Greetings all. While I'm aware this will not be this first mod of this type, the circumstances are just about perfect for me to attempt this. A buddy bought an empty G5 case JUST before he bought his new house with his wife. And rather than take ALL his PC crap with him, he threw a bunch of it out. Though he DID offer to GIVE me the empty G5 case, and word is I'll get that Monday.
Since then, I've been looking, plotting, and coming up with ideas for the PC to go in the case. At first, it was gonna be a "free" project. As not only was my buddy giving me the case, but my sister and bro-in-law were said to be done with the Athlon 1800+ system I built for them a few years ago. So I figured I'd mod the case enough to make that ATX motherboard fit, and BOOM... cool PC. But they have decided to use that PC in their new home since, and I'm left looking.
Was gonna get an "el cheapo" Sempron 2600+ and ECS motherboard at Fry's for $69.99, but despite a price tag still being up they appearently were sold out. So after debating for 20 minutes, and waiting 30 for a clerk, I left with nothing.
Since then, I'm plotting bigger... MUCH bigger. I'm thinking I'll replace my custom Shuttle SB61G2 setup with the G5 case AND...
Intel 630 CPU
ABIT IG-80 mATX Motherboard
2x512MB of Corsair or Crucial DDR Memory
256MB PCI-X 6600 video card
Enermax 24-pin power supply
Scrounge the HD out of some of my other PC projects
Buy fans and such as necessary
Haven't done a final price on this setup, but I'd guess about $225 for the CPU, $80 for the MB, $100 for the memory, $150 for the video card, $50 for the PS, and $20 for "spare parts". I'm supposed to be on a budget and paying off my debt, but really... that's pretty cheap for a top of the line PC.
The biggest concern will be cutting out the "backplate" space the correct size and making the MB "form" fit first try. I also haven't decided exactly how to do the spacers. I have a mental plan of "tapping" really small screw holes and using brass standoffs with the usual screws and holes. But I wonder if there isn't a "safer" method for mounting the board. Perhaps plastic MB "stands" that stick to the bottom of a case, so screwing into the Aluminium wouldn't be necessary. And that would minimize the possible problems of messing up the look of the case, drilling holes in the wrong place, etc.
Any or all suggestions are appreciated. I haven't had a single look at the case with my ideas in mind, so maybe I'm missing something. But I'm hopeful to make this project a great success.
Since then, I've been looking, plotting, and coming up with ideas for the PC to go in the case. At first, it was gonna be a "free" project. As not only was my buddy giving me the case, but my sister and bro-in-law were said to be done with the Athlon 1800+ system I built for them a few years ago. So I figured I'd mod the case enough to make that ATX motherboard fit, and BOOM... cool PC. But they have decided to use that PC in their new home since, and I'm left looking.
Was gonna get an "el cheapo" Sempron 2600+ and ECS motherboard at Fry's for $69.99, but despite a price tag still being up they appearently were sold out. So after debating for 20 minutes, and waiting 30 for a clerk, I left with nothing.
Since then, I'm plotting bigger... MUCH bigger. I'm thinking I'll replace my custom Shuttle SB61G2 setup with the G5 case AND...
Intel 630 CPU
ABIT IG-80 mATX Motherboard
2x512MB of Corsair or Crucial DDR Memory
256MB PCI-X 6600 video card
Enermax 24-pin power supply
Scrounge the HD out of some of my other PC projects
Buy fans and such as necessary
Haven't done a final price on this setup, but I'd guess about $225 for the CPU, $80 for the MB, $100 for the memory, $150 for the video card, $50 for the PS, and $20 for "spare parts". I'm supposed to be on a budget and paying off my debt, but really... that's pretty cheap for a top of the line PC.
The biggest concern will be cutting out the "backplate" space the correct size and making the MB "form" fit first try. I also haven't decided exactly how to do the spacers. I have a mental plan of "tapping" really small screw holes and using brass standoffs with the usual screws and holes. But I wonder if there isn't a "safer" method for mounting the board. Perhaps plastic MB "stands" that stick to the bottom of a case, so screwing into the Aluminium wouldn't be necessary. And that would minimize the possible problems of messing up the look of the case, drilling holes in the wrong place, etc.
Any or all suggestions are appreciated. I haven't had a single look at the case with my ideas in mind, so maybe I'm missing something. But I'm hopeful to make this project a great success.