My Hac Pro G5 case

[bones123]

My Hac Pro G5 case (updated 3/22/13)

I bought a G5 case on craigslist for $50. I did the case mod last weekend and was going to replace the back with the lian li motherboard tray but the trays are out of stock and backordered. I wanted my new i7 setup running so I decided to just do a quicky mod that I can revisit later with the motherboard tray if I want. For now the hole below the fans will be finished off with a piece of gray cut rubber or something similar from one of them art supply stores with a slit in the middle to allow the ethernet and audio cables to pass though. This is really only to close of the hole and protect my i/o and motherboard from dirt/dust etc. If it looks semi-decent I'll be fine with that.
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First I removed all of the G5 parts and took off the standoffs. I jb welded the standoffs in the ATX layout to mount my board. I'm only running a video card and PCI usb header out the back so I only needed 3 of the 4 slots. My ATX board is past the dvd tray so that had to be notched out for clearence. I was able to reuse the rear fan bracket and I bought some 92mm antec 3 speed fans for it. The fan bracket needed to be notched out to clear the audio block on the mother board. I reused the harddrive caddy and mounted it under the DVD drive using the stock G5 screws and just drilling holes in the bottom of the tray. I added 2 80mm fans to the harddrive caddy one drawing air from the front of the case and one pulling air through the drives. These fans were just hot glued into place. They are so light weight that gluing them was the easiest way. The glue also helped in keeping wires neat. If a wire wasn't staying where I wanted it just a small dab of hot glue keep it inline.

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[bones123]

Re: My iHac G5 case

continued:
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I didn't have the correct screws to mount the dvd drive so I just removed the stock locks and screwed the DVD drive directly to the bracket. The dvd top shelf needed to be cut to make room for the full ATX motherboard. I reserved this space in the top for a SSD that will be added to the system at a later time.
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The power supply was mounted on the bottom which made it easier for cable management. It's mounted with 3M heavy duty velcrow. I might add an air duct to direct the air to the front of the case for ventilation. The air coming out the power supply really isn't hot so that might be unnecessary. Plus the two 92mm fans are doing a good job with keeping the air moving in the case. I still need to install a power outlet in the back and wire it to the power supply. If I can find a G5 powersupply on ebay or something I think I will reassemble my antec power supply in the G5 powersupply case for a cleaner look.
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My i7-870 cooler is terrible, so I ordered a new CPU cooler, I'm going to try out a thermaltake Spin Q cooler. If that doesn't work out I might send it back for a Thermaltake Trio or something similar.

Work not yet completed:

I still have to reinstall the door lock bracket thing, I took it off when I removed the tray to cut it for motherboard access.

I'm waiting for my G5 front panel to ATX cable that I ordered from one of the members at insanelymac.com that makes them ($38 shipped) (right now I start the computer with a screw driver lol)

install cooler and overclock it.

It was fun to build this so far. I can see how people get wrapped up into spending so much time on these. When I get the cooler I'll post the rest of it.

 

[eelhead]

Re: My iHac G5 case

Looking good so far

 

[bones123]

Re: My iHac G5 case

Thanks, I'm happy with it. My back isn't going to be perfect looking but it's functional and will at least be neat. I'd love to buy a 27" ACD to match the case now. I'm going to have to wait though I got a lot wrapped up into this setup now.

 

[eelhead]

lol as soon as I started mine I found a refurbed 24" on Apple's site and snatched it up quick like! I have a 24" iMac and when this one is done should look awesome together

 

[Gus]

Hello. I'm doing a g5 mod too. I was wondering if you had a firewire header on your mobo? Are you in america or europe? I've made a cable like the one you bought and i need someone to test it as i don't have a firewire header. Would you be willing to do it?
Cheers, gus.

Edit. Sorry, just read over it and thats quite blunt. But its to the point so it'll have to do.

 

[bones123]

Hello. I'm doing a g5 mod too. I was wondering if you had a firewire header on your mobo? Are you in america or europe? I've made a cable like the one you bought and i need someone to test it as i don't have a firewire header. Would you be willing to do it?
Cheers, gus.

Edit. Sorry, just read over it and thats quite blunt. But its to the point so it'll have to do.

Gus,

I know I just sent you this in a PM but to keep this thread completed I don't have a firewire header and what I did was take Pin 4 of the firewire header and ran it to the power switch ground on the motherboard. The cable came with the power switch (+) on a single connector I switched it to a double and slipped the firewire ground in next to it.

Back to my progress:

Here's a couple of updated pics of my Coolmaster Hyper 212 + heatsink (i purchased the second fan to setup push-pull). My Hac Pro runs the i7-870 @4GHZ now and my temps are okay but could be better (35*-40*C idle, ~85*C 100% load). I had to use the TIM that came with the Hyper 212+, I just ordered some artic silver 5 today so hopefully my temps will drop.

EDIT: My temps are lower today and I haven't changed anything yet. I think the paste is setting or curing because today my idle is 29*C- 32*C and normal use is 37*C-40*C. I haven't maxed it out yet I have some video to encode later so that will max out CPU so I'll see if its better...

 

[Gus]

As you've moved the motherboard further up the case, so the first pci slot (express) on the motherboard matches the first pci bracket on the case, does this mean the audio block connector housing(very technical ha) get in the way of the rear exhaust fans? I had to cut into the frame and also remove one of the fans so its only a single fan on the rear.
Bit of shame, and its because the audio box fouls with the fan frame but also the front of the graphics card fouls with the actual fan.

 

[eelhead]

As you've moved the motherboard further up the case, so the first pci slot (express) on the motherboard matches the first pci bracket on the case, does this mean the audio block connector housing(very technical ha) get in the way of the rear exhaust fans? I had to cut into the frame and also remove one of the fans so its only a single fan on the rear.
Bit of shame, and its because the audio box fouls with the fan frame but also the front of the graphics card fouls with the actual fan.

The day before while I was fitting things, trying to figure on what I am using and buying, I cam across that very issue. The fan shroud goes back in great, the fan on the other hand hits the audio port. I am thinking of maybe getting two 80mm fans instead of using the 93 or 90mm G5 fans. I think the 80mm ones will fit inside the original fan shroud, the only thing would be is how to attach them to the shroud.

 

[bones123]

As you've moved the motherboard further up the case, so the first pci slot (express) on the motherboard matches the first pci bracket on the case, does this mean the audio block connector housing(very technical ha) get in the way of the rear exhaust fans? I had to cut into the frame and also remove one of the fans so its only a single fan on the rear.
Bit of shame, and its because the audio box fouls with the fan frame but also the front of the graphics card fouls with the actual fan.

I had to notch the bracket but can use both fans, zoom in on the pic you can see the notch