G4 Cube Plans

[banini_jeque]

I don't know if I really need a new system right now since I'm running a Q9550 in my Quicksilver case, but I picked up a G4 Cube shell for $35 with something like this in mind for the future. If I was to build it right now I would run a Core i7 860. For the power supply I would like to run a pico psu 150 if that will be enough. The GT 240 doesn't need a power connector, so I would think there's a chance. I have the video card hooked up with a PCIE-Riser extension that has two ribbon cables. They're x16 and they're like $50. Then I might replace the WiFi with a mini-pcie FireWire 800 card.

[pirloui]

I just saw a dead cube for about 40$us, and am quite lusting towards it.

It could be nice as a server / media PC. Needs mini itx shopping though, and I don't have such money now.

So here aswell it's "something in the future".

Let's post when something happens.

 

edit: just went to get it; it's very cute.

Also; G4 Cube size compared to Mac Pro.

 

 

[pirloui]

Disassembled the Cube to remove the interior.

The CPU cooler is a massive block that integrates the handle mechanism.

The center was sawed off with a mini grinder. I left a part on top to keep the structure.

 

 

Empty cage:

[banini_jeque]

Thanks for the pics. I don't have any of those parts, just the shell, so I would have to have to custom build a replacement skeleton. It should give me more freedom in terms of layout though.

[Baudouin]

Thanks for the pics. I don't have any of those parts, just the shell, so I would have to have to custom build a replacement skeleton. It should give me more freedom in terms of layout though.

 

I am using a Cube right now and have parts to nearly build two others. I can provide you one empty skeleton.

[Bouly]

I made a pc integration in a mac cube, here are the original elements at my disposal:

 

 

After a lot of work, is the result:

 

 

 

Inside the cube: motherboard, hard drive, DVD burner, power supply and start button touchscreen

 

[pirloui]

Thanks for sharing

You remade the bottom plate right?

How does it look?

[banini_jeque]

Yeah I wanna see the bottom too. That looks amazing.

[oshak]

are you running osx or window? kinda looking for the samething, i have a cube ready to go but still not sure on what to use for a miniITX...

 

any idea for osx?

 

 

also did you use the original touch button?

 

 

cheers!

[banini_jeque]

If H55 was better supported I would run the Zotac H55-ITX, so I'm definitely waiting until it is or someone does a P55 with a mini-pcie slot so I can add a firewire card. Otherwise I'd love to see someone rig a DFI P55-T36 in a cube case with a Core i7 on it too.

[pirloui]

The Zotac H55-ITX looks interesting, the only part I worry about is support for the integrated intel graphics.

[banini_jeque]

Thats true, but my idea was to use an i7 which doesn't support them anyway, and then put in a discrete graphics card using one of those pcie x16 risers with a ribbon cable extension so I can have the heatsink facing the center.

[Vostro15]

Hello,

 

I am contemplating one of these after I've finished my G4 mod. Are you planning to use an external PSU like the original Cube? Unless you use a Mini ITX with a built in PSU I don't think there will be room for a PSU inside the case.

 

Thanks

[pirloui]

I think the solution is to use a Pico PSU or equivalent, with the brick outside or inside if you have only one HDD.

[Vostro15]

Surely a Pico PSU will not be powerful enough for the i7 rigs that people are planning! Maybe wrong though. Never looked at the different types of small psu.

 

Thanks

[pirloui]

The new MacBook Pros use H55, would be nice if we got better support, and -gasp- video support would be fantastic.

[kawasakiguy37]

Do you ever have cooling problems with so much in such a little case?

[danielmramos]

Hey, to the interested parties posting to this thread that were interested in trying this mod using a Zotac H55-ITX wifi motherboard, I have good news for you!

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...t&p=1491428

 

The H55-ITX wifi is totally hackintosh friendly. It is possibly the most friendly and powerful mini-ITX hackintosh motherboard ever, so go for it.

 

If found this thread purely by chance by going through the Mods and Overclocking section. I have had a G4 cube for years and it is still working. I would love to put a high powered hackintosh in there. Maybe I can give it a go if I get some help about what to use for the other internal components.

 

Thanks!

[danielmramos]

I don't know if I really need a new system right now since I'm running a Q9550 in my Quicksilver case, but I picked up a G4 Cube shell for $35 with something like this in mind for the future. If I was to build it right now I would run a Core i7 860. For the power supply I would like to run a pico psu 150 if that will be enough. The GT 240 doesn't need a power connector, so I would think there's a chance. I have the video card hooked up with a PCIE-Riser extension that has two ribbon cables. They're x16 and they're like $50. Then I might replace the WiFi with a mini-pcie FireWire 800 card.

 

 

Now that the H55-ITX board has been tested and found to be very hackintosh friendly are you going to try the G4 cube build you posted about? I have not done any measurements of my cube, but I was wondering if you thought an nvidia 9800 would fit with or without the use of a riser card and cable?

 

Bouly, could you please provide some more build details about your PC G4 cube mod. I have a G4 cube and I am wondering if your method would work for me or if there is a better solution.

 

Thanks!

[mobyte]

Hi, it's a very nice good job

 

i'm looking after building a iMac flat panel lamp (tournesol in french) hackintosh..

someone have a link for me ?

 

thank you

[danielmramos]

Here is the thread on bit-tech that followed Bouly's G4 cube to OTC PC guts transformation.

 

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=159302

 

Interesting strategy.

[danielmramos]

Here is another page on insanelymac that shows another strategy to mod a cube and put in a mini-itx MB.

This one seems to keep more of the stock case as it can still use the cage ejection that was part of the original cube design.

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=124166

 

Over in the German forums you can see this thread: Apple Cube als HTPC

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=140889

 

It is the most beautiful G4 cube to mini-itx mod I have seen yet. Even the bottom of the original cube cage looks nice as opposed to the chop jobs to which many resort.

 

Now this is something I can shoot for with a better board and video card.

[danielmramos]

Here are a couple of more links that interested parties on this thread might find useful.

 

Here is the G4 Cube service source manual PDF:

http://www.baconeggs.co.uk/images/dmm/cube_svc_man_02.pdf

 

Here is a link to a set of pictures with a very nice bottom plate mod that came out quite clean:

http://cliveatfive.xanga.com/photos/04b02239827444/

 

I hope you find these useful.

[danielmramos]

I got to thinking about utilizing the G4 cube chassis without having to hack apart a work of art. What is it that keeps us from mounting our hackintosh parts in a G4 cube case? Well, it seems to me that the main problem is that the mounting plates Apple created when designing the cube are manufactured to a specific configuration of motherboard and video card. That is the bottom plate is not configurable since the mounting holes are cut right out of the bottom plate instead of it having a blank for a modular solution. Obviously Apple never intended the cube to have a long upgrade life. Apple has never been a company that offers upgrade paths for their hardware; rather, they would rather you purchased the computer they just manufactured instead of upgrading your old one. Gosh, so much for the myth of environmental friendliness.

 

Given that problem the question for G4 Cube modders has always been how to overcome said design hurdles. Most have taken the approach to take a hacksaw to their precious cubes and gut the innards and cut holes in their cases. This results in solutions that can be functional; however, all of them compromise the functionality and beauty of the original cube case.

 

The truth is that a modern desktop computer does not need a whole bunch of expansion slots as stock motherboards are very feature packed. That wasn't true in the past; consequently, users desired many expansion slots. What this means is that modern mini-ITX motherboards such as the Zotac H55-ITX wifi, have just about everything a modern desktop solution requires. The only expansion slots actually necessary are video, processor, memory, and wifi. Everything else does not require expansion, so the that Zotac board is perfect for the cube case as that was what Apple envisioned when they first designed the cube. If you look at the dates you will see that the G4 Cube actually preceded the mini-ITX reference design. VIA released the reference design in March of 2001. The G4 Cube was already selling in 2000 with what was essentially a custom mini-ITX pre-reference design. So, given that the cube chassis is an 8"x8"x10" design there shouldn't be a problem with mounting a mini-ITX motherboard that is defined by the 6.7"x6.7" reference design parameters. So, the beauty of the cube was the dream of having the best of design, size, and expandability in a Macintosh. Unfortunately Apple completely screwed up by overcharging for the cube and then cancelling the design when they decided to offer the option of expandability only in their higher priced models. The cube just didn't fit in with their new throw away computer marketing strategy.

 

Ok, back to solving the "hacking the case" problem.

 

What if cube modders could have custom parts manufactured for them at a reasonable price by a professional CAD/CAM shop? This would allow modders to use as many of the original parts of the cube as possible while not having to cut up the unusable original parts up in an attempt to fit their new hardware.

 

Well, that is a nice thought. So where is the solution?

 

Here you go. I introduce you to emachineshop.com:

 

http://www.emachineshop.com/

 

Let me just say that I am not associated with this company at all; rather, I just discovered it on the web while searching for such a solution. I have nothing to gain by promoting their services other than the joy of seeing a successful and beautiful Hackintosh Cube built.

 

If you look at how much they charge you will be shocked as a custom part can run you under $15! Heck they even make custom heat sinks.

 

Now here is my dilemma, it has been years since I did any cad design. Does anybody here think they might be able to make use of this. I sure will give it a go, but it will take some time for me to get the design correct. After one of us comes up with a successful design, then that design can be shared and the same parts can be ordered for other cube mods looking to take advantage of the same parts and mod strategy.

 

I think the first thing I will try and do is to design a new bottom plate for the cube that will fit the Zotac board and an nvidia video card. I encourage others to do the same and see what kind of designs we envision.

 

Thanks!

[danielmramos]

In order to illustrate the approach I spoke of in my last post I present to you the project log of the CubeGTi Liquid.

 

http://tinyurl.com/2e36q2n

 

The CubeGTi Liquid was a mod that Marcelo A. Mejia Cobo performed on a G4 Cube. Although the mod was back in 2008 you can see how his innovative approach to modding the cube utilized the strategy I described in my previous post. He utilized a pico PS and custom manufactured parts to get things to fit into his original cube case without having to hack it up beyond restoration. I believe the same could be achieved for the Zotac H55-ITX wifi motherboard in the G4 Cube case; however, it will require more custom parts as the motherboard is no longer the original Apple design.

 

To start off, here is a PCI X16 riser card that would allow for flexibility in the mounting of the graphics card inside the cube case.

 

http://www.logicsupply.com/products/pelx16_c11

 

 

It looks like this is certainly in the realm of possibility.