I just finished installing a computer in my car.

Here are the specs:

VIA EPIA PD motherboard w/ C3 Processor at 1002Mhz
1GB of PC2700 RAM
120GB 7200 RPM w/ 8Mb buffer Hard Drive
92 Watt M1-ATX automotive power supply unit with ignition hibernation
Pioneer 16x16 DVD-RW/CD-RW (dual layer)
9-1 Memory reader
Pie-Input
54G wireless with external antenna
Holux GPS
Xenarc VGA touchscreen w/ daul rca inputs
Small USB keyboard
USB bluetooth stick
LOTS OF CABLES!!!!!

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

 

Here you can see the computer built into the center pass through. So many wires!

 

In the first photo you can see the wi-fi antenna. Then the DVD burner. In the center console I have two USB ports and an audio/video input.

 

Here we have my mini keyboard, GPS reciever and Xenarc touch screen.

 

I'm running XP Embedded so boot up time is about ...around 3-5 seconds:p . The computer goes in and out of hibernation with the cars ignition. It doesn't reboot when cranking either! (no inverter) I have a bluetooth phone so I am able to connect it via the wireless bluetooth card and make calls from my computer or surf the web. Wi-fi works pretty good, I put the antenna on the passagers side because that side would be closer to any house. I can park in front of peoples house and have a little fun . GPS works very well for 40 bucks, I first had it on the rear deck but the defroster affects the signal. Above the rear view mirror works great. Haven't burned any dvds yet, but it plays them well. The widescreen display makes it great for watching a movie. Games play pretty well, quake 3 runs ok.... I think thats everything for now.

btw- I'm still looking for a good user interface (like mediacar). Does anyone know of a good one?

 

that is bad ***! your right next to me im in bakersfield we might have to meet up one day for i can check out your car.

 

you bet

 

cost..... well lets see

Motherboard w/ edbedded processor ($127)
Hard Drive ($40)
GPS reciever ($40)
Screen ($356)
DVD Burner ($41)
Power Supply ($84)
RAM ($80)
Keyboard ($32)
USB extension cables ($16)
VGA extension cable ($12)
Wi-fi extension cable ($8)
Rounded IDE cable ($4)
Media reader ($15)
Wi-fi card ($31)
Dash Mount ($120)

I think that's everything. Most of the stuff was bought on Ebay.
I already had the pie input and bluetooth.

 

1006 dollars total. These prices are after s&h and tax.

 

Congrats Rasp! I am thrilled to see everything came together well for you!
Not too expensive either. But lots and lots of work!

 

Very well done.. I like what you've done with mounting the PC inside the the passthrough.

 

hahaha, funny thing is, this was my first idea...

 

Who the hell needs a mac mini when they can get a pc mini that cooks too! Given the fact that the pan is teflon coated and the surface temp would reach 150+ degrees F, in theory I could have done some baking on that little sucker. I wanted to mount in under the seat but it got too hot and didn't fit very well. Then it hit me, why not just put it in the pass through. So I had to redo everything, but now it stays nice and cool.

 

What about the cost of the dash-mount for the LCD screen? or, are you including that in the price of the screen? And, do you have to cut open the dash panel yourself to put the mount in there?

--Massive

 

oh yeah, let me add that.
The dash mount was $120. I had an extra dash piece so I cut that one up instead. If I ever want to sell the car, I can put the old one back in.

 

Do you have the actual development tools for XPe? Or just a runtime? Pretty high level stuff for a carputer

I hope your HDD doesnt crash though...

 

Why would it crash?

Eh, doesn't matter, I have an image of the hard disk on a few DVDs.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love what you did, and wish I had one...but...

Any number of things could cause a crash. Without knowing what brand of drive you bought, it's hard to know the exact tolerances.

Being so close to the subs isn't healthy, and road vibration/bumps/ect might cause problems.

Out here in Kuwait a bunch of the people in my unit bought IPods from the PX (post exchange; army base version of wal-mart) and most of us have had them replaced already (abt 6 months for the oldest ones). Seems they dont tolerate jogging, mild impacts, or bumpy Iraqi roads. Note that these are supposed to be mobile devices - PC-type hard drives are not designed with mobility in mind.

I could be talking out my butt, but...
....http://www.hardwarecentral.com/hardw...utorials/41/2/

I was personally thinking of using solid state memory, or at the least a lappy harddrive (more shock resistant).

 

I'm not worrried, It has a 3 year warranty from Western Digital. Solid state is too expensive and too slow.

 

wow sweet set up. haha makes me want to put my suspension mods and hp mods on hold..damn you:D

 

What about a RAMdrive? (sure, you have to keep the memory powered or have a ramdrive loader at startup - jeez details details :D )

It looks like your drive is vertically mounted, so that may help - also the bigger drives of today are made with glass/ceramic platters that are supposed to resist head crashes better, so you may have no problems.

You still didnt answer my questions about where you got XPe from, though

 

Nice job on the install, very clean...it is obvious that you took your time running the loom and cutting all the openings for the ports. Nice work Rasp. The only negative was the USB's in the glovebox...too bad you couldn't put those somewhere else..but it looks like you are quickly running out of room... Good job though. It is nice to see someone talk about something they want to do, and then actually getting it done. It's one thing to dream about it, but to get it done is that much better.

 

We'll have to take you on the next Malibu cruise...because now you can video the whole thing, load it on your harddrive, and burn us all copies of the event before we even finish lunch.

 

I'll give you 50 bucks for it. Hehe. Seriously, nice work!