dj55b

iTrader: (2)

They call it Windows XP lite ... its not really a downloadable version. There's various ways of doing it through various programs. The most common appears to be this :

http://www.nliteos.com/

You download the application, then put your windows CD in there, from there when you open up the application it shows you all the stuff that you can remove. you put a check mark besides everything you don't want and then it creates another windows. You have to copy that to a CD and make it bootable. From there you will have to install it like your old windows. PM me and i might be able to work out something for you.

Sam

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

Forgot to mention, but today i also received my sound card the Creative X-FI Xtreme Music. Still can't find my voltmeter to take an amp reading. I have 2 of them but i know where the other one is and i know the fuse for the amp meter in there is blown.

Manntis

would that sound card fit into a Morex Cubid 3688 case?

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

no that card will not fit in there .. if you look at the back of it there isn't even an openening for PCI cards or anything elese for that matter

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

http://www.directron.com/venus668.html

you will need something like these cube cases. Some of them are just one sot and so shorter too.

Found one:

http://www.joujye-computer.com/pccase_cf-7989-m.htm

Something like this.

Manntis

and outputting onboard sound to an amp won't work?

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

it will, but its all about the clarity. If you're not into too much clarity, then by all mean go ahead. I like to hear my music nice and clear and as crisp as possible. That's the only reason i'm going with the creative card.

Once thing to watch out for from reading. Is that not all motherboards output enough voltage for the amps to read. You need to output atleat 2 millivolts of power from the speakers.

QuiescentWonder

If you run into that problem just output to a preamp first.

http://www.google.com/products?q=pre...earch+Products

I'm hoping to do the Carputer thing in my RX-7 once I get all the mechanical problems worked out. Only I'm going to use one of those Mini-ITX motherboards (if they are powerful enough for the TV) and hopefully get a riser card and add a PCI FM/TV tuner to use as well. The riser will let me mount the card parallel to the motherboard so I can use a really small case and hopefully fit it right where the stock stereo originally sat.

Oh, and nLite is the software that's used to strip components that you don't want/need to use out of XP that will really speed it up. You just download and install it, then copy the contents of the XP installation CD to your computer, then go through the program and it will even burn the CD for you when it's done. It's VERY customizable, so much that lot's of people won't care to bother with so many options. If I remember correctly there are presets though that make the process a lot faster. Also, any applications that will run on Windows XP will run on what comes out of this program, unless they depend on services/applications/etc. that you removed in the process.

If you do end up doing this, try to get a copy of the XP installation CD that doesn't have SP2 integrated into it, it will make a HUGE performance difference. On any PC that's actually on the Internet I would recommend that SP2 be installed, but on a Carputer it's not really necessary. If you are unsure whether or not your installation CD has SP2 then copy the contents of the disc to your computer and run nLite, when you select the directory that you've copied the files to it should tell you some info about it. If you don't see SP2 (You should see SP1 or SP1a) then you are good. I would install SP1 though, it adds support for hard-drive larger than 127GB. If you don't see SP1 you can download it from Microsoft's website and there is an option to "integrade service packs/hotfixes" or something like that if you don't use one of the presets.

Manntis

Has anyone tried a Nano-ITX installation in an RX-7?

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

I was looking at the nano's along with the picos (those are really neat)



But after looking at the specs there isn't much that you can upgrade on there and not that much features, the mini-tix is essential just as jam packed as the regular ITX, minus quite a few PCI slots. But like looking at the specs of even how much my board (Jetway Brand) has compared to the rest. Its a pretty impressive list, along with it being able to handle DDR2 Ram.

darkfrost

iTrader: (1)

You actually CAN fit a full size PCI card into a mini-itx case. I've done it in my setup for a USB2.0 pci card as my motherboard is only usb 1.1.

What you need is a riser card, which allows the pci card to fold over everything else, it looks like this:

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

Dammit why didn't i think of that? I'm getting one and dropping my height for my case. lol

darkfrost

iTrader: (1)

lol, make sure you get the right orientation- The first one I ordered bent the card the other way and I had to order another one.

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

can you post a pic of how yours is ..

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

Actually that won't even work with my card. A USB/ETHERNET/ even some older or lower version soundcard/firewire are all only maybe about 2" tall, this card is about 4" tall and will hit the usb/Ethernet spot. I would only be able to fit a card thats about 3" Tall (thats measuring without the pins going in) on my specific motherboard.

QuiescentWonder

As for risers, check this out: All different lengths and orientations, they even have flexible ones (a bit on the expensive side though): http://www.mycableshop.com/items.asp...atus=0&Tp=&Bc=

You can get most stuff as USB at this point anyway (TV tuner/FM radio, Bluetooth, 802.11 wireless, etc. The only problem with that is that you need craploads of USB ports if you have lots of peripherals. I'm hoping I can find a Mini/Nano-ITX board with at least 6 USB 2.0 ports on it and hope all that doesn't clog up the USB bus to the point where things aren't working well. Does anyone know if the bandwidth shared between USB ports, or does each one have that much designated bandwidth?

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

at 28 bucks ... I can live with a few extra inches, my motherboard has 2 in the rear and 3 on the board for front mount type. As for the bandwith thing, alot of the stuff doesn't use too much, but I just bought like 5 minutes ago a 4 port extension because still needed more. One thing to look for is if the item needs alot of power or not too. Because like the USB hub that I just bought comes with a power adapter (not all of them have one) but increases the amps from .5 to 1amp. so no power loss. The input power voltage to the hub is 5V so i can just tap off from my power supply cables to supply power.

Manntis

why not just use this?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?...Range&doy=31m8

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

We were talking about PCI risers lol ... to make your pci car fit in a slimmer case.

Manntis

yeah, but according to the carputer guys on mp3.com using a decent gold-plated 3.5mm to RCA adapter negates the need for a sound card - which would also negate the PCI riser. Why spend $50 on a riser plus $250ish on a sound card, when a $20 cable to your amp will do the trick? No sound card = slimmer case

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

There's still a difference ... if you've ever heard the 2 side by side, you can tell how much better one is than the other in quality. There's a reason for the price. Also the card i bought was only about 80$CA from the NCIX outlet stor on ebay.

darkfrost

iTrader: (1)

The RCA cable is what I'm using right now, while the sound quality is decent, it is no means the best way to do it. I do notice some interference here and there, and also while the pc boots up, you can hear a clicking sound from the speakers every 2 seconds from the interference.

Also, with another soundcard, you'd be able to control fade, which at the moment I cannot do with the single RCA cable.

Manntis

can't shield the cable? Or is it a different sort of interference?

dj55b

iTrader: (2)

The interference is usually from the onboard computer stuff, The sound cards do a very good job at cleaning up the sound effectively. This is why I'm going with a steel case because computer produce alot of electronic interference. So grounding the whole case would act as a shield to all the other components. So shielded wires will do nothing since all the noise is coming from the computer itself (onboard).

You really have to put the 2 side by side to realize it. try to go to a local computer store and try them out with headphones, but you have to remember that in car audio, when you aplify things about 50 times, things get noted alot more.

Manntis

went with a quad-shielded cable myself - we'll see what happens.

Is there a signal input for lilliput monitors that you can hook dash power to, so when you turn on your headlights the LCD dims? or do you have to drive at night with a bright screen glowing in your dash?