Background: CarPC’s were very popular a few years ago. The Z’s multiple cubbies made this car especially attractive for this project. Owners would build a computer that fit inside one of the rear cubbies and place a 7” LCD screen in the upper/forward cubby. The computer is usually integrated with the car’s A/V system making a unique CES.

Question: Does anyone install full computers (CarPC’s) in their Z anymore? It seems as though smart devices may replace the CarPC’s usefulness.

--Spike

 

Some people still do.

With the introduction of media headunits, however, it's becoming a lot less necessary.

 

cost vs benefit plus the time to setup, troubleshoot and install carpc versus using a drop in. If I had to do a car pc. I would use a mac mini along with dc power supply and a double din screen for VGA. This screen is made for the 350z and would look very nice in the stock spot. You will pair that up with mini itx pc or mac mini, and dc power supply. Add a pair of amps for speakers and subs to complete the package.

http://store.mp3car.com/Direct_Fit_D..._p/dsh-151.htm

http://store.mp3car.com/Direct_Fit_D..._p/dsh-153.htm

 

Once audio processing capability of smart devices can do some of the things that generally require the power of a PC, it pretty much will make it obsolete.

I think it's a race between smart devices being capable of audio processing versus windows being less cumbersome in a mobile environment. I do some audio production and the hardware/software I use is generally more expensive and complex than the average person would have, but the full audio processing capabilities of a PC with the right plug-ins and software makes all hardware except amplifiers obsolete.