Arcygenical's Liquid Cooled G5 Conversion

Arcygenical

Fully [H]
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
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Hello everyone!

Welcome to my latest worklog! Last Saturday, I got into a battle with a wood router - and lost... As such, I've come into a few weeks off work while I recover (sadly, my left index finger will never be the same,but the painkillers are wonderful) so I spent a few days searching for a new case mod project.

In an odd turn of events, I found someone selling a Dual 2ghz Powermac G5 on Kijiji for 100$. I picked it up (with full intention of using the g5 guts as a nostalgia machine!) and low and behold - It was the SAME tower (serials AND mods matched up) I sold to a Craigslist user in 2008 - for about two grand!

This tower was my favourite computer of all time - and to buy the very same tower back, 5 years after selling it second hand... Well, it was a sign from the heavens above :).
This mod is quite ambitious. I have a lot of things planned, from a custom watercooling system to a nice high-gloss paint job - this will take a few weeks, especially with my other projects on the go (which I will also update here - might as well)

So stay tuned for an awesome G5 conversion... And a great mod on one of the nicest cases in computing history :)

Cheers!
 
Update 1 - March 23rd

First and foremost, we need to strip the case... I'm going to be converting this to a micro-atx case, as this will give me tons of room for a fairly high-end WC setup. Took about 2 hours to reverse engineer how most of the case was put together :rolleyes:

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Dusty as hell :/
Back of the case...
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Old Gene iv (non gen3) board (for sale if anyone wants it haha - I need to RMA it first :)).
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I like how it's got 4 PCI slots, perfect for my needs TBH as I'm a micro ATX enthusiast :).
 
Update 2 - March 25th

So, not a huge amount of progress with this update, since I got a nice new toy in, a 600wrms 4channel amplifier which I'll be using to drive a set of DIY 3 way speakers :)
Lol @ 1600w.
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Removing the epoxied rivets - some force required :)
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G5 heatsinks are a bit overengineered!
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Removed back fan bracket support and grills (for painting)
You can see the Infinity Reference 1060w Subwoofer in the background that I'll be driving at 160wrms, 4ohms. I chose that for it's 29hz FS spec :) (<30hz from a 10" woofer? Yes please!)
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Rear IO bracket cut - needs to be cleaned up a bit.
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Rear top plate support JB welded in place, and screwed in using the stock G5 mounts :)
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I just need to make sure my intended radiators will fit in place!
Tomorrow I'll be making the PSU support brackets and radiator mounts :)
 
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G5 case projects are always fun.
 
Looks like its going to be a good one. Im watching and also you are probably only looking at 300 to 350 watts rms from that boss. But the infinity is a good SQ driver.
 
It's rated with 2x 25a fuses... So, you're absolutely right - It's a A/B driver so 50% efficency with a 600w usage will be around 330wrms.

However I'm only giving 75w to the midbass/tweeter coaxials (ripped em out of the Insignia NS-B2111's lol!) of the 3 way speakers as they're 8ohm and rated for 90w max (the drivers can easily handle a 200w peak as some reviews have pushed the crossover/drivers with 200w/channel Phase Linear 400 amps). I'm actually using these drivers as my rear speakers, and both 10" woofer cabinets in the 3 ways as my main woofers (in a 7.2 setup). They're hopefully replacing a ported 13.5" woofer, but we'll see.

Fronts:
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Woofer:
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Update 3 - March 30th

First thing's first, let's start by taking a look at the radiators I'll be using...
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We need to sweat some new barbs to allow parallel flow, since the radiators will be stacked.
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Sadly Home Depot was sold out of the 1/2" brass fittings I need, so this part will have to continue next week.

Picture showing where the radiators will be placed, and a nice 4mm aluminum plate that I'll be reinforcing/re-creating the top partition of the case.
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Rough radiator cut-out.
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Radiators in place
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Part of the PSU mount made. Needs some substantial cleaning up aha.
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PSU cut out, top panel rough cuts finished.
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In place...
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Hex caps and hex socket 6-32's :)
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Let's tap the top panel
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PSU mocked up, plate screwed in.
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Bumpers added to support/decouple PSU vibrations.
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Letting the JB weld cure the PSU support.
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Update 4 - April 18th.

Well it's been awhile since my last update, frankly I haven't had much motivation to work on the case with Bioshock infinite and a slow recovery from my finger accident. Nonetheless, lots of progress has been made since my last update :)

First up, let's cut some angled aluminium to make some HDD mounts.
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Holes cut, rubber grommets fitted for noise isolation.
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This is how it mounts to the HDD.
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Placement of the first HDD mount.
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Next, I had to sweat some 3/8" barbs on the radiators.
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And a quick coat of paint... Dried much nicer than the wet shot would indicate - but even so, this area won't be visible.
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Time to place the second HDD.
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I'm trying something different with my pumps. Some cheap 12v pumps, in parallel, from ebay. Went for around 20$ each. I don't really need high flow in the loop, since it's a simple CPU + GPU loop, with two massive radiators - so I don't really care about the implications of parallel pump flow.
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Drilled and tap the through-port for the GPU > Radiator connector. I need a real fitting for this spot.
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Laminated some smoked acrylic to act as the motherboard standoff. Weldon 4 is amazing stuff.
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These are where the motherboard supports will be installed. I want an open ring to allow cooling behind the board, also, the acrylic will be lit.
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Dry mockup of the components placed so far...
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Epoxied the acrylic supports in their proper positions. My camera lens is so warped. The pieces are dead straight IRL!
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Masked off the rear fan grilles.
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Paint...
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Mask off!
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Dry fit...
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Let's make the case subfloor... out of HDPE!
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Like a glove :)
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Two holes drilled in the subfloor for the pump exits to stick through!
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Under exposed shot of the pump exits peeking through the HDPE. I need to trim one edge of the HDPE so it's flush with the outside of the case (pics to come later). Thank god for a table saw!
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Mockup of where all the parts will be going. Tight fit in lots of places!
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So at this point, I still have a lot to do. There is lots of stray epoxy, and I have about 10 hours of sanding to get everything flat and nice for painting. At this point, the case is very rough, but I am committed to producing a very nice final product...

Keep it locked!
 
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Update 5 - April 26th.

Not a huge amount of progress for this update, as I'm firmly in the painting stages right now. The really nice hard aluminium anodization privy to the mac lineup is some of the best, and hardest, non-functional anodization I've ever seen. As such, paint adherence is a bitch. The coating is very thick, and requires substantial sanding to get down to aluminum which oxidizes rather rapidly.

As such, the painting process for this case is quite prolonged, and requires many multi day steps.

First and foremost, the case was washed in a 10% solution of Sodium Hydroxide. it was sponged on, and allowed to sit for 2 minutes before a re-application and pressure wash and dry. You can see how it pits and eats through the anodized coating quite rapidly.
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The part is then cold-air dried. Using an air compressor, all the water was blasted out of the case, using cold air. This allows for adequate drying, without heat, which would encourage the aluminum oxide film to form, hurting adhesion.

Zinc Chromate base coat was then applied by brush. Sadly, from this angle, you can see the slight damage the case sustained over it's many years of service. A small TIG weld holding the left side front handle of the case on had snapped off before I received it. I ended up bolting it in place almost immediately after this pic, and added 3 additional screws on each corner to allow for symmetry.

Zinc chromate takes around 5 days to fully adhere in cool temperatures, as it atomically bonds to reduced aluminum. I purposely kept the case cold at this point, as with most reactions (epoxies, for example) the slower they go, the stronger the bond.
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^ That is why the update took so long ;).

Next, the first base gray enamel primer coat was applied and cured under 65c heat for 24 hours.
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A considerable amount of chromate is still visible. That will be corrected after the case is sanded to 300g smoothness and a second layer of primer will be applied.

I will be wet-setting the colour coat, by spraying a very thin layer (just for colour) over the second, wet, primer coat. This will greatly decrease the thickness of subsequent coats while ensuring no gray will show through when the case is polished. For anyone that doesn't know, Enamel is a fickle beast, and often takes months to fully cure EACH LAYER. Wet setting greatly decreases the number of coats required, to about one coat after priming, allowing me to do my final coat as early as May 15th. I expect the full paint job to be around 80mils thick with an almost mirror gloss.

This is the proper way to paint aluminum ;). My macbook pro painted this way stayed in service for a full year without a scratch ;).
 
Update 6 - April 30th.

Alright, so the mod is coming together with steady progress. Sadly, a huge parts order is taking way longer than it should to arrive, so I'm sort of building blind... Looking at spec sheets, and praying to god that things fit like they're supposed to!

Nonetheless, a few updates.

The 92mm rear fan bracket was sanded to 300g.
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And painted to match...
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The XSPC radiators come with chrome shrouds, which offer around 5mm of airspace between the radiator fins and the fan hub. This is wonderful... Except for manufacturing tolerances ensure there are between 1-3mm gaps between each fan, and around the sides of the radiator. Not cool.
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So let's make a shroud spacer. 1" wide aluminum stock is bent at 4 corners.
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We end up with this. It's very springy, which makes installation much easier. It's held in by the tension of the two radiators.
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A few coats of high-gloss orange epoxy paint....
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Had the pleasure of this little girl FREAK HER SHIT and divebomb me each time I went back into my house...
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A rough hole for the 24p passthrough was added to the top panel. The plastic actually sits perfectly into it, but it will still be epoxied and sanded for peace of mind...
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My favorite thing ever, the 24p passthrough/adapter. Complete with a very nice cover on the male end.
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The side of the subfloor is boxed in, with two countersunk hex cap bolts. Dry fit test.
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Fully affixed... Oh yeah, some time ago, I milled a 1.5mm channel out of the right side of the subfloor HDPE. This allows it to sit flush with the lip on the inside of the case, or rather, it will when combined with......
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A 1.6mm aluminium plate affixed to the case subfloor. I have something fun planned for this, as you'll see in the coming days :) It hides the seams and gaps in the subfloor block exceptionally well. It will be painted gloss white - of course.
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And oh yeah, the case got it's first coat of white enamel. It went on VERY thick, and will heat cure for 7 days. It will be sanded to 320g, and a light spray will be applied after, before sanding to 600g for clear coat.
 
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Thank you :) My Frozencpu order finally shipped - which means a massive update sometime next week. Till then, I've got one simple update left to come, paint pron - I'll post it tomorrow. :)

The paint is literally 60 mils thick in high wear areas, measured by calipers. That's 1.5mm around trim pieces and such. This will take almost a month to cure fully :/

I cannot wait to polish and wax, though. Ala MNPCtech style painting. :)
 
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