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A Simple G5 Case Mod

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Thanks guys, sounds like a good plan.
Will try that tomorrow :)
 
The standoffs come with the G5 case, holding the apple motherboard in place. The need to be broken off with a pair of pliers, and glued into new positions as per the guide.

Thanks to the OP for the great Pics and instructions; i was wondering what to do about standoffs and it's good to know I can just recycle the existing ones!
 
I sure liked your articles -

I have a GA-B75M-D3H/i3 2120/GTX660 windows 7 box that seems to be nearly the same as one of your builds.

Have you taken your
GA-B75M-D3H/i3 2120 system to Yosemite? Can you give me any pointers that I should look out for?

Thank you in advance

Phil
 
No, not yet. Im waiting for El Capitain.
 
what are standoffs?

I know your initial post is a few years old but I am an audio technology teacher and I have 4 power mac g5's that I want to upgrade like you did. I want to follow along with your post, word for word but I don't know what "standoffs" are. Those little pegs you have attached to the motherboard. What are those and where do you get them from?
 
I know your initial post is a few years old but I am an audio technology teacher and I have 4 power mac g5's that I want to upgrade like you did. I want to follow along with your post, word for word but I don't know what "standoffs" are. Those little pegs you have attached to the motherboard. What are those and where do you get them from?

They're the original standoffs the G5 used for its' own motherboard; you can snap then off, then reglue to match up with an mATX board.

It's far, far easier just to get some pre-cut trays from The Laser Hive! I can't praise them enough.
 
Upgrade Time!

My father has completely enjoyed this Hackintosh since I gave it to him for Christmas in 2012. Its been 3 and a half years, so now, it is time to upgrade to El Capitan!

I decided that I would upgrade the CPU to an i5 3570K, so I picked one up on eBay for $160. That chip has HD 4000 graphics, so there is no longer a need for a discrete video card.
I also added 2x4GB of DDR3-1600 ram ($47) and a 120GB SSD. ($43)

Installing El Capitan was straightforward.

1) Built USB Installer using Mavericks 10.11.5 and Unibeast 3.x on my MacBook Pro.
2) Booted USB stick, inserted into USB 2.0 port and installed directly onto freshly erased SSD.
3) Restarted and created Administrator account
4) Post installation MultiBeast configuration
Quick Start > UEFI Boot Mode
Drivers > Audio > Realtek ALCxxx > ALC887/888b
Drivers > Misc > FakeSMC v6.18-313-g671f31c.1707
Drivers > Misc > FakeSMC Plugins v6.18-313-g671f31c.1707
Drivers > Misc > FakeSMC HWMonitor Application v6.18-313-g671f31c.1707
Drivers > Network > Realtek RTL8111 v2.2.1
Drivers > USB > 7/8/9 Series USB Support
Bootloaders > Cover v2.3 r3423 UEFI Mode
Customize > System Definitions > Mac Mini 5,1

So for an additional $250 it feels like a new machine!
It should hum along nicely for a bunch more years now.

Happy Modding

/Jeff
 
Hi kiwisincebirth,

1. The reason I didn't use the original G5 drive cage is because I used it in one of my other G5 mods, and this build is for my 74 year old father who thinks 500GB is utterly huge! Also, those hard drive rail mounting screws are worth their weight in gold, so I will be using them in another build as well.

2. I was thinking the exact same thing.

3. I gave this a lot of thought. Keeping the build modest also kept down the heat generation. The temps are great! It idles between 32 and 37 degrees C, and peaks at 50 during a Geekbench. The G5 case is amazingly porous. I'm only running an i3 and I am not over clocking, so not much heat is generated. There is so much open open space in the case that no heat can really build up. It simply flows out. The power supply is idling for the most part and is cold to the touch. The warmest part is just above the passive heat sink on the graphics card. I have yet to do a full heat test, but I don't think I will need to add a fan. If I have to add a fan, I will probably use the original real panel exhaust fan mounts as you suggest. I really do like how silent it is.


Thank you for your well thought out suggestions. Your cowling suggestion is one I might implement if heat does become an issue.
Much appreciated!

chaos

I agree with your comment regarding case ventilation but I never like to see a standard ATX PSU thrown into the bottom of a G5 case, to me, airflow should be from the front of the case to the rear. in this build the hot air generated inside the PSU is being blown out of the front of the case. Why did you not install the PSU internals in the original Apple PSU enclosure and replace the two Apple 60mm fans with quiet alternatives? This maintains the classic front-to-rear airflow with the heat generated not affecting the rest of the case this also retains the original mains input socket.

This is not a criticism just my 2p($) worth.
 
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in this build the hot air generated inside the PSU is being blown out of the front of the case. Why did you not install the PSU internals in the original Apple PSU enclosure and replace the two Apple 60mm fans with quiet alternatives?

1: In my build, the PSU does not generate much heat; almost none, so directing it out front is no big deal. In fact since there are no rear fans, there is no "flow" through the case created, so directing the heat out the closest side is fine.

2: The whole concept of the build is "simple", so rebuilding the original PSU with new internals and fans would not fit into the original concept. The build was completed in only one day. Rebuilding the original PSU would have certainly added to that.

- chaos
 
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2: The whole concept of the build is "simple", so rebuilding the original PSU with new internals and fans would not fit into the original concept. The build was completed in only one day. Rebuilding the original PSU would have certainly added to that.

- chaos

Simple was the point wasn't it? :) I am so grateful that you built this computer and provided the pictures you did so that I could see exactly what you had done and how you did it. I don't think that I would have built my three G5s but for you. BTW, even a standard ATX power supply can be placed in the bottom of the case so that it blows air towards the rear, not that that makes a huge difference given the porous design of the case. The only place I found air movement to be important was over the hard drives. Without a fan blowing air over them (I'm using the original carrier) the two WD drive temperatures would get up to 45 degrees C in the summer. With an 80mm fan they don't go above 35.

Tom
 
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