Retrofitting into G4 MDD case?

[jswofford87]

Hey everyone,
(First post, yaayy!!)

So, a little while ago, I came into possession of a 2002 Powermac G4 MDD (M8570) and until recently it's basically just been sitting around collecting dust so I figured it's about time to make something out of it.
The machine works just fine, but it's only able to run up to OS X 10.5.8 which, as we all know is pretty outdated.
However, I'm a college student which means I'm pretty much broke most of the time and therefore, I've gotten pretty good at salvaging parts from junk electronics and computers to fix other stuff - so what I'm wondering is this:

Is it at all feasible to try salvaging functioning components from other Apple machines like iMacs, Mac Minis, or even MacBooks (that support more current OS versions - ideally macOS Sierra) that I can find/buy super cheap and somehow retrofit or modify to work inside the case of the G4?

Basically, I'm not into gaming or super fancy case aesthetics - I just want a Mac-Only Desktop machine that communicates well with my other daily-use Apple products but has enough room inside to support the memory I need, the HD storage I'm looking for and the "aerodynamics"(?) to keep it all cool.

If anyone has ever heard of or done such a project, I would greatly appreciate whatever help I can get!

 

[grg3]

Hey everyone,
(First post, yaayy!!)

So, a little while ago, I came into possession of a 2002 Powermac G4 MDD (M8570) and until recently it's basically just been sitting around collecting dust so I figured it's about time to make something out of it.
The machine works just fine, but it's only able to run up to OS X 10.5.8 which, as we all know is pretty outdated.
However, I'm a college student which means I'm pretty much broke most of the time and therefore, I've gotten pretty good at salvaging parts from junk electronics and computers to fix other stuff - so what I'm wondering is this:

Is it at all feasible to try salvaging functioning components from other Apple machines like iMacs, Mac Minis, or even MacBooks (that support more current OS versions - ideally macOS Sierra) that I can find/buy super cheap and somehow retrofit or modify to work inside the case of the G4?

Basically, I'm not into gaming or super fancy case aesthetics - I just want a Mac-Only Desktop machine that communicates well with my other daily-use Apple products but has enough room inside to support the memory I need, the HD storage I'm looking for and the "aerodynamics"(?) to keep it all cool.

If anyone has ever heard of or done such a project, I would greatly appreciate whatever help I can get!

If you search this forum you will find some ideas for building a mirror door case. It is a very handsome case that presents some unique challenges!

Good luck! Let us see your progress here.

 

[graphicstation]

Hey everyone,
(First post, yaayy!!)

So, a little while ago, I came into possession of a 2002 Powermac G4 MDD (M8570) and until recently it's basically just been sitting around collecting dust so I figured it's about time to make something out of it.
The machine works just fine, but it's only able to run up to OS X 10.5.8 which, as we all know is pretty outdated.
However, I'm a college student which means I'm pretty much broke most of the time and therefore, I've gotten pretty good at salvaging parts from junk electronics and computers to fix other stuff - so what I'm wondering is this:

Is it at all feasible to try salvaging functioning components from other Apple machines like iMacs, Mac Minis, or even MacBooks (that support more current OS versions - ideally macOS Sierra) that I can find/buy super cheap and somehow retrofit or modify to work inside the case of the G4?

Basically, I'm not into gaming or super fancy case aesthetics - I just want a Mac-Only Desktop machine that communicates well with my other daily-use Apple products but has enough room inside to support the memory I need, the HD storage I'm looking for and the "aerodynamics"(?) to keep it all cool.

If anyone has ever heard of or done such a project, I would greatly appreciate whatever help I can get!

Finding/purchasing various components that are all compatiable may end up (unless you're getting them donated for free : ) more expensive and more of a challenge. The biggest thing is the motherboard and CPU, e.g. some graphics/processors are not as compatible even with the Yosemite OS. You could probably build a Case Mod with brand new components (since it does not sound like you need a beast of a machine) for under $1000. The one I just built was just under $2000, but it's a dual boot system with Mac and Windows. https://www.tonymacx86.com/forums/powermac-g4.137

 

[jswofford87]

If you search this forum you will find some ideas for building a mirror door case. It is a very handsome case that presents some unique challenges!

Good luck! Let us see your progress here.

Thanks! I will absolutely make a post documenting the project once I get started/start making progress

 

[jswofford87]

Finding/purchasing various components that are all compatiable may end up (unless you're getting them donated for free : ) more expensive and more of a challenge. The biggest thing is the motherboard and CPU, e.g. some graphics/processors are not as compatible even with the Yosemite OS. You could probably build a Case Mod with brand new components (since it does not sound like you need a beast of a machine) for under $1000. The one I just built was just under $2000, but it's a dual boot system with Mac and Windows. https://www.tonymacx86.com/forums/powermac-g4.137

Well yeah, the idea is to get all the components for as close to free as possible ya know? Ive got a pretty well prepared work bench for any problems that come along in terms of soldering/desoldering and any light case-related issues that may need to be addressed, but I was more so wondering if it would be possible to get, say, a Late 2012+, "Corei3/5/7" iMac (which supports macOS Sierra) with a busted screen or something for super cheap (or free if possible) and somehow pull out the MoBo and CPU, replace them with the ones in the G4 case, and find/make ways to connect them to the display output (as well as everything else inside like the HD, Optical Drives, etc.)?
Just trying to think Creatively about a way to get this machine up to snuff without breaking the bank (which, in my case, even $1,000 would DEFINITELY do haha!)

 

[neilhart]

Well yeah, the idea is to get all the components for as close to free as possible ya know? Ive got a pretty well prepared work bench for any problems that come along in terms of soldering/desoldering and any light case-related issues that may need to be addressed, but I was more so wondering if it would be possible to get, say, a Late 2012+, "Corei3/5/7" iMac (which supports macOS Sierra) with a busted screen or something for super cheap (or free if possible) and somehow pull out the MoBo and CPU, replace them with the ones in the G4 case, and find/make ways to connect them to the display output (as well as everything else inside like the HD, Optical Drives, etc.)?
Just trying to think Creatively about a way to get this machine up to snuff without breaking the bank (which, in my case, even $1,000 would DEFINITELY do haha!)

With the idea of keeping the costs down, you could take a refurb PC server and repackage it into the G4 Case. For example take a look at this thread: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/intel-i3-haswell-computer-239.195817/#post-1351820

There are a lot of choices and ways to upgrade these older work horse machines.

Good modding,
neil

 

[graphicstation]

Well yeah, the idea is to get all the components for as close to free as possible ya know? Ive got a pretty well prepared work bench for any problems that come along in terms of soldering/desoldering and any light case-related issues that may need to be addressed, but I was more so wondering if it would be possible to get, say, a Late 2012+, "Corei3/5/7" iMac (which supports macOS Sierra) with a busted screen or something for super cheap (or free if possible) and somehow pull out the MoBo and CPU, replace them with the ones in the G4 case, and find/make ways to connect them to the display output (as well as everything else inside like the HD, Optical Drives, etc.)?
Just trying to think Creatively about a way to get this machine up to snuff without breaking the bank (which, in my case, even $1,000 would DEFINITELY do haha!)

I completely understand wanting to save money, but if that's your primary goal (not just to take on the challenge of doing a custom mod to a retro box like I did) I'd just picking up a cheap iMac via eBay, you can find well performing macs there for a few hundred dollars, most of these you can upgrade components from there to make them compatible with newer OS. I've not researched this site in total, but I'd think you could pretty much (if compatible) gut even a laptop mobo/cpu and make it fit in the Mirror tower case. After all, computers are nothing more than their core components : ).