These days computers are everywhere, and more and more that’s beginning to include peoples cars. Believe it or not, it’s often not that hard to achieve and the results mean that you could have a complete media, internet, GPS and communications device all in one box!
There are a number of ways to achieve this, both when it comes to hardware and software, in this article I’ll take you through some of the options available to you when building a Carputer.
Build Vs. Buy
You really have two options when it comes to car PC’s; you can either design, build and install your Carputer yourself. Or you can pay someone else to do it.
There are a number of companies out there that offer an array of different solutions, both fitted and un-fitted. The type of solution that you require will dictate the equipment that’s used (as well as dictating the price).
The cost of using one of these companies is likely to be quite high, but then the results are guaranteed to be good and you’ll end up with a fully working and fully integrated machine. If you’re not great with wiring, or if you just don’t want to interfere with your cars electrics yourself then this is the best option for you.
companies such as In-Car PC, Opus Solutions and CarComputer offer a good range of solutions, from budget up to premium. But no matter which system you choose, bare in mind that it will always be cheaper to make it yourself. The only difference is that it’ll be you that has to fabricate your car to accept this new PC, something which most modern cars just aren’t suitable for.
If you’re happy building an ordinary PC then the best option is to take a look at your car, work out where you would want to mount your PC, monitors and control system, and then decide if it’s a job that you can achieve yourself. It’s likely going to involve cutting up your cars interior, running new power and audio cables, and a reasonable amount of soldering.
If this is something you don’t feel comfortable then I suggest you contact one of the companies above, but if you think it’s within your grasp then click through to the next page to read about the hardware basics.