Project PowerMac G5/X86 - SLI you bet!

MrBean_Oz

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
366
Hello,
So starts my 1st Project Log Down Under. Greetings from Melbourne.

It has always been a dream of mine to convert a X86 System into one of the newer generation PowerMac boxes, having admired the sleek, curvatious body...err...I mean cases for a very long time.

On relocating to Melbourne from sunny South Africa, I had the opportunity to get a brandnew PowerMac G5 case of Ebay, it was an impulsive buy, ok, as most of my purchases are But, it came with 600W Apple PSU, some cabling, drive trays etc, and I saw in it an opportunity to at last get my hands on this case.

Goals:
1st SLi capable "PowerMac" in the world - I have 2x 7800GTX BFG OC's, watercooled, that will go in here.
Dualcore 4800+ AMD CPU
2 gig OCZ 2-2-2-5 TCCD memory

Special Micro-ATX eVGA SLi motherboard, 1st of it's kind in the world.

Utilizing standard Apple 600W PSU

Biggest goal, and challenge, would be NOT to butcher the rear of the G5 case, as I have seen done on each and every X86 conversion so far. I want a clean, basic look, without hacking everything to bits.

So, by utilizing the eVGA micro-SLi mobo, I hope to use the same 4x PCI-slot standard as on the back of the G5 case, and do the cutout for the rear ports using std ATX backplate - I should be able to even retain the original G5 fanholes/guards, for that clean, original look.

System will be watercooled, using BIX II 2x 120mm rad, DD5 Laing pump, and customized Antarctica waterblock for the cpu.

DVD writer is a multiburner, std ide style - it will mount same position as original, and retain the very unique PowerMac slide-down front bezel plate - spiffy design by Apple, I must add.

Harddrives are 2x WD Raptor 74gigs, in Raid 0, and I will have a Firewire external 250gig for large storage capacity, if required.

This PC will be my main racing sim rig, and with the hardware, will be up to the task for at least another 3years or longer.

Tonight I will start posting some pictures, I have stripped the case bare, and started with planning - usually this takes me a couple of hours just staring at the empty case, and visualizing the end result.

I need to rewire Apple PSU, as the ATX-plug is wired totally different to X86 ATX standards, but, I openend it up, had a quick look, and all signals I need are available, so I will "code" the ATX plug to conform to X86 standard. I would luv to keep this supply, as it is low-profile, and blends in nicely with G5 case, giving me the looks I am after.

BIX rad will go up front, vertical next to front-panel port/switch unit, hopefully I can manufacture a custom shroud to get a clean transition from rad->fans->cpu area, similar to PowerMac look.

Harddrives will stay where they are in original PowerMac position, upper rear of the case, with the 2x center fans providing cooling for them.

Front panel connector will be fully functional, incl Firewire ports, USB/Audio and power LED - board requires 25V to function, but that I can take from Apple PSU.

Well, be certain, I will give it my best shot, and hopefully end up with a very unique hybrid.

Feedback would be appreciated.

Br,
MrBean
 
Ok, to follow are photos, which will continue as the log progresses....

Here is a close-up of the powerswitch, and ports...

Switch_closeup-800.jpg


Side shot - both sides appear similar

Sideview_panel_on-800.jpg


From the rear....

Rearfullshot-800.jpg


Close-up of fangrills - yes, they're metal, and they're held in place by small screws....

fangrills_close-800.jpg


a Shot of the latch - very nice construction, solid aluminium, with a nice meganism on the inside....

Latchcloseup-800.jpg
 
Shot with the airbaffle open....

Airbaffle2-800.jpg


Airbaffle in normal position......

Airbaffle1-800.jpg


600W PSU mounted in the bottom - very neat, notice 2x 60mm fans in the front for cooling - I like this design, about the size of 120mmx2 rad, just wider

PSU600W-800.jpg


2x 3.5" harddrive cage - see the locks on the right side - here they're open.....

drivecageopen-800.jpg


And here they're closed/locked....

Drivecagelocked-800.jpg


Here is the fans mounted to cool harddrives down....

Drivefans-800.jpg
 
Here is a close-up of front powerswitch/ports viewed from the inside...

Switchinternal-800.jpg


Here is a shot of the cdrom front stealh tray - it actually moves down when cdrom opens, and back up when cdrom retracts - cool!

cdromtray-800.jpg


a Final shot of the open side, with neat cable tray in place.....

Sideviewopen-800.jpg
 
Ok, a small update - firstly, been stripping the case to prep it for little cutting/machining work.....

Also ended up at Dick Smith Electronics, and found this:

DickSmith.jpg


Going to be used as a mobo tray for this setup, as exsisting G5 mobo standoffs differ from ATX format - a pity, but a nice challenge.

alusheet.jpg


Next to case to show size...

alunexttocase.jpg


Where will it go....

aluincase.jpg


a Set of Torx keys, to disassemble this case.....decent quality at Aud $10- , from Dick Smith.....

torxdrivers.jpg


Case from the rear, with fanguards removed...

caserearfar.jpg


Fanguards.....

fangrillz.jpg


and finally, a shot showing my plan for the rear, purple areas will stay, but blue will be removed - I will customize a rear port plate out of same alu, and bolt it in place with tiny screws, to keep Apple neatness factor...

caserearzoom.jpg


More to follow soon.....
 
I re-thought my mobo tray setup, and changed my plan a little - instead of using 300x300 backplate and trim it down to fit mobo's 245/240mm profile, I will use a much larger backplate, to cover all the studs etc in the G5 box....

It will basically become a 2nd sidepanel, with approx 8mm gap between exsisting panel and new one, with new panel bolting to original - albeit shortened - Apple mobo studs, and then drilling and tapping new holes to mount new X86 mobo.

This will create a very smooth interior, creating the illusion of an original G5 side without studs. The 10mm gap between mobo tray and sidecover will still house the original G5 cable duct, see 1st pictures with grey cable duct.

Then, I will probably mount my Enermax 600W PSu into the G5 600W housing, as I doubt the 600W Apple PSU has enough vooma to supply 7800GTX SLi - it has 3x 12V rails, 13.5A, 9A and 13.5A respectively, which won't cut it.

I have checked, you can easily fit 2x ATX supplies into the G5 PSU housing, and height won't be a problem either, even though the G5 PSU's housing have a lower profile. I will leave G5 PSU cooling fans on the front to ccol Enermax electronics.

This will save me a lot of rewiring, making up 6-pin gfx power plugs, etc.... and will work a lot better

I will be back with photos of the mobo a little later .....
 
Anyway, a few photos of the motherbaord....

Comes in this non-descriptive brown packaging, oem style, but Duane at SEA apologized for this, as eVGA have not finalized retail box for this yet......

Packaging.jpg


No worries for me, as I am more excited to what's in the box.....

Inside.jpg


Quite a good bunch of goodies for OEM anyway, small manual, SATA Raid drivers, SLi bridge, rear I/O port plate, 2x rounded IDE cables, and of course the mobo itself.....a shot of the rear I/O ports...

Rear_Ports.jpg


Angled view of the board.....

Angled_full.jpg


Top view of the board - nice and compact, and by a quick estimation, it seems I should be able to retain stock G5 PCI rack, and fanholes in case - just need to modify rear I/O port plate in the case...but that was to be expected....

Top_shot.jpg


Board is 24.5cm X 24.0cm, same width as a std ATX board, but lower in height due to 2 to 3 PCI slots less. 2x Yellow Sli PCI-Express ports are 8x, but middle blue one is 16x.....which will anyway not be useable once 2x GFX's are fitted.....

Now to do some planning, and rethink motherboard tray plate......
 
Basically the red block is the 300mm sheet I got from Dick Smith's, but, after some deliberation I decided to use a larger sheet, to cover all the ungainly G5 mobo studs, and have the tray go behind the psu all the way to the bottom of the G5 floor - or at least, close to the floor.

This would round of the looks quite a bit.....the plate will go between the rear side wall, and PSU, there is a 1cm gap...

See this piece of photo-editing brilliance....

new_mobo_tray.jpg
 
Then, on top off the PSU, front to back of the case, and the width of the PSU, basically covering the complete top of it, there will be another aly sheet, bolted to the lid of the PSU, and isolating the PSU air stream from the rest of the mobo compartment.....

It will butt at right angles to the new mobo tray, acting as a false floor, and hiding PSU below it......

So, something like this.....please, no comments on my l33t editing skillz.... ;) I know, you would like to know how to do it, but for now I'll keep it a secret...rofl...

aluincase2.jpg
 
Been doing some thinking, most importantly on how to keep internal layout and looks clean as Apple intended - even though I am refitting with watercooling, 2x 120mm rad, reservoir, pump, and X86 components.

So, with that in mind, I decided to keep original Apple 600W psu housing, which looks like this on the inside....note the monster pcb, with very large heatsinks - bigger than anything I have sen on any ATX psu up to date...

Apple_internal1.jpg


This is what it looks like naked...

apple_psu_stripped.jpg


And maybe we can fot both ATX internals, as well as bayres inside - should look very clean, and do away with bulk res would add to inside of case...

res_apple1.jpg


This is the ATX candidate...some would recognize it from my previous Project Supercool ;)

Enermax_candidate.jpg


and this is what this one looks naked....yay baby...come to daddy...

Enermax_internals.jpg
 
The 220Vac filter I am going to transplant to Apple plug-connector...

Enermax_stripped.jpg


a Little soldering later, and it fits here....

220Vac_filter.jpg


See how small ATX internals is are compared to original Apple 600W unit.....and this is the Enermax 600W unit...wow...tiny...

enermax_apple_1st_try.jpg


This is how I plan on fitting reservoir and psu internals into the apple casing....with space to spare...

res_enermax_apple1.jpg


Here is another image from the top....

res_enermax_apple2.jpg


I need to redo wiring completely, so this will be a purpose-wired setup, getting rid of unwanted/unused wires, and making setup modular, like those fancy psu's you can buy nowadays - I want to do this myself, so....

Fan will go on top, on the outside of the psu housing, blowing into the housing, cooling the heatsinks directly underneath. a Decent 120mm fan spinning at around 8-9V should do the job quite nicely....

I will do some more work on the weekend, was waiting for some minor hardware things, like more alu plate etc....

Let me know what you think ;)

For those that don't know, here are the specs for the Enermax 600w unit....

Enermax_specs.jpg
 
Ok, I decided to get all outstanding hardware to finish off this project - visited the PcCasegear website, and ordered a whole list of goodies, nearly Aud $600- worth....

Struggling to find alu plate in sizes I want, I ordered 2x Lian-Li PC 70 side panels, which would be the donor's for the backplate, rad shroud, psu top cover plate etc....

Also got new Cathar G4 CPU block (Siftie Storm), nice Swiftech 655 pump, Swiftie chipset cooler (hopefully it will fit between SLi gfx cards), some tubing, and a few odds and ends.
 
Hello Guys,
Olraaitie then - Back from PcCasegear, they had my order ready, everything in stock, so lucky me.....hehe...

This is what I got today.....2x Lian-Li PC70 blank alu sidepanels, to use for motherboards tray, rad shroud, psu cover, etc.....they come very well packed, decent foam support etc....pity I have to cut these up :(

PC70_side_panel.jpg


Then, 4x of these Scythe S-Flex SFF21F 120mm fans with fluid bearings, 150k hours life (or 17 years ) super quiet, producing 63.7cfm at 28db only.....noice.....they're 25mm thick, which is good...

120mm_fan.jpg


a Decent 24pin ATX psu tester, can test all voltages fom your supply....

psu_test1.jpg


another angle, out of box....

psu_test4.jpg


and another 1....

psu_test3.jpg


and from the other end...

psu_test2.jpg


a Multi port adapter.....

multi_port2.jpg


and another angle....6x led ports, 4x 5V fan ports, 4x 12V fan ports

multi_port1.jpg


and a beautiful 2x 120mm black aluminium fan grill - will go nicely with black and alu theme...

fan_grill.jpg


Ok, now onto the more serious hardware.....

The now standard (for me) Swiftech 655 pump, exactly the same as Laing DD5 unit.....here you can see the specs....

pump1.jpg


and another view to give idea of the size - approx 1/2 of Eheim 1048 - but a few times more powerful.....

pump2.jpg


This little bugger I will try and squeeze between the 2x SLi 7800GTX cards, it should just fit on the eVGA mobo (hopefully) - it is a Swiftie Chipset block - nice and cute - I was amzed at the size....

chipset.jpg


and it's bigger brother, the G4 Storm, for the cpu of course....note the jet-plate inside...

G4_storm.jpg


and here are the 2 side by side....

waterblocks1.jpg


and a last shot to show-off the tiny little cutie chipset block......hehe

Let me know what you guys think so far - now I can start modding seriously.....was waiting for the alu-sheeting to start in earnest.....

waterblocks2.jpg
 
Ok Boys and Girls....been doing a bit of modding this weekend, had to run around to get small bits and pieces from Bunnings, like taps and dies, some rubber standoffs etc....and of course metal blades for my Bosch Jigsaw - with the relocation mine got packed in somewhere, and I just couldn't find it.

anyway, this is what I have been busy with....

new_mobo_tray_pc70_sidecover.jpg


Here is a close-up shot of the new motherboard tray, with brass standoffs fitted. take note that mobo-tray will be secured with allan-cap stainless steel screws, those used is just for testing purposes....

Formed the tray to blend in nicely with the top tray, looking very good.

new_mobo_tray_pc70_sidecover_close.jpg


Here is a close up shot of the rear, showing that I will be using original pci-slot integrated plate of G5 case. The I/O plate will be changed though, I will dremel that out later, but again, as mentioned earlier, I will not butcher the case, even the original fan holes will remain :) And yes, the system will be SLi of course.

Here I have test GFX cars, ATi X600 Fitted. Also note the 108Mbit D-link wireless card...

rear_mobo_old_io_plate.jpg


And, here's a shot of the motherboard test fit, with gfx card and motherbaord mounted to motherbaord tray....

mobo_fitted_angle.jpg


And here is a head-on shot, showing a little more detail.

mobo_fitted_close.jpg


As mentioned earlier, original G5 psu housing will be retained, but fitted out with Enermax 600W internals.....This will go in the area immediately below the motherboard....

Let me know what you think so far, progress is slow, but hey, I need to do a lot of planning here to maintain simplicity/uniqueness/neatness ;)

MrBean.
 
Ok, just to show you where rad, and psu fits in the picture (no pun intended) - if I use this rad, might replace it with BI Stealth GT240...

rad_psu_mobo2.jpg


rad_psu_mobo1.jpg


And a nice angled shot from the rear, giving you an idea of the real-estate available in the case....remember, reservoir will fit inside psu housing too, and then harddrives and cdrom will fit in original Apple positions, on the top tray......

rad_psu_mobo_angle.jpg
 
Ok a short update -

Here is the front of the stock supply, showing mounting location of 2x 60mm (original) fans. This will change.

old_front_fanholes.jpg


Here is the top where 2x 120mm fans will be resting, the one on the left is towards the rear of the case, and will suck through the psu housing, where the one on the right will blow into the housing, to create proper aeration.

new_2x120mm_fan_markings.jpg


Don't worry, it makes sense to me, and will work a charm....I will run fans 8v or so, have them very quiet, but still have better-than-stock cooling/flow across the heatsinks.

new_2x120mm_fan_markings.jpg


Here is a last piccie (for now) to show where the Enermax electronics will be located - you can see where I installed the threaded inserts (rivnuts they are called) to mount the electronics.

new_electronics_studs.jpg


Don't worry about the color, etc, there is a lot to be done before psu is finished, eg good spray, etc.....some filing, dremel action, making holes for fans....all in good time.


To explain airflow a bit better, look at my artistic rendition of airflow into housing, flowing left-to-right across electronics, and being evacuated by the rear fan - don't worry about actual directions, but the principle is simple :) Then, once the hot air is evacuated, there will be 2x 92mm rear case fans, mounted in original Apple location, that will exhaust it from the case.....

airflow_new_fans.jpg
 
Ok, been studying the radiator placement a little.....height, and slightly off-center to accommodate standard G5 powerswitch etc....

This is where it will go.....

rad_inside_testfit2.jpg


and a little closer view....yes, that is a temporary support keeping it at the correct height ;) Will be replaced by something the exact same height, but a little more permanent....hehe

rad_inside_testfit.jpg


And this is the view from the front, not much I can do to hide the rad...except maybe using a nice black fanfilter material that will make the view a little more opaque...

Another worry I have is how to secure the rad - but I may have a clean solution....

rad_front.jpg
 
rear_mobo_old_io_plate.jpg


Mmm...I was toying with this idea, thinking on how I want to do this, doing something unique, while keeping the stock G5 rear.....original intent was to keep fanholes, cut out G5 ports, and replace it with my own io plate.....but.....won't that distract from one of my goals, to keep case (on the exterior at least) as close to stock as possible?

Well, I might still go the io plate route, but, am considering a different approach - more difficult, but, end result would be more aesthetic......why don't I jump onto my Protel software, and design a pcb, double layer, buy new usb/ps2/optical audio etc ports from one of the many such distributors, remove the old ports from the motherboard......and then solder new ports onto the newly designed pcb, so that the io ports will now be removed from the mobo, relocated to the new pcb, 2 or 3 very small screws bolting this to the back of the G5 case, and you will never be able to tell the difference?

New pcb will have ide-like cable connecting it to the connections on the motherboard....at the same time, I will do away with the legacy parallel- and serial-, and analog audio ports.....

I will have 4x usb2, 1x firewire, 1 x digital co-ax audio, 1x digital optical audio, 1x ps2 mouse and 1x ps2 k/b...
 
Just to refresh everyone with what I have in mind.....or as close to this as possible...this is why I have to go for a new rad :( Mine is slightly to tall to fit between psu, and top baffle plate (the one where harddrives/optical drive mount onto)

This rad is 313mm tall, the one I will be getting now is only 277mm tall - that would give me the room I need....hehe - but, let me go think about this, and see exactly what I want to acheive....this step is quite important in the overall scheme of things, so please bear with me....

This is what I want to to have at the end of the day....;)

G5Case.jpg
 
Ok, a brief update - wrt the motherboard tray, and finishing that part off....

I had to secure the mobo tray with the correct distance from the case shell, so that, when using standard length brass mobo standoffs, the cards would socket firmly into pci/pci-express slots, and still be able to but against pci-slot io plate, so it can be secured with a screw....

So, I used these little spacers......

mobo_baffle_studs1.jpg


and here....(the stainless nuts with washers....)

mobo_baffle_studs2.jpg


Then I had to countersunk the 5 little 3.5mm holes......

mobo_tray_countersunk1.jpg


a little close-up shot....

mobo_tray_countersunk.jpg


to accept the very nice 3mm allencap stainless screws, like so.....

mobo_tray_screws.jpg


Ok, I also got myself some very decent aluminium Coolermaster 120mm fans to go with the theme, that will push air through the rad....yes, push :) not pull, in this case, as I am after a specific aesthetic result...for the purists.....rofl....

I got 4x 80mm at the same time, also Coolermast alu's, but unfortunately the rear fans on Apple G5 is 92mm....well, the hunt's on...

Will post some shots of the fans later, I also have to get my hands on another radiator, slightly lower than the current Coolwave at 313mm..... I need max a 290mm high unit....something like the new Black Ice 240 Gt or similar...
 
Ok, a quick update....the Scythe fans featured earlier were donated to my PC70 mod, so I had to get new fans for this babe....well, finally found something I thought would complement this mod.....

4x 80mm Coolermaster alu fans, yes, real aluminium housings, and 2x 120mm units.....I will only use 2x 120mm, and 2x 80mm for this mod.....it will all become clear a little later, but real simple anyways....

alu_fans.jpg


Here is a shot of the 80mm specs....

80mm_specs.jpg


and the same for the 120mmm unit...notice the rather hefty 12W power consumption for the 120mm fan....1A @ 12V...a bit rough for the 57cfm airvolume it delivers......

alu_120mm_close_up.jpg


Here you can see the nice finish on the fan body, and this is what made me realize how well the will fit in with the G5 casemod theme....perfect color!

alu_120mm.jpg


Here are a few sots showing front and back of 80mm vs 120mm, and size difference...boring, I know, but I just luv these fans...so pretty...

120_80mm_front.jpg


and

120_80mm_back.jpg


Here is a nice review should you guys be interested using these.....
 
My new GT 240 Black Ice rad has arrived from David and Karma's, so finally hardware needed for this mod complete, except psu mod kit, and extra Tygon tubing....

Not a problem now, I can do a lot before that's needed.

Here you can see a pic of the size diff between Coolwave 2x120, and BI GT240.....

new_old_rads1.jpg


Will the thinner rad be less effective in this setup than the thicker Coolwave....well, I don't think so, and here is why.....look at the fin density of new rad, vs Coolwave.....

new_old_rads2.jpg


Here's a side on comparo between the new (right) and old (left) rads....

new_old_rads3.jpg


the hight difference is what makes it fit in here so nicely....exactly what I wanted to start off with, so I can stick to original goals.......

new_rad_position2.jpg


Here is another angle.....and from this shot you can form an idea of what I want to acheive, if you think back to original layout of G5 Powermac setup....so, I will have some kind of mobo-cover running from rad all the way to the back of the case, aluminium of course.....will finalize details, but the idea is there...

new_rad_position.jpg


You guys like or not? And yes, I believe I will not loose more than 1-2 deg c compared to the old rad, but gain quite a lot in functionality and aesthetics....

Nice :)
 
Another small update....fitting the fans to the rad....fans are 38mm thick, rad 30mm....

fans_rad_fitted.jpg


This is what the case looks like from the front, you might be just able to spot the fans behind the grill, in real life it looks extremely good with fand around 11cm away from front grill...just the look I was after...

case_front_angle.jpg


And here's the same, fitted to the case....

fans_rad_angle_rear.jpg


And another angle, showcasing how nice the fans blend in with case color....

fans_rad_angle_front.jpg


I have used 4 rubber feet, 2x top, 2x bottom to mount rad, tomorrow I will make use of aluminium angle to mount rad to rear mobo tray....going to look pro...

How's it look so far? Getting there? Any feedback advice from you guys?

Br,
Beanie
 
Ok, a little planning from now onwards....

I need to devise a motherbaord cover plate, that would be functional, allowing a lot of airflow across all components, eg motherboard capacitors, but more so, across SLi GFX card's ramsinks.

CPU and GFX's will be watercooled, so it's essential to have some airflow across various components that would naturally be cooled by airstream from the aircooled heatsinks.

With this in mind, I will channel bottom fan from rad across memory, and cpu area caps on motherboard, and the top fan towards the 2x 7800GTX gfx cards.

At the rear I will exhaust via 2x 92mm fans, via the std G5 exhaust ports.

Here is a template for the front coverplate......

mobo_cover2.jpg


from a slightly different angle....

mobo_cover1.jpg


short update to follow
 
Ok, so this part will fit on top of the sidepanel in the shots above.....

mobo_cover4.jpg


Like so....don't worry if it doesn't make sense, when it is fitted together you will see what I intend....

mobo_cover3.jpg


After completion, it will look like this.....

mobo_cover5.jpg


Then, the top 120mm rad fan will allow airflow across gfx like shown in blue, while the pink arrows represent the airflow into the channeled area, where cpu and ram etc are located.

mobo_cover6.jpg



The hole shown on top for the fan will actually be a square one, where I will fit a very neat AC Ryan single 120mm square fangrill...so, the idea would be like a vent window coming out of rad onto gfx cards.

Let me know what you guys think of the idea.
 
Finally, it should look like this template, with a slight difference where the cpu heatsink will be replaced by Swiftech Storm cpu waterblock....

mobo_cover8.jpg


and a close-up shot, bear in mind I still have to cut-out the hole where the AC Ryan radgrill will fit to allow airflow from rad to gfx cards.

Template is of 1mm carton, mobo cover will be made from 1.6mm aluminium plate, same as what I have used as mobo mounting tray....should look decent, with a nice logo on the sidecover facing you, similar as G5 cpu covers, but with neat AMD logo.

mobo_cover7.jpg


This is the fangrill I will use venting from top radiator fan onto graphics cards.....should look decent.

Radgrillz120BK_Stripes.jpg
 
Ok Boys and Girls,
Done a little bit of work again, all 2 hours worth of it .... finally got into making the bottom cover plate for the PSU, because the std version looks like bleh....

psu_no_cover1.jpg


and a close-up shot....

psu_no_cover2.jpg


Now, one of my main goals was to replicate the original G5 interior, and make some improvements if I could.....so I came up with this....

psu_cover1.jpg


and a different angle over here......

psu_cover2.jpg


and a close-up, to show how well the bottom plate fits with the rear motherboard tray......

psu_cover_close.jpg


Now, here is a few shots with psu cover in place, but also with the side plexi baffle-tray fitted.....

side_baffle1.jpg


and another one here.....

side_baffle2.jpg


I will use the G5 plexi baffle-tray in my setup too....I will move rad a little forward towards the front of the case, and that will allow plexi baffle to fit without problems.

Then, a small re-design of my motherboard ducting system, to fit in with the groove in the plexi baffle, and it should look stunning.....at least as good as intended, and very close to the original....

Put it this way, die-hard Mac buffs will have a look at this, and realize something is not exactly 100% kosher with this "G5 PowerMac" - until they delve under the hood, and make the shocking discovery...rofl....

Now I need to go and calculate mounting hole centers for psu cover, to be able to bolt it to exsisting psu lid mounting holes ;)

Be back later.

Let me know what you guys think so far!
 
Another shot of the cover in place, angled from above, to give you a better idea.....soz, forgot to post this one earlier....

psu_cover3.jpg
 
Anyway, now with the psu cover finished, I need to secure it somehow....and fortunately, there were these 2 holes where Apple had their cover plate secured to.....
see the 2 areas with blue circles....all the other holes are to tigthen the psu lid down to the psu casing...

screw_location_holes.jpg


after very careful and meticulous measurements, to keep everything square, and aligned, here is the front in place.....

screw_front.jpg


and the rear, these countersunk allencap screws really make it look neat and pro.....

screw_rear.jpg


and here is a view of both, with psu cover plate secured to psu housing....

screws_front_rear.jpg


Of course I will have to remove it again, to mark the 2 areas where the psu cables will come through the lid to supply gfx, and mobo with juice, but, rest assured, there will be virtually no cables visible, and just enough to power peripherals anyway....

No excess like with normal psu's, only 1x short atx mobo psu cable, 1x cable to power 2 harddrives and optical drive, and 1 to the gfx cards....

It will be absolutely clean :)

Feedback/ideas would be appreciated
 
That's great that you're going with the "purist" look for this. Hopefully when she's done you'll somehow have osx86 running on it too!!! LOL

Question: with the PSU coverplate installed, how are you going to handle routing the res tubing since the res is underneath???

Oh, and................ /subscribed!
 
Scroatdog said:
Question: with the PSU coverplate installed, how are you going to handle routing the res tubing since the res is underneath???

I am not using that res for this mod anymore, I got hold of a mcres-micro from Swiftech....it will be mounted on the motherboard tray, with the pump immediately below it, and covered by the airducts.....

So, yes, it will be clean purist effort, really....

Thanx for the feedback, guys, appreciated.
 
This is looking really really nice! I like the cleanness of everything - how it should be in a G5 case!

Good work with getting everything to fit together so accurately too.
 
Scroatdog said:
That's great that you're going with the "purist" look for this. Hopefully when she's done you'll somehow have osx86 running on it too!!! LOL

Question: with the PSU coverplate installed, how are you going to handle routing the res tubing since the res is underneath???

Oh, and................ /subscribed!

i was acctually going to address this as well, by the looks of it you have some room to play with as far as the PSU is concerned

res_enermax_apple2.jpg


you have about 2-2.5 inches from what i can tell

move the psu board as close to the filter pack as possible

move the res as close to the PSU board as possible (leave about 3/16th inch)

shorten the psu houseing by enought to have the res barbs just sticking out flip you rad over and use a 1.5 inch piece of tubeing to connect the 2. the 60mm fans that where on the front are useless with the res there any way as it will block 80~% of the air flow and make the psu over heat.. not to mention that small fans are usually loud, your down fireing 80 will fix this

instead of putting your pump at the top between the vid cards put it at the bottom just over the res, you can use your cover plate system to hide the pump (your planing on W/C the cpu, why are you hideing it???)

also you realise it is increadibly difficult to bleed the system with the res at the bottom???

if you keep it there put a piece of alu or plexy between it and the psu board and seal it with silicone and drill a few holes out the bottom of the psu houseing under the res keep the water out of the psu and give it somewhere else to go.

i like the cover plate you made .. but how are you dealing with wires???

as far as the res is concerned you would be better off moveing the hds to its location and putting the res where they are now, it would make psu cabeling dead simple, but it will make cables a PITA. but it will save you a ton of head ache while bleeding

/edit i just noticed your name, i have a friend in aus. that goes by bean, and on WoW as Pangarl/Melodic is that you???

thore
 
thore said:
also you realise it is increadibly difficult to bleed the system with the res at the bottom???

=

mrbean said:
I am not using that res for this mod anymore, I got hold of a mcres-micro from Swiftech....it will be mounted on the motherboard tray, with the pump immediately below it, and covered by the airducts.....

thore said:
as far as the res is concerned you would be better off moveing the hds to its location and putting the res where they are now, it would make psu cabeling dead simple, but it will make cables a PITA. but it will save you a ton of head ache while bleeding

I am keeping the hds where they are, the cabling is going to be easy, and you won't see any. The motherboard tray is spaced 8mm away from the side of the case, so wiring will be running between mobo tray and sidecover - very little, if any will be visible.

I will use proper guage cabling to feed optical drive, and 2x 74 Raptors from the same cable, no worries. The PSu will remian the original G5 600W unit, I will rewire it to be workable on the ATX board....no problems there.

The Enermax will be used for something else....

My plan is to stick with original theme as much as possible, that is why I will keep hds where they are, etc....and that is why the watercooling will be hidden by airducts ;)

Thanx for ideas though, interesting some of them are...

I am originally from South Africa, just relocated to Melbourne 3 months ago....
 
Are those really alu fans? They look like plastic sprayed silver.
 
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