Carputer Is IN!! :)
 

https://www.cobaltss.net/gallery/fil...2/s6300323.jpg

https://www.cobaltss.net/gallery/fil...2/s6300324.jpg

https://www.cobaltss.net/gallery/fil...2/s6300326.jpg

Ok so it's all working. Works like a charm. GPS is accurate and fast. Vocal alerts and everything. Basically, everyone that's ridden in the car has loved it. lol

Plleeeeease spare me the shit talk about the most obvious non-professional looking part of this, being the GIANT white box. lol. next chance i have 250 to spend, it'll be for a dual core atom setup(VERY SMALL)

The flooring is full 1/2 inch MDF all the way, with access to battery through flip door and easy access to the spare. I bet you notice the sub box isn't there. The Type-R should be here tomorrow, but I'm considering my options on possibly buying a smaller box. With a smaller sub box i'd be able to keep spare access easy, even with that ugly white monstrousity in there as well. lol

Also been continuing to look into business related stuff too.

looks sweet man, are you going to have any heat issues?

Dude that is awesome.
I'm collecting parts for a carputer myself.
Hope you dont mind if I ask you some questions.

The 629 can get hot, but it's in its operating range so I'm not too concerned.

As for the trunk, no I haven't had any thus far, i've popped open some of the unused pci ports on the case just to help keep air flow. We're hitting the 80's in the next few days sooooo we'll see. The computer has been operating within temp specs as well, the Duron processor in there has a MASSIVE heatsink too lol. Installed optional fan for the M4-ATX PSU as well.

If I ever do get paranoid of air flow though at any point in my journeys I'll custom fabricate a set of pc fans on to the passenger side trunk air vent, and cut the fabric to fit perfectly around the cluster of fans. That'd help draw more heat out of the trunk.

and blckbalt, feel free. I love this shit. lol

looks good in that dash

And sound quality, even on the old 5.1 soundcard is good. Better than most aftermarket decks anyway. Maybe sometime I'll pick up a Xonar.... :-P

nice

good concept but the white box....ehhhh nevermind lol

love the idea though :thumb:

how are you running your speakers and amps?

how did you get the audio to run through the stock amp and what are you using to turn the computer on and off. i was thinking of just running a remote wire to the power switch on the motherboard but that would kill it everytime you turned your car off and thats not good for windows filesystem

audio doesn't touch any stock amp. I have a 4ch and a monoblock amp. sound card is using the kxProject drivers, rear mirroring front. From the front/rear speaker jacks of the sound card I converted them to rca. Perfect feeds for the amps. Once I purchase the Xonar, I could potentially have up to a full 7.1 experience if I so wish(more purchases would follow for anything beyond 4.1 lol), all getting very good voltage outs with pretty much studio sound quality. With that card, it'll be perfect to match with the Zues/Brutus and the Kappas and Type-R

The M4-ATX DC/DC PSU has a builtin Startup/Shutdown controller. It has a usb interface for non-default power setups etc, a remote wire to run as the remote to your amps and monitor. The PSU itself dictates power state through a remote wire which you either run through RKO or through your Wipers fuse. When ignition is on, the PSU turns on the PC, amps and monitor. When ignition is off(or iginition off, door open in RKO's case), it instructs the machine to hibernate. Once the machine enters hibernate, your amps and monitor turn off.

Sound simple enough? :)

This whole project was just a dream I finally had the money to pursue. It's also spawned a new dream to actually design and distribute complete setups with the intent of making it mainstream. All-in-all it was well worth it in my opinion. A learning experience for sure. Who knows, maybe you all will be buying my complete setups one day :-P

well that answered my questions. so you completely bypassed the stock amp then eh

Very nice. I am also doing the same for a 2009 SS. I have most of the parts on order. And I hope to get it installed over the next two weeks.
I do have a question on audio. Which soundcard are you using? Which amp are you using? And how do you connect them all to the stock speakers? This is the only part I have left to figure out.

I was thinking of installing the PC in the trunk like you did, but didn't you have to run a lot of wires back to the dash? Especially the USB cords. Doesn't that exceed the legal limit for USB?

I am thinking of getting a mini ITX and installing it under the passenger seat.

Thats sweet. Have you thought about what the bass might do to the computer?

how did you convert the sound card to rca

that dash looks damn clean. trust me 7.1 in a car isn't a good idea. 5.1 is the limit of whats reasonable. and if you get ur car 5.1 before me ill kill you. lol jk

oh ya and if you actually start selling pc setups i have a feeling alot of peeps are going to jump right into it. just tread softly bc cobalts arent the easiest things for peeps to work on

I feel ya Emp.

By complete setups, I'm talking full step by step instructions on a per-vehicle basis. Essentially my plan would be to deliver limited assembly required complete kits. This way, even a noob without much knowledge of stereo installation could figure it out. The first kit would be specifically for the cobalt. Then from there I'd move into Honda territory.

and emp......you may wanna hurry up cause well....that Xonar or a eMU professional board is starting to become more and more tempting. :-P i'll cut it off @ 5.1. the only question is where I would install the center speaker. haha

lol gotta destroy your dash for that. my awesome idea for a center channel will 99% probably not be. ill get one but probably not what i was originally hoping for

Very nice setup!

Have you sprung for the Bluetooth antenna yet?

It's only like 30 dollars, and it works AWESOME!

Actually, You can run just one active USB to the front and then hook a hub to it from there. It's fine for most anything, but if you need things like access to large Flash Drives (Like over 2GB), you can get one of the powered 7 lead hubs and then buy one of those 12v Sirius or XM adapters (they output 5v, perfect for the hub). You can hook up to 128 devices to a system via USB.

I think the biggest distinguishing factor for car PC setups are the case and software (front end). If you can design your own custom case that looks appealing and is well thought out, plus customize the front end to look different than what everyone else gets, you can do very well. It's all about brand identity.

The companies selling CarPC's right now are basically selling the same hardware, which is fine (PC manufacturers have been doing this for forever), but if you can make the case and interface look like something elite and desireable, then you can rise above the hardware and people stop thinking about the PC portion and just notice the features.

nyce

Hey, speaking of the 5.1 center channel options, does anyone have any pics of the dash with the
cover removed?

(Has idea for not removing entire dash for center channel)

....like the whole dash? like...by cover..what do ya mean?

WHITE BOX OF DEATH!!!....jk looks good :)

i don't like yellow very often on our rides, but damn ssyellow, yours is just clean. kudos!

yup ive seen a few. i also have some instructions on removing the dash.