Sonicseamus's G5 Mod

Hey everyone, I just got my G5 case so I figured I'd start a thread. I don't even have a mobo tray yet (so it may be a while), but I'll update this thread with pics etc. as I go along. Anyway, I'll post some pics of the parts I got for now.





It came with the front panel cable!


HDD bay also included!





I couldn't figure out what these 3 parts were.





It did not come with a water cooler as some thought (I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing, as it probably saved me a lot of puzzling over how to use it). I hope I don't need/can get for cheap the ODD bezel thing. Unfortunately, it also came with only one set of the HDD screws. I may have to ask the seller if he has the other set.

UPDATE 9/20/12

Today I went out to Ace Hardware and bought 4 M3x10mm screws for my ODD. They work very well! They stick out about 6 or so mm from the drive and slide perfectly into the little latching drive slots. (Leave it to Apple to figure out a painless way to upgrade the optical drive, of all things - the design on this computer is really sweet. I just wish they applied the same principle of user-serviceability on those newfangled rMBPs.) M3x9mm would have been ideal as the 10mm ones are a little tall, but Ace did not have any screws in that size. Anyway, my next step will be complete case disassembly. I'm still going back and forth on the whole PSU up top right or down bottom left thing, but I'm leaning top right for looks though upgrading will be a pain in the butt. Please weigh in if you have suggestions.

12/22/12: Cutting the PSU hole in the top shelf

Well, today I learned how to use a dremel! I cut the hole in the top shelf for my power supply's fan. It took two and a half cutoff wheels and a lot of sparks, but it came out pretty nicely! Now I need to find a drill bit (are there specific metal bits? or can I just use any old drill bit?) suitable for making the screw holes. I'm thinking about just using the screws from the fan grill.

Nice.

Those parts were plastic cover that goes over the heatsink of the CPU and directs air to it from the front cpu fan(s), a steady piece for PCI cards and a bit that goes between the rear twin 92mm fans and the case. Basically these parts are pretty much junk for a hack usually......

It is rare to get any more than 4 hard drive screws. You can make more from a set of normal drive screws and some washers.

Have fun.

Thanks for the info!

One thing I was wondering about is how I will install an ODD. The case did not come with one (though it did come with a bag of unidentified screws). It seems like G5 drives screwed in from the bottom but IIRC normal ones screw in from the side. I have a Sony optiarc.

If it came with 4 screws that look like strange washer/mushroom hybrids that have an M3 thread then those will screw into your DVD drive. If it didn't come with them you can also make up some dummy replacements from 4 short M3 screws and 4 washers....

Are any of these the ones you described?



Thanks for the help

No, the tiny ones fix the pair of 92mm fans and their carrier to the rear of the case (do you have the fans?), the shiny ones fix the PSU case in place (absent?), the black ones are used for fixing the original motherboard and varios bits in place, the single one with the washer looks like a screw from the PCI slots perhaps. These are the dvd drive screws:



So a flat washer and a M3 screw and a blob of JB weld can be used to replicate them if need be.....

Cutting the PSU fan hole in the top shelf

My first time using a dremel (mine's actually a master mechanic knockoff) went remarkably well! For anyone who hasn't used one before, they're very loud and make a lot of sparks when cutting metal. Safety glasses (and maybe long sleeves) are a must. Also, the blades don't last long. The cut I did below used up two reinforced metal cutoff wheels and part of a third. I hate to think how many the back will chew up.

This is the stencil I created from my current PSU. I still don't want to take my system apart, so I just unscrewed it and twisted it up for tracing.


Hole outline traced onto the shelf. The tracing paper above is cut to exactly the size of an ATX PSU, and I made the line you see on the right by placing an old PSU in the case and moving it as far towards the back as I could and outlining the edge with a pencil. Then it was just a matter of taking my tracing paper stencil and lining it up with that line. I also made it so it bumps up against the slanted edge of the shelf so that I would have space on the backside (the side with the non-removable side panel) of the PSU to store unused cabling.


Cutting: go slowly, otherwise it won't work! Lots of fun!


And the finished product. I shortened up the octagon a bit on the top (in this photo) end as to retain some structural integrity in the shelf. Shouldn't inhibit the cooling too much. The edges need a good filing!


Next steps: File down the edges of the hole, and mark and drill mount points for the PSU. I'm thinking of using the screws from the fan grill. I'm also not sure what kind of drill bit I need; is there a special kind of bit for metal?

Haha this looks nice man!

Good luck!

rick26 said:

Haha this looks nice man!

Good luck!

Click to expand...

Thanks! Does anyone know anything about the drill bit issue I mentioned?

sonicseamus said:

Thanks! Does anyone know anything about the drill bit issue I mentioned?

Click to expand...

Of course you need metal drill bits…