cp[mike]'s in-dash CAR PC build thread

[tgdrums1990]

OT... I think I spotted a healthy ass Audio Authority power supply. Does like 80amp count. n like 150 peak or something like that. I have one as well. Nice to see to there still floating around.

On a second note. I think it may a smaller vertion. I didnt see a fan on top...

[cp[mike]]

OT... I think I spotted a healthy ass Audio Authority power supply. Does like 80amp count. n like 150 peak or something like that. I have one as well. Nice to see to there still floating around.

On a second note. I think it may a smaller vertion. I didnt see a fan on top...

you mean that large, black unit? its a power supply originally used with an amateur radio setup. its from 1978! http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3018 pumps out 13.8volts... perfect to power the project while its not in the vehicle.

Hey Mike! Looks like a nice project. One question I have is are you concerned about heat? You know like summer time parked with the windows up and you jump in and start it up and it's like over 100 in the car...

a little bit, and the cold. that is mainly why i am keeping all of the important software on the solid-state CompactFlash memory cards. the only majorly volatile component is the laptop harddrive - i have had a few HDDs die in the winter. the CPU is low power, with minimal peripherals, so it wont be generating any heat of its own. the extruded aluminum case has 3 fans for airflow, i think it will be able to handle most hot days. on the HOTTEST or the absolute coldest, i probably will leave the main switch OFF, which will prevent the computer from booting up when i start the car.

Do you have enough processing power with that VIA board? Does/will it be sluggish?

i was wondering who was going to ask that. it's a 1.0ghz. i have been wondering that myself, but to be honest, its running age-correct software optimized to basically be running nothing else, and the things that I plan to have it do, don't require much processing power (a dvd-rip video? some music?)... so it should be fine. this is why a lot of the speed-tweaks help - keeping pagefile on a separate IDE controller, solid state boot drives, nothing set to start-on-boot. its actually just enough for what I need it to do. heck, my laptop is actually just about exactly equal in power (1.1ghz), and i still use it *very* often without a problem.

fortunately, it is a standard MiniITX board, so I can choose to upgrade it at any point if i choose to spend more money. ive had this Mobo & Screen since 2005 - so yes its old - but im known for squeezing the life out of existing hardware that i already own!

[SPLCB7]

ive had this Mobo & Screen since 2005 - so yes its old - but im known for squeezing the life out of existing hardware that i already own!

Ahh this makes since if you have it use it lol its looking good

[deevergote]

Man, we've been talking about this for YEARS! I'm glad to see you're finally making it happen, Mike! Maybe someday I'll follow in your footsteps (and by "follow in your footsteps", I mean texting you endlessly saying "how do I do this?")

[AccordWarrior]

ABOUT GD TIME!

Looking forward to seeing the progress sir.

[19dabeast85]

Will definitely be following this! I highly recommend going to all solid state drives, even the 60gb one. The temperature changes and vibrations an automobile experiences will likely destroy a regular drive. Solid state drives are relatively inexpensive these days.

[HappyGilmore]

I been itching to do this for a long time myself!!!

May I add 2 suggestions?

Solid State Drive (less failure)

Linux (way more lightweight and not as demanding)

[dj_ender]

I been itching to do this for a long time myself!!!

May I add 2 suggestions?

Solid State Drive (less failure)

Linux (way more lightweight and not as demanding)

The only thing is the majority of the world have NO idea how to run Linux, in any distro, even with Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Plus he will greatly be limiting his options with software for his PC. But if the OP is willing to put in the time Linux is by far a better OS, that is if your willing to give up certain things.

[cp[mike]]

Will definitely be following this! I highly recommend going to all solid state drives, even the 60gb one. The temperature changes and vibrations an automobile experiences will likely destroy a regular drive. Solid state drives are relatively inexpensive these days.

certainly true, but i intended to get it running with the laptop drive and upgrade to a SSD down the line, probably whenever it dies. well... the other 60gb drive in my laptop died over the weekend, so it looks like my spare now has found a use... time to find a SSD

I been itching to do this for a long time myself!!!
May I add 2 suggestions?
Solid State Drive (less failure)
Linux (way more lightweight and not as demanding)

The only thing is the majority of the world have NO idea how to run Linux, in any distro, even with Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Plus he will greatly be limiting his options with software for his PC. But if the OP is willing to put in the time Linux is by far a better OS, that is if your willing to give up certain things.

yes it is a shame, but honestly i am stronger Linux user than many, as im a hacker at heart and ive been building my career in web server administration and programming. i know java, and i have experience with Debian, Centos, slackware, redhat, and a number of embedded variations... and i *still* would expect a major headache trying to set up a coherent system that boots quick and runs solidly in the car. linux has crappy BT support, and poor driver support for obscure/old hardware... i am a long time user and big linux supporter, and it is extremely powerful in server implementations, but the GUIs are still is not refined enough for me to consider its long-term use on my personal desktop, nor on any computer that relies heavily on the cohesion of the GUI, nor in any project that requires major integration with/manipulation of the GUI.

plus, all of the best versions of the necessary software is for Windows... the stuff to tune with (Crome, Freelog), the nav software... i read an article about a guy who built his CarPC on linux and to get Nav working, he had to load a windows emulator. that's just messy, in my opinion, and is creating more work for yourself. an nLite'd, stripped-down XP install is a suprisingly strong desktop OS (i still run it on my desktop too) and boots suprisingly quickly. from BIOS beep to done-and-ready (riderunner loaded), it takes 1:02 minutes... and im still cutting it down more. thats quicker that many full linux distros...

[HappyGilmore]

certainly true, but i intended to get it running with the laptop drive and upgrade to a SSD down the line, probably whenever it dies. well... the other 60gb drive in my laptop died over the weekend, so it looks like my spare now has found a use... time to find a SSD



yes it is a shame, but honestly i am stronger Linux user than many, as im a hacker at heart and ive been building my career in web server administration and programming. i know java, and i have experience with Debian, Centos, slackware, redhat, and a number of embedded variations... and i *still* would expect a major headache trying to set up a coherent system that boots quick and runs solidly in the car. linux has crappy BT support, and poor driver support for obscure/old hardware... i am a long time user and big linux supporter, and it is extremely powerful in server implementations, but the GUIs are still is not refined enough for me to consider its long-term use on my personal desktop, nor on any computer that relies heavily on the cohesion of the GUI.

plus, all of the best versions of the necessary software is for Windows... the stuff to tune with (Crome, Freelog), the nav software... i read an article about a guy who built his CarPC on linux and to get Nav working, he had to load a windows emulator. that's just messy, in my opinion, and is creating more work for yourself. an nLite'd, stripped-down XP install is a suprisingly strong desktop OS (i still run it on my desktop too) and boots suprisingly quickly. from BIOS beep to done-and-ready (riderunner loaded), it takes 1:02 minutes... and im still cutting it down more. thats quicker that many full linux distros...

I can deff concur with you on that one, it all depends on what distro and what it's on. I use W7 and Ubuntu 11.04 and Fedora 14. I do this in the army and I deff understand where you are coming from. SSD's 60GB are fairly cheap these days, unless you need alot of space, which I doubt as you are using XP stripped down (thus faster boot times). I deff want to do a project like this when I come home and use linux (just to see and maybe later collab?), and see where it goes. You deff got me following this thread. Good luck!!

[dj_ender]

certainly true, but i intended to get it running with the laptop drive and upgrade to a SSD down the line, probably whenever it dies. well... the other 60gb drive in my laptop died over the weekend, so it looks like my spare now has found a use... time to find a SSD



yes it is a shame, but honestly i am stronger Linux user than many, as im a hacker at heart and ive been building my career in web server administration and programming. i know java, and i have experience with Debian, Centos, slackware, redhat, and a number of embedded variations... and i *still* would expect a major headache trying to set up a coherent system that boots quick and runs solidly in the car. linux has crappy BT support, and poor driver support for obscure/old hardware... i am a long time user and big linux supporter, and it is extremely powerful in server implementations, but the GUIs are still is not refined enough for me to consider its long-term use on my personal desktop, nor on any computer that relies heavily on the cohesion of the GUI.

plus, all of the best versions of the necessary software is for Windows... the stuff to tune with (Crome, Freelog), the nav software... i read an article about a guy who built his CarPC on linux and to get Nav working, he had to load a windows emulator. that's just messy, in my opinion, and is creating more work for yourself. an nLite'd, stripped-down XP install is a suprisingly strong desktop OS (i still run it on my desktop too) and boots suprisingly quickly. from BIOS beep to done-and-ready (riderunner loaded), it takes 1:02 minutes... and im still cutting it down more. thats quicker that many full linux distros...

Well VirtualBox is a good program as long as your not planning to run games thru it. I've found it cant handle full blown games, it wont give enough vram for the GPU. But its an extra un needed step. 1:02??? My Ubuntu takes less than 30 secs on a Sata III 1TB HDD, and Windows is about the same.

[cp[mike]]

Well VirtualBox is a good program as long as your not planning to run games thru it. I've found it cant handle full blown games, it wont give enough vram for the GPU. But its an extra un needed step. 1:02??? My Ubuntu takes less than 30 secs on a Sata III 1TB HDD, and Windows is about the same.

i bet it would take longer booting off an IDE drive using a 1ghz CPU (remember single-cores?) that was originally designed to not need a cooling fan primary concern here is utilizing existing hardware, and spending as little as possible on it. the major components i got for christmas years ago, the minor parts i had... and ive only spent less than $50 getting it operational. still waiting on a few of those extra parts to come in, actually, to get a final install and time on it.

I can deff concur with you on that one, it all depends on what distro and what it's on. I use W7 and Ubuntu 11.04 and Fedora 14. I do this in the army and I deff understand where you are coming from. SSD's 60GB are fairly cheap these days, unless you need alot of space, which I doubt as you are using XP stripped down (thus faster boot times). I deff want to do a project like this when I come home and use linux (just to see and maybe later collab?), and see where it goes. You deff got me following this thread. Good luck!!

The good thing about this whole idea is that anybody can use any tools and components that are best for them: be it based on familiarity, availability, or compatibility. id love to see other people building car computers using their own ideas! ill be keeping an eye out for your thread in the future.

[dj_ender]

i bet it would take longer booting off an IDE drive using a 1ghz CPU (remember single-cores?) that was originally designed to not need a cooling fan primary concern here is utilizing existing hardware, and spending as little as possible on it. the major components i got for christmas years ago, the minor parts i had... and ive only spent less than $50 getting it operational. still waiting on a few of those extra parts to come in, actually, to get a final install and time on it.

The good thing about this whole idea is that anybody can use any tools and components that are best for them: be it based on familiarity, availability, or compatibility. id love to see other people building car computers using their own ideas! ill be keeping an eye out for your thread in the future.

Ah. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to all of the components you were using. I guess for those components thats a good time. Cant you squeeze a heatsink or a fan on it?

[cp[mike]]

Ah. I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to all of the components you were using. I guess for those components thats a good time. Cant you squeeze a heatsink or a fan on it?

already have both snapped onto it i pasted links to my hardware of choice, but i didnt highlight the details, as i felt the mobo specs were irrelevant in terms of how one would go about actually integrating a "regular computer" into a car, and i plan to focus this thread on the other uniquities: tying into the car's accessories, etc. obviously still a work in progress.

[dj_ender]

already have both snapped onto it i pasted links to my hardware of choice, but i didnt highlight the details, as i felt the mobo specs were irrelevant in terms of how one would go about actually integrating a "regular computer" into a car, and i plan to focus this thread on the other uniquities: tying into the car's accessories, etc. obviously still a work in progress.

Nice. I cant wait to see the final product.