# PIC'S-WuNgUn gets started on the carputer (H2O and all!)



## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

Okay...finally got some time to work on the actual heart of the in-car system...the PC itself! (Time, because the car is in the shop!)

Mounted up the water blocks (yeah, it's liquid cooled...what'd you expect!?), riveted out the mainboard tray, mounted the pump, etc...
From here, I think I'll wall it in with clear acrylic...at least the front and back side. And this is going to sit in the spare tire well...





































Note the tubing and the spiral anti-kink sheathing match the body colour of the car  As do the VGA and north bridge water blocks...

And of course, the center piece of the whole system...the ASUS Xonar D2's...one for the passenger, one for the driver...
4 channels each for front/rear high/low network (active), plus another channel on one card will do the center/VU meters and on the other card, the sub out channel...


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

water and electric = no in my world, fans yes, lots of fans.


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

60ndown said:


> water and electric = no in my world, fans yes, lots of fans.


LOL...
I thought the same thing, but I have some experience now, as my home PC is a liquid cooled quad core Intel with water cooled NB/SB, RAM and nVidia 8800 GTX with twin radiators...
With that kinda $$$ tied up in a system, you need to get it right...
And I haven't had any mishaps at all...so far!


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

WuNgUn said:


> LOL...
> I thought the same thing, but I have some experience now, as my home PC is a liquid cooled quad core Intel with water cooled NB/SB, RAM and nVidia 8800 GTX with twin radiators...
> With that kinda $$$ tied up in a system, you need to get it right...
> And I haven't had any mishaps at all...so far!


you gotta be doin some wiked fast porn to need all that?


i guess thats one of the good things about me being older

i only need 128mb sds-ram to 'get off' nowdays


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

car-vibration-plumbing-leak-sparks-soldering-iron ......

fans man.


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## NaamanF (Jan 18, 2006)

Have done a couple carputers I would have gone with a mini-itx board and a low powered mobile CPU (what CPU are you using?). You will find the computer sucks a lot of juice and will quickly drain the battery (I hope you add an extra). 

Also seeing as the computer is going to be in the trunk and the fan noise will be isolated, I see no reason to go the water cooled route. Might look cool but just adds another place for failure. The simpler you can keep the carputer the better.


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## phyphoestilic (Jul 9, 2007)

NaamanF said:


> Have done a couple carputers I would have gone with a mini-itx board and a low powered mobile CPU (what CPU are you using?). You will find the computer sucks a lot of juice and will quickly drain the battery (I hope you add an extra).
> 
> Also seeing as the computer is going to be in the trunk and the fan noise will be isolated, I see no reason to go the water cooled route. Might look cool but just adds another place for failure. The simpler you can keep the carputer the better.


x2. I think watercooling is more then excess for use in a car.


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## Infinity (Jun 28, 2005)

Water cooling is where the future lies. I have 4 h20 rigs in my house, and every single one of them is dead silent. 3 of them have no fans at all. You don't realize the amount of noise a powerful machine can produce until you eliminate it. If I ever build a carputer, you can bet the farm it will be either water or phase-change cooled.


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

Infinity said:


> Water cooling is where the future lies. I have 4 h20 rigs in my house, and every single one of them is dead silent. 3 of them have no fans at all. You don't realize the amount of noise a powerful machine can produce until you eliminate it. If I ever build a carputer, you can bet the farm it will be either water or phase-change cooled.


I'm with you man! lol
My Intel quad-core, stock 2.4Ghz is running at a cool 3.4Ghz...with nary a whisper to be heard...
How sweet it is...

As far a springing a leak, well, how often does the cooling system in your car spring leaks? And talk a bout vibration!! An engine will try to shake those fittings loose way more than a dampened mainboard in the trunk...


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

WuNgUn said:


> As far a springing a leak, well, how often does the cooling system in your car spring leaks? And talk a bout vibration!! An engine will try to shake those fittings loose way more than a dampened mainboard in the trunk...


Although I applaud your desire and spirit...

The cooling system of my car was not designed to be set on a desk


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

Autiophile said:


> I think everyone's point was that the computer board and associated water cooling parts are not designed to handle automotive vibration levels, where automotive cooling systems are obviously designed to deal with a lot of vibration. Automotive cooling systems still spring leaks, but they don't mess up a lot of electronics in the process.
> 
> Make sure you tie those hoses in positions where they can't rub against something when they flex as the car bounces. Even just resting against a moderately rough surface could abrade enough material over time to weaken the line and leak. Although I don't think this water cooling thing is the best idea, if you design it well and take the appropriate stresses into consideration, you can make it work. I just hope you don't have to learn by trial and error .


Thanks for the concern...it's not as scary as it sounds. And with common sense and some forethought, it should be a non-issue.
While the vid card water block is mainly just eye-candy (it won't see any 3D workloads), the CPU and NB on this setup will appreciate the cooling...

The FSB is upped to 400Mhz, to match the RAM, and this brings the CPU to 2.2Ghz (AthlonXP 3200+). 
When leaving work in the middle of the afternoon, after the car has been baking in the sun all day, it'll be nice to have music/radio/NAV running instead of a hard crash brought on by overheating...

Even if I left it aircooled, there was the fan on the vid card, fan on the northbridge, and two 4000 rpm fans on the CPU heatsink. From a power consumption stand point, I'll probably be the same, if not less running the water pump...and I'd probably also need a couple of intake/exhaust fans in the setup as well to help keep everything cool...

All my auxillary hardware will run off a distribution block into regulators and relays...I plan on having a switch in the hatch or cabin for a low power consumption state...
Throttle back the fans, slow down the pump, kill the lighting, etc...

I'm also checking room for a couple of motorcycle batteries in series back there for those nights at the drive-in...

The power supply for the PC also has a low-voltage setting, wherein once the battery voltage reaches 11V, it'll power down (hibernate) the PC...

I'm looking to cover all the bases, don't worry!


And heat is the #1 enemy, be it in a car or in the home...


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

chad said:


> Although I applaud your desire and spirit...
> 
> The cooling system of my car was not designed to be set on a desk


If you have a look at the fittings in the pictures, you'll see the exact same pinch-type hose clamps that my car/motorcycle uses...
And on the universal blocks, it's even better...they use a compression fitting.
It'll be thuroughly bench tested (with no power running thru the board) prior to being mounted in the car...
It'll get jarring back there, but vibration will be limited...

These cooling systems are well designed, because the manufacturers know exactly what's at stake if there happends to be a failure...

But thanks


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

WuNgUn said:


> If you have a look at the fittings in the pictures, you'll see the exact same pinch-type hose clamps that my car/motorcycle uses...
> And on the universal blocks, it's even better...they use a compression fitting.
> It'll be thuroughly bench tested (with no power running thru the board) prior to being mounted in the car...
> It'll get jarring back there, but vibration will be limited...
> ...


Well hell then, carry on, get that bad oscar done


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

chad said:


> Well hell then, carry on, get that bad oscar done


Sadly, she's in the shop for a timing belt right now...
But I'm on it!


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## NaamanF (Jan 18, 2006)

WuNgUn said:


> Sadly, she's in the shop for a timing belt right now...
> But I'm on it!


My concern really isn't with the water cooling itself. I'ts the fact that you are using a lot of desktop components that need a lot of cooling and use a lot of power. What PSU are you using?


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

NaamanF said:


> My concern really isn't with the water cooling itself. I'ts the fact that you are using a lot of desktop components that need a lot of cooling and use a lot of power. What PSU are you using?


160 watt intelligent PSU


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## Infinity (Jun 28, 2005)

Have you decided on a radiator setup? I think a transmission cooler mounted under the car would be the preferred method on this one. That Swifty has the head pressure to handle the longer routing, so it wouldn't really be a problem.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

WuNgUn said:


> Thanks for the concern...it's not as scary as it sounds. And with common sense and some forethought, it should be a non-issue.
> While the vid card water block is mainly just eye-candy (it won't see any 3D workloads), the CPU and NB on this setup will appreciate the cooling...
> 
> The FSB is upped to 400Mhz, to match the RAM, and this brings the CPU to 2.2Ghz (AthlonXP 3200+).
> ...


Have you read about any issues with this? I've seen where sometimes the voltage drops to that point but the amp capacity of the battery is way too depleted to start the car. Its basically 11 volts with no CCA. Might wanna check into this just to make sure.


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## saMxp (Jun 22, 2007)

Ok, forget the water cooling - tell me more about these Asus Sound Cards. How good are those 1/8" jacks for sound quality? I was thinking about going active for my home audio and this has got me thinking of an alternative to a rack mounted crossover.


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

60ndown said:


> car-vibration-plumbing-leak-sparks-soldering-iron ......
> 
> fans man.


Eh it wont catch fire, usually people dont use just water, they use a non conductive coolant.



Infinity said:


> Water cooling is where the future lies. I have 4 h20 rigs in my house, and every single one of them is dead silent. 3 of them have no fans at all. You don't realize the amount of noise a powerful machine can produce until you eliminate it. If I ever build a carputer, you can bet the farm it will be either water or phase-change cooled.




or you could just dip your whole computer in vegetable Oil in a nice sealed lexan box 





(ignore the *****, she is annoying)




WuNgUn said:


> 160 watt intelligent PSU


m2atx?


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

saMxp said:


> Ok, forget the water cooling - tell me more about these Asus Sound Cards. How good are those 1/8" jacks for sound quality? I was thinking about going active for my home audio and this has got me thinking of an alternative to a rack mounted crossover.


The jack itself is unlikely to deteriorate sound quality but it is not the most reliable form of connection.


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## fcarpio (Apr 29, 2008)

Well, as long as you don't get any leaks you will be cooking! Or is it the other way around?


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

Megalomaniac said:


> m2atx?



Yes, M2ATX


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

saMxp said:


> Ok, forget the water cooling - tell me more about these Asus Sound Cards. How good are those 1/8" jacks for sound quality? I was thinking about going active for my home audio and this has got me thinking of an alternative to a rack mounted crossover.


Some people believe the 1/8" jack limits "bandwidth"...
These cards have gold plated jacks...they use Burr Brown and TI components...basically C-Media processor. And nice shielding cover on the card itself.
By far, the nicest sound card I've listen to...


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

Infinity said:


> Have you decided on a radiator setup? I think a transmission cooler mounted under the car would be the preferred method on this one. That Swifty has the head pressure to handle the longer routing, so it wouldn't really be a problem.


Using a 240mm rad (blue) with twin 120mm fans...
These will draw air in from the trunk, into the spare tire well and exit thru back into the trunk...


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Autiophile said:


> Those people are ****ing idiots.


Well said


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

so we can buy a hu with built in processing or do all this?

what does 'all this' give us that a quality hu wont?

seems like A LOT of work and risk $$$ to bump some snoop dog on teh way to the grocery store?


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## amapro704 (Mar 23, 2008)

Porn, 60ndown, porn. Nothing like the expression on the soccer moms face when she looks in your window and sees pam and tommy lee from a new angle. jk... what?




OP: what program(s) are you using for active? Plus I think the asus cards are 2v rms max output right? Does that make your car amps happy or would they like more?


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

amapro704 said:


> Porn, 60ndown, porn. Nothing like the expression on the soccer moms face when she looks in your window and sees pam and tommy lee from a new angle.


hm?

might have to get 1 with a 17" lcd and troll the local parks.


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## WuNgUn (Feb 9, 2008)

60ndown said:


> so we can buy a hu with built in processing or do all this?
> 
> what does 'all this' give us that a quality hu wont?
> 
> seems like A LOT of work and risk $$$ to bump some snoop dog on teh way to the grocery store?


It gives me blue tooth, 8" touch screen, Wi-Fi, Nav, DVD, music, tire pressure/temperature monitoring, OBD-II monitoring, voice, email, web, HDTV, HDRadio, satillite radio, HVAC climate control, analogue input/output to control whatever you wish, and anything you need a PC to do or want to do, upgradeability, tuneability, customization...
Am I forgetting anything?


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## amapro704 (Mar 23, 2008)

WuNgUn said:


> ...and anything you need a PC to do or want to do, upgradeability, tuneability, customization...
> Am I forgetting anything?


Um yeah, not to make myself sound like whore but... porn.


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## amapro704 (Mar 23, 2008)

Seriously tho OBDII interfacing is the coolest capabilty IMO. I know a guy who writes fuel/ air curves for supercharged beemers using his laptop. I can't wait to show him my setup! He was pushing 600hp and had a switch to shut off the blower to make the car even driveable- problem is he went down to like 130hp in an M3 cause he had lower compression pistons . Imagine having different curves at your fingertips for different driving situations.


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

WuNgUn said:


> It gives me blue tooth, 8" touch screen, Wi-Fi, Nav, DVD, music, tire pressure/temperature monitoring, OBD-II monitoring, voice, email, web, HDTV, HDRadio, satillite radio, HVAC climate control, analogue input/output to control whatever you wish, and anything you need a PC to do or want to do, upgradeability, tuneability, customization...
> Am I forgetting anything?


are you going to invest in a transreflective screen?


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