As the thread title implies, I'm interested in the idea of putting a computer (as in a small form-factor PC) in the car. I'm a programmer/IT guy and I've taken an interest in cars since I got my 84 TA a few years ago. Recently I started exploring the idea of merging my two hobbies and putting a computer in my car so I can integrate it with various things to do...whatever I feel like making it do really. A simple use would be to store all of my music on its drive so I don't have to mess with CDs or MP3 players but I could also use it for other things later on.

My main concern is the environment that this system would be in. A car lives outside and isn't climate controlled so that means extreme heat/cold are almost guaranteed at times and then I also have 2 12" subs pounding away in the back. There could also be some moisture due to condensation from weather conditions. However, newer cars have plenty of electronics in them and they manage to survive all of this. What I'd like to know is how they do it. I can easily take some spare PC parts laying around and slap a system together but I don't think it'd last a week in there.

Has anybody done something like this or do you guys know of people who have? I realize this probably sounds ridiculous and may turn out to be a bad idea but there's at least a small chance that it could be sweet so I'm willing to try

 

No ;someone beat you to it

http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/work...-corvette.html

 

That is absolutely awesome and pretty much exactly what I had in mind. I think he'll run into issue with the hard drive pretty soon but I plan on using a solid state drive to fix that. Anyway, thanks for the link. I'll have to read through the rest of that thread and make a note of the problems he ran into. Looking forward to starting that project.

 

Thought it might be
If you ever get into tuning your car , you could use the onboard computer instead of a laptop

 

Yeah, that would be a cool application of a carPC. Once you integrate a computer with the various systems in your car the possibilities are pretty much endless. Hell, you could even get a mobile broadband card for it and make a phone app that will let you control various things remotely.

From what I've read so far in that thread though, they don't mention longevity. The guy did a good job on it but your average desktop PC components just aren't meant for this sort of environment and I'd be worried that a carPC will be a high maintenance item unless done right.

Vibration is a concern but I think the extreme temperatures would probably be the biggest issue. Looking at the thermal specs for the various components, I think they can handle it fine as long as they're off which is good but if I hop in the car on a hot summer day when it's been sitting there with the windows up all day, I'd like to be able to flip the PC on and not have to worry about it being overheated from the get-go. I'd be shocked if that guy's hard drive lasts more than 2 or 3 years. Maybe this is a good excuse for me to play with some other doodads like peltier coolers.

That thread alone has some great info but it links to other threads with even more which is great. Hopefully I'll be able to set aside some time in the near future to get started on this.

 

Maybe get one of those big **** water coolers the overclocked gamers use and have a seperate radiator/fan under the hood?
Confuse the hell out of people at car shows

 

Their are a couple threads about this in the audio section.