Originally posted by awalbert88 I agree with ChefJoe about the length of the IDE cable. While you *can* run a long cable, it's not a good idea, and will at the least cause a lot of error-checking and re-sending of data, which not only slows down the entire system, but also causes a fair bit of hard drive thrashing. The hard drive you have, I'm assuming is operating at 5400rpm. As long as you give it some room to breath (ie. 1-2CM all around), there should be no overheating concerns. If it's running at 7200RPM, you should probably still be ok, but you should definately keep an eye on temperatures during heavy use to see if a cooling fan might be needed, since no other airflow would be available in that location. If it's an older hard drive and is noisy, you may want to consider that factor.
As far as the magnet from your sub interfering, that can *probably* be resolved simply by using a well-built metal casing that is EMI shielded. This is what most computer cases are now built with to protect them from all sorts of things, including the subwoofers that more and more people have with their computers.
The inverter won't run your battery dead unless you leave it on for a long time with the engine off (just like any other electrical device). A 350W power supply only draws a small amperage load (I don't have the numbers handy), and shouldn't be a problem. If you have the knowledge and resources, you could rig up a DC-DC supply that would bypass the AC component entirely (computer power supplies convert AC into DC anyway). I don't know of anybody personally who has done this, but I'm sure it's been done by somebody. Of course, this wouldn't be an easy task, but would probably be cheaper than the inverter, and also more efficient.
If you're not planning to do any games, go to newegg.com and get the cheapest ATI card with S-Video output (I think it's about $40) and use that. Go for the cheap logitech RF wireless keyboard/mouse setup, or if you are willing to spend the money, get one of the newer ATI All-In-Wonder cards that includes a remote. This would make it very convenient to just move through your MP3s or videos.
As for a sound card, you could use an SB Audigy2, but I think if you're overly concerned with sound quality, check out what M-Audio (http://www.m-audio.com) has to offer. They have substantially better SQ, and a lot more features. Their Revolution cards are in a similar price range as the Audigy2, and if you can afford it, the Audiophile 2496 is hands-down the best sound card available without spending a ton of money. That being said, for MP3's, an SB Live! will sound the same as the M-Audio Audiophile 2496, because MP3's just aren't nearly as clear as CDs.
And no, I wouldn't suggest replacing your head unit with a computer-based unit, because there will be times when you don't want to have to boot the PC and use the clunky controls it gives you. Sometimes, you just want to hit play and be done with it.
