MMPMM: MadMarc's PowerMac Mod

[MadMarc]

I've been working on a new project that I'd like to share with you and hear your opinion. I haven't posted for a while now because I've been in the army for the last 10 months but now it's time to update my rig.

This is my first time to do some case modding and I'd like to modify a PowerMac G5 case to fit standard pc hardware, including a watercooling loop in the future.

First I bought a used PowerMac online for 50 Fr. (about 35£ for you guys in the UK), which was the cheapest I could find at the time. While the case did have some scratches it was generally in good condition.

After I cleaned the case from all the dust, I started taking the old components out:

The old CPUs and coolers were pain in the back end to remove as you'd need a very long screwdriver in order to remove some of the screws.

eventually I ended up with a completely empty case.

To get a new mainboardtray I found it was the easiest to buy another used case and take it apart. The second case also gave me a lot of beautiful brushed anodized aluminium panels:

Next I started designing the parts I needed to convert the case to ATX in SketchUp:

dividing plate to mount the PSU in the top of the case

rad mounting plate

...and a new mainboardtray, because the one from the second case wasn't very rigid


to be continued...

 

[Feronix]

Inverted ATX? And make it a Hackintosh!

 

[MadMarc]

Inverted ATX? And make it a Hackintosh!

Yes inverted ATX, the way the G5 case is designed doesn't allow for a normal config, I also quite like how inverted ATX looks.

I've also been thinking about a Hackintosh, might do it a bit later

 

[Chris230291]

I'm working on a G5 at the moment. It'll be interesting to see how you go about yours.

 

[barnsley]

Oh wow I've always wanted to do this :l. I'm going to keep a good eye on this ^_^

 

[MadMarc]

I'm working on a G5 at the moment. It'll be interesting to see how you go about yours.

Cool, I'll also check out your build

 

[Chris230291]

We'll you'll have a hard time doing that because I've not uploaded it
I'm going to post it as a continuous blog when it's done

 

[MadMarc]

We'll you'll have a hard time doing that because I've not uploaded it
I'm going to post it as a continuous blog when it's done

This explains why I couldn't find it

 

[sheroo]

I love things in disguise...

 

[Chris230291]

I love things in disguise...

Ladyboys?

 

[sheroo]

Ladyboys?

I'm sure they have there own charm...

 

[SuB]

As a Mac Pro owner who's getting tired of his mac pro.. I'm going to be watching this with beady eyes...and totally not *cough* copying any ideas at all...

I've seen one build log of someone doing this that ended up polishing the allu until it was shiny and I have to say I cringed a bit, so hopefully.. you can do it a little more justice!

 

[Chris230291]

I'm sure they have there own charm...

HAHA. :huh:

As a Mac Pro owner who's getting tired of his mac pro.. I'm going to be watching this with beady eyes...and totally not *cough* copying any ideas at all...

I've seen one build log of someone doing this that ended up polishing the allu until it was shiny and I have to say I cringed a bit, so hopefully.. you can do it a little more justice!

The Mac Pro is a little more tight on space because of the internal layout, especially with the 5 1/4" bays in place. It's more suited to MATX. It's been done though and can look really good.

 

[SuB]

HAHA. :huh:



The Mac Pro is a little more tight on space because of the internal layout, especially with the 5 1/4" bays in place. It's more suited to MATX. It's been done though and can look really good.

I'm tempted to give it a go.. might try picking a case up and seeing just how much stuff you can fit in there...

There is also the daughterboard tray to think about.. but I think that could be addressed

 

[Chris230291]

I'm tempted to give it a go.. might try picking a case up and seeing just how much stuff you can fit in there...

There is also the daughterboard tray to think about.. but I think that could be addressed

DOIT!

You'd be surprised what you can get in there if you really think about it and CAD it up first

Whats the daughterboard? Is that the bit where the RAM cards slide in?

 

[SuB]

Ram and CPU's are on a totally different board, slots in horizontally like a GPU would but is secured via a locking mechanism

Looking at it though I think that whole lower section could probably come out.

aww maan now i wanna tear up my mac pro but i need it for iOS work

 

[Chris230291]

Arh right ye i thought thats what you meant. Most people just lose the lower parts. Some people keep them but i don't think that looks right. I suppose it looks more like a Mac Pro inside though, if thats what they're going for.

 

[MadMarc]

As a Mac Pro owner who's getting tired of his mac pro.. I'm going to be watching this with beady eyes...and totally not *cough* copying any ideas at all...

I've seen one build log of someone doing this that ended up polishing the allu until it was shiny and I have to say I cringed a bit, so hopefully.. you can do it a little more justice!

I certainly don't plan to polish the aluminium, I really like the look of the case as it is (I could live without the apple logos but I don't mind them).
I'll try my best to do this case justice

 

[MadMarc]

Earlier this week I started cutting the casepanels to the right size before I went to a mate who cut the holes for the screws, fans and cables for me with a CNC machine

Before milling we took the measurement for the SketchUp model over to Inventor in order to export a format the CNC machine could work with.

Here are the finished parts:

The mainboard tray was milled from a 3mm thick aluminium plate

Both the dividing plate and the fan/rad mounting plate were made from the case's sidepanels. The dividing plate also had to be bent to make the PSU fit and keep the G5 case's sidepanel locking system.

As we only use metric threads in Switzerland I needed custom motherboard standoffs (normally they use a 6-32 thread).
Fortunately my mate seems to own pretty much every tool one could possibly want so he showed me how to make my own standoffs on a lathe:

I'm very pleased with the result considering it was the first time I used such a machine.

 

[alpenwasser]

I've been working on a new project that I'd like to share with you and hear your opinion. I haven't posted for a while now because I've been in the army for the last 10 months but now it's time to update my rig.

[...]

10 months? Sounds familiar... Durchdiener?

I've seen one build log of someone doing this that ended up polishing the allu until it was shiny and I have to say I cringed a bit, so hopefully.. you can do it a little more justice!

That just sounds wrong. I've always like these cases with their brushed alu look.

As we only use metric threads in Switzerland I needed custom motherboard standoffs (normally they use a 6-32 thread).
Fortunately my mate seems to own pretty much every tool one could possibly want so he showed me how to make my own standoffs on a lathe:

I'm very pleased with the result considering it was the first time I used such a machine.

Ah yes, 6-32 UNC... :cussing: Those are some nice standoffs! I turned to eBay when I
was facing a similar predicament.

Luckily I recently found out my neighbour has a mill and a lathe in his basement, so I'll be
able to make use of his services (he's a pensioner, lots of free time, and he used to be in
the semiconductor industry, so he's definitely interested in PC's ) for my copper tubing and
some other stuff.

Looking forward to more of this.