neilhart's Mac Pro Hack

[mightydood]

HI Neil

I'm finally getting a chance to start my first mac pro mod.

My only question is do you have a photo of the other end of the cable coming from the front panel header... ie from the power, +5v, +12v etc etc?

I would like to know what connectors are on the other end and where they have gone in your mb!
Sorry for such a newbie question!

Thanks

 

[neilhart]

HI Neil

I'm finally getting a chance to start my first mac pro mod.

My only question is do you have a photo of the other end of the cable coming from the front panel header... ie from the power, +5v, +12v etc etc?

I would like to know what connectors are on the other end and where they have gone in your mb!
Sorry for such a newbie question!

Thanks

Well if you refer to post # 15 you will see that I have detailed the 8 pin header as follows...

The 8 pin connector (see photo) is pinned as

1 - 2 - 3 - 4
5 - 6 - 7 - 8

1 = MSG (green) connect to MB front panel pins - try adjacent pins to the power switch + pin
2 = PW+ (purple) connect to MB front panel pins - power switch +
3 = 5 VDC (red)
4 = 12 VDC (yellow)
5 = 5 VDC (red)
6 = 5 VDC (red)
7 = 3.3 VDC (orange) (I did not have an orange marker - shown as black in the photo)
8 = Grd (black)

Some illustrations found on the web use an alternate pin count orientation...

If you still have a question, please reference this pin out.

Good luck,
neil

 

[mightydood]

Ah yes...

What do you guys use for a connector on the end... ie into the motherboard?
Single connectors?

Thanks

 

[neilhart]

Ah yes...

What do you guys use for a connector on the end... ie into the motherboard?
Single connectors?

Thanks

That is an excellent question. First of all, I am a pack rat. It really kills me to throw tech out to the trash. So I keep old harness and connectors from things that are salvage. Next I find that the Micro Center has a $7 US front panel wiring kit that I have purchased any number of times just to get pinned out two pin plugs. These I normally cut to the length needed and solder splice. And I use very small diameter heat shrink tubing.

And I have used my wire cutters to trim a two pin plug down to a one pin plug when one is needed.

However with the Mac Pro I ordered up pins and connector housings from Performance PC or equivalent supplier. I have also invested in a ratchet type pin crimper and several wire stripper tools. Most of my hacks have 24 pin power harnesses cut to length which is done by re-terminating one end of an existing harness using new pins and connector housing.

And I also invested in an ATX Power Supply tester device so that I can check my work prior to first power on.

On the Mac Pro, I had two nearly complete Apple harnesses to work with and took my time to take them apart and re-used all that I could. And I think that is how I came up with the 8 pin plug for the front panel (however it has been some time and I do not recall the specifics).


I hope this helps,
neil

 

[JBG]

Hi Neilhart,

Very nice build man....
Very pro too ... respect
And is that a new model macpro ? You lucky bast..

My next cooler is that you use too ... I love big coolers, I even tried to use the big G5 cooler,
but that way to much work, and processor cooling must be GOOD and not fail in any way.

Nice work .. just can't find enough words for it... oh ... yes I can

 

[mightydood]

YES! Perfect!

Many many thanks Neil!

 

[Stork]

...The MB is on 1/2 inch tall standoffs so there is a decent space under it...

NeilHart, are these standoff's the standard size? Please provide me with a link as every place I look, they don't specify the length, just the threading. TIA.

(Hopefully, these just didn't come out of your parts bin; I asked because I don't have a parts bin, yet. eelhead is a bad influence on me, getting into install components into a Mac Pro case. )

 

[neilhart]

NeilHart, are these standoff's the standard size? Please provide me with a link as every place I look, they don't specify the length, just the threading. TIA.

(Hopefully, these just didn't come out of your parts bin; I asked because I don't have a parts bin, yet. eelhead is a bad influence on me, getting into install components into a Mac Pro case. )

Stork - The standoffs that I used were selected from my parts bin which took some time. What I consider the standard PC motherboard mounting standoff is approximately 1/4 inch tall (actual measurements run from 0.251 to 0.256 inches) and have male 6-32 thread end and female fine pitch threads. I found a few that had 6-32 female threads. So I used one standard and one of the 6-32 female threaded ones, and used thread lock to secure the two. I then cut off the male end using my grinder. This is too much work.

Today I would go online to McMaster Carr (mcmaster.com) and select a female/female standoff from the many listed. For example: Zinc-Pltd Brass Female Threaded Hex Standoff 1/4" Hex, 1/2" Length, 6-32 Screw Size, is $0.61 US each.

A link to the page: http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-threaded-standoffs/=lvhj6t


If you are located in the US this is the way to go.

I hope that this helps,
neil

 

[Stork]

A link to the page: http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-threaded-standoffs/=lvhj6t


If you are located in the US this is the way to go.

I hope that this helps,
neil

Great! I do live in the US and will get them today. However, the ones I found for the 1/4" hex Zinc plated 1/2" long 6-32 threaded standoffs are $1.69 each, rather than the $0.61 you found.

Am I looking in the wrong place? (The web site is unusual in that you can't get a direct link to the subject item.)

Thank you for your research.

 

[neilhart]

Stork - this is what I found:
.

.

neil