when turning the engine off is kinda tricky, but heres my theory: when you turn your engine off on your fbody, the radio stays on until you open the door. i know in XP and Vista you can tell your laptop to hibernate whens its on battery power (engine wouldnt be on so your good) and when you close the laptop lid. what if you somehow wired the switch for the radio on your door to act as the laptop lid-close switch on your netbook....then your laptop would go into hibernation mode whenever your engine is off and you open the door.

 

Well there you go. If you can tell windows to go to hibernate when on battery power (loss of charger) then you're set. Another issue with a netbook is getting one that has an external monitor hook-up. (for the touch screen)

 

already got a monitor jack on my book

i keep throwing idea around, but i probably wont do anything until i get another car besides the T/A. I just dont find a carputer practical in a "race" car that I really only drive 2 min to and from work. ill wait until i get a decent daily driver and actully drive more than 15 min at a time

heres what my build would be though if i actully did something with the T/A:
- I already configured my phone to act as an external modem for my netbook, so i can get internet anywhere i have a 3g or edge connection. just need to get a car dock that will connect to my netbook via USB
-Netbook would be mounted in hatch/t-top area. Netbook has solid state HD so vibration is not a worry
- i already got an OBD2 interface cable so im able to monitor everything and check DTC's via my netbook. I just need to find a better program, but otherwise it works
-i want to place a touchpad under my ashtray lid. should work good when im surfing the internet http://cgi.ebay.com/ADESSO-ATP-400UB...item3353510411
-mount a mini keyboard like this in the cupholder or onto the steering wheel http://cgi.ebay.com/PS-3Wireless-Key...item2a00b4f9b0
-i run a decent size touchscreen monitor. I could get a custom radio bezel from 6LE, so minus another thing off the list. you can also get a touchscreen powered by USB, so i would run that so it shuts off auctomatically when the netbook goes into hibernation
- instead of tapping into a switch 12v wire, i would run it directly from the battery via a relay connected to a switch 12v source. dont need to burn any wiring.
-then the only other things i have to worry about is making an external power switch, hooking the audio up the speakers, and maybe configuring the laptop to go into hibernation when i open the car door

...after writing all that crap, i think i want to take on the challenge

 

Nice project