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gork · 04-11-2005, 09:29 PM

As you probably know, I mounted my ITX case on a shelf below the thin HK subwoofer "box".. It gives lots of horizontal space and doesn't take up that much vertical space. The best part is that the rear ports are accessible by folding the back seats down, so it's easy to work on. The factory subs aren't large or powerful enough to interfere with the computer in any way. Also, due to the thinness of using a laptop, you might also consider a false-floor install. There should be room to bring the trunk floor up about 1 1/2 inches (im assuming your laptop is no thicker than this) while leaving room for side ventilation. You could even put some small blower fans in for it and could keep your spare tire w/ no problems. A false floor install would also have the advantage that you could pull up the carpet/floorboard and flip the laptop open for servicing.. ie it would not be all crammed in the side of the trunk.

Your plan looks good, though, as far as how you plan on wiring everything up. The only thing I would suggest is to try and find a way to switch your monitor off using, for instance the shutdown controller.. Even if you only drive a small relay with the shutdown controller you are going to be much better off. There was some discussion that even though the Xenarc screen is capable of powering up/down when it detects a video signal, that if the power switch is "on" and the computer is off -- even though the backlight is off and the monitor looks off, it still consumes a lot of current. You ideally want to have the screen's power totally disconnected when your computer is off. Find a way to do that and you will be in good shape.

04-11-2005, 09:29 PM	#7
gork Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Amarillo, TX Posts: 655	As you probably know, I mounted my ITX case on a shelf below the thin HK subwoofer "box".. It gives lots of horizontal space and doesn't take up that much vertical space. The best part is that the rear ports are accessible by folding the back seats down, so it's easy to work on. The factory subs aren't large or powerful enough to interfere with the computer in any way. Also, due to the thinness of using a laptop, you might also consider a false-floor install. There should be room to bring the trunk floor up about 1 1/2 inches (im assuming your laptop is no thicker than this) while leaving room for side ventilation. You could even put some small blower fans in for it and could keep your spare tire w/ no problems. A false floor install would also have the advantage that you could pull up the carpet/floorboard and flip the laptop open for servicing.. ie it would not be all crammed in the side of the trunk. Your plan looks good, though, as far as how you plan on wiring everything up. The only thing I would suggest is to try and find a way to switch your monitor off using, for instance the shutdown controller.. Even if you only drive a small relay with the shutdown controller you are going to be much better off. There was some discussion that even though the Xenarc screen is capable of powering up/down when it detects a video signal, that if the power switch is "on" and the computer is off -- even though the backlight is off and the monitor looks off, it still consumes a lot of current. You ideally want to have the screen's power totally disconnected when your computer is off. Find a way to do that and you will be in good shape. __________________ MY CAR IS FOR SALE! See My Project Page for Details - 2003 BMW E46 ///M3 Custom Dash Monitor Housing - OEM Fitment Custom Overhead DVD-ROM Housing in Headliner BMW I-Bus Integration My homepage with many other fun projects!