Very nice! This is what I'm thinking of at the moment....

The pics that UglyVamp put up illustrate an important point that other G5 PC casemods overlook. The original design of the case separtes the innards of the PC into zones. Hot, cold, intermediate and has fans of matched cooling power for each zone. I want to try to maintain this in the mod.

Additionally, I do not want to cut the case if I can avoid it. The mod UglyVamp posted is possible but not with a regular ATX mobo. Possibly with a Shuttle that is canniballized for parts this would be feasible. Cost factors aside, this would create problems should I want to upgrade my mobo in the future. I'd have to either redo the mod, or buy another Shuttle. With my track record, perhaps a mod that would fit a ATX case would be better for the long run. I intend to keep this case for a long time.

I've got an idea of how to do it now. It involves getting hold of a case with a removable mobo tray and using that to mount the mobo with the PCI slot connectors/mobo connectors facing DOWN. Making a third compartment below the mobo compartment which will also house the PSU (again of standard size to facilitate upgrading).

Well, that's the idea anyway...

Yeah, I have doubts about the pricing.....I agree with uglyvamp

Good luck with your mod! Just remember to have fun and be careful

i love all the iMac casings, they look standard and wonderful ~~

mac try to check back my post which I posted somewhere maybe that can help you

Well, u never know, mebe it was sum Multi National company that was clearing up the office for newer n better things or just relocation to different city n decided to lelong everything off. Besides USD15 may sound like peanuts to us but for sum Chinaman it cud represent up 25% of their monthly income man.

heh, I still doubt the price ... its still not likely unless "misplaced" goods.

for ur infos, chinamen very rich ones ... if u can see this guy playing around with such hardwares, their daddy could be a USD millionaire ...

obviously the material used for the casing is expensive and for the finishing to be that nice, the price must be expensive........man.....600W PSU for RM 60 ??? i think it's possible, but in quantities of 10k

wau.........i think ur having the coolest/most expensive mod here(if consider we guys wanna follow use that G5)

hope to see the progres.....hati2 in drilling/dremel or whatever u do....dont spoil the case

3K for a case?

note : anyone selling a G5 original case for 1k,plz PM me

Have decided how to proceed with the mod.

Will utilize the top compartments as they are in the G5 case. Front bay for optical drive, rear bay for hard disks.

Middle compartment will house the Mobo. This will be mounted with the rear end pointing downwards. That is with the rear motherboard connectors exiting through the bottom compartment which will also house the PSU.

Compartments will be divided with Clear Acrylic. A sheet of clear acrylic will also serve as the base of the motherboard allowing me to switch mobos in the future should I wish to.

Perhaps a diagram will best illustrate the plan. Will work on this soon.

In the meantime, does anyone (AllanGap perhaps?) know where I can source clear acrylic in KL?

search at jalan pasar.
i've heard them saying this place repeatedly.

@MacDaNife
Good Luck wit ur mod ,juz becarefull and have fun

acrylic can be found at advertising shop

The diagrammatic representation of what I intend. will need a clear acrylic as the base of the mobo and to seperate the mobo compartment from the PSU compartment. Note that the PSU compartment will not have ventilation above or below the PSU. Only from the front and back.

Have bought a PSU today from LYP which fulfills this criteria. Pics tomorrow!


Attached thumbnail(s)

@macdanife
wun it look a lil odd with ur plugs facing down???

Ok, here we go... First, patience guys... I intend to take my time with this mod (and I do have a real job) so please excuse a lack of progress on the mod. Rest assured, progress will be documented and put up here. I'll put up the recommended retail price (RRP) for the stuff so I won't get the inevitible "How much ah?" on this thread. Please refrain from the equally inevetible "Wah, so much ah!". It irritates and adds nothing to the thread. TIA. Occasionally I may get some discounts of the RRP but I will not disclose that for obvious reasons of maintaining relations with the retailer. I work hard at building relationships with people. You should too.

So far I've got to the stage of assembling the required tools...




Considered getting the more easily available Black and Decker RTX. This retails for RM299 (I guess the RM1 is for the parking ticket) and the B&D Flexishaft for RM200. However, on modding boards when the two are discussed, I read a lot of early failures with the RTX. I intend to use this tool for a lot more than PC Modding and would hate to have to replace out of warranty so... The Dremel is available only from Jaya DIY in Jaya Shopping Centre's thrid floor. The proprieter: a Mr Eddy Ng is a very knowledgable and friendly guy and the shop is contactable at 03-79540509. They stock a wide range of Dremel acessories too.

The kit comes with all the acessories pictured and retails for RM599 . The Flexishaft is another RM214. But I figure I'll be using this for a long time and power tools are just so sweet...

The only other kit that I have aqquired is the PSU. I've mulled over where to place it in this case. In the G5 hard drive bay where it would traditionally sit in a standard ATX PC box? Front? Rear? Standing up? Fans reversed?

Finally I decided that I should maintain the functional design of the G5 case. To divide the case into thermal compartments. For this I will use clear acrylic. True, hiding cables will be a bit of a challenge (but more fun). It will also be easier to cut.

With this in mind, I'm putting the PSU at the bottom of the case. As there are no ventilation holes at the bottom my options were to either cut a hole or find a PSU with fans only at the front and rear. None at the bottom. Enter the Coolergiant...









The next question is how to fit the mobo... The Apple G5 case has mobo standoff screwholes that do not align to the traditional PC mobos. In addition, the backplate and PCI slots will not align. Most G5 PC mods that I've seen have cut the back of the case in order to fit a PC mobo. I am reluctant to do this because I don't want to ruin the design that is really very elegant. I've decided to mount mobo tray of clear acrylic which I will screw to the back of the case using the original Apple mobo standoff screws. I will then mount mobo standoffs on this acrylic plate in the regular PC position.



Next: How to position the mobo? Rightside up? Upside down?

I'm going with a "on the side" approach. This will mean that the backplate ports and the PCI slot connectors will exit out of the bottom of the case. I will be using a number of USB cord extenders, Network wire extenders and Monitor cable gender changers to accomplish this. The cords will then be sleeved together and a large trunk exits out the rear of the rig, rather like a tail.

Personally I feel that this would neaten the cable clutter normally seen at the rear of a PC and I could put the rig on the desk without it being too unsightly. I dunno, this requires some more thought.

Finally the thermal compartments. Clear Acrylic again, cut to fit the shape of the clear acrylic moulding of the G5 case. I will then have three compartments: The bottom one with the PSU, The middle one with the Mobo/Processor/RAM/PCIe/PCI cards and the top one with the drives.



Well, that's the plan for now. Thanks for your interest and encouragement. And I welcome suggestions/comments! Just don't get upset if I don't follow em!

i think it's better if u can draw up an airflow diagram like this before starting, just to get the best directional airflow

n u might wanna build a proper vent to separate the PSU compartment with the the mobo to prevent hot air from the PSU to circulate around ur mobo area.

btw, you mobo's faceplate is facing downwards ? u might have a lot of trouble to actually tidy up the cables, especially the monitor cables, and u might block airflow of the PSU exhaust





This post has been edited by AllnGap: Oct 10 2005, 08:47 AM

MacDaNife: any rotary tool will fail if its not taken care. Dremel/RTX will fail much earlier because the metal bits and dust may end in clogged in the motor.

always take short breaks to clean up the cutting area while allowing the tool to rest. clean the tool throughly after each usage so it wont have any clogged/build-up dirt/grime/dust in and around the body.

btw i think you left out other important stuff too: eye protection, ear protection, respiration mask. trust me, its more easier and accurate to work with when youve got all the protection. get a full covered goggles, i prefer slightly tinted black ones. it helps with all the sparks flying around. for the respiration mask, a single carbon filter element would do.

dammnn...luck guy laa..u for freee....nyway cant wait for u'r updates

@macdanife
I found smth that might help ya,
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=99239