63 replies to this topic

[zammykoo]

Hi all, I'm new to the forums so thought I'd introduce myself. I'm Tam from Houston. I figured this would be the perfect place for my project log as many of you guys have done so as well.

I've recently got a used case on ebay in pretty mint condition for a good deal. I've already started modding/fitting my existing pc parts but still have quite a bit of tweaking to do.

As far as the case goes, I plan on keeping the exterior original (I would love to keep the interior original too but that's not possible ). Anywho, so as time goes on I'll post my updates here.

BTW, I'm really glad I found this forum because you guys have been much help thus far, providing pinout diagrams and posting progress photos that inspired me to do more than originally imagined. I hope I can inspire others the same way.

More to come, enjoy!

Old power button & led
 G5_project3.jpg   421.33K   422 downloads

120mm fans
 G5_project2.jpg   347.06K   341 downloads

Good junk
 G5_project4.jpg   299.19K   451 downloads

Rear panel I/O portion (as seen in next pic)
 G5_project5.jpg   263.12K   956 downloads

Fitting preview
 G5_project1.jpg   364.26K   1234 downloads

[Zoran Bogunovic]

Lol that mobo looks so lonely, welcome to the forums dude... Look forward to seeing your rig progress.

[eelhead]

Looks good so far!!!
Best of luck. I have a G5 mod going on as well right now but I opted to remove the rear IO port and will make something to fit my Gigabyte mobo nicely there.

[zammykoo]

Thanks for the support guys

Here's my current budget gaming rig setup:

Processor: AMD Phenom 9750 Quad-Core 2.40GHz
Motherboard: Asus M3A78-EM
HDD: SATA Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB
Video: XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB
RAM: OCZ Platinum 4GB
PSU: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W
Optical Drive: SATA Samsung 22x DVD±RW DL

(Anyone play Battlefield BC2? Feel free to add me 'zammykoo' )


More stuff plugged in. I know its messy right now since only the mobo is screwed into place, I'll have to build mounting brackets for the PSU, fans. I'm also planning on making custom aluminum panels to tuck the wires for better airflow as soon as I can source it locally.

 G5_project6.jpg   277.05K   347 downloads
 G5_project7.jpg   385.19K   762 downloads
 G5_project8.jpg   322.25K   692 downloads

[zammykoo]

Today I started working on the rear I/O panel wiring. Today I did the audio headphone/mic jacks, maybe tomorow I'll go for the USB & firewire. Here's the progress so far:

I've desoldered these mount connectors from the spoilt logicboard so I can repurpose them
 G5_project9.jpg   327.01K   263 downloads

Soldered wires to a 6-pin connector (3 for each audio plug)
 G5_project10.jpg   293.54K   336 downloads

Then to the board
 G5_project11.jpg   398.7K   510 downloads

Doing some testing. The verdict: good
 G5_project12.jpg   458K   764 downloads

Here's a cardboard mockup of the paneling to hide the PSU wires. Eventually I'll replace these with aluminum panels.
 G5_project13.jpg   441.22K   892 downloads

I'm still debating whether or not to re-house my PSU into a gutted G5 housing. The current one is quite tall because of the fan on top, making my base panel rise a little higher than I'd like.

Although I've never taken apart one of these before and I've read on other threads of people breaking theirs trying to disassemble it. Anyone got suggestions? Experience?

[eelhead]

Wow the wiring looks awesome!!! Great work so far with the back panel, I just cut out that little section for the rear IO ports on mine lol. I'm not that skilled in wiring or soldering and my desoldering skills suck.

As for the PSU, I am trying to mount it in the old PSU case. I have pulled it all apart and it will fit in there. Of course I did break the little circuit board the PSU A/C socket and power switch was soldered too while I was trying to desolder it lmao. So now I don't know How to repair it because all  the little resisters and what not on it.
Here's a link to that fiasco lol

[zammykoo]

Thanks eelhead

I hope you get that PSU issue sorted out, i'll see if i can do some digging to help you out.

But as for my own PSU mod.... I have decided to just leave it as is.

Here's the current progress:

Used a 10-pin connector for the two USB ports... although I've hit a bump in the road. I'm getting some shorting between the usb pins while testing for continuity. I believe it is from the logicboard hacksaw job... somewhere down the lines something must be crossing. The bad news is it may take a lot of effort to figure where the short actually is..... if worse comes to worse I'll probably just desolder ALL of the pcb mount jacks and resolder onto a blank board  
 G5_project14.jpg   365.25K   315 downloads

Moving forward, since I've decided to keep my PSU in the original housing I'm making a small extension cord to the back of the case.
 G5_project15.jpg   294.87K   264 downloads

Here's a bracket I've designed that will mount the PSU down while holding the connector up at the same time. Stay tuned to see it done/mounted!
 G5_project16.jpg   224.64K   302 downloads

And one last preview. Here's a digital mockup of my plans for custom front mounted LEDs. This is the only mod that goes against my "stock exterior" look. More to come!
 G5_project17.jpg   308.52K   307 downloads

[zammykoo]

I've been pretty busy but still managed to get a few things done.

Thanks to our good friend AlohaCab, I got my cable in the mail and plugged it up. After installing a few drivers and tinkering around I got the power button, audio, usb & led to work. Still working on the firewire... but then again I'll probably never use it. My mobo seems to be very picky.

In continuation from my last post, I was able to finish the aluminum bracket that serves to tie down the PSU and hold the power jack in place. I used the existing bottom-rear two screw holes, so no need to drill the case.

So here's today's main attraction:

It's like origami.
 G5_project18.jpg   257.42K   356 downloads

No glue. No mess.
 G5_project19.jpg   371.15K   426 downloads
 G5_project20.jpg   334.58K   253 downloads

[JamesWainwright]

Massive fan of what you're doing with the I/O board, such a good way of going about it. I don't have the board and was planning on using a series of 25cm extender cables for the USB, Firewire etc etc. I'm worried that my method won't be strong enough to deal with daily wear and tear on the more used ports such as USB.

Attempted to take apart my PSU and fabricate casing with similar dimensions to the G5 PSU case as I don't have an original, however since removing the HDD + Optical drive shelf I have realised that I can fit a standard ATX PSU where the HDD bay used to sit... So I put it all back together and I'm planning on mounting it upside down and cutting a hole in the shelf for the 120mm exhaust fan to blow through.
Don't know if this is any help to you as you've already started on your PSU mounts etc but I'm finding the HDD bay a perfect fit for it and will then use the bottom of the G5 case (where the original PSU sat) to mount 4 x HDD's.

Enjoying your build log whilst doing mine at the same time, has been very helpful so far and I'm sure it will be further still in the future.
Keep up the good work.

[zammykoo]

Thanks JamesWainwright, good luck on your rear panel and PSU build, i'll check your thread for updates.

As for my own, I've revisited the rear I/O panel to try and resolve the shorting issue as previously posted. I've made additional cuts to the board... and it worked! So then I've soldered new wires directly from two usb cables, and also an audio cable. Other than that, I'll need to figure out what to do with the ethernet jack since the pins are not exposed.

A chunk of the board taken off
 G5_project21.jpg   362.29K   479 downloads

I used an angle grinder (might be overkill)  w/ thin grinding wheel. Looks like this time the cut is much cleaner, separating any shorting
 G5_project22.jpg   250.16K   388 downloads

Here it is installed, almost consealed once the rear fans are in place
 G5_project23.jpg   286.55K   506 downloads
 G5_project24.jpg   464.41K   707 downloads

[snackole]

Would you mind telling me how you mounted your front intake fans? Thanks.

[eelhead]

Looking Good!

[zammykoo]

snackole, on Apr 9 2011, 05:35 PM, said:

Would you mind telling me how you mounted your front intake fans? Thanks.

The front fans aren't permanently mounted yet. They are currently screwed onto a piece of heavy cardboard you see there, and stands itself up inside the case.

I do plan on building a more substantial fan bracket once I get my hands on some aluminum sheets. I may even get fancy and have the holes CNC'd out

[zammykoo]

So next item on the list was to relocate the optical disc drive's eject button. I have not fully resolved where the actual second button will be on the case... but I got the hard part out of the way and got the wires soldered on.

In the mean time if anyone can suggest some kind of rod that is thin enough that can be used through the mesh holes on the front side. I was thinking of something subtle like a thin acrylic rod...

PART 1:

 G5_project25.jpg   318.72K   267 downloads

 G5_project26.jpg   352.5K   275 downloads

 G5_project27.jpg   249.43K   261 downloads

Testing: works!
 G5_project28.jpg   278.3K   455 downloads

I realized I've never posted the backside of my case. Here ya go
 G5_project29.jpg   321.52K   852 downloads

Stay tuned for PART 2!

[Gus.Carrie]

Very nice man. On my rear I/O im attempting to use individual connectors then placed and held on some form of board to hold them against the rear of the case, however, this way does look really neat.

[zammykoo]

Gus.Carrie, on Apr 17 2011, 01:58 PM, said:

Very nice man. On my rear I/O im attempting to use individual connectors then placed and held on some form of board to hold them against the rear of the case, however, this way does look really neat.

Hey thanks! It sounds like you're using extension cords? Maybe you can epoxy the connector ends to a piece of pcb board or sheet metal, then drill holes in it to screw into the standoffs.

I don't know how comfortable you are with soldering, but another option is to use pcb mounted recepticles/jacks (for usb, audio, etc). I am planning on doing this for the pre-made kit idea.

Either way, best of luck to ya

[eelhead]

Looking awesome, Love the no cut back!
Great job!

I got my PSU fixed and my mod id 95% done

Here is a link to mine:
http://www.tonymacx8...hp?f=76&t=16300

[zammykoo]

eelhead, on Apr 18 2011, 11:11 AM, said:

Looking awesome, Love the no cut back!
Great job!

I got my PSU fixed and my mod id 95% done

Here is a link to mine:
http://www.tonymacx8...hp?f=76&t=16300

Whoa, I just checked your thread and looks like you did a very similar second optical disc drive button a week earlier than I did. I didn't even realize you had a project log elsewhere. What did you use to extend the button outside the case? I'm looking for something for my button that will fit through the case holes.

Also I didn't see how you repaired your PSU, glad you got it working though. Did you recreate the socket board?

Your progress looks great, keep it up!

[eelhead]

Thanks!

I bought a TACT switch from Radio Shack and it was long enough that it goes through the case, I did have to file it down so it fit through the holes but it works great and you can't even see it unless your specifically looking for it.

So I got one resistor and two capacitors and soldered them directly to the socket tabs like they are on the older Thermaltake PSU. I then ran two wires to the green box from the socket and soldered that together. I plugged it in and right off the bat burnt the resister lol, I guessed wrong on the type. But I was told I could ruin it with out that so I did and so far all is good! I'm happy I got it worked out and didn't waste my money there lol.

[zammykoo]

eelhead, on Apr 18 2011, 02:21 PM, said:

Thanks!

I bought a TACT switch from Radio Shack and it was long enough that it goes through the case, I did have to file it down so it fit through the holes but it works great and you can't even see it unless your specifically looking for it.

So I got one resistor and two capacitors and soldered them directly to the socket tabs like they are on the older Thermaltake PSU. I then ran two wires to the green box from the socket and soldered that together. I plugged it in and right off the bat burnt the resister lol, I guessed wrong on the type. But I was told I could ruin it with out that so I did and so far all is good! I'm happy I got it worked out and didn't waste my money there lol.

ah I see, maybe the resistor's wattage rating wasn't high enough? I've burned resistors once using too low watts, although I had the right impedance (ohms). Hope you find the right one!