In the first part of this article I was taking about my new pet project: Building a CarPC.

This is the standard in-dash CD/MP3 Player (via www.netcarshow.com) that I’m trying to replace.

First thing on the list is to figure out what I need for this CarPC, where to outsource the parts and how much they cost.

Most of the installations/guides I’ve seen use a computer installed under one of the seats and run cables to the touch screen in the dash. My plan is to try to squeeze the computer inside the dashboard behind the screen to save on space and avoid running cables through the car.

So, first things first, components list:

1. Motherboard: VIA Mini-ITX M10000 (eBay for about $100). Small and powerful enough to run XP + .Net and a bunch of USB devices. Should be powerful enough to run a navigation software.
2. Power Source: M3-ATX DC-to-DC 125W Automotive (eBay for about $80USD). Small and sleek and powerful. No need for extra screws or extra cables.
3. Touch screen: Lilliput 7″ 629 LED Touchscreen (eBay for $250USD): LED screen with high contrast, small enough to fit in the dashboard.
4. Fascia: Model 1 or Model 2 (eBay for $120USD). I’ll go for Model 1 for now as I think it looks closer to the design of the car. However I won’t purchase this part until I receive the car and have another look.
5. Case: Double Din Nano-ITX Compatible Case (ByByte for $119USD). I actually wanted the Double Din Mini-ITX Case that would correctly fit my board but they don’t have in stock the model that would fit the touchscreen I want to use. Now, the problem is that this case looks smaller than my board so I’ll have to see how I can fit the board in it.
6. GPS: SiRf III GPS Receiver (eBay for $40): Well, GPS, that’s it.
7. Bluetooth dongle (eBay for some change): standard, cheap USB dongle.
8. OBD 2 CAN – OnBoard Diagnostics with CAN support (eBay for $40): Good to convert bunch of parameters reported in real time by the car to some useful data on the screen. Stuff like speed, fuel usage, oil pressure and more parameters are all reported by the car via this nice adaptor. I’m still looking for a cheap one that works with Bluetooth and has support for the extra Mazda specific codes.
9. Audio Connector: PC2-78-4 (nexia.co.uk for 20$) connect the PC to the audio system without cutting any of the car wires. There is no proof this will work with my car but seems the closest one that might work.
10. Steering Wheel controls adapter: I’ll try to use FusioBrain (FusionControlCentre for $52USD) to convert the Steering Wheel resistive commands to key presses in software.
11. Software: CentraFuse with Australian maps(FluxMedia for $250USD): Looks nice, does most of the stuff I want to have done and it’s written in .Net. Plus it has support for third-party plug-ins.

Total cost around: $1100USD + shipping cost + other smaller bits that I might need. I’m still way under the stock SatNav for $3000.

For now this should suffice the list of components. If things go well I’ll add stuff like reverse camera, WiFi, 3G and other cool gadgets.