Trippy Apple G5 - PC Mod

sarbz said:
What he said ----^
Very neat, but I'm taking it a couple steps further, to be able to create some stunning light effects on the front panel and to make the inside VERY clean, just like the original Apple... Oh yeah, and some top of the line hardware :)

I just got some hardware but I won't do any big updates until the PSU/Memory arrives, stay cool everyone... it's out of my hands now as to when the parts arrive.
 
wow, if you're taking it a step further than mine, you must be considering some serious hardware. I know there are faster processors & video cards now, but you must have some pretty deep pockets.

As far as making it as clean as a real G5....good luck. I have a dual 2ghz at work, and I marvel at the engineering inside everyday. The seperate thermal zones, the fan system, the cables and wires (or lack of).....it's really quite amazing.

How do you plan to hide wires in order to make it clean? under the mobo? Did you cut out the back of your case in order to access the motherboard's ports?
 
sarbz said:
what he said ---^

I'm planning to use the nice wireguide that came with the machine to be used behind the motherboard area for unsightly wiring, modular PSU to remove unnecessary connections from the power supply (thanks to Ultra!), as well as some artistic cable folding. It won't be AS clean but it will get very damn well close to it. I'm also thinking of getting a custom made flat plastic cover to replace the thermal zone one that comes with the machine which would possibly hit the CPU fan among other things.

Also, I don't really have deep pockets, just haven't upgraded in a while :)
 
ok i wired up speakers to the headphone jack on the front of the g5 case

using my description of the 18 pin connector above,

pin 9 left channel
pin 18 right channel
pin 17 ground

i'm not going to bother wiring up the usb and firewire, i just don't need it so i'm putting my meter away
 
starhawk said:
ultra psu's are crappo... i've heard it again and again.

If you want a decent "modular" PSU, get the Antec NeoPower 480 Modular. Free sleeving at Frozen CPU:

http://www.frozencpu.com/psu-103.html

You look like you're going to spend alot of money on this rig, so don't crap out on the PSU like I've seen so many do.

I can't discourage you from buying an Ultra PSU enough.
 
hikeskool said:
If you want a decent "modular" PSU, get the Antec NeoPower 480 Modular. Free sleeving at Frozen CPU:

http://www.frozencpu.com/psu-103.html

You look like you're going to spend alot of money on this rig, so don't crap out on the PSU like I've seen so many do.

I can't discourage you from buying an Ultra PSU enough.


Why is everyone dissing Ultra PSU? I haven't seen any complaints online of their quality... if you could provide me with one or two links for proof of this, I may do something about it. Otherwise I will dismiss these as threadcrapping (sadly)

http://www.frozencpu.com/psu-97.html <- look at the reviews on the left side, looks like a lot of reviewers absolutely love it.
 
GodSpeed said:
Why is everyone dissing Ultra PSU? I haven't seen any complaints online of their quality... if you could provide me with one or two links for proof of this, I may do something about it. Otherwise I will dismiss these as threadcrapping (sadly)

http://www.frozencpu.com/psu-97.html <- look at the reviews on the left side, looks like a lot of reviewers absolutely love it.

Mmk
 
hikeskool said:

:eek:, lucky for me I am not overloading the machine in any massive way, and I run a UPS that cleans the incoming power, although it could be trouble at a lan party. The PSU they reviewed was a 500W and could have possibly been an older version, which I'm hoping is true... Besides, I am using the 400w model as most system functionality will be on-board.
 
:eek: :eek: :eek: after reading *THAT* review... i'd trust the venerable old psu on my old 386 first... it let out the magic smoke (and one h*ll of an esd discharge) once and it still runs... sounds like that ultra gets the magic smoke surgically removed at the factory.
 
If I run into any problems I will switch PSUs, otherwise I'm sticking with the sexy thing :cool:

//ADDED//
Currently waiting on:
- Sexy laserpod (http://www.laserpodusa.com )
- Secret custom window bit with laser engraving :eek:
- Modified front port connector (thanks nothingtrend!)
- Ram
- PSU
 
starhawk said:
:eek: :eek: :eek: after reading *THAT* review... i'd trust the venerable old psu on my old 386 first... it let out the magic smoke (and one h*ll of an esd discharge) once and it still runs... sounds like that ultra gets the magic smoke surgically removed at the factory.

Hot the PSU forums and see what people have to say about them. I think it pretty much speaks for itself.
 
Last word on the PSU: If it doesn't work or I see that it's transmitting very dirty power I will get it replaced with a better known one, otherwise I will give them the benifit of the doubt that they have started manufacturing better made hardware based on all the negative feedback they had.

News:
  • The pin out for the front controls (headphone jack, usb/firewire, power button and led) has been discovered and work on it is being done (final pictures will be around in a week or so).
  • There may be no money for a spanking new video card for this project as I am saving up again to purchase a new phone and other home related bills :(
  • I'm trying to find a Gskill ram reseller in Canada, if anyone knows of one PM me please!
  • The brand new speakers I got didn't last very long, due to my smaller brother. Return is impossible and Logitech does not sell single speakers.
  • I'm getting information regarding custom laser etched windows, if you know of a company that can do something about this at the resnoble price please PM me.
 
The brother again???!!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: being a only child i cannot see how you put up with annoying brothers and sisters. they would drive me insane
 
Well I finally finished my PC into a G5 case. It's was fun/it was a little PITA but I'm glad I did it. No ugly machines in the house. I'll have to put up a page with the photos and details on how to do everything. I didn't butcher the case at all it's all stock. It uses the stock front button panel and the flip down door for the CD works too. I'm not into the neon scene it's just a basic mess of wires with a see through panel.
 
GodSpeed said:
Last word on the PSU: If it doesn't work or I see that it's transmitting very dirty power I will get it replaced with a better known one, otherwise I will give them the benifit of the doubt that they have started manufacturing better made hardware based on all the negative feedback they had.

Good choice. After looking around for a modular PSU for my case, I've found that ultra's really look the best. I think what post people are forgetting about is style. Why bother with windows and case mods of you're just going to slap an ugly PSU in there?
 
sarbz said:
Good choice. After looking around for a modular PSU for my case, I've found that ultra's really look the best. I think what post people are forgetting about is style. Why bother with windows and case mods of you're just going to slap an ugly PSU in there?

And hey, why even bother with the concept of an expensive PC when you can put it all at risk with an unproven brand of PSUs? Form over function, right?
 
hikeskool said:
And hey, why even bother with the concept of an expensive PC when you can put it all at risk with an unproven brand of PSUs? Form over function, right?
I think that was the smartest thing a "n00bie" has said in a while around here. :eek:
 
hikeskool said:
And hey, why even bother with the concept of an expensive PC when you can put it all at risk with an unproven brand of PSUs? Form over function, right?

How bad can that PSU really be? The maximum PC thing is a joke. Who runs a disk benchmark, rips a DVD, burns a CD, runs an anti-virus scan, and loops 3dmark03 maxed at 1600x1200 in a 100 DEGREE ROOM ALL AT ONCE!!!

A google search brings up a bunch of positive reveiws.

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/other_misc/Ultra_X-Connect/
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1719
http://www.extrememhz.com/xconnect-p1.shtml
 
sarbz said:
How bad can that PSU really be? The maximum PC thing is a joke. Who runs a disk benchmark, rips a DVD, burns a CD, runs an anti-virus scan, and loops 3dmark03 maxed at 1600x1200 in a 100 DEGREE ROOM ALL AT ONCE!!!

A google search brings up a bunch of positive reveiws.

http://www.overclockercafe.com/Reviews/other_misc/Ultra_X-Connect/
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1719
http://www.extrememhz.com/xconnect-p1.shtml

Those reviews are all pretty funny. I love how demanding their testing criteria are. Man, a burn-in test. Rough. I love how the pc stats review talks about how the xconnect is not a "cheap power supply" and that it does not "put everything inside your computer at risk". That's rich. I also liked how they say their P4 test rig "draws alot of power" (3.2 prescott, 800 XT, gig of 3200, 40 gig hd, dvd+-rw). Come on. Man, the overclocker cafe review was so in-depth and strenuous I don't even know where to start.

These reviews are the intelectual equavalent to Hi-Lites magazine; a lot of neat-o pictures and pretty words but almost no substance. For the little time these "reviewers" spent with these PSUs almost no significant work can be done with them. Any PSU will probably last the first six months you have it. That's pretty much all there is to it. The reason Maximum PC ran those rediculously over-spec'd tests were to simulate what happens to a PSU over the course of time. Some survived (PC Power and Cooling, Antec), and some, quite simply, did not.

So sure, your "1337" colored PSU will probably last you at least six months. Hell, you may even get a year or two out of it. Why would you take that kind of chance on a completely unproven product line? That's like me buying an automobile with a two thousand mile maintenance plan on it. Sure, the car works great for a little whlie, then breaks down after awhile.

Why wouldn't you go with a proven company such as PC Power & Cooling or Antec? Here you go (free sleeving):

teh 1337 uber sleeved MODuLAr PSU with teh speretae plugs LOL!!!11!!!111one!!!11!!!eleven!!!!!!111!!!!!!

I know it's not "1337" or "uber", but it will probably still be in operation five years from now.

If you absolutly must have a "modular" PSU, get one from a proven company, such as Antec, not from a company whose products smoke after strenuous testing.
 
hikeskool said:
Those reviews are all pretty funny.

Those reviews represent how most people use their PCs.

This thread is going off on a tangent. Let's get back to GodSpeed's Project :)
 
I'm waiting till Tuesday to get my paycheck which should cover the last items I need for this project, then once they arrive I will start dumping out pictures of sparks flying and hardcore case modding :D

Again, if any of you know a place to get custom laser engraved windows for cases that can do really special requests, please PM me or post links on the thread, thanks!

Ps. please remember not to deviate from the discussion of this thread too much or Mashie will have to come around and start pruning the tree ;)
 
hikeskool said:
And hey, why even bother with the concept of an expensive PC when you can put it all at risk with an unproven brand of PSUs? Form over function, right?
:rolleyes: now THAT is going in my sig... it's worth it.
 
speedy624 said:
Here's my tutorial on this project.
http://www.mark-world.com/G5/

You have no idea how much this is helping, you have given me some great ideas in the process on how to improve the internal looks of the whole thing, althought I may be going with a totally different approach on the motherboard. I'll make a diagram sometime before the parts come in.
 
I just sleeved everything with chrome split loom. It used to look like speedy624's, and your thread inspired me to clean it up. I first tried to hide as many wires as I could, but since I don't have a motherboard tray to tuck them behind, this didn't get me anywhere. Next I used blue split loom, but it looked like crap. Now I've got chrome split loom, and it looks better. I would still like something cleaner, but this will have to work.

Are you planning any windows in your side panel? I've started to cut one, but this case is thick!!! I had to ditch the dremmel and get out the jigsaw. I may even have to borrow an air cut off wheel.

I'll post a new thread with pics when I'm all done.

g5pc1.jpg

g5pc2.jpg

g5pc3.jpg
 
//not a thread crap//

I have looked into these psu's and then i found this article : ( /. ) found it actually ^_^

but a review on some psu's

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?head=64&page=2307

Looking at the test results the X-Connect was about average in terms of efficiency. It was however not a smooth run and the X-Connect dropped down to 3.14V on the 3.3V at 75 per cent load, which is the cut-off line for the 3.3V rail. Technically it was within spec, but this is not a good result. Much more worrying is the 12V results at 100 per cent load, as it dropped well outside spec here.

Even more disappointingly, after about one minute at full load the X-Connect blew up. Although it didn’t do so as spectacular as the Silentmaxx, there was clearly a major malfunction. We didn’t make it a habit to open the PSUs on test, as to be honest, this is not meant to be done, but we decided to open the two units that exploded to try and determine why.

I would just hate for such an awesome mod to be ruined by the psu blowing up while you
run Folding @ Home on it and ruin all the good hardware you got in that nifty case!

Been lurking for a while, and you are doing a great job.

 
Ok, here's the story regarding the PSU. I did not buy it, I got sponsered by Ultra to put a cool link at the top of the thread as well as show off the cool thing and in return I get a free PSU... I had no idea of the torrent of junk I was going to experience here, except there is no turning back till the mod is done and I submit the pictures to Ultra. Once this is sitting in my house and I actually have some money again (this project is turning me broke) I may replace the PSU with a better known one with power cleaning capabilities and what not.

Also, lets say a company improves their product and fixes the errors that were in it previously... When is it time to give then another chance? I would have never touched anything from nVidia and here I have a top of the line mobo with an nForce4 chipset in it, times change.

Besides, if anything explodes due to the PSU, who know's in what way the [H]ardgods will smite Ultra :p

*goes out to buy some sheet metal for his super cool new idea*
 
I Pray they send you an uber good one :)
didnt realize they were sponserin ya, but that is one way to get
into the good limelight is to get people using their stuff and
giving freebies in certain places :)
 
GodSpeed said:
Ok, here's the story regarding the PSU. I did not buy it, I got sponsered by Ultra to put a cool link at the top of the thread as well as show off the cool thing and in return I get a free PSU... I had no idea of the torrent of junk I was going to experience here, except there is no turning back till the mod is done and I submit the pictures to Ultra. Once this is sitting in my house and I actually have some money again (this project is turning me broke) I may replace the PSU with a better known one with power cleaning capabilities and what not.

Also, lets say a company improves their product and fixes the errors that were in it previously... When is it time to give then another chance? I would have never touched anything from nVidia and here I have a top of the line mobo with an nForce4 chipset in it, times change.

Besides, if anything explodes due to the PSU, who know's in what way the [H]ardgods will smite Ultra :p

*goes out to buy some sheet metal for his super cool new idea*

Ultra is sponsoring you. Wow. I didn't know we had modding companies supplying gear to people for advertising purposes. And I thought "professional gamers" being sponsored was bad.

Like I've said many times before, I will trust a line of PSUs once they've been well-engrained in usage. This takes eighteen months to maybe two years. If there aren't a rash of failing PSUs by then, maybe I'll change my tune. But if these can't handle something more then an average "burn-in" test, it doesn't look good.
 
DeathLok30040 did the window for Crimson Sky's Doom 3 Mars City mod, and that pretty much kicks ass. He posted a little info here, but the best thing to do is probably to PM him. Here is a pic of the window.
 
VIDEO UPDATE!

mod-7-intro.jpg

IT'S HERE! :D :D :D

At last one of the most unique parts of this modification is here... the laserpod. SPECIAL THANKS TO LASERPODUSA.COM FOR THIS UNIQUE ITEM!

*opens box carefully*
mod-7-laser.jpg
mod-7-laser2.jpg


The item came in a box like something from Apple itself, amazingly wrapped and packaged. It even has a holographic sticker that keeps the box sealed...

Universal size comparison vs fruitastic Five Alive:
mod-7-size.jpg


Close up of laserpod:
mod-7-topcap.jpg


Now it doesn't look impressive, but you need more than images to show you how great this thing is:

Videos hosted by mashie so no problem with bandwidth now.
Video of it in action right here (~800kb 30 seconds), you gotta see it to believe it:

Mode 1 VIDEO
Mode 2 VIDEO
On a normal surface without extra diffuser VIDEO


As I assumed, this thing kicks the Five Alive's ass in the psychedelics dept.
mod-7-fivealive.jpg


Basically I'm putting this baby behind the front grill with a large diffuser to create some amazing effects, I may need another one for the back but I need to consider size/power constraints...
 
Whoa, thats some pretty cool crap. In those videos, what was it projecting on? I can't wait to see how it looks inside your case. Your going to need to put a "Warning: Type 2 Laser product. Eye damage is possible from prolonged exposure." sign on it. :D
 
pilotman2004 said:
Whoa, thats some pretty cool crap. In those videos, what was it projecting on? I can't wait to see how it looks inside your case. Your going to need to put a "Warning: Type 2 Laser product. Eye damage is possible from prolonged exposure." sign on it. :D


It was projecting on to the "big diffuser top" that came with it, however I'll be buying a large flat piece of plastic that was sand blasted to create the same effect through the front grill :D

mod-7-bigtopcap.jpg


*oogles some more at this trippy thing*
 
Does it work without the top? Like project onto walls and stuff. Anyways it looks pretty awesome!
 
Bones117 said:
Does it work without the top? Like project onto walls and stuff. Anyways it looks pretty awesome!

If you saw the last video, it does! However it will look like the first videos once I get the diffuser window to fit in the front of the case.
 
pilotman2004 said:
dang, you're going to have the trippiest cheese grater ever!

lol, so this is where this is supposed to go. I was wondering why you posted it in that window design thread.
 
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