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Converting Macbook Rev A to Desktop

I

iGrant

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2006
542
0
Ridgeway
Hello!

I wanted to get ya'lls opinion about me converting my Macbook Core Duo 2.0Ghz laptop to a desktop machine.

NOW before anyone gets on my case about destroying a perfectly good laptop to make it an unportable laptop let me tell you first the condition of the laptop. I have been the only owner and I will have owned the laptop two years here is a few months. I do not have the Apple extra Care Protection thingy which is fine. The laptop has severed me well except for the fact that now its kind of beat up. I have drop the laptop more times that I wish to remember and the screen as a nasty scratch in it and obscures part of the screen. Also the case is failing apart because of the drops and what not.

HOWEVER with that said, other than cosmetics, nothing has really broken on the Macbook, it still runs like the day I got it and except for the 2gb ram upgrade, everything else is stock.

I was thinking about taking it apart and installing the internal components into a case that had better cooling to help keep the whole system cooler. I currently have a Power Mac G5 as my home made Tivo unit which I love. The only thing I don't like about the Power Mac G5 is the ammount of power it is costing me to run the computer. With a 750 watt power supply and the computer is constantly pulling at least about 175 watts, it shot my power bill through the roof.

Now I know for a fact that my Macbook has more processing power than the G5. Also the Macbook is WAYYYY more power efficient and with the Firewire 400 I can hook up just about all the hard drives I ever wanted to the Macbook for storage. The other plus is that the unit would be a LOT smaller than my current Power Mac G5 which takes up a TON of room.

I just wanted to here want ya'll thought about my idea for a project?

Thanks
iGrant
 
I'm a bit confused to be honest as I use my MB as a desktop replacement and I didn't have to take it apart. My setup is mini-DVI adapter (I use a DVI-HDMI cable), USB hub. I keep it elevated and it rarely tops 150 degree (F). No need to take it apart, just hook up what you need.

I've got it set up with 3 different USB drive, a 320GB HDD installed, bluetooth keyboard...it does everything I need and if I need to I can unhook everything and take it out the door in a pinch and it has a built in UPS.

I think taking it apart and transferring it to a case will have more problems than benefits.
 
cyclingplatypus said:
I'm a bit confused to be honest as I use my MB as a desktop replacement and I didn't have to take it apart. My setup is mini-DVI adapter (I use a DVI-HDMI cable), USB hub. I keep it elevated and it rarely tops 150 degree (F). No need to take it apart, just hook up what you need.

I've got it set up with 3 different USB drive, a 320GB HDD installed, bluetooth keyboard...it does everything I need and if I need to I can unhook everything and take it out the door in a pinch and it has a built in UPS.

I think taking it apart and transferring it to a case will have more problems than benefits.
Click to expand...

I guess I should have mentioned also that the internal cooling fan for the processor got screwed up on the last drop and its making a really really bad noise when the computers on . . .

Thanks
iGrant
 
iGrant said:
I guess I should have mentioned also that the internal cooling fan for the processor got screwed up on the last drop and its making a really really bad noise when the computers on . . .

Thanks
iGrant
Click to expand...

Buy another fan from eBay or wherever - $10-15 before the fan goes and you have a fried MacBook.

Then just use the MacBook in clamshell mode as a desktop replacement - raise the MacBook on a paperback and keep the back away from any walls and it will be fine.

External keyboard, mouse and monitor - it will be far quicker than the G5.
 
Replace the internal fan and just set it up with a mini-DVI adapter, USB hub, etc.
 
Oh man, I was sooo thinking about this the other day. I too have a rev 1 MacBook. Although it's in great shape, I though of doing this kind of mod when the next rev comes out and I choose to replace it. I was thinking about ripping the logic board out and mounting it in a new enclosure, done up right with "Apple style". Something looking like a Time Capsule. The possibilities are endless. It would make an awesome file server, or media machine. Imagine a MacBook logicboard mounted in an enclosure that looked like a Time Capsule! That would be an awesome desktop machine.

Something like this:

PS anyone know how to machine acrylic?
 

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krye said:
If it was in a bigger enclosure, I'm sure you could somehow fit a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter of some kind.
Click to expand...
2.5" and 3.5" SATA drives use the same connectors. If you take the top case off it'll be easy to attach a SATA cable to run a bigger drive outside the case.
 
Eidorian said:
2.5" and 3.5" SATA drives use the same connectors. If you take the top case off it'll be easy to attach a SATA cable to run a bigger drive outside the case.
Click to expand...

Jeez, you're right. I was thinking IDE. What a flashback!
 
krye said:
Oh man, I was sooo thinking about this the other day. I too have a rev 1 MacBook. Although it's in great shape, I though of doing this kind of mod when the next rev comes out and I choose to replace it. I was thinking about ripping the logic board out and mounting it in a new enclosure, done up right with "Apple style". Something looking like a Time Capsule. The possibilities are endless. It would make an awesome file server, or media machine. Imagine a MacBook logicboard mounted in an enclosure that looked like a Time Capsule! That would be an awesome desktop machine.

Something like this:

PS anyone know how to machine acrylic?
Click to expand...

Exactly what i was thinking about, but it wouldn't be easy to get a nice enclosure.
 
Since I left school, i use my MacBook less and less as a portable. I simply close the lid, wake the system back up by pressing a key on my USB keyboard and then bam, OS X in 24" monitor glory. In fact, at 1920*1200 I can play 720p MKVs full screened, when in clamshell mode. When the laptop display is on as well, they stutter quite a bit.

So, I see no reason why not to use it as a desktop if you don't use it as a laptop anymore.
 
I think its a great idea! especially if it is about to crap out in it's current line of work. If you mounted it in a sleek black HTPC casing and got a couple of drive adapters, you could set up a pretty sweet system! (which would be much cheaper to run than the G5!)
 
krye said:
Hum. I just saw a link in another thread (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305336) to an Apple support page that states that MBs clock down to 1GHz if run on AC alone w/o a battery. So if we built these machines, we'd have to leave the battery in. Don't know if I want to do that. This puts a damper on things.
Click to expand...

Actually that I wanted to keep the battery in the new "Mac" because then I already have a battery backup system in place :cool:

-iGrant
 
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