MEDIA ³

[visim91]

MEDIA ³

A G4 Cube Mod.

 

 

I understand and respect the G4 Cube mods that countless other users have detailed online: from the installation of custom parts to create an aesthetically pleasing hackintosh - to the more simple, but equally rewarding process of gutting the Cube to make way for a Mini. Great.

 

Now, let me briefly detail my situation and subsequently, my needs (er.. *wants)

 

I have a shambolic media collection; one that is spread between a number of external hard drives of varied sizes and origin. What a mess.

So, I consolidated and organized the files; trashed the impulse buys and held on to those cherished films and shows that I could not do without: This was hard.

 

(All films/episodes are 720P/1080P with a smattering of Standard-Def, where High-Def was simply unavailable)

 

Here is Hard Drive #1

 

Here is Hard Drive #2

 

What I want to do is mod my G4 Cube to house anywhere from 6-8 TB; essentially, make my G4 Cube a large external hard drive, the most ultimate and aesthetically pleasing media storage device.

 

& I have no idea where to start... but I know: It must be done.

 

Well, the Cube should have 4 bays, which I would fill, at present time, with 3x 2TB HDDs

-How would I go about producing or finding a bare-bones 4-bay enclosure to fit in Cube?

-How would I then go about cooling the whole shindig?

-How does one consolidate the drives to be recognized as a single 6/8TB HDD via computer?

-How do I configure this set-up to exit via a USB 2.0 connection

-Is there a possibility, in the coming months, that I may be able to switch this set-up from USB to Thunderbolt?

[nickjf20]

To allow the drives to be seen as one big one, try installing the original Windows Home Server (if there will be dedicated hardware nearby) -- it has something that'll be perfect.

 

For the drive enclosure(s), try ebay or mountain mods, and as for the USB 'exit', you'll have to get a SATA to USB adapter, again eBay is your friend. If I were you, I'd just run sata connectors to your PC/Mac from the G4 cube.

 

As for thunderbolt, I doubt it for a few years.

 

 

As for how this will all work. Get a small power supply - chop off unwanted connectors, shove in a nice quiet fan in the top and it should be fine.