My hackintosh: Intel Core i7 in a Powermac case

[palamosteliaro]

So i got bored of my old Thermaltake case:

 

 

And I decided to buy a new one. But I could not find any decent original pc case. In my opinion

there are only two kind of them: The "Extreme-Poser" cases and the "Why-buy-this-piece-of {censored}" cases.

 

I always admired powermac's and mac pro's cases. They are beautiful and elegant. I also run a hackintosh OSX leopard on my computer so I thought that it would be very cool to set up my pc in a Powermac G5 or a mac pro case. So I bought from Ebay a mint Powermac G5 case and I modded it so it could host an ATX motherboard and the rest of my hardware.

 

My PC has the following parts:

 

Motheboard: MSI X58 PLATINUM

Processor: INTEL CORE I7-920 2.66 GHZ (overclocked @ 3GHZ)

Power Supply: TAGAN TG500-U88 BZ PIPEROCK SERIES 500W

VGA: GAINWARD BLISS 9800 GX2 1GB

Memory: 2X OCZ OCZ3X1333LV3GK 3GB (6GB Total)

HDD 1: OCZ OCZSSD2-1VTX60G SOLID STATE 60GB SATA 2 VERTEX

HDD 2: WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR WD740ADFD 74GB 10000RPM SATA

HDD 3: WESTERN DIGITAL 500GB WD5000AAJS CAVIAR SE SATA2

 

 

Click on the images if you want to view them at 12Mpx resolution.

 

So here is the case as I bought it:

 

 

 

 

i used an old Pentium 3 ATX mobo for my tests so I would not put in danger my MSI.

 

Firstly I removed all the parts (seperator, fans, cables, HDD case) so I could work in convenience:

 

 

 

 

Some TORX-8 and 11 screws for the seperator and some Philips one for the HDD case and the fan.

 

So here it is the case completely emty:

 

 

 

 

Then i removed the screw bases so I could put them in ATX positions. That was really easy. Just pulled them with my pliers and they were out:

 

 

Using the P3 mobo I marked with a pencil the places that the screw bases should be. I also replaced the dots with arrows so I wouldn't stick them over the pencil's graphite. The glue I used requires very clean surfaces. I also checked them with a ruler so they were aligned and sticked them in their positions:

 

 

 

I did the same thing with the other 3 screws.

 

So the first test with the motherboard on its position revealed me the 2 main things i had to mod at the case, so everything would fit normaly.

 

As you can see at the following picture, the connections at the back of the motherboard are not on the correct holes. The only thing I could do is to cut the case so it would have a big common hole for all connectors:

 

 

 

So here I am cutting with a metal-saw!

 

 

 

 

After a lot of effort....

 

 

 

Here I used a rasp to correct the details in the shape.

 

The next major issue was the seperator. It would block the motherboard but I had to use it because it supports the DVD drive:

 

 

I did the measurements and then cutted it with the metal-saw so the mobo would fit under it.

 

 

 

 

(ok not 100% straight sawing but who cares... its not a visible part!)

 

So we are done with the Hard work. Then I placed the parts inside the case.

 

First was the Power Supply:

 

 

 

It fits perfectly at the bottom of the case. Very steady. The cable enters the case through the power plug's hole.

 

Then I placed the motherboard (thanx a lot ATX format - every screw base was in the correct position)

 

 

Then came the VGA. I was a bit anxious before getting the case, because the 9800 GX2 is enormous, but the case is very spacious and wide, so there were no problems.

 

 

All the connectors came in their possitions (i should have sawed more deeply, but even this way you can connect everything)

 

 

Powermac's HDD case is perfect for me. It fits nicely at the bottom, and its very steady too:

 

 

I removed the metal cover and then I placed my SSD over the raptor:

 

 

Then I installed a DVD:

 

 

The slot is always open but... what can i do?

 

 

Then an on/off button from my old case's reset button

 

 

 

Checked everything was in place, and closed the case:

 

 

 

 

 

I also installed 2 9cm fans on the back and one 12cm on the front so the air keeps flowing and the temperatures stays low.

 

I am using hackontosh a lot time. Here is a screenshot of my hackintosh scoring 10172 points at geekbench:

 

 

Thats it folks! Please tell me what do you think of my project!

[stanza33]

Can't see it, pics no workies

[palamosteliaro]

You can see the pics if you right click them and choose to show them. They just cant be embedded i dont know why...

[Alessandro17]

So i got bored of my old Thermaltake case:

 

 

And I decided to buy a new one. But I could not find any decent original pc case. In my opinion

there are only two kind of them: The "Extreme-Poser" cases and the "Why-buy-this-piece-of {censored}" cases.

 

How about this one (my case):

 

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/chassis...x/vh8000swa.asp

 

(Maybe a bit flashy, I realize that).

[palamosteliaro]

How about this one (my case):

 

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/chassis...x/vh8000swa.asp

 

(Maybe a bit flashy, I realize that).

 

Midi tower? For 120 euros? No thanx....

[Alessandro17]

Midi tower? For 120 euros? No thanx....

 

I see

 

(It is quite big for a mid tower, though).

[Flightbase]

the MSI X58 PLATINUM is fully supported with no glitches?

 

greets, Nik

[gstream242]

i have the same mobo and ive had to people try and none of them could do it. if you live in so cal ill pay you to do this for PLEASE!

[nerdalertdk]

I cant se the pic.

[Proq]

How did you manage to install it on a Core i7, could you please direct me towards it?

Thanks,

 

So i got bored of my old Thermaltake case:

 

 

And I decided to buy a new one. But I could not find any decent original pc case. In my opinion

there are only two kind of them: The "Extreme-Poser" cases and the "Why-buy-this-piece-of {censored}" cases.

 

I always admired powermac's and mac pro's cases. They are beautiful and elegant. I also run a hackintosh OSX leopard on my computer so I thought that it would be very cool to set up my pc in a Powermac G5 or a mac pro case. So I bought from Ebay a mint Powermac G5 case and I modded it so it could host an ATX motherboard and the rest of my hardware.

 

My PC has the following parts:

 

Motheboard: MSI X58 PLATINUM

Processor: INTEL CORE I7-920 2.66 GHZ (overclocked @ 3GHZ)

Power Supply: TAGAN TG500-U88 BZ PIPEROCK SERIES 500W

VGA: GAINWARD BLISS 9800 GX2 1GB

Memory: 2X OCZ OCZ3X1333LV3GK 3GB (6GB Total)

HDD 1: OCZ OCZSSD2-1VTX60G SOLID STATE 60GB SATA 2 VERTEX

HDD 2: WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR WD740ADFD 74GB 10000RPM SATA

HDD 3: WESTERN DIGITAL 500GB WD5000AAJS CAVIAR SE SATA2

 

 

Click on the images if you want to view them at 12Mpx resolution.

 

So here is the case as I bought it:

 

 

 

 

i used an old Pentium 3 ATX mobo for my tests so I would not put in danger my MSI.

 

Firstly I removed all the parts (seperator, fans, cables, HDD case) so I could work in convenience:

 

 

 

 

Some TORX-8 and 11 screws for the seperator and some Philips one for the HDD case and the fan.

 

So here it is the case completely emty:

 

 

 

 

Then i removed the screw bases so I could put them in ATX positions. That was really easy. Just pulled them with my pliers and they were out:

 

 

Using the P3 mobo I marked with a pencil the places that the screw bases should be. I also replaced the dots with arrows so I wouldn't stick them over the pencil's graphite. The glue I used requires very clean surfaces. I also checked them with a ruler so they were aligned and sticked them in their positions:

 

 

 

I did the same thing with the other 3 screws.

 

So the first test with the motherboard on its position revealed me the 2 main things i had to mod at the case, so everything would fit normaly.

 

As you can see at the following picture, the connections at the back of the motherboard are not on the correct holes. The only thing I could do is to cut the case so it would have a big common hole for all connectors:

 

 

 

So here I am cutting with a metal-saw!

 

 

 

 

After a lot of effort....

 

 

 

Here I used a rasp to correct the details in the shape.

 

The next major issue was the seperator. It would block the motherboard but I had to use it because it supports the DVD drive:

 

 

I did the measurements and then cutted it with the metal-saw so the mobo would fit under it.

 

 

 

 

(ok not 100% straight sawing but who cares... its not a visible part!)

 

So we are done with the Hard work. Then I placed the parts inside the case.

 

First was the Power Supply:

 

 

 

It fits perfectly at the bottom of the case. Very steady. The cable enters the case through the power plug's hole.

 

Then I placed the motherboard (thanx a lot ATX format - every screw base was in the correct position)

 

 

Then came the VGA. I was a bit anxious before getting the case, because the 9800 GX2 is enormous, but the case is very spacious and wide, so there were no problems.

 

 

All the connectors came in their possitions (i should have sawed more deeply, but even this way you can connect everything)

 

 

Powermac's HDD case is perfect for me. It fits nicely at the bottom, and its very steady too:

 

 

I removed the metal cover and then I placed my SSD over the raptor:

 

 

Then I installed a DVD:

 

 

The slot is always open but... what can i do?

 

 

Then an on/off button from my old case's reset button

 

 

 

Checked everything was in place, and closed the case:

 

 

 

 

 

I also installed 2 9cm fans on the back and one 12cm on the front so the air keeps flowing and the temperatures stays low.

 

I am using hackontosh a lot time. Here is a screenshot of my hackintosh scoring 10172 points at geekbench:

 

 

Thats it folks! Please tell me what do you think of my project!

[Proq]

Hi....

How do you install OSX on a Core i7, I havent been able, it freezes right before launching the installing.

Help neded.

 

Thanks

[fr0z]

I too, require help on installing Leopard on this board. D:

[markcf105]

Cant see the pics can you please repost with the pictures....

[thinkpadius]

a powermac case is pretty awesome. I don't have the skill set to modify a box though.

 

I put together my rig from newegg parts. I did a video of it though! Core i7 Construction Video