Ive mentioned it before,

[Ravin13]

but has anyone started looking into putting a car in their truck? i have my computer parts all put together, right now im in the process of figuring out how to power it in the truck, and which lcd to buy and also how to mount the lcd (need a new dash haha)

i built my computer for 230$...not sure how many watts it exactly uses so i dont know which psu to buy yet.... i want to go dc-dc thoe, and not do a ghetto inverter.

so monday im going to rip my dash apart and start doing some measurements, deciding how big of a monitor i can go. if anyone is thinking about it and has questions i might be able to help.

[CarputerGeek]

but has anyone started looking into putting a car in their truck? i have my computer parts all put together, right now im in the process of figuring out how to power it in the truck, and which lcd to buy and also how to mount the lcd (need a new dash haha)

i built my computer for 230$...not sure how many watts it exactly uses so i dont know which psu to buy yet.... i want to go dc-dc thoe, and not do a ghetto inverter.

so monday im going to rip my dash apart and start doing some measurements, deciding how big of a monitor i can go. if anyone is thinking about it and has questions i might be able to help.

Newbie here:
Power Supply? Correct, use DC-DC. Depends on your watts consumption, but you'd probably ok with the Opus 150W (http://www.customcarputers.com/power_supplies_main.htm)
Monitor? Definetly go with a Xenarc, I've used other monitors (Lilliput, etc) they suck. They cost a little more, but well worth it.
Style? depends what you want in the truck, but the In-dash unit (http://www.customcarputers.com/xenarc_touchscreen_monitors.htm)is nice, because it's hidden.

I saw on your other post you're going with a "Nvidia geforce fx 5700", why?
And a printer?????

[Ravin13]

yeah, that was when i was just excited about it and well i ordered a new video card for my room computer and have a 5700 ultra i was goign to put in, i didnt realize the power consumption it uses, if i have extra power im going to, and a printer because i go to school and being able to type a paper up and print it wherever would be so convinent.

[mrmidnight]

the average for a computer nowadays is 550W and beings that your truck puts out about 13V when on and 12V when engine is not on we look at the forumula for current for both
I=P/E where I is current and P is power (watts) and E is voltage, so for a 12V configuration we find we need 46 amps to run this, and and for a 13V configuration we need, 42 amps. So to be on the safe side get a 600W inverter. As for the monitor when you get it, use the same formula, but I would get 2 separate converters one for the computer and one for the monitor, and yes 12v will get to both inverters, its called a parallel circuit.

[Ravin13]

whoa... overshot it. i run a 3.4 htt, with 1 gb ram, 2 hard drives, 2 discs, off of a 350W. im not going to go off of an inverter cuz its ghetto, im gonna go through a dc-dc, the computer im using is a celeron d, 2.6, with 512 ram, 1 slim dvd, and 1, laptop hard drive. im hoping i can get it all under 150w.

[mrmidnight]

good luck man, I would go with an inverter, its alot safer for your computer and your truck, but you don't have to listen to me, I used to only be an Aircraft Electrician

[Ravin13]

http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=171

[CarputerGeek]

whoa... overshot it. i run a 3.4 htt, with 1 gb ram, 2 hard drives, 2 discs, off of a 350W. im not going to go off of an inverter cuz its ghetto, im gonna go through a dc-dc, the computer im using is a celeron d, 2.6, with 512 ram, 1 slim dvd, and 1, laptop hard drive. im hoping i can get it all under 150w.

I agree, go DC-DC (http://www.customcarputers.com/power_supplies_main.htm). Inverters suck. But you may be pushing it with that M2-ATX (http://www.customcarputers.com/m2_atx_psu.htm). Go here (http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/) and calculate the wattage you may need. Cancel the DVD drive too, you'll never use it. Power the monitor (http://www.customcarputers.com/xenarc_touchscreen_monitors.htm) from the car, not the PSU. Xenarc (http://www.customcarputers.com/xenarc_touchscreen_monitors.htm) has the adaptor so you can run it directed through your car.

I'm trying to think of the maximum stuff I ran on my Opus 90W before I got smart, here goes: 1.2G Celeron, 2 3.5" HD's, 1 monitor, 1 USB Keyboard, 1 USB Mouse, 1 USB SD card reader, 1 XM direct box, 1 GPS antenna, 1 (full size) cd rom. This is alot of stuff, and when I ran the calculator I was WAY over. But the 90W Opus held up good, I have since reduced power wattage. You may be ok, I'm just not sure about that 2.6 Celeron board. You may want to consider a Mini-ITX board (http://www.customcarputers.com/motherboards.htm).

[Ravin13]

yeah when i get everything and have it all ready to go in, my next purchase will be a mini-itx board... so i can build a case around that to go in, the thin was i got the pcu and the mobo for 55$. so you cant really go wrong, even if i end up jsut using it as my home media center.

[fastSdime]

I know a guy that put one in his I'll ask him what he did tomorrow... Here are some pics

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/bleemer00/dsc091.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/bleemer00/dash002.jpg

[Ravin13]

yeah thats nuts, 10.4 inch looks like. whew alotta work their.

[CarputerGeek]

yeah thats nuts, 10.4 inch looks like. whew alotta work their.

That's why I like the in-dash units, alot less work:)
Those pics look good though, bet it'll look real nice when its done.

[fastSdime]

Its not actually as much work as you guys think... I have worked for many car stereo places and putting big screens in are easy. Just a lil glass work. And less work??? what fun is that go big or go home.. LOL

[Ravin13]

as of now, my dash is all apart and my head unit is on the passenger seat, im waiting til tommarow to order my xenarc :) so excited.

[CarputerGeek]

as of now, my dash is all apart and my head unit is on the passenger seat, im waiting til tommarow to order my xenarc :) so excited.

And you didn't order from me (http://www.customcarputers.com)? :(

[T Man]

Andre, nice pull from the Ks-minis site. Looks pretty badass if you ask me. Needs to be touchscreen though