Desperately need guidance for Mac Pro mod

discocaine · Apr 7, 2013

Hi all,

Build Specs:

Mac Pro 2006 Case
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
Intel i5 3570k
Corsair TX 650
Corsair Vengeance 16GB Kit
Evga GTX 650 Graphics Card

I'm finally starting on my first Mac Pro mod after browsing the forums for a few months now. I've successfully built my first hack pro, which I've included the specs of. I made the mistake of deciding on a full size ATX mobo for the build, not realizing that the form factor would be an issue with the small amount of interior space in the Mac Pro case. The size issue will require me to make a few modifications to the metal shelf that separates the optical drive and PSU compartment from the lower half. I think that by cutting the tabs to the drive sleds above the mobo I can fit the cabling to the headers without an issue. The main concern that I'm having a hard time with is how to mount the mobo while allowing for my GTX 650 to sit flush with the existing PCI slots on the rear panel of the case. I've seen plenty of examples of people cutting their own back panel to fit both I/O and PCI slots, however, I'd really like to retain the look of the existing slots if at all possible. Although I will be making a cut for the I/O to sit recessed from the back. I originally thought that I'd rip out the existing standoffs and tap into the side where they're set in using 440 standoffs to align my mobo, however I've come to realize that wont be possible considering how thin the backplate is. For those who use aftermarket mobo trays like the one Lian Li makes, does that thread into the existing standoffs and then to the users mobo or how does it work? I'm sorry for not understanding completely but this is a portion of the build I'd rather not screw up. I know that JB Weld is another option but I'd really like to stray away from it at all costs. My last concern is after doing loads of research on getting the case wired up, I'm still lost on the front panel. I have checked out Aquamacs diagram, as well as the edits that have been made to it, but still can't make sense of how to go from the panel to the mobo headers. Does it require ordering a special harness, the one that is mentioned as SAS to SATA, or is it something different? To be clear I don't care about firewire or audio functionality on the front panel, I simply wish to have the USB and Power switch work, as well as the power LED above the switch. Thanks so much for all your help. I have tried my best to complete the task on my own but would greatly appreciate the help of all those who've gone before me.

neilhart · Apr 8, 2013

discocaine said:
Hi all,

Build Specs:

Mac Pro 2006 Case
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
Intel i5 3570k
Corsair TX 650
Corsair Vengeance 16GB Kit
Evga GTX 650 Graphics Card

I'm finally starting on my first Mac Pro mod after browsing the forums for a few months now. I've successfully built my first hack pro, which I've included the specs of. I made the mistake of deciding on a full size ATX mobo for the build, not realizing that the form factor would be an issue with the small amount of interior space in the Mac Pro case. The size issue will require me to make a few modifications to the metal shelf that separates the optical drive and PSU compartment from the lower half. I think that by cutting the tabs to the drive sleds above the mobo I can fit the cabling to the headers without an issue. The main concern that I'm having a hard time with is how to mount the mobo while allowing for my GTX 650 to sit flush with the existing PCI slots on the rear panel of the case. I've seen plenty of examples of people cutting their own back panel to fit both I/O and PCI slots, however, I'd really like to retain the look of the existing slots if at all possible. Although I will be making a cut for the I/O to sit recessed from the back. I originally thought that I'd rip out the existing standoffs and tap into the side where they're set in using 440 standoffs to align my mobo, however I've come to realize that wont be possible considering how thin the backplate is. For those who use aftermarket mobo trays like the one Lian Li makes, does that thread into the existing standoffs and then to the users mobo or how does it work? I'm sorry for not understanding completely but this is a portion of the build I'd rather not screw up. I know that JB Weld is another option but I'd really like to stray away from it at all costs. My last concern is after doing loads of research on getting the case wired up, I'm still lost on the front panel. I have checked out Aquamacs diagram, as well as the edits that have been made to it, but still can't make sense of how to go from the panel to the mobo headers. Does it require ordering a special harness, the one that is mentioned as SAS to SATA, or is it something different? To be clear I don't care about firewire or audio functionality on the front panel, I simply wish to have the USB and Power switch work, as well as the power LED above the switch. Thanks so much for all your help. I have tried my best to complete the task on my own but would greatly appreciate the help of all those who've gone before me.

Your are in the right place to ask for help and get it.

First I agree the your choice of motherboard makes this task much more difficult then using a Micro_ATX motherboard. So that is the first thing to address. Why not select a Micro-ATX motherboard? This is a small price to pay to get past the major obstacles that a an ATX motherboard brings to the party.

Or why not do a G5 PowerMac hack instead of a Mac Pro hack? With a G5 PowerMac, you can purchase a front panel harness and there are many conversion examples to select from.

And go online and checkout the kits offered by the Laserhive.com

And welcome to the forum and good luck.
neil

discocaine · Apr 8, 2013

neilhart said:
Your are in the right place to ask for help and get it.

First I agree the your choice of motherboard makes this task much more difficult then using a Micro_ATX motherboard. So that is the first thing to address. Why not select a Micro-ATX motherboard? This is a small price to pay to get past the major obstacles that a an ATX motherboard brings to the party.

Or why not do a G5 PowerMac hack instead of a Mac Pro hack? With a G5 PowerMac, you can purchase a front panel harness and there are many conversion examples to select from.

And go online and checkout the kits offered by the Laserhive.com

And welcome to the forum and good luck.
neil

Neil, I made the mistake of selecting and purchasing my hardware before contemplating the Mac Pro mod. I purchased the Pro case with the intention of wanting a dual optical drive bay, as well as wanting to top mount my PSU over the G5 style. I know I shot myself in the foot by failing to consider the size of the form factor, however its too late now to do anything about it.

I will probably end up going the route of JB Weld to reattach the mobo standoffs to fit the new board. Regardless of the fact that it's too large for comfort, I will be making cuts to the separator anyhow, so that's not so much of an issue. My main concern is the front panel. I just don't quite understand how to wire up the cable. Is there no way to make a cable to go from the front panel to mobo headers for PW Switch in the way that other cases do? If its not possible to have anything other than the power switch and LED working, I'd be fine with that too. I don't absolutely need to have USB working on the front panel. I know it's unorthodox to make things unnecessarily difficult for myself, but I like a challenge when it comes to modding.

neilhart · Apr 9, 2013

discocaine said:
...

My main concern is the front panel. I just don't quite understand how to wire up the cable. Is there no way to make a cable to go from the front panel to mobo headers for PW Switch in the way that other cases do? If its not possible to have anything other than the power switch and LED working, I'd be fine with that too. I don't absolutely need to have USB working on the front panel. I know it's unorthodox to make things unnecessarily difficult for myself, but I like a challenge when it comes to modding.

Yes this is possible. However with the documentation available it should not be hard to do the audio and USB also. The Firewire for most people today is not very interesting but that is doable also. Just don't be intimated by the task.

Do you have the MacPro harness section that plugs into the front panel?

And look at my Mac Pro hack thread, post # 15 deals with the front panel wiring.

neil

discocaine · Apr 12, 2013

Neil,

I do indeed have the front panel, and the wiring that originally came with it. I went ahead and began trying to fashion up my own cable out of the 8-pin connector cable that came with it. I took pin 8 and wired a single header for the MSG- header on my mobo, and then pin 6 to the PW+ header on my mobo as well. The remaining wires I wired up according to Mooner's Diagram, using Aquamac as a reference as well. I still cannot get the Power LED to light up, even after splicing a SATA cable to the USB header on my mobo. I did not splice in the remaining 5V lines from Mooners Diagram as per instructed, because I don't understand why he says to connect to SATA connector. Does he mean to run the lines to the cable I spliced or to somewhere else? I tapped into the 24-pin ATX connector from the PSU for the other voltages as per Aquamac. What am I missing?

discocaine · Apr 17, 2013

With all due respect can no one assist me in the pursuit to get my front panel wired up correctly?

I found a thread posted by "Powerpcg5", a user who did a build with no cuts and used all PCI solutions to complete. He references Mooner's pinout diagram in his thread, and I replicated his cable for the 8-pin harness for the front panel as best as I could. He splices the 8-pin cable to connect to a 4-pin standard Molex connector. Much easier in my opinion that splicing into the ATX PSU cable.

Before I was only getting power on for the motherboard, with no way to force shutdown the computer. Now after making this new 4-pin Molex adapter to the front panel I get the ability to shut it down by holding the power button, so I'm assuming the grounds are run correctly. However, I still can't get my Power LED to work no matter what I try. I've tried remaking the SATA to USB cable following Mooner and Aquamacs diagrams, but still cannot get the LED. I've read in multiple threads that the grounds for the USB have to be tied in correctly in order for the Power LED to light up. What am I doing wrong?!? All of the SATA cables I've split, the outside grounds as well as the two inner are made of what it appears to be simple BUS wire and doesn't solder very well despite my experienced abilities. I've made sure to shield them using heatsink once spliced to the USB Header but still nothing. Please someone help me. This is getting very frustrating.

neilhart · Apr 20, 2013

I am sorry that I did not find you response to my post before this time.

You may have a defective LED that is causing you the problem.
.

.
You may need to bypass the front panel printed circuit card and check the three pin connector to the LED/Switch assembly.

You can remove the panel from the system and gain access the the LED/Switch assembly.

There is a very small three pin connector on the front panel with three leads going to the LED/Switch assembly.

Disconnect this and remove the from panel. The LED/Switch assembly is held in the front panel by a very small snap ring. I would not remove the assembly unless it actually tests 'bad'.

Below is a quick sketch of the back of the LED/Switch assembly printed circuit card. The printed circuit is fairly small and the three solder pads are:

pin 1 = LED +
pin 2 = common ground
pin 3 = Switch +
.

.
I use a quickly put together 3VDC battery pack (two AA cells in series) and connect the center pin to the negative terminal of the battery pack and the plus lead to the LED+ pin. The LED will light up if it is good.

Assume that it is does light up, then you need to trace the problem through the front panel to the pins on you "front panel header" on the motherboard.

If the LED does not light up, it is either bad our your battery pack has a problem. Also you could have the positive and negative leads switched around.

This what it is all about… hacking is fun
neil

edit: Here is a photo of the raw LED/Switch assembly in a front panel in a chassis.
.

.

spence4 · Apr 20, 2013

I defer to the great neilhart on these things, but I think you may be confusing two different cables. The SATA cable is there only to provide USB functionality to the front panel. You cut up that SATA cable with the 270 degree end on it that came with the Mac Pro and you connect that to a generic double USB header - you have your front USBs working. The other cable is an 8-pin microfit 3.0 molex connector that you have to splice into either a SATA power or Molex power plug... all you need is 5V, 12V, and GND. Then you have a single cable going to the pw of the motherboard and a single cable going to the pw LED of the motherboard. Have you tried moving the single cable that goes to PW LED from + to - or vice versa? I know it sounds dumb, but on mine that made a difference. If it was on the one, no LED if I moved it over, it worked. I would second neil's suggestion about picking up an mATX board. I was in the same position, first hack was an ATX, then realized I wanted to move it into a Mac Pro case. I was adamant that I would not make a single cut - I wanted to use the original ports at the back. So I eventually got a new mobo. The back and inside of it are in my signature. Totally worth the extra 100 for a really clean looking hack in my opinion. Good luck.

discocaine · Apr 21, 2013

Neil,

Thanks very much for your reply. I hope I didn't come off as impatient or unappreciative at best, it's just frustrating to be defeated by something that so many have done before me with what seems to be little effort. I will definitely try your suggestion asap as that would give me a good indication of whether or not it even works. The last time I tested the setup I noticed the LED would quickly turn on and off upon pressing the Power button, but would never stay on. I really do wonder if it has anything to do with the grounds. I took Pin 1 from the 8-pin Molex connector and soldered it to the two middle grounds on a standard 4-pin Molex power connector for the PSU. This is also where I tapped into the 5V and 12V lines. As per Mooners instruction for getting the USB ports powered, I took pins 4, 5, and 7 and tied them all to the 5V line on the Molex connector. If I wanted to make the whole process easier, couldn't I simply run a wire from the Power Switch to the PW+ and Power LED headers on the motherboard and solder a ground wire to them? Wouldn't this effectively bypass the need to run the power switch through the front panel? I would still want to use the front panel for USB connectivity, but it seems more logical to make life easier than to keep fighting to get a simple LED working. Thanks again for your response.

Spence,

I too give way to Neil when it comes to these matters as he's forged a pretty wide path. I don't take offense to your comment as I know in the past how easy it is to overlook such simple fixes in the rush and frustration of things. But to be fair, I have tried reversing the headers to see if that solved my problem, and to no avail it didn't. I appreciate your suggestion about switching motherboards but at this point, as previously stated I'm stuck with the ATX board I have, and am rather happy with it aside from it's form factor. I splurged a little too much when purchasing the parts for this build as it is and although I regret my selection of size for the mobo, its more important that I make due with what I have now. It has been done before is what I keep telling myself.

neilhart · May 4, 2013

discocaine - is this issue with the power LED closed?

neil

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