desktop computer in a vehicle

OK, here is some info. My car has a fully built motor and twin turbos on it, so my computer is basically for guaging and logging. The AEM wideband I speak off is an oxygen sensor and the UTEC is an engine management system.

This is from the post I made on my350z.com (https://www.my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278650):

KPierson from My350Z.com wrote:

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I finally worked out all the bugs in my carputer.

I went with something real basic with the sole purpose of it to display and log engine parameters.

The computer connects to my AEM O2 through a serial connection and then it connects to my UTEC engine management through USB. I have software that takes these two readings and merges them. I then output the signal though a video out and convert it to RGB+S which then displays it on my OEM Navi screen. I can toggle back and forth from Navi to Carputer through a custom switch I made that works off of the OEM Enter button.

To control the computer I got a wireless keyboard with built in touch pad:

I also have a network cable installed and can RealVNC in to the carputer from my laptop for log retrievel and tuning. I had initially went with wireless but I had some issues and went with the 'easier' solution.

The carputer itself is a 1ghz machine (Via EPIA) in the Mini-ITX footprint. It has a 40gb laptop harddrive and a M1 automotive power supply (works from 6-24vdc). I went 'cheap' and made my own case, which consists of a piece of plexi-glass cut to fit in my spare tire. It press fits on to the 'start nut' that holds the tire in place, and then I used a few eye bolts to provide stability towards the outside of the 'glass. Its pretty secure, yet comes out easily to access the tire:

Here is what it looks like on the dash:

After I finally got it working right (had some major issues with WinXP the first and second installs) I love it. It boots up in under 30 seconds and has been very stable for the past 2 weeks. I am somewhat concerned of the heat generated, but so far the two cooling fans have done a good job.

Cost -

Bought the motherboard, processor, and 512mb of RAM for $160
Bought the wireless keyboard/mouse for ~$80
Harddive - Free (used one laying around collecting dust)
M1 power supply - $~70
RGB converter - $50
Misc. cables - $15
UTEC engine control - $1100
AEM wideband - $300

I obviously already had the UTEC and AEM, so they don't really count, and I had the RGB converter from a DVD project that never got completed, so all and all I spent <$350 to have continous monitoring of boost, a/f, RPM, timing, IPW, and a few other things with no added guages and now I don't have to carry my laptop with my 24/7.

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Look at my setup above.

That is a desktop computer, minus the case.

The motherboard is a Mini ITX, about 6"x 6".  I made a mounting platform out of plexi and was able to mount the mb, the hd, and the ps in a relatively small space.  They make mini ITX cases, but I didn't see the point in buying a case, plus I wanted finished product to be as low as possible.

The only advantage I see to running a laptop is the battery will allow you to get away with a cheaper power solution.  You could get a fairly small inverter and run the laptop off of it.

Thats a sweet install above. The people I work with dont want to spend the extra dough to go that way. They all seem to have the same idea. They have a desktop and no laptop and they dont want to make huge investment. I would love to build a system like that in my or anybodys ride for that matter.