- Joined
- May 27, 2012
- Messages
- 759
- Motherboard
- DQ77KB
- CPU
- i7-3770S
- Graphics
- HD4000
- Mac
- Mobile Phone
Background
When I joined the TonyMac community, i Had a iMac 24 inch circa 2008, which was under performing and needed to be replaced so I purchased a non-working Powermac G5. I was so impressed with the quality of the design (had not seen it before) that when I converted it (link in my signature), I did so with the minimal amount of exterior change, and kept the interior as similar as possible.
This turned out really well (I think). It is my main machine, it holds a large Aperture (RAW) photo collection and HD video collection of family which gets edited. The hot swap drive bays turned out to be a great feature, which I find myself using quite a lot as have spare drives floating around.
However I have a need for a second computer, in an alcove near our main living area (wheres the main machine is in study, in quite a separate area), something this kids can use, for general tasks.
While I was converting the PowerMac G5 I looked on with envy at people doing G4 cube builds, and decided this would be my next build. I started looking for machine to convert, but G4 Cubes are hard to find in Australia.
A month or so into the search a Cube came up on eBay but went for a very high price, so I considered the possibility of build my own Cube from scratch, and so set about designing it using Google sketch up.
By the time I actually managed to purchase the Cube (took 6 months) I had a very good design of my own. I had spent quite a lot of time on the design and acquiring some of the parts that I would need. So by the time I got the Cube I had already committed to this build.
The Cube I got was in good working condition so also seemed a shame to gut it.
Goals
The goal is for a minimalist desktop computer inspired mainly by the G4 Cube. The computer should be a small as practical, reasonably fast, and preferably silent.
My other goal is to have a project that will take some time to complete. The PowerMac G5 I built seemed to over before it started, so I want something that will take some time to get right, but actually the design and sourcing of materials has taken quite some time already
Design
This design will borrow the basic elements of the Cube design including the top loading DVD, IO ports at the bottom, and a supporting acrylic case that provides the legs that the main chassis will sit on.
The design will be smaller than the original Cube, not a cube at all, more the dimensions of a Mac Mini. It will look a bit like a Mac Mini sandwiched between two pieces of acrylic. I will use a Mini ITX motherboard, cooling will use the same principle's as the Cube (the chimney effect), but will have a small fan to increase airflow.
The computer itself will use have an Intel DQ77KB motherboard, an Intel i3-3225 processor (lower heat output) and an HDD/SSD combination for performance. It will have WIFI and bluetooth.
Design Pictures
These pictures are taken from a design created in Google-Sketchup. The design has allowed me to work out the basic placement of the major components. It is not complete, there are still lots of little details to work out.
So this is what I intend to build, I have started on some of the basics, which I will post about. But as I said some of the finer details are still to come, and may change as I go.
When I joined the TonyMac community, i Had a iMac 24 inch circa 2008, which was under performing and needed to be replaced so I purchased a non-working Powermac G5. I was so impressed with the quality of the design (had not seen it before) that when I converted it (link in my signature), I did so with the minimal amount of exterior change, and kept the interior as similar as possible.
This turned out really well (I think). It is my main machine, it holds a large Aperture (RAW) photo collection and HD video collection of family which gets edited. The hot swap drive bays turned out to be a great feature, which I find myself using quite a lot as have spare drives floating around.
However I have a need for a second computer, in an alcove near our main living area (wheres the main machine is in study, in quite a separate area), something this kids can use, for general tasks.
While I was converting the PowerMac G5 I looked on with envy at people doing G4 cube builds, and decided this would be my next build. I started looking for machine to convert, but G4 Cubes are hard to find in Australia.
A month or so into the search a Cube came up on eBay but went for a very high price, so I considered the possibility of build my own Cube from scratch, and so set about designing it using Google sketch up.
By the time I actually managed to purchase the Cube (took 6 months) I had a very good design of my own. I had spent quite a lot of time on the design and acquiring some of the parts that I would need. So by the time I got the Cube I had already committed to this build.
The Cube I got was in good working condition so also seemed a shame to gut it.
Goals
The goal is for a minimalist desktop computer inspired mainly by the G4 Cube. The computer should be a small as practical, reasonably fast, and preferably silent.
My other goal is to have a project that will take some time to complete. The PowerMac G5 I built seemed to over before it started, so I want something that will take some time to get right, but actually the design and sourcing of materials has taken quite some time already
Design
This design will borrow the basic elements of the Cube design including the top loading DVD, IO ports at the bottom, and a supporting acrylic case that provides the legs that the main chassis will sit on.
The design will be smaller than the original Cube, not a cube at all, more the dimensions of a Mac Mini. It will look a bit like a Mac Mini sandwiched between two pieces of acrylic. I will use a Mini ITX motherboard, cooling will use the same principle's as the Cube (the chimney effect), but will have a small fan to increase airflow.
The computer itself will use have an Intel DQ77KB motherboard, an Intel i3-3225 processor (lower heat output) and an HDD/SSD combination for performance. It will have WIFI and bluetooth.
Design Pictures
These pictures are taken from a design created in Google-Sketchup. The design has allowed me to work out the basic placement of the major components. It is not complete, there are still lots of little details to work out.
- In the first picture shows the assembled computer, with acrylic and DVD drive on the top. The top (and bottom) of the computer will be mostly a large grille, with holes very similar to a PowerMac G5
- The second picture shows the insides with the acrylic panels, top, and sides removed. You can see the HDD which will be screwed to the plate (which is internal) you can see. The three pillars shown are actually what hold the case together. The acrylic panels screen into these from both sides.
- The third picture shows the complete motherboard, and heatsink, and DVD drive underneath the motherboard. What isn't shown is a horizontal fan which will be mounted below the heat sink, and force up through the heatsink.
- The final picture is with the motherboard removed, and just shows the complete DVD drive, and motherboard standoffs. I intend to glue the motherboard standoffs to the case, and glue rails which will hold the DVD drive in position
So this is what I intend to build, I have started on some of the basics, which I will post about. But as I said some of the finer details are still to come, and may change as I go.