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My First Hackintosh & Cube!

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Hey All!
I recently acquired a pretty clean cube on ebay and have been putting together a parts list. I've decided to stick to what appears the easiest (relative to cube standards anyway) and most compatible build I can find. The parts list so far is:
- Intel DQ77KB
- Intel i3-3225
- 8GB RAM
- Sandisk Extreme II SSD
- Two Noctua fans (one on the bottom to pull, and one on the top to push)
- Edisen Touch Sensor
- Slot Load DVD drive

The only decision I'm hanging on is the cpu cooler. I was hoping to get away with not having to file down the left side handle assembly to make the Gelid Slim Silence fit. I figured that since I will have a fan pushing and a fan pulling, in conjunction with the i3 instead of the i7 I might be able to get away with a smaller cooler. Does anyone know of one that would fit without filing down the handle?

Thanks in advanced for your help! I'm pretty sure I've read every post in this Cube Case Mod forum, so many of you have already been very helpful!
 
Hi JD, looks like you've got a great list there. Perhaps you've seen this thread already, but if not have a peek at it. The Silverstone AR04 looks interesting, imo. You'll find the i3 relatively easy to cool, even under stressed conditions. The i7's are a much different story.


Kiwi's thread...

http://www.tonymacx86.com/hardware-parts/103860-low-profile-cpu-coolers.html


Good Luck with the build. Post Pics as you progress!


Ersterhernd
 
I had not seen that page, thanks for the heads up! I think I will go with AR-04. I read into its specs and it seems that it should handle pretty well, especially with an exhaust fan on top. I'm going to omit the bottom fan for now and see how things go, I want to make sure the DVD drive will fit.

I will indeed post photos as I go. Hopefully the parts will arrive in time for me to do most of the work over my Christmas/New Year holiday. The 23" Cinema HD Display (M8536) that I'm going to pair with the cube came in today, now I have something else to polish up!

Thanks again of the help!
 
Thanks Ersterhernd! I was fortunate enough that the display bought came with one, I appreciate the heads up though.

As of yesterday, all the parts accept the Edisen touch sensor (which I haven't ordered yet) have now come in. I will be starting the build in the next couple days and will be posting pics as I go. I'm really interested to see how the AR04 fan works in the cube and how it fits with the handles. Here goes nothin'!

Photo Dec 24, 9 08 31 PM.jpg
 
Good luck with this project!

Can't wait to see another Cube project...

MacTester
 
Good luck with this project!

Can't wait to see another Cube project...

MacTester

+1 on that. :)

JD, I posted a guided for my i7 Cube, the cutting of the bottom I/O shield is difficult to get 'just right'. Theres some close-up pics posted there with measurements that worked out great for me using the DQ77KB board. You can have a look at the guide if you like, perhaps you've already seen it, I don't know.

http://pmg5.dozuki.com/Guide/i7-3770S+Power+Mac+G4+Cube/2


Cheers!

Ersterhernd
 
Hey All!
Got some good work done tonight! Finished the "gutting" and was able to get the SSD where I think I may want it. Made some headway on getting the DVD drive aligned properly. I also got the motherboard assembled (with CPU, RAM, and wifi). Spent a few minutes getting a handle on how I'm going to mount it, and will pick up at that point tomorrow. Also spent some time getting the cube polished, got it up to around a 9.5/10 which is as good as it's going to get. Here are some pics from tonight.

Photo Dec 27, 3 33 26 PM.jpg
Just starting out
Photo Dec 27, 5 25 31 PM.jpg
Took me a while to figure out how to get the heatsink off the handle assemblies, but finally got it. Not sure they'll work without something bracing between them? We'll see I guess.
Photo Dec 27, 5 46 59 PM.jpg
Partially gutted old disc drive. I finished the gutting. With some slight modification due to SATA port placement, I'm going to house the new drive inside the old one's casing since it easily fits and will allow me to use the same screw holes for proper alignment.
Photo Dec 27, 5 53 32 PM.jpg
Current SSD placement, should easily fit there. We'll see if a better spot comes along as the build progresses.
Photo Dec 27, 9 35 12 PM.jpgPhoto Dec 27, 9 45 57 PM.jpg
Photos from after polishing the cube with the Novus three step polishing kit.

Will be working on this again tomorrow, more to come!

Cheers!
 
JD, if you take a look at the exterior of the shell, you'll see that there is a perfect space for SSD drives on either side that is just thick enough. When placed in, the SSD end will butt up against the antenna bracket, I had to bend my G4 antenna brackets just a hair. They aren't used anyway.


The ssd on either side will squeeze in between the core and outer can. It is held in place by a small 3M two-sided sticky pad. This leaves your interior space clutter free. Several of us have done it this way, check into it, you might like the idea.


Cheers!
 
Took me a while to figure out how to get the heatsink off the handle assemblies, but finally got it. Not sure they'll work without something bracing between them? We'll see I guess....
I'm not sure it will work either, but not tested myself. Generally the heat-sink needs to be partially reused, the central fins need to be cut away leaving two U shaped sections on either side, which secure the locking mechanism to the outer frame.
 
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