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Project: G5, AMD Inside
I've been wanting to do this ever since the G5 came out. So a few weeks ago I finally got up the nerve to do it. All parts are ordered, just waiting for my fans and USB/Firewire/Sound cables to arrive.
Case costs:
Case: $112
Cables, fans, screws/bolts: $105
Tools: $88
----------------------
Total: $305
Time spent: 15+ hours.
Something that has been an great help during this project is the G5 Service Manual. I have all the pinouts of all the power connectors and the front panel. I'm re-using as much of the original Mac hardware and wiring as possible to preserve the G5 look. I'll be reusing at least one of the SATA cables(the longer one----scratch that, neither one was long enough), all the HDD and DVD power cables, and rewiring the top shelf fans.
Here is the original setup and air flow design:
EDIT: Updated Specs
Specs of the machine, when complete:
MoBo: Asus A8N SLi Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3000+ Venice @ 2.54GHz
Cooling: Zalman CNPS 7000A-Cu, two Panaflo M1As
Video: BFG GeForce 7800GTX 256MB PCI-E x16
RAM: Crucial Value Ram PC3200 2GB (2x1024)
Sound: Hercules Game Theater XP
HD: Western Digital 200GB SATA 7200RPM
HD2: Western Digital 320GB SATA 7200RPM
DVD: Pioneer DVR A05 (4x DVD Burner, better burner is in my fileserver, since that burns most of the DVDs.)
PSU: Antec NeoPower 480W Modular
Monitor: Dell 2005FPW (20" WideScreen LCD)
Mouse: Logitech MX700
Joystick: Logitech Cordless Freedom 2.4 Joystick
Here are some shots of the stock G5 case so you can see how it arrived:
Lining up the motherboard tray holder for tracing:
Tracing complete:
Tray mounted and ready to go. I should have taken more pics of the cutting. But it wasnt too interesting, tin snips and 15 minutes was all it took.
I used JB Weld to attach the other end of the motherboard tray to the case. Works great. The angle is a little off, so cards have to bend a little to secure in the PCI slots, but this isnt much of a bend at all, about 2MM. You'll also notice the three holes in the bottom. A little rough, but it was my first time using a hole saw and all the slop will be covered up with fans and filters.
Notice that the latch can still function. That ended up working out perfectly. No matter what, I wanted to keep the latch, and I didn't even have to try.
Cable routing. Gotta keep things nice and hidden. IDE cable will come from under the motherboard. The NeoPower is sitting on top of a gutted 120MM fan.
Now this was fun. I have verry little experience soldering, but I am improving every time I solder. Heatshrink is awesome for covering up your sloppy work too. Notice all the butchered modular cables. I wasn't thinking and cut one of the cables off at the base where it connects to the PSU, oops. Good thing I ordered a spare set of cables for the NeoPower.
My two panaflos don't arrive until next week, so that will have to wait. My motherboard header cables for the front panel wont arrive until then either, so the front panel will remain unused for the next week. More updates later today with the system mostly built.
I've been wanting to do this ever since the G5 came out. So a few weeks ago I finally got up the nerve to do it. All parts are ordered, just waiting for my fans and USB/Firewire/Sound cables to arrive.
Case costs:
Case: $112
Cables, fans, screws/bolts: $105
Tools: $88
----------------------
Total: $305
Time spent: 15+ hours.
Something that has been an great help during this project is the G5 Service Manual. I have all the pinouts of all the power connectors and the front panel. I'm re-using as much of the original Mac hardware and wiring as possible to preserve the G5 look. I'll be reusing at least one of the SATA cables(the longer one----scratch that, neither one was long enough), all the HDD and DVD power cables, and rewiring the top shelf fans.
Here is the original setup and air flow design:
EDIT: Updated Specs
Specs of the machine, when complete:
MoBo: Asus A8N SLi Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon64 3000+ Venice @ 2.54GHz
Cooling: Zalman CNPS 7000A-Cu, two Panaflo M1As
Video: BFG GeForce 7800GTX 256MB PCI-E x16
RAM: Crucial Value Ram PC3200 2GB (2x1024)
Sound: Hercules Game Theater XP
HD: Western Digital 200GB SATA 7200RPM
HD2: Western Digital 320GB SATA 7200RPM
DVD: Pioneer DVR A05 (4x DVD Burner, better burner is in my fileserver, since that burns most of the DVDs.)
PSU: Antec NeoPower 480W Modular
Monitor: Dell 2005FPW (20" WideScreen LCD)
Mouse: Logitech MX700
Joystick: Logitech Cordless Freedom 2.4 Joystick
Here are some shots of the stock G5 case so you can see how it arrived:
Lining up the motherboard tray holder for tracing:
Tracing complete:
Tray mounted and ready to go. I should have taken more pics of the cutting. But it wasnt too interesting, tin snips and 15 minutes was all it took.
I used JB Weld to attach the other end of the motherboard tray to the case. Works great. The angle is a little off, so cards have to bend a little to secure in the PCI slots, but this isnt much of a bend at all, about 2MM. You'll also notice the three holes in the bottom. A little rough, but it was my first time using a hole saw and all the slop will be covered up with fans and filters.
Notice that the latch can still function. That ended up working out perfectly. No matter what, I wanted to keep the latch, and I didn't even have to try.
Cable routing. Gotta keep things nice and hidden. IDE cable will come from under the motherboard. The NeoPower is sitting on top of a gutted 120MM fan.
Now this was fun. I have verry little experience soldering, but I am improving every time I solder. Heatshrink is awesome for covering up your sloppy work too.
Notice all the butchered modular cables. I wasn't thinking and cut one of the cables off at the base where it connects to the PSU, oops. Good thing I ordered a spare set of cables for the NeoPower.
My two panaflos don't arrive until next week, so that will have to wait. My motherboard header cables for the front panel wont arrive until then either, so the front panel will remain unused for the next week. More updates later today with the system mostly built.
