Detales G5 Case Mod

OK so I'm not even finished with my other water cooled project and I am going to dive right in to modifying an Apple powermac G5 case to fit my PC parts. I know this has been done many times before but I am going to try and add a few new twists to it.

I got the G5 computer from a guy on craigslist who was selling it as the Mobo was dead. I got it for a measly $40. Score!

I want to water cool maybe just the CPU but who knows what I'll wind up doing once i get that far. For now I had to remove all the Garbage(by garbage I mean all the apple parts)Here are some pics on how that went.


Here we are with the cover open and DVD drive and HDD removed.


I cannot say enough what a PITA it is removing the motherboard from the case.I had to remove what I believe are the CPU heatsinks using a T8 torx screwdriver. Some of which were nearly impossible to reach


And there were 2 of them inside here



Again what a PAIN!!

Here I compare Intel and Apple CPU's, small difference eh



No really look at these monsters


Finally i get them both off and now the giant *** motherboard

Next to remove the Power supply and it's innards






I am thinking about using the PSU "container as a home for a new PSU. I have seen this done successfully before and it looked good. Prelim measurements tell me I may be able just to mount a regular PSU in there as well so I'm not sure yet.

So here she is Naked




Believe it or not this took me about 2 hours to do. With all the damn screws they put in there. Also I'm a bit out of my element as I don't usually do any Mac repairs so i haven't ever even opened a G5 case before this one.

I'm working on some diagrams on some ideas to present to you guys but please any suggestions or ideas do not hesitate. I feel like I'm going to have LOAD of fun with this one


So on to my first question about the PSU. Do you guys think I should remove the insides of a new PSU and fit them inside the G5 PSU container or simply install an ATX psu in there. Honestly the more I think about it I think it will save me room and look better if I install a new PSU on the bottom.

Here is a VERY early idea on part placement.


Yeah I'm just going to go with a new PSU guys, sorry. It didn't really fit right and I think a new one will look better anyway. I got a GREAT deal on newegg for $50 I got an ETASIS ET750 True 750W according to Johnny Guru it's the same as the Silverstne Zeus series so it's a DAMN good deal I couldn't pass up

I cut the back for the Motherboard tray and the PSU. After getting the new PSU though I noticed it was slightly wider than the old one I was going to use. So I had to re-cut it.


I had to make it square as the G5 has no corners on the top or bottom.


I do plan on cleaning up the edges a bit maybe using some "rubber edging"

Now I moved on to the DVD drive mounting. For those who don't know there is a fixtue on the G5 that slides the bezel down as the tray opens.


I opened up this mechanism and removed the metal packplate from it.

I used 1/16" X 1/4" aluminum and bent a "90" on it like so


After I measured where the drive should sit and penciled some lines in. I drilled some 1/8" holes and used thumbscrews so I could adjust if I had to. screwed it to the metal cover of the DVD bezel assembly like this




Continued...

Be carefull where the screws will end up as it is pretty close to the workings of the sliding door. I had to use the dremmel to cut off the back of the screws so they wouldn't interfere.



Now this "assembly" pretty much snaps in to the front of the case. Initially I was going to use the existing standoffs and make another "90" out if 1/8" aluminum to support the weight but as it turns out it doesn't really need it. That thing snaps in there tight.


It's so tight that in fact I had to use a long piece of the 1/16" to release the spring pins that hold it in place. I may add some "just in case" support under the DVD drive.

Back to the back

I was planning on drilling some holes on the bottom of the Mobo Tray to screw thw PSU on but as fate would have it the holes are slightly below the bottom of the tray so I can easily pinch the PSU in place and it holds just great!


The theme of this build will eventually be red/black and so I thought I'd lock myself into these colors by getting a snappy red Enermax fan for the Mobo tray replacing the stock one



Now lets have a look at that DVD drive in action shall we



Also as point of fact I would recommend to anyone doing a G5 mod DO NOT BREAK THE STOCK STANDOFFS OFF! wait until you decide what to do. I see a decent way to mount most anything using them. If you use the aluminum strips like I am you can drill holes in them and screw right to the standoffs. creating a solid mounting structure. Everywhere I have read recommend snapping them off pretty early I would say wait until you are done to remove them. I started to take mine off when I first got the case and then stopped realizing what I was doing. I hope you guys like it so far as I am very pleased with the initial results. Hopefully it wont be so long until I get more work done on it.

Will look pretty nice
I think u could easily fit an 120.3 /140.3 or maybe a 120.4 on the front (where cd drive are). you could use a ek res + 355 top / pump and tube going into the rad then to ur cpu block. Would look clean I think.
Put the ek res 150ml should do the work :0 with pump mount where u usualy fited the **pump**

waiting to see it done

I was planning on getting a 140.3 Rad in there and I may even make my own res out of plexi for this build. It may be a while though as I'm trying to track down some copper blocks reasonably priced to make my own waterblock

Just to let you know, you should either hold onto the Apple fans or sell them in the classifieds. They should be some really nice Delta tri-blades. Personally, I'd suggest pushing the PSU in a little bit and adding some strips of aluminum to finish it off and not mess with the curves.

One step ahead of ya man. I got some 1/2" X 1/8" strips of aluminum from the Home Depot that have been sized up for that exact purpose. The damn thing is just sitting there for now until I finish my other rig. Then my brother wants me to build him a computer so I have time for this one as of now. I'll try and take some pics of the strips tomorrow fer ya

What classifieds?EDIT: I need more posts

EDIT: I have however been scrounging thorough my stuff to see what I have to put in this thing. I can't really buy much because I'm out of work for now

HW list:
CPU- Q9550
Mobo Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
Gskil ram-8 Gigs
ETASIS ET750 True 750W PSU (got it for $50 on the Egg and Johnny Guru says its the same as a Silverstone Zeus so it's a score!)




WC parts:

Black Ice GT Stealth 360 X-Flow Radiator - Red

EK-Multi Res 250 (i think)

MCP350 pump brand new ( I forgot I had it )

About 13' of 3/8 X 5/8 tubing

So I need a cheap CPU block. I may go with this Enzotech SCW-REV.A for now. Anyone have an pinion on this block at all??

it's a great block for the price, i think the best block at the price point for performance.

and i would strongly recommend going with at least the dual pass version of that rad if not a swiftech mcr320. the gt stealth rads are thin and thus don't perform as good as thicker ones like swiftech.

also you may want to look into a XSPC Res top for your pump for better performance from the pump. unless your getting the ek res for looks.

Oh yeah I forgot to add that I have the XSPC clear topper I'll be using. I may try and get up some dough for a swiftech rad this is just the one I have from an old build. I'ts also red which will fit in well with the color scheme.

What do you mean the "ek res for looks"? Do you mean the rad?

oh thought you were ordering the new rad, if you already have that one then use it, just most other rads will perform better.

and i also didn't realize you have the res top for the pump. what i meant by "ek res for looks" if you change to the res top for your pump then you don't need the EK-Multi Res 250. but if you wanted it in your case for looks, then i would have recommend a non res top for your pump and use the ek multi res.

Ahhh I see now. I don't have the res-top for my pump I have this one here


So I do need a res anyway and the EK is just the one I have, Not sure if I mentioned this here but I may make my own res for this project or depending on price have it made. Also I have some water jet cutting planned for this one as well.

whew, you are quite ambitious taking on a project involving a G5 haha, but cudos to you, looks like it's going a long well and I think it'll look amazing once its finished.. can't wait for updates on this one

Thanks alot. I may even get something big done this week . I just want to finish my other project and am waiting for my Mips Ram cooler from Germany its taking FOREVER damnit! Honestly I might take my current project off the table and move forward with this one.

Wow I know this is taking a while but my latest obstacle is I can't find my camera (Damn Kids) so I decided to take a few snaps with my phone.

This is the cut out window with no plexi in it yet







As far as I know no one has done this before so I hope you guys like the idea


For the HW I now have a core i3 and am using Gskill Rip Jaw ram with an EVGA 111-CD-E630-TR

Obviously I'm trying to keep the budget down on this one. I'm still debating on getting it painted or not. I have to get some prices first and see what the budget is like

I like this... subscribed.

OK so I do need some advice guys. Should I still watercool this baby or add a Fermi card? I can't afford both so which is the better idea??

if your really into gaming i would opt for the new gpu otherwise watercooling.

Thanks Spawn, I'm not really that into gaming. Honestly I lack the time(wife,kids,job) but I dunno I have to see how much I have to spend after getting her painted.

Well, some bad news for me it seems. I may not have the money to watercool this one I think I will have only enough cash to get it powder coated. We'll see I guess. I also want to add some SSD's but I don't think that'll happen either now. Real life sucks the life from hobbies especially when you have kids.