Back to the Future Skylake Mac mITX Build

bomerr · October 24, 2015

I wanted to make a small and powerful mITX rig. So I choose the coolest case I could find, a 2000 Power Mac G4.

For you guys that want to look at some more cool pix check out this link: http://www.wap.org/journal/powermaccube/powermaccube.html

And this Intro movie:

Original Specs were:

CPU: 450 Mhz PowerPC G4

GPU: ATI Rage 128 Pro

HDD: 20-60GB (Missing)

Ram: 1GB PC100

Monitor: VGA something

New Specs are:

CPU: I5-6600k

GPU: GTX 950

SSD: Samsung SM951 PCIe AHCI - not NVMe

Ram: 16GB Crucial DDR4 2133 OC'd to 2400

CPU Cooler: Prolimatech PRO-SAM17

Monitor: Crossover 404k 40" 4K

Old Mobo :

Old GPU:

The hardest part of this build was getting the CPU cooler in place. The stock chases uses a large heatsink that attaches to the mounting brackets so I had to cut out the heatsink but keep the brackets in place. Furthermore there isn't enough clearance between the brackets and the new heatsink so I had to hammer and cut the heatsink until it just barely fit.

^stock

^modded

Another issue I ran into was the GPU. Originally I went with a 750 TI for the low heat put. But I found out that PCI-e riser cables have trouble with power delivery. So luckily I was able to EVGA step-up my GPU to a 950 instead. Furthermore I went with a high quality shielded PCI-e riser cable from liheat48 on eBay. Great Seller, Highly recommended. If anyone is interested, the correct size for this case is 30cm.