Mac Pro (late 2013) replica

[Dschijn]

You better make a quick drawing of the space you have. The Cooler Master Gemini II M4 might be to wide.

 

[JuanLobo]

I've done a fairly extensive drawing for parts layout. The Gemini is 137mm by 120mm and as I am rotating it, I only have the 120mm profile to deal with, even considering the CPU is offset slightly on the MB, I should still have plenty of room. I took into account the top of the CPU is about 7.8mm above the circuit board, and the gemini adds another 60mm.

 

[JuanLobo]

You may want to do some additional fit testing. The GPU card hangs way off the side of the motherboard. Also, standing the card straight up isn't going to fit in the 186mm or so you have to work in.

 

[PencilNotPen]

Amazing build! I am going to attempt one too I think having seen this. If sascha288 has time to put up a more extensive build log, detailing how he made the frame for the inside and the fins for the bottom that would be awesome.

Congratulations again!

 

[JuanLobo]

These are the placement drawings so far. I might have to switch the top fan, but I think I can cram it into the curve of the case.



Once everything is fit, I can provide a parts list. Stuff should start showing up Wednesday.

 

[PencilNotPen]

I like those designs JuanLobo, I was wondering how/if I could fit the PSU into the case, as I am not that confident about taking apart to put it in safely. Is yours going to be intact at the bottom of the case? How will the air coming in from the bottom of the case pass the PSU to cool the rest of the system? Good luck with your build!

 

[JuanLobo]

Yes, the PSU stays intact. Normally, air comes in from the top and is blown out the back. However, I'm going to flip then fan, so air comes in from the back and blows up through the top of the PSU and up through the central core. It will hopefully get the air moving in the right direction, and the upper fan will do most of the grunt work.

Not ALL of the air will come through the PSU, most of the mounting plate above the PSU is cut away so that air can also get around it to feed the CPU, GPU and upper fans.

I keep revising the drawings as I get more accurate numbers on stuff. As it stands today, the PSU will extend below the lip of the tower by about 18mm. But, that shouldn't be a problem as I'm hoping to cast a replica of the top (the rounded edge bottom of the trash can) to make a new bottom for the tower and that will give me the additional 18mm.

I could cram it entirely into the height of the trash can, but I think a little extra breathing room would help, especially with the right angle HDMI cable that plugs into the back of the GPU.

 

[bytesandbolts]

Hey guys,

I thought I would share my progress with designing one of these HackPro replicas.

Considering the cheapest Mac Pro to buy new from Apple is £2,499 in the UK.. My target budget for this build is around £625 (1/4 of the price of the baseline model).
To make the build even harder I want to be be able to match it for similar CPU benchmark performance as the entry level Mac Pro using Geekbench 3 as reference.

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Intel Xeon E5-1620 v2 3700 MHz (4 cores) = 14601
Intel Core i7-4770K 3500 MHz (4 cores) = 16176


Bearing all that in mind, this is my proposed setup (subject to change whilst I build the frame for the bin).

Authentics Lunar Bin - £35
Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI - £105
Intel i7-4770k - £234
Noctua NH-L9i Low Profile Quiet CPU Cooler (If I decide to overclock) - £34
16 GB DDR3 RAM - £113
AMD HD 7750 (Undecided) - £80~
120 GB SSD Samsung EVO 240 - £68
200 GB HDD 2.5" - £0 (Recycled)
250W DC-DC Mini-ITX fanless PSU - £22
2 x Scythe GlideStream 140mm 800rpm fans - £22

All prices are current at time of post and inc. UK VAT and postage.

The PSU arrived in the post today and is tiny, however I read the data sheet that came with the PSU, as well as estimated the total wattage consumption for the system and I am confident that the mini-itx PSU I have chosen will fit the bill perfectly.

I have drawn all the designs using vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator which I will post on my blog, as well as intend to post a step by step build guide. To clarify this is not my first Hackintosh build, and I don't mind getting my hands dirty with some Dremal dust haha.

Please let me know what you guys think.

 

[JuanLobo]

The Nocua cooler looks like it is 95mm on a side? From my novice glance, it doesn't look like it is going to provide much more cooling than the stock unit, especially that close to the mobo?

250Watt is really cutting it close if you plan to overclock. A 4770 draws up to about 120-135 watts for CPU and logic board at peak usage. Add to that a GPU, and you are at your max. I calculated my draw with a GTX760, and 4770 at just under 300watts peak. I'm hoping to have plenty of room with 450watt PS. I'd like to be under 75% at max draw. I'm already worried that that the 3.3v output of the Silverstone 450watt is going to be close to max driving the 4770.

Something I may regret is RAM choice. I got regular height RAM, and it may take low profile RAM with the Cooler Master cooler I picked. Hopefully this RAM will fit because low profile RAM seams to stop at DDR3 1600.

I've got all the electronic components except the heat sink, so I can't give solid advice yet.

So far the two after market larger coolers I have found that fit my layout are:

http://www.thermalright.com/html/products/cpu_cooler/axp-100.html
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=3091

I think the 2 are going to be a toss-up on cooling efficiency. The Thermalright has 6 heatpipes, compared to 4 for the cooler master, but the cooler master exposes the heat pipes directly to the surface of the cpu.

I'll let everyone know how the Cooler Master works, the Thermalright sure does look pretty though! Only reason I didn't go for it was I was trying to avoid another shipping cost.

 

[JuanLobo]

BytesAndBolts, Whoa.... The 7750 peak power consumption is only 43 watts... nice! And are you going with something like the HDPLEX power supply board with an external 19v supply? That is going to be a huge space saver.

Brian at Luminaire (the US distributor for Authentics) now knows why people are buying just that trash can ;-)

I'm laying stuff out in OmniGraffle just because I know very little of doing scale drawings in Illustrator.

And just for kicks, grabbed the Thermalright cooler as well to compare the two.... It lines up almost perfectly with the centerline of the motherboard (when turned sideways) and it leaves a little more space for the RAM.