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B&W G3 Hackintosh

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Apr 15, 2011
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Motherboard
Asus Z87 Gryphon
CPU
i7-4790
Graphics
Nvidia Quadro K600
B&W G3 Hackintosh (Guide)

INTRO

Hi, This is a re-post of my long-running hackintosh build, using the old family 1998 B&W G3 powerpc.
This build started on the turn of 2009, with me looking to get involved in the hackintosh community
at the same time i was in the market for a new case!

The possibility occurred to me in storm of enthusiasm, and wasn't long before
i had found all the small constraints for this retro modern case.

Mostly, at the time, the community was really small but for an old forum ,insanely mac, where i managed to deduce along with others that it was a feasible build provided you used a really short mobo.

Originally i had seen the cooling possiblities as a major problem also, and i went on a tangent into watercooling(to limited success).
But after all the system problems that came with water-cooling, I made the shift toward the final setup.

The setup that would retain the most functional elements of the case and maintain
the ATX modularity, that this case is really quite good for.

So it came into form with the least modifications i could live with.
 

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FORM-FACTOR

I like to think, with all the constraints of this case, that it couldn't be much different.
There are specific reasons behind most of the components i have selected.
So i will go through the most of it for you.

We started with the 1998 Blue and white G3 powerpc. This one came in the 333mhz base model.
which we mostly ran OS8.6 on. Great computer. i am hanging on to the mobo for archival sake,
And this case goes on to be my daily computer.



This case is just perfect for a retro hackintosh mod.
Once gutted, We get a very compact case with all these particulars.
Here are just a few of the expansion possiblities.

- formfactor - MicroATX
- Expansion slots - four
- Powersupply - full ATX, (but it requires a psu with an 80mm fan)
- Fan holes - None, (however we can all modify a hole or two)
- Bays - 1 x 5.25" ODD external
- 1 x 3.5" external bay
- 3 x 3.5" internal bays (However, I'll have you sacrifice a couple of these for the fan holes)


A this is such a compact case The component selection is paramount.
Here are a few of the hardware particulars.

- Mobo - The length of you motherboard is perhaps the greatest constraint you'll encounter,
this is because on the original board the ram was the other way around. You will need to look for a hackintosh compatible board
that is no longer than 175mm in length. to prevent the ram interfering with the Optical drive.
- Cooler - With the processor now positioned up against the Power supply,
You will need a low profile cooler. look for one around 60mm in height. The stock intel cooler is also an option.
- Optical Drive - Look for the shortest you can get. Most modern sata drives seem to be short enough but go the shortest you can find.
- Video card - You may be pleased to know that this case has the ability to house dual graphics cards at over 300mm in lenght. The only thing is
there is, at this time, no mobo with dual graphics ability that falls with in our space contraints. So don't worry about only having a single graphics card. any of them will fit.
- Fans - Finally you will need some cooling. personally I wouldn't cut any fan holes, but you will need them. (TOP TIP: Buy your self a 120mm blower fan, for the rear vents. I don't know why they didn't come with the case.) You'll need an intake and an exhaust fan. I put them inward on the underside and outward on the rear. There will be a lot of personal preference involved. Go nuts!!
 

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CASE FANS

With this case, the best you can do is provide a little cooling.
I just could not bring myself to cut holes in the original plastic shell. so it left me with only a couple of install locations to choose from.
for the best cooling i believe in a push pull approach. with both an intake and exhaust
the rear fan vents are the main constraint i wished to work around. and from experience i knew they were perfect for a centrifugal blower fan.
now blower fans will not work in reverse so they are perfect for an exhaust system.
now all i needed was an intake. and went with a couple of 80mm silent fans on the underside.
the underside was a concern for me as they often suck in the most dust, but it is such a small case I bargained that it will never leave my desktop.
and i will insure it with fan filters.

So holes were cut and fans were mounted.
you will notice that the centrifugal has a voltage drop resistor and rubber mountings to slow it down and keep it from vibrating the case.
they are almost overkill at full speed.
 

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FRONT PANEL

In my opinion if you choose a case like this, you have to love how it looks. Not much is out of date.
The speaker it came with, was out of this world at the time.
the powerbuttons are classy and you can even rig up a clearcmos.

To keep it retro, you need to modify a bit.

The original front panel electronic board was a bit to complex for me. So i hit the electronics store for the parts to replace the whole thing.
i needed some PCB, a couple of buttons, terminals and wire. to dremel my own board. You can see the result.

The speaker i also really wanted to keep so i got my hands on a ten dollar logitec USB-decoding set of speakers, and gutted them for the amplifier electronics.
hot glued it to the speaker and went from there.
 

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CARD READER

Back in the day you had a choice between: A floppy, a zip drive, or a blank spot underneath your combo drive
But these are pretty useless next to a card reader, so they have to go.

All that is needed is to cut out the slot to 3.5" and move the card reader forward with some new mounting holes.
 

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DRIVE CAGE

The major constraint of this case is the position of the drive cage. In the original configuration it was that the ram was in a different direction.
However in any ATX the ram will interfere with the optical drive Unless you are specific with your part selection.
For me I went to the trouble of buying myself motherboards no longer than 175mm and the shortest SATA optical i could find.
You can see in the picture how the end of the board lines up with the end of the drive.
And how i needed to cut off a short length of the drive cage.
There is a very small overlap but it is not a problem because the ram is inward toward the CPU a few millimeter.
 

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I love your cooling fan solution. I might have to steal that for my own case. The big fan in the stock location isn't that great and it's kind of bulky.

However, the information about the mobo is incorrect. I have installed a full ATX board with only minor cutting to the case for the ram and trimming for the IO ports. The Z77X-UD5H can house multiple video cards and lots of other fun stuff smaller boards don't offer. You do need to trim the case and other obstructions for the RAM and 24 pin power cable, but I don't run an optical drive, so this was of little concern to me.

My next project is the front panel buttons and mounting my card reader in the optical drive area. I think I might use your ideas on the power button in my project Apple Pi.

I would consider this an intermediate skill level case. But for aesthetics alone, this was the only case for me :D
 
Thanks jeff
I am trying to recommend a non-destructive alternative to the complete overhaul of this case.
Hopefully it gets seen as a guide for the die hard mac lovers wanting to keep it in one piece.

I'd call the skill level of this Case: Difficult.
 
MOBO MOUNTING

to get this case right you need to mount the motherboard really well. You will need an I/O bracket and some standoffs.
The original I/O bracket is fine if you don't mind cutting the shield hole or leaving it with a gap.
However the original standoffs are useless for this one so go down to you electronics store and look around for the electronics standoffs they have on offer.
Mine push through from the other side. These are my favourite, really easy to install, hard to remove.
You can see in the photo i have a PC I/O bracket riveted in place. It is something i had lying around. If i where to do it again i would have gotten a custom one made to fit the area exactly. (more on that later!)
 

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DRIVE TRAY

Trimming the drive tray will be common amongst alot of you, There are ways to do it properly.
The fastest way is going to be with a powertool. If you don't know already, you can cut aluminium on the circular saw.
Provided you have a carbide blade and you take safety precautions. To start with, you need to set the blade height to no more than 6 to 8mm.Next, you need to set up a rip fence to an appropriate depth. and wear some sort of eye and ear protection.
To cut this drive tray down to length, you will need to remove the rip guard. As the body of the piece will be over the saw at the time. Which is the dangerous part.
 

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