Trippy Apple G5 - PC Mod

G

GodSpeed

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 12, 2003
Messages
330
Special thanks to Das Keyboard and my other mod sponsors :D

LAST MAJOR UPDATE: Friday, Febuary 3th, 2005

Latest posts:

Older posts (chronological):
Ok, allow me to start with this:
mod-concept.jpg
- More about this image on the OVERALL CONCEPT IMAGE post
newg5.jpg
inside.jpg

This is a brand spanking new Apple PowerMac G5 case. It contains nothing but the electronics for the power button/front panel, fans for the HD area and some cables which are very much proprietary.

My goal in this project is to install an AMD64 based beast into the case, create some neat laser/led based effects through out the front grill... think of a lava lamp multi-colour effect over the whole area behind a light diffusion board, and generally look really spectacular. You won't be able to see any of the components in the unit... until I open the side panel to reveal the insides through a window (which I will add a lock/various effect knobs to eventually for added security/cool factor at lan parties).

I already got a lot of advice from many people, and I will be carrying on and logging my proceedings here :cool:
 
It was free, and I got it from my job (can't go into detail, sorry).... and I don't know if you can get one yourself.
 
serarch the forums as theres been a few threads (i think 2 major ones) about using a mac G5 for a PC case. You can order the G5 cases off a site (don't remember where, its in one of the 2 threads)

Why remove the apple? it looks so clean and elegant :p
 
damn $300 dollar for an Apple G5 case. That is crazy. I gather paid that much to get a Lian-li server case. Damn. Apple may look good and elegant but not for $300.
 
I don't care what anyone says, Apple has always had the best looking cases, I've ever seen! Even at $300 those G5 cases are a steal, I just wish I had the resources to make a beautiful PC out of one!
 
As for the casemod, good luck, and keep us posted. It'll be killer when you finish it. The only idea I have for removing the Apple logo is to sandblast your own logo on top of it, covering it up. Probably not the best, but an idea, no?
 
Can't wait to see the mod. Good luck with it. Maybe you could stick LEDs in a lot of the holes to make a design that would "flow" through the grill. I think that would look cool. Almost kinda like those fibre optic lamps that change colors.
 
I'm a fan of the G5, both the case on the system... I'd leave the apply logo there if I were you.

And maybe some nice red LEDs/LED fans in the front.
 
Looks like I'm not going to remove the apple logo, I don't want to risk ruining the nice finish on it. What I could do is make the boot screen/loading more like the OSX one to give peopel a real mind job as long as they don't look at the back of the case.

I'll be going out to buy some required items for the project, we have a whole garage full of tools here so I don't need those...

What I do require is some sort of lighting system for the front... what I imagine in my mind is some sort of diffused lighting based on led's that creates a lava lamp type of effect through the grill, the problem is I don't know where I can find such a light.
 
why not a real lava lamp? If you want a lava lamp effect, JUST GO GET A LAVA LAMP!!!!! :p

Seriously, I'm not TRYING to crap on your idea....but I see you going every which way but loose buying stuff to try to imitate things that you can just go buy and get the real thing with much less trouble. Ebay that G5 case in the Apple section...You'll probably get close to 300 bucks for it and you can turn around and put that $$$ into the LianLi and have nearly a hundred bucks left over.

It seriously makes no sense to me. You're trying so hard to be a non conformist that you are conforming in the worst way. :confused:
 
Do this.

I think it would look great and depending how that logo is on there, you could leave it there as contrast or take it off (again depending on how it is put on there.)
 
I think some green led's that you could rig on the front grill behind the mesh to 'trickle' down to the bottom just like the matrix effect. - g0at
 
Not sure if you've ever used it, but you could use style XP (free download) and load up the Panther pre-made theme. makes your PC look all OSX-ish, even comes with the blue-line background that you always see in the stores :)
There is also a program called Aquadock that imitates the launcher bar in OSX. Just put your start menu up top, and the aquadock down bellow and you will get a serious double take from people :D best of luck!
 
Wow, this looks very promising. I can't wait to see the finished product. IMO, just leave the apple logo on there, it will add to the irony of the situation....

To all you mac bashers out there... don't say they have merely "decent" hardware. Their hardware is superb for what it does. Take one look at the insides of their watercooler on the dual 2.5 G5.... that sheer engineering is unparalleled.
Software wise, G5's are applied as WORKSTATIONS, not as your pimped out gaming machine mods. Try running Apache Server on an x86 platform. Or Maya Mental-Ray 64-bit UNIX-native rendering optimizations. Or real-time, 64-bit HD video editing. Go on.

I completely support you trying to reach that level of finesse of apple without shelling out the bucks it requires. Good luck, and Godspeed
 
Tiny said:
Do this.

I think it would look great and depending how that logo is on there, you could leave it there as contrast or take it off (again depending on how it is put on there.)
Click to expand...

Doing that would take forever, but cool...
 
I like the matrix effect idea, but I have no clue where to get the LEDs to do this, I'm not an electrician so I don't know how to make cool custom led stuff.

This is the most important thing to me at the moment, if you know of any people that can help me with the creation of the led panel for the front which will be behind a diffuser, like what they use on fluorescent-tube lighting... I still like the idea of a lavalamp-ish type effect...
 
GodSpeed said:
I like the matrix effect idea, but I have no clue where to get the LEDs to do this, I'm not an electrician so I don't know how to make cool custom led stuff.

This is the most important thing to me at the moment, if you know of any people that can help me with the creation of the led panel for the front which will be behind a diffuser, like what they use on fluorescent-tube lighting... I still like the idea of a lavalamp-ish type effect...
Click to expand...


You may want to drop a note to this man. ;)
 
Also, when you are done....you could try this.


I have yet to try it, but you can be my seudo lab mouse. :D
 
Selecter said:
why not a real lava lamp? If you want a lava lamp effect, JUST GO GET A LAVA LAMP!!!!! :p

Seriously, I'm not TRYING to crap on your idea....but I see you going every which way but loose buying stuff to try to imitate things that you can just go buy and get the real thing with much less trouble. Ebay that G5 case in the Apple section...You'll probably get close to 300 bucks for it and you can turn around and put that $$$ into the LianLi and have nearly a hundred bucks left over.

It seriously makes no sense to me. You're trying so hard to be a non conformist that you are conforming in the worst way. :confused:
Click to expand...

Because real lava lamps are HOT and BIG. Its already hard enough to cool a computer quietly without adding another heatsource, and he probably has better things to do with all that space.
 
ra-odin said:
Because real lava lamps are HOT and BIG. Its already hard enough to cool a computer quietly without adding another heatsource, and he probably has better things to do with all that space.
Click to expand...

Yes, I want to put an easy bake oven in there :rolleyes:

I will be ordering the same backplane that the other G5 modder did, however my setup will be much more different.. I won't say anything, I will just wait till I have pictures to show you what's going on.
 
GodSpeed said:
Yes, I want to put an easy bake oven in there :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
Screw a lava lamp then, you could just use a Prescott for that. LOL :D

Remember to post those pics when you start working on it.
 
Hey, I like your style...

i'm currently in the process of modding an Apple G5 case too! :p
It's been an on going thing and it's been kinda slow in the mod stage due to being in the final year at university. So I have to prioritise wrok first.

But components have been ordered and mocks made up and I will be modding it all in very soon.

What's going in is an over-clocked XP-M system (2500 XP-M @ 2.8GHz) with a dual loop water cooling system courtesy of a 1/2" D-Tek loop on the CPU and a 8mm Aqua-Computer loop on the GPU and NB.

I will be keeping the exact look of the Apple case (thus.. no external mods or cutting) and people will nor know what's running inside unless they take off the side panel, where it will be an acrylic window into teh system. (So I can run it with or without the side panel.)

I've called this mod the G2 (it's actually G and an upside down 5 to represent the 2, but I on't think there is a symbol for that!)

Check out my log on my web site... G2 mod @ Pepper-worX

It's kinda sparse since I haven't had much free time.. but soon :p
 
you can turn around and put that $$$ into the LianLi and have nearly a hundred bucks left over.
Click to expand...

Last time I checked, most of computer modding isn't about taking the easy way out. If that was the case, we would all be running around with our Dells. *Shudders at thought* He got a G5 case for free (lucky bastard :D ), and feels the need to make it into a PC. If he wanted to make a computer that looked sorta like an Apple, he'd buy the LianLi. Instead, hes going to make something that you don't see every day. Something that will make people do a double or triple take. I think thats freakin awesome, and I'll be watching this thread to see how it turns out.

possibly remove the apple logo
Click to expand...

I think you should definitely keep the Apple logo, if for nothing else than the double takes you'll get. That and I think you'd risk marring the finish.

Not sure if you've ever used it, but you could use style XP (free download) and load up the Panther pre-made theme. makes your PC look all OSX-ish, even comes with the blue-line background that you always see in the stores
Click to expand...

Great idea! Oh man, you could have some fun with this one... :D

I can't wait to see how this turns out! I'm already jealous of that case, wish I could get my hands on one (mmm... cheese grader... :D )
 
Not sure if you've ever used it, but you could use style XP (free download) and load up the Panther pre-made theme. makes your PC look all OSX-ish, even comes with the blue-line background that you always see in the stores
Click to expand...
Great idea! Oh man, you could have some fun with this one.
Click to expand...

Ones I use when I want to feel all "Apple-ish" :) : http://www.imagehouse.co.za/visu.html
 
UPDATE:

Since I will only be using the one slot for the CD drive, and I only really need one (I have 2 in my current case)... I just purchased an LG x16 DVD/CD Dual Layer burner, as well as borrowed some special drive mounting screws (Apple of course!) from my work place so it will go in nicely:

mod-2.gif
mod-1.gif


Tommorow I will be purchasing a junk case to get a nice mobo tray.

Unrelated, I purchased the new MX-1000 Logitech laser mouse, works AMAZING (wireless), however I cannot bind all these extra buttons inside games - counterstrike source specifically... what a waste (8 total usable buttons)

mod-3.gif
 
GodSpeed said:
UPDATE:
Unrelated, I purchased the new MX-1000 Logitech laser mouse, works AMAZING (wireless), however I cannot bind all these extra buttons inside games - counterstrike source specifically... what a waste (8 total usable buttons)
Click to expand...

You need to set the button as a generic button to assign it to a command in a game otherwise it wont let you.
 
for 500 bucks it's not bad. And properly speaking, the mini does NOT have integrated video. The 9200 has 32 MB of dedicated ram for it's own use, and it doesnt steal any ram from the machine. It's loads faster than any of the real "Extreme Graphics" crap offered by Intel in the budget segment.

You simply want the Mini to be a geek comp for 500 bucks. That's not what it is and thats not who it is for. Geek on yer PC, thats what it's for. The Mini is for other things.

I do agree with you on the drive, tho. 5400 rpm should have been in there.
 
Tiny update:
The front interface with the power button, usb, firewire and headphone connector ports won't do, really. It has a 100% apple proprietary connector and I'm not technical enough to decipher the whole thing.

My options are to get someone that's into electronics to figure out what each pin is for, and then add on some standard plugs for me, or I need to actually ruin the case as it were, and put in my own thang which won't be as pretty. Any advice?

Still need to get the crap case to get a mobo tray, I'm starting to have doubts about this mod as I'm a lazy person and most people here are just bashing the whole mac thing :rolleyes:
 
Absolutely go for it.

Modding is not about taking the easy way out, or doing something that is just "-ish".

I started cable lacing on my mod. not an easy way to go when it takes an hour to tie down one cable of my power supply and I have 6 or more. then there are all the other cables in the tower.

Do something to be proud of and don't let people talk you out of it. Who knows, maybe they just can't get over the fact they aren't tough enough to do it themselves. Maybe they are just jelous. It does not matter. Go for what makes you happy, guarenteed you will have a smile on your face when stun and amaze someone with how good it looks in the end.

Oh, and absolutely get someone with some electronics experiance and a multimeter. I have an old gateway (didn't buy it) tower that had a proprietary front pannel connector that I rewired to work for ATX standard. It isn't that hard if you get someone who knows how to do the wiring.
 
dont scrape your case over a few people thoughts, there jsut replying to be attention whores, you have a great idea for a case, as for the ports, when you get a cheap case, for hte mobo tray, can you get one with fromt ports on it and jsut change them out? and you can always ghetto rig a switch else where:
http://www.xoxide.com/vl-system-touch-one.html
^ eh there would work :) keep up the good work and tobe pay any mind to the haters
 
GodSpeed said:
The front interface with the power button, usb, firewire and headphone connector ports won't do, really. It has a 100% apple proprietary connector and I'm not technical enough to decipher the whole thing.
Click to expand...

OK, this can't be THAT bad. We're talking about a STANDARD USB port, a STANDARD Firewire port, a STANDARD headphone jack, an LED, and a 2 wire switch. It can't be that hard to either figure out or replace. Heck, get a USB extension cable, a Firewire extension cable, a headphone extension cable, an LED, and rip out the original power button. Mount it all to a scrap piece of aluminum and attach it to the back of the front pannel so the ports stick through the original holes. Not that hard, just takes some planning and some time.

I bet if you researched the USB and Firewire pin-outs, you could trace and re-solder the existing circuits to match what you need. The LED will only be 2 wire, like the switch. I'm betting that any advanced electronics back there are for the LED "throbber" function of the LED, and it'd be cool if you could keep that. Easy enough to fix if you can't.
 
Hey, don't listen to any of the Mac-Bashers, they don't respect anything.

Worst case scenario (no-pun-intended) you could get down to the actual contacts of the wires of the front panel. e.g. rip everything off and see how the things work. It's fairly easy to do some research on which contacts and pins in USB and FW connect to which corresponding lead on a motherboard, so don't sweat that. Power switches and LEDS are always just mere 2-wire connections...

By no means should you resort to trashing the front panel. That would ruin the whole idea... almost.

You think you could take some pictures of the front panel's backside and the wire connections? We could help you out man.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top