I don't agree. There's water cooling now available in such forms that you don't need any fans at all. None.
How is the Mac Pro case better than that? You're just in love with Apple's kit concept - aren't you?
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Different case for MacPro
- Thread starter sgunes
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I don't agree. There's water cooling now available in such forms that you don't need any fans at all. None.
How is the Mac Pro case better than that? You're just in love with Apple's kit concept - aren't you?
I guess. I guess we are all different and do what we please with out purchases. Good luck with that.
You want to take a BMW engine and put it in a Ford?
The Mac Pro case looks very nice, and you want to put it in an ugly pile of plastic and metal with sharp edges? Most PC manufacturers try to emulate Mac cases, not the other way around!
The Mac Pro case looks very nice, and you want to put it in an ugly pile of plastic and metal with sharp edges? Most PC manufacturers try to emulate Mac cases, not the other way around!
Wow, Tesselator. Just be sure you aren't working on a big project at the time - I got the same itch, nothing to new and needed a new, better case for my old SFFPC; moved it into the new case, then *ka-BAM* - guess who forgot the jumper configurations
. I did not make the thing, somebody else did, and I could not find out the motherboard manufacturer for the life of me... On the bright side, it gave me an excuse to buy a completely new machine a week before my project's deadline. But to the OP, I think that to do this you would need a case which is bigger then the MP case to begin with - you might want to take measurements of where the MP mobo screws into the case, and then try to machine a new backplane out of sheet metal and attach the new backplane to the old backplane in as many places as possible.
My largest concern lies with the daughterboard - personally, I do not know how well it is supported by itself. Doesn't it lock with the MP case somewhere
The mainboard is an SSI CEB form factor @ 12"x10.5". But as you indicate, the daughter boards are the unknown. For example, they could end up "floating" too high from the bottom of the case.Wow, Tesselator. Just be sure you aren't working on a big project at the time - I got the same itch, nothing to new and needed a new, better case for my old SFFPC; moved it into the new case, then *ka-BAM* - guess who forgot the jumper configurations
But to the OP, I think that to do this you would need a case which is bigger then the MP case to begin with - you might want to take measurements of where the MP mobo screws into the case, and then try to machine a new backplane out of sheet metal and attach the new backplane to the old backplane in as many places as possible.
My largest concern lies with the daughterboard - personally, I do not know how well it is supported by itself. Doesn't it lock with the MP case somewhere
The internal depth would also be an issue (mainboard to removable panel surface). The mainboard is an SSI CEB form factor @ 12"x10.5". But as you indicate, the daughter boards are the unknown. For example, they could end up "floating" too high from the bottom of the case.
I am glad that the discussion is now at a higher intellectual and engineering level versus just "MacPro case is perfect, don't fool around with it".
I bet there is somebody out there who has been able to successfully transplant the MacPro innards into a different case.
I also considered water cooling or Peltier. Is there any way to overclock the CPU's in BIOS or is there a hacked BIOS floating around? Just wondering.
Thanks.
I doubt anyone has bothered with the 2009 model yet. The advantages are minor and can be solved in other ways. Those that probably have the knowedge and expertise to rehouse the board ar likely to just build their own system being that equal or better components can be found for over $1,000 less.
At one point I had an '08 base MP, and was willing to try it to fit in a RAID system, as the original case was impossible for my needs. External solutions were too expensive.
What I did notice, though possible, it would be difficult IMO. The PSU wiring harness would have had to be modified, and all black wiring doesn't help (would require tracing each line carefully).
Another possibility, was to use a 3rd party PSU, but the original and replacement models would have to be tested for pin-outs to make sure everything was correct.
Some electrical skills would be in order, especially the use of a DMM. Soldering, or the use of crimp connectors would be really handy as well, if not actually required. Some mechanical/metal skills might also, depending on the specific case used. My guess, there may be a hole or two that you'd need to drill, and even tap, at least to mount the logic board. Apple tends to vary from specs from what I've seen in the '08, so the mounting holes may be a little different. Given the daughter board was used in the '09, this seems more like a certainty.
For cooling, I prefer air, as it's less complicated. But that's me.
Sticking to the stock cooling would make the most sense, as the mounts might be a little different than other off the shelf items. (I've not seen it up close, let alone dissasembled). It would also be less expensive. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any overclocking ability at this time for the '09 MP's. ZDnet created a software OC utility for the '08 models, and hopefully, would create one for the '09 models as well. Or perhaps another 3rd party software vendor. I'm not sure if this would ever happen, but I think it's possible to do.
Definitely a good point.
As time goes on, '09 owners might be more willing to attempt something like this though, in order to avoid purchasing an entire system. 
So many Mac users just don't get it. If you ask a hardcore PC case modder why they want to do something, the only answer they'll have is, "why not?" Don't try to find any logic.
Seriously, if the OP wants to transplant his Mac Pro to a new case, who here should care why? He was looking for information, not opinions. And as it appears this might be uncharted territory, if he succeeds and documents his adventure you can be sure others will follow.
Seriously, if the OP wants to transplant his Mac Pro to a new case, who here should care why? He was looking for information, not opinions. And as it appears this might be uncharted territory, if he succeeds and documents his adventure you can be sure others will follow.
You are aware, are you, that Apple uses EFI and not BIOS? It is considerably different and much more advanced than BIOS as a short read at Wikipedia will tell you.
Look, the mac pro case is the best case ive ever seen, everything slides into place; the hard drives, dvd drives, ram cards, ect. If you want to build a computer because your board, buy a $40 motherboard and a $30 case and have a blast, don't start ripping apart a $4000 computer. The mac pro case is probably a $600 case, and is one of the only cases ive seen that is designed to be perfect in every aspect.
Though Apple doesn't provide the ability to OC, it's possible via a 3rd party software application. It was done for the '08 MP's, and is almost certainly doable for the '09's as well. Now whether it actually happens, is another story.
It looks pretty, but it's limited for some. Especially if they want lots of internal drives. RAID is a really good example, as the external solutions tend to be expensive.
Cooling has also been an issue in the past, and is by no means unreasonable for it to continue. The same problems must be considered with each new design. Adding in 3rd party components even changes the situation. So a system that was nice and cool as a factory assembled base system (GT120 for example), might get too warm if it's equiped with an nVidia 285 and a RAID card (these can run on the very warm side as well).
In the current MP, it's a slightly modified version of what's been around for some time. If I had to guess, for cost reasons. It's not exactly cheap to retool an entire plant, so they changed only what they had to in order to fit in the Nehalem innards.
Even though it might not make any sense to you, the OP may have had some very valid reason for examining this possibility. It may even be "just because". It's the OP's choice, and wallet, so what does it really matter?
I am a hardcore PC modder and I can see that the OP has much to learn about Mac's, their firmware, and integration of the various internal components such as the logic boards with the chassis and PSU and cooling to be considered before he even suggests this.
The fact that he doesn't understand the fundamental differences between a Mac's EFI firmware and a PC's BIOS indicates he hasn't even used a Mac.
Another example is water cooling... which is really only helpful if you need to remove more heat (due to overclocking) or you desire less noise. The 09 Mac Pro cannot be currently overclocked.... does it need to be quieter? It already makes less noise than a couple of Yate Loons so I don't think so.
I would suggest that the OP start by getting a Mac Pro, using it, inspecting it, understanding it's design benefits and constraints and then if he's still gung-ho undertake tearing it down for us... that would help us all understand a lot more about it. Until someone does that all we can do is speculate about what might or might not work well in a transplant.
I really think you need to get one and study it in detail and perhaps even do a tear-down before you can determine the feasibility of a transplant. A Mac Pro has tightly integrated internals... more akin to a laptop than a desktop. Sure you could take the guts out of a Dell laptop and put them in a Thermaltake Armor but what would you gain? The same pretty much applies to a Mac Pro. Think of it as an expandable high-end laptop... that's really what you are dealing with in terms of the level of internal integration.
Well it does look to be way more difficult than it should be.
I don't know if it is due to design optimization versus Apple just deliberately making it more difficult to fool around with it.
I appreciate the feedback. I hope somebody else with more time and technical/engineering expertise will go for it in the near future.
My options are to get the MacPro after a price drop (I am hoping for the 2.6 GHz at the 2.26GHz price) or if Apple does not budge at all with price/upgrade to go the hackintosh route.
There are plenty single socket models that can be loaded with the Vanilla kernel. I have not seen if anybody has been successful if the new dual-socket boards.
BTW: It is "bored" not "board".
I don't know if it is due to design optimization versus Apple just deliberately making it more difficult to fool around with it.
I appreciate the feedback. I hope somebody else with more time and technical/engineering expertise will go for it in the near future.
My options are to get the MacPro after a price drop (I am hoping for the 2.6 GHz at the 2.26GHz price) or if Apple does not budge at all with price/upgrade to go the hackintosh route.
There are plenty single socket models that can be loaded with the Vanilla kernel. I have not seen if anybody has been successful if the new dual-socket boards.
BTW: It is "bored" not "board".
I've had my 2006 mac pro as well as a friends 2008 mac pro completely "torn down" before. Mine on multiple occasions. In fact I just did it again today getting ready for my "12 HDDs in a Mac Pro Case Mod" which I will achieve with beauty and finesse!
To transplant a Mac Pro like we're talking about here is challenging but definitely possible. I think Froggy's post sums it up very well.
Remember, for the 2006 ~ 2008 models you're going to need to build support for the Memory Boards and on the 2009 models you need to do so for the CPU/RAM Daughter cards.
Doing a transplant like this is definitely a "project". And one that requires using your head and planning. Maybe even some CAD modeling. Take photos of everything too so you don't end up like Dr. Pants and so you can post your progress too.
To transplant a Mac Pro like we're talking about here is challenging but definitely possible. I think Froggy's post sums it up very well.
Remember, for the 2006 ~ 2008 models you're going to need to build support for the Memory Boards and on the 2009 models you need to do so for the CPU/RAM Daughter cards.
Doing a transplant like this is definitely a "project". And one that requires using your head and planning. Maybe even some CAD modeling.
Take photos of everything too so you don't end up like Dr. Pants and so you can post your progress too.