Apple Core Duo Case Mod Worklog

[Cyprio]

Hey all,

I have been working on this case mod for almost a year now and the main worklog is over at Bit-Tech. However, I have decided to post this summary thread and continue to update the log over here at the Aqua-PCs forums at OC3D as they have recently agreed to sponsor me. Cheers Pascal!

Anyway, more on this when 'the special part' arrives. On with a summary of the mod so far...

I have always wanted a Mac G5. In fact most PC enthusiasts i have spoken to want a G5. It is one of the most beautiful cases ever made. So elegant in its simplicity and oozing build quality. Light years ahead of most other PC case designs when it first appeared, the G5 case firmly nailed the lid on the coffin of “PC beige boxes”. And so when i saw one for sale on eBay in London for a very reasonable price how could i resist!

I have decided to divide this summary part of the thread into different phases. In real life i worked on different parts of the case dependent on what equipment i had available at the time and what mood i was in (there are only so many hours you can spend drilling!).

The Concept

This is what the case looked like when i first got it:





About 1000 screws and bolts later i managed to get the outer cage off. As anyone who has tried to mod a G5 can tell you, the guys who designed this case REALLY didnt want you to take it apart! I will refer to this as the 'outer case/cage in the project log.



This is a rough mock up of the 'inner case/cage' internals. As i you can see i plan to have the PSU behind the DVD drive, a Thermochill PA120.2 at the front of the case and a Swiftech 120.1 Rad and a 120mm exhaust fan to the left of the motherboard. The Dual DDC-2 pumps sit in the base. I have some ideas for the hard drives but nothing for sure yet. I will write up a separate section on the watercooling components - the blocks you can see in the picture are silver coated EK NB/SB and Mosfet blcoks.




Phase 1: Inner Cage Metal Work


Motherboard Tray

In order to install a PC motherboard the rear of the case needed some pretty radical modding. In other G5 mods that i have seen most people choose to bolt/rivet a PC motherboard tray onto the rear of the case. I wanted a more seamless look so as not to ruin the overall case aesthetic. I finally settled on using a metallic epoxy putty to bind the motherboard tray to the case. I would then sand it down and re-spray the inner cage black.

After some dremel work this is what the rear of the case looked like holding a Lian Li motherboard tray against the cut.



Now all i needed to do was to attach it securely enough! Initially i was naive enough to think that epoxy putty would do the trick without any other support. This ended badly... see my full log on page 4 for the disastrous results!

In the end i settled with cutting strips of 3mm thick aluminium sheet to reinforce the join. I bonded them to the metal using very strong epoxy glue and a heat gun to make it set harder than it would have at room temp.



I then had some drilling to do – again to keep the seamless look of the case.



Followed by some sanding:



And the final outcome:



I replaced the rivets on the mobo tray with button head hex bolts:



Also using dome head nuts inside:



All in place. The counter sunk screws should look great contrasted with the cage when it is painted black:




PSU Cable Socket

I will have to use a small extension cable from the PSU to the back of the case as a PC PSU doesnt fit flush with the cage's rear. Thus only a kettle socket will be visible from the rear of the case.

Here she is (complete with countersunk sockets as standard - must have read my mind! ):



I sliced out a square with my dremel, glued some small aluminium strips on either side to reinforce the bolt holes and then used a mixture of epoxy putty and more hard setting glue to get a lovely uniform surround to the socket. Once again much patience and lots of different types of needle file used in this process.

Testing out the fit:



After some epoxy loving, sanding and needle filing:




Front Ports

First off i cut out the old Apple USB and Firewire ports to use as a template as i really like the round edges (excuse the feet!).



Then I dremelled out the individual USB, Firewire and Audio ports - i used superglue to temporarily attach the Apple ports as a template and used needle files to get the insides perfect. Round file for corners first then flat file to complete it. I used 3mm aluminium sheet for this.



I used a Lian Li front panel from the V series of cases. I had to slice the ends slightly so they would fit:



I also planned to use the Original G5 plastic USB surrounding - took me a while to find these but i am glad i never through anything away! They make the ports look so much neater. Using the same method as before i had 1mm aluminium plates behind the insert and use epoxy (heated to high temps to set rock hard) to fix this in place.



I also drilled a hole for the Bulgin (blue) power switch and tested the positioning again. Once again it looks a little rough now but should look much better when painted black!





DVD Front Bezel

Here is the original mechanism from the G5 that i definitely wanted to keep as it rocks!



I have sliced a bit off the bottom as its not needed and intend to attach it with two small bolts either side of the slide down cover.... countersunk of course! As bolts would have been quite tricky to attach i tried out my M3 tap to see if it really works.



First time lucky!



Followed by a little countersunk goodness:



The contrast of the stainless bolt with the black cage should look stunning.




Pumps

The final bit of work that needed doing before painting the inner cage was where the pumps will sit. The plan is to have the pump's arses hanging out the bottom of the cage to avoid overheating and because they sit too high inside the case and cover the motherbaord.

Pump in place from top - sorry i didnt get a better pic. Must have been in a hurry to get the painting done.



"Pump's doing a mooney" LOL.



Now on to Phase 2...

Cyp.

[Cyprio]

Painting the cage

First of all i had to take the inner cage down to the bare metal as i had done to the outer cage. Out came my trusty power sander and roughly 45 mins (and a sore hand) later i had things pretty much done.

I started out on the base of the case with 80 grit as this needed the most attention:



Then i moved on to the top of the cage:



Detail following 240 grit:



The painting was done at the top of my flat's fire exit stairs as it was the only place i could find with good ventilation but not too windy.

Case ready for etch primer:



First Coat with the Self Etching primer.



Front of case after first coat



As you can see the primer has another role - pointing out where i need to do more sanding before applying the overcoat!



Case after 2 coats of primer.



After giving it the first coat of black i noticed that the back was quite uneven around the 80mm fan exhaust, especially where the aluminium i had inserted met the case sides. I rubbed it down, re-applied etch primer and then had to redo the holes as they have a tendancy to clog up!



Needle file work:



Here is the finished inner cage after 2 coats resting on the tack cloth i rubbed it down with:



and a little close up of the area that was annoying me!



And some more pics of the motherboard tray and a mnpctech machined billet fan grill that i am considering using:



Close-ups:







I also sanded down and polished the door release latch.



I forgot to take a "before pic" :duh: but here is the result.



And resting in the back of the case:



You ready for the final pictures...

Cyp.

[Cyprio]

Well, almost final. I havent finished the outer cage yet but I just wanted to see what it would look like when all done.

First though let me remind you what it looked like when i first started out:



And half way through:




Well, I will let the final pictures speak for themselves folks as im not sure what to say about them apart from apologies for the fingerprints, but the outer cage is not finished.










I am currently still working on the following:

1. Sanding and polishing the outer cage
2. Completing the window for the outer cage (some work done on this in the complete log if you want a preview)
3. Completing the watercooling loop (with some help from Aqua-PCs... )
4. Final touches inside the case - acrylic work and lighting.

Cyp

[Cyprio]

sig test - any way to make this appear on the above posts that were done before i made the sig?

[Dav0s]

not that i know of mate, just post the images in..

anyway, great project so far!

u planning on painting the whole thing black?

[Aqua-Pc's]

Looking great mate!

Keep us updated

[Mr. Smith]

u planning on painting the whole thing black?

Nah mate he says in the to do list 'sand and polish outer cage'

Sweet build mate

[Cyprio]

u planning on painting the whole thing black?

Nope. As Mr Smith says - keeping the outer cage aluminium and the middle black. I like the contrast.

By the way, my sponsored item arrived today...

[Cyprio]

Well enough teasing. Aqua-Pc's hassled Eddie to specially make me a nickel plated 8800 cooler to match the rest of my mobo set. Cheers guys!

I will let you now. I must apolgise for the poor pics but i got home late from work and i could only use indoor lighting to take the shots. Will post some more in daylight when i get the time.

Shall we open Pandora's box?



Will all the world's evils escape?



Er... no. More like the world's sexiest waterblock!



And its rear end:



Up close and personal:



Arty PS's shot!

[Aqua-Pc's]

sexy block you have there