First Hackintosh Powermac G5

[bb2k10]

Good day to you all,

So after several weeks of reading on this forum i decided to try to build an Hackintosh. There is so much info on this site that gives you the opportunity to build one yourself. I think that i am not the only person who decided to build an Hackintosh rather then to buy an iMac or MacPro it saves some cash.

I managed to pick up a Powermac G5 for a good price (25 euro) (the logicboard was dead). I love the build quality of the G5 case it is AWESOME and even when you take it apart there is so much detail going on. The Powermac came with the old keyboard and mouse and there are two HDD in it, both 160Gb. I think i will re-use the HDD and i will re-use the cage of the PSU.

I think i have one of the {first} late G5's (early 2005), the last owner said it is was from 2006.

The shopping list:

MB: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M

CPU: intel i5 3570K

COOLING: Corsair Hydro H60 (2013 edition)

GPU: Do i need one?

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gb

PSU: Corsair CX 600M / 2x Fractal Design Silent R2 series (60mm) mounted in the original powermac PSU

HDD: 1 SSD for MacOSX, 1 of the spare HDD for windows

What i want to do with it:

- I want a system that is easy to upgrade if possible, i will not use it for gaming.
- I want to use wireless internet
- I want to use bleu tooth keyboard and mouse
- I want to use the original on off button

You can all pass your ideas or advice to me via a PM or in this topic.

Here are some pictures:

This was on the box:


Blurry Front:


Back side:


Inside with plastic cover:


First things removed:


Almost empty:


The final result:

 

[pointandclick]

Reusing the original power button/front panel assembly is actually one of the easier parts of this mod if you have any wiring/soldering skills at all.

Here's the wiring diagram for the front panel. I've also included an attachment of all wiring diagrams for fans/etc.


The bigger problem is how are you going to handle the back panel. Cut to work with standard ATX ports? Mount the mobo set back in the case and use extension cables to the original ports? Then comes the power supply. Mod an ATX psu into the original enclosure? Make sure it's adequately cooled, as me how I know Place the psu in the original hdd location?

There's no shortage of G5 mods here. Take a look at some and see what you like and what you think you could do better.
Personally, I used JB Weld to reattach the original G5 standoffs (the shorter ones) in the correct for a mATX board. A mATX board fits perfectly without needing to cut out the top divider. With the top of the board just against the divider it lines up with the expansion slots just right and the original standoffs are just the right height.

I originally used the G5 psu enclosure. After the first one burned up I think I'm going to do a custom enclosure at the bottom that an ATX unit will fit inside, just for ease of replacement.

Here's the panel I made to relocate the back fans and open up the IO area. It's not perfect, but pretty darn good for being done with a drill press. I haven't had time to finish it.

 

[chaosdesigns]

The long vertical plastic piece on the back is the wifi antenna...try to leave that intact to hook up to your eventual wifi card.

I'm looking forward to your build!

chaos

 

[bb2k10]

The long vertical plastic piece on the back is the wifi antenna...try to leave that intact to hook up to your eventual wifi card.

I'm looking forward to your build!

chaos

Oke so why is it attached to the front?

 

[eelhead]

Oke so why is it attached to the front?

That isn't the front that is the rear of the case with the long plastic strip next to the exhaust fans.

 

[bb2k10]

That isn't the front that is the rear of the case with the long plastic strip next to the exhaust fans.

Yes i know that it is the rear, but if you look at the last picture of the first post you see the wire. The wire runs from the front to the rear and is attached to the wifi antenna and the power button card.

 

[smi]

MB: Don't know yet

CPU: i5 or i7

GPU: Do i need one?

RAM: at least 16Gb

CD/DVD: Do i need one?

PSU: Corsair or Fractal, how much watt i don't know yet

HDD: 1 SSD for MacOSX, 1 of the spare HDD for windows

use a gigabyte board, that are the best boards among asus and asrock. i had no problems with my ga h77m. but u need a matx board cause theres not much space in the case.

why do you need 16 GB ram when you dont even play games ? just for surfing there would be 4 or 6 GB better. if you choose the right CPU with HD 3000 or HD4000 intel integrated HD graphics and you really dont want to game then you dont need a GPU.

CD/DVD is so cheap you can always put that in.

you dont need very much watt, without GPU you would only need around 350-450 watt. i got 480 watt for my i5,GTX 560,16GB RAM.

hope that helped a bit

 

[chaosdesigns]

It probably connected to the G5 motherboard through the front panel cable.

 

[bb2k10]

So did some searching on the net and this site. And i think this could be my new system. Let me know what you think of it. And if you have beter options please let me know.

Aantal	Product	Prijs	Subtotaal
1	Antec Kühler H2O 920	€ 79,95	€ 79,95
1	Corsair Professional AX650 650W	€ 137,45	€ 137,45
1	Crucial BallistiX Elite 8GB DDR3-1600 CL8 kit	€ 34,45	€ 34,45
1	Crucial m4 128GB	€ 89,90	€ 89,90
2	Fractal Design Silent Fan 120mm	€ 9,44	€ 18,88
2	Fractal Design Silent Fan 60mm	€ 7,98	€ 15,96
2	Fractal Design Silent Series R2 92mm	€ 9,97	€ 19,94
1	Gigabyte GA-Q77M-D2H	€ 107,80	€ 107,80
1	Intel Core i5 3570K	€ 203,80	€ 203,80
1	TP-Link TL-WDN4800	€ 33,79	€ 33,79
13 producten	Importeren als eigen wensenlijst	Totaal	€ 741,92

 

[samisnake]

i would go with this board personally
http://nl.hardware.info/productinfo/149612/msi-z77ma-g45

its cheaper, z77 and looks nicer (imo)


kduvernay did a write up of that board and other matx z77 boards
http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/73558-z77-matx-motherboards-os-x.html