Eleven Macs, Which One to Hack?

[minihack]

I guess you're right. How much should I expect to pay for a gutted one?

It sort of depends on where you look....personally I'd go for a whole one that has broken down. Usually they are cheaper and if you can isolate what is wrong you can either fix it or sell on the good parts and keep the case. That's the cheapest way usually to end up with what you want.

What I was wondering is how you would fit a mobo in there. Horizontally? Vertically? I guess PCI cards are out of the question, but even I/O ports would be hard because the whole chassis is so curved. Also, a CD drive would almost definitely interfere with anywhere you put the mobo.

The CRT takes up most of the room. Once that has gone there is lots of space in there. I'd go Mini -ITX (but mATX would probably fit). CD drive would be best kept where it is and shouldn't be an issue. I/O ports shouldn't be a problem.

I've had an old "Grape" iMac sat on top of a cabinet in the bedroom for the last couple of years. Will get around to it one day....

Agree with Doc. Evil on the monitor issue. Be good to have a small LCD in the iMac as a secondary screen (keep it running Dashboard or iTunes) and drive a decent main monitor externally.

 

[CommotoshX86]

You are one lucky man... I've been scouring ebay and craigslist for a G5 but haven't found one for under $40. (I know, I'm cheap, but ALL I NEED IS THE CASE WHICH NO ONE UNDERSTANDS). Anyway, I would second the iMac idea because I was thinking about how no one had done that the other day. But would you really want that small of a screen, or would you just use it as a case? Still, it would be an awesome mod.

Yes, I totally lucked out on this find. If I told you how much I have in them you would cry. It's far less than $40 per computer though. I put the word out to everyone I knew who worked somewhere where there was a creative marketing department that I was looking for old broken macs and it paid off.

I don't mind about the screen size as this would not be my main computer but rather more of a fun novelty. I already have a mini itx board, psu, hard drive, and nice (for its time) Dell LCD.

I'd also love to hack the G4 iMac but those icx boards are so expensive and I would not be too confident in my own abilities to wire the lcd to the board.

 

[Einsteiniac]

Yes, I totally lucked out on this find. If I told you how much I have in them you would cry. It's far less than $40 per computer though. I put the word out to everyone I knew who worked somewhere where there was a creative marketing department that I was looking for old broken macs and it paid off.

I don't mind about the screen size as this would not be my main computer but rather more of a fun novelty. I already have a mini itx board, psu, hard drive, and nice (for its time) Dell LCD.

I'd also love to hack the G4 iMac but those icx boards are so expensive and I would not be too confident in my own abilities to wire the lcd to the board.

I own a Mac repair shop. You guys would all die if you saw the crap I have in my office.

 

[sonicseamus]

Oh man you are LUCKY!!! BTW how is business? there used to be a shop called MacUpgrades in my area but they sadly went under

 

[Einsteiniac]

Oh man you are LUCKY!!! BTW how is business? there used to be a shop called MacUpgrades in my area but they sadly went under

Actually it's going pretty good. We have been in business about 5 years now and I have found the key is to never compete with the Apple Store nor think of them as your competitor. Rather they are a GREAT asset and a wonderful source of new complimentary business.

 

[sonicseamus]

Awesome! I'm glad to hear it.

 

[doctorevil30564]

Actually it's going pretty good. We have been in business about 5 years now and I have found the key is to never compete with the Apple Store nor think of them as your competitor. Rather they are a GREAT asset and a wonderful source of new complimentary business.

Yeah, I bet you get tons of business from people who just left the genius bar after being told that their current mac is going to cost almost as much as a new system to fix, when usually all that needs to be done is swap out the faulty logic board. and heaven help you if you bring them an older G5 or earlier system, most of their "Geniuses" don't know what to do with the power pc based systems, they're too young to remember them for the most part. LOL

It's awesome that you're doing great, always glad to hear that little guys are able to stay afloat.