Contribute
Register

Another G5 Case Mod, with some useful resources

Status
Not open for further replies.
I used the existing drive bay power harness and just put a molex connector on it to connect to the (almost) standard power supply:

2012-10-15 18.00.33.jpg2012-10-15 18.23.21.jpg2012-10-15 18.23.30.jpg
I replaced the DVD drive with a SATA unit so that it would connect to my new gigabyte motherboard. I have installed OSX mountain lion..... WHAT A PAIN!!!!:banghead: It took days of googling and I was using Moarfish's "Golden Build" so it should have been simple. I wanted to install Snow Leopard but I used an Ivy Bridge CPU so Snow Leopard was a no-go. Then I discovered that the Core i5 I chose had HD2500 graphics built in, which is not supported in lion/ML :banghead: Luckily I had an FX380 graphics card lying round :headbang: so I installed it, it works well. It is a low profile type though so I am ordering a new backplate which should fit it (hopefully). I still couldn't boot unless in safe mode, until a very helpful soul pointed out an issue with 10.8.2's ACPI kext then.....:beachball:.......BOOM! I'm in full blown hack-attack-a-mac heaven.:thumbup:
 
Subscribed!Very nice work! I'm waiting too for the final build ;)
P.S. Gather all your updates in the first post,it makes it easier to follow :)
 
Love the build, subbed.
 
love the mod, just one question. What aluminium did you use to make the backplate? I plan to do the same, but without all the holes because I don't have a CNC machine :( Thanks !
 
I'm sooo incredibly jealous right now :p Did you build or buy your CNC machine? I did something similar, but I had to make do with a drill press.
I'm curious to see how the sand blasting turns out. Don't hit it too hard, wouldn't want to warp that nice panel. The sanding I did on mine to remove the rough edges from drilling the holes actually matched the case surprisingly well.

Is the IO shroud made to accept standard mobo IO plates? How did you make it?

I reused the fans also. I was going to mount the divider in so I could use the front fans exactly how they were. I haven't figured out a satisfactory way to mount it though so I may build a hard drive rack in the front so they slide in similar to the Mac Pro and make my own mount for the fans behind that reusing the push in power connector.
I did the same thing with my power supply. It died after 3~ months. I'm not certain whether it was due to not enough air flow or just because it was kind of dodgy to begin with. I'm considering making a custom enclosure for the bottom so I can use a regular ATX psu. I don't really have time for my machine to be down for however long it takes me to hack it into the G5 enclosure if it happens to die again.
Lots of ideas... no real time to work on it :(

Anyway here's my backplate.
 

Attachments

  • 6772625635_e0caa46139_b.jpg
    6772625635_e0caa46139_b.jpg
    438.4 KB · Views: 2,908
Thanks for the support.:)

@pointandclick
Did you build or buy your CNC machine?
I Bought it, it's an ebay special. I used to have my own electronic design/manufacturing business and used it to prototype enclosures.

Is the IO shroud made to accept standard mobo IO plates? How did you make it?
Yep, its for standard I/O shrouds. I made it from some 20mm thick HDPE I had lying around, and just cut the shape on the CNC machine.

@Badaboum03
What aluminium did you use to make the backplate?
1.5mm aluminium sheet. I bought it on ebay. Beleive it or not, it was cheaper to buy it in th UK and have it shipped to my door in Australia than it was to buy it at the local Jaycar, or Bunnings(Hardware). It terrible, seeing as the sheet was probably made in Australia in the first place.

@alex_tzardea
P.S. Gather all your updates in the first post,it makes it easier to follow
I will do that at some stage.
 
This weekend I remade the motherboard tray as it was a touch too long and was lifting up where the case seam on the edges interfered with it. I eventually got it right and refitted it. I will post the updated DXF shortly.

I bought some thermal fan control PCB's off of ebay to keep the apple fans quiet as they were designed as variable speed fans, and at full speed they are incredibly noisy.
2012-10-19 23.35.13.jpg

I used one of the controllers in the power supply, as is, I just attached some new cables to it. The controler varies the voltage between about 5v to 12v depending on the temperature inside the enclosure. At 5v the PSU fans are not quiet, but they are not unbearably noisy like they are at 12v. This setup means that if the power supply starts to get hot, the fans will speed up to ensure I don't get overheating issues. The power supply fans are different to every other fan in the case. Because they do not have a dedicated 12v rail, I do not like to run them below 5v for fear of stalling. If the fan stalls it will not blow any air across the sensor on the fan controller, and the controller will not pick up the rise in air temperature until the heatsinks are extremely hot.
2012-10-20 01.00.23.jpg

I fitted another controller board to the HDD bay fans. Because the HDD fans have a dedicated 12v rail, I can run them down to about 2.5v. This keeps them nearly silent. Because the fan controller regulates between 5v and 12v, I made an adapter board with 4 forward biased power diodes in series with the variable voltage line. This means that the fan controlers range is now approximately 2.5v to 9.5v. Although the fans will handle up to 12V at 9.5V the apple fans provide more cooling than the HDD bay will ever need. They are nearly silent at 25-30 degrees c and ramp up as the temperature in the enclosure rises. I mounted the controller in the same spot that apple uses for their temperature sensor, which is a tab on the rear of the lower bay bracket. It is a squeeze, but it just fits.
2012-10-21 20.53.41.jpg2012-10-21 20.53.22.jpg2012-10-21 20.43.10.jpg

When I reassemled the case, my brand new motherboard decied to give up the ghost, and go up with a puff of smoke so I will have to take it back to the shops and swap it over.
 
subscribed! I'm really curious how the end result will look! Keep on with the good work ;)
 
I fitted the rear fans with a thermal controller as well. I ran out of standard power diodes so I used a couple of surface mount S1M power diodes, which seem to have a higher forward voltage.
2012-10-23 21.16.53.jpg2012-10-23 21.36.23.jpg2012-10-23 21.36.40.jpg2012-10-23 21.36.47.jpg2012-10-23 21.39.00.jpg
 
I've finished the front panel, I blew all the components off the front panel PCB with an SMD rework tool and attached a USB and firewire lead that I got off of ebay to the pins on the connectors. Then I made up a small relay board to adapt the apple audio out to the standard intel HD audio front panel connector. It works a treat! I have attached my circuit diagram (more like a circuit sketch!) if anyone else wants to use it.

2012-11-04 13.20.38.jpg2012-11-04 16.16.30.jpgaudiodongle.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top