I have been looking through all sorts of options for building a car PC, and here is the final verdict I came up with:


- Intel core 2 duo e7500 @ 2.93ghz
- 2GB crucial ballistix DDR800
- Zotac GF9300-D-E Mini-ITX motherboard with onboard Geforce 9300
- Voom PC-2 automotive Mini-ITX case
- 2x 250GB 7,200RPM 2.5" SATA drives in RAID 0
- Touchscreen LCD monitor
- Wireless mini keyboard and mouse.


I haven't decided on the monitor size yet. either 8" or 10". I tried test fitting a 15" LCD in the car earlier and though it looked just right inside the house, it had a MONSTROUS appearance inside the car. Waaaaaaaaay too big.

I even plan on getting a monster water pump and running cooling lines through the firewall to an auxiliary radiator mounted where the condensor used to be to cool the CPU in the harsh automotive environment.

The PC itself would be small enough to conceal inside the dash or under a seat. Think, newschool PS3 size. It shouldn't consume anymore than 150 watts. monitor, PC pump and all I anticipate no more than 250 watts. The system will run natively on 12VDC so this equates to anywhere from 12.5 - 20 amps. What do you guys think? Remember, this works on the same principle as A/C. If your at the track or getting froggy, just temporarily turn the PC off to recover the few lost ponies back from the alternator.

The system would dual boot XP Pro (Although I HATE vista I'd consider it solely for DX10) and Gentoo linux. It would serve as a gaming PC, multimedia center for the car, web browser via Wi-Fi and tehtered blackberry and Datalogger.

 

Heck, instead of doing all that, you could get a brand new computer for your house, with some monstrous HD monitor, or the biggest laptop available. You'll put less strain on your battery and alternator, and on top of that, you'll be an even safer driver!

I absolutely hate when a car is filled with electronics, no matter how alert the person in particular is, they always get distracted, and make the road a bit more dangerous.

Then again it's not my car, and if you really feel the need to do this, it sounds very practical, seems like you have it all figured out.

 

Here is the monitor I have been looking at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VM80L-8-TFT-LCD-...d=p3286.c0.m14


And here is the water pump:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/21...tl=g30c107s155



Sp recalculating these numbers, the entire system monitor, pc, pump and all should consume no more than 185 watts or 15.4 amps.

 

Been there done that. Had a 1000 watt monster I built hooked up to a 61" HDTV. And as for the distracted while driving screnario, I couldn't see myself doing anything more than using the touchscreen to change tracks WHILE DRIVING. Heck, the touchscreen Jensen head unit I have installed now absolutely freaks me out if I even take my eyes off the road for one second to see what playlist is on the screen. I usually just "feel" around on the player to operate it while still keeping my eyes on the road.

Honestly, I think my autometer pillar pod, something VITAL to the car's operation, distracts me 3x more than the head unit or touchscreen monitor ever could!

 

Well like I said, seems like you have it all figured out, better than I could anyway. But keep this thread updated if you go along with it! It should be pretty neat.

I've actually thought about mounting a small laptop in my Camaro at one time, thought it'd be neat to pull over and get on AIM, somewhere miles from home off of a highway.

The practicality factor of that just didn't seem worth it to me though. My goal is to eventually have my Camaro down to around 2,800 pounds, being 99 pounds lighter than a 2009 Honda Civic would just make my day, especially while having a heavy Iron truck engine in it.

 

I plan to do this, basically for video recording drifting runs or races (hooked to an outside camera), data logging, diagnosing, tuning etc. I am looking to get one when I get my tuning equipment from Moates. Anyway I plan to have it flip down from the passenger side dash and rotate maybe 45* towards me, so when put away it tucks nicely into the dash, maybe flush? I am just wondering if I will be useful to me from the driver side (reachable). So I am thinking maybe remove my radio and hvac and put it there? Then I could have gauges on the computer instead of all over the car. An 8-10" screen would be perfect. Time will tell.

I want to see what you end up doing.

P.S. Getting online would be nice when at a car show or in BFE and need a way home (Google Maps).

 

If you get a pair of standard SATA hard drives, you need to have some way to stop the vibration of the car/hard bumbs in the road from causing a literal hard drive crash. If you hit a big pothole with the hard drives on, the plates inside the hard drives can scratch against the read/write needle and cause a total loss of data on the drive. I suggest you use a SSD SATA hard drive to eliminate the spinning hard drive issue completely.