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$421 Simple PowerHac G5

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Feb 21, 2013
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Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-B560M-DS3H V2
CPU
i5-10400F
Graphics
RX 570
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
Classic Mac
  1. Power Mac
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
I owe my inspiration for this build mostly to Chaosdesign’s http://www.tonymacx86.com/powermac-g5/81930-simple-g5-case-mod.html. I hadn’t given any thought at all to using a Powermac G5 case until I saw how easy he made it look. And it did make sense. What case would be better for a Hackintosh than a PowerMac G5 case? Use the pictures in his guide for basic construction, though I will provide pictures where I have varied from it. I also owe a serious debt of gratitude to Tonymacx86 for his excellent guides, which identify hardware that is likely to work, and for other sites (like G5Modders and InsanelyMac) which also have thorough installation guides and solutions to common problems.

[For a brief look at a Haswell i3 4340 Mavericks version of this build go to post #21]

Parts
- Intel Core i3-3225 Dual Core Ivy Bridge (cheapest access to HD4000 graphics) $120
- Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H $35 when purchased with i3-3225 or i5-3570K CPU at the MicroCenter
- 2 x 4GB Kingston HyperX Red DDR3-1600 $45
- 1 TB HGST SATA hard drive $60
- Thermaltake TR2-430W power supply $25 after rebate
- LG 24X SATA DVD-RW $16
- Lamptron 3mm blue LED with tail $2
- StarTech front bezel wire kit (used for front panel) $6
- Asus USB-N10 WiFi adapter $10 after rebate --or--homebuilt Airport adapter <$20
- IOGear GBU521 USB Bluetooth 4.0 adapter $15
- Used PowerMac G5 case from PowerbookMedic.com $57 shipped
- Apple USB keyboard $20 from Ebay
- Apple USB mouse $10 from Ebay

The reason I felt comfortable building a G5 PowerMac was because I already had all the bugs worked out with my hardware prior to installation in the case, though it was a steep learning curve for a veteran DOS/Windows user. I purchased a copy of Snow Leopard from the Apple store and downloaded iBoot Ivy Bridge and Multibeast Snow Leopard from here to get myself up and running. Seven attempts later I’d finally worked through all my mistakes and had OS X running properly. DVI, USB 3.0, sound, and Ethernet worked fine with a vanilla installation but I had to upgrade to Mountain Lion and install a patched version of Chameleon to get the Intel HD 4000 graphics enabled properly. I used the guide Enable HD 4000 graphics on your Hackintosh -experimental to understand and resolve that problem, though I have now installed the latest version of Chimera which works perfectly. I have not tested HDMI. I quickly discovered that the Asus USB-N10 connects very reliably to my WiFi network using the driver for 10.7 Lion and that the IOGear GBU521USB Bluetooth worked out of the box as soon as I plugged it in. Once I got a good hard drive installation I cloned it with Carbon Copy Cloner just in case I did something stupid and needed to revert back to where OS X worked.

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Like Chaos, I removed all the case standoffs and glued seven short standoffs (rather than the mATX standard six) back in the case using JB Weld. I also cut out part of the back panel to gain access to the ports on the motherboard with a Dremel mandrel and my 3/8" drill.

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I kept the hard drive caddy as I will not be using more than two hard drives (1 main, 1 mirror) and I like the way it looks and works. If you are purchasing a case, make sure it has the special screws that mount the DVD and hard drives, as those generally run $8 to $10 a set and can add to the cost of your build.

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Like many others, I installed my power supply in the bottom of the case but I used four Stanley 1" corner brackets plus stainless steel screws, lockwashers, and nuts to attach the power supply to the bottom of the case rather than Velcro. I only needed to drill two new holes as two of the original power supply holes lined up perfectly. I also did not create a little power supply dongle because it was easier to run the power cable through the existing hole and just plug it into the power supply. :)

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I bundled up the two unused power supply cables with tie straps and used Velcro to stick them to the bottom where they wouldn’t flop around.

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I didn’t like the fact that the Apple didn’t have a hard drive activity light so I used a small amount of super glue to stick a blue 3mm LED (for my son Alex) in the mesh hole directly above the power LED (I used a white LED in my G5). It is almost invisible when not lit and looks like it was designed to be there. :)

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I created a front panel cable which enables the power LED, power button, and USB port. I don’t use front audio nor Firewire so I did not connect them.

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I used some 1/4" wide chrome automotive trim with 3M adhesive to dress up the border of the access panel.

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Finally, I used the rear fan bracket to support the original G5 CPU shield. I needed to trim part of the bracket because the audio riser from the motherboard interfered with it seating properly, though I was still able to install a fan using three of the rubber mounts which seems to work fine.

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I had to trim the G5 CPU shield to fit around the power supply.

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After which I JB welded it to the rear fan bracket.

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And here is the finished product (the second picture has the plastic air-flow shield installed).

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I was able to create a Windows 8/Mountain Lion workstation sharing the Dell monitor and speaker system. I just have to remember which keyboard/mouse works with which computer. :D

My son Alex was so impressed that I ended up building the first G5 for him and a second G5 for myself. If you look closely at the pictures above you can see that they are a combination of the two builds. We're both happy campers. :mrgreen:

--Tom--

Edit 3/14/2013

I assembled my own Airport cards using an Apple branded WiFi card (Broadcom BCM94321MC and BCM94322MC) plus a mini PCI-e to PCI-e express adapter card and they both work perfectly. I installed them and OS X saw each immediately. All I had to do was type in my network key. With the MCM94322MC AirDrop is available in Finder, so get that one if AirDrop is important to you. Total cost for each <$20 shipped. No more Asus USB WiFi. :) I get solid download speeds plus the WiFi symbol is on the menu bar where it belongs. The PowerHac G5 just keeps getting better and better.

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Screen Shot 2013-03-11 at 10.00.12 AM.png
 
I am literally building the exact same thing as you!

picked up my i3-3225 & B75m @ Microcenter in Yonkers 3 days ago. I have the g5 case and mountain mods motherboard panel, whats the best way to attach the motherboard panel to the chasis?

Also I am having problems with getting 10.8.2 working on the B75m, when i install multibeast and install the recommended drivers for my motherboard (from this thread) and reboot, I get no video signal after the mac logo (white background) is up for about 5 seconds.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
when i install multibeast and install the recommended drivers for my motherboard (from this thread) and reboot, I get no video signal after the mac logo (white background) is up for about 5 seconds.

Any help would be appreciated.


If memory serves, you need to select the Mac Mini system definition.

chaos
 
Thanks for the mention, Tom! I am really happy my build was useful to you and your son. Great Build!!!

chaos
 
Also I am having problems with getting 10.8.2 working on the B75m, when i install multibeast and install the recommended drivers for my motherboard (from this thread) and reboot, I get no video signal after the mac logo (white background) is up for about 5 seconds.

Any help would be appreciated.
Also ensure you connect your monitor into a DVI/HDMI/DP (digital port). VGA is not supported by OSX and this may be your problem.
 
Also ensure you connect your monitor into a DVI/HDMI/DP (digital port). VGA is not supported by OSX and this may be your problem.

I should of added that i am using DVI to DVI and using the HD4000 integrated gpu.

Can't seem to get this to work, I hope I am not overlooking something simple.
 
How did u mount the motherboard?? Ive been trying to think of a way of keeping everything original

First, look carefully at the instructions in Chaosdesigns' Simple G5 Mod thread. I did exactly the same thing, which was to remove all the original standoffs from the case with pliers, use seven short (or six, depending upon your mATX motherboard) standoffs, sand the bottoms of the standoffs, sand the case where the standoffs will rest, attach the standoffs to the motherboard with the right screws, mix up some JB Weld, put it on the bottom of the standoffs, gently set the motherboard down in the case while located with a PCI card, place some weight on the motherboard, and let the JB Weld setup for 15-24 hours.

That should do it.

Tom
 
Also I am having problems with getting 10.8.2 working on the B75m, when i install multibeast and install the recommended drivers for my motherboard (from this thread) and reboot, I get no video signal after the mac logo (white background) is up for about 5 seconds.

Any help would be appreciated.

Have you had any success? If not, could you list your exact OS X installation procedure (step by step) so that we can look it over? In my case it was critical not to have anything connected but 1 SATA hard drive, 1 SATA DVD, a USB keyboard, and USB mouse with video connected to DVI. Tony suggests limiting memory to 4 GB but I had no trouble installing with 8 once I knew what I was doing.

Tom
 
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