an interesting proposition

[Uranium-235]

one of my business clients gave my number to a guy who is involved in a pretty cool business and needs my help...

the company he works for studies g-forces and other factors in race cars. The problem is, the units that measures the g-forces requires it be connected to a computer live while its on and measuring data. He needs some laptops with SSD's and XP. I told him that we could easily get new, cheap tops, and just put like 80gb ssd's inside them and install xp. if they're intel chipsets, installing xp is no issue (a few other chipsets have issues with xp-like newer nvidia gtx/s 500 series-as in no xp drivers)

but on the subject, what other kind of thing do you think I should be looking for or be aware of when it comes to having a laptop inside of a racecar. exposed to those g-forces and other enviormental factors being INSIDE a racecar at full speed

[ratdude747]

Re: an interesting proposition

Find a couple Dell Latitude D400 or D410 units...

and a couple NOS OEM batteries; the exisitn ones will likely be hosed. On the D400, given that a varta (not GP) backup batt is installed, you can warm-swap the batteries, so keep the old oen if it holds a charge.

and get a couple of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-pla-_-NA-_-NA

and a couple modern CF cards (both fast and big)

That's how you do an SSD on a PATA based system.

Those laptops are nearly bombproof... My old d400 saw lots of abuse and it stil runs fine. that includes hitting concrete out of a parked van among other incidents.

[Uranium-235]

Re: an interesting proposition

hmm, i'm thinking new but once I know how much the guy is willing to put into this and how many of them he needs (not sure if its even more then one) I'll consider that. I'm thinking something new if I can. but that is a good idea if he wants more then like 3, unless hes willing to spend big bucks

I would like to know some peoples opinion of vulnerable parts or anything else I should think of when it comes to a top being at such stresses

[Evil Lurker]

Re: an interesting proposition

Considering how much companies spend on race cars (nascar engines alone are like $250,000 and designed to last 4 hours) I would say that several thousand dollars is not out of the question.

Also considering the fact that some of these race cars can run at 3-4G's and vibrate like hell you want as few moving parts as possible.

[shovenose]

Re: an interesting proposition

The seemingly obvious chioce here would be Panasonic Toughbooks.

[ratdude747]

Re: an interesting proposition

I just looked... they actually DO make PATA SSDs...

[mockingbird]

Re: an interesting proposition

they actually DO make PATA SSDs

Did make PATA SSDs.. I know because I actually researched this laptop not too long ago... It shipped with an option for an SSD... It's almost impossible to find these days.

[ratdude747]

Re: an interesting proposition

Did make PATA SSDs.. I know because I actually researched this laptop not too long ago... It shipped with an option for an SSD... It's almost impossible to find these days.

You can still buy them.

edit- a lot of those are 1.8's too... those would fit Dell Latitude D420 and D430 units... considering how clunky the stock HDDs were, perhaps one could find a few ones with roasted drives...

[larrymoencurly]

Re: an interesting proposition

I don't know if they're fast enough, but how about Hobo data loggers? Years ago, Radio Shack sold them, and apparently they're used on the space station.

[Uranium-235]

Re: an interesting proposition

I don't think this is nascar, I'm not sure what kind of level these people are at, but if they had thousands they would be able to spend money on new g-force sensors that don't use software from a company that went out of business

[Scenic]

Re: an interesting proposition

What connectivity (for the measuring stuff) is needed?

I'd say go for a netbook, rather than an old fullsize laptop on which you'll spend more time and money trying to keep it running (and from falling apart).

If the CPU power of an Intel Atom is enough, and the connectivity (almost exclusively USB) isn't an issue, then why not?
There are even entirely passive cooled models now (for example the Asus Eee PC 1011CX with a dualcore Atom N2600), so if you put in a SSD, there won't be any moving parts (not even a fan) in those things, so the vibrations etc. shouldn't be a problem at all.
Not to mention battery life will definitely be better than with an old(er) fullsize laptop and you wouldn't have to buy questionable quality new china batteries just to get going either..

[ratdude747]

Re: an interesting proposition

What connectivity (for the measuring stuff) is needed?

I'd say go for a netbook, rather than an old fullsize laptop on which you'll spend more time and money trying to keep it running (and from falling apart).

If the CPU power of an Intel Atom is enough, and the connectivity (almost exclusively USB) isn't an issue, then why not?
There are even entirely passive cooled models now (for example the Asus Eee PC 1011CX with a dualcore Atom N2600), so if you put in a SSD, there won't be any moving parts (not even a fan) in those things, so the vibrations etc. shouldn't be a problem at all.
Not to mention battery life will definitely be better than with an old(er) fullsize laptop and you wouldn't have to buy questionable quality new china batteries just to get going either..

In terms of relaibility and not falling apart at those G's, I'd honestly trust a dell D400 or D410 more than a flimsy netbook. The Latitudes were built to last, the netbooks are built to die when the warranty is up.