Carputer installed in my Festiva

[danwheeler]

Just got finished installing my new carputer. Here's the specs - I'll put some pics up soon.

- VIA M10000 Embedded C3 processor on Mini ITX motherboard


- VOOMPC Case


- 8" LCD Touchscreen
- M1 ATX intelligent power supply (gracefully starts and shuts down PC when you turn the ignition on and off)
- TurtleBeach Audio Advantage USB sound card
- 60GB hard drive
- 1GB RAM
- Windows XP Media Center edition
- FluxMedia.net CentraFuge front end software

http://www.fluxmedia.net

all connected to existing amp/speakers/sub

So far everything is incredibly cool. The Centrafuge software really makes it worth it. It's still in beta but it's fairly stable. It has support for XM, FM, backup camera, navigation, traffic info, media player (DVDs, music, videos, etc) Web browsing, ODBII connectivity. Very cool!

The PC is under the passenger seat and fits nicely. The LCD is temporarily (or maybe permanently) attached in front of the center console just above and in front of the vents.

I can definitely recommend this setup. It's a lot of fun and not too expensive (under $700 for everything)

[Guest]

I have the same PS and MB.

Centrafuge doesn't work too well. I ran it for a few months and it crashed more than it didn't. I use Mobile Impact. I made some Festiva skins for it as well. http://www.fordfestiva.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7566

[danwheeler]

you should check it out again, they must be making some progress. It only crashes on me when i try to play DRM music. Other than it hasn't crashed once and is very stable. I hope they release soon. It's the best software i've seen out there.

[Guest]

I couldn't integrate my MS GPS software/receiver into it like I can with Mobile Impact. And since I have a Festiva that's OBDI, I had no need for the OBDII software. I'll check it out.

I didn't buy the packaged PC like that though, I built my own. It was allot cheaper that way. That case is kind of spendy if you try to buy it separately. But for a complete carpc in a box, it's alright.. Since I'm a computer guy, I have my opinions about WMC. I'm running XP Pro on mine.

Do you plan on installing a dvd burner or GPS on yours? I added those and a TV tuner. I would suggest a usb Hub since it's installed under the seat.

Do you have any pics of it installed? Mine are here.. http://www.fordfestiva.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7116 still have a bit of work to do to make it look pretty, but it all works well.

[Pu241]

Nice! :cheers:

Been thinking of doing that for years!
Just didn't get off my lazy rear and do it!
Was wondering about mounting the touch screen on a flexiable stalk so driver and pass could us it!
Burner and USB hub would be nice touch!
But would also suggest some form of wireless which would make downloading music, etc painless!
Of course it looks like it has a ethernet port, so just have to connect a line to your home net work and away you go!

Pu241

[htchbck]

Looks awesome! I may be going the cheapskate way of doing a carputer this spring... the physical case on my 4 year old laptop is falling apart from abuse, but the internals are still working great. So I may wind up taking it apart and throwing the components in the silver car, along with the old sound system from little blue... just a thought at this point, but I'll see how it progresses as time goes on

[Guest]

I have a usb wireless adapter.. that works pretty good..