Trying to Keep it Simple, G5 Mod

Updates

~This is post 1
~Post 2
~Post 3
~Post 4
~Post 5
~Post 6

So after much research, and a lot of questions, I finally started my G5 mod. I was excited at first, but as I move along I get more and more scared I am going to break something. No worries though! I can assure you everything so far is going well. I try my best to photograph my progress, but sometimes I may get carried away and forget. So without further ado, let us begin!

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This took me quite a while to take apart. I was lucky to get a fully functioning late 2005 model (A1177), and had to go through a hole disassembly process.

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Here we can see all (or most) of the parts I had to remove from my computer. Some are in the boxes in the back to keep dust off of them, and to keep the safe (like the logic board). Also, pro tip for future G5'ers, bag all of your screws! This will really help you down the line, especially if you keep them near the original parts.

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Started to remove the PCI slots. I cut myself being stupid doing this, so be careful!
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Cracked open my power supply. Had to clean out the dust and remove the power supply. I think I will get new fans for it. Not sure how I will plug them in yet, but I will find a way.

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Finally got everything off, here you can see I am preparing to crack open my corsair semi modular power supply to put into the new case. This turned out to be a pain, and more than I wanted to deal with.

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So I learned here that power supplies really hate being removed from their original incasement. I had to use a dremel to cut out the back and removed the socket. So far, that was the most scary part of building this. I have never cut metal, but there is a first time for everything.


To Be Continued....

Update 4/9/2012
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As you can see here, I am making sure my power supply fits in the case with the wires sticking out of it. The fans I plan on using are not here yet, I just ordered them, so I am hesitant to fully cap the power supply. Good thing is it fits!

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Now it is time to outline the place where I will be cutting the metal. I used masking tape and a sharpy marker. Unfortunately, the sharpy left some residue on the motherboard tray back, but it isn't visible.

I made my mod a few days ago (viewtopic.php?f=76&t=56036).
My Question about your mod is, why have you removed the pci slots?
cause in your post you said, that you won't cut metal and i think this means, that you also won't use a mobo tray like the one from mountain mods.

theandy94 said:

I made my mod a few days ago (viewtopic.php?f=76&t=56036).
My Question about your mod is, why have you removed the pci slots?
cause in your post you said, that you won't cut metal and i think this means, that you also won't use a mobo tray like the one from mountain mods.

Click to expand...

I changed my mind because I have two graphics cards, and my motherboard slots don't align with the normal pci slots. I had to take them out in the end :/

theandy94 said:

I made my mod a few days ago (viewtopic.php?f=76&t=56036).
My Question about your mod is, why have you removed the pci slots?
cause in your post you said, that you won't cut metal and i think this means, that you also won't use a mobo tray like the one from mountain mods.

Click to expand...

One way or another if you are going to make a mac case to be PC compatible we all "cut metal". Makes it a challenge doesn't it? I think that is what this forum is all about - what do we do? where? how much? It's always crazy to think we have done it the best because we are all doing this for different reasons. That's why whenever anyone makes a claim to have a perfect mod we all approach it with a healthy dose of scepticism.....

I think it is equally valid to do something and do it on a zero budget and get something that works - or to spend a huge amount and get something amazing (or anything in between!). As long as what is done is worth reading about that's the main thing.

Things change during a mod. and if something changes direction let's hear about it. Nothing really ever goes to plan. I always try to "keep it simple" - problem is things don't always work out that way.....

Let's just sit back and see how things turn out. I'll supply the popcorn.

Blah101 good luck with your mod. It's a great adventure doing this - don't you think?

minihack said:

theandy94 said:

I made my mod a few days ago (viewtopic.php?f=76&t=56036).
My Question about your mod is, why have you removed the pci slots?
cause in your post you said, that you won't cut metal and i think this means, that you also won't use a mobo tray like the one from mountain mods.

Click to expand...

One way or another if you are going to make a mac case to be PC compatible we all "cut metal". Makes it a challenge doesn't it? I think that is what this forum is all about - what do we do? where? how much? It's always crazy to think we have done it the best because we are all doing this for different reasons. That's why whenever anyone makes a claim to have a perfect mod we all approach it with a healthy dose of scepticism.....

I think it is equally valid to do something and do it on a zero budget and get something that works - or to spend a huge amount and get something amazing (or anything in between!). As long as what is done is worth reading about that's the main thing.

Things change during a mod. and if something changes direction let's hear about it. Nothing really ever goes to plan. I always try to "keep it simple" - problem is things don't always work out that way.....

Let's just sit back and see how things turn out. I'll supply the popcorn.

Blah101 good luck with your mod. It's a great adventure doing this - don't you think?

Click to expand...

I absolutely love it. I learn so much when I attempt new things, and this is something that is just full of information! Plus, this case can last me for builds to come, and it really is neat to say you not only built your computer, but your case too!

I am going to continue below with some more pictures since I can't seem to upload any more in my previous post. No worries, I can make a key or something linking all the posts in the original post once I am done.

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This is how I fit my power supply into the encasement. I have to say, I think I was lucky to get a Late 2005 Model. Reason being, this power supply has an indent on the side (will show in next pic) where I can draw wires out, which will really help in the long run with keeping things tidy.

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As I mentioned before, this is that indent I was talking about, it is really nifty!

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Slight downside to find that my power supply plug was slightly smaller than the original, so it doesn't fit so snugly. I wrapped some electric tape around it to give it some grip on the ledge of the PSU so it can sit there. I am not quite sure what to do about that, I really want to avoid soldering this area, I am not an electrician by any means. Any suggestions?

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Finished cutting the mother board tray insert so that it will fit. A little annoyed at the fact that I scratched it a bit with the dremel. I am just happy I didn't cut my finger off! I had to make sure to cut room for the Wifi Antenna housing, I am thinking of how I can utilize that with the wifi hack (I don't have the wifi hack yet, but I am planning on it). I want to put the three antenna's inside the housing, but I am almost positive there is not enough room.

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Finished cutting the back of the case, ready to screw in the trays now!

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With my chance to open my old case up (Antec 1200) I decided I should upgrade my parts. Time to move up from my EP43-UD3L and my Q9650 to an Xz68-UD3H-B3 and an i5 2500k. I was quite happy that the color arrangement just seemed to fit with the case also (pics later).

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I wired everything up crudely for a quick test. I had to setup my new bios and make sure all my parts were good. PSU is uncapped because I have no cooling system for it (yet). I can't boot OS X yet because my old installation needs new kexts and a new dsdt I think, I didn't want to KP. I booted windows, configured that, and even did my first over clock to 4.0 Ghz on air! It was easier than I expected, just changed the multiplier. Apparently, past 4.0 you need to mess with voltage, and I really don't feel comfortable doing that (like I said, not an electrician).

Time for an update!

I spent most of today working hard on my G5 case, and it is in the home stretch. So, let me fill you in on what I have done . This may take more than one post, sorry in advance :/.

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Got all my stuff ready for my DVD drive tact button. I never soldered before, but there is a first time for everything. I was scared, but I think it went well.

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Button came out great. I used the old audio jack from the G5 back panel I cut out to solder on. Unfortunately, it fell off. No worries! The button still works.

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Got my DVD drive wired up and soldered. I tested the wires first to make sure the drive was working with those connections before soldering.

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Pulled the wire out the side, and ready to close this baby up!

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Getting ready to cut the DVD drive mounting panel. I need to because the MM motherboard tray is to high and won't fit if I don't cut it.

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Post cutting, came out really well. But guess what? It is still no good! I have to make a deeper cut because my graphics card will get in the way if I don't.

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Perfect! Fits just right now after the second cut. A little tight though.

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Almost there! Just need to get some case fans (coming later today) and get my power supply and drives in there.

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Re-assembled the back latch mechanism. Works like a charm, so happy that it works!

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Since I am going for a clean look, I can't have a huge 140mm fan on my power supply unit. So! I ordered 2 60mm fans for the front to replace the original power supply fans, and then 2 50mm fans to go inside the back of the PSU. This will create an air tunnel. I tried to keep this quite, but it turns out the smaller fans were a larger RPM than I thought, making them the noisiest fans in my system. *sigh* oh well.

That is it for this post, next post will have more pics.

Alright, home stretch!

Time to start re-assembling things. First, the PSU!

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Re-using the rubber nail thingies the PSU already had, I mounted the 2 60mm fans there and routed the cables into and then out of the PSU.

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Sorry for the poor quality, but you get the idea. I have one 50mm fan on each backend of the PSU

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Things started to get a little tricky here. See, I couldn't get the PSU in without taking out the motherboard tray first. But then, I had a bit of trouble getting the tray back in after the PSU was in. As annoying as it was, it is now fine.

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I never did change the PSU plug from the original G5 to mine, which annoys me, but I really didn't want to mess up my PSU.

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I got two of these babies. I am putting them in the front of my case. These are 140mm fans so that I can get a nice batch of air through the case, and still have a quite machine.

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They are quite snug on their own, so I don't think I will screw them down. Just have to wire better that is all.

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So close to done. I just have to mount the hard drive and fix my messy wiring. After that, I have to play around with my over clock so I can make it more stable. Lastly, I have to order my back two 80mm fans.

This was a great experience, and I absolutely love my new case, I will make sure to post the finished product once I am done. That may be a while as I have to save a little cash for those fans. Any and all feedback is welcome .

Check next page for more pictures.

First of all thank you and every here. I'm also trying my first G5 mod and learning so much.

I've just ordered all my parts and as of right now I'm trying to arrange the air flow of the case. So heres my question; How many fans are you running total? By reading the post over I'm going to say 8? Are you plugging in the fans on the MB and PSU?

The reason I ask is I am planning on getting a fan controller that can operate (5) fans. My MB can support (2) additional from the CPU and PWR. Should I even have any on MB? I wanted a similar fan setup as you.

oojosheoo said:

First of all thank you and every here. I'm also trying my first G5 mod and learning so much.

I've just ordered all my parts and as of right now I'm trying to arrange the air flow of the case. So heres my question; How many fans are you running total? By reading the post over I'm going to say 8? Are you plugging in the fans on the MB and PSU?

The reason I ask is I am planning on getting a fan controller that can operate (5) fans. My MB can support (2) additional from the CPU and PWR. Should I even have any on MB? I wanted a similar fan setup as you.

Click to expand...

I am going to be run a total of 8 fans yes. I am actually going to use some fan splitters to plug some fans into the system plugs on the motherboard because I don't need them running at full speed constantly. Also, the rear PSU fans I am going to split and plug them into the PWR plug because they are very loud at max. The nice thing about having them on the motherboard is it adjusts the speed depending on the case temperature. Otherwise, plugging them into the PSU makes them run at full speed.

Blah101 said:

oojosheoo said:

First of all thank you and every here. I'm also trying my first G5 mod and learning so much.

I've just ordered all my parts and as of right now I'm trying to arrange the air flow of the case. So heres my question; How many fans are you running total? By reading the post over I'm going to say 8? Are you plugging in the fans on the MB and PSU?

The reason I ask is I am planning on getting a fan controller that can operate (5) fans. My MB can support (2) additional from the CPU and PWR. Should I even have any on MB? I wanted a similar fan setup as you.

Click to expand...

I am going to be run a total of 8 fans yes. I am actually going to use some fan splitters to plug some fans into the system plugs on the motherboard because I don't need them running at full speed constantly. Also, the rear PSU fans I am going to split and plug them into the PWR plug because they are very loud at max. The nice thing about having them on the motherboard is it adjusts the speed depending on the case temperature. Otherwise, plugging them into the PSU makes them run at full speed.

Click to expand...

I apologies in advance but by using the "splitter" would that also split the voltage going into the fans?