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[Case Mod] PowerHack G4 Quicksilver

45K views 159 replies 15 participants last post by  Gardnerphotos 
#1 ·
powerhackg4.png
Hey guys. I've had this PowerMac G4 Quicksilver collecting dust for a while, and I had enough spare PC parts laying around and needed a project so I decided to gut the G4 and modify it to fit standard ATX parts. This is my first major case mod. Originally I wasn't going to do a build log because I was just going to hack it up and get the motherboard mounted in there and call it done, but I decided to do it right. So far the only major goal I have for this project is to keep the case looking as close to stock as possible (except for the back). I have a bunch of ideas in mind for this project, but for now here's the important part:

Mounting the Motherboard in the case
Like I said, I wasn't originally planning on doing a build log so I didn't take any photos as I did this part of the mod, but I went back and took it apart and took some photos of everything I've done so far.

The one photo I did take while working. Cutting out the IO area


Here's my pile of G4 guts.


The end result of my (horrible) cutting. This will be fixed later.



To take off the side panel, you have to remove the 4 screws on the outside and then push in the two tabs shown here:


To align the motherboard, I put cards in the highest and lowest slots on the motherboard and screwed them into the slots on the case. I used the motherboard itself as a guide to drill the holes. I used a 1/8" drill and drilled holes in the case through each of the holes on the motherboard, took the motherboard out, and then used a larger drill (11/32" IIRC) to make the other holes bigger. The screws I used instead of standoffs are only 6/32", but I made the holes bigger so I could make some adjustments if necessary. Once I got all the screws in, I had to mark on the plastic latch mechanism where to drill holes to clear the screws. These need to be wider than the screws because the whole thing moves when you pull the handle. A couple of the screws are crooked because they happened to be close to where the holes for the original standoffs are.

(I thought the motherboard might touch the screws for the latch so I covered them with electrical tape just in case)



This method for mounting the motherboard works, but I would recommend using regular standoffs if possible. Trying to get the nuts on some of those screws is a real pain in the ass.

Here's the motherboard mounted:


As you can see here, the door won't close all the way:


Looks like my heatsink is too tall


I ordered a new heatsink along with some PSU extension cables. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of assuming that because the heatsink was listed under socket 775, the one I chose was actually 775. I skimmed over that when looking for the dimensions and didn't think to actually verify what socket it was until after I had placed the order
doh.gif
. Of course, it's socket 1156/1155. Oh well, I won't make that mistake again.

I was going to change the order, but I decided to stick with it. I think I'll sell a few spare computers I don't need and get some new hardware for this thing.

Current hardware:
Some sort of OEM 350W PSU
Foxconn DG33M03 motherboard
Intel E6300
1GB RAM
AMD Radeon HD 6450

Potential future hardware:
GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3V
Core i5 3350P
16GB Corsair XMS RAM
Galaxy GeForce GTX 650 Ti

Hardware:
ASUS P8P67-M PRO
16GB Corsair Vengeance LP RAM
Intel Core i5 3470
EVGA GTX 650 Ti
60GB OCZ Vertex 2
320GB 3.5" HDD
320GB WD Scorpio Black
Corsair H60
Antec 450W PSU (will be upgraded later)

The reason I'm looking at that motherboard is because it's narrow which means I could put the optical drive back in.

That's all I've got for now, hope you all enjoyed. Any ideas/suggestions are welcome. Let me know if there's any errors or if anything needs to be explained better; I think I covered everything but it's late and I'm tired.


Updates:

Update 1: Power switch/Cable management holes
Update 2: Shelf Rev.1
Update 3: Shelf Rev.2
Update 4: Parts start arriving
Update 5: Mounting the shelf
Update 6: More parts/Bondo fail
Update 7: Motherboard arrived/Building the AirPort card
Update 8: Hard drive caddy
Update 9: Installing the Laser Hive conversion kit
Update 10: 3.5" HDD mount, fan added, rear trim modded, various other mods
Update 11: More parts, H60 installed
Update 12: Crack kills
Update 13: Building the wall
Update 14: Installing the wall and front panel IO
Update 15: Started painting
Update 16: Finished painting
 
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12
#3 ·
Here's some things I'm planning to do to this computer:
-Add the startup chime with this method
-Paint the inside black
-Mount USB ports and headphone jacks where the zip drive used to be
-Repair/replace the back of the case that I hacked up
-Modify the power/reset buttons and power LED board to work with the ATX motherboard
-Cable management
-Sleeved cables
-Improve the air flow
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huzzbutt View Post

Just as with every G3/G4 mod thread i feel a combination of hate and admiration for you. Since i myself own two G3 cases (used as bedstands) I feet hatefull envy. But it's inspirational so I admire you.
(Looking good, Keep it up, Won't sub lest i feel diminished)
Thanks.
 
#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffinslaw View Post

Subbed!! Please take your time and make it look nice, patience!
smile.gif
looking forward to see it put together!

Jeffinslaw
Thanks! Patience is something I need to work on. By the way, I've been following your G5 build log. It looks great.

Edit: I should have the stuff I need to modify the power/reset buttons and power LED by Friday. I should have an update posted by the weekend.
 
#6 ·
I was up until 2 this morning soldering, and modified the power/reset buttons and power LED using this tutorial.

Here's the results:



I took the Antec 400W PSU out of my Dell and put it in the G4 Case


Marked where to cut (though these cuts probably aren't necessary)


Marked where to cut for airflow and cable management


I went and picked up some 21 TPI jigsaw blades and started cutting. Sorry about the white balance on these photos.








I fixed (most of) the horrible cuts I did with the hack saw


Marked the rear plastic and cut it so it would clear the PSU switch (which it still doesn't but I can still get to it)




Ran the cables between the side of the case and the plastic panel. I haven't seen anyone do this before. It's a tight fit but it works.




I went to RadioShack and bought a recording module for the startup chime, but I ended up ruining it with the soldering iron. I tried to fix it but thought of a different way to do it. I dug out my old MP3 player, put the sound file on there, took the battery out, wired it up to 5V, and broke the play button so it's constantly making contact.




The end result of today's work


It still looks crappy, and I need to do some filing/grinding and maybe make some adjustments to the cable management holes. I took out the plastic latch mechanism, it wasn't latching in the back. I don't think I'm going to try and fix it, I'll just use the lock on the back to keep it shut.

I also drilled bigger holes for the motherboard standoffs because I noticed the graphics card was bending and the motherboard needed a little more adjustment. This didn't help much though because I forgot that the rear audio ports are hitting something. I'll try and fix that tomorrow.

Edit:
Here's a video of the working power button and the chime
 
#7 ·
I went out earlier today and cut another hole for cable management


I also cleaned up the IO area a little bit more so the audio ports wouldn't hit


I cut up some plastic I had laying around to make a platform to hide the cables


Used epoxy to put the pieces together




 
#11 ·
I probably will in a week or two. It would be easier than making something to fill in the gaps on the back. What do you think about the shelf I made out of plastic? I'm debating whether to keep that one and build some hard drive mounts on that or make a new shelf out of sheet metal and put the drives under it. I might need to add a fan if I decide to do that. I'll probably get the new motherboard, CPU, and RAM before I do anything else to the case.
 
#16 ·
I just bought a motherboard off eBay. It's an Asus P8P67-M Pro. I'll order a CPU for it later today.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffinslaw View Post

I would go for metal instead of plastic, just my opinion though.

Jeffinslaw
I think I will make a new one out of metal, I just have to wait a couple weeks for the machines I need to be available at work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by modnoob View Post

Subbed I used to be a Mac fan till I got a PC
Thanks, hope you enjoy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimbags View Post

i have that exaxct mac still cant bring myself to kill it as it still works haha
This one did too. It was a tough decision but I needed a project and didn't want to spend the money on a new G4 or G5 case.
 
#17 ·
I like this very much as I'm a mac enthousiast.
I have modded both a mirror g4 and a sawtooth g4 I have this quiksilver actually put away bought it half a year ago for 10 euro along with 2 g5's which where 50 euro each (one of those g5's was actually fully working)
Really like what you did to get the startup chime BOINGGG!
I actually told it to a friend of mine who was also doing a mac mod it was a g5 this was however not here but at my Dutch pc forum.
He eventually didn't do it but what I do not get yet is how you get it too play it just once after the boot as you would think that it would repeat or do you have the power switch hooked up to the play button so it plays once (but what to do if the power get's of better incorporate a battery with the mp3 and keep power on at almost all times)

Do like it.
If i was you I wouldn't even think about incorporating a dvd drive it is just not worth it anymore especially in this case(pun), as it will bump into your board
wink.gif
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by maarten12100 View Post

I like this very much as I'm a mac enthousiast.
I have modded both a mirror g4 and a sawtooth g4 I have this quiksilver actually put away bought it half a year ago for 10 euro along with 2 g5's which where 50 euro each (one of those g5's was actually fully working)
Really like what you did to get the startup chime BOINGGG!
I actually told it to a friend of mine who was also doing a mac mod it was a g5 this was however not here but at my Dutch pc forum.
He eventually didn't do it but what I do not get yet is how you get it too play it just once after the boot as you would think that it would repeat or do you have the power switch hooked up to the play button so it plays once (but what to do if the power get's of better incorporate a battery with the mp3 and keep power on at almost all times)

Do like it.
If i was you I wouldn't even think about incorporating a dvd drive it is just not worth it anymore especially in this case(pun), as it will bump into your board
wink.gif
Thanks. With the MP3 player I used for the chime, when you press and hold the play button it stops whatever is playing and shuts it off. I broke the play button off and pushed the little metal contacts down so its always as if the button is being held down. For some reason it doesn't shut off, but after it plays the sound it says "stop" on the screen and stays like that until the computer gets shut down. Unfortunately it doesn't play the sound when you reboot. I'll try to find a link to the MP3 player I used and will update this post. You probably could do what you said and just wire the power button into the play button but you would need to keep the battery in there.

I actually decided yesterday to leave out the optical drive so I had more motherboard options. If I was going to leave it in I would only be able to use a board that is under 7" wide which means I could only have 2 RAM slots. If I really need one I could pull the one out of my main rig.

Edit: Here's the MP3 player I used http://www.gpx.com/store/p/256-MW3837.aspx
 
#19 ·
I ordered an i5 3470 earlier today. Now I just need RAM and a GTX 650TI. I talked to my dad earlier and I'm gonna bring the computer to work tomorrow and he's gonna make the new shelf for me out of sheet metal. I emailed the laser hive last night, no reply yet but hopefully that works out because one of his rear panels would look better than what I've got. Now I just need to figure out what I'm gonna do for front panel IO. I want to have them in the zip drive slot, but I'm having a hard time finding an IO board with all horizontal ports and the ones I did find were way more than I'm willing to spend on it. I might end up making something myself.
 
#22 ·
The parts have started coming in! I got my processor this morning, and I figured I should get the matching monitor since I'm trying to make it look original from the outside so I got a 23" Cinema display with the ADC to DVI converter.




Here's the monitor unboxed and hooked up to my G4 MDD. I'll need to buy or make an adapter for the old 15 inch one so I can use it with the new GPU.


I can't wait to get the motherboard. Unfortunately it still hasn't shipped. It's probably better though because I have a lot of school work to do this weekend.
 
#23 ·
I brought the computer to work again today and worked on it in while I had some down time.

I got out a square and marked where I needed to drill to mount the shelf.


My dad drilled the holes while I was working and when I had some free time again I made the cable management holes at the bottom a little bit taller. There was no room for cables to go through before if I had a hard drive in there.


The bottom of the shelf was pretty dirty so I decided to run it through the degreaser with the last batch of parts I was doing.


Here it is with the protective plastic peeled off:


First I let it sit in the soap side of the degreaser for about 15 minutes

Then I take it out, rinse it in the sink and then put it in the deionized water side of the degreaser for 10 minutes

Let it air dry for a while

Not perfect but better than it was before

The shelf is now mounted in the case


I started putting the computer back together and got to the fan and found out it didnt fit anymore with the shelf in there. The bracket was hitting the shelf so I cut it off with the jig saw.

I cleaned it up with the belt sander

Much better



I think I've finally fixed the GPU flexing issue. I had to make more adjustments to the motherboard standoff holes.
I ordered the laser hive kit a couple days ago, but unfortunately he had to refund me because he had a fire. He said he will be taking orders again in a few weeks so I'll order that whenever he's able to take orders again. For now I'll just work with what I've got.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffinslaw View Post

Paint the whole inside black and the outer plastic shell white. It would look AWESOME! Like this mod done here on OCN:



Jeffinslaw
If you thinks about doing a reverse paintjob to be original, don't do it as the areas you touch are also the front and dirt on white you can see but dirt on black you can't see.
He might keep it original or not we'll see
thumb.gif
 
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