hackintosh1 Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Hello everyone, This is my first post although I have been searching a lot on the forum about how to put my PC components into a PowerMac G5 case. Basically I bought a new case hoping to just replace my other PC case and to put my already existing parts in it. However, I figured out its not that easy as the mounting screw holes are placed in different places than in a regular ATX case. So I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer. 1) My motherboard is an Asus P5WD2 Premium full ATX and I don't think it will fit just by trying to match it up with the screw holes alone. So I am wondering if there is any way I don't know about to just mount it to the screws or if I will have to first mount a sheet of metal over the screw holes and then put the screws in the right place for my motherboard. Also, in positioning the motherboard in the case I noticed that unless I remove the top panel that holds the hard drive bays and optical drive and move the whole motehrboard up into this area, I will not have access to the PCI x16 slot, the blue one, that I use for my video card. There is however a PCI x4 slot that fits the card, but I don't think the video card will work in this slot. If you see the picture below you can see what I mean. Basically I would need to either have the PCI x4 slot, the black one, work or have the top panel removed, and I don't think mounting the hard drives and optical drive would be easy without that in place. But, if there is anyway I can use my existing motherboard easily that would be awesome. 2) If not I am wondering which motherboard to purchase. I have read that mini-ATX boards will mount using the existing screws in the case but I just want to make sure. If only some of them fit then I would really like to know which ones, as not to purchase one that I will not fit using the existing screw holes. My CPU is a Pentium 4 3.4 GHZ that will fit in a LGA775 socket. I looked at this motherboard --> http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/d915gux/index.htm which looks awesome because it has a PCI x16 slot that I can use and accepts my CPU, plus it's pretty inexpensive at around $50 I think. I just want to know if the compatibility with OSX86 is good with this one, as I couldn't really find information on it in the wiki using 10.4.8. Also, I would really only buy it if I knew it could be mounted using the existing screw holes. If there is a better one that is around the same price please let me know. 3) Lastly, what are the circular nubs in some of the screw holes in the case? I have searched online but have found no information on them and was wondering what they were for. It looks as if I they can be unscrewed but I've tried pliers and they will not turn. Also, I have one in an area of the case that pushes up on the motherboard and I don't think that is good, and I think they might be a problem even if I buy a new motherboard. So are they necessary and can they be removed or has anyone taken them off the case successfully? You can see one of them in the top left of the picture below If anyone could help me out that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Also, it's awesome how much help I have already received by looking around on the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karmatose Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Ill answer question number three for you. Those are the mount points for the G5 mobo. Whe I was modding my G4 case, I cut them out with my dremel tool and lot of patience. As for mounting the new mobo, use the brass mounting posts you would use in a regular PC case. "Rail buttons" may also be something good to look into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcook Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Whe I was modding my G4 case, I cut them out with my dremel tool and lot of patience. I thought the standoffs on the G4 and G5 cases could be twisted and pulled off? I'm sure I read that somewhere, but I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heero Yuy Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I thought the standoffs on the G4 and G5 cases could be twisted and pulled off? I'm sure I read that somewhere, but I could be wrong. Yea they can, thats what I did with my G5 case when I modified it, just get a pair of pliers and pull, they come off no problem. When I did my G5 case, I just pulled off all the standoffs that were in the way for my mATX mobo and then re-used them by attaching them back onto the case in their new locations using steel epoxy, worked like a charm! Good Luck with your case hackintosh1! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karmatose Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Interesting.. I wish my standoffs came out with pliers.. Maybe it was just a Yikes!/Sawtooth thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackintosh1 Posted August 28, 2007 Author Share Posted August 28, 2007 That's for the great replies so far! I guess I will just have to saw off the standoffs as they are not unsrewing? Either you got lucky with your case Heero Yuy or I need to get stronger pliers! I am pretty sure I am going to but a new motherboard just because of the mounting issue and I would have a lot more space in the case if I got a micro ATX. But after further research I have decided to not get D915GUX as it is a few years old and only supports up to 533 MHZ DDR RAM. So does anyone have a good suggestion for a microATX motherboard? Preferably it will support a Pentium 4 3.4 GHZ CPU, 800 MHZ DDR2 RAM, and have a PCI x16 slot for my video card. Also, it would be awesome if it could support core 2 duo as well, but that is not necessary. And my budget is less than $100. I've been looking on Intel's website at the motherboards and there are a lot of great looking ones but I don't know which ones are the best compatibility wise and for the price. I also don't know if another brand is better, as I haven't done much research on microATX boards, although I do know about regular ATX. http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboard/index.htm If anyone could help me out that would be awesome. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heero Yuy Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Maybe I did get lucky, all I did was grip the standoff with the pliers (regular ones, not long nose ones), pulled it from side to side and then gave it a yank and they all came of pretty easy this way! The method apple used to secure them to the case may have changed depending on what year your case is from. I would go for a mATX board it just makes modifying the case so much easier, depends on how much expansion you need though. As for a recommendation I don't really have one, the mobo I used only have PCI-Express 4 so thats no good to you, but then it was on the cheap side. Best thing to do is have the HCL up as you browse for motherboards and see if anything matches up on there, then it should tell you how compatible it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark4181 Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 fyi, there's a sticky thread at the top of this sub-forum that will answer all your questions. pages 8-10 are particularly interesting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts