Yes, yet another G5 case, Again

[griff02]

Hey

I am in the process of getting my internal components for my hackintosh (finally decided after a month of looking on here) and getting the G5 case ready for the components.

I bought a damaged case off the bay and have since stripped it of all components, removed the outer casing (with the handles on and where the motherboard mounts to) as it was too badly damaged to repair, and I have crafted some plates to use instead. (Sorry about the poor quality images)



I am going down the route of no cutting, so I am looking for a method of adding a rear i/o or making one with just the USB, RJ45, audio jacks and TOSLINK. I have seen that there once was a board manufactured by someone that was a bolt in item but this has ceased. I will mount DVI, HDMI and USB on a PCI plate.

Has anyone successfully made a rear i/o board from PCB sockets and a breadboard or come up with a mounting solution that looks completely stock from the outside??? (I've been looking on maplins and such like to find the sockets but can't find a breadboard without copper on.)

So does anyone have any suggestions???

BTW I'm based in the UK.

Thanks for any advice

Oli

EDIT: This will be a neat install with a hidden panel behind the motherboard for the wiring.

 

[neilhart]

You should go do a search on Insanley Mac for ZAMMYKOO G5 Case Mod (No cuts). As this has been done however the design has never been shared that I know of.

neil

 

[floyd86uk]

Did your G5 case come with the old logic board? If so (or if you can get hold of one), grab a hacksaw and cut the I/O portion off. Make sure you don't cut off the 2 screw holes and then this can be fixed against the rear panel as before and it will still look stock from the outside...

Tear off the ethernet, USB, FireWire, Audio, etc. and stick the female ends of your extension cables in their place. Plastic epoxy works a treat.

I'll try and up some pics of mine. I did it this way and it's been awesome for almost a year now

 

[floyd86uk]

Actually, yeah... This ZAMMYKOO dude did the same thing! I should've checked that first

He did a cool wiring job on the I/O portion. If that's your thing, go for it! Personally, I wouldn't know where to start with that stuff


Good luck with the mod dude


EDIT: Pics... This was what I did in the beginning. It's not the neatest way, but it works

 

[griff02]

Thanks neil & floyd86uk

I new I had seen that picture somewhere. I thought ZAMMYKOO was the one that created the custom PCB design that he is no longer manufacturing, forgot about this one. I will have another look through it. I've been reading so much I'm starting to forget some of the bits lol.

I do have the original logic board so I could bond the extension cables on and make a plate to hide them. If I at least start with the neat approach and see what happens.

If I can find the correct bits over the weekend I will also have a go at making a new board from scratch (but there may be lots of jumper wires involved as I'm not overly comfortable making my own PCB, but soldering I can do.)

Next's weeks task is making some handles to imitate the original case, a little easier than this lol.

 

[floyd86uk]

No worries mate. Best of luck!

 

[griff02]

I'm in the middle of trying to remove the rear I/O ports from the original G5 logic board but their not coming off with a soldering iron. How are these things connected to the logic board?

Does anyone know how to get the rear ports off so I can reuse them on a new breadboard?

 

[neilhart]

I'm in the middle of trying to remove the rear I/O ports from the original G5 logic board but their not coming off with a soldering iron. How are these things connected to the logic board?

Does anyone know how to get the rear ports off so I can reuse them on a new breadboard?

It takes a good soldering iron, copper braid, and a solder sucker and patience. You have to remove the solder then the part will lift off the board. I have seen expert repair techs also use hot air guns although that is more for surface mount components.

I have not looked recently, but there used to be PCBA repair videos floating around that explains and shows how board repairs are done.

Good luck.

neil

 

[griff02]

Thanks Neil. Been trying with my slightly knackered gas soldering iron. Hopefully borrow a new gas one and an electric one as a back up and try again tomorrow.

 

[minihack]

If you have a heat gun (e.g. paint stripper) you can heat the whole back of the pcb up enough for the solder to melt and shake/pull them all off in one go.....don't set it on fire though.