[G SIX] LukaP's Mac Pro G5 Log [Phase: Back online]

[LukaP]

Ok that's the model my school is currently throwing out!

 

How did you manage to get the mobo out? Is there a guide you followed? 

i got it without the mobo, but seeing the standoffs its on a bunch of pushpins, as well as some screws. so be sure to unscrew it all, then just pull

[bomerr]

WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T REMOVE ALL THE STANDOFFs.

I made that mistake on my PowerMac G5 case conversion and i regret it terribly. I ended up having to get aluminum bars and JBWeld (Metal) the motherboard tray in place. 

 

If you buy a mountain mods motherboard tray I can send you pics of my setup so you know exactly where to cut. 

[LukaP]

WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T REMOVE ALL THE STANDOFFs.

I made that mistake on my PowerMac G5 case conversion and i regret it terribly. I ended up having to get aluminum bars and JBWeld (Metal) the motherboard tray in place. 

 

If you buy a mountain mods motherboard tray I can send you pics of my setup so you know exactly where to cut. 

please elaborate what happens if i do remove them

[bomerr]

please elaborate what happens if i do remove them

I edited my post. Basically you want to use some of the existing standoffs to secure the motherboard tray in place. If you remove them all then you'll have no proper way to install the motherboard tray. 

 

What I ended up doing was buying aluminum bars from the remnants section of Industrial Metal Supply and using JB Weld (metal) to glue them in place. Then I glued my motherboard tray in. 

 

Also the standoffs inside the case come in two sizes. A short one and a tall one. (like 2mm difference) You'll want to remove one set (I forgot which one; will get back on that later) 

[LukaP]

I edited my post. Basically you want to use some of the existing standoffs to secure the motherboard tray in place. If you remove them all then you'll have no proper way to install the motherboard tray. 

 

What I ended up doing was buying aluminum bars from the remnants section of Industrial Metal Supply and using JB Weld (metal) to glue them in place. Then I glued my motherboard tray in. 

that was basically my plan. get rid of it all and use some U profiles to get the tray at the correct height, just gluing it into position

[bomerr]

that was basically my plan. get rid of it all and use some U profiles to get the tray at the correct height, just gluing it into position 

ghetto 

 

the standoffs already place the motherboard tray at the perfect height. 

 

If you buy this

 

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556088271.html

 

and this

 

http://www.mountainmods.com/mountain-mods-modular-removable-motherboard-tray-p-56.html

 

I can can send you measurements from my build so you know exactly where to cut without accidentally cutting too much. 

[EpicGeekonFire]

i got it without the mobo, but seeing the standoffs its on a bunch of pushpins, as well as some screws. so be sure to unscrew it all, then just pull

 

I unscrewed everything, it wont slide out in any direction! This is stopping me from modding this stupid thing!

[LukaP]

If you buy this

 

http://www.coolerguys.com/840556088271.html

 

and this

 

http://www.mountainmods.com/mountain-mods-modular-removable-motherboard-tray-p-56.html

 

I can can send you measurements from my build so you know exactly where to cut without accidentally cutting too much. 

im custom fabricating the back plate, and the motherboard tray im hoping to salvage from an existing case, otherwise, ill go mountainmods route. and yes feel free to send me the pictures, but rather over PM, so we dont clutter this thread

[LukaP]

I unscrewed everything, it wont slide out in any direction! This is stopping me from modding this stupid thing!

just break it. the case is 4mm aluminium, you wont break that brute force, young padawan, is sometimes the only solution.

 

also, when you uninstall te powersupply, you need to remove the top cover, otherwise it wont go out

[bomerr]

im custom fabricating the back plate, and the motherboard tray im hoping to salvage from an existing case, otherwise, ill go mountainmods route. and yes feel free to send me the pictures, but rather over PM, so we dont clutter this thread

 

Trust me when I say it's not worth the trouble. It was an incredibly tight fit getting both the ATX power supply and standard ATX motherboard tray installed. Plus I had to modify the motherboard tray too.

 

my rig: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/301585-haswell-e-mach-kernel-patch-5960x-5830k-and-5820k-yosemite/?p=2077880

[also great thread to install OS X Yosemite onto your X99 Hackintosh]

[LukaP]

Trust me when I say it's not worth the trouble. It was an incredibly tight fit getting both the ATX power supply and standard ATX motherboard tray installed. Plus I had to modify the motherboard tray too.

my rig: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/301585-haswell-e-mach-kernel-patch-5960x-5830k-and-5820k-yosemite/?p=2077880

[also great thread to install OS X Yosemite onto your X99 Hackintosh]

Can't see the pictures as I'm not a member...

And thanks for that, might come handy one day

[bomerr]

I uploaded the pictures onto my thread:

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/227069-former-peasant-first-build-x99-hackintosh/

 

The important points I want to make are:

 

1) It's really hard to get both a full-size ATX and ATX PSU to fit inside the case. A lot of people will simply mount the PSU 100% internally (usually on top of the old hard drive / dvd-rom tray)  but I wanted the PSU fan to vent outside. Because the case has rounded edges while the PSU has square 90 degree corner it's impossible to get it to fit flush; my fix was to cut out the bottom case on the sides and flatten it until it was perfectly flat. There is a little bit of poke but that's to be expected and it's pretty minor.

 

You can also see how little clearance I have above and the below the motherboard tray: above because that is where the case starts curving and below where the PSU is. 

 

2) I'm not happy with the machine shop for overcutting the top of the case and the sides around the PSU. I had to add two extra bolts (to the left of the fans / underneath the door lever) just to tighten the faceplate since there wasn't enough metal on the inside to glue onto. [last pic shows the overcut on the inside] On the bright side the the top of the case around the PCI slots was cut right and I was able to sandwich the original case between motherboard tray and faceplate. 

 

You can also see the clearance between the faceplate and the edge of the case; this is why using standoffs or something to lift the tray higher is crucial.

 

3) Cable management--if you want it--needs to be done underneath the motherboard tray. Because I removed all the standoffs and put metal bars underneath tray to support it I was unable to run wires underneath it. With that said I think my wire routing is great considering I have no management. 

 

Overall I'm "okay" with my case but now that I know exactly where to cut I could make a second hackintosh conversion with perfect cuts. 

[LukaP]

@bomerr the atx is just an idea I'm playing with. Its much more possible I'll go with matx and liquid cooling as it will be just as awesome, if not more.

Nice build though.

And for cables, I plan on doing custom length and route them with some stealth routing clips I have the design in solid works already

[LukaP]

I uploaded the pictures onto my thread:

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/227069-former-peasant-first-build-x99-hackintosh/

The important points I want to make are:

1) It's really hard to get both a full-size ATX and ATX PSU to fit inside the case. A lot of people will simply mount the PSU 100% internally (usually on top of the old hard drive / dvd-rom tray) but I wanted the PSU fan to vent outside. Because the case has rounded edges while the PSU has square 90 degree corner it's impossible to get it to fit flush; my fix was to cut out the bottom case on the sides and flatten it until it was perfectly flat. There is a little bit of poke but that's to be expected and it's pretty minor.

You can also see how little clearance I have above and the below the motherboard tray: above because that is where the case starts curving and below where the PSU is.

2) I'm not happy with the machine shop for overcutting the top of the case and the sides around the PSU. I had to add two extra bolts (to the left of the fans / underneath the door lever) just to tighten the faceplate since there wasn't enough metal on the inside to glue onto. [last pic shows the overcut on the inside] On the bright side the the top of the case around the PCI slots was cut right and I was able to sandwich the original case between motherboard tray and faceplate.

You can also see the clearance between the faceplate and the edge of the case; this is why using standoffs or something to lift the tray higher is crucial.

3) Cable management--if you want it--needs to be done underneath the motherboard tray. Because I removed all the standoffs and put metal bars underneath tray to support it I was unable to run wires underneath it. With that said I think my wire routing is great considering I have no management.

Overall I'm "okay" with my case but now that I know exactly where to cut I could make a second hackintosh conversion with perfect cuts.

@bomerr the atx is just an idea I'm playing with. Its much more possible I'll go with matx and liquid cooling as it will be just as awesome, if not more.

Nice build though.

And for cables, I plan on doing custom length and route them with some stealth routing clips I have the design in solid works already

Won't tag for some reason

[MoDtEc]

Subbed

 

matx with liquid cooling in this case WOULD be awesome , so please do it 

also black anodizing on the inside sounds FREAKING awesome so how does cutting a window sound to you? to show off your (expectet to be) great work? 

[Maheshvara]

Won't tag for some reason

I've been thinking, since @MoDtEc gave me the idea. Why don't you make a cut-out in the side panel, a cut-out of apple logo You can cut-out the original logo, or a bigger version of it (better go with the bigger version)  And then try to find some place to make you a cut out of fiberglass/glass in the same size as that cutout, so you can put it in the cutout, and make it look badass 

 

I think it would look mighty cool (especially if you colour the case black) 

[MoDtEc]

@Maheshvara Im glad i was able to give your creativity an impulse. It ll look badass in any case (ha ha)  :lol:

[Maheshvara]

@Maheshvara Im glad i was able to give your creativity an impulse. It ll look badass in any case (ha ha)  :lol:

Yeah, it'll look badass

 

The only problem i found is that you'd have to find glass/fiberglass panel the same width like the side panel (i think he said it was 4mm ), since if it's too thick, or thin, it won't look as good I also don't know how he would "glue" it together (i'm a total noob at modding...), since i'm guessing that normal silicon/glue won't do it...

 

What do you think @LukaP Would you like an Apple cutout? And do you have any suggestions on how to glue the glass together with the aluminium in the cutout

[GodSpoon]

Good luck man, this is gonna be interesting...

[mr_greenguy]

Your best option for the backplate is to buy one, custom fabricating one is gonna be a mess. If you need one in europe you can use the backplate of a lian li (available here) or the conversion kits of the laserhive. 

 

The resources/examples I used for my build were:

 

• http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/281165-powermac-g5-case-mod/
• http://www.overclock.net/t/1287848/portal-powermac-g5-mod
• http://www.mineos.phant0m.net/Things/PowerMac_i7.html
• http://web.archive.org/web/20130208131350/http://www.tonymacx86.com/79-ultimate-g5-mod-resource-thread.html
• http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/4525-discussion-fit-a-pc-in-a-g5-powermac-enclosure/page-4#entry156892
• http://www.tonymacx86.com/powermac-g5/83409-paint-mac-g5-pro-2.html
• http://www.tonymacx86.com/powermac-g5/93348-neilharts-g5-short-stack-powermac-g5-mod-7.html

Also if you want to be able to use the front panel just buy a custom cable build by someone online, it seems expensive but it's way cheaper if you don't have any of the necessary tools.

[bomerr]

@bomerr the atx is just an idea I'm playing with. Its much more possible I'll go with matx and liquid cooling as it will be just as awesome, if not more.

Nice build though.

And for cables, I plan on doing custom length and route them with some stealth routing clips I have the design in solid works already

matx is too easy

plus something feels wrong about putting such a small mobo in such a large case. 

[LukaP]

UPDATE

 

Ive decided that i will probably paint the entire case black, apart from the right sidepanel, and the area that would be the sidepanel on the left side (i may cut the right side to get that sidepanel feel, without it being openable)

 

 

 

I've been thinking, since @MoDtEc gave me the idea. Why don't you make a cut-out in the side panel, a cut-out of apple logo You can cut-out the original logo, or a bigger version of it (better go with the bigger version)  And then try to find some place to make you a cut out of fiberglass/glass in the same size as that cutout, so you can put it in the cutout, and make it look badass 

 

I think it would look mighty cool (especially if you colour the case black) 

Ive been thinking about that idea. ill probably make a 3D visualisation, just to see whether id like it.

 

 

matx is too easy

plus something feels wrong about putting such a small mobo in such a large case. 

yes i agree id much rather have ATX. ill do some more measurements and design a backplate for the atx layout on carton first.

 

@mr_greenguy i dont plan on custom fabricating the motherboard tray, just the back plate where that will bolt onto, and the fan assembly. Ive been in contact with a LAZORZ place this week, and they can do it for 30€ for me. ill try the ATX layout first, and then decide and get it cut. then i need to find a place where they will paint it for me.

[LukaP]

A quick tease of what's to come either tonight or tomorrow

[bomerr]

 

UPDATE

 

Ive decided that i will probably paint the entire case black, apart from the right sidepanel, and the area that would be the sidepanel on the left side (i may cut the right side to get that sidepanel feel, without it being openable)

 

 

 

If you powder coat it then it'll look a lot better then painting it and the finish will be more durable. 

 

Use the perforated holes on the back of the case as a guide and look where i cut on my case. The top of the motherboard tray is perfectly aligned with the exact moment the case starts curving. 

 

[LukaP]

If you powder coat it then it'll look a lot better then painting it and the finish will be more durable. 

 

Use the perforated holes on the back of the case as a guide and look where i cut on my case. The top of the motherboard tray is perfectly aligned with the exact moment the case starts curving. 

Yeah i meant powder coating. One question, if you know. How shallow must the scratches be for them to be hidden by the powder?

 

ive got everything measured already (for mATX) and ill get it remeasured later today, when i have the ATX laid out