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G4^3 - thegyufi G4 Cube clone - 2014 - Build Log

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Apr 26, 2012
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Motherboard
Z68ma-D2H-B3 UEFI U1C Bios
CPU
i5 2500k
Graphics
Gigabyte GTX 970 Mini
Mac
  1. 0
Classic Mac
  1. iBook
  2. iMac
  3. Power Mac
  4. PowerBook
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
Hey all, Worked on this cube mod Summer of 2014. Still in progress and 90% done but wanted to share what I have and the steps I took to get there.


Inspired by thegyufi's G4 cube mod. I tackled it looking to make a replica but with a personal spin. I speak a good amount of French so following his log was fun and informational.




Got it in and it's in great condition! Stock 450mhz model. Non-working. There was some stress fractures in the polycarbonate case which I address here


Pictured next to my G4 tower hackintosh (will post in the future ;))
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Link to Final Shots

Case Disassemble & Heatsink cut:
Pretty standard across these mods.
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Took the sides to a belt sander to get a nice even brushed look. Clear coated to prevent oxidation

ITX Tray:
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Cut the ITX tray from a really tough and thick slab of stainless steel I got for free. I couldn't find a template for the ITX layout absolutely anywhere. So, I did my best to make my own using my mobo. Only issue...it doesn't lie perfectly flat.

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I botched two of the holes. I tried using a metal epoxy to fill then redrill a new hole but this didn't work because of how tough the metal was to work with. Any new hole slipped back to the original hole.

So I cut another one and that was a success


Fitting Motherboard and Pico PSU:

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I had to take a different approach than thegyufi for this. My motherboard simply had a different orientation and it wouldn't work with his method.


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Using my template on a nice thin sheet of aluminum....clipboard


CPU Fan intake cutout:

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Used a 4.5" (114mm) holesaw. Spot on!

Dual 2.5" HDD mount:
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Used some aluminum rails and a VRM heatsink to make a sandwich with a 2.5" HDD and an SSD. Used epoxy to attach it to the backside of the itx mount

Test Fit:
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Fitting with blu-ray drive, Mobo, and hdds. At this point, the shell and top plate has been cut
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Filling holes with epoxy putty

Outer Polycarbonate Shell:
IMG_1758_1024.jpgIMG_1757_1024.jpgIMG_1756_1024.jpgStress testing I found that the CPU would still get fairly hot and decided to cut a hole in the outer case as well. Breathes easy now :p

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Using images from thegyufi I carefully drew out the design. I considered changing a few things or trying this approach with a different style. in the end. I cut it out keeping his design I liked it so much. Used a jig saw for this cut. Tried 4-5 different types of blades, ended up using a quick cut wood blade.
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Removed the apple logo with rubbing alcohol and a spudger. Rough filed cut can be seen under wired vandal switch and top opening.
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sleeved 24 pin connection and fitted into case. If you havn't guessed, going for an orange theme here
 
Painting:
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Self-etching primer for the bare metal parts
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Before and after comparison
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All small parts and outer shell primed
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Shimmers in the sun:D
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Showing difference between primer and wheel coating
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Used Duplicolor High Performance Wheel coating in silver for the final top layer. Sure is glossy
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Assembled latching mechanism and mobo plate with epoxied HDD rack
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Got rid of that nasty blue. Now a real SilverStone :lol:
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another beauty shot
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PicoPSU support painted
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I/O bottom plate painted. Did a brushed effect with clear coat on the latching handle.
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Plastidip'd screws and fasteners
 
Bottom I/O Shield:
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Cut some honecomb mesh from Mnpctech with a template and formed it with a paint can
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Using some more aluminum from the clipboard I made mounting plates for the power connector and for the wifi antennas
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Single PCI slot
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Attached pieces using epoxy
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Test fit and prep for Plasti dip treatment
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Plasti dip'd and epoxied onto bottom I/O frame
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Lookin good!
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Another small detail while I'm at it
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Love this stuff
 
Outer case work and vandal switches:
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Leftover cutout from top I get power button mount
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Sanded area where I did solvent welding work. Tiny holes filled with epoxy and sanded down
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120mm fan opening smoothed out
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Traced the nuts for switches and drilled using a step drill bit
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M3 size screws and switches wired and mounted
 
Final Assembly and current state:
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Pictured next to his unmodified and fully functional brother. Has a frosted glass effect from preliminary sanding

How it sits today as a HTPC Hackintosh
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How it sits today as a HTPC Hackintosh


Still needs that final paint job. I've been both putting it off and waiting to tackle this final step. I want to get everything 100% before I paint it. Also, sanding this is going to take some serious time to get a blemish-free surface.

Inspiration for the final paint color:
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A pearl white like my iPhone case.
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Duratrax RC Car paint Pearl white preview. Picture this on top of white :D
 
Screen Shot 2015-11-29 at 20.29.28.png

System Components:

Idles temps: 30-32C
Load temps: 70-76C - Prime95 Small FFTs. Definitely passes the Intel recommended [SUP]T[/SUP]CASE of 71.35C. I won't ever push the system to this temp through normal operation. But it is nice to know where things settle at.

Hackintosh Installation:
Followed this guide by Stork and it works wonderfully
Only hiccups:
  • When ejecting a disk to put in another, drive won't load second disk until restart.
  • I never put it to sleep but sometimes when the screen wakes from being off there's no video output. I have to force restart which brings down my whole WiFi network which can only be remedied with a router reboot. Weird.
    • Planning on switching over to Clover, hope this will fix it

Benchmarks:

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Oh my god you did an amazing job on this cube!

I see where you get your inspiration from :D (the french blue&white cube)

Do you have plans on painting the outer case?

Rick,


Thanks!

I sure do! Check out the end of post #5. Shooting for a pearl white finish using RC car paint Duratrax from a hobby store. It's specifically formulated for Polycarbonate. The outer case needs quite a bit of sanding prep though. At this point I kinda regret taking a mouse sander to it because it's going to be more work getting the 'spirals' the low grit sanding paper put into it
 
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