CarPuter

[GTCruiser2003]

Well, i was sitting around one day surfing the forums, when all it hit me. Why not use my old pc i have laying around collecting dust for something usefull?? so at like 2:30 in the morning, i took the PC to look at all the components. this was my first time taking a pc completely apart so i was surprised to see how little was in this huge case. to make a long story a little shorter, the mother board went inside the glove box(read: cut out the actuall box and left only the door.) the power supply went under a seat and the hard drive went behind the pannel next to the glove box. i use both my avic-n1 and the rearview TV as screens( will later add a 12" touchscreen molded into the center bessel.)

and now what yall been waiting for : the pics.

a blurry pic of the fan with red led's on the door


the MB


a lame pic of the screen


for a few more pics, go to the link in my sig.

tell me what yall think.[?]

[crazie.eddie]

COOL MOD! [?]

I was thinking of doing the same, since I bought an ODBII scanner software, it would be cool to hook up a display so that I could have an extra set of gauges. Nice to hook up with Wi-Fi so I can access the internet from a lot of free Wi-Fi access points. Touchscreen is a nice touch. What OS are you using? What processor?

I may just use the storage box under the seat for mine. I might have room if I gut out my PS2 and put in there as well.

[GTCruiser2003]

im running windows ME(will upgrade to xp pro one day)it is an old HP XT926 with a 900mh amd duron.the MB was an EXACT fit for the space in the glove comp.one thing i did about an hour ago was mold in the power button for the pc in between the rear window wiper and trac buttons. will take some pics tomorrow.

[CHROMEDCRUISER]

Can't see the pics, but have to say one thing: make sure you have a fan for that mother board in the glove box, or IT WILL burn out and you will have no more computer. Nice mod though, hope it works out for you.

[crazie.eddie]

Yeah, he does have a fan. I plan to be a bit careful with mine. I will use 3 fans, 2 in the front blowing air in, 1 in the back blowing air out. I'll be using the storage box under the passenger seat. The only thing I'm not sure I want to deal with is the fan noise. Otherwise, I might go with water cooling the processor and stuff.

[GTCruiser2003]

i only have the one fan sucking the air out right now(the one on the door) there are alot of open spaces on the bottom of the glove comp. so im not really worried about overheating. maybe ill install a fan under the glove comp blowing air in?? after about 2 hours of running, the heat level was very low. the processor heat sink was a normal temp. the HDD is behind the panel next to the door and has a hdd cooler with 2 fans blowing the heat into the main compartment.i plan on getting one of those cheap thermometers from radioshack with the probe to monitor the temps on the hdd and mb.if you cant see the pics, go to the link in my sig.

PS: the fan noise isnt noticable after you start driving or if you have music playing, and even when you park and mute the music, it is quiet(for me anywayz) then they have thosequiet fans supposedly 80% quieter than normal fans. i just got a cheap $8 fan with red led's (ofcourse) it look kickass at night, and even during the day it looks good.

[crazie.eddie]

Is the computer running with a direct current to the battery or does it shutdown once you turn the key off?

[GTCruiser2003]

its running off an inverter, as a dc-dc power supply(opus 150w) is too expensive(~$150) and besides, i already had the inverter, but the opus would be better. the inverter is hooked up to the lower Cig lighter(tapped the wire) so it turns on and off with the key. the comp turns on(option on bios) automaticaly when it sences power from the inverter. to turn off, i just press the power button and it automaticaly shuts down, or i just turn off the car and crash the comp. by cutting off power[}] i just bought me a 802.11g wifi usb dongle to connect to wireless networks, and a mini wireless keyboard( i seem to stay on the internet late into the night, just spending money)

[GTCruiser2003]

BTW, if you need any info on carputers, go to this forum:

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/index.php?

great site with lots of info and pics of installs.

[crazie.eddie]

Thanks for the URL.