Building your hackintosh in a G5 case

[javimdq]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

I also started my G5 mod last week. Until now, I have made the following, after taking out all the original internal parts:
- Mounted ATX PSU inside the Powermac PSU = No problems

- Mounted DVD Drive and HDD drives = OK

- Mounted GA-P55M-UD2 = OK. Aligned the MB to fit the PCI ports of the G5. Very little space between the original G5 back and the GA panel connections for wiring.

- Front panel connections = I wired the Power switch, LED and USB to the GA-P55M-UD2. Audio it seems to be impossible (should be connected as HD Audio to the MB to work). Firewire not wired yet.

- Back panel = Major issue here. I am now in the decision of cutting the G5 back panel or use the original macpro motherboard and wire it to the GA. Read many post of modding, the most of several years ago (2006/8) where the ATX motherboards were very different in terms of back connections to nowadays. For that reason, I have the following:
* The G5 back connections were OK for a 2004-2006 computer.
* To loose all the back connections of the GA (eSATA, 6/8 USB, 6 channel
audio, etc.) vs to cut the G5 case!!!!

I think that the balance right now is to cut the back of the case. What do you guys think about it? I have a lot of photos of the process, maybe we can start a new post somewhere.

 

[Lerxst]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

My case is supposed to be here tomorrow so I'll have a better idea of what possible then.

I did have one thought....

For myself I intend to try and keep the case compatible with future builds. Meaning, I may want to throw a different Motherboard and processor in it at some point down the road. To that end I'm in favor or trying to cable all of the back connectors if possible. Then at some future date I can simply swap out components.

Possible? I dont know but I'll get back to you once I do some digging.

As for cables and connectors you might start digging here:

http://www.pololu.com/

 

[Helianthus]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

Lerxst, I really like the direction you are headed in! This is the method I would like to use as well. I'm going to do a lot of work tonight on what cables I'm going to purchase on Friday. While www.frontx.com is expensive, I was planning to use several of their cables. I'll post up some options tonight -- I'd like to get your input before I place the order.

 

[Lerxst]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

DVI connectors

http://www.pacificcable.com/Site_Search.asp

 

[Helianthus]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

As I have mentioned elsewhere, I am using a Gigabyte GA-P55-UD5 motherboard for my mod. The ports available on the board are pictured below:

So, to the best of my knowledge, this is what the back of my G5 looks like:

As I understand, it is one of the new models, so I adjusted the photo to reflect what I remember being in there. Please excuse the crude "photoshop" job (I used paint).

Starting at the top:

1 and 2) Optical in and out

Manufactured by Gigabyte (12CR1-1SPINO-11R), this will need some slight modifications to make this work for me. I'll have to remove the coaxial jacks, and rewire the connector to match the pinouts of my GA-P55-UD5 board. I found this particular one on ebay. You can checked the gigabyte website for the pinouts.

3) Analog Audio Out

Manufactured by Frontx (P0902 - http://www.frontx.com/pro/p0902_036.html). This is just a simple cable extender. No modifications needed.

4) Analog Audio In

Manufactured by Frontx (P092 - http://www.frontx.com/pro/p092_036.html). This is just a simple cable extender. No modifications needed.

5) USB x 2 (I actually think mine might have 3)

Manufactured by Frontx (P1011 - http://www.frontx.com/pro/p1011_036.html). This is just a simple cable extender. No modifications needed.

6) Firewire 400

Manufactured by Cablestogo (C184-27028 -http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=242768). This is just a simple adapter. I may also need to run a cable to get the correct length.

7) Firewire 800

Manufactured by USBFIREWIRE (RR-ADP-9F6M-19 - http://www.usbfirewire.com/Parts/rr-adp-9f6m-19.html). This will connect to the 6 pin on the motherboard.

9) Ethernet x 2

Manufactured by FrontX (P115 - http://www.frontx.com/pro/p115.html). This is a cable extender.

Well, that just about covers it. Some issues:

- The price is very high! For me to run all these cables, it is going to cost me over $100. If anyone knows of other options, please let me know. I wish I had the expertise to make my own cables.
- I still want to be able to use 5.1 sound. My speakers do not have optical in, so I need to extend the 5.1 analog RCA jacks to one of the PCI slots. Any ideas, or will I have to make this myself?

Any comments / suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lerxst]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

My case is going to be here today. I'll get back to you later this afternoon. I want to see what my wiring looks like inside the case.

My case is supposed to have all the wiring in it. I was hoping to just by the connectors I need from an electronics supply place and then solder them in. Idrather do that than by cables and chop them but I need to see how the thing G5 case and wiring is designed first.

My primary concerns are going to be the ethernet, usb, firewire, stereo in/out and DVI ports. Those are the ones I use now 99% of the time.

I may by an Case slot usb firewire connecter just to make more of the posts available on the back of the G5 case.

More to come......

 

[Lerxst]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

First thoughts...

Ok my case arrived yesterday so I know understand what your looking at.

I think my first concern is where the motherboard and power supply are going to go and how to fit them. In looking at my UD2 motherboard all of the connectors (pci-e, pci, ethernet, usb, audio and firewire ports) are all on one level.

The G5 case has the PCI and PCI-E slots inset about 1/2 inch which means if we mount the board at that level there will be a gap between the boards jack and back panel of the case. At first I thought we could just bridge this gap with cabling. 1/2 inch isnt enough space to bridge with cables.

The top of the G5 case was designed for 3.5" hard drives. The power connector on the case is at the bottom. Most PC power supplies have the connector offset to one side and they have a toggle switch. If we mount the power supply at the bottom (or top) is there enough room for the motherboard pci and pci-e slots to line up with the cases 4 slots.

I'm going to do some measurements today and perhaps make myself a mock motherboard out of cardboard or plexi-glass. I'll also come up with something the approximate size of the power supply so I can mock fit them in the case before I start cutting anything. I'd like to have a real , second UD2 board to use for this purpose but I couldn't find a used or dead one on ebay.

Overall, I am now thinking of cutting the back panel to hold the I/O shields that come with all motherboards. I'd also cut the back case to fit the power supply just like a PC (probably at the bottom)

The jumper cable solution is still an option but I'm afraid I will eat up a lot of the cases space trying to fit cables or jumpers. Cutting the case has the advantage of being useful for any furture motherboard or power supply IF there is enough space for them to fit.

More to come.....

I picked up a dead power supply and an old mid tower case for $5 at a recycled computer store so I can use them as reference for where I will mount things.

It doesnt look like you can bottom/back mount the power supply because it would block the bottom ports on the back of the case. The next to options are front/bottom or back/top but then the drive rack would have to go.

I'm thinking of cutting the whole back away, buying a piece of aluminum (solid or mesh to match) and either cutting my own backplate or having it cut by a autocad machine. This would fix the whole back alignment problem.

 

[Helianthus]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

I think by cutting the case, you end up with a much more functional computer, but you don't get to maintain the original aesthetic.

My plan was to not even try to use the pci slots either. I was going to set the board in to the case a couple inches and run the extenders pictured in my post above. This would allow for enough space to run the cords.

As for the PSU in your setup -- Did the case come with the orginal G5 PSU? You could potentially gut the contents and replace with an ATX setup. I've seen that done a few times.

 

[javimdq]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

If we put the motherboard inside the G5 in order to use no extenders for the PCI slots, the space between the case and the motherboard connectors it too short for doing anything (from my point of view).

I finally decided to cut the case, the connections are more important than the aesthetic.

Two images from my mod.

 

[Lerxst]

Re: Got a G5 Powermac case for $3.25 via ebay

I think by cutting the case, you end up with a much more functional computer, but you don't get to maintain the original aesthetic.

My plan was to not even try to use the pci slots either. I was going to set the board in to the case a couple inches and run the extenders pictured in my post above. This would allow for enough space to run the cords.

As for the PSU in your setup -- Did the case come with the orginal G5 PSU? You could potentially gut the contents and replace with an ATX setup. I've seen that done a few times.

I agree on aesthetics but the trade off for me is that if I cut the back and can use a standard PC case setup to mount the motherboard, graphics card (slots) and power supply then I should be able to use the case long into the future.

I'm also leaning toward having a back panel CAD cut from aluminum to match the G5 Case so that it looks both complimentary and professional. I still want it to look good when I'm done...and look like a Mac.

I'll be trying to keep as much of the back mesh material as possible including the side panel release latch. I'll probably loose the fan mounts, power plug slot and all the I/O ports.

I priced having the back panel CAD cut at $30 not including materials. The aluminum should cost around $20. I'd easily spend this much money on jumpers and connectors so its a trade off I'm willing to make and in the long run my case should look better.

The quick alternative would be to buy a $30 (or less) case from Newegg or a used computer store and use the rear panel from it. It would probably be painted grey, not match the Mac case and probably be made out of steel.

Thinking ahead - I may still buy a cheap / used mid tower case and use the back wall panel inside my G5 case to allow for mounting of my UD2 motherboard. This way I would have a mountable surface that should be compatible with any sized MB. I'm hopeful that I can attach it to the built in standoffs in the G5 case. They might have to be cut down though. I could also use the rear panel of the cheap/old case as a template for my CAD cut aluminum backplate.

My case did not come with the power supply and my needs are for more power than the original supply could provide. I believe the G5 power supply was 350 watts.

I now understand why Apple wants $2-3K for their tower units. When you look at the engineering of the G5 case, fans, power supply , drives etc its easy to see.

The best analogy I can give is that Macs are like any high end sports cars ( Porche, Mercedes, BMW etc) while PCs fall more into the muscle car category. The parts are a hodge podge, we pull and replace things all the time. we run wires and cables as needed. You'd never gut a Porche to throw in a better tranny or V8 long block.