Shifter911

New to the forum, and new to the idea of a carputer so I figured before I went out and blew a bunch of money I would get some ideas first. So here are my current stats and ideas and such.

91 Chevy S10 blazer, 2 wheel drive.
Currently the interior is gutted of all electrical componets, speakers, audio, etc, which left me a big gap in my dash, which is where I thought it would be cool to have a moniter in there. Being that I am cheap though, I didnt want to spend over a grand for a deck/moniter combo that I really couldnt do much with, which is when I started thinking of the car pc direction.

I currently have the entire sound system, 2 6x9, 2 5 1/4, 10" sub, and an amp. Nothing installed and wired yet because I still havent decided what direction to go.....

I can get a 7" Alpine touchscreen for around 300 dollars, so from here its a matter of the pc system itself, and also the amount of man hours for installing, wiring, and the like.

I and 90% sure that I need another amp, because the current one wont power 4 speakers and a sub, but I will probably go second hand for the sub amp.

Logistically I want to have the pc case under one seat, then amp under another, moniter in my dash, with a cd\dvd drive under that for easy of accsess.

Things I am worried about are:

Wiring, how much am I really looking at? I close my eyes and see a rats nest in my mind....

Heat, truck has no a/c, so not only will I fight to keep myself cool, but also a pc....

Other than that, any advice, or precautions, or ideas would really help my out in deciding what dirtection I go. Thanks!

2k1Toaster

You cant use the Alpine monitor as it is not VGA which means fuzzy picture, and their touchscreen interface is not USB compliant. Check out Lilliput or Xenarc (or the hundreds of rebranded monitors sold for cheaper that are the same thing).

as for wiring the computer takes power, ground, acc. The screen needs power/ground. Both of those should be direct from the battery. Then VGA to the screen. USB to the touchscreen. 1/8" outputs through 1/8" to RCA converters to your amps, and that is it. Now if you want GPS, that is 1 more USB wire. If you want Sirius/XM than that is 1 more USB wire, and 1 more power/ground wire. If you want bluetooth, that is another USB wire. If you want a keyboard another USB. See the pattern? It is only as complicated as you want to make it.

And a cpu can withstand 140C no sweat. You would be crying at 40. So dont worry about heat as long as you keep the air circulating. Since you have such a big truck thing, no need for a small space constricted (and expensive) case. Get a larger case with adequate fans. make sure to have 1 blowing in and 1 blowing out if it really gets that hot where you are. Things that help is to NOT use a P4. A P4-M, Mobile P4, P3, C3/C7, or C2D processor will not make as much heat to begin with.

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MindDrive

i hafta disagree with ya 2k1Toaster about the P4, the 2.4 and 2.6 northwood HT P4's are really cool running processors (even at a full load) with minimal cooling the ones i have only have gotten to 110~135F with an ambient temp of 85-95F (lived in phoenix az and left the ac off) but i will say the P4 Prescotts were virtual cigarette lighters


shifter911, the rats nest you imagine will only happen if you dont bundle your wires, zip ties and split loom wire tubing helps and does wonders try and think like the OEM did when they ran the wire harnesses that you see with the dashboard disassembled, try and bundle your wires with the stock wires as much as possible and you should be in good shape

a "decent" functional car pc can run ya around 600~900 for all the required hardware and maybe even less if you use hardware not like you would have at your desk. Now getting it all installed depends where you want it mounted, i know the S10 dashboard has LOTS of empty space behind the glovebox and the stock radio with that huge cubby hole and you should have a substantial amound of space where the center hump is as you could build a center console, that is if you are dealing with an automatic where the shifter is on the steering column, if you have a manual transmission, then you might be a bit more constricted,

howbout showing some pics of what you have so far?

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'97 Seville STS

'91 GMC G2500

Shifter911

Once I decide what direction to head in I will definatly be posting pics from the whole install. Thanks very much for your guys advice! I am getting excited to say the least, and i got my local computer guy pricing stuff for me as well, so within the next few days I should hopefully know what I am looking at.!

Of course, for those of you interested, here is my project that I am working on.

1991 Chevy S10 blazer, 2 door, 2 wheel drive.
Got a lowering kit for it, 3" rear, 2" front to install.
Alpine sound system, including 12" sub and amp, (second amp to come soon)
New paint job, poor thing is just primered right now... Going to paint it a gloss black.
Tires to come within the next few weeks, havent decided on rims yet, might repaint stock to match truck.
Trying to find a roll pan in canada for it to save on shipping, not working all that well yet...
Either the carputer will be installed, or a dvd\cd deck, but I am leaning to the cpu side just for sheer fact that I can do it haha.

Pics will come soon, thanks for the support!