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notarat

Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2010
Finally decided to put a computer in my Frontier so I ordered the parts last week and am awaiting the last of them to arrive this Wednesday.

Basic configuration is:

ASUS F1A75-I Deluxe FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) (Wireless b/g/n & Bluetooth)
AMD A4-3400 Llano 2.7GHz Socket FM1 65W Dual-Core Desktop APU
G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM
Corsair 60GB Force 3 SSD for OS
(2) 128GB Lexar Class 10 128GB SDXC Cards
US Robotics USB 3.0 Dual SDXC Card Reader
HP USB TV Tuner with antennas
Windows 7 Professional
Voom2 Car PC Case
M2-ATX 160Watt PSU
Lilliput 7" Touchscreen


Will be using this to play back multimedia files like Videos from Amazon and Youtube, MP3s I've bought & ripped over the years, surf the net (talk about war driving...lol) and I'll be able to synch with my home network to grab any new multimedia files I create or purchase.

It will feed audio into my Clarion headunit then to my 4ch amp.

As I said previously, most of the parts are in and I have placed the system into a temporary case to load the OS.

Seems okay so far, though I have to iron out some wireless driver issues and blue tooth issues.

Will be taking pics and posting them later today/tonight.
 
Teaser Pic

47394099.jpg
 
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Sounds cool!
Don't forget to run a USB extension cable up front so you can plug in your phone or mp3 payer. That way when you don't have wifi, you can download with your phone and transfer easily.
I have a 3G data account for my home internet, so a car PC could always have internet by just taking the USB dongle with me when I go...don't know if you'd like the extra $50 a month service, but just passing on a possibility. ;)
 
Small Update. Will be posting pics this weekend so stay tuned...


The
Car Case and PSU and Monitor arrived last night. Informal testing revealed the touchscreen LCD is DOA so I had to get an RMA for it. I ordered a different model from another company and it will be here next Tuesday.

Shipping condition:

The parts arrives wrapped well, and there was liberal use of bubble wrap and padding. I do not believe the DOA LCD was due to jostling around during shipping. It was just one of those instances where you get unlucky enough to receive a defective item...

The electronic bits, like the circuit board containing the RCA Outs & USB 2.0 ports, was individually wrapped in bubblewrap, but I was a bit surprised to see they weren't packed in an anti-static bag. Neither was the DC-DC Power Supply...That part has me a little worried since it's such an important part of the project. I will only know if it's okay when I do the final isntall...that's the part that worries me.

Particulars about the case:

Looks to be black anodized aluminum with a nice finish. I wish I'd ordered the silver one to be honest but it was out of stock at the time. The motherboard, once mounted to the bottom plate, slides into the case and then the end caps are installed. It's a nice setup, but it makes connecting all the wires a pain in the ***.

The case itself has (2) 40mm fans that force air through it for ventillation. They do not connect to the motherboard, they connect to the circuit board containing the RCA Jacks and USB Ports so they cannot be controlled through software. This would be a nice change for future models but I've heard they are quiet so I am not worried about noise.

The bottom plate has motherboard stand offs built into it. The motherboard/CPU/RAM fits in the case fine with about 1/4 inch between the top of the CPU Heatsink fan and the case. This will obviously cause it to run hotter but, considering the system runs so cool now, I do not have many worries about how hot it will get in the car, even with with reduced clearance. Just to be safe, I may throw the case onto a drill press and create some additional vent holes right above the CPU fan area so it pulls in more air.

The case has a bay to hold a slim-line DVD player. I'm not going to install an optical drive so I modified the bay cover to hold two USB 3.0 connections via a cable I had leftover from my HTPC's motherboard. This gives me a total of four USB 2.0 ports and four USB 3.0 ports on the case. It also gives me a 2nd bay in which to install the 2nd SSD.

Documentation:

I've installed hundreds of amps and headunits, and built hundreds of computers, so I am familiar enough with computers and mobile audio to install the system myself.

That familiarity though is why I'm so unsatisfied with the documentation that ships with the Case/PSU. The documentation is, at best, spotty. Granted it may amount to nothing more than my personal opinion, but I think the documentation should be far more clearly written. I mean, I've seen better written "engrish" motherboard manuals...that should tell you how poorly the documentation is written.

Mounting Location

I believe I'll be placing the unit under my passenger seat or I'll remove one of the rear jump seats in my Frontier and use that location to mount the computer. I'm still deciding which location to use since each has its own advantages/disadvantages...
 
Another update and explanation of lack of pics

Lack of pics is because I'm lazy and didn't upload them. Will get them uploaded today after work.

I started to assemble the unit Saturday and it went pretty fast but got a little peeved at the results so I stopped working on it while I "re-engineer" my solution.

Why re-engineer the solution?

With the M2-ATX 160watt PSU and the "adapter plate" that holds the SSD installed, there was VERY little room in the case for ventillation because of all of the wires involved.

Also, I would have had to give up one of my DIMM Slots because the SSD sticks so far into the case that the SSD's power connector would have literally ripped out the DIMM if I'd just slid the case together without checking clearances first. (this is one of those cases where it was wise to measure twice, cut once. I'm glad I did or I'd be out a DIMM and possibly a motherboard)

The loss of a DIMM Slot would be offset if I had 8GB DIMMS but I don't, so I didn't find the loss of a DIMM slot acceptable.

Re-engineered solution:

I liked the Pico150PSU I had in my Hello Kitty lunchbox build so I decided to order the Pico160 PSU and power brick kit and just use a power inverter.

Yeah...it's a cheat, somewhat, but it provides the following advantages over the internal PSU

1 - FAR better ventillation. This is important since I am not running an ultra-low-power cpu. The A4-3400 will definitely benefit from the additional air flow.

2 - This solution allows for the use of up to three SSDs stacked on top of one another where the original plan only allowed the use of one. If I chose to go with 256GB SSDs I could have up to 750GB in the case, not counting the two 128GB SDXC Cards and the 32GB MicroSD card I already have. This is way more storage than I need, lol, but I like the fact I can have it without killing the ventillation.


3 - If I use only one or two SSD's, I can add two more USB 3.0 ports. (My preferred configuration)

If you look at the minibox site you can see that the Voom2 PC case looks like a car amplifier. The end cap contains a pair of USB 2.0 ports and a pair of RCA connectors that run the audio from the PC to your amplifier. Above that, there is a slot for a slim DVD player to be installed. I am not going to use a DVD player in this installation so I took that bay cover and installed a pair of USB 3.0 ports into it. These do not interfere with air flow.

I've been taking plenty of pics during the build process and I will post them tonight for those who are interested in seeing them.
 
Couple more teaser pics while I start working on the build and the write up (since what I originally wanted and what I'll end up with are pretty different)

67102133.jpg


33749884.jpg
 
I'm interested to see how it turns out! Subscribed :)

One question. Are you doing a full Win 7 install or slimmed down version?
 
I'm interested to see how it turns out! Subscribed :)

One question. Are you doing a full Win 7 install or slimmed down version?

Currently running a full Windows 7 Professional 64 bit install with Whole Disk Encryption but, now that you mention slimming it down, I may go in and remove the extraneous stuff I do not use.

Will also be trying out Windows 8 since it seems to be better suited to "touchscreen" computing than Win7
 
Good News; Bad News

Good -- After much re-engineering the system is up and operational. It plays back HD content acceptably and has not reached 45°C after 3hrs of playing 1080p Music Videos.

Here's a shot of it in BIOS

98767679.jpg


Bad -- It is playing those videos through a touchscreen LCD with a large crack in it. I opened the box to pull it out and connect it and the first thing I saw was a large crack in the screen. I did an RMA Request through Amazon and ordered another with overnight shipping so I would have it on Friday.

47247184.jpg


Because of the crowded interior of the case when using the M2-ATX 160watt PSU, I decided to go a different route in powering it. I replaced the M2-ATX with a 160watt PicoPSU. That change ion plans required a few modifications, namely to the part of the case where the power enters the case.

32234021.jpg


Here's a shot of the motherboard with the 160watt PicoPSU installed

83881887.jpg
 
Looks nice. Hope it runs good for you. Mine has been running for 2 years inside my vehicle. How are you going to mount your monitor/touchscreen. On my particular setup I used the location of the old radio for my screen but I also took out the radio altogether... my computer is my radio. If you haven't been to this site, www.mp3car.com I would take a look there for some ideas.
 
A few updates since this project seems to keep morphing before I can complete it.

I replaced the 60GB SSD with a Force GT 480GB SSD

I am not confident the AMD Heat sink, which mounts to those plastic brackets, will actually remain intact on bumpy roads, so I ordered a pair of heat sinks that bolt to motherboard brackets.

First one is the Scythe Kazuti and the second one is an all-copper Cooljag unit that was originally earmarked for a Socket F system. I am modding it with a grinder and drill press to fit the FM1 layout and I will use a different fan.

I also loaded Windows 8, which is really nice and it does come with Media Center.

I received my replacement Lilliput 7" TFT LCD Toushscreen.

Additional changes I'm making:

The black case/heatsink is 5mm thick. I truly do not see the need for a case that thick so I will be taking a grinder to it to thin out the metal somewhat.

I'm also making a custom power switch mount to install in the truck.
 
are you worried about ventilation at all? i see the vent holes around the edge..
 
are you worried about ventilation at all? i see the vent holes around the edge..

Initially, I wasn't. Temps never exceeded 45°C

Then I heard that the temp sensors read about 10° too low on these A4 APUs...

I decided to add some vents to the top of the case and ended up drilling 21 of them. Then I hand painted the bare metal so it doesn't look completely like ***.

That brought temps down 13°C at idle and @10° under load.

Still very unhappy with the mini-box stuff, to be honest. The more I work with it, the more I dislike nearly everything about their setup...just my opinion. I have no one to blame but me since I did place the orders.

Things I dislike about the Voom 2 case, and the mini-box gear are:
1/8th inch clearance between heatsink fan and top of the case.
If you go strictly by what mini-box says to do, you give up a DIMM slot and you can't use an A4/A6/A8 CPU.
They pushed their M2-ATX PSU as if it were the solution, but I feel they only did so because their other solution which would have worked much better in my situation was out of stock.

I'm waiting on the arrival of the Travla C292 case. I ordered it from ITX Depot a couple hours ago.

I really like the layout of it because, for my particular platform of choice, there is plenty of space and ventillation.

Here's a pic from their site of the internals of the C292.
image_38_111818936.img


If I use my Pico160PSU
I'll remove their power supply unit, shown above on the left side of the case, and install the Pico160 which connects directly to the 24-pin ATX connector.Then I can flip the fan location to the right side of the case since there is enough room there to do so.

If I decide to use the smart programmable M2-ATX PSU
I can remove their PSU and install the M2-ATX where the "Riser Card" is located on the right side. Then I can route the cables behind the back of the CPU Cooler and keep everything neat while retaining the use of the 60mm fan.

I'm hoping to have the case by Tuesday.

In the meantime, I will soldier on with the "other" mods I plan on doing to see if I can get by with the Voom 2.

1 - I'm using the stock AMD Heatsink. it's small, but makes up for it by not being very good at what it's supposed to do. I'm sitting here looking at a 600g all copper CoolJag CPU Cooler that I plan on modding to fit the FM1 mounting holes. This thing has to cool better than the pop bottle top of a heatsink that came with the CPU. I'll just move the fan over to it.

2 - I have a Scythe Kozuti on the way as well to test with. It should be no taller than the stock unit but cool better due to the heatpipes in it.

Again, if I'd went with one of the recommended motherboards at mini-box i wouldn't be in this situation. however, I did not want to just assemble the thing and be done with it. That'd be way less fun than what I'm doing now.
 
If your mobo has PCI/PCIe riser and you aren't using it, see if you can remove it. Less chance of it working loose and bouncing around.
 
If your mobo has PCI/PCIe riser and you aren't using it, see if you can remove it. Less chance of it working loose and bouncing around.

The C292 case comes with a PCI riser card.

I do not plan to use it at all since I have no PCI Slots on my Asus F1A75-I Deluxe.

I'm looking at the eITX site now to get an idea of what accessories I want.

I found several items already that I really like.

7db Wi-Fi antennas with 15ft cables. These allow me to place the antennas behind the grille of the truck for better reception :clap:

5 inch SATA Cables. No extra slack that you have to coil up :thup:

M3-ATX Pico-Style PSU that mounts to the 24-pin connector on the motherboard. Same space saving design as my Pico160, but with the smart on/off that is present in the M2-ATX :attn: :attn: :attn:

Case mounts that allow me to mount it darned near anywhere I want in the truck. :D

And I'm still not done looking at all the goodies :rofl:
 
Pretty nice. Does the cpu dissipate heat through the case or only through ventilation? That case is a big chunk of metal with the fins should be used somehow as the cpu heatsink.
 
Pretty nice. Does the cpu dissipate heat through the case or only through ventilation? That case is a big chunk of metal with the fins should be used somehow as the cpu heatsink.


You'd think so, right? It's in no way shape or form used to dissipate the heat. That's one of the things that bothers me most about this setup. It's heavy and unwieldy, but makes up for it by being very inflexible and restrictive, lol.

I'm pretty sure that, in a northern environment like the upper mid-west or northeast/northwest, this would be a doable solution with the vent holes added.

Here in the Mid-South? Nah...not so much. we deal with extremely high humidity in addition to the heat in the summer so I did not feel I could use this in the dog days of August and have it actually survive.

The company I ordered the C292 case from called and left me a voicemail message yesterday after I left work and said they're out of stock of that model so I went with another very similar model that is about the same size.

Then I went to another site and basically did a complete redesign of how I'm going to power this thing and I ordered a bunch of new stuff.

Ordered the Travla C299 or C287 (cant remember which case)
Got the 16ft power wiring kit
Got the M3-ATX PSU (like the pico PSU, but with wide voltage input handling and logic built into it specifically for the car environment)
Got 2 of the the 16Ft WiFi 7db antennas to connect to the system
5" SATA straight to Right Angle cable
6" SATA straight to Left Angle cable
Mounting brackets for the case
(4) anti-shock/anti-vibration mounts for mounting the case

The all-copper CoolJag CPU Cooler was 3mm too short to modify it to work on the AM3/FM1 mounting holes.

The Scythe Kozuti, my second choice, arrived yesterday. I disassembled the system and installed the Kozuti.

You don't mount that particular heatsink to the CPU as much as you set it on a flat surface (upside down) and install the motherboard onto it, lol.

The Kozuti is no taller than the OEM Heatsink/Fan combo it has far more surface area though and blocks the PCI Express slot. (not a worry for me since I'm not running a discrete card)

It also impinges on the grooves used to secure the end caps to the heatsink of the Voom2 case so it is unusable in this install. (see what I meant about restrictive?)

If you go the Voom 2 case route, do not deviate from their recommended parts list you you will be boned.

Personally, coloring inside the lines is not as much fun as thinking up new **** so I do not mind the loss of $$ to the project's Starts/Stops

I decided to purchase a Laptop GPS Receiver to integrate into the installation since there are some nicely affordable units for under $50 that allow you to use Google Maps and be accurate to within 1 meter.

Considering all the USB gear I'll have installed on this I am glad the CPU uses so little power because it needs all of the extra juice for peripherals.

60GB SSD for Win7 Pro 64
Win 8 on 480GB SSD
US Robotics USB 3.0 Dual SDXC Card Reader with two 128GB SDXC Cards
USB GPS
USB TV Tuner
USB IR Receivers for keyboard/jogwheel that comes with the asus mobo
USB IR Receiver that allows the use of the HP Media Center Remote.

I may drop the dual SDXC card reader since USB 3 uses some serious juice but I have a lotta crap plugged into this thing so I need to stay within specs or I'll fry the PSU

Have some pics from yesterday's mods/FAILS that I'll throw up in a few hours once my pizza arrives and I get my cholesterol level back up.

I get cranky as hell if it drops below 400 ;)

Here's the Stock Heatsink/fan compared to the Kozuti
62568955.jpg


Same, compared to the CoolJag unit I had lying around
image003jq.jpg


Here's the result of removing the OEM heatsink/fan combo. the "core" part of the heatsink doesn't even cover the entire CPU core.
image004jw.jpg


Kozuti and 480GB SSD Installed.
32024150.jpg


And ultimately, failure...the heatsink hits the end cap screw mount
heatsinkfail.jpg
 
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That is pretty close. Try lower profile motherboard standoffs.

Edit: Now that I look at it, that would mess up the alignment with the I/o plate...
 
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