Car-Puter build, input desired - Page 2

http://www.logicsupply.com/products/m4_atx

This looks promising, 2 of these should be enough to power what I want with room to spare !

Looking at some of the feedback on those units, they kind of suck. I am looking at some serious PSU stuf I built a few years back, its not SMPS like that unit is but it'll keep a rock solid 12v with near zero deviation. I think I may make another one. High current to. I'll just have to make sure it won't turn on until the alternator supplys at least 13v.

I dunno, kind of torn, buy a premade product with a known voltage ripple or build my own which is a much larger headache.

I have to wiegh out my options. I did start drawing up a heavy duty mounting plate and I am seriously considering both air/water cooling.

Gonna think about the pros/con of everything over the next few days.

This is supposed to be the wifes Christmas present this year. She wanted a 'entertainment' system in the van and a carputer would be the best solution.

Now to start shopping.

http://www.pugetsystems.com/aquarium-computer.php



I have decided to build a mineral cooled case. There are a number of reasons. Lets list them

Mineral submersion removes any concerns about moisture

It allows me to completely weather proof the system

It helps increase durability by dampening shock loads

It has Excelent cooling charecterstics and will allow me to build something fiarly hi performance in a very tight footprint.

IE no need for a large case and fans

It will make remote mounting the radiator easier.

It will provide more stable temperatures and I won;t have to use any exotic cooling solutions.

I am also going to use a 32-64gb ssd for primary OS storage.

Now onto the power supply issue. I am going to use a very high powered on demand inverter wired into the Astro Van in a permanent fashion. It also has a key on power/low voltage and other protections. I will also be incorporating a APC back up power supply to clean up the power more. . Most of the monitors I want to use have AC power requirements.

I have acquired a 1500watt continuous duty cycle inverter, it is 85% efficient. so it should provide plenty of power for the most demanding situations. I have also purchased a 175amp alternator. I will also be adding a second alternator and battery on a isolated system to for just the PC and other AC accessories. So I should have plenty of juice.

Now its time to start laying the plans for the Overhead and in dash monitors as well as the PC case. It needs to be very rugged and durable so I am going to start with a MB platter and build from there.

time to get to work, pictures coming in the next week or two.


I forgot to mention additional storage. I plan to use the new 128gb usb3 flash drives as well as a portable usb3.0 hdd. I will also install a HD dock and full USB hub breakouts for controlers, airmice etc.

Lots of peripherals acessories.

now I have to go find a overhead flip down monitor with a screen size I can match in a conventional desktop monitor gut it and install a VGA hmdi DVI monitor worth of guts.

Already though about that, got a bunch of Wifi cards all set there!

My search for sealed case connectors begins. Looking at milsepc bulk head connectors so I can completely seal the unit.