Rebuilding the Apple Mac Pro 2012 Computer

[QueenObama]

Im planning on trying a new Project, To strip the Apple Mac Pro of internal parts and put a bunch of new PC parts inside, The challenge will be compatibility and the mother board , I might have to cut out the part for the IO shield, The goal is to keep it as close to the original as possible , This thing might be worth alot someday if i keep it original case and keep the parts , but This could be fun.

Parts goal

GTX 970 MSI 4g 

Intel i5

Motherboard- whatever works

Ram 16gb

Water cooling Corsair H100i

power supply - whatever

SSD - 500GB

Hard Drive -Seagate 2tb Hard Drive SSD combined thing

 

As you can tell its not super planned out but i figured this would be a cool project

Also might cut out the apple logo and place it with a glass Apple logo to look inside

Feel free to comment anything  

[QueenObama]

Saved for updates

[Kobathor]

This is an easy way to impress your friends since you'd own a "Mac" with actually decent specs.

[pckid]

Sleeper PC!

[QueenObama]

Sleeper PC!

Whats that mean ?

[pckid]

Whats that mean ?

A computer that looks slow on the outside/looks like a normal computer but is actually fast.

[connorpiper]

Whats that mean ?

 

In terms of cars it means one that does not look fast on the outside. (A Volvo Wagon) But it has a powerful engine. (A V12)

So in computer, it looks like an older MacPro, but it is actually a powerful computer. 

 

The ultimate sleeper would be an OEM PC case with 2x Titan Xs and a 5960X. (As they are MicroATX)

[KemoKa]

Whats that mean ?

It's a SPY PC! :D

[Goodman2265]

Whats that mean ?

Sleeper is also a term for Cars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRvDrBJNQuM

[KemoKa]

I'd get a dremel and cut out a side panel window.

[Coaxialgamer]

In terms of cars it means one that does not look fast on the outside. (A Volvo Wagon) But it has a powerful engine. (A V12)

So in computer, it looks like an older MacPro, but it is actually a powerful computer. 

 

The ultimate sleeper would be an OEM PC case with 2x Titan Xs and a 5960X. (As they are MicroATX)

No the ultimate sleeper pc would look like this :

[ManWithBeard1990]

That's a Power Mac G5, not a Mac Pro. The Mac Pro had two optical bays.

[pckid]

No the ultimate sleeper pc would look like this :

More like a mess.

[Coaxialgamer]

More like a mess.

Couldn't find a better pc of a crappy pc though !

[Derpologist]

I did this once, didn't end up actually building, but I have the case gutted. It was *quite* a pain to gut, but I did it eventually. I'd recommend taking off the side parts (you'll see when you gut it) and cleaning the sidepanels. There are some issues and it is tricky removing the motherboard because of the power supply connectors. Oh and the power supply is sketchy as fuck in my opinion. Im sure you could re-use the hard drive trays that are in the case. There is a separator between the motherboard section and the CD drive/HDD section, this probably will need to be removed. It was a royal pain in the ass, needed to do some cutting and lots of bending. Cut myself on the metal a little bit on accident. Just be careful, and if its dusty, dont breathe

[Commander_Z]

Im planning on trying a new Project, To strip the Apple Mac Pro of internal parts and put a bunch of new PC parts inside, The challenge will be compatibility and the mother board , I might have to cut out the part for the IO shield, The goal is to keep it as close to the original as possible , This thing might be worth alot someday if i keep it original case and keep the parts , but This could be fun.

Parts goal

GTX 970 MSI 4g 

Intel i5

Motherboard- whatever works

Ram 16gb

Water cooling Corsair H100i

power supply - whatever

SSD - 500GB

Hard Drive -Seagate 2tb Hard Drive SSD combined thing

 

As you can tell its not super planned out but i figured this would be a cool project

Also might cut out the apple logo and place it with a glass Apple logo to look inside

Feel free to comment anything  

Pro photo skills

[Guest]

-snip-

 

So, as someone who tried this in the past, let me provide you with some insights.

 

First of all, what you have on your hands is not a Mac Pro 2012, it's a PowerMac G5. They are kinda different inside. Just a heads up.

 

The rest I'm gonna write with an assumption that you're going to try with a Mac Pro case. If you're going to go with your G5 - I sadly can't offer you any real assistance, except for a few tips.

 

Compatibility issues is an understatement.

 

You want to get a micro-ATX motherboard for easier fitting. To fit a full-size ATX motherboard into the G5 case, you're going to need to cut the divider, otherwise you won't be able to fit an ATX motherboard. You might have to cut something out of Mac Pro case as well. You'll have trouble fitting the PSU as well. You're gonna spend hours upon hours on cutting, fitting, playing with your dremel and other tools - if you don't have the time or patience - don't try. 

 

Start with a good plan. And I mean it. Get a motherboard tray. Read up and learn from others' experience. 

 

And be prepared for a failure. This is going to be hard if you want to make it right. Things like front panel will be hard and complicated. 

 

Also, if you're counting on any resale value after modding it, it's going to be literally $0.00, since it's gonna be a gutted and cut up case.