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G5/Hackintosh (or Future Hackintosh Mod) - Suggestions welcome


Zut
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Hey everyone, 

 

Been reading number of forums for while, haven't had a chance to start playing with some of the things I always wanted to do, so finally I got this old G5 case from a colleague, and ripped the guts out of it to start the mod. 

 

So here is what we have so far:

G5 Case MY2005


Full ATX w/PSU Holder, MoBo tray, and the Lian Li front Panel 

 

And the "Plan" (not to be mistaken for BSG spin-off)  :P

ATX/FF Mobo & Core i5 (K series CPU, probably 3.5Ghz)

***Radeon 270 or 290 GPU

16 to 32 GB Ram

7500 to 1500 RPM HDD/Depending, least of my concerns, maybe a WD Raptor, but not set in stone.

No Internal DVD/CDROM 

***Corsair Closed Liquid Cooling/Or one of the iterations

***Corsair Hydro HG10 GPU Cooling Bracket (http://www.corsair.com/en/cooling/gpu-cooling)

OS - Not decided if it will be true hackintosh/pure OS X, or with dual boot, or just "plain Jain" Windows gaming box w/nice hardware. But, have time to think on that. 

 

The "Fantasy"

Powdercoat the case, in a nice glossy color. Only concern is, do I want to screw around with taking it all apart in order to powdercoat it, or will taking out all the plastic things would be sufficient. Would much appreciate input from anyone who has done it in the past, as to your opinion on the matter.

It would be nice if I could avoid the take-apart option, if I could, certainly would contribute to the decision. 

 

Also, it would be awesome, if there was a way to completely seal the DVD bay, and match the case, to be completely seamless, perforated, aluminum front.

But I haven't found out exact way of doing it, yet. Again, if someone did such a thing, please let me know. 

 

NOTES:

*** In order to utilize 2 Corsair Closed Liquid Coolers for CPU & GPU I will need to cut the bottom of the case, to create the space for the CPU radiator (whether 280mm or 240mm radiators will be utilized, I am uncertain at this time) since the GPU will be using an older version of 120mm Fan/Radiator version from Corsair, on the back of the system 120mm opening. 

 

***EDIT: 02/27/15 

Probably found a solution with the help of David from the Laser Hive. 

Will update once I suss the parts out. 

 

Now to the suggestions/recommendations I need:

 

Internal Design/Infrastructure:

 

When I initially took the case apart, I was not super smart, and made a mistake of being a bit rough with the top DVD tray, & HDD caddy, needless to say that they are gone gone. I actually forgot them laying around and my cleaning service threw it away. So I cant even recover it to see if I can fix the error. 

 

And, wondering how to incorporate a 120mm or 140mm intake fan, behind the front mesh of the system, again, custom bracket of some sort, but w/o screwing up the pristine front mesh, or compromising internal layout, especially taking into account the HDD cage, and the Radiator, that might have to be laid on the bottom of the system 

 

So now I have an issue where I need to come up with an aesthetically pleasing, and functional internal HDD cage. I need a recommendation on this.

If you guys have a suggestion on which item I ought to search for, if retail, would be great. 

Or, if anyone has built a custom cage, I would love if you could share your plans/drawings, maybe I can use it to have it manufactured somewhere locally. 

Since I need to figure out the best way to incorporate it into the internal design of the case, with the tray being absent, I have somewhat limited options where to attach the caddy, w/o drilling, and am certainly not going to mess with the sides/top/front of the case, as not to mar the surface. 

 

Additionally, looking for recommendation on the channel/modular wiring organization. I was thinking, once system is being built, I want to place as many wires as I can out of the way, and channel them around for as streamlined of a look as possible.

 

Apple Hardware:

I am thinking I want to use an OEM internal Apple BT receiver, so I can install BootCamp drivers (under Windows) and utilize the Apple BT keyboard and Magic Mouse. If someone done this, would appreciate a recommendation. Unless it is possible to connect them to regular aftermarket BT receiver, I have seen some options, with changing configuration within the driver itself, but I think using OEM Native stuff probably would be better, and more elegant solution. 

 

My primary desire is to have the BT receiver internal/inside the case, w/o areal sticking out from the PCiE or other aftermarket cards.

 

So, here I am thus far, pocking around to see what I can do :-) 

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As quick update, it seems that I might be able to get my grubby hands on different DVD/top shelf. And found a way to have a bracket manufactured to be placed behind the front mesh & w/o screwing up the appearance of the case. 

So I won't have to cut into the bottom of the case for the radiator, and will have it placed in the front. 

Additionally, it was pointed out to me... duh... that GPU of the 290 card will put out a bit more of the heat under load than a CPU, so I think I will go with HG10 installed with the large radiator/GPU, and with the smaller 120mm radiator accommodating the CPU instead. 

 

But, the above is a bit away, until I sort the parts thing out. 

 

Am still searching for suitably aesthetically pleasing HDD bracket/s to accommodate 3.5 & 2.5 HDDs. 

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Looks like a really nice build man!

You're not gonna use a SSD for boot?

That is recommended to do everything smooth ;)

 

Good luck with build and keep on posting those awesome pics!

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Looks like a really nice build man!

You're not gonna use a SSD for boot?

That is recommended to do everything smooth ;)

 

Good luck with build and keep on posting those awesome pics!

 

Well, I am much more leaning to the 15000 RPM mechanical drive than SSD, because I find that SSDs are still overpriced for what they offer. And, the fact that they are limited, still on a number of things. 

I figured with a fast mechanical drive I am in a  better balance. I have faster boot time, not as SSD, but at the same time I have greater storage than SSD vs. price tag. Still debating, since it is some time away. 

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  • 5 months later...

I started out with a 2005 G5 that wouldn't boot. I said" This case would make a really classy computer case". So I investigated the possibilities.

 I decided to use a modern ATX motherboard and found a mounting solution at MountainMods.com. This step made in much easier to develop the mounting solutions for all the disks, the SSD and the power supply.

 

Once i got the ATX Mboard placed inside the G5, I modified the top shelf to support two disks and an SSD. I used a water cooler to cool the CPU and a multiple fan arrangement to get the heat out! One 80 MM fan on top the top shelf cools the disk and the SSD.

 

I then used the new CoreStorage to build 2 Fusion drives with one partitioned disk and one partitioned SSD.

 

It all has worked out to my liking.

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