Fully decked out 8
 

http://rx8.mine.nu/

Saw this car in maximum PC magazine. They featured it because of the custom built in PC.

I intended to install a PC in my 8 too. I used to have a few extra PCs lying around but they were too slow for my taste (pentium 300, pentium 800, pentium 3 1.5ghz, AMD xp 2500+)

I plan to rebuilt my current PC to fit in my 8. Though it may have some overheating problems (in our hot weather and even hotter car) because i overclocked my CPU to its very limits (till it can fail to start 5% of the time, hot weather or some unknown reason). Will have to clock it back down but its no fun running a vanilla flavoured PC.

But this will have to wait till i buy my next dream PC which should be within the next few months. Torned between spending on car and PC.

I will link it to the 8s ECU and some controllable components which should not be too difficult. Maybe add a wireless camera, wireless router and a wireless remote speaker and ideally a birdcall speaker to chase birds away :mdrmed:

Someone is selling a custom PC for the 8 but its more fun building it on my own and doing it the way i like it. Anyway, i doubt its going to be very difficult, maybe just time consuming.

bro,dun fool around wif the 8's ecu,it can b 'drastic'. nt to dishearten ya,if every1 is able to 'play' wif the ecu,every1 is a 'tuner';xpecially rotaries...

Get the correct bird call hor.. don't want it to become a bird attractor, for bigger birds with bigger sh!t :mdrmed:

Er.... it is called a carputer :P There have been a few install in 7s. Have not seen a 8 with it until now. You can buy a ready made on online or buy parts and do it yourself. Very good project for a DIYer :)

FYI - it belongs to forum member Devoid, you can read what HE has to say about it most likely here, he's a smart guy

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-multimedia-photo-gallery-6/devoids-near-complete-build-54460/

Search is always your friend.

At first i thought its my cousin in melbourne, he goes by the nick devoid too. But he is not.

Doing things what everybody else does is un-original and just plain copying (unless its a neccessary or very very great idea). So doing special or different useful stuff is good.

Search is my firend but anyone who gives me answers is my buddy and a great person.

Good call. If you have any questions about anything he will give you GREAT answers as I asked him about shaved door handles before, just leave a comment on his site and he will email you back eventually I'm sure.

Sounds like a very interesting project. If I actually know anything about wiring and stuff, I'll definitely consider it.

So when are you gonna get started Emperor?

Soon. Currently tied up in a very important project. And its this project that will determine what i can do.

I am looking to install a LCD >7" at the passenger side but i am thinking of a good way to mount it.

What about an LCD in the Glove compartment... it's something I have been lookin at for a long time...

Its no problem but i would really miss the storage space. I am thinking about using a flexible arm attached to the bottom. Something similar to what the police car uses but more elegant.

Well, that would work too... my idea was for safety. I think an 8" would be good on a flexible arm...

What about a small 4" monitor in the rearview mirror...
http://www.vdodayton.com/default2_an...s_5700_rd.aspx

What about this one http://www.littlepc.com/products_dcinput.htm
Small, DC input... or
http://www.xenarc.com/product/index-pc.html

But... I love this one http://www.apple.com/macmini/
hell I wet myself just reading the specs... yes I have to install an inverter but small price to pay for cool factor. Oh yes... add this http://www.xenarc.com/product/700ts.html

What about installing a e-manage ultimate... http://www.trust-power.com/overseas/..._ultimate.html

Hook up the USB PC link up and you can see everything http://www.mohdparts.com/emanage/ult...ots/index.html

The 4" rearview monitor is too small, i prefer dedicated LCD.

LittlePC with pentium III is too weak and i like building custom PC so i rather build my own monster. All i have to do is to use a DC/AC converter.

Apples PCs are real cool but i am used to PC which are cheaper, easier to repair and compatible with more softwares and hardwares.

The Xenarc screen sounds real good.

I am planning for the emanage ultimate. Soon, real soon...

My idea is to have a custom PC plugged with a emanage ultimate and other car functions.

First my rims....

The 4" inch screen is just for your GPS... get another 8" for your PC...

Where you thinking of putting the PC anyways? Under the seat for in the boot?

Pentium 4
http://www.xenarc.com/product/mp-sc3.html

One important consideration to take note is that the 90nm pentium 4s can get very very hot. Hot = unstable and shorter lifespan.

The LCD must not obstruct the airbag.

Under the seat is good. Depending on the size of the PC, i may have to consider other locations. I wonder if its possible to install in the storage area between the 2 rear seats. But it will involves some irreversible modifications.

Aopen recently release a new formfactor that is as small as a apple mini which can be quite ideal for the 8.

doesn't that just state the whole purpose of going to the trouble and expense of installing a pc into your ride? :lol2: Eh...yah baby...I want the AMD dual core 64 bit overclocked cpu with DDR3 memory running at 1.2 Mhz on the north bridge....certainly outclasses anything to do with the 13B :fingersx:

Damn... I'd just velcro my unused VAIO in my car, problem solved. Best of all, I can just rip it out whenever I want and use it like a regular ultra portable. You guys are giving me way too many ideas than my wallet can handle... I gotta stay away from this thread! :Eyecrazy:

A overclock AMD can trash any laptop at a third of the price. And you can actually mod the case to be part of the car, just like a audio setup.

Sqflyer: its a cheaper than tha using your laptop actually. If i install a PC with the same processor speed as a top range vaio, i will most probably spend less than $500, add a desktop 19" LCD for another $300.

Agreed that having a PC is almost pointless in SG but its not why we do it, its becasue we can do it.

Under the seat is a good place.

Well I can understand why the laptop idea would be better because there is a battery. So I don't have to shut down the PC first before turning off the car... For me...it's either a pc loaded with windows media center or a Mac mini with front row.. I don't know about building a full on PC and putting it in the boot (because it's pretty hot there). I like Emperor's idea of using the center portion in rear seat. Saw some guy put a xbox 360 there once.

You need something like this.... http://www.ram-mount.com/nodrillsystems/rampodiii.htm

wonder how long his battery would last with the engine OFF...

What's the use of having so much processing power in the car? Not as if you are going to do any seriously demanding work. And the point of putting a laptop is so that it DOESN'T become part of the car. The more permanent fixtures you add to your car, the slower it gets (ask lohsk). At the end of the day, I want a car to be a car, maybe add some audio or even a laptop to make the ride more enjoyable. If I wanted to bring my house with me, I would have bought a Class A motorhome.

I don't understand how spending more money on PC parts can be cheaper than my VAIO that is already paid for and sitting around doing nothing. :Freak_ani

Don't think lohsk's idea was to keep the laptop running indefinitely or overnight with the engine off, but at least on short hops, you can leave a laptop running whereas you would need a UPS for a PC. Wonder how big an inverter would be required to power a UPS. Hmm...

sqflyer..... check this out..

http://www.ram-mount.com/flash3/vehicle_install.html

More to tempt you with.....

Argghhh... more money and more weight... heavy duty velcro is the way to go!!! Ha ha... ok, where is the unsubscribe thread button, I need to get out now while I can. :)