This sounds much more difficult than I had assumed. I wanted to do this to run the EMS software through while driving so I could have gauges but I don't think I am capable of building it...

 

You can buy a prepackaged PC for your dash called the Infill G4. It's expensive but you don't really have to do anything.

Personally, I enjoy this stuff

 

UPDATE:

Still working on the driver. I can get it at 800X480 but the image is wider than the physical screen. So now I am going to use Intel's Embedded driver package to play with the horizontal timing.

 

I'm kind of curious about car PCs...How will the power supply work? Would you be able to shut off and start the car without interrupting the power to the computer itself?

Also, I'm assuming you're on forums like mp3car.com...how do these things hold up to the heat, vibration, etc.?

 

The power supply is geared towards cars int hat it turns on with the ignition and when the ignition turns off, it puts the PC in a sleep mode. It keeps power on for a configurable amount of time for the PC to do this.

The heat and vibration aren't too much of an issue if you mount stuff right. I have a laptop drive for vibration issues but they don't stand up well to cold. The PC hard drives are more temperature resistant but don't handle vibrations well. Solid state drives will be the best bet. Or hard drives made specifically for industrial environments.

UPDATE:

800X480 is now working. I now have to drill the case to get the parts mounted inside and create my custom cables to have minimal wires. Then final software config and into the car it goes.

 

u consider installing linux on your rig? do they have front ends for linux?

 

They do have linux front ends but I am writing my own to run on the .NET framework so I will need windows. Plus the driver and software support is way larger with Windows. No need to run Linux.

 

why do you need the .net framework? sounds intense.

 

I am doing the programming in Visual Studio 2005 so .NET kind of goes hand in hand with that.

 

programming the music player? none of the other ones are good enough? haha

 

I already have the music player written. It's not so bad to write. The other programs are waaay to bloated and have too many features. I just want simple file playing with a trackbar and a playlist.

 

nice...looks complicated..

 

Nice looks like a pretty sweet project.

 

you've sparked my interest in this. now i looking to doing this as well. i would like my to eliminate my radio and use my ipod or something for music and i would like to data log. it would be cool to have the gauges on there as well. it will help clean up the dash.

if you dont mind me asking how much for a setup like this?

 

I've spent quite a bit on this project. Probably 1700 USD so far including the $300 Orbital Prestige kit. But I went for all high end components. You can do this for MUCH cheaper if you get a slower pico-itx motherboard and a cheaper screen.

Of course you pay for what you get. This setup is faster than many desktops and is faster than my development PC at work (I'm a software developer).