- Joined
- Apr 25, 2014
- Messages
- 1
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte Z87X-DH3
- CPU
- i5 5470
- Graphics
- MSI R9 280X
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
Thanks to all the posters on the tonymacx86 forums for all the useful info and inspirations that helped me with my build. I'm not a computer pro and this was my first build apart from a simple linux/atom based home server so this was a lot of fun to make.
The aim was to build a replacement for my iMac with more up to date specs for use as a work/gaming/general purpose machine. This should be something reasonably powerful but quiet and efficient on a medium budget. Also wanted to keep the outside as unmodded as possible for a stock look. I picked up the case a while ago for around £30 on eBay, slightly scratched up and stripped of useful parts and also with gunk from a leaky cooler on the insides but otherwise ok. I then proceeded to over-enthusiastically rip out the rest of the components (then lost the useful ones like the front panel cable, floor panel and hard drive cage in a clearout) before it sat beside my desk for months making me feel guilty until finally doing something with it.
The build was based on Chaosdesigns simple G5 case mod.
Components used
Work done
- Removed all G5 parts, cleaned, and repaired a bent leg
- Cut a slot with the Dremel for IO ports in position so I could use the existing PCI slots. This was covered with a slice of aluminium from the original G5 logo cooler shield as a matching fascia, framed inside with plastic L section and trimmed with black electrical tape
- Mounted PSU on the top shelf with a hole cut for air intake
-Fixed the original standoffs with epoxy for the motherboard according to chaosdesigns
- Was originally going to use an already owned Samsung USB optical drive plugged in externally but due to it's small size I decided to try mounting it as an internal drive on a USB header. This also allowed me to fit a couple more USB ports and an SD card reader on a hub fixed to an aluminium shelf behind the door. The "automatic shutter" function of the door still operates and it can also be slid open manually on a magnetic catch to access these.
- Fans were mounted to a removable frame made from plastic L section which screws behind the front. I had planned on reusing the original rear fan unit too and left space for them but temps seem fine without.
- Cables were hidden behind 2 clear acrylic panels screwed to some spare motherboard standoffs and wooden posts on the bottom. These were sprayed black on the reverse which gave a nice glossy finish (and also hard to photograph !).
- Lost the original hard drive cage so the drives are mounted on the floor behind the fans in a metal drive bracket
Finally have all the cable management done and components fixed in place and the machine is up and running properly. It runs very stably and quiet and with temps below 30°C for normal use and there were no major problems with OS installation using the excellent Multibeast. All in all I am pretty happy with it as a first attempt at a hackintosh from a beginner and am pleased how possible it is to build your own custom Mac with the help and tools available on this site
!
The aim was to build a replacement for my iMac with more up to date specs for use as a work/gaming/general purpose machine. This should be something reasonably powerful but quiet and efficient on a medium budget. Also wanted to keep the outside as unmodded as possible for a stock look. I picked up the case a while ago for around £30 on eBay, slightly scratched up and stripped of useful parts and also with gunk from a leaky cooler on the insides but otherwise ok. I then proceeded to over-enthusiastically rip out the rest of the components (then lost the useful ones like the front panel cable, floor panel and hard drive cage in a clearout) before it sat beside my desk for months making me feel guilty until finally doing something with it.
The build was based on Chaosdesigns simple G5 case mod.
Components used
- G5 early 2005 model
- Gigabyte Z87X-DH3 motherboard
- i5 4570 CPU
- Crucial BLT2CP4G3D1608DT1TX0CEU Ballistix Tactical RAM (2 x 4GB)
- Seasonic G series 550W PSU
- Drives
- 2.5" Crucial M500 120GB SSD (OS X main drive)
- 2.5" Hitachi HGST Travelstar 7200rpm hard drive (storage)
- 2.5" Seagate Barracuda 5400rpm hard drive (Windows 8 drive for dual-boot)
- MSI R9 280X GPU
- TP-Link TL-WN881ND PCI WiFi adaptor
- GBU521 USB Bluetooth adaptor
- Custom G5 front panel cable http://g5atxcables.weebly.com/mods.html
- Cooling - 2X Gelid Silent 14 PWM fans, Gelid Tranquillo Rev.2 CPU cooler with 120mm PWM fan
- Miscellaneous - aluminium 2.5" drive bracket, AOC i2369vm 23" monitor, Samsung SE208 USB DVD-RW drive, USB card reader
Work done
- Removed all G5 parts, cleaned, and repaired a bent leg
- Cut a slot with the Dremel for IO ports in position so I could use the existing PCI slots. This was covered with a slice of aluminium from the original G5 logo cooler shield as a matching fascia, framed inside with plastic L section and trimmed with black electrical tape
- Mounted PSU on the top shelf with a hole cut for air intake
-Fixed the original standoffs with epoxy for the motherboard according to chaosdesigns
- Was originally going to use an already owned Samsung USB optical drive plugged in externally but due to it's small size I decided to try mounting it as an internal drive on a USB header. This also allowed me to fit a couple more USB ports and an SD card reader on a hub fixed to an aluminium shelf behind the door. The "automatic shutter" function of the door still operates and it can also be slid open manually on a magnetic catch to access these.
- Fans were mounted to a removable frame made from plastic L section which screws behind the front. I had planned on reusing the original rear fan unit too and left space for them but temps seem fine without.
- Cables were hidden behind 2 clear acrylic panels screwed to some spare motherboard standoffs and wooden posts on the bottom. These were sprayed black on the reverse which gave a nice glossy finish (and also hard to photograph !).
- Lost the original hard drive cage so the drives are mounted on the floor behind the fans in a metal drive bracket
Finally have all the cable management done and components fixed in place and the machine is up and running properly. It runs very stably and quiet and with temps below 30°C for normal use and there were no major problems with OS installation using the excellent Multibeast. All in all I am pretty happy with it as a first attempt at a hackintosh from a beginner and am pleased how possible it is to build your own custom Mac with the help and tools available on this site
!
