Power Mac Gi5 (Hackintosh Build Diary)

Hi All!

Following the success of my iMac G3 to iMac Gi3 project, i am happy to be finally setting out on my hackintosh build.

So, here is the Power Mac G5 Dual 1.86GHz 2004 that i picked up in fully working order and in pretty much perfect condition (the reason i bought it). It came in its battered box and i picked it up from York for £90.



I had a little bit of a mess on with it before dismantling it ready for modification, but then got to work



Now it sat there for a few months as i was waiting to finish my university term (finished today woo!!), but whilst i was waiting i ordered the Mountain Mods motherboard tray.




So my plan was to utilise the original PSU and modify the cables, but having been there and done that with the iMac G3... i realised that it would be best to take the easier route and build a new PSU into it. So i removed and prepped it ready for a Corsair CX750M.






It was rotten in that PSU! but anyways... im planning to replace the PSU cover with a new bit of aluminium as it will get rid of all the ugly bits.



So today came a large bag of goodies, 2 Arctic F8 fans, 2 Arctic F12 Fans, White cable sheath and some metal adhesive.



So now i began to do the modification work...









After lots and lots of measuring and double checking... i started the cut




Very happy with its cut, i started to refit the modified bits back into the case, along with the modified optical drive mount.

But this was the test... the fitting! and i was truly amazed at how close i managed to get the cut!




PLEASE NOTE THE LITTLE CURVE IS FROM THE FAN, NOT MY BAD CUTTING ;-)



so i went ahead and fitted the tray etc together, and i was extremely happy with its results!





Those edges make the inside of the case look much much better as its butt to butt. i have not yet fastened the tray to the case but the original motherboard mounts are the correct height to reuse in the 4 mounting positions. But i have done enough for today but will be cracking on tomorrow.

Just after i had finished the work, the courier dropped off my new PSU.



lots of work to do, i am also sheathing the cables individually in white so its going to take some time once its together.

I have not chosen hardware as i am going to wait for haswell i5 to be released then choose suitably round that.

Thanks for looking, please comment

simsaladimbamba said:

Very, very ****ing nice work, be sure to also post it in the Builds section over at TonyMacX86, as there are some G5s that need better work than you have done.

I also have a G5 (2005) case, but not able been to get those motherboard add ons you have delivered to my country. I will build my first Hackintosh tonight though, using a Fractal R4 case. Maybe my next build in a year or three will finally be able to use the G5 case, as I got it for free from a university, which was going to throw it away. I also have a G4 case, but am still unsure what to do with it.

PS: What do you mean with "iMac Gi3"? I guess you fitted an i3 and its family in there?

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haha thank you very much.

iMac Gi3 was the name i give to my project... its in my signature if u want to take a peek

ratsg said:

please share the specifics on the "Mountain Mods motherboard tray" that you have.

I am not familiar with it. Assuming it allows you to use an ATX motherboard, or something similar?

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http://www.mountainmods.com/mountain-mods-modular-removable-motherboard-tray-p-56.html

that is it there buddy, cost me a small fortune for what it was! :-(

choose the 2x80mm version for the power mac

D.T. said:

Fantastic, I love a good DIY (just did a refurb on a pair of my Oakley X-Metals, fixed the nose bridge for $0.19 )

That's almost like a MacHackIntosh since the outer part and OS will both be Apple with the "middle" part being the hacky stuff

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they are smart! haha yeah i guess it is ^.^

Im quite looking forward seeing the final result, looks like i will be getting some test AMD hardware whilst i wait for Haswell launch

maflynn said:

Nicely done, this is something that I'd love to do, but I afraid that I wouldn't have the technical skills to mod the case - you definitely do. Great job

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Thanks very much :-D You know its always great to try new things out. If you have always wanted to try it, you should try pick up an old machine to practice with.

just remember measure twice, cut once

Quick update, ive finished the PSU and all but one bit went to plan.

As you will see on one of the photos, i had to bend the top as it was hitting the heat sink inside.

First i had to modify the fans so that they were wired together. This allowed them to clip into the standard connector. i also had to extend the cable.



Then i had to measure, drill and glue some standoffs into place. I then had to wait overnight for them to set.



Whilst i was bored, i thought i would 'reutilise' the stickers from the Corsair PSU



Anyway this morning, i fitted the PSU in place and did a minor cut to allow the extra cables to come through.




My tinted window perspex has just turned up and so after i have fixed the motherboard into place, i may start on that

Okay, so my motherboard tray standoffs are busy being glued down and whilst i was waiting i went ahead and got the window ready.

here is a picture of the perspex covering where i would like it to be. i needed to cut out a section whilst rounding off the edges



i realised the back was removable, and that it would make a great template!



so after measuring, cutting and polishing the edges. i had my window! unfortunately i chipped an edge but it wont be visible as that will be where it is stuck down.



quite impressed with the tint and how well it came out.

The next big question is what design i should do on the side of the aluminium! do i just do a big window or add a little shape to it?

maflynn said:

That's what I was doing wrong - I was cutting twice measuring once

Seriously what tools are you using to cut the case? I may snag a G5 case on Ebay to build something out

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Haha, the phrase is more like... be totally sure your happy before you cut.

as for tools, simply a hacksaw, dremel and some files. Nothing special really. Yeah I'm quite enjoying this build and it will be nice to see the water-cooling in etc. through the window.

Didnt make any progress as such today, but the standoffs set perfectly so just need to get some M4 countersunk bolts for them.

I did however try out the white cable sleeve on my two exhaust fans and i think they look awesome! I wanted to put them onto one plug as to minimise the cables.



i need to wait until i get some ATX tools to remove the cables before i can go any further unfortunately. But in the mean time i will try and get the window cut and fit in place

Little update...

I have ordered the components for the build;

Intel Core i5 2570K
Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H
Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB 2600MHz
Asus GeForce GTX660 Ti-DC2-2GD5
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB

And a bunch load of water cooling bits;

EK-D5 X-RES 140 CSQ - Acetal
XSPC D5 Vario (Body + Screwring)
Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator SR1 240
XSPC HighFlex Hose 1/2" ID, 3/4" OD, 19/12.7mm, 2m, Clear
EK Supremacy Clean CSQ
Mayhems Pastel - Raspberry Purple
EK PSC Compression Fitting 13mm 3/8" - G1/4 - Nickel x 2
EK-PSC Adapter Rotary 90° G1/4 Nickel x 4


I have started work on some components but i am awaiting the delivery of other parts.

Thanks for the comments, however with regards to the window, I could have just threw it together and hit it away in an aluminium box, but if I wanted to do that I would have purchased a £19 case and hid it in a corner.

This project isn't about that.

I want the attention to detail to be on show, everything from cable management, to the vivid colours of the water cooling, basically the time and effort I've put into making this a beauty on show.

Apple should have a window in its power mac range for the effort they put into building beauty to its inside as well as the out.

Update...

All the hardware has turned up, but not the out of stock water-cooling. i am quite impressed by the motherboards matt black finish!

But ive been quite busy doing numerous bits to my build as you will see below.

First of all, here is the reservoir adhered in place, it holds very well and looks brilliant!



Next is a picture of the motherboard sitting on its standoffs to check for any unseen issues... happily there wasn't any and i think it looks awesome apart from the gigabyte sign being backwards -.-



Here is a tease of the work i have been doing on my PSU, unfortunately i used 11 meters of braiding so far so its not finished and its holding me up... more should be here tomorrow. Still it looks great!



Now... heres the flagship modification, and i must say i am proud of how good it looks...

First of all i measured and sketched where i wanted the window to be.



I then painfully cut out the window... seriously when i say painfully it really was! i expected it to be soft but no way was it soft! it was a nightmare!!!



Then after another hour of filing, sanding and checking i removed the mass of masking tape, cleaned it and fitted it (without the window).



Very impressed with how it looked, i wanted to get the window fitted, so presently i have it gluing on the floor ^.^



Nicely using the old G5 heat sinks as weights ^.^
Hope you guys are liking the progress! please comment

P.S. Gonna try and utilise that chunk of aluminium as a clock or mouse mat!

Apple fanboy said:

Nice work. Looks really professional. Might I suggest some quick clamps to hold things in place whilst glueing. Really useful tool to have and not expensive. Keep up the good work.

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i have some clamps, but the problem was the glue was very very runny and because of the weight of the side of the case i couldnt rest it on the clamps lol. so that was the best i could come up with xD

anyways i must have been a little exited this morning as i got up at quite early and had to check on the window. I am EXTREMELY HAPPY with the results!!!




I will be working on the computer today so will have a better update later

JoeG4 said:

Wow, that's a very clean window mod, I'm impressed!

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not bad for a jigsaw, file and 150 grade sandpaper is it xD :-D

AQUADock said:

That window cutout looks really nice! I wasn't expecting it to look good on that case but it really does.

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Thanks very much It turned out much better than i could have hoped!

Well i spent all day yesterday working on this and i have some impressive results!

First of all, the Blu-Ray drive turned up so i quickly swapped the parts off the CD drive to make it fit.




After that quick job, i spent hours finishing the cables on my PSU! i just took the one photo as i think it says enough



Once the PSU was complete i fitted it to the case, but had to make a minor adjustment to the motherboard tray to allow the cables to fit under it. I cut out a 25mm section of the reinforcement (no picture to see).



Now i was anxious to get the parts in and fire it up. so i went right ahead ^.^




Then within less than an hour i had a fully operational OS X Install!



Now of course this is not the final product. As you can see the PSU cables are a little too short and the pins aren't great, so I'm going to buy an extension for it. Also i have major fan control issues, and finally the SATA cables i bought are extension, so i had to use other cables to get them to fit -.-

then after those issues are fixed, i need to get the water-cooling installed!