HUSSAIN

If you have any questions, Just ask in this thread and I would be more than happy to reply and Yes I will never ever say that dreaded word "SEARCH"

What is CARPC:
A CAR Pc is simply put a pc installed in your car.

What can i do with it
Whatever you can do with a standard home pc but some important highlights are:

1. Play Music
2. Watch Videos and Movies
3. View engine information such 0-62 mph times, 1/4 mile times etc
4. Install front, back, side etc cameras
5. View Navigation and GPS.

For Details you can watch the video of my rig here:
http://www.vimeo.com/4629382

SOME ESSENTIAL READING:
Thankyou everyone. It took me a lot of time to learn about how carpc work so in order to save other people the hassle please find the following links which i assure you would prove extremely help. Read them one by one in order listed below and you will never need to ask a single question about carpc again

CARPC 101 by mp3car.com
Guide to Building Car PC Pdf file
Amazing Spoonfeeding Guide from Extremetech about Carpc's
Sample Rx8 Carpc Project


Getting Started:What Equipment do I need:
CARPC is different from your standard home PC in many aspect because four things are a must for car pc.
1. The carpc should shutdown/start automatically based on your ignition status.
2. The carpc should consume extremely extremely low power.
3. The carpc should be extremely small .
4. Boot Times should be extremely less.

So what do I need and How much is it going to cost:
Carpc's can cost as low as 300 dollars and as high as 2500$ depending upon what you need. Below I will discuss all the components that you might want alongwith their expected prices.

I would highly recommend doing all your shopping from mo-co-so.com. The rates are best i could find on the internet, International shipment is available, accepts google checkout or paypal, shipment is same day and the guy is very reasonable and polite. The guy also has an ebay store . I have listed links to other sites below as well so as not to be blamed to be associated with mo-co-so.com.

1. Motherboard and CPU:
For a carpc you can choose any motherboard and cpu you like (just as in case of desktop) but the preferable way is to select a low wattage cpu + motherboard combo. Furthermore, you should be better suited with a small size motherboard so mni-atx, micro-atx or pico-atx shall be the way to go.
There are several option for motherboard + cpu options available which you can found here:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...-CPU-VGA-Combo
However Intels Intel BOXD945GCLF2 Mobo+Cpu is the recommended choice. It has a dual core 1.6ghz processor and can play upto 720p content or easily handle most of carpc taks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121359

Power Supply:
This is one of the most crucial components of a carpc because ideally a computer should shutdown/start with ignition. For this you have two options
1. Use a standard pc psu, 12v dc To 110v/220v ac converter and shutdown/start controller
2. Use a automotive power supply with builtin Shutdown/Startup Controller
The second option is preferable because these automotoive power supplies only convert 12v dc current available in car to 5v dc that is required by the computer components and hence there are minimal power losses.
The first option is only preferrable if you really want to incorporate a monstrous quad core cpu in your car.
For Carnetix PSU's:
Here's a link to a tray app and monitoring service Shelldude wrote for XP / Vista that simplifies hibernation, etc if you're using a Carnetix P2140 power supply.
http://www.carnetix.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1963
Here's a link to the Carnetix P2140 over at mp3car
http://store.mp3car.com/Carnetix_CNX..._p/pwr-026.htm
He also have a stand-alone media player tray application that interfaces with the Grom Car2PC adapter but hasn't published it yet.

Ram:
This seems like a straight forward choice for desktop pc's; The More the Better.. Well not for cars. Well in a car pc when you will turn off your ignition, your pc will go into hibernation and dump all the memory on the ram onto the hard disk. Similarly on starting car, the computer shall come out of hibernation and transfer all the memory from hard drive to ram.
Result being that more the memory, more time it would take the computer to come out of hibernation. So choose carefully. 512 mb seems to be the ram of choice for car pc enthusiast.

Hard Drive:
The hard drive of desktop is not recommended for carpc's due to all the movment and jostling.
Notebook harddrives are the recommended option. However some people go for high end flash based hard drives to eliminate chances of hard drive failure.


OBD Interface:
OBD Interface is essential a piece of equipment which connects to your car's ecu to the computer and relays information back and forth.
Well if you want to view engine information on your carpc screen such as oil temperature, mpg statistics, 0-60 mile time or quarter mile time. You need an OBD Interface. Furthermore you can use this to read engine error codes and troubleshoot enginer troubles.
Please check when you buy an OBD interface if it is compatible with your car. Two options in this regards are available namely

1. Expensive Ones: Based on original ELM 327 chipset and are priced upwards of 100$.
2. Cheap Ones: Based on Chinese replica ELM 327 chipset. These can be found at MO-Co-So.com or ebay for about 40$.
Edit: I have been testing the chinese ELM 327 and it works like a charm for me.


LCD Screen:
It is recommended to have a touchscreen LCD. Touchscreen allows you to control your pc directly from your lcd monitor and adds additional wow factor.
Two companies are considered to be market Leaders in this category. Xenarc and Lilliput. And their LCD Dispalys cost about 180-300 dollars. Ebay is your best place price wise to shop for these LCD Touchscreens.
However in direct sunlight these screens are not very readable so some people go for really expensive Transflect Touchscreens which cost around $500. One Option in this category are

http://store.mp3car.com/New_7_Transf..._p/mon-052.htm

Camera:
Generic webcams do not work because they have problem working in bright light environment. They are made for indoor use and hence are usually crap outdoors. I blew my money on a generic webcam because during bright light all the camera showed was bright white light. Logitech Quickams are a good option but they are generally very expensive. However there is a cheaper alternative also present. Playstations Eyetoy is what people recommend and it can be had for around 10$ .
http://www.amazon.com/EYE-TOY-Silver...1910491&sr=8-3
http://video-games.search.ebay.com/E...QQsacatZ139969

The detailed instruction on how to use these cameras as webcams can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDE1oYn7D4g
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/937881...into_a_webcam/


Microphone:
The mic has two uses in the car

1. Voice Recognition/ Voice Commands
2. Handfree Calling

For Voice Recognition/Voice Commands Labtec Mic is your cheapest Solution. It is actually the same as the logitec noise cancellation Mic which retails for much higher price.

However Handsfree Bluetooth Integration is entirely a different issue altogether, because for this you need a solution which can eliminate echo (i.e. other person receiving his own voice after it is re-routed to him via your Microphone). This is a really ugly issue but fortunately two solutions are available.

Pure Audio Sound Card & Superbeam Array Microphone Bundle:
This retails for about 50 dollars and as per reviews solves 95 percent of the problem.
http://store.mo-co-so.com/index.php?...roducts_id=155

DA-350 Auto Array:
This solves Hundred percent of the issue but you need to be absolutely bonkers to buy this one, as it retails for 350 dollars.
http://store.mo-co-so.com/index.php?...roducts_id=156


Bluetooth Dongle:
Buy any generic one.

GPS Reciver:
Satglobal Bu-353 is rated highly. You can find it for less than $40 dollar.

Softwares Needed:
1. Windows Xp (How to Remove Unnecessary Bulk):
Your Options are:
1. You can use Nlite software to remove much of the un-needed Bulk from windows xp. This is necessary because by removing bloatware and un-necessary services you can reduce boot times of computers significantly.
You can read more about it here. A guide of how to do it is here
2. Or you can get a copy of tinyxp from torrents or here. It is an already n-lited version of xp. You just download it, burn it on a cd and you are good to go. Yes it is illegal but saves a lot of hassle.
3. There is another option available and that is xplite. This is different from nlite because it removes the "unncessary bulk" after the installation is completed.
4. Yet another option is installing the complete windows and using this guide to stop the unnecessary services.

Edit::
The first two options did not work for me. After i had numerous failed or unstable installation, I went with the third option (although fourth option is essentially the same as the third one). The computer is very fast and very stable now and i strongly recommend either going with the third or the fourth option.

2. Centrafuse or Road Runner.
This is where all the fun is. Centrafuse and Road Runner are the two most popular front-ends used in carpc.
You might be thinking why do i need a front-end if i have windows media center but these softwares are optimized for use in carpc using lcd touchscreen. You can checkout the demo of centrafuse at their website.
Centrafuse costs around 120$ whereas Road Runner is free. They both have their pros and cons and all i can say is that you should checkout both before you decide.

3. Bluesoleil
This software is needed to integrate your phone to your carpc via bluetooth. Centrafuse software has bluesoleil integrated so you don't need to install it seprately.

4. Voice Navigation:
Centrafuse has builtin support for voice navigation however you can you use PowerVoice to integrate voice navigation in your car.

5. GPS Navigation Software
The software for doing this are:

1. Destinator comes embeded in centrafuse.
2. Iguidance
3. Garmin Mobile PC
4. Microsoft Street

For further reading go here.

HUSSAIN

Okay i am 95% done with my install so I will continue the guide now:

What Equipment I bought:
Total Cost 450$.
1. Intel d945gclf2 Motherboard + CPU
2. M2-ATX Powersupply.
3. Desktop 250 GB Harddrive
4. DVD-Rom
5. Elm (China) OBDII
6. PS2 Eyetoy
7. Gabtec Mic
8. Generic Bluetooth Dongle
9. Lilliput eby-701 screen
10. 512 MB Ram
11. Satglobal by-353
12. Ground Loop Isolator


What Software I have:
Total Cost: 170$
1. XP.
2. Centrafuse.
3. Garmin Mobile PC (As in my country only garmin maps are available)

Where Can I put my CARPC in rx8:
You basically have four good options:

Glove Box :
The cpu+mobo will have to be mounted without case. This is the easiest mode of installation in rx8 but in summer your glove box can become very hot leading to probable cpu failure.
Under the seat (With Case):
Also very easy to install but has the same problem as above
The Rear Seat Center Pass through (Without Case)
Stealth Install but very very difficult and time consuming
Trunk:
Only recommended if you have a full-blown pc which won't fit into pass-thru or glovebox. Trunk is relatively cooler than "Under the Seat" or "Glove Box".

I chose the rear seat Center Pass Through option. I mounted the Hard-drive, Mobo and PSU on the center Pass through and mounted the DVD-Rom just under the Center Pass Through where the stock navigation dvd-rom is located. But in order to mount your pc there you need to open the whole center panel (to hide wires) and it is (very,very) big hassle. In order to view pictorial details please see the attached pdf.

Where Can I put my webcam:
You don't have many options in this regards. The best place for a rear-view camera in my opinion is the center trunk light. Just remove the Center Brake light and replace it with a rear view camera. Sure, you won't have the center brake light but you will have a cool rear view camera. Please see the attached picture to know what i mean.

How to connect PSU with Car Power:
On M2-ATx there are three connectors. One is for "Contant On", Second one is "Ignition" and Third is Ground.
"Constant On" means that current should be flowing through this wire regardless of the ignition status. "Ignition" means that current should only flow through this wire once the ignition is brought to "on" situation.
Ground:
Just find a good bare metallic surface and connect your grounding wire to it.
Ignition On:
You can connect it to postive of the cigarette lighter.
Constant On:
This has to be taken directly from Battery and there is no alternative. The car's ecu cuts the power supply to the main power relay during cranking(ignition) and your pc would restart if you take the constant on wire from any place within the car e.g. fuse box. Furthermore, it is essential to place a "fuse" in the constant "hot wire" and use a good quality power wire. I learned this the hard way after my wire got heated and almost burned down my car.

Where Can I put my LCD:
You have three good options in this regards:
Metra Kit:
This is a kit which replaces your center console panel (i.e. where your cd player is located) and provides you with a place to put your lcd display. You can read about it here
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-interior-audio-electronics-24/metra-kit-out-157780/
Stock Navigation Screen Replacement:
If you have a stock Navigation Screen then this option should be definately used. If you don't you can still get a stock Nav holder from ebay and place your lcd in it. Many people on this forum have gone down this route just search the threads but an example is:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=153088
Make your own Nav holder:
If you dont have a nav screen, don't want to buy nav holder as it is expensive and don't want the metra kit. You can go this way as well.
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/show...up-screen.html
My car came with stock nav option so I simply replaced my stock navigation lcd display with lilliput one and i was good to go. Please see the attached pdf titled stock navigation lcd replacement for details



Frequently Asked Questions:
HARDWARE

Q: I am experiency noise from my speakers? What should i do?
Ans: Buy a ground loop Isolator to begin with. If that doesn't solve the problem search about Ground Loop Isolators, do your research and then troubleshoot. Some people say that USB sound card sometimes also solve this problem so check that out as well.

Q: MY GPS takes a lot of time to lock satellites? What should i do?
Ans: Change the position of your gps. The idea is that your gps mouse should have a 360 degree view of the sky, so try to place it in center of your Front or Rear Windshield. Eliminate any usb extension wire that you might be using. Even if this doesn't solve the problem, try to pull out as much as GPS Reciver USB wire as possible and keep it adjacent to your gps reciever (for me this solved the problem and my lock time reduced from 3 minutes to 2 seconds).


SOFTWARE
Q: How to enable hibernation in windows xp.
Ans. Start the Power Options control panel applet (Start - Settings - Control Panel - Power Options)
Select the Hibernate tab
Check the 'Enable hibernate support' box
Click here to view image
Click Apply then click OK

Q: How to disable welcome screen after hibernation"
Ans. Click Start > Control Pane> Performance and Maintenance
Select the Power Options control panel.
When the Power Options Properties multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the Advance tab.
Uncheck Prompt for password when computer resumes from standby.
Click OK to close the dialog box.


Q: I have a lot of questions about setting up centrafuse? What should i do?
Ans. Go here http://forums.fluxmedia.net/faq.php.

Q: I cannot see some settings in centrafuse?
Ans Go to Centrafuse->Settings->and press the "+" icon for six settings. The advance settings menu shall appear. For some reason beyond me centrfuse creators have creators require you to do this to activate advance settings. It is dumb if you ask me.

Q: How to replace Centrafuse Logo with RX8 Logo?
Ans: Go to c->Program files->centrafuse->skin->replace splashlogo and logo with these files.
http://forums.fluxmedia.net/general-...html#post35940

Q: How to import my contact into centrafuse?
Ans: Centrafuse can only read contacts in "Vcard" Format. Use this nifty little utility called parrot vcard convertor to save your contacts into vcard format. Now go to centrafuse-->setup-->phone-->import contacts and import the vcard into centrafuse.

Q: How to play avi, .mov, mpeg2, .mkv and other video formats?
Ans. Install Klcodec. Open this file with text editor: C:\Documents and Settings\<Your User>\Local Settings\Application Data\Centrafuse\System\config.xml
On the 4th line you can read:
<VIDEOEXT>avi|qt|mov|mpg|mpeg|m1v|wmv</VIDEOEXT>
Change it to
<VIDEOEXT>avi|qt|mov|mpg|mpeg|m1v|wmv|mkv|mp4|divx |rm|ram</VIDEOEXT>

Q: How to change windows boot and login screen?
Ans: Go here and here.
For Pre-made Rx8 login Screen Go here.

Q: How to automatically login to windows?
Ans. Go here


Q: How to get the OBD Gauges shown here integrated into my carpc?
Ans.You can do so by either using DashCommand software which costs about 25 dollars or use a centrafuse plugin called OBDII Gauge v2 . However there are no Good premade skins available for these softwares yet. I am trying to find out one but as yet no success. Alz0rz has made one but does not want to share it.

Q: How to get Performance Parameters i.e. 0-100 kmph, 1/4 mile time integrated into my Carpc?
Ans.You actually have two options here, either via OBD or via GPS.
To do it via OBD you shall have to get Digimoto software (there might be others which i don't know about). Beware that i don't recommend using this software because it does not integrate very well with centrafuse. If someone comes across a better software please post here.
Doing this via GPS is relatively easy because there is a plugin for centrafuse called Laptimer which does the job so there are no integration issues.

paulmasoner

iTrader: (1)

this has the makings to turn out to be a very very nice write up for initial guidance and thought process behind such a complex task.

I dont know if you intend to go into much/any deail about etting up the frontend/dasboard. But that i belive would commonly be one of the more difficult tasks for many DIYers. Of course the hard part about getting detailed about this is that every different setup will be different.

HUSSAIN

Thanks phil. I will try to be as detailed as possible.

I ask all people who have experience with carpc to help me make this thread as detailed and accurate as posible.

I suggest that people can write a little bit and then post it here and i can incorporate it in the main thread.

DarkLord7854

I've started work on my own carputer, here's a link to my worklog so far:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=162002

There's links to all the parts I've bought and pictures and stuff.

dillsrotary

I am greatly looking forward to this thread, love the attention to detail as well. Good luck Hussain

Mazurfer

Sorry, I'm sure I'll get flammed for this, but I just prefer to actually DRIVE!

I feel the same way about cell phones...............hands free or not.

HUSSAIN

I started my install about three days back and three days of hard work and still nothing to show for it. i have lots of noob question which i ask here and there and usually get flamed.

This is the reason i am writing this thread so the future noob's don't have to go through the hassle of learning it the hard way.

I will hopefully complete my install by sunday and then post everything in detail.

iservealot

Really interesting stuff! I plan to buy an RX-8 sometime in the near future, and I have already spec'd out the parts that I plan to use for the CarPC.

I'll wait to see your full write-up.

DarkLord7854

Still no updates on guide?

I'm halfway done with my install

HUSSAIN

I am done with the install and my body is fuc$$$ aching all over but i will try to write about my installation above. I have few issues still lingering on which i will solve soon. The issue list is as follows and i welcome any help i can get:

1. Buzz from car stereo.
2. Mic not working (probably problem with mic)
3. Touchscreen not working(probably the cable has came off the screen and i don't have the energy right now to open it all up again; will do on new year holiday)
4. Few setup issues.

iservealot

I can try to help if you can provide a bit more info.

1) Buzz from car stereo. What does this mean? All speakers are humming? Buzzing to the tick of an internal computer component? (like hard drive)

3) It's my understanding there is a USB cable that is ran to transmit information on the touch screen. Does windows recognize the USB input device?

4) Few setup issues? Software?

HUSSAIN

My main issue is the distortion as for touchscreen not working i think that it is because of loose usb conection to my lcd but for this i'll have to open my console again. I plan to do it on 1st January.

As for the noise issue i am facing here are the details:

I have connected my motherboard audio to stereo console. If i connect an mp3 player there is no distortion but as soon as i connect the motherboard the buzzing starts. Which increases with engine rpm. I have read a lot of threads but people facing these issues have much more complicated systems then i have.

I have installed my pc in Glove Box of my Car. i do not have any amp or inverter. The pc is very simple:

Intel g945gclf2 mobo
m2-atx power supply
hard drive

I have only grounded my psu via provided cable to my battery.

Do i need to ground my mother board as well. If yes, How.

Do i need to ground my hard drive. If yes, How.

Thanks

iservealot

If the noise is coming from engine revs, then there is not a proper ground. The way a computer ground works is like this:

The motherboard screws into the case with several screws, creating secure placement and a good ground.

It sounds like the ground is not sufficient enough. How is the PSU wired? Are both positive and negative run all the way to battery? If so, try running a ground cable attached somewhere to the chassis of the case, to a clean spot on the car. The shorter the run is for ground the better.

(also make sure the wires are thick enough. The ground cable needs to have proper thick coating)

DarkLord7854

No pics of the install?

HUSSAIN

Dude download the attachments there are a lot of pics man.

HUSSAIN

Sorry but i cannot seem to find your feedback. Can you please post it here so that i can edit my main post and include it. Also please tell me where should it go.

Others please come forward and i will include your suggestion in my post.

HUSSAIN

Update:

Got my touchscreen to work. Turns out it was due to loose usb cable.

The only issue remains is of grounding. I will get to it today and after completing it i will post a more detailed writeup with faq's.

ShellDude

iTrader: (12)

It's your own thread man...

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/writing-carpc-diy-guide-need-comments-suggestion-163070/

DarkLord7854

Ah I see, not used to seeing the main post being updated constantly without any indication in other posts, sorry

HUSSAIN

All other issues resolved. Just cannot get rid of the noise. It is killing me. I installed metal plates underneath my mobo and cpu and grounded the metal plates. Took me five hours to do the thing and still the noise persists.

Somebody help me or someone around me is going to get seriously hurt...arrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh.

ShellDude

iTrader: (12)

Just got my monthly newsletter from itxdepot... they've got a really good deal on a nice travla case and dual core atom mini-itx board.

http://www.itxdepot.com/xcart/produc...t=31100&page=1

I'm seriously considering swapping out my travla c134 and epia-m 10000g for this.

DarkLord7854

That's a pretty good deal, you could probably get cheaper off Newegg though, I got a MITX motherboard with CPU+GPU (VIA chip) for 100$, and a case for 25$

ShellDude

iTrader: (12)

It's got the decent intel embedded gfx chipset, the atom processor is dual core, and the fsb is 533.... The case is just a smidge larger than the travla c134 which actually makes it easier to configure because you don't have to pay double for low profile DIMMs, and has a 2.5" HD (SATA on the mobo) slot as well as a slimline CD/DVD slot .... all for $203

Show me a better deal, please

iservealot

If you are getting speaker noise with engine revs, it has to be ground/interference. There is no other way around it.

You are not running the audio signal cables anywhere near the power cables, right?