MP 1,1-5,1 Dismantling/Refurbishing own Mac Pro

[Pakaku]

I'm in posession of an old 2008 Mac Pro. I want to build a new PC, and figure if I'm not doing anything with the old Mac, it might be fun to dismantle it and reuse the case for the new PC. Obviously a standard PC motherboard and other things won't align 100% perfectly with the case, and it would be nice to figure out a way to reuse the back panel's holes (I do not intend on cutting the case at all), but that's not the part I'm worried about quite yet.

What are some options for dealing with the old parts? If I go ahead and start the project, I was thinking about just putting each unused part in anti-static bags and leaving them inside a box somewhere out of the way. Would that be fine, or are there better ideas?

I think I want to keep them just because they still work fine, and probably won't sell for enough to be worth shipping anywhere. And maybe one day I'll want to rebuild the Mac...

Would there also be anything that might also be worth keeping, like the PSU, fans, CD readers? I assume they could be, even if a bit old, but want to ask just to be sure. Can the harddrive SATA ports behind the slides be upgraded to SATA III? Other things I may need to watch out for, or keep in mind? Maybe someone had the same idea as me and has recorded their process?

 

[MacHosehead]

If I understand correctly, you want remove what is necessary to put a PC motherboard into a MacPro and not make any alterations that would prevent you from restoring it back to original conditions. I would think this would be a difficult project and take much effort to accomplish.

I have a mini-ATX motherboard mounted in an older MacPro. This MacPro has a single CD drive bay and so there is enough room underneath it to mount the motherboard and a PC power supply below. Everything inside was gutted so no going back. I aligned the motherboard so that the PCIe slots work in the rear. I have removed the two back fans and cut into the case to have access to the motherboard ports and power supply AC. It is a hackintosh running the latest Ventura Beta.

I also have a MacPro3,1 which should be the same as you have. It can run Monterey well with a few upgrades. I would be inclined to do that instead.