Contribute
Register

Mac Pro 1.1 Hackintosh Z390 Designare Build 2021

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Mar 7, 2021
Messages
39
Motherboard
Gigabyte Z390 Designare
CPU
i9 > Need full model > See Rules!
Graphics
RTX 3060
Mac
  1. iMac
  2. MacBook Pro
  3. Mac Pro
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
Hello to everyone reading this.

I always wanted to build my very first PC/hackintosh in a iconic Mac Pro. So, after many years looking on this forum how others did it, I started to look for the things I needed for the build.

First I found the Mac Pro 1.1 case that was already been striped of the inside.

But later on I bought a working one that was sadly dead because the RAM stopped working. So I had the parts I didn't have from the first case plus, if I made a mistake I had a spare case.

But that started the most hardest part for me, having never ever built a PC or hackintosh from scratch before - which PC parts to use.

After looking and doing some research, I have chosen the following PC parts:

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Designare
Processor: Intel i9-9900K V2.0, 3.6 GHz (5,0 GHz Turbo Boost) socket 1151 processor
Processor Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.black CPU-cooler
Graphics Card: Gigabyte 1050 Ti 8GB (later on I want to put also an AMD Graphics card in the case, but the prices are to steep for me now.)
RAM: HyperX 16GB DDR4-3600 kit
Power supply: Seasonic Focus GX 750w
3 120mm fans: Noctua NF-F12 PWM Chromax.Black.Swap case fan
1 40mm fan: Noctua NF-A4x10 5V case fan (sadly, they don't sell them in black or grey that small, but you can see it, I think, when the build is done.)
SSD: Samsung 860 EVO, 1 TB SSD
HD: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB Hard Drive

At the moment I am still getting the parts slowly, a few parts at a time.

The first thing I did was taking the hole Mac Pro case apart.

Because I am using a full ATX motherboard, I measured how must I needed to cut for the plate where the DVD and power supply bay's lay on.

WhatsApp Image 2021-02-06 at 22.10.47.jpeg

Then I needed a PC case to take the back I/O plate from. Luckily, a colleague from work had to one which I could take off his hands for free.
And did this:
WhatsApp Image 2021-02-19 at 17.41.40.jpeg

I wanted to see how it would look on the back, so...
WhatsApp Image 2021-02-19 at 17.41.41.jpeg

Plus how far down I could go with the back io plate.
WhatsApp Image 2021-02-19 at 17.51.49.jpeg

Because I wanted to keep the original look outside as inside, I had to fill up the back I/O plate with milli puty and tamiya putty to get it as seamless possible.
WhatsApp Image 2021-03-06 at 23.48.11.jpegWhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 14.20.43.jpegWhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 14.20.44 (1).jpegWhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 14.20.44.jpegWhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 14.20.45.jpeg

Then I made a template of the back I/O plate with some cardboard in order to outline where I needed to cut the back plate of the case.
WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 15.13.06.jpeg

The original PC slots I needed to take out before I can cut the size for the new back io plate.
WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 15.13.07 (1).jpegWhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 16.41.35.jpegWhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 16.41.36.jpeg

Further more I noticed that the motherboard could not fully get to the back of the case due to the bay shelf support. So I measured it where I needed to cut.

WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 15.13.07.jpegWhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 17.10.34.jpeg

then i went to see if I could leave the original fan position intact without cutting and i think i can hopefully.
WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 17.30.42.jpegWhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 17.30.43.jpeg

I also removed a few of the small stand-offs that where from supporting the dvd/power supply plate where i cut it away so the motherboard could go better to the back.

next few case modding steps for the following day's
WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 18.43.53.jpeg
1). i think that i dont need to chance anything there but if so it would be a small chance
2) is going to take a lot of work making it fit over the motherboard with out making contact with.

WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 19.38.21.jpeg
cutting the back for the new back io plate, but before i do that i want to glue the motherboard stand-off's in place.

I am planning on painting the case when i am doing modding it.

This is how far i gotten so far.

hope to update this post as soon as possible, and hope you all like the build so far let me know what you guy's and girl's think of it so far.
 

Attachments

  • WhatsApp Image 2021-02-07 at 21.12.07.jpeg
    WhatsApp Image 2021-02-07 at 21.12.07.jpeg
    115 KB · Views: 193
  • WhatsApp Image 2021-03-06 at 23.48.09.jpeg
    WhatsApp Image 2021-03-06 at 23.48.09.jpeg
    144.8 KB · Views: 183
  • WhatsApp Image 2021-03-06 at 23.48.10.jpeg
    WhatsApp Image 2021-03-06 at 23.48.10.jpeg
    142.6 KB · Views: 192
  • WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 18.34.58.jpeg
    WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 18.34.58.jpeg
    149.5 KB · Views: 207
  • WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 18.34.59.jpeg
    WhatsApp Image 2021-03-07 at 18.34.59.jpeg
    139.5 KB · Views: 218
Last edited:
Update of the Mac Pro 1.1 case mod

I cut out the out-line for the new backplate with a dremel and grind tool. Then I test fitted it and adjusted where it needed.

1A006185-0BEB-45CF-BE2C-070CAFC8070F.jpeg

I made ready the epoxy en put on the first bit of epoxy. Now I’m going to wait 24hours before glueing totally in place plus also I’m going to put epoxy on the inside for extra bonding the two pieces
B1049E04-F830-4A35-971A-69B9E3CECAA6.jpeg
Making sure it stays in place I did this
8B5EFE6B-E36B-4E8D-A74E-26929825BD49.jpeg
 
update Mac Pro 1.1 mod

also I made the new power supply cable and cut the Mac Pro power supply case but I still need to chance a few bites inside so the new power supply unit can go inside plus also looking for how I am going to secure it in place inside
5DD32F3B-9C88-4695-8AA5-528F5505D85B.jpeg
 
Update on my Mac Pro 1.1 case mod

since I placed the new back I/O plate in the case and glued it in place with epoxy I needed to round the bottom part of the back I/O plate as much as possible

244E3772-87BA-4BF8-8866-8FA6ABB48FDE.jpeg

Now that’s done I made some more epoxy to strengthen the back I/O plate from the inside of the case at a few points plus at one point I placed a salvaged piece aluminum in the epoxy for maximum strengthening a weak point of the new back I/O plate plus I filled these hollows again had to redo them sadly and hopefully now it will become one piece
A8ABBAC1-08C7-40D0-9C05-079889984EA8.jpeg
83249EA3-D28E-47EC-AEA2-C2E6BCFD897B.jpeg

when it’s all dry, it’s sanding and drilling time


but for every step forward there will be a few times your going back to the drawing board because you needed to chance a piece so it will fit again
 
Last edited:
That is going to looks so good when its done, amazing flush job. Nice that there is enough room there for the 120mm fan. I have the same motherboard and its definitely worthy of all the time.
 
That is going to looks so good when its done, amazing flush job. Nice that there is enough room there for the 120mm fan. I have the same motherboard and its definitely worthy of all the time.
Thank you for your kind words Figaro

I hope so, want it to look as stock as possible with a few chances to the case. i think the 120mm fan is going to fit but still need to test fit to know for sure if it does.

Still in de proces of sanding the back en miner chances to the back i/o to get the fan protector of the back fan to fit in place. Hope to have a update on that soon.

After that i'm going to do the front where i am going to chance the front fire wire ports to usb ports.

My plan is using a prototyping board and cutting it to the same shape als the original front i/o board and using 4 usb 3.0 heads and making my own kabels for my diy front i/0 board.

More of that hopefully soon.
 
Today i got the back fan protector grill to fit it’s original place again and also checked if a 120mm fan wil fit and it does fit with no problem
BA35CD0E-B44E-4069-8769-0EF9FFC4DFD3.jpeg
But i saw that i need to make it more flush by getting the warped aluminum around the fan place straight again as much as i can get it
398D4A0F-99AC-4FB1-9701-E1A5480F0178.jpeg
And fill up the excess space around the fan protector grill
862AA5E1-1ED4-48DC-B019-9C79CBBFB7D4.jpeg

further more today i filled the front I/O firewire ports so I can make them in to USB ports3A75078A-7C60-4B36-904D-B76A29FDE636.jpeg

Lucky i have a second case where i can take parts out of that was missing from the case I am modding or parts i need for the chances I’m making to the case, like 2 extra USB ports where the firewire ports where located
018E2D97-0B68-4507-971B-46F8C8EC359D.jpeg

with the exces epoxy I had over from filling the firewire ports, I decided to fill the scratch’s of the Mac Pro side’s 5B19DA3C-8B2B-4E6C-A281-DD25839E6517.jpeg

for now it’s okey but I know there are a few more spots there that needs filling to get it back to being mint again

so far for my update on my progress on my Mac Pro 1.1 case mod

next update on my build ASAP when the epoxy is hardened
 
Last edited:
What can a holiday break be great for you’re progress in modding your case.

after a few hours the epoxy was hard and dry that I could dremel and sand the inside of the front I/O where the firewire ports where (inside&front look picture
2A8F0832-3B06-499B-BB12-7DD9DBB978F3.jpeg0188A9FE-BB1C-4C1D-9A77-9AF497C9DA6D.jpeg

After that I measured where the new USB ports are going to be
45AC00D2-A33A-4571-952E-B28A03087727.jpeg

then I got the dremel out again but this time I put a drill bite on it and made a few hols so i could metal file it in to shape

DE31CF21-11DF-4EAD-B535-79C25BA70A29.jpeg6784FF8D-2F5F-406C-AAF8-2DEADEC8AF99.jpeg

it’s not perfect but it fits and only needs a little bite of filling at one USB port and when painted you will not see it I think

next few steps will be:

1) to fill all the scratches on the case
2) make the back fan protector flush (a little aluminium correction bending)
3) drill out the back cheese hols that where filled in by the epoxy
4) epoxy gluing the motherboard stand-offs in place

After that there are more things to do on my list but first these 4 steps before going further and having to revisiting things later on.

Next update coming soon hope you all like my build so far
 
Last edited:
What can a holiday break be great for you’re progress in modding your case.

after a few hours the epoxy was hard and dry that I could dremel and sand the inside of the front I/O where the firewire ports where (inside&front look picture
View attachment 514226View attachment 514225

After that I measured where the new USB are going to be
View attachment 514227

then I got the dremel out again but this time I put a drill bite on it and made a few hols so i could metal file it in to shape

View attachment 514228View attachment 514229

it’s not perfect but it fits and only needs a little bite of filling at one USB port and when painted you will not see it I think

next few steps will be:

1) to fill all the scratches on the case
2) make the back fan protector flush (a little aluminium correction bending)
3) drill out the back cheese hols that where filled in by the epoxy
4) epoxy gluing the motherboard stand-offs in place

After that there are more things to do on my list but first these 4 steps before going further and having to revisiting things later on.

Next update coming soon hope you all like my build so far
Love it, can’t wait to see more updates!.
 
@willaholic89

Thanks for sharing more photos, I'm trying to live through you bit since I'm not able to finish my own conversion project. I really dig the up close shots of the epoxy jobs. The fact that you took the time to space the front usb evenly instead of just using the existing firewire holes is a really nice detail. The backside with the 180mm fan turned out very nice, do you plan on painting with spray paint or something else? I was thinking I might spring for powder coating, your project is so nice it might warrant something like that. Another nice detail you did was on the back I/O plate, it originally had some extra bumps but you epoxied it out to make it uniform. Totally worth it! I found these PCI slots, they hole isn't exactly the same 3mm as the mac pro but it's really close and the look great on a mac pro/powermac case: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F4Q69HI/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top