Another G5 mod

[PointandClick]

Finally picked up a dual 1.8 G5 a few months ago. Started tearing it down over the holidays (PITA btw). Finally started the chopping over the last week or two.

I've never liked how most of the mods you see chop everything up or cover the whole back with a big slab of aluminum that doesn't match the case at all.

My plan was to cut out the area of the rear exhaust fans and move them over just enough to make room for the i/o plate and use a banding all the way around to splice the piece back in. I will experiment with anodizing it but if all else fails the sanded aluminum actually matched the original case fairly well.

I picked up a 16" x 16" or so piece of aluminum about the same thickness as the original case from a metal fab place and used the area cut out around the fans as a template to make some guides.
I used a 7/64 bit which is a little small. 1/8 was too big. Because it didn't fit the original holes snug they got off somewhat.

Panel so far.

Put together. Like I said the holes got off, but they line up well enough to bolt together for the most part. the top left is too far off and the bottom is crooked.

Original screw for the fan grill and a couple others I picked up. I'm not happy with either of them. The heads are too big and I don't think I can countersink them enough and maintain enough material between the adjacent holes. Anyone know where I can pick up some with small heads similar to the original?

I have a 3mm drill bit ordered that will hopefully be a better fit. I may go down to the Fastenal dealer and see if they can tell me what size I need too. With a bit closer to the right size I'm confident I can get it to line up pretty slick. The next attempt should go quickly since the cutting is done and I have a template for exactly the number of holes I need.

The motherboard lines up darn near perfectly using the original standoffs so I will just JB Weld them on unless anyone has a different recommendation. I have a mATX board which fits just right without cutting the upper divider where the hdd sits.


Comments and questions are welcome.

 

[PointandClick]

Picked up a 31 gauge drill bit that fits the original holes just right and a new piece of aluminum. Should have some progress to report later today. No luck finding any better screws. I guess I'll try countersinking them on a scrap piece and see if they leave enough material.

 

[PointandClick]

Didn't get as far as I had liked, but have a good start on the new panel. It's still difficult to keep the holes straight, but it's much better than before. Probably as good as it will get without a CNC machine.

I used steel this time for the template so the holes don't get as wallowed out from repeated use. The metal fab place also gave me a piece of brazing rod to use to keep the holes lined up. It was a bit big but I just put it in a drill and sanded it to the right size.

I have some 3 pin and 4 pin connectors ordered to rewire the original fans.

 

[xDezor]

Finally, somebody doing a G5 mod right.

 

[PointandClick]

Finally, somebody doing a G5 mod right.

I'm hoping so, I'll try not to disappoint. I hope to maintain as much as the original look as possible while avoiding the hassle of using the original i/o panel and extensions/custom pcb. Hopefully I can strike a good balance.

I did make a disappointing discovery last night. I was planning on making a 4 drive tray to put in the front of the case. Unfortunately with the original fans in place there is not enough room. Instead I may use the original tray and attach the cables to the back and slide the drives in backwards so there are no loose cables. I may possibly add two more below the motherboard if there is space.

Anyone know if there is a right angle sata power/data combo cable?

 

[PointandClick]

Got the back plate nearly finished, just need to trim the outer edges to size and countersink the holes for the mounting screws. Some of my holes got slightly off, but overall it's not too bad. Now I need to finish up the second plate for the i/o panel. Lots and lots of filling.

Also got the motherboard standoffs JB Welded on.

My connectors from Frozen CPU came in yesterday so today I'll be wiring up the fans. Unfortunately I ordered the wrong 4 pin end so I may have to rob one from a spare fan for now.

 

[PointandClick]

Got the back panel all trimmed to size. I need some more machine bolts, I cleaned the hardware store out of the ones I decided on.

I mounted my ATX power supply mounted in the original enclosure. I couldn't get to the screws to remove it completely from the old housing so i just cut it down and used hot melt glue to secure it in case I ever need to remove it. I also cut off some extra cables. It had 6 4-pins and 6 sata, now there's 3 of each. I also removed one of the pcie power connectors since I don't ever plan on having more than one graphics card.
I need to do some more trimming on the enclosure so I can route the wires better.
I think I will splice the original sata power cables on since they will be easier to hide away.

My MSI board in place. You can see the fans wired up for 3 pin connectors. I learned the hard way to use the shielded male 3 pin connectors with the push in pins. It's damn near impossible to solder all 3 wires onto the other style.

I got these standoffs from the hardware store. I'm going to mount this plate behind the front fans to hide all the wiring and to mount the rheostat that will control the front and rear fans.

The i/o panel will have to wait. Right now my priority is getting the machine together so I can use it. I still need to get the front panel wired up which should be a blast.

 

[xDezor]

The back panel turned out better than I thought. Looks nice.

 

[PointandClick]

Thanks. Ideally the best thing would have been to leave it stock, but I think this was a good compromise between aesthetics and function.

It may be a while before I get the i/o plate done. Classes have started up again so I needed to get this thing together since my laptop is on its last leg.

All I really have left to do otherwise is figure out how to secure the pci divider better and find some new standoffs for the plate that hides the wires. I broke 3 of those aluminum screws already.
I also need to see if wiring the PSU fans at 5v will provide adequate air flow. As is they are kind of a high pitched whine. Not any louder than my old case was, but that would be difficult anyway. I may also just wire the front and back fans at 5v. At 12v, even with the rheostat on the lowest speed they are still fairly loud.


I had to enlarge the hole in the PSU case to allow all the wires to fit. I cut the side for the main 24 pin so I can tuck it down in the little space on the back side of the PSU. I used hot glue on the cut to avoid cutting through the wires.

The original sata power cables spliced in. I should have used a molex connector so I can get the power supply out without having to tear everything apart to get the cables out from behind the hard drive tray.