Didn't think of that, but there's always going to be more versions of the bezel. I already am at the point that I have to rework it, all the installing and uninstalling the carPC trying to get the power supply to work stressed the joint where the screen meets the bezel, so there's a line that shows. So, at some point before the end of winter (since the car is mostly down for that time now) i'll be redoing it. Truthfully, I'd ideally like to get my hands on a 98+ interior because that would make the install 1000x easier.

 

I think you have a pretty good setup right there. You already put a lot of work into it and the overall shape works well. Just epoxy that bexel in place to make it really strong, fill the low spots and get it nice and smooth, not perfect, and have a car stereo shop cover it in vinyl. The vinyl will hide a lot of the small imperfections, as will textured paint.

The pro's use a high quality vinyl capable of being heated and stretched and some industrial strength glue to bond it onto the piece. It can be folded around the edges of the screen to make it look really good. Maybe call around and find a place that does good vinyl work and once you get the money, have them go over it.

You would also need to fab up a little trim piece to go around the bottom to hide that gap. Maybe mold the USB plugs into it. Or else make a hinged door to keep it clean looking and then fold it down to plug the USB stuff in.

 

Hey, since your using that little Epia mobo why are you getting that big, expensive Opus PSU?

Why not get your money back (if you can) and get the smaller, cheaper M1-ATX for $75.

 

Well I looked at the ones that were available and used the power consumption calculators that they have and it came to about 130w being used, so the 90 wasn't enough. The opus power supply really isn't that bad because it will fit behind the screen perfectly, so it won't be seen.

 

Do you have the link to that power calculator?
If not, was it from Opus?
All the ones I've seen didn't show the Epia mobo's, just AMD, Intel and servers.

I've seen guys run the newwer 1.3Mhz boards with the screen and optical drives and 3.5 HDDs and the M1 powered it with no problem.

Usually the bigger 150 Opus is for the bigger machines like the AMD and Intel boards.

But if it fits fine and it's working for you then stick with it. It never hurts to have the extra power.

 

Don't remember where it was from, I think it was a link off mp3car.com's forums. If I would've known the M1 would've worked I would've gone with that! lol. Darn, I highly doubt mp3car.com would allow me to return the powersupply and get an M1 instead since I didn't technically buy it from them in the first place.

 

Here's the only Power Calculator I have found:
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

Also keep in mind that those figures are when the parts are maxed out, like 100% CPU load, etc... Also keep in mind that the PSU's are rated to maintain their wattage at the lowest of voltages. The Opus 150w for instance maintains that 150w down to 8 volts. So at higher voltages, it can supply quite a bit more than 150w. If your car only dips down to 10 volts under cranking, for instance, and your computer is not under 100% load at the time of cranking, then a system rated at 200w might easily work well off of a 150 watt PSU.

I've seen a bunch of instances where guys where using a bigger system than their rated PSU, yet it still runs fine. The M1 for instance maintains that power down to 6 volts! I doubt my voltage would ever drop that low under cranking, so I assume it packs packs more of a punch than it's rated 90 watts.

I think I fried my old ATX mobo and athlon 1000 the other day. With that mobo I was going to get the Opus 150 for sure, but now I have to buy all new stuff so I'm going to get the VIA SP13000. The 1.3Ghz version of the little Epia mobo's. I read a review of the dual 1000Mhz Epia mobo and I can't remember the exact number, but I think the whole mobo only used 25 watts total. Each 1Ghz CPU used only 4 watts and the rest was from the RAM, integreted video, sound, etc...

My Athlon 1Ghz uses 50watts at full load by itself!. Just the CPU. So I Know those little boards use very little and your using the 600Mhz version (I believe) so I'm sure it's at or under 25 watts for the whole board at full load. Add your accessories to the total wattage and then figure out how low the voltage drops while cranking your car.

Now I see how all those people get away using a PSU that is technically "under powered" to run their systems. Makes sense, huh?

Even if you have to keep the 150w, that's OK. As long as it fits. Plus you can add a bunch of crap to it later. Power the LCD with it, fans, drives, lights, the whole shebang without worry.

 

I was talking to Snootch (http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=50883) and he mentioned his dash system gets real hot in the summer after being parked in the sun. Afterwards the PC won't come on until the interior temps go down some. That ever happened to you?

 

So far I haven't had that problem, but it's only been in for a month. Mind you, mine's also fanless too. The heat extractors get warm to the touch, but not "burning" hot or anything. I'm really interested to see how she runs year round, including this winter. My car's been sitting for the past week or two because they were talking flurries (which of course never came, damn waste of cruise time) but Saturday through Monday they're only talking partly cloudy, so I'll have her out on those days... we'll see how the carPC does starting up in 40 degrees. IMO, the most fun of this entire project is the learning experience and the tinkering. I actually just installed a Windows 2003 server on my home network last night, so I can have VPN server capabilities running... With that, I can literally get a secure, encrypted connection to my home network from anywhere as long as I have an internet connection. This is going to be very fun, considering the entire county I live in is going to be wireless by next year. I was ALMOST tempted to try voice recognition and installing AIM, I could only imagine how fun it'd be to get IM's while I'm driving, and then just saying what I want, then saying "Send" and having it send the IM for me all handsfree. If I did it that way, I'd also encorporate it to read the IMs to me, so I could literally have the entire setup handsfree and also be able to keep my eyes on the road.

 

Jeez! That's not asking too much is it?

I would settle for web and network access to my home computer from the driveway. Anything else would be cake.

I'll have to ask you about finding networks and such in a car once I get my **** together and actually in the car. If more parts keeps breaking on me it will be well into 2006 before I get it working.

Winter should be fine for the puters, but summer might be another story. You may need a fan on it once summer rolls around.

 

The network part is really easy, surprisingly. I have a USB wireless network adapter, so I just plug it in and it scans for a wireless network to connect to. Usually it finds multiples, and a general rule of thumb is that if the SSID name is "linksys" they haven't encrypted or protected their wireless network at all.

 

Anyone know what size screen that is in the 3rd pic ?

 

The one named Curious? That is a 7" widescreen. Same size as Meissens screen. That is a popular size, so there are many models available.

 

Dude, save up for a V8 then do some engine work, interior is for gangsters and people who dont have enough HP to be satisfyd.

 

Dude, he's only 20 and unemployed (temporarily). When I was 20, I was rolling in a crap 78 chevy PU in primer. You remember what it was like to be young, don't ya? Cut him some slack, man. At 20 I could only dream of a ride like his.

BTW, he mentioned something about dropping a 383 in later, so look out. He'll be flying past you!

 

Hey, I was looking for something else and ran across this thread about using vinyl. Snootch knows what he's talking about.

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=25243

 

Haha, not like it makes a difference, but yeah not even 20! Just turned 19 a few months ago. I wanted to go for the car show crowd first before dropping the power in. I don't know if it's just a detroit thing or what, but everyone around here that mods their engine always has their car down in the shop, I want to be able to drive my car and enjoy it on a daily basis (which I do now) so an engine upgrade isn't important yet.

Anyway, Sweet find, Jason! I'm getting quite antsy to get another job so I can really get back to work on doing all this. Once I get the PSU and can test it and make sure it's all working and get the PSU siliconed into place, I'll probably rework the exterior a little bit just to make it work better. Hardest part with these types of projects is doing it, you always learn things to change once it's in, but when you're actually making it the first time it all is so hard to figure out, haha.

 

Dumbest post of the day goes to you.

 

This has been a very informative thread, let's try to keep it on track and not start with flames or bashing.

 

Meissenation, did you mention what kind of sound card you are using, or is it the built in sound from the mobo?