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MAC PRO Case Mod


MacBookJoe
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Good choice on the DFI board. I see many people recommending gigabyte boards due to their good compatibility for hackintosh projects, but DFI boards are even better. Crazy overclocking abilities too. I've built 3 hacks using all DFI boards: one LT P35 and two DK X48. I could not be happier.

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Do you have all the bits and bobs that come inside it? All the front panel stuff, HD racks, psu and drive bay shields and air zoning baffles?

 

All of the wiring & front panel is included, the PSU shield is actually part of the PSU so it is not included, the DVD/CD tray is included, and it has the HDD trays for disks 1, 3, and 4, but not 2, and it is missing the front & rear fans and ducting. Basically it is the same as you typically find on ebay since that is where I bought it from.

 

It's in great condition though and is for an 8-core mac. If you do want it and need to get the ducting and such, make sure you buy the parts for the 8-core as they are slightly different.

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I figured you meant it would be for a hackintosh, but I'm saying you'd need the 8-core Mac Pro ducting since the mounting for the RAM cage is slightly different. If you don't plan on using the ducting, then it doesn't make any difference.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 1 month later...

THE HOW TO:

 

The move to water-cooling.

 

So this should give you an idea of room I've got to play with. The Rad is mounted on the roof of the case externally, the tubes are routed in then out the back side of the case and back in as shown below.

 

oczram010crap.jpg

 

Then i have to install the RAM cage, the below image shows how much height from the waterblock the tubing will have to turn around and connect to the next water block.

 

oczram013.jpg

 

The RAM cage has no back so it will slid in and cover the loop (its very effective at keeping the heat from the GPU away from the CPU. you can see in the below image with the CPU cover (Apple part name) in place it creates a tunnel from front to back with a 120mm Noctua fan at each end.

 

macpropsu032crap.jpg

I cant draw with a mouse... or at all even.. but its the idea...

 

 

It Begins,

 

Chilled PC we're a real star! helping me out loads! I had to split my first lot of items between ChilledPC and WaterCooling UK. Mainly because I'm impatient and didn't want to wait.

 

picture7o.png

 

and I'm still looking over my second order from WaterCooling UK.

 

picture6t.png

 

 

 

The Noctua P12 fans I already owned and have been cooling my Case mod since the begining.. I'd used them with a volt mod cable to lower the RPM. The build quality of Noctuas fans blew me away so I stayed with them.

 

noctua_nf_p12_1.jpg

HERE:

 

I moved the three cooling my case to the RAD and used three of these in the case.

 

noctua-nf-s12.jpg

HERE:

 

 

Once my parts started to arrive I got a little camera giddy and took alot of photos.. The annoying thing with this build was the waiting.. I spent along time picking out and planning what parts to use and had alot of help form the forum member over at Clunk.org and Tom from ChilledPC.

 

 

img0401xam.jpg

 

 

At this point I had to turn off my Rig (first time in months as its Folds solid for Custom PC's team).

 

I went withFeser One UV (Blue) as my fluid and i picked out blue as i liked the look my Zalman HSF LED gave the case. I also knew at this point that my fan controller was gonna be glowing so thought it best to stick to the same color.

 

WC-000-FO_400.jpg

 

 

I drew a sketch on the back of a receipt as i needed to get the "HOW" out of my head and onto paper.. I had a hard time explaining the idea to some folks so I drew this in PAINT lame huh.. but it helped.

 

 

macpropsu032crapbh.jpg

 

At each red ring the loop exits my case, I wanted a clean fitted look so opted for the bulk heads, with high flow barbs on one end and the rotary elbows on the other I hoped to minimise any negative effects so I went for a 18w Pump.

 

Tom from ChilledPC really helped me out when it came to what waterblocks.. This is my first attempt at a water cooling loop and knew next to nothing! Tom was able to order in anything i wanted and found me these blocks for Northbridge and MOSFETS.

 

 

Northbridge.

 

MIPS DFI LANparty P35 / X38 / X48 Northbridge Freezer Nickel

mch1033.jpg

 

MOSFETS

 

MIPS DFI LANparty P35 / X38 / X48 Mosfet Freezer Nickel

mch1149.jpg

 

CPU

 

D-Tek FuZion™ v2

FuZion_v2-HR.jpg

 

Now i went for the D-Tek over the GTZ for one reason.. STOCK! Chilled PC had them in and i was ordering the others so why not.. When i placed my order i also picked up the nozzle kit and paid to have my CPU lapped.. but I didnt use the nozzles nor (although I've paid for it) did i send the CPU to get lapped. I think I'll keep that paid service until i move this rig to i7.

 

I've also lined up the 3x Noctua NF-S12 800rpm fans to replace my current case fans and a bunch of other stuff.. coolant and noise damping for the pump some heat-shrink and cable braid.

 

At this point i needed a RAD! and only two were viable options for me. the ThermoChill PA120.3 and the FESER TFC 360. The WORLD seemed out of stock and I ended up waiting for weeks before i could place an order.

 

The iPhone camera is {censored}! but its all i have so it'll do. The MIPS blocks arrived along with a bunch of other goodies from ChilledPC. the MIPS are great looking! you can really see the craftsmanship. lol sounds like i know what I'm talking about.. These are the first blocks I've ever got my hands on.

 

 

 

Just losly thumbed on the barbs and Bitspower 45's for this photo. The reason i got the 45's is the rear 120mm fan in the MacPro (RAM cage) currently had to have the housing cut away to accommodate the PWM heatsink on the Mobo. Without the 45's I'd not be able to tube them. This was VERY correct and even with the 45's I still had to cut away some more.

 

 

LOL... It got to this point and my heart skipped a beat! I panicked as my bank was taking a SLAPPING! Below is almost everything i bought for this single loop and a aftermarket cooler for the GPU.

 

 

I went with the ThermoChill PA120.3. I did this because i sent Simon at Thermochill an email.. its was the last part I needed and I just couldnt find stock! so i went direct to the manufacturer. I sent him an email explaining what i was doing and asked why i couldnt find one of there products in stock anywhere! I told him how it was a toss up between there PA serrirs or a FESER 360 and gave me this response.

 

Hi Joe,

 

We have none left from last week but we have a new production run finishing this week. If you place an order for your radiator I will be able to get one shipped out for you on Friday for delivery early next week.

Don't worry about mentioning our competitors, just be careful and find out which country they are made in. I don't agree with paying a lot of money for something that is made in the far east.

 

Kind regards

 

Steve Verity

www.thermochill.com

 

That made me smile and i liked the idea i was buying British!

 

It begins...

 

I gutted my MacPro case (needs a good clean) and rigged up my PC on my desktop using an mobo tray i once wrapped in Akasa sound matting and screwed my first Hack to the wall with it.

 

img0454g.jpg

lol... i used to have this screwed to my wall using a bunch of parts i found in my attic! that was my first Hackintosh.

 

img0458m.jpg

And here we have my gutted totally empty MacPro case it never been so gutted. Next it was time to work on the bulkheads.

 

 

Things are moving along...

 

img0463j.jpg

Choose this fan controller due to its Watt per channel over the Zalman i was eyeing up, it was alot deeper due to the heatsinks on the board so made it a little tricky to find somewhere to fit it.

 

img0459f.jpg

My case sits on my desktop just to the left of my monitor so I thought there would be a good place (lol... the only) to mount it.

 

img0467w.jpg

I measured up and pulled out my Dremel.

 

img0464k.jpg

Dropped it into place and put on its knobs to see how it fits... Not bad huh.. each one of them lights up blue, so that should light up the total underneath of my case.

 

I'll be mounted it to the front of my case using the raisers it was using to attach to its 5 1/2" bay mount. I then used J-B Weld to fit it in place. Once fitted I am now able to remove the controller by its screws :-p.

 

 

I left the J.B Weld set over night.. and... sorted! that isnt going anywhere!

 

img0485gcu.jpg

...

 

img0482i.jpg

...

 

 

 

 

Once the RAD turned up i was so supprised by it SIZE!!! I'd never seen these rads or any watercooling component for that mater.

 

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...

 

The holes were not threaded which made mounting my Fans using the Feser shrouds a bugger. so i bought a tap and die set.

 

img0503jsd.jpg

...

 

The Feser shrouds although great looking are NOT greatly put together.. I could not push the supplied bolts through all the holes on ANY of the three i bought.. I had to drill them out.

 

img0493y.jpg

...

 

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..

 

It took rather a while working out where the holes needed to exactly go but I'm VERY pleased with the end result.

 

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All bulkheads, elbows and barbs fitted (not tightly)

 

img0552w.jpg

...

 

Again this isnt the final fit but its a great fit.

 

img0551q.jpg

...

 

I gave the fan controller a quick test run as i HAD just hacked it up to mod fit it.. I'd have been gutted if I hadnt of worked when i came to turn it ALL on for the first time.

 

img0558s.jpg

...

 

img0556b.jpg

 

The black tubing here was just some test cut pieces.

 

 

Next I had to look at fitting my RAD, I had some problems here.. if you look at my doodle you'll see I grossly under estimated the length / size of the rad. The Triple RAD was to bit to fit between to two handles of the MacPro case. but I had some ideas of how to get around this. Make my own raisers. . .

 

I measured out the top holes for mounting the Rad.

 

img0560m.jpg

...

 

Then I used some M4 threaded bar and some Alu tubing to make some external mounts. I bought some hard drive rubber washers to help absorb any sound from the Fans.

 

img0561m.jpg

...

 

Then I put the gasket on the Rad and started attaching my fans.

 

img0567z.jpg

...

 

Then I dropped it into place upon the top of my case and bolted it firmly. its a great fit. no wobble (well it takes some force for to move and i doubt the RPM on those fans will shift it.).

 

img0575p.jpg

 

I bought a Corsair 850 watt PSU as i hope to upgrade my GFX in the summer and left my trusty 620 watt Hiper wouldn't be enough to power a flagship GPU come JULY. So once that turned up I started to tighten everything up and look at leak testing. I

 

img0571f.jpg

...

 

 

img0577t.jpg

...

 

 

I stripped my Motherboard down and applied my MX-2 to the CPU, NB and a tiny bit on each PWM.

 

First attempt at tubing.

 

img0612.jpg

...

 

All tubing, ready to be dropped into the case and connected to the loop.

 

img0620e.jpg

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Overview with the mobo mounted.

 

img0622wtb.jpg

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Hooked up and ready for coolant!!

 

img0627n.jpg

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I double treble checked everything a littered the inside of my case with kitchen roll.

 

 

 

Fingers crossed.

 

 

 

Well... It worked YAY!! (DUH) All leaks were addressed mainly hose-clips being tooooo tight and slight to high on the barb. The last bits of air trapped in the Rad and bubbling were removed by gently (ish) SHAKING!!! the case...

heres some photos.

 

img0629igl.jpg

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img0636.jpg

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Here it is. . .

 

theaquamac032.jpg

A view of the loop. (Res)

. . .

 

theaquamac031.jpg

Water blocks (cant really see them huh)

. . .

 

theaquamac033.jpg

. . .

 

theaquamac034.jpg

. . .

 

theaquamac029.jpg

. . .

 

Just gotta hope I've not knocked anything lose when fitting the remaining hardware.. Would hate to wake up to a puddle.

 

 

So temps....

 

 

I dont really know.. lol.. the gpu is great! 51-55 underload now (folding) used to be 78-80 so thats a result! Everest reads my CPU at 29-31 idle (ish) thats at 4.11ghz and I've not seen it break 35 yet.

 

I'll do some real testing soon. Its all about how well it handles heat to further i push it. I'lll try for 4.2- 4.3- 4.5 and beyond (if I'm super lucky in a few days).

 

I'd love to clean up the Alu and have it photographed professionally good lighting and a white backdrop. It just looks fab!

 

post-101668-1240772314_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

What do you think?

 

J.

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I have to admit... This looks terrible. ;)

 

 

Although functionality for sure is another point. Functionality: :D , Appearance: :wacko:

At least, you did everything very clean. So it just looks kinda special and no longer like a real Mac Pro but then I think that was actually your idea, right?

 

Anyway, nice work, the result is a little bit..uhmm..questionable (from my point of view, but I'm sure you disagree)

 

 

 

/Thath0r

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Thanks for your honest opinion I can respect that. Its not finished. I agree I moved away from the Mac Pro look you were correct it was intentional. I had thought of leaving the case as it was and buying a Silverstone for my first water cooling attempt.

 

But this had not been done before, the rad+ fans will be covered with a shroud I've been designing using a spare Mac Pro side door. the intention is to create a clearly DIFFERENT, UNIQUE clean cut Mac Pro case mod.

 

NOT to retain a stock look (I was amongst the first to achieve that).

 

J.

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Yeah for sure. Cool idea, covering the rad somehow.

 

It's not a Mac Pro anymore, but I think you'll achieve quite a nice look in the end.

 

Have you thought about just "enlarging" the case, so to speak? I mean, just some kind of covering the rad, but with the goal, that it looks still like a kind of extremely tall Mac Pro. Or you could also just put another modded empty case on top of your Mac Pro case over the rad. I know, I know, this maybe isn't your point, but I think you should really try to stay with that awesome design the Mac Pro has.

Although I can imagine, that you've become tired of it. :(

 

 

Looking forward to see your progress!

 

 

 

/Thath0r

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Thanks for your honest opinion I can respect that. Its not finished. I agree I moved away from the Mac Pro look you were correct it was intentional. I had thought of leaving the case as it was and buying a Silverstone for my first water cooling attempt.

 

But this had not been done before, the rad+ fans will be covered with a shroud I've been designing using a spare Mac Pro side door. the intention is to create a clearly DIFFERENT, UNIQUE clean cut Mac Pro case mod.

 

NOT to retain a stock look (I was amongst the first to achieve that).

 

J.

 

I am curious to see your modded Mac pro side door. Have you thought to use a mesh panel to mod as cover ? The are very flexible and easy to mod as I have done to cover the inner parts of my cases.

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OMG OMG OMG OMG

 

:):|:wacko: :wacko: :wacko: :wacko: :wacko: :wacko: :wacko: :wacko: :wacko: :wacko: :wacko:

 

I REALLY Laughed My ass off, I couldn't stop laughing :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

I still cannot believe...

 

First post, great mod, great pictures...

 

Last post,

Billy_d Posted Today, 12:59 PM

If it was your intention to ruin a perfectly good Mac case, then well done you have done a cracking job.

This made me watch the whole thread, because why could Billy_d post something like that.... the mod look"ed" great!

 

well okay, i scrolled through the post, and saw the mod going to fase 2. I saw drawings of excessive water cooling and holes drilled through the casing

 

And Than I saw the picture of Stellora's Frankenstein MOD...

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I'm sorry, I don't understand. Why would being interested in OSX86 keep you from building a machine with the Mac Pro case? Isn't it a nice case for any machine whether it is a hackintosh or regular Macintosh? Now that a new one can be had for $199 I don't see the major obstacle as many nice aftermarket PC cases are close to that price. The challenge is finding the right motherboard and components that would work well with that case. It seems like people would want to do the hackintosh thing in hardware as well as software if at all possible. Macs are beautiful after all.

 

What I'm saying is it's a nice case even if you're just intending it to be a case for your computer, not trying to make your hackintosh as much as a mac as you can. I don't like the case because I like macs or apple, I like it because it's a good looking case.

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If it was your intention to ruin a perfectly good Mac case, then well done you have done a cracking job.

These kind of comments get to me. Why bother posting them?

 

Nor do I see a reason for them? The case looks great! It isn't the stock look, as I'd already done that.. Now I've combined it with a top of the range water cooling solution. The whole POINT of a mod (see thread title) is to MODIFY a case looks. . . Your posts are off topic and so need deleting.

 

Nor is it finished... If you hate is now.. your gonna really hate it when its done. I don't want a stock Mac Pro (I'd buy a Mac Pro) I have a Mac Pro Mod!

 

Anyone thinking of posting a comment. If its negative then why bother? Constructive criticism is not "If it was your intention to ruin a perfectly good Mac case, then well done you have done a cracking job." Thats just the ramblings of a sad and lonely boy.

 

My Mod no longer runs OSX I run Folding@Home 24/7 and require a GPU client. I'm into overclocking and performance benchmarking I am a PC enthusiast!

 

I love the Mac Pro case and did another first with this Mod, My Quick Silver Hack runs OSX and I'm working on another first using an Apple Cube case.

 

Keep your comments on Topic.

 

 

J.

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  • 2 months later...

I think it is beautiful!!!!!!!!!

Dont change a thing.

Dont get me wrong the stock case is nice but what fun is that.

Hey to all you Apple Fanboys, just because Steve Jobs didnt approve of it doesnt mean it isnt awesome!!!!

 

 

I love Apple products but I love breaking the boundaries of Apple even better.

 

Good Job!!!!

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I'm also building a PC hacentosh inside a Mac Pro tower case. I'm using a Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3P motherboard with a Rosewill 530 watt power supply. My case was gutted before I bought it and as such I only have the power button on the front of the case with a small what looks like a 3 point plug. How do I get this connected to the motherboard so that it will start up when I press the button.

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