[PLOG] Mac G5 --> PC Conversion

Cuzza · Aug 24, 2009

awesome progress

I ilke the look of the exposed PSU, you did well there.

Soldering, yeah that was a bit of a mess but don't worry about it, it will be fine. Resistance is SFA. in future you should twist the wires together, there's a knack to it, but it makes a stronger join and better contact when you do it right.

PSU fans - I think you should put one more on there just to be safe, I would try to mount it horizontally to blow air down on the PSU. Might be tricky but give it a go.

Lastly teh bluetooth adapter. I think you should be able to jam it straight into a USB port. if it is loose cut some slivers of plastic and jam them in there - the tension on the pins should hold it in place. And then put some hot glue in on top to keep it there. If you don't want to ruin your usb port, get a short extension cable and stick it in there.

phanbuey · Aug 24, 2009

jesus... i get scared when I see open PSU's... just dont touch the caps!

...

You do need extra fans on the PSU, I used to run silent setups, where I would have a silent 50CFM fan instead of the ones that came with the PSU, and at moderate loads the PSU would overheat and the system would shut down.

So yes... the more direct airflow that sucker gets, the better IMO.

KainXS · Aug 24, 2009

looks like its gonna get some awesome airflo

angelkiller · Aug 24, 2009

Alright. More clamps and 2 80mm fans ordered! I picked 2 80mm ones instead of a horizontal 120mm one because I thought it fit in with the airflow better. All the air in that area will be coming from the front 2 120mm fans and moving to the rear. Not that a horizontal fan would really affected anything though, but it does have to be mounted.

@ Cuzza,
What's the best way to connect wires like that? You mentioned twisting, but I assume there may be a bit more to it than just that. I still have to connect the wire that connects the mains. Don't wanna flub that one too.

And lol @ the bt adapter idea. I'll give it a try though because I don't see any other options.

Thanks for sticking around people! :toast:

Cuzza · Aug 24, 2009

just do what this guy does

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QznAAwL8rI&feature=fvw

angelkiller · Sep 8, 2009

I've made some progress over the last few weeks, but I never posted the pics. That'll happen soon. The tubing is in, the PSU is fully in, the PSU wires have been custom cut. Everything is starting to come together. Still need to solder the front panel wires.

In the meantime, I need some SATA cables that go off to the side. It's like a right angle Sata cable, but the right angle doesn't go up or down, it goes to the side. The left side specifically. Here's a pic:

Where can I get something like that?

Cuzza · Sep 9, 2009

just a wild assumption, the black box is the end of the hard drive? /unannotated diagram rant

well, I've never seen a cable like that, neither can I find one after a 10-min search around. But you're not the first to go looking, check this thread
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1402085
And it doesn't look like he found one. So you might be shit outta luck. But don't take my word for it.

angelkiller · Sep 9, 2009

Yeah, I think you're right. I guess I'll have to use regular right angle connectors.

angelkiller · Oct 9, 2009

Long overdue. School's a bitch.

This is the main AC plug. I had a concern earlier about how I would get the AC plug to 'be' in the same place that the stock one was. Here's what I did. You see the gray plastic ring shaped piece? That's the stock Apple mount. So that piece fits perfectly on the inside of the space where the plug goes. In fact, it locks into place in that space. So anything attached to the inside of that will be able to snap in to that place. See where I'm going? I sanded the edges of the OCZ plug, (the black one) until it fit perfectly into the grey ring piece. To get it to stay, I used plastic epoxy. The end result works perfectly! (No pic tho. Sorry!)

Simpler explanation: Look at This pic. See the grey piece? Well I sanded the black OCZ plug until it fit in there then I glued it with plastic epoxy.

I also got the tubing in. Not much to say here cept it looks AWESOME! :rockout:

Oh, and the tubing stains... I guess the dye used to color the tubes comes out really easily. It kinda dyed by hand. :laugh:

This is how the system looks RIGHT NOW. All this other stuff was done before I took a huge break! Right now the system has water in it and I'm putting the final touches on it. I have a long weekend right now so I'm off till Tuesday.

I plan to take the system to school Tuesday, so it'll be up and running well before then!! STAY TUNED BECAUSE I'M ALMOST DONE!! :rockout:

angelkiller · Oct 9, 2009

Finished the front panel connectors. Major PITA. In case anybody ever uses this thread as reference for their own project, this is the one that I used.

Hm. This is funny. I THINK I'M FINISHED GUYS!!

angelkiller · Oct 9, 2009

Hm. I guess I'm not finished. It won't turn on. :cry:

Please have a look at at this diagram which shows how the front panel connectors are connected. The diagram says that the ground for the power switch isn't needed if the FW and USB are correctly connected. I followed the diagram exactly except for 1 expectation. I didn't use the Firewire Shield ground nor the USB Shield ground. How important are these? Either way, how is the power button grounding?

DonInKansas · Oct 9, 2009

Your PC is rebelling against being put in a Mac case. :roll:

angelkiller · Oct 9, 2009

DonInKansas said:
Your PC is rebelling against being put in a Mac case.

Cuzza · Oct 10, 2009

I think you need to find the power switch itself, wherever it is, and see where it grounds to. I would guess that there is common ground with the USB and firewire. These shield grounds would normally be permanently grounded. So you're going to have to ground them, methinks.

Failing that, wire in your own ground directly to the switch.

angelkiller · Oct 10, 2009

Cuzza said:
I think you need to find the power switch itself, wherever it is, and see where it grounds to. I would guess that there is common ground with the USB and firewire. These shield grounds would normally be permanently grounded. So you're going to have to ground them, methinks.

Failing that, wire in your own ground directly to the switch.

Sorry for the late response, been busy with SAT stuff.

The front panel connectors are all on a single PCB which connects to the stock G5 mobo by a single wire with all the connections on it. I've connected the front panel stuff the my P35-DS3L by cutting that single wire and getting a pinout to show where each individual wire goes. Hopefully that makes sense. So it's kinda hard to see where the switch grounds to because its on its own PCB. (instead of simply being a button or something)

Both the USB connector and Firewire connector have a shield ground. (Ever wonder what that nineth pin was for? USB has 4 pins per port, and has 2 ports per mobo header and FW has 8 pins per connecter) Unfortunately it would be rather difficult to run 2 more wires from the mobo to the front panel becuase they've all been sleeved and such. However, I could simply attach the USB and FW Shields to a regular USB and FW ground. Would that work? I'm not sure what the ultimate difference between FW Shield Ground and the ground that is in a FW cable.

angelkiller · Oct 15, 2009

*sigh*

Anyone can chime in here. That includes, but is not limited to Cuzza.
(though I greatly appreciate his input!)

smee · Oct 15, 2009

Try putting a metal object or flat head screw driver to the two power pins on the motherboard, if it doesn't turn on it's a motherboard problem.
If it does turn on by jumping the pins (by using your metal object as a power switch essentially), then it means your power button was not working.

my two cents....
-smee

angelkiller · Oct 15, 2009

Good idea about starting turning on the mobo manually. At least I could use the system. (assuming it works)

Problem is that the front panel pins are not really accessible.

Ahhzz · Oct 16, 2009

Personally, I prefer a paperclip for that job. Light Resistance, so I don't have to worry about not having enough voltage to travel from point to point, I can bend it to fit pretty much anywhere I need to, and relatively easy to manipulate without worries of shorting out other things. My 2cp.

angelkiller · Oct 16, 2009

Ok ok. Due to popular demand, I'll see if I can get access to the pins. I'm gonna be busy for a while, so it'll have to be tomorrow evening at best. Will report results.

Going back to post 115, does anyone know how the front panel connector is supposed to ground?

Cuzza · Oct 17, 2009

I suggest grounding the USB and FW shield grounds directly to a PSU ground lead (tap one off a molex).

ib_prime · Oct 17, 2009

I just registered to say great thread (the only one that's active i can find on this G5 mod). I'm also working on a G5->PC mod, I will try using the pinout you provided for the front panel and see how it pans out, will update here.

Cuzza · Oct 17, 2009

ib_prime said:
I just registered to say great thread (the only one that's active i can find on this G5 mod). I'm also working on a G5->PC mod, I will try using the pinout you provided for the front panel and see how it pans out, will update here.

here's a recent thread about another G5 mod

http://www.gpforums.co.nz/thread/369194/?s=

ib_prime · Oct 18, 2009

Okay the power button + goes out to USB Shield Ground (pin 6) to complete the switch, if I remember correctly from my playing around with my setup.

ib_prime · Oct 18, 2009

Okay the power button + goes out to USB Shield ground if I remember correctly from my playing around with my setup.

Processor	AMD Phenom II 555BE unlocked X4 @3.8GHz
Motherboard	GA-78LMT-S2P
Cooling	Thermaltake Blue Orb + open case in cold room = low temps lol
Memory	8Gb DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	GTX580
Storage	64GB SSD Super Talent
Display(s)	22" Chimei, 17" Philips
Case	POS!
Power Supply	Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W

System Name	stress-less
Processor	9800X3D @ 5.42GHZ
Motherboard	MSI PRO B650M-A Wifi
Cooling	Thermalright Phantom Spirit EVO
Memory	64GB DDR5 6600 1:2 CL36, FCLK 2200
Video Card(s)	RTX 4090 FE
Storage	2TB WD SN850, 4TB WD SN850X
Display(s)	Alienware 32" 4k 240hz OLED
Case	Jonsbo Z20
Audio Device(s)	Yes
Power Supply	Corsair SF750
Mouse	DeathadderV2 X Hyperspeed
Keyboard	65% HE Keyboard
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	They're pretty good, nothing crazy.

Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 9900x, Ryzen 9 5980HX
Motherboard	Gigabyte B850 Gaming X
Cooling	Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4(With Noctua Fans)
Memory	128GB Crucial Pro 6400
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RTX 3080, Asus 6800M
Storage	Adata SX8200 1TB NVME/WD Black 1TB NVME
Display(s)	Dell 27 Inch 165Hz
Case	Lian Li A3 Mini
Audio Device(s)	IFI Zen Dac/JDS Labs Atom+/SMSL Amp+Rivers Audio
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x
Mouse	Logitech G502 SE Hero
Keyboard	Corsair K70 RGB Mk.2
VR HMD	Samsung Odyssey Plus/ Quest 3
Software	Windows 11

Processor	AMD Phenom II 555BE unlocked X4 @3.8GHz
Motherboard	GA-78LMT-S2P
Cooling	Thermaltake Blue Orb + open case in cold room = low temps lol
Memory	8Gb DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	GTX580
Storage	64GB SSD Super Talent
Display(s)	22" Chimei, 17" Philips
Case	POS!
Power Supply	Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W

Processor	AMD Phenom II 555BE unlocked X4 @3.8GHz
Motherboard	GA-78LMT-S2P
Cooling	Thermaltake Blue Orb + open case in cold room = low temps lol
Memory	8Gb DDR3 1600
Video Card(s)	GTX580
Storage	64GB SSD Super Talent
Display(s)	22" Chimei, 17" Philips
Case	POS!
Power Supply	Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W

[PLOG] Mac G5 --> PC Conversion

Cuzza

phanbuey

KainXS

angelkiller

Cuzza

angelkiller

Cuzza

angelkiller

angelkiller

angelkiller

angelkiller

DonInKansas

angelkiller

Cuzza

angelkiller

angelkiller

smee

angelkiller

Ahhzz

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angelkiller

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Processor	Core i5 3570K
Motherboard	AsRock z77 Pro4
Cooling	Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
Memory	2x4GB GSkill Sniper
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX970 Gaming
Storage	240GB OCZ ARC 100, Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Display(s)	LG 23" 1920x1080
Case	Antec P100
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Antec Edge 750W
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro 64

System Name	OrangeHaze / Silence
Processor	i7-13700KF / i5-10400 /
Motherboard	ROG STRIX Z690-E / MSI Z490 A-Pro Motherboard
Cooling	Corsair H75 / TT ToughAir 510
Memory	64Gb GSkill Trident Z5 / 32GB Team Dark Za 3600
Video Card(s)	Palit GeForce RTX 2070 / Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X 4Gb
Storage	Hynix Plat P41 2Tb\Samsung MZVL21 1Tb / Samsung 980 Pro 1Tb
Display(s)	22" Dell Wide/24" Asus
Case	Lian Li PC-101 ATX custom mod / Antec Lanboy Air Black & Blue
Audio Device(s)	SB Audigy 7.1
Power Supply	Corsair Enthusiast TX750
Mouse	Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless / Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum
Keyboard	K68 RGB — CHERRY® MX Red
Software	Win10 Pro \ RIP:Win 7 Ult 64 bit