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G5 USB 3.0 Front Panel and Audio

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Jul 6, 2011
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Motherboard
Asus Z170i Pro Gaming
CPU
i7 6700k @4.6
Graphics
980ti
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
Classic Mac
  1. Power Mac
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
  2. iOS
I was thinking of making a printed circuit board design of a professionally made 2 or 4 layer PCB to produce G5 Front panels. The specifications would be a 4 pole Audio jack which includes audio as well as mic, and 2 USB 3.0 ports. It would use the same connector as the original board, so it would jut be a direct replacement to get USB 3.0.

I'll update this thread as time progresses, but I just wanted to know how many people would be interested in buying such a product to go with their G5 mods. Projected prices seem to be in the ~$20 + Shipping range, and I just wanted to get a headcount for the first production run.
 
I was thinking of making a printed circuit board design of a professionally made 2 or 4 layer PCB to produce G5 Front panels. The specifications would be a 4 pole Audio jack which includes audio as well as mic, and 2 USB 3.0 ports. It would use the same connector as the original board, so it would jut be a direct replacement to get USB 3.0.

I'll update this thread as time progresses, but I just wanted to know how many people would be interested in buying such a product to go with their G5 mods. Projected prices seem to be in the ~$20 + Shipping range, and I just wanted to get a headcount for the first production run.

Humm... the original connector on the Apple part is only 18 pins. The standard USB3 with two ports is a 20 pin connector and the audio is a minimum of 5 pins. And the existing FireWire front panel port will not accept a USB3 port as is. However it will be interesting to see your innovation.

Good modding,
neil
 
Humm... the original connector on the Apple part is only 18 pins. The standard USB3 with two ports is a 20 pin connector and the audio is a minimum of 5 pins. And the existing FireWire front panel port will not accept a USB3 port as is. However it will be interesting to see your innovation.

Good modding,
neil

My plan was to design and fab a new front panel PCB somewhat resembling the Mac Pro board but with standard header connectors for Audio, USB 3.0 and power. I havn't broken ground on the project as I'm busy working on my SATA Backplane Project.
 
I was thinking of making a printed circuit board design of a professionally made 2 or 4 layer PCB to produce G5 Front panels. The specifications would be a 4 pole Audio jack which includes audio as well as mic, and 2 USB 3.0 ports. It would use the same connector as the original board, so it would jut be a direct replacement to get USB 3.0.

I'll update this thread as time progresses, but I just wanted to know how many people would be interested in buying such a product to go with their G5 mods. Projected prices seem to be in the ~$20 + Shipping range, and I just wanted to get a headcount for the first production run.

I would be super interested actually! Something like this is beyond my range of capabilities >.<

Although personally for my build I'd like something along the lines of a single USB 3.0 and a dud firewire port along with the 4 pole plug, just so that it looks right completely unchanged. And if you even if you had to make the connector bit a longer for more pins, there should be plenty of room in most G5 builds.

You have actually have me wondering how hard it would be to build one on my own...
 
I'd be in for a couple. I need one for my FreeNAS right now, so what's your timeframe?

Would this be just the blank board or a fully assembled front panel?

I'm trying to make it fully assembled, but there doesn't seem to be that much interest in these things, its gonna be really expensive to build them from what I'm seeing since PCBs cost so much at small quantities.
 
My personal issue with that is that it requires some modding of the aluminum which i'd personally rather not do. It has a very similar aesthetic, but it's not quite there for me...

That was the exact problem I had with that kit as well; while it looks nice and adds great functionality, it is very obvious since the rest of the computer is flat on the front.

Have to thought about maybe asking TheLaserHive to see if you might get a larger audience from that site?

If nothing else, if you design one and build one for yourself, please do share how you did! I would love to give it a shot to make one for my PC. Having a working front audio port would be nice. Plus I've been so spoiled by USB 3... hehe.
 
So I calculated it out and I would be able to produce 15 of these with an upfront cost to me of $165. At that cost, I think that a fair price for these would be $20+Shipping, and cables would be on you, Or about $30+shipping if I'm making the cables. USB 3.0 Female to Female cables seem to be quite expensive/elusive and I can't seem to get a good seller.
As for sharing how I made it, I could, but I wouldn't be able to cover my production costs if I only made a couple. It would cost me around $100 for a single board if I made one and I would have quite a bit of leftovers on my hands.
 
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