Marine / Boat Computer - Where to start? Motherboard!

[-Jim-]

Gents,

My friend has a 2007 Cabo 40 Sportsfisher and when he ordered the Boat it came with a Nauticomp "Marinized" Computer.

It turns out "marinizing" was installing a Dell GX620 USFF (Ultra Small Form Factor - a Dell term and not a standard motherboard size - it's about 10.3' by 9.7') into a Nauticomp labeled steel enclosure that had the back panel of the PC exposed to make all the connections. It even used the Dell DA-2 power brick into AC to light it up. Of course it came with Win XP and a small 80 Gig Hard Drive, and it used the on board video out (one DVI) one Com Port., and 5 of the 6 rear USB connections.

Of course it's long past it's best before date (It just failed and I'm trying to fix it as a patch for the rest of the season) so he's looking for a replacement. He really only runs one navigation program call Nobeltec (see requirements below) but infrequently some weather software. The PC gets input from the Com Port.

"Minimum System Requirements - higher system requirements may be appropriate if multiple advanced features are used concurrently:
◾Microsoft Windows® 7, Windows® 8 , Windows XP SP3 (*)
◾CPU 2 GHz (Intel i7 recommended)
◾4GB of RAM (6GB recommended)
◾Video Board:
Minimum - dedicated Video Board with 512MB VRAM (ATI or NVIDIA)
Recommended - dedicated Video Board with 1GB VRAM (ATI or NVIDIA)
◾Screen Resolution: 1024 x 800 or higher
◾DVD reader
◾Hard Disk: 40 GB of free memory
◾USB or Serial Port for connecting instruments
◾Network adapter:100 Base-T for NavNet 3D, NavNet TZtouch, or Furuno 2XX7 Series Radar connection
◾Internet Connection for initial installation and setup highly recommended

(*) We do NOT recommend using Windows XP anymore. Support has been ended from Microsoft. We recommend all users to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8 as it will be the only OS supported in the future"

I'm checking out Motherboards and seemed to focussed in on an ASRock Z97 OC Formula

http://

It's not that he needs any overclocking but rather the overall robustness with a 5 year warranty has caught my eye. Also the Conformal Coating is a definite plus but less so. The Nauticomp / Dell GX620M displayed no signs of any serious corrosion when I took it apart today even though it has 2 fans running all the time in a push / pull configuration across the copper CPU Heatsink. (It's an Intel Pentium D so it always runs hot compared to today's processors.) I wish the ASRock Z97 OC Formula came in a smaller form factor as I'd like to keep the Case small enough to fit into the same spot in the Helm Consul. But if a bigger Case is need for maximum reliability than so be it.

Please chime in if you can add to the discussion. Adding extra cost will not really impact the build if we can justify the expense.

Thanks for the assist.

Regards,

Jim

 

[ingtar33]

Gents,

My friend has a 2007 Cabo 40 Sportsfisher and when he ordered the Boat it came with a Nauticomp "Marinized" Computer.

It turns out "marinizing" was installing a Dell GX620 USFF (Ultra Small Form Factor - a Dell term and not a standard motherboard size - it's about 10.3' by 9.7') into a Nauticomp labeled steel enclosure that had the back panel of the PC exposed to make all the connections. It even used the Dell DA-2 power brick into AC to light it up. Of course it came with Win XP and a small 80 Gig Hard Drive, and it used the on board video out (one DVI) one Com Port., and 5 of the 6 rear USB connections.

Of course it's long past it's best before date (It just failed and I'm trying to fix it as a patch for the rest of the season) so he's looking for a replacement. He really only runs one navigation program call Nobeltec (see requirements below) but infrequently some weather software. The PC gets input from the Com Port.

"Minimum System Requirements - higher system requirements may be appropriate if multiple advanced features are used concurrently:
◾Microsoft Windows® 7, Windows® 8 , Windows XP SP3 (*)
◾CPU 2 GHz (Intel i7 recommended)
◾4GB of RAM (6GB recommended)
◾Video Board:
Minimum - dedicated Video Board with 512MB VRAM (ATI or NVIDIA)
Recommended - dedicated Video Board with 1GB VRAM (ATI or NVIDIA)
◾Screen Resolution: 1024 x 800 or higher
◾DVD reader
◾Hard Disk: 40 GB of free memory
◾USB or Serial Port for connecting instruments
◾Network adapter:100 Base-T for NavNet 3D, NavNet TZtouch, or Furuno 2XX7 Series Radar connection
◾Internet Connection for initial installation and setup highly recommended

(*) We do NOT recommend using Windows XP anymore. Support has been ended from Microsoft. We recommend all users to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8 as it will be the only OS supported in the future"

I'm checking out Motherboards and seemed to focussed in on an ASRock Z97 OC Formula

http://

It's not that he needs any overclocking but rather the overall robustness with a 5 year warranty has caught my eye. Also the Conformal Coating is a definite plus but less so. The Nauticomp / Dell GX620M displayed no signs of any serious corrosion when I took it apart today even though it has 2 fans running all the time in a push / pull configuration across the copper CPU Heatsink. (It's an Intel Pentium D so it always runs hot compared to today's processors.) I wish the ASRock Z97 OC Formula came in a smaller form factor as I'd like to keep the Case small enough to fit into the same spot in the Helm Consul. But if a bigger Case is need for maximum reliability than so be it.

Please chime in if you can add to the discussion. Adding extra cost will not really impact the build if we can justify the expense.

Thanks for the assist.

Regards,

Jim

well, little known fact about windows 10 is it doesn't support non-widescreen resolutions, so if he's on a square screen we'll probably be on windows 7.

next, my father made himself a nautical computer using a NUC. Works perfect for him. I think he connected a usb GPS device to it; purchased an SSD, 4gb ram and a wireless/bluetooth networking card, plus windows 7 and called it a day. It's such a low power device it runs just fine on the boat's battery without concern for power draw; it's also cheap enough he could replace it every couple of years if he needed to.

If that's not to your friend's cup of tea, then get him a laptop like an ASUS Zenbook. $700, just rip out the old monitor and pc, replace it with one of those. they last 10+ hours on battery,no fans means it won't suck in any humid air and corrode, all aluminum body, and very low power draw so even charging it could be done without powering on the boat. That should do the job for him.

 

[-Jim-]

ingtar 33,

Thanks for the heads up on the Monitor. I didn't realise that was the case with Windows 10 at all. For the moment he's got a Furuno 4:3 CRT that he wasn't keen on replacing. It's a touch screen but he's got that turned off as a Safety concern in rough seas. It cost something crazy like $5K USD when he bought the boat, but he did say he'd go to an LCD if I found one he likes. (The CRT heats the Console a lot.)

As for going to a Laptop, he's on his second Panasonic Toughbook (Backup) but it too is getting long in the tooth. Like I said, it's not a cost issue but one of reliability.

I figured out the issue with the Nauticomp / Dell GX620M. One of the 500 Gig RAM sticks went bad and stopped it from booting. I pulled both sticks and replaced them with two 1 Gig sticks. I noticed the 80 Gig Hard drive (only 18 Gigs used) was getting very warm after running for a couple hours. The Fans have little effect on it. As it too was 8 years old I cloned it over to a 128 Gig SSD, and I'll modify the mounts to secure it. The Box is now seriously quick with twice the RAM and the SSD. That should get him through the rest of the season reliably and give me some breathing space to build him a really decent box.

I'll probably re-use the SSD in the next Box. I emailed Nobeltec about the lack of Win10 support but the plan was to go with Win7 for now. (He hates Win8.)

I've got to figure out the Motherboard and Case. If I go to Mini-ATX I'd need a suitable Case for a Graphics Card as that's the Nobeltec Spec. (I asked them about that too)

All suggestions are appreciated.

Regards,

Jim

 

[ingtar33]

ingtar 33,

Thanks for the heads up on the Monitor. I didn't realise that was the case with Windows 10 at all. For the moment he's got a Furuno 4:3 CRT that he wasn't keen on replacing. It's a touch screen but he's got that turned off as a Safety concern in rough seas. It cost something crazy like $5K USD when he bought the boat, but he did say he'd go to an LCD if I found one he likes. (The CRT heats the Console a lot.)

As for going to a Laptop, he's on his second Panasonic Toughbook (Backup) but it too is getting long in the tooth. Like I said, it's not a cost issue but one of reliability.

I figured out the issue with the Nauticomp / Dell GX620M. One of the 500 Gig RAM sticks went bad and stopped it from booting. I pulled both sticks and replaced them with two 1 Gig sticks. I noticed the 80 Gig Hard drive (only 18 Gigs used) was getting very warm after running for a couple hours. The Fans have little effect on it. As it too was 8 years old I cloned it over to a 128 Gig SSD, and I'll modify the mounts to secure it. The Box is now seriously quick with twice the RAM and the SSD. That should get him through the rest of the season reliably and give me some breathing space to build him a really decent box.

I'll probably re-use the SSD in the next Box. I emailed Nobeltec about the lack of Win10 support but the plan was to go with Win7 for now. (He hates Win8.)

I've got to figure out the Motherboard and Case. If I go to Mini-ATX I'd need a suitable Case for a Graphics Card as that's the Nobeltec Spec. (I asked them about that too)

All suggestions are appreciated.

Regards,

Jim

no problem.

I was surprised about the lack of windows 10 support for square screens as well till i saw it personally on a square screen one of my clients had. there right in the middle of the screen is this obnoxious popup from win10 saying it doesn't support the 4:3 resolution format. you can't close the popup either.

 

[Chayan4400]

ingtar 33,

Thanks for the heads up on the Monitor. I didn't realise that was the case with Windows 10 at all. For the moment he's got a Furuno 4:3 CRT that he wasn't keen on replacing. It's a touch screen but he's got that turned off as a Safety concern in rough seas. It cost something crazy like $5K USD when he bought the boat, but he did say he'd go to an LCD if I found one he likes. (The CRT heats the Console a lot.)

As for going to a Laptop, he's on his second Panasonic Toughbook (Backup) but it too is getting long in the tooth. Like I said, it's not a cost issue but one of reliability.

I figured out the issue with the Nauticomp / Dell GX620M. One of the 500 Gig RAM sticks went bad and stopped it from booting. I pulled both sticks and replaced them with two 1 Gig sticks. I noticed the 80 Gig Hard drive (only 18 Gigs used) was getting very warm after running for a couple hours. The Fans have little effect on it. As it too was 8 years old I cloned it over to a 128 Gig SSD, and I'll modify the mounts to secure it. The Box is now seriously quick with twice the RAM and the SSD. That should get him through the rest of the season reliably and give me some breathing space to build him a really decent box.

I'll probably re-use the SSD in the next Box. I emailed Nobeltec about the lack of Win10 support but the plan was to go with Win7 for now. (He hates Win8.)

I've got to figure out the Motherboard and Case. If I go to Mini-ATX I'd need a suitable Case for a Graphics Card as that's the Nobeltec Spec. (I asked them about that too)

All suggestions are appreciated.

Regards,

Jim

I wouldn't recommend custom building a PC for use in such a salty and wet environment as a boat. I live in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and I'm just off the coast. I've heard too many stories from people who live right next to the beach and on the local forums about their high-end PCs rusting to death to justify custom building for your application.

Modern consumer electronics are just not suited to your environment, and that may be why your old computer worked for so long; it was built especially for the boat. Visually, it may not appear different from any other Dell, but you can be sure that Nauticomp would have made some changes to suit marine environments, like using custom rustproof motherboards made by Dell, or spraying the motherboard down with some special coating, etc.

Get a computer made by a marine outfitter, and I can guarantee it will last longer than a custom one.

If you can afford it, this is a good option: Click Here. $2895

A more pocket friendly option: Click Here. $1495 (Comes with pre-installed windows 8 64-bit.).

Both will run off the boat's 12v DC Supply, something a normal PC will never do. They consume very little electricity, again unlike a normal PC which may overload the boat's Power Supply. Also, both will run your friend's software just fine!

Same goes for the display. If you want to upgrade it, here are some options:

High end: Click Here. 21.5" $3195 (works with windows 10.).

A cheaper option: Click Here. 15" $2495 (according to ingtar33, won't work with windows 10.).

UPDATE: I realised there is another, cheaper way to build a marine computer . A DIY approach, sure, but guaranteed to be a conversation starter!!

Step one: Gather your components:

Intel NUC: Click Here. $369
Airtight Container: Click Here. $13
8GB DDR3L RAM: Click Here. $43
250GB Samsung 850 mSATA SSD: Click Here. $99
1 Gallon of Mineral Oil (I'll explain later!): Click Here. $21
1/8" Steel Rod: Click Here. $7
Windows 7: Click Here. $89
Rubber grommets: Click Here. $10
Mini displayport to VGA: Click Here. $13

Step two: Assemble the NUC: Click Here to see a video on how to do it. Do not replace the case once done. Power it up one to ensure everything works well. Install windows on it from a USB. ( Click here to learn how to make one.)

Step three: Place the NUC in the container. Use duct tape on the sides to nicely secure it.

Step four: Drill individual holes in the lid of the container each big enough to thread the power, Display, keyboard, mouse or GPS cables to the NUC. Also poke a hole in the container lid directly above the power switch with the steel rod. Line the holes with the appropriate rubber grommet.

Step five: Thread the cables through the lid and connect them to the NUC. While you are at it, if you plan to power the unit through 12v, then cut the power cord it came with at the transformer (the 'brick'.). If not, use the power cord as it is. Also plug the mini displayport to VGA adapter in, and leave it in the box as well (Secure it with duct tape.). Plug the VGA cable to the adapter.

Step 6: Pour in the mineral oil! It is a non-conductor unlike water and so will be completely safe to submerge the computer in. Stop when the oil level is about 0.5" above the NUC. By eliminating contact with the sea breeze altogether, it will keep the components completely rust free.

Step 7: Close the container and lock the clips. Put the rod into the hole you made earlier and cut it down to size. That's it, you now have a working marine proof PC!

Step 8: Connect the power cable to the boat's 12v Power Supply, or 230v Power Supply depending on what your boat has. Connect the VGA cable to the monitor, and boot it up!

Ok, Ok , I know this is a very DIY approach, but it is a good way to prevent damage to the computer from sea breeze, so if you think you can do it, go for it! Definitely unique, but if you aren't keen on taking risks, then definitely buy a premade marine computer.

Click Here to see the original inspiration.

Total: $664

 

[-Jim-]

Thanks Chayann 4400,

That's definitely a different approach but a mineral oil filled unit really isn't in the cards here. (Boy those Linus videos were a bit silly. He's from NCIX, my favorite Computer Parts store.) I'll give you a little background but the owner is a Mechanical Engineer who has a few dollars and wants a reliable, maintenance free approach. And oil sloshing around in the Console in 20 foot swells in the North Pacific isn't where he, or I, am parked.

This is not my first rodeo either. I've probably built about 40 or 50 Boxes since Win95 migrated to Win98. It's just that I've never built one for a Boat before. Or should I say Yacht. This vessel has Auto Pilot, Radar, Air Conditioning, 2 Bathrooms - one with a shower, twin Mann Turbo 800 HP Diesels, Forced Air heating - even in the Flybridge, a desalination plant, and I even talked my Friend into getting SeaTel auto tracking Satellite System so we can watch Football in any type of Sea.

The Dell wasn't "marinized" in any discernible way. I looked all over it and even scratched a unimportant part of the Motherboard looking for any conformal coating residue and found none. The reason it was in such good shape is the console is left with a thermostatically controlled heater on all winter to drive off moisture.

I'm still looking for the right answer. Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Chayan4400]

Thanks Chayann 4400,

That's definitely a different approach but a mineral oil filled unit really isn't in the cards here. (Boy those Linus videos were a bit silly. He's from NCIX, my favorite Computer Parts store.) I'll give you a little background but the owner is a Mechanical Engineer who has a few dollars and wants a reliable, maintenance free approach. And oil sloshing around in the Console in 20 foot swells in the North Pacific isn't where he, or I, am parked.

This is not my first rodeo either. I've probably built about 40 or 50 Boxes since Win95 migrated to Win98. It's just that I've never built one for a Boat before. Or should I say Yacht. This vessel has Auto Pilot, Radar, Air Conditioning, 2 Bathrooms - one with a shower, twin Mann Turbo 800 HP Diesels, Forced Air heating - even in the Flybridge, a desalination plant, and I even talked my Friend into getting SeaTel auto tracking Satellite System so we can watch Football in any type of Sea.

The Dell wasn't "marinized" in any discernible way. I looked all over it and even scratched a unimportant part of the Motherboard looking for any conformal coating residue and found none. The reason it was in such good shape is the console is left with a thermostatically controlled heater on all winter to drive off moisture.

I'm still looking for the right answer. Any help will be appreciated.

Understood completely. I guess I was thinking more of much cheaper kind of boat, where the PC would be out in the open exposed to sea spray and the elements. That was a fault on my part, a mineral oil PC wouldn't at all be suitable for your use. Instead, try this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i GT 70.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($94.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($141.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($75.99 @ Directron)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($86.75 @ OutletPC)
Other: Silverstone Sugo SG13 ($46.39)
Other: Silverstone Short Cables ($34.99)
Total: $1025.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-25 12:43 EDT-0400

Link for the last two parts:
Short cables: Click Here.
Silverstone Sugo SG13: Click Here.

See here for an idea on the size of the case (Yes, Linus again!) : Click Here.

The build above won't be as tight a fit as Linus's one, because everything is more suited to that case.

 

[kriskret]

https://www.spartonre.com/littlepcs/?gclid=CjwKEAjw4IjKBRDr6p752cCUm3kSJAC-eqRtZqUa8jh5IHFPm7hu4P8zuASvro4tG5PqsYnxd2kfWRoCjK_w_wcB - Marine mini- computers. ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Friend of mine - 18 month at sea , - 3 brand new laptops dead, 4 cellphones dead, 2 satellite phones dead . Never rely on laptops while in salty environment .