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[Discussion] Fit a PC in a G5 PowerMac Enclosure!

TribesMan

By TribesMan,
in Mods and Overclocking

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TribesMan
TribesMan
Posted
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So here is the deal. I bought empty PowerMac G5 enclosure on ebay for $100 (new). Now I'm trying to fit PC components in that box. So far i've cut all unnecesary standoffs wich are used for mounting G5 logic board and are not compatible with ATX motherboards. Now I'm waiting to get new ones... my friend will make them.

 

Here are some pictures of the enclosure and the progress so far. G5 project

 

After i manage to fit ATX motherboard into the enclosure I will remove all ATX back panel connectors and replace them with new ones that will fit holes on the back side of PowerMacs enclosure.

 

But I have one problem. I'm looking for new intel 915G motherboard (for the best OS X compatibility) but i'm unable to find full ATX motherboard that is "compatible" with PowerMac enclosure. I need PCI Express slot on fourth place counting from the bottom... Just like my NF4 motherboard. I searched all manufacturers web sites, but I was unable to find anything like it. Not even a 915P model... There are only mini ATX motherboards with that layout, but I want full size ATX.

Does anybody know of a motherboard that is "compatible"? Please tell me if you do...

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firebush05
firebush05
Posted
Posted

oooh Thats nice!

 

I was thinking of modding my iMac (G3) into an x86 machine, but gave up.. way to much work you have to have a non standard mobo, etc. Then there's the heat issues, lackof room for video cards etc. But anyway, that case is beutiful. Good luck.

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  • 2 weeks later...
DiaboliK
DiaboliK
Posted
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in the developer kits with the apple hardware it useds a modified intel d915guxlk codenamed barracuda the only thing different between the retail d915guxlk and the barracuda board is the barracuda board has the same mac ports as a reg mac to fit a normal g5 case.

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  • 1 month later...
ced1610
ced1610
Posted
Posted

i have done it...

 

asus p5ld2-vm (micro atx) board.

 

you must create cable that reach the rear of the g5 tower and the rear of the motherboard. (or you can cut it but if you want it to be nice...)

there is not much place than 2 cm !!!!

 

fill non-used port place with glue gun ( put adesive outside and glue inside and when the glue is cold remove adesive)

for front buttons, you must cut the small board (on the button socket level) otherwise the computer start up himself and the button is not responding.

 

reach usb and fw with any cables to the motherboard (long enough to go under the board and reach there ports) and to the fw pci board

 

create a cable motherboard vga to pci bracket.

 

sata cable must be changed : they are too small

install new and put them under mainboard too

 

for the alim : i have used X-shuttle small alim !!! (inside the box, down)

you must only reach the rear of the g5 box alim connector place to the x-shuttle alim board...connect apple alim to x-shuttle connector (reffer to the cd connector to find colors with tester...all cables are black..)

 

(Moderator edit - translation - alim = power supply!)

 

and all is well working.

 

(the alim is ok, i have oc my prescott 3 ghz to 3,9 ghz !!!)

 

one more think...

 

for motherboard support,

 

remove apple supports (move them left to right, they are only in 1/2mm of alu, WHEN YOU REMOVE THEM THERE IS ALUMINIUM UNDER...DONT BE AFFRAID )

do not put them to trash !!!!

 

i have created gomme supports with cutted apple screw support inside

(fix it with real glue on the g5 box, with real glue, you can't extract it when motherboard is fixed...)

 

hope this help you

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Templeton Peck
Templeton Peck
Posted
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I've done it too. My case was new but stripped of all internal components including bezel I/O board, and internal mounting hardware. I actually paid extra for the optical drive door! My how things have changed. I could've ordered the rest of the parts for $20 a pop, but all I really needed were the drive mounts, which I made myself out of a $5 sheet of aluminum. I had plans making my own bezel I/O board and also making an "adapter board" that would plug into the back of my motherboard and relocate the mobo's rear I/O ports to the case's rear I/O panel. But I havn't really had time to implement that elegant solution. In the meantime, I've basically rerouted all the essential ports (VGA, stereo-out, ethernet) to the first PCI slot. I also bought one of those PCI brackets with four USB ports, that plugs into the auxiliary USB 2.0 ports on the motherboard (it's a standard part, I forget what it's called). Anyway it's a temporary solution, but it works great. Other than that, my rig is pretty slick. I even got the power LED working.

 

But there's a couple of things I noticed from the pictures that I've done a little differently. First, you should remove the optical drive bezzel (from the drive, not the G5 case). The reason is it doesn't play nicely with the case's drive door, and you could also have some clearance issues. The optical drives in the real G5s have their bezels removed too, so that's how it's supposed to work. It's easy to do. First, stick a paper clip in the drive to eject the tray. Then carefully pop the plate off the tray. If you need to remove the rest of the bezel, you can do so simply by pressing a few small tabs on around the perimeter with a small flat blade screw driver.

 

The second thing I noticed was that you used a hack saw to remove the standoffs. I guess it's too late now, but you could've just used a pair of pliers. Just rock them slightly and give a good tug, and they come out cleanly. But that's just FYI, I know it's too late. Anyway, nice job so far, and welcome to the club.

 

Photo.jpg

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Templeton Peck
Templeton Peck
Posted
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You know what's missing? An Apple Cinema Display :o, that monitor just looks unfit with the G5 case hehe

 

I know, I know. At least it's silver though. I'm waiting till 10.4.4 gets cracked, so I can get safely get rid of this awful motherboard (which doesn't have DVI) so I can hook up a proper LCD. However, since the pic was taken, I got myself an Apple Pro Keyboard :2cents: which somewhat offsets the fugly CRT. I was thinking about getting one of those ADD2-N cards, but AIR, some folks with my mobo had problems with the card, so I figured it wasn't worth the trouble. So, for now, I must continue frying my eyes at 1280x960@60Hz. The next lower setting is 1024x768@85Hz, so I'm screwed both ways. I'd be perfectly willing to settle for 1152x864@72Hz, but no such setting is available in OS X :hysterical:. And I don't want to buy an X600 since I have a perfectly good BFG 6800GT. Indeed, I'm in quite a pickle. Maybe I'll give the ADD2-N card a shot after all.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Templeton Peck
Templeton Peck
Posted
Posted

A couple of people have asked me how to make the front panel I/O board work. Since my case didn't come with that board I can't say how to make it work, but I can tell you how to make the power button/LED work. The power button/LED is on a 3 wire plug, meaning 2 wires provide power to the LED (a + current and a ground) and the third wire shorts to ground when the button is pressed. So you'll need to connect the following pins from the I/O panel header of your motherboard to the plug in the correct order: PLED+, GND, PWRBTN# (these names came straight out of the ASRock Instruction Manual - they may vary by manufacturer). The only problem is I don't remember what the correct order is so you might have to go through all 6 combinations to find the one that works. Some combinations will yeild strange results (i.e. the LED will be dim or the LED will only come on while the button is held in). If this happens it means it's the wrong combination.

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Templeton Peck
Templeton Peck
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Are PSUs easy to install in those?

 

Nothing's easy to install in these. But I found a pretty simple solution to the PSU problem. I completely removed the PSU from it's housing and glued it to a piece of foam rubber from the underside of a mouse pad (for insulation). Then I secured the unit to the bottom-rear of the case via the two screw holes which just happened to line up precisely with the holes in the PSU. I made a small bracket for the AC jack which I attached to the two cooling fins of the PSU. I know this probably sounds a bit unorthadox, but if you saw the G5 case you'd see the logic. Heat isn't an issue either since the PSU is right next to a pair of 80mm cooling fans (I didn't need the original PSU fan anymore). I think this is the most efficient way to cool the PSU.

 

The only other way to do it would be to somehow mount the PSU roughly 5" from the rear of the case and make a short extension cable and a custom bracket to relocate the AC jack to the port on the case. This is probably a little bit more difficult to do, but if you're paranoid about having an exposed PSU in your case it might be the way to go.

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jimbarfield
jimbarfield
Posted
Posted

http://www.overclockers.com/tips1133/index.asp

 

This has to be one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. I don't know, it struck a nerve with my juvenile joke-playing sense of humour.

 

The fact that he got 1300 emails in 48 hours from horrified Mac fans is amazing just in itself.

 

This overclocking site was a personal fav of mine back when....

 

Maybe somebody else things it's funny.

 

Jim

 

BTW- nowadays I am volunteering for the Darwine project, and have made a request to add a link to the OSX Project on Darwine's home page. I submitted the new php file to the CVS and I think it is going to be updated.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Dafut
Dafut
Posted
Posted

Heey,

 

I'm also building a Pentium 4 into a PowerMac G5 case. It's nearly finished, I only have to do some little thing such as the powerbutton an USB at the front of the case. Here are some pics:

 

41627phpVeCapY.JPG

 

41627php1V7c6u.JPG

 

41627phpNTx2KB.JPG

 

41627phpVg21M5.jpg

 

(My english may be not so good but that's because I'm from the Nethelands)

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  • 2 weeks later...
OPTiK
OPTiK
Posted
Posted

That's wicked. One of these days I'll muster up enough cash and courage to take on such a task. Those white LED fans and the matte aluminum case come together like prostiutes and STDs (that was a compliment) :blink:

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  • 3 weeks later...
bob050
bob050
Posted
Posted
Heey,

 

I'm also building a Pentium 4 into a PowerMac G5 case. It's nearly finished, I only have to do some little thing such as the powerbutton an USB at the front of the case. Here are some pics:

 

41627phpVeCapY.JPG

 

41627php1V7c6u.JPG

 

41627phpNTx2KB.JPG

 

41627phpVg21M5.jpg

 

(My english may be not so good but that's because I'm from the Nethelands)

 

I am going to do this mod also. Have the case just waiting to figure out how to do it. How did you mount the front fans and power supply?

 

Anyone have any tips or pointers?

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