Ersterhernd's NUCiMac G4

[MacTester57]

...and with my addiction, "bigger is better"...

LOL! And why did you "downsize" your G5?

 

[ersterhernd]

One question: There is a version of the NUC that has an i5 CPU and with my addiction, "bigger is better", did you consider that one? Or in other words, why the i3 when there is an i5 NUC.

neil

Three reasons Neil.

- NCIX had one in stock from the same batch as the one I used for my Cube PSU machine. It had the 9-pin internal USB header and front panel header intact. Others on this forum have been missing those pins.

- Price. The i3 tax in was 200 less than the i5.

- Usage. The 1440x900 video of this system would not warrant the added power. The i3 in the Cube PSU machine runs 1080p video at 1680x1050, so this would be more than enough. Other than in benchmarking, the performance difference would be negligible in normal use.


Hope this helps.

 

[ersterhernd]

Its Done!!!

Finally the small HDMI cable arrived today, so I could finally close up the dome and call the project complete! I'll open a new thread in Completed Mods to showcase the final presentation, but here's the first photo I'll post of the finished work. Of course, check out the website currently open, the one that made this possible!

Oh, what a happy day for me...

Ersterhernd


EDIT: It actually wasn't quite done yet. I would later add two more features to this iMac; touch-sensor LCD brightness control and a Pulsing LED during sleep. Both upgrades (shown later in this thread) would be software controlled using the Picaxe 08M2 Micro-controller.

Also, I would create a 2nd NUCiMac using the same hardware, because this one turned out so well that I wanted one for myself!

 

[kiwisincebirth]

Its Done!!!

Finally the small HDMI cable arrived today, so I could finally close up the dome and call the project complete! I'll open a new thread in Completed Mods to showcase the final presentation, but here's the first photo I'll post of the finished work. Of course, check out the website currently open, the one that made this possible!

Oh, what a happy day for me...

Ersterhernd

Congrats on the build, so quickly and professionally done after your last. One technical question. I saw an earlier comment about your choice of machine a limitation which meant you went for the smaller size screen. What was the limitation exactly? and how easily could it be overcome if someone want to modify a 20" machine.

 

[ersterhernd]

Congrats on the build, so quickly and professionally done after your last. One technical question. I saw an earlier comment about your choice of machine a limitation which meant you went for the smaller size screen. What was the limitation exactly? and how easily could it be overcome if someone want to modify a 20" machine.

Thx Kiwi. The issue with the 20" screen is with the power requirement. I believe there are additional backlights in the larger size LCD which Apple fed 24V from its native PSU in the dome. There's actually a 24V line on the connection to the original motherboard, which was then routed through another motherboard connector up to the inverter behind the LCD. I think (maybe I'm wrong) that the only real feasible way to get the required 24V for the 20" LCD is to leave the native PSU in the dome. This takes up a lot of room, and supplies much more power than is really required for the Intel NUC. In fact, I'd be VERY careful about plugging anything other than the original brick into the little NUC.

One of the key goals with this build was to use a single 65W power brick (from the NUC retail box) mounted internally, leaving only the stock power cord plugged into the rear I/O. The 17" LCD only requires a 12V connection from the PicoPSU, which I used here.

In summary, unless there's some way to get a 24V line from a PicoPSU, I think the native PSU would have to be used. Its big, hot and old, none of which I had any interest in. My knowledge is fairly limited in this area, but I do know that what I did works exceedingly well, and only draws about 30W out of the wall when booted to OSX.


Hope this helps.



Ersterhernd

 

[ersterhernd]

A couple of updates since the system is up and running. I disconnected the rear antenna from the wifi and connected the two stock wifi antennas that came with the NUC case for a totally internal solution. I was unsure how the internal signal strength would be due the metal dome core, but it is very acceptable; over 1MB/sec average.

I switched the Noctua 92mm fan from a 1300rpm (13 dB) reducer to a 1000rpm (8 dB) reducer. The iMac is virtually silent now, no noise whatsover, just the clock ticking on the wall. Airflow can be felt at the top vent and all around the circular base where the intake vents are. The open design I used for airflow obviously works well.

After an hour running, heres the idle temps of the system. In my Cube PSU machine (which runs cooler than a stock NUC in its own case) the idle temps run about 58-60C. The NUC in this iMac runs much cooler, screenshot below.

Ersterhernd

 

[neilhart]

LOL! And why did you "downsize" your G5?

The G5 case is down sized but the system is a monster i7-3770K with 4+GHz OC capability. So my dumb thought is always to put as much CPU as I can into a box...

This iMac project is so well done that I may take one on with the mind set of giving it to my grandson when complete.

Good hacking,
neil

 

[ersterhernd]

Did a stress test with Prime95 for Mac. Its a warm summer day here, and the house is warm too. These were the temps and power consumption for the Blend Torture Test of Prime95 after running for about 20 minutes. The machine barely broke a sweat.


Ersterhernd

 

[MacTester57]

I think your temp readings are perfect.

MacTester

 

[ersterhernd]

I think your temp readings are perfect.

MacTester

Thx MacTester. The real good news is that the system is nearly dead silent. Even under stress, the CPU fan speed stays reasonably low, and the Noctua 92mm is at it's minimum 1000rpm. Virtually inaudible, just the way I like it!


Cheers!