FranktheDinosaur

Case Mockup V2.0
I've gone back to keeping the motherboard mounted to the door (in the spirit of the original G4).
The PSU is now a full ATX unit (my TX650M). This is creating some problems with clearances, but it will save some money as I can carry over my old PSU.
My next issue to tackle is CPU cooling and HDD cages. I still have no idea how airflow will be, but my guess is pretty bad.  
 

 

 

Case Mockup V2.0
I've gone back to keeping the motherboard mounted to the door (in the spirit of the original G4).
The PSU is now a full ATX unit (my TX650M). This is creating some problems with clearances, but it will save some money as I can carry over my old PSU.
My next issue to tackle is CPU cooling and HDD cages. I still have no idea how airflow will be, but my guess is pretty bad.  
 

 

 

Aye. I used that Maximus iv model in one of my cad projects. 

Ok, enough teasing already: Here it is! 
 
The Mirror Drive Door (MDD) G4 in its original state.
 
I'll let my pictures do the talking.
 

 

 
Backend: Notice the inverted layout, trickier conversion than the Sawtooth G4 or Quicksilver. You could say its...Mirrored?   
 

 

 

 
My current rig, which is going to be the donor for all the internals.
 

I love me a good power Mac mod, can't wait to see it finished! 

I know it has been a while, but I am starting to make way with this finally.
I have scrapped the transplant idea, planning on throwing some new hardware into this since my current rig doesn't have the power I would like for CAD, rendering etc.
 
The rig hopefully is going to end up with:
ATX Mobo Xeon or i7 (5820k?) GTX 970 a few HDDs and a couple SSDs thrown in there Maybe watercooled My plan is reverse (mirrored, get it?) the original layout and have the motherboard inside the case with the hard drives and PSU on the door.
Space is kinda cramped so a watercooling rad will probably go on the floor if I decide to go that route.
 
I plan on using some sheet metal and FDM printed parts from a Prusa I3 my friends and I are currently building up. There's even some PCI IO brackets on thingaverse which could make things interesting!
 
I mocked up the layout in CAD just to see what fits where. On a side note, anyone have recommendations on image hosting sites that don't compress your photos to oblivion like imgur?
 
Renders:
 
Full credit to Yang Ji on GrabCAD for the awesome motherboard and GPU models, getting from Solidworks to Inventor was a pain though.
 

 
I really want to keep the circle motif going that was on the original back panel.
All yellow parts are components I am going to have to source or make.
 

 
Clearances with door closed:
 

 

 

Bondi Blue iMac G3 running OS 8....let the hate come

Bondi Blue iMac G3 running OS 8....let the hate come

There's a piece software called Controller Mate
I know some people used it to get around the Quickfire TK's Numlock issue not sure if that'll work for you and the LED problem though. Could give it a shot?
 

 
 
I hope everyone realizes that OS choice is a personal preference. Criticizing people with a problem instead of trying to help goes against the purpose of this forum. 

Bondi Blue iMac G3 running OS 8....let the hate come

UPDATE 2: Let's get this party started.
 
Finally the weekend. The G4 Is fully stripped down to bare bones right now. I'm working on some sketches and inventor models to see what direction i want to take this in. 
Heres a few pictures of the original machine before I tore it down.
 

 
The MDD G4 was the last G4 model to be produced before the G5 and later Mac Pro rolled around. It also probably marked the end of the clear polycarbonate era for Apple's pro lineup. All anodized bead blasted aluminum from here on out. Ya know, "magical."
 

 
The "Mirror Drive Door" moniker come from the obvious dual 5.25" glossy drive bays on the front. They flip down from the bottom lip for CD-ROM drive trays. 
 

 
The fronts literally a giant mirror. I suppose you could save some money and not have to buy a separate mirror at all! 
 
As with all PowerMacs before, the motherboard was mounted on the folding door panel that swings down on a hinge for easy access. 
 

 
You can see that the motherboard, PCI cards all are installed on the door while PSU, 5.25" drives and HDDs are mounted inside the actual case.
 

 
Here's the thing with MDD G4s: They're a pain in the butt. 
 
Out of all the G4s it has the nicest latching mechanism, but the motherboard orientation is just wrong. Previous G4s mobo layouts kinda resembled todays ATX form factor, but the MDD has everything inverted, the IO is on the right of the PCI slots not the left. This means the whole back panel of this needs to go.
 

 

 
Dual G4 processors, DDR RAM and blue PCB goodness.
 

Note: recessed PCI bracket, inverted layout. 
 
Other than that, there is only 1 intake, which is restricted by these angled inlets. Cutting out the bottom and getting some airflow in there might be an option. 
 

 
In the coming weeks I am going to firm up what mods are going to be done. Hardware is still up in the air, this may not end up being my personal machine so it might get some nice fancy innards (1150 Xeon maybe?). I know that I want the exterior to remain stock looking, none of that LED/gamer look here. 
 

So I'm finally back from school, it time to get the ball rolling on this thing. Here's a quick teaser for now, more to come very soon. 
 

So I'm finally back from school, it time to get the ball rolling on this thing. Here's a quick teaser for now, more to come very soon. 
 

Hi guys!  I just finished to build the rig! I am satisfied with the result considering the means I had. I encountered few problems during the build process but these will help me to build THE perfect mATX conversion Version 3 if I do in the future! 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 

Gold everything.

Hey guys! I'm sorry to not responding earlier... Thanks a lot for the great comments, it's really appreciated! So recently I decided to transfert my main rig in the case! But I need to improve some things to fit it.  I designed new plate to route the cables better than before and another one to hide the top section like few of you suggested to me! I will also use only 2 SSD in the build so it will look soo much cleaner without the HDD cage. Keep in mind that I want to preserve the original look of the case. So I will keep the finish of the plates raw.
  So here is the pictures!     
This is before! I realize that the place of the cable was very wrong.
The new routing will be WAYYY BETTER!           The plates arrived from the lasercut!                                      

his is not only a gaming machine bit it is also my architectural workstation hence the titans.
The Silverstone FT03 is an interesting case. MATX with the motherboard rotated to take advantage of the stack cooling effect. Its not that easy to build in when you have as many parts as I do. I had to route the 24pin motherboard cable, two pcie power cables, and 6 sata cables all though a cut out that was 1" x 2 " I'll probably do some case modding with this thing to make it a little prettier in the back and I have plans to put a window on the side with the motherboard.
Temps under full load (%100): CPU - 83c max (4.5ghz overclocked i7-4930k 6 core) GPUs - 75-89c (75-78c gaming) (I have 2 80mm noctua fans in the mail that will be intakes in front of the Titans that should help, as currently there is no intake fan on the system.
It's worth noting that I tried to purchase many parts locally.
 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant   CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor  (Purchased For $674.00)  CPU Cooler: Corsair H75 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Amazon)  Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Gene Micro ATX LGA2011 Motherboard  (Purchased For $399.99)  Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($152.99 @ Newegg)  Memory: Team Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($152.99 @ Newegg)  Storage: Intel 330 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $300.00 a long time ago)  Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($294.98 @ Amazon)  Storage: Crucial M4 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($449.99 @ Amazon)  Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $179.00)  Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $220.00)  Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX Titan Black 6GB Superclocked Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($1019.99 @ NCIX US)  Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX Titan Black 6GB Superclocked Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($1019.99 @ NCIX US)  Case: Silverstone FT03T (Silver) MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (Purchased For $195.00)  Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (Purchased For $152.74)  Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($129.94 @ OutletPC)  Monitor: Asus VE278Q 27.0" Monitor  ($279.99)  Monitor: Asus PQ321Q 31.5" Monitor  ($1532.51 @ Mwave)  Case Fan: Noctua NF-R8 PWM 31.4 CFM 80mm  Fan  ($16.20 @ Amazon)  Case Fan: Noctua NF-R8 PWM 31.4 CFM 80mm  Fan  ($16.20 @ Amazon)  Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($20.99 @ Amazon)  Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($20.99 @ Amazon)  Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm  Fan  ($19.99 @ Amazon)  Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire XT Wired Slim Keyboard  ($129.99 @ Amazon)  Mouse: Mad Catz R.A.T. 9 Wireless Laser Mouse  ($146.38 @ Newegg)  Headphones: Audio-Technica ATHM50S Headphones  ($134.95 @ Newegg)  Other: 1440p monitor  (Purchased For $390.00) Total: $8183.78 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-04 22:18 EST-0500  

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 


 

Bondi Blue iMac G3 running OS 8....let the hate come

From the way this post sounds when one says it, it sounds like you're trying to find something just to pin Apple from an inherint disdain for them.
 
And no, you can't. I just hit up Newegg (I could have gone to more retailers, but their prices are around the same) and for the price of a base Mac Mini, you can get a laptop with an i5 4210Y, 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. That is actually near-identical to the specs of a base Mac Mini, which has an i5 4260U, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB HDD. The Mac Mini actually has a more powerful GPU, albeit it's CPU clock is 200MHz slower (at the base, same boost.} Not really enough to make a significant difference though.
 
And they aren't exactly comparable as options. You're comparing a laptop to a slim desktop. With the Mini, you have the option to use an IPS panel as opposed to the terrible TN panels that $500 laptops use, as you can also more easily upgrade components (it's pretty simple with a Mac Mini, I would know.) With a laptop, you can bring it anywhere and use it without being tethered to a power source. And it comes with a keyboard and mouse.

Like ONOTech said, your current machine can do it. But, if you want a separate machine for it, you can Hackintosh on this. http://www.reddit.com/r/hackintosh/comments/1v7n9k/success_with_gah81mhd3_mavericks_total_cost_630ish/
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant   CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Amazon)  Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($63.70 @ Amazon)  Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($33.99 @ Amazon)  Storage: Intel 530 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($63.75 @ Newegg)  Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($137.98 @ OutletPC)  Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($27.99 @ Newegg)  Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Amazon)  Total: $487.39 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-20 20:09 EDT-0400   You will, however, need a Macintosh to start it, or a VM of one.

Hi guys!  Sorry for the delay before this update.  <_<  The project is not dead.  I simply didn't have the time to finish it, but I assembled it to be able to use freenas. Except that it looks not very clean. :rolleyes: Haha!  In fact the HDD cage is not screwed/mounted, the cables management is not done, the yellow sata cables are ugly and it is now full of dust.  But regardless of that here is a picture: 
 
 

 

Money

Bondi Blue iMac G3 running OS 8....let the hate come

Bondi Blue iMac G3 running OS 8....let the hate come