Foxic Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 This is my second G5 and ended up much cleaner than my old one. I wanted to re-do my case as the previous G5 I aquired had a few scratches so I sanded the whole thing down and polished it up. It looked good but it kept needing polishing and I wanted apple logos on the sides I also had an issue with case temps due to the PSU fan which was blowing air down through the top tray into the case. I tried flipping the fan over so it was sucking the case air out but that actually made things worse?! So armed with a few ideas, a bit more experience and a few tubes of JB weld I set about making this... I started with a very clean G5 that had motherboard issues and 2 bent G5s. I stripped them all down, took all the standoffs from the broken g5s to be re-used along with all bolts and any other useful bits. I then cut the back out after measuring it up against the mountain-mods 2x80mm motherboard tray that I had to order from Germany and used salvaged G5 standoffs for the supports. Next the HDD caddy, rad flange (lol...flange), and reservoir mount. For the PSU I wanted to place it up top where the HDDs are normally, like I've done previously, but unlike my first case mod I didn't want to cut a hole in the top tray for the bottom mounted PSU fan, I wanted to keep the air in the case separate to the PSU to try to bring my case temps down (they were around 50c ambient inside the case). After looking around for a PSU with a front mounted fan and finding nothing worth using I though I'd bite the bullet and just make my own. I used a few bits of aluminium sheet I had laying around, cut them to size and then JB welded them together using various objects to hold the pieces in place. Once it had set I drilled a few holes for the fans, got them mounted up using a few G5 fan guards...I like a bit of recycling, saving the planet and all that. I wanted the PSU to be silent but due to the size of the top section of the G5 I was restricted to 80mm max, that meant finding the quietest fans I could. Queue Sharkoon with their Silent Eagle range. I'm using 2x80mm fans @ 1000rpm for the PSU and you cant even hear them when they're running. So with the PSU cover sorted I had to start on mounting the PSU to the top shelf. Easily done with a few salvaged standoffs and a bit of good ol' JB weld. It has a picture of a tractor on the packet so it must be ok for PC's..or is it a MAC still?... So PSU mounted on the shelf and the wiring extended to some insulated female spades ready to plug into the snap-in IEC connector I had acquired. Once in I had to sort all the wiring out... I wanted it to be as clean as possible inside for airfl....na.. I just wanted it to look good So I cut all the wiring to the right length, put the connectors back on etc..all very tedious stuff. Then the fun job of building it all up Put some coolant in it and put the PSU cover on. Fire her up, bog roll in hand to catch any drips...there weren't any! Back in business! Here's a screenshot and a geekbench from a little while ago to show what it can do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefe Hobs Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 yeah, good work dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandro17 Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Very promising project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxic Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Well it works...my case temps now sit mid 30s, processors are at 36-43 when idle, 61-64 when at 100% load, that's at 3.8GHz. What is even more surprising is that my HDDs now sit mid 30s aswel, rather than 45-50 like they did previously. It just goes to show what a difference having better airflow through the case makes. I'm glad the initial reaction is a positive one. I'll be adding some more photos of the finished product at some point. I was in a bit of a rush to get it going last night and didn't bother to take any 'posed' photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkNugget Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Excellent job. Yeah, it's a bit "busy" looking, but very creative. You got my vote! BTW, just a reminder to everyone. PLEASE vote by saying - YOU GOT MY VOTE !!! If you like this (or any other build on here). Thanks, later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lach_B Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 You got my vote This is definitely one of the best G5 mods i have seen, certainly the cleanest in terms of mounting the mobo tray and PSU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.D. Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 How about some screen shots of your desktop when you get a chance? And I am eagerly awaiting the 'finished project' pictures! Looks good so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BALDY_MAN Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 stunning work well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxic Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 Thanks for the kind words. I will update my first post with some more photos later on today or tomorrow. I was encoding films for 3 hours straight using handbrake yesterday, ambient temp ~18C I couldn't get it past 55C @100% load, all other temps were mid 30s - low 40s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkNugget Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 Is everything up and running (Mac OS X wise)? Just checking. I say this because so far you might be our next winner, but I need to make sure you have everything working... Let us know, later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkNugget Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Well, even though you didn't get back to me on my request to make sure you have Mac OS X up and running I was able to see that in your signature; that you have 10.8 running. Please in the future, when questions like this are asked, please respond quickly as we don't want to leave you out of the winnings. Which, by the way, you won for the month of September !!! Check out the link here: MacMod of the Month - September Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxic Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 Thanks alot guys, I will still add some more photos. I've not had time yet. I've been installing a digifiz dash in my car: Please in the future, when questions like this are asked, please respond quickly as we don't want to leave you out of the winnings. In future please PM me with questions like this, I do not have alot of free time to spend on here and a PM comes straight to my email Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkNugget Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 In future please PM me with questions like this, I do not have alot of free time to spend on here and a PM comes straight to my email I hear ya, that's why I PM'd you anyway as well as posted here. I'm one those guys that will find a way to get through to you, one way or the other. Something to note though, with something this specific it is your responsibility to keep tabs on it (since you posted it)... BTW, nice nice dash mod... Later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.D. Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 My vote for MacMod of the year. Excellent G5 mod - and since I have a modded G5, I kinda got a soft spot for them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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