Ersterhernd's Second G5 Project

[ersterhernd]

I love the plate idea hiding the cables! Would love to replicate it. How did you go about creating the bottom, side and top plates?

Hi Wolfie,

I used a thin type of aluminum sheeting purchased from a local metal retailer. It was 1/16th I think. I carefully planned out my cable management first, for EVERY cable in the G5, from the PSU all the way to the top tray. I drew a map on paper so I had a hard copy to follow at final assembly.

The main backplate you see in the photos is bolted to 1/2x1/2 aluminum flatbar that is drilled and threaded for each mounting bolt. The flatbar is secured to the case wall with JB Weld. The cables all live in this 1/2" of space. I actually taped them down with packing tape first so it was easier to mount the backplate in the final assembly.

The backplate extends slightly below (1/4") the floor plate, then the floor plate was cut to butt up to the backplate for a clean edge.

All cutting was done with a 3000 series dremel and fiberglass reinforced cutting wheels. I always purchase extra sheets of plating material to use as a straight-edge guide in the cutting process. Well worth the extra materials cost for the clean straight edged cuts it gives. Always place your guide plate on top of the cutout piece you intend to keep. That way if your cutting wheel slips, it mars your throw-away piece, not your good piece. Also keep your finished side face down while cutting, and don't peel off any protective plastic film until your ENTIRE project is complete and assembled.

Oh yeah, measure TWICE, cut ONCE!


Hope this helps. Cheers!


Ersterhernd

 

[StudioK]

Ersterhernd, are you using the laserhive motherboard tray as well? I'm trying to build mine but the all the PCI devices don't fit in the slots perfectly since the tray obviously raise it a little higher. Any suggestion?

I found that the PCI express cards will be positioned such that you can screw them in place, but they don't quite make it close enough to slide the bracket into its slot (One end of bracket is screwed down--the other end slides into aluminum slot). The bracket will set on the edge of the slot and this prevents the card from being fully inserted into the board.
I was forced to remove the aluminum slots with a pair of pliers. They ripped out fairly easily.

 

[macmodifier]

Thx JBG, also still waitin' on parts for nicks chime...

ersterhernd


Let me start by saying, your build looks great , and yes they are addictive to build, I have two, one server and one main machine. Not as clean a build as yours but the outside looks nice.


I want to add the chime to my two Hackintoshes, where do I get the parts to make it work? I still have the speakers. Can you give me instructions on where and what to buy?

Thanks in advance,
MacModifier

 

[macmodifier]

Mine took just over 2 weeks to arrive (Hong Kong to UK)

For the recording, I found that playing the chime from a proper hifi at a decent volume with the bass up slightly worked nicely.
I had to hold the recorder quite close to the speaker or else the playback wasn't very loud.

I want to add the chime to my two Hackintoshes, where do I get the parts to make it work? I still have the speakers. Can you give me instructions on where and what to buy?

Thanks in advance,
MacModifier

 

[ersterhernd]

ersterhernd


Let me start by saying, your build looks great , and yes they are addictive to build, I have two, one server and one main machine. Not as clean a build as yours but the outside looks nice.


I want to add the chime to my two Hackintoshes, where do I get the parts to make it work? I still have the speakers. Can you give me instructions on where and what to buy?

Thanks in advance,
MacModifier

Thx for the positive comments MacModifier, I bought the chime off eBay from a vendor in China. Just search isd1820 on eBay and you'll see plenty of them listed. Admittedly it is still sitting in my drawer, I've completed three G4 Cubes in the last few months and they've taken up all my free time. Sorry I cant add any more info for you.


Cheers,

Ersterhernd

 

[macmodifier]

Thanks for the info, when you get around to adding them to your Hacks, will you post a detailed info thread on what you did and how you got it working?

 

[Dschijn]

Do you think that every graphics card with power plugs at the side make a cut in the G5 Glass Cover necessary?

 

[minihack]

Which washer did you place under the motherboard? Was it a washer from The Laser Hive kit? If so, was it one of the thick acrylic blue ones?

Also, I'd like to know how to secure the motherboard. Are we supposed to stack those thick washers (3 per standoff? )on the bottom 4 motherboard standoffs and then thread the screws? The instructions I downloaded are OK, but not very specific about how to use the multitude of screws nuts and washers.

Hi StudioK,

Sorry I did not read this thread earlier. I do not always read every thread and so did not see this comment.

If you still have an issue with your tray (and it has not been solved in between times) then please do send a picture to the Laser Hive email address showing the problem as the trays and backplates are guaranteed and so you should if you have any issue at all get directly in touch with the Laser Hive. This forum unfortunately does not allow me to address questions directly so an email question is the best way to get a quick answer - or a fix or a refund.

There are indeed a multitude of washers and screws and the kits now always come with more than are needed. The reason for that is that there were three different types of G5 standoff patterns that variously have some M3 screws and/or some M3.5 screws and also some have fixation points that are accessible OUTSIDE the motherboard tray footprint while unfortunately one variant (like E. had!) has fixation points that are inside the Mobo footprint. The inevitable result is that whichever G5 you have, there will be and should be, some screws and washers left over at the end of the process simply because of this over supply to meet all situations....the philosophy here is that it is better to have too many parts than to have one less than you need.

From the description it sounds like either the tray was not pushed down hard to lie as flat as possible against the G5 back (which it must be although the end of the threaded inserts project by about 1mm now) or perhaps there was a misunderstanding of the use of the washers etc. Only by knowing more about the problems can the kit instructions - and the products themselves - be improved.

I hope in any case that this has now been fixed and that you no longer have this problem, but if not then you know where to send the email.

 

[ersterhernd]

Do you think that every graphics card with power plugs at the side make a cut in the G5 Glass Cover necessary?

Hi Dschijn, it was most unfortunate to have to punch a hole in the glass cover. As far as I know, unless you find a card that has power plugs in the end, you'll likely have to do the cut. There was simply too much torque on the plugs without the cutout hole.


Cheers!

 

[hungweilo]

Hello Ersterhernd,

Im new to this forum, I'm a noob in the hackintosh world. After searching the interweb about g5 mod case I came across your second build and fell in love. It was exactly what I wanted, simple, clean,not a lot of wires and I love how you flush mount the motherboard and have all the wires tucked under it brilliant. I would like to build a similar system and would like some of your inputs. I am inquiring a g5 today locally on craigslist, it has everything intact. I will be ordering the g5 matx backplate and motherboard tray from laser hive. Now i dont see a buy now or add to cart, do I need to contact them first? Also where would I get the aluminum plate that goes over the bottom and top thats covering the cdrom drive? If it was something you fabricated would mind giving me some dimension. Do you think The laser hive could cut something like that out? And one last thing, how were you able to fit the power supply and still have a cover over it? your help would be very appreciated!