Team-BHP - View Single Post - Car PC setup, install and some fabrication

tsk1979 · 18th October 2006, 15:20

hmm Interesting idea.
The best and most satisfying way(and the most difficult one too) would be to assemble your own.
There are some points which you need to be careful about
1. Processor: Go for a good cooling solution. Inside of a car can get pretty hot when parked in sun. Since its mostly ICE etc., and not much hardcore computing, go for a processor which can be underclocked. A dual core mobile will be great as you can underclock it and since in normal state it gives better than needed performance, you can go for slower clock speeds
2. ditto for memory. Run the FSB at a lower clock frequency
3. Make sure you have poweful air cooling in the case which can quickly dissipate heat. Another solution would be to have some Air conditioning output redirected into your system with intake fan, that will solve all your heat problems. But you still have the problem of car standing in sun. Make sure you use high quality thermal gel between heatsink and CPU so that at continious ambient temparatures of 60 degrees things do not start getting bad.
4. HDD : This is the most crucial part. Even laptop HDs may give problems due to shock. So 1.8" is a good idea. but your bios and motherboard should have the capability of booting of such an HDD. If you can get a SATA case for a IPOD type shock resistant HDD it will be great
5. Power supply : Very very crucial. You need a high quality regulator. Get one custome made. your simple SMPS which is used in PCs converts AC to 5V and 12V etc., You need to see on your motherboard what all supplies are needed. Based on that you need to get a 10-14V input to 12V and 5V output regulator. Getting it made will be a good idea. Nehru place will be a good place to start.

If you were in the US it would have been easy sourcing the parts. The assembly is quite easy, and fitting is also not much of a problem.
But in India, sourcing the exact spec parts will be a problem. for example, try getting a motherboard which supports 1.8" SATA drives. You will get it, but it will be painful. Esp with requirements like software underclocking support etc., This is your biggest hurdle, rest all is easy.
Infact once the car is started, with AC working and fans dissipating heat, you can take the CPUs to full power.

18th October 2006, 15:20	#8 (permalink)
tsk1979 Team-BHP Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Noida, New Delhi Posts: 8,044	hmm Interesting idea. The best and most satisfying way(and the most difficult one too) would be to assemble your own. There are some points which you need to be careful about 1. Processor: Go for a good cooling solution. Inside of a car can get pretty hot when parked in sun. Since its mostly ICE etc., and not much hardcore computing, go for a processor which can be underclocked. A dual core mobile will be great as you can underclock it and since in normal state it gives better than needed performance, you can go for slower clock speeds 2. ditto for memory. Run the FSB at a lower clock frequency 3. Make sure you have poweful air cooling in the case which can quickly dissipate heat. Another solution would be to have some Air conditioning output redirected into your system with intake fan, that will solve all your heat problems. But you still have the problem of car standing in sun. Make sure you use high quality thermal gel between heatsink and CPU so that at continious ambient temparatures of 60 degrees things do not start getting bad. 4. HDD : This is the most crucial part. Even laptop HDs may give problems due to shock. So 1.8" is a good idea. but your bios and motherboard should have the capability of booting of such an HDD. If you can get a SATA case for a IPOD type shock resistant HDD it will be great 5. Power supply : Very very crucial. You need a high quality regulator. Get one custome made. your simple SMPS which is used in PCs converts AC to 5V and 12V etc., You need to see on your motherboard what all supplies are needed. Based on that you need to get a 10-14V input to 12V and 5V output regulator. Getting it made will be a good idea. Nehru place will be a good place to start. If you were in the US it would have been easy sourcing the parts. The assembly is quite easy, and fitting is also not much of a problem. But in India, sourcing the exact spec parts will be a problem. for example, try getting a motherboard which supports 1.8" SATA drives. You will get it, but it will be painful. Esp with requirements like software underclocking support etc., This is your biggest hurdle, rest all is easy. Infact once the car is started, with AC working and fans dissipating heat, you can take the CPUs to full power. __________________ .--- ..- ... - - .-- --- -- --- .-. . -.. .- -.-- ... - --- --. --- !!