My Car Computer installation

sdh · 5th January 2009, 11:14

After a long reading and exploration, I have finally assembled and installed car computer in my car. I did not want to make any major modifications and wanted to reuse existing car stereo for audio.

My configuration:
Mother board: Intel D945GCLF2 (sourced from US)
RAM: DDR2 2 GB (locally bought)
HDD: Segate 320 GB SATA (locally bought)
DVD ROM drive: Not installed yet
OS: Windows XP Professional
Power supply: SB 160 D (Car PC Systems | Vehicle Infotainment Solutions | iRide Technologies, Mumbai, India)
Enclosure: Morex 3677 (Panache Technologies)
Display: IRV-070SE (Car PC Systems | Vehicle Infotainment Solutions | iRide Technologies, Mumbai, India)
Display Mount: Self made

I am planning to buy Centrafuse for frontend, with all India map from Satguide.

badboyscad · 5th January 2009, 12:21

That is a real SWEET setup. congrats.

Is the CPU placed in front passenger's leg room?

Please post the price break-up of all the components.

sdh · 5th January 2009, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by badboyscad

That is a real SWEET setup. congrats.

Is the CPU placed in front passenger's leg room?

Please post the price break-up of all the components.

The CPU is placed in the boot. I still have to secure it.
Here is the price breakup (including VAT and shipping where ever applicable).

Intel D945GCLF2 - 82 USD
DDR2 2 GB - Rs. 1,400 (Transcend)
Segate 320 GB SATA Rs. 3,750
SB 160 D - Rs. 4,000 (had brought before the recent price increase)
Morex 3677 - Rs 3,120 (ordered without the power supply, else the price is higher)
IRV-070SE - Rs 15,700
Extension cables, installation and other consumables - Rs 1,500 (approx.)

Bass&Trouble · 5th January 2009, 13:16

Is this a mini ITX cabinet? Why is the cabinet so expensive? The hard drive is the regular one, or a laptop HDD?

abhinav.gupta88 · 5th January 2009, 13:19

Congrats on the car pc.
Does it have navigation bluetooth, phone, etc?

All the car pc install makes me wanna have one in my car too

hydrashok · 5th January 2009, 13:32

Nice setup, @shd! Congrats!

Was this DIY or did you get it installed?

abhinav.gupta88 · 5th January 2009, 13:35

Its a D-I-Y Hydra. Its in the DIY Section and he has mentinoed

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdh

After a long reading and exploration, I have finally assembled and installed car computer in my car. I did not want to make any major modifications and wanted to reuse existing car stereo for audio.

Cheers!

hydrashok · 5th January 2009, 13:46

^^ Whoops! My reading comprehension skills are steadily deteriorating :(

sdh · 5th January 2009, 14:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

Is this a mini ITX cabinet? Why is the cabinet so expensive? The hard drive is the regular one, or a laptop HDD?

The MoBo is Mini ITX
HDD is 2.5" Laptop HDD
This was the only cabinet I found suitable, so did not mid paying extra. It has provision for installing slim DVD drive too. So the extra (compared to what iRide offers) is justified I guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

Congrats on the car pc.
Does it have navigation bluetooth, phone, etc?
All the car pc install makes me wanna have one in my car too

Navigation (with external bluetooth GPS receiver) and phone integration possible with Centrafuse. Have tested with trial version of Centrafuse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydrashok

Nice setup, @shd! Congrats!

Was this DIY or did you get it installed?

Well I assembled everything, including the LCD mount :-) and took help of some car stereo fitting guys to route the cables propoerly and draw the pwoer lines correctly.

gigy · 5th January 2009, 14:11

Nice install buddy. why this box when car specific box was available for lesser cost through iride? whats the UI? Nice and cheap motherboard. i see the graphics processor is actively cooled rather than the cpu, how is the temperature in car use?
Did you check if the dual core atom processor can be replaced on this? Do try if you can route the wires through the second din besides the lcd mount. Is the aux in cable picking up any lcd noise considering its going parallel with the vga cable and close to lcd?

sdh · 5th January 2009, 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by gigy

Nice install buddy. why this box when car specific box was available for lesser cost through iride? whats the UI? Nice and cheap motherboard. i see the graphics processor is actively cooled rather than the cpu, how is the temperature in car use?
Did you check if the dual core atom processor can be replaced on this? Do try if you can route the wires through the second din besides the lcd mount. Is the aux in cable picking up any lcd noise considering its going parallel with the vga cable and close to lcd?

This board is with Atom 330 1.6 GHz (so already dual core). GSLF is single core model and mine is GCLF2. These boards come with soldered processor, so there is no chance of upgrade later.

What I see with HwMonitor application is the temps are in the range of 40-50 degrees.
The reason I chose this box is because of its size (specially the height). This one is 210x65x275(mm) compared to Quadrant GX 220(W)x268(L)x82(H)mm which is available at iRide. Also Quadrant does not have provision for DVD Drive. The much sleeker model (Extigy-Al) is never in stock at iRide.

I am still in the process refining the dash part of installation. In next few days I hope to improve the wiring and other fixtures (with some valuable inputs coming through this forum). I have not notices any noice on the aux-in so far.

shreyasma · 5th January 2009, 15:17

Congrats on the new DIY.

Please throw more light on Self made Display Mount.
How is it seated in place in the empty din slot?

sdh · 5th January 2009, 15:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by shreyasma

Congrats on the new DIY.

Please throw more light on Self made Display Mount.
How is it seated in place in the empty din slot?

I hope this illustration helps. The material I used is nylon blocks and got them cut at a local hardware shop. That is why the finish is not that good. Since it is not directly visibl, I did not mind that much.

gt_bhp · 5th January 2009, 18:51

Congrats on a very good setup. From the pic above it looks like most of the load of the monitor will be on the 4mm rising in the DIN slot. Is it good enough to support the Monitor in the long run?

sdh · 5th January 2009, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by gt_bhp

Congrats on a very good setup. From the pic above it looks like most of the load of the monitor will be on the 4mm rising in the DIN slot. Is it good enough to support the Monitor in the long run?

Actually the top surface bears the load. The small edge at the front only prevents it from sliding out.

5th January 2009, 11:14	#1
sdh BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 143 Thanked: 4 Times	My Car Computer installation After a long reading and exploration, I have finally assembled and installed car computer in my car. I did not want to make any major modifications and wanted to reuse existing car stereo for audio. My configuration: Mother board: Intel D945GCLF2 (sourced from US) RAM: DDR2 2 GB (locally bought) HDD: Segate 320 GB SATA (locally bought) DVD ROM drive: Not installed yet OS: Windows XP Professional Power supply: SB 160 D (Car PC Systems \| Vehicle Infotainment Solutions \| iRide Technologies, Mumbai, India) Enclosure: Morex 3677 (Panache Technologies) Display: IRV-070SE (Car PC Systems \| Vehicle Infotainment Solutions \| iRide Technologies, Mumbai, India) Display Mount: Self made I am planning to buy Centrafuse for frontend, with all India map from Satguide. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 12:21	#2
badboyscad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: TN Posts: 1,511 Thanked: 477 Times View My Garage	That is a real SWEET setup. congrats. Is the CPU placed in front passenger's leg room? Please post the price break-up of all the components. Last edited by badboyscad : 5th January 2009 at 12:24.
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 13:16	#4
Bass&Trouble Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 2,754 Thanked: 124 Times	Is this a mini ITX cabinet? Why is the cabinet so expensive? The hard drive is the regular one, or a laptop HDD?
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 13:19	#5
abhinav.gupta88 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Delhi , India Posts: 4,092 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	Congrats on the car pc. Does it have navigation bluetooth, phone, etc? All the car pc install makes me wanna have one in my car too
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 13:32	#6
hydrashok Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: In my Office Posts: 2,528 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	Nice setup, @shd! Congrats! Was this DIY or did you get it installed?
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 13:46	#8
hydrashok Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: In my Office Posts: 2,528 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	^^ Whoops! My reading comprehension skills are steadily deteriorating :(
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 14:11	#10
gigy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 1,321 Thanked: 47 Times	Nice install buddy. why this box when car specific box was available for lesser cost through iride? whats the UI? Nice and cheap motherboard. i see the graphics processor is actively cooled rather than the cpu, how is the temperature in car use? Did you check if the dual core atom processor can be replaced on this? Do try if you can route the wires through the second din besides the lcd mount. Is the aux in cable picking up any lcd noise considering its going parallel with the vga cable and close to lcd? Last edited by gigy : 5th January 2009 at 14:12.
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 15:17	#12
shreyasma BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bang! Posts: 652 Thanked: 6 Times	Congrats on the new DIY. Please throw more light on Self made Display Mount. How is it seated in place in the empty din slot? Last edited by shreyasma : 5th January 2009 at 15:19.
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 18:51	#14
gt_bhp BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 122 Thanked: 11 Times View My Garage	Congrats on a very good setup. From the pic above it looks like most of the load of the monitor will be on the 4mm rising in the DIN slot. Is it good enough to support the Monitor in the long run?
	() Thanks