- Joined
- May 27, 2020
- Messages
- 19
- Motherboard
- ASRock B550M
- CPU
- Ryzen 3600X
- Graphics
- RTX 2070 Super
- Mac
- Mobile Phone
After reading allmost all of the build threads here, I decided it was time to make my own and also share my adventure here.
So here is my take on a Mac Pro casemod/build.
Hope you guys like it! I know I do
TLDR;
My goal was to create a stock looking Mac Pro build and grind as little as possible on the outside of the case.
Especially because I didn't like the look of the aluminum conversion panels for the front and back.
It had to be a gaming setup, no hackintosh required.
Maybe some day I will try dual booting an OSX look a like linux distro. (Maybe ElementaryOS)
I wanted to be able to use the original drive bays and other components like the PSU, dvd bay.
Also, it should all be in the original spots in the case.
That's why I chose a mATX motherboard, put the PSU in the old PSU housing and used Corsair 540 hot swap connectors.
I aligned the motherboard by using the original pci slots.
Together with a good friend of mine, we made the original usbs, led, powerbutton and audio work on the front side.
I still have to make a button for the dvd player.
All in all it worked out great for my first casemod and also my first pc builld.
Components
Mac Pro 1.1 Case
ASRock B550M Steel Legend Motherboard
Ryzen 5 3600X CPU
Wraith Prism CPU Cooler
32GB G.SKill 3600 CL16 RAM
EVGA RTX2070 Super FTW3 Ultra Graphics Card
Cooler Master V650 PSU
Kingston A2000 500GB M.2 SSD
4TB Western Digital HDD
DVD RW
Intel Wireless-AC 3165 M.2 BT / WiFi Card
3x Noctua NF-P12 120mm Case Fans
4x Corsair Carbide Air 540 Hot Swap Connector
Random Gigabyte Keyboard & Mouse
Front panel:
- Working HD audio with original audio connector
- Working original powerbutton + led
- 2x working original USB2
- 2x USB3 instead of firewire
Motherboard
First, I broke off all of the motherboard stands and I screwed them on a broken mATX motherboard.
Then I used that to take measurements.
The motherboard itself fit pretty good, but the height to the PCI slots was off.
I roughly measured the difference and put the standoffs in my lathe.
Then machined them to length and measured again. This time it all fit pretty nice. It was epoxy time!
I screwed the standoffs back on the broken motherboard and used epoxy to glue the standoffs into their new home.
I used 2 PCI cards to line everything up and let it dry for 24 hours.
Disassembly
Standoff measuring
Weights
PSU
I've stripped the original PSU and cut out the front with the angle grinder. Also roughly cut the top to allow cooling.
Then I could fit the whole CoolerMaster PSU into the original housing. It ain't pretty, but it works.
Also painted it with clear coat to stop it from rusting.
By screwing on the top, the housing presses against the PSU and locks it pretty much in place.
I also wanted to keep the original connector to the outside of the PSU and soldered an adapter cable on the inside. Works perfectly.
Shelf
The whole shelf has been taken out. This thing caused headaches multiple times... I just couldn't figure out how to get the darn thing out!
Eventually I found a guide here and used the appropriate amount of violence to get it out.
With the shelf out, I could cut an extra hole under the PSU for wiring.
I also took out the fan holder in the middle, to create space for the modular PSU.
Touched up the shelf with some clear coat to stop the rust and reassembled it.
Then tested to see if the latching system still worked and put back the now modded PSU.
DVD
I tossed out the ancient IDE DVD player and put in a SATA one. Probably never going to use it, but I like having the option.
If you do this, you have to take off the front trim of the DVD player for it to fit in the Mac Pro case.
Then it will fit through the special Apple hatch.
Bonus: If you have the DVD player in, it will cover the wiring downwards.
Front panel
Together with a friend I worked on the front panel. We spent a few nights on getting everything (usb2, hd audio en powerbutton + led) to work.
Now, every cable is integrated into a single loom and plug and play on standard ATX motherboards.
My friend is a genius, because he got HD audio with jack sensing to work!
I've never seen this working on a case mod with original Mac Pro front panel.
Only firewire didn't work, because I cut it off haha.
Later, I epoxyd 2 USB3 connectors in place of the firewire ports.
I used a small key file to enlarge the firewire holes in the front untill the plastic trim from the usb ports on the back of the case fit.
The only thing I regret is putting the case on it's feet while letting the USB3 ports dry.
This caused the ports to sag overnight and now I have slightly crooked ports. They work perfectly though.
Back panel
This was the most exciting and also the most frigthening part of the mod.
I got only 1 chance and after that, there was no turning back. So....
I marked it as straight as possible with a square and cut it out with the angle grinder.
Checked a few times with the broken motherboard. That way I could see if I had cut enough material or grind some more.
Finally got it to fit and then I took some aluminum angle to finish it off. This was glued in with epoxy, so that will not fall off anyday soon.
Just for fun, I measured whether it was a bit straight: 0.1mm difference in width between top and bottom!
Drive bays
Then received the Corsair 540 connectors and placed them at the right height with screws + washers as spacers.
The screw holes match well (enough) if you use a standard screw.
After this I screwed the HDD onto the first drive bay and tested it.
Testing
The first tests were done with an old I5 system + original AMD video card.
Pretty much to see if the PSU mods and the power button + led + audio worked.
Because of this, I didn't have to have my new stuff at hand while modding. And I could see if the PSU would blow up by my soldering skills.
Tunnel + Fans
Finally the tunnel and the fan mounts. For fitting the original tunnel, I actually just cut off a fair bit on the motherboard side with the grinder.
Then put the plastic parts in the metal tunnel with, you guessed it, epoxy. So here too everything is original, just a little shortened.
There are now Noctua 120mm fans in the original places, with a rubber ring/washer in between the plastic and fan as "damper".
Assembly with new parts
First boot
And lastly, together with my new external HDD
Let me know what you guys think!
So here is my take on a Mac Pro casemod/build.
Hope you guys like it! I know I do
TLDR;
My goal was to create a stock looking Mac Pro build and grind as little as possible on the outside of the case.
Especially because I didn't like the look of the aluminum conversion panels for the front and back.
It had to be a gaming setup, no hackintosh required.
Maybe some day I will try dual booting an OSX look a like linux distro. (Maybe ElementaryOS)
I wanted to be able to use the original drive bays and other components like the PSU, dvd bay.
Also, it should all be in the original spots in the case.
That's why I chose a mATX motherboard, put the PSU in the old PSU housing and used Corsair 540 hot swap connectors.
I aligned the motherboard by using the original pci slots.
Together with a good friend of mine, we made the original usbs, led, powerbutton and audio work on the front side.
I still have to make a button for the dvd player.
All in all it worked out great for my first casemod and also my first pc builld.
Components
Mac Pro 1.1 Case
ASRock B550M Steel Legend Motherboard
Ryzen 5 3600X CPU
Wraith Prism CPU Cooler
32GB G.SKill 3600 CL16 RAM
EVGA RTX2070 Super FTW3 Ultra Graphics Card
Cooler Master V650 PSU
Kingston A2000 500GB M.2 SSD
4TB Western Digital HDD
DVD RW
Intel Wireless-AC 3165 M.2 BT / WiFi Card
3x Noctua NF-P12 120mm Case Fans
4x Corsair Carbide Air 540 Hot Swap Connector
Random Gigabyte Keyboard & Mouse
Front panel:
- Working HD audio with original audio connector
- Working original powerbutton + led
- 2x working original USB2
- 2x USB3 instead of firewire
Motherboard
First, I broke off all of the motherboard stands and I screwed them on a broken mATX motherboard.
Then I used that to take measurements.
The motherboard itself fit pretty good, but the height to the PCI slots was off.
I roughly measured the difference and put the standoffs in my lathe.
Then machined them to length and measured again. This time it all fit pretty nice. It was epoxy time!
I screwed the standoffs back on the broken motherboard and used epoxy to glue the standoffs into their new home.
I used 2 PCI cards to line everything up and let it dry for 24 hours.
Disassembly
Standoff measuring
Weights
PSU
I've stripped the original PSU and cut out the front with the angle grinder. Also roughly cut the top to allow cooling.
Then I could fit the whole CoolerMaster PSU into the original housing. It ain't pretty, but it works.
Also painted it with clear coat to stop it from rusting.
By screwing on the top, the housing presses against the PSU and locks it pretty much in place.
I also wanted to keep the original connector to the outside of the PSU and soldered an adapter cable on the inside. Works perfectly.
Shelf
The whole shelf has been taken out. This thing caused headaches multiple times... I just couldn't figure out how to get the darn thing out!
Eventually I found a guide here and used the appropriate amount of violence to get it out.
With the shelf out, I could cut an extra hole under the PSU for wiring.
I also took out the fan holder in the middle, to create space for the modular PSU.
Touched up the shelf with some clear coat to stop the rust and reassembled it.
Then tested to see if the latching system still worked and put back the now modded PSU.
DVD
I tossed out the ancient IDE DVD player and put in a SATA one. Probably never going to use it, but I like having the option.
If you do this, you have to take off the front trim of the DVD player for it to fit in the Mac Pro case.
Then it will fit through the special Apple hatch.
Bonus: If you have the DVD player in, it will cover the wiring downwards.
Front panel
Together with a friend I worked on the front panel. We spent a few nights on getting everything (usb2, hd audio en powerbutton + led) to work.
Now, every cable is integrated into a single loom and plug and play on standard ATX motherboards.
My friend is a genius, because he got HD audio with jack sensing to work!
I've never seen this working on a case mod with original Mac Pro front panel.
Only firewire didn't work, because I cut it off haha.
Later, I epoxyd 2 USB3 connectors in place of the firewire ports.
I used a small key file to enlarge the firewire holes in the front untill the plastic trim from the usb ports on the back of the case fit.
The only thing I regret is putting the case on it's feet while letting the USB3 ports dry.
This caused the ports to sag overnight and now I have slightly crooked ports. They work perfectly though.
Back panel
This was the most exciting and also the most frigthening part of the mod.
I got only 1 chance and after that, there was no turning back. So....
I marked it as straight as possible with a square and cut it out with the angle grinder.
Checked a few times with the broken motherboard. That way I could see if I had cut enough material or grind some more.
Finally got it to fit and then I took some aluminum angle to finish it off. This was glued in with epoxy, so that will not fall off anyday soon.
Just for fun, I measured whether it was a bit straight: 0.1mm difference in width between top and bottom!
Drive bays
Then received the Corsair 540 connectors and placed them at the right height with screws + washers as spacers.
The screw holes match well (enough) if you use a standard screw.
After this I screwed the HDD onto the first drive bay and tested it.
Testing
The first tests were done with an old I5 system + original AMD video card.
Pretty much to see if the PSU mods and the power button + led + audio worked.
Because of this, I didn't have to have my new stuff at hand while modding. And I could see if the PSU would blow up by my soldering skills.
Tunnel + Fans
Finally the tunnel and the fan mounts. For fitting the original tunnel, I actually just cut off a fair bit on the motherboard side with the grinder.
Then put the plastic parts in the metal tunnel with, you guessed it, epoxy. So here too everything is original, just a little shortened.
There are now Noctua 120mm fans in the original places, with a rubber ring/washer in between the plastic and fan as "damper".
Assembly with new parts
First boot
And lastly, together with my new external HDD
Let me know what you guys think!
Last edited:
