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Duke's G3 B&W case mod

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Duke.polymtl said:
You were right, I managed to update OSX to 10.6.7, I tried the 10.6.8 update which failed... I have to start all over again, yeay !!!
Yeah for some reason, I know others know lol, 10.6.8 changed a lot and they removed support for some items so I would hunt down what stuff on your mobo is still supported or not supported.
I wish I knew off the top of my head :/
 
Duke.polymtl said:
Well I've reinstalled 10.6.7, and it works. However... I tried to make OSX recognize my HD6870 with this http://www.groths.org/?p=431 and now I get no graphics at all...
Multibeast with Chimera and the ATI FakeSMC plugins a no go?


http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2011/07/ ... pdate.html
Changed Drivers & Bootloaders -> Kexts & Enablers -> Miscellaneous -> FakeSMC Plugins to a menu choice.
Added to FakeSMC Plugins -> Motherboard Plugins which only installs the motherboard plugins.
Added to FakeSMC Plugins -> AMD RADEON Plugin which only installs the AMD RADEON GPU plugin.
 
Hi guys,
here's a little step by step of my G4/G3 mod.
There were a lot of drilling and cutting involved so a dremel-like drill is THE tool to possess !
As you can see in the previous posts, I was unsure whether a full ATX motherboard would fit or not: it does ! Here's what I did:

First you've got to clear the case in order to put the new MB


DSC00274 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr

Obviously drilled holes to secure the G4 MB with screws are not at the right place and new ones must be drilled. Old support tubes should also be removed as seen on the previous picture (their base is well welded and you have to cut them as close as possible to the metal case).
My goal was to place the new MB in such a position that current slots for extension PCI cards could be used as is.


DSC00277 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr

So first you've got to build new "tubes" to support the motherboard:
You must be really precise while drilling new holes and be sure about the MB's place on the case. Then a simple and efficient way to fix the MB is to place small bolts and secure the MB on them:


DSC00282 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr


DSC00291 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr

However in order to do so, you've got to place the MB as close as possible to the case otherwise it will prevent you from closing it:


DSC00278 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr

Because the MB is square and the side case corners are cut, you must also cut one corner of the rear case (and sandpaper it, a lot...)


DSC00290 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr


DSC00279 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr

After doing that, I discovered that the plastic insulation under the MB was also used to open and close the case itself. The new support bolts blocked it and prevented closing the case.


DSC00283 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr

So don't forget to cut a racetrack shaped hole around each bolt !


DSC00296 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr


Once you've finished that, you may think that you're done, you're not !
The motherboard's power supply wires are also preventing you from closing the case as they are blocked by the optical drive... :mrgreen:

Whole lotta drillin' !!!

DSC00293 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr


DSC00294 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr

Still I thought that it was the end, I was wrong, again !
There are two things I didn't notice before everything was plugged in :
1) I can only put one RAM module else you've got to remove the internal optical drive (I chose to keep the internal OD which is a MUST for installing the OS... and re-installing it many times ...)
2) The "very convenient" power button on the MB was blocked by the OD case when closing the case... :banghead:
So I had to cut half of the internal OD case !


DSC00300 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr

That was not enough to get rid of this issue.
I also had to lower the MB a bit by removing one support nut on the support bolt closest to the power button. However you must be careful because the screws securing the plastic open/close system get very close to the MB, and only one nut should be removed. The MB is slightly twisted but works fine, and now you can close the case.

That's it, you're done for the most part !
I was not yet able to figure out how the original Apple On/Off - Led - Reset card works and connect it to the relevant pins on the MB. As a result the only way to start is the Power button on the MB itself... If someone has an idea ;)


DSC00304 par duke.polymtl, sur Flickr


I have to say that it was really fun to undertake this case mod, I cannot say the same about OSX's installation... I currently have no sound and no way to boot without iBoot, any help would also be greatly appreciated !!!
If you've got any question (I may have forgotten to mention intermediate steps) don't hesitate !

a+
Duke
 
Hi guys,
it's been a long time since I last checked this topic, I just wanted to update things: the hackintosh is working great !!! I got rid of the O.D. in order to put 8Gb of ram, however my GPU isn't recognized as a HD8670 but since I have little need of GPU power, I didn't do anything about that.

a+
Duke

Edit: the original power button is working too !
 
I am in the same situation, i need to cut the lower corner to fit the motherboard. But the problem is the the plastic lower handle, this touching the motherboard! How you solved?
 
Hi guys,
it's been a long time since I last checked this topic, I just wanted to update things: the hackintosh is working great !!! I got rid of the O.D. in order to put 8Gb of ram, however my GPU isn't recognized as a HD8670 but since I have little need of GPU power, I didn't do anything about that.

a+
Duke

Edit: the original power button is working too !

hey I have the XFX 5870 Black Edition to fix the card being recognised as radeon 5000 series I changed graphics enabler to yes this also fixed the problem with halved video performance after sleep! hope this helps :)

ah sorry i see what you did... i believe that the 6870 is having problems with more recent versions of osx however i may be mistaken
 
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