From PC to G5 (ATX)

My plan was to transfer all my current hardware to the G5 case with minimal cutting. As I mentioned before, I am not an experienced craftsman and the less I have to cut, the less I can screw up. Also I didn't want to buy any parts from the internet. I intended to do everything myself.
I stripped the complete case, but I won't include pictures of that process because there are enough detailed guides of the G5 disassembly on the internet.



This are two pictures of the back and inside of my old case. Nothing too special. As I intended to reuse nearly all parts, I completely disassembled this case as well.

Mounting the motherboard was the hardest part of the whole process, especially because using a pre-made motherboard tray was a no-go for me. Making one myself was the only option, and so I did. The aluminium backplate you see below was cut from a very old PC case of my grandparents'. I drilled holes on the exact same spot as the screw holes on the inside of the G5 case, so I could mount it easily.



It was time to mount the motherboard on the tray. Such a pain... My plan was to use the brass standoffs which were used to mount the motherboard in my old case. Sounded like a great plan, but the standoffs are American measurement. I have been to 3 DIY stores but no one had nuts who fitted the standoffs perfectly. The 3M were too small, the 4M too big. This frustrated me. I had to find another way and besides I was afraid that I would damage the motherboard because I had too move it so often. Again, I never did this before so I had no idea of how much the mb could handle.

It costed some time but with my dad I found a perfect workaround. It's even a better way than mounting it with standoffs since I was now able to change the height of the motherboard relative to the aluminium tray.



After successfully mounting the motherboard on the tray there was one small problem. Since the tray was only mounted to the case at the upper side (because there are only screw holes at the top), the lower side of the tray bent a little bit. I fixed this with four cork coasters which I double-taped to the bottom of the tray. Note that they are not taped to the case! This might be a somewhat strange solution but it worked out perfectly. Don't be confused, on the picture only the upper coaster is taped yet.




The next part was to 'permanently' assemble the motherboard in the case. Time for cutting! I used a Dremel to cut the back of the case. I had to file the top a bit because the I couldn't reach the green audio output. This picture was made before I did that however. Also I cut a big part of the top divider. Unfortunately, I don't have a clear picture of that.




My next goal was to mount the rear fans. This wasn't very hard. I had to cut the upper-left side because the motherboard was just a bit too much to the right. I wanted them to be on the exact same spot as they were at the original case. Rewiring was no option for me so I replaced the stock fans with two Noiseblocker BlackSilent XE-2 92mm fans. These were the only pieces of hardware I bought for this mod. You can see them mounted to the stock tray in the final pictures.




Now it's time to mount the HDD bay. I intended to reuse the original HDD bay but that didn't really work out well, so I gutted one from an old PC. I drilled holes in both the top divider and the HDD bay and mounted them to each other with 3mm screws and nuts.




Next part: the PSU! I used another part my grandparents' case to make two brackets of aluminum. I screwed four holes in both the bottom of my case and these brackets. You can't see this on the picture though. I was so excited when the end was coming closer and closer that I forgot to make decent pictures... Anyway, I double-taped these brackets to the PSU which was then very easily to mount.




Nearly done! The result so far:



Note that I reused the original DVD superdrive that came with the original G5 since my own didn't function properly with OSX. However, this one doesn't work as well because it's connected via pata instead of sata. I didn't know that. Might replace it with another one later.
http://www.tonymacx86.com/general-help/163949-need-help-dvd-drive.html


I connected all the PSU cables and peripherals and it should be ready to boot. After a short moment of fear I pressed the powerbutton on my motherboard and... It worked!

This build might not be the cleanest and most perfect one from the inside, but I am really happy that it runs well. From the outside it looks great. The front panel doesn't work though, but I will order a cable from http://g5atxcables.weebly.com/g5-atx-adapter-cables.html so I don't have to do the soldering myself - which I don't have the skills for too.

Anyway, here are the pictures. If there are any questions, feel free to ask.





Cheers!

Thijmen.

PS: This is not my complete setup. I tested it at the kitchen table.


Update 1
http://www.tonymacx86.com/powermac-g5/163998-pc-g5-atx.html#post1155260

Update 2, major
http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/from-pc-to-g5-atx.163998/#post-1155260

Update 3, major
From PC to G5 (ATX)

Hi!!

I just wanted to say you've done very well given your tight budget! I like how creative you got with the coasters!

Maybe try get some money together and sort the power button? - Just a suggestion!!

Very well done and I'm really impressed! I'm also 17 by the way, so its quite impressive to see how two 17 year olds from different parts of Europe (I know the UK isn't considered part of Europe) can create such creative designs!

Good luck with the rest of your Hackintosh!

Jack

I did my best to create a good result with the recourses and skills I have, and I think that worked out quite well.

As for the powerbutton, I mentioned in my thread that I'll buy a connector for the complete frontpanel. Check the thread for the link. You might consider buying one yourself. It costs 25 euros without shipping and it's totally worth it, since I will most likely screw things up if I solder it myself. I hardly have any soldering experience. It saves a lot of time as well.

Thanks for your support

Good luck with your own build Jack.

Black CH ATX Mods Front Cable, that's the one I'm using right now. but I also suggest if you have USB 3 front panel or planning to have a motherboard with usb 3 port in the front then maybe you can check Laser Hive's front panel mod kit.



by the way, You really made a neat job using the G5 on a tight budget. I had done that before but was not satisfied that's why I fully modified mine. Fans were very loud and lots of wires everywhere.

I suggest you place your HDD the opposite way so that your cable will be at the back. Or... route it to the bottom of the HDD so that the HDD cables. You can check stiligFox mod how nice he did the wiring especially for the HDD Cage.

You really made a neat job using the G5 on a tight budget. I had done that before but was not satisfied that's why I fully modified mine. Fans were very loud and lots of wires everywhere.

Click to expand...

Thank you. There are a lot of things that I could've done better, but with my budget and experience I am happy with the result.

I suggest you place your HDD the opposite way so that your cable will be at the back. Or... route it to the bottom of the HDD so that the HDD cables. You can check stiligFox mod how nice he did the wiring especially for the HDD Cage.

Click to expand...

I don't mind too much about the cables. A clean inside is not very important for me since all parts were used before and I didn't intend buying new hardware.

However, if I will make another one with new parts some day, I'll be doing it like you did. Clean and beautiful both in- and outside. See this project as my starters project with many builds to come in the next few years.



Should my post be moved to completed mods?

Thij said:

Thank you. There are a lot of things that I could've done better, but with my budget and experience I am happy with the result.



I don't mind too much about the cables. A clean inside is not very important for me since all parts were used before and I didn't intend buying new hardware.

However, if I will make another one with new parts some day, I'll be doing it like you did. Clean and beautiful both in- and outside. See this project as my starters project with many builds to come in the next few years.



Should my post be moved to completed mods?

Click to expand...

and since the side is always closed so no one can see the inside right? XD by the way, we are thinking of the same question... i think our post should be moved to the completed mods. XD

Small update!

The powerbutton and LED of the front panel work.

I did some wiring as well. Actually I have only bound them together, but it is better than all these lose wires. Any of you have tips to improve the inside of my case? At the beginning of this project I just wanted everything to work but now I have some regrets that I didn spent more time on the inside.

Update

My G5 runs like a beast and looks great from the outside. This was my original intention and I think that goal is achieved.

I must however say that, in the end, the G5 is not what I want it to be. Yes, it is from the outside, but the inside is a mess. With an upcoming 6-week long summer holiday I decided that interior of the case should be converted to a much cleaner one. For example, the cables are just flying around and the PSU is completely visible. Things like this started to irritate me and therefore don't give the satisfaction I hoped they would. As mentioned in my earlier posts, I am not a very experienced craftsman, nor do I have enough money to buy (for example) kits from The Laserhive. Having a good result without the need to spend a lot of money still has a high priority.

Though I don't know where to start and how to handle certain aspects; that is exactly why this post is made. I am asking for (small) suggestions to make the inside of the G5 look cleaner. It would be great if some of you could advise me. Every bit of help is appreciated (of course).

Nothing has changed much since my first post. The only part that's different from there is a working power LED and power button. I still have all original G5 parts like the bottom divider, the PSU case and the CPU cover.

I hope you can help me out.

Best regards,

Thijmen.

As mentioned in one of my later posts, I was happy with my PC running in such a great case, though I consider the interior too much of a mess. Due to the lack of time and this machine being my main kit there was not much space to make big changes. However, this weekend I decided to make a better tray for the motherboard that uses standoffs. Which turned out well imo. I used the the backplate of an old PC case, see pictures below.




More progress to come. This is my first PC build ever, so tips about the wiring etc. are all welcome!

I am not a fan of cable clutter either.

Your current re-do is very well done and can be a real show piece with a few cable hiding tricks.

My usual approach is to provide some space between the motherboard and mounting surface so that the bulk of the cables can be routed un-seen under the motherboard. Also, I fabricate modesty panels that hide much of the left over cable clutter. ‘

Also, I re-terminate and shorten or lengthen cables as needed for best performance and appearance.

Good modding,
neil