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G4 Quicksilver->ATX 'hackintosh'.

128keaton

128keaton

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 13, 2013
2,029
419
Hello guys, its been a long time coming, but I've decided to mod my G4 quicksilver's case to accommodate an ATX motherboard. Now this isn't easy, but its doable. For now, I have an AMD motherboard (without CPU) until I get something better in there (like my C2D motherboard, which will happen soon).
First photos:
NsyNLQq.jpg

'New' PSU (almost matches the original)
WARNING QS LOVERS/eyoungren SHIELD YOUR EYES/COMPUTER.
SURGERY BELOW.
od8Msum.jpg

Post-op on the I/O shield
The most common issue with builds like this is the CD/DVD drive mount getting in the way, but I don't plan to put a CD/DVD drive in it, because I can boot from USB on this machine.


The next steps will be to get the power button working, finish the PSU mounting, and add a graphics card. The end goal will be to use it as a 'grab-n-go' PC thanks to the handles :D

EDIT:
The the graphics card will be my GT210 since my HD6790 handles dual monitors like a champ.
 

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G4 Quicksilver->ATX 'hackintosh'.

poiihy said:
Now this is interesting.

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LOL shield your computer HAHAHA
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was worried eyoungren's g4 would stop booting on him again. Cantankerous it seems.

Also, about the ACTUAL I/O shield.
Eventually I'll make a custom shield for the thing, probably out of plywood. But the motherboard you see here isn't the final board. Does anyone need an I/O shield for a PMg4?

This is the current state of my room after picking apart the G4
c23d3306839dbaa5b79305474c493c54.jpg
 
This is exactly what i want to do to my dead 1Ghz DP Quicksilver! I dont have a motherboard other then maybe a Pentium 4 system from an Hp D530 SFF. THe small mainboard should fit stuggly inside the G4 with still the DVD drive attached.

Please keep posting photos! I would love to see how this turns out for you as i want to do the same! I Love the look of the quicksilver and since i know its the mainboard or the CPU its a goner.
 
I have averted my eyes.

However, this is NOT surgery. I'll leave you to decide what word I'm using in my head. :D

In any case, I am not opposed to repurposing QS cases. At least they are still being used and it's the outward beauty of the cases I admire.

Apple could have done a much better job INSIDE the case I think.
 
eyoungren said:
I have averted my eyes.

However, this is NOT surgery. I'll leave you to decide what word I'm using in my head. :D

In any case, I am not opposed to repurposing QS cases. At least they are still being used and it's the outward beauty of the cases I admire.

Apple could have done a much better job INSIDE the case I think.
Click to expand...

i know i know.. Its a shame but sadly my QS is dead. Once summer comes and im off school and working i will defiantly try my best to get it going. I have a Guy thats good with Motherboard repair but it isnt always possible. If it fails then i will sadly use the Case for a PC. As the previous owner kept the case in an amazing state. My parents hate when i bring home more computers but this one they thought was beautiful. Then i brought them down when i told them its dead.
 
comda said:
i know i know.. Its a shame but sadly my QS is dead. Once summer comes and im off school and working i will defiantly try my best to get it going. I have a Guy thats good with Motherboard repair but it isnt always possible. If it fails then i will sadly use the Case for a PC. As the previous owner kept the case in an amazing state. My parents hate when i bring home more computers but this one they thought was beautiful. Then i brought them down when i told them its dead.
Click to expand...
Well, my comment was more directed to the OP. But as you are doing this as well I will include you.

Again, I'm not opposed to this. There are still more than enough working Quicksilvers out there in the wild and ultimately…it's a computer. A device. And, whether or not it's got Apple guts or PC guys, guess what? It's being used. And that's the important thing.

I would probably do the same if I had just a spare case lying around. Or turn it in to some piece of art or something.

In any case, what you and the OP are doing is going to make you happy. And that's the other important part.
 
491dd8105070b9e5ff2210db0092efed.jpg

Fitting.
2969a052c895f8c3d72b29532c4b9e3c.jpg

Cutting out a hole for the power plug.
87c02b5f0898f22240317a691afbb54b.jpg

Modding the powerboard
bf68989736e5da1f60928f3014f19f3c.jpg

IT LIVES (kinda the 210 isn't working)
 
poiihy said:
Oh this ok I know nothing about graphics cards other than some ATI and Nvidia :p

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what is that geek squad PC, the style looks similar to my Geek Squad usb stick I have. Did they make geek squad brand PCs or were those only for Geek Squad people?
Click to expand...


That's a backup battery
 
This reminds me of when I converted a DA G4 with an mATX board and ATX PSU five or six years ago. I got around the DVD/CD issue by using a newer drive that was shorter than the original so I could trim off some of the metal of the drive bay. I also very carefully chose a motherboard based on pictures that would fit. The main issues being RAM and Capacitor placement.

I still have the case and motherboard but it was gutted a few years ago. Now I use a G5 case since it allows much more efficient air flow and has so much more room. Making it much quieter. I was tired of how loud the G4 case was. Especially once I went to a Core 2 Quad and Radeon 4850. It handled a Core 2 Duo and Radeon 3850 well enough.

For the rear port cutout I used plexiglass.
 
G4 Quicksilver->ATX 'hackintosh'.

velocityg4 said:
This reminds me of when I converted a DA G4 with an mATX board and ATX PSU five or six years ago. I got around the DVD/CD issue by using a newer drive that was shorter than the original so I could trim off some of the metal of the drive bay. I also very carefully chose a motherboard based on pictures that would fit. The main issues being RAM and Capacitor placement.

I still have the case and motherboard but it was gutted a few years ago. Now I use a G5 case since it allows much more efficient air flow and has so much more room. Making it much quieter. I was tired of how loud the G4 case was. Especially once I went to a Core 2 Quad and Radeon 4850. It handled a Core 2 Duo and Radeon 3850 well enough.

For the rear port cutout I used plexiglass.
Click to expand...


Wow plexiglass isn't a bad idea. My damn GT210 up and quit on me so I'm using a 8800GS. I'm using a Core2Duo 2.0 GHz but I'm getting a 2.8 one soon and putting the 2.0 into the server.
cce1a247e281523ebf36c40fba1afcd8.jpg


https://vimeo.com/120556846

Also you guys can piss on me regarding the carpet. I have two HDDS, one running windows and the other running OS X Mavericks so I can switch whenever I want. I really want another 2GB ddr2 stick :). I also lost a short case screw during the build, does anyone have a spare?

The biggest issue is also the fan, it's blowing right into the PSU, with about a 1CM (give or take) gap.
 
Gamer9430 said:
Nice job, Keaton... And nice setup!
Click to expand...

Thanks! And most of the stuff on the left plug was temporary. Hopefully I'll get a new CPU, cooler, GFX, and RAM and make it a slick build. I wish the cable management wasn't so atrocious.
 
How exactly did you wire up the front buttons? i see you posted something but did you just wire in a plus and minus to the button from the board?
 
poiihy said:
Oh yeah that is a very good material for that! It is easy to work with and you can see through it.
Click to expand...

128keaton said:
Wow plexiglass isn't a bad idea. My damn GT210 up and quit on me so I'm using a 8800GS. I'm using a Core2Duo 2.0 GHz but I'm getting a 2.8 one soon and putting the 2.0 into the server.
Click to expand...


I just left enough metal to glue on the plexi glass.

IMG_1018.jpg

Then lined up the board and cut out the ports.

IMG_1047.jpg

128keaton said:
The biggest issue is also the fan, it's blowing right into the PSU, with about a 1CM (give or take) gap.
Click to expand...

I ended up using the stock Intel low profile heatsink because of this.

IMG_1044.jpg

Edit: I'm not sure why the second picture is rotated. The was correct when I uploaded. I cleaned up the wires later and got a 4 pin cpu power extension.

Edit 2: Now that I think about it. I think I used a GbE or Sawtooth case. My old G4 is a DA. I can't really remember which as I bought a broken G4 for the case. So I wouldn't feel guilty for killing a working G4:rolleyes:.
 
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velocityg4 said:
I just left enough metal to glue on the plexi glass.

View attachment 531692

Then lined up the board and cut out the ports.

View attachment 531693



I ended up using the stock Intel low profile heatsink because of this.

View attachment 531694

Edit: I'm not sure why the second picture is rotated. The was correct when I uploaded. I cleaned up the wires later and got a 4 pin cpu power extension.
Click to expand...

ehhh not as good as I thought it would be :/
It looks like theres a huge hole in your Mac that you ripped out
 
Last edited:
velocityg4 said:
I just left enough metal to glue on the plexi glass.

View attachment 531692

Then lined up the board and cut out the ports.

View attachment 531693



I ended up using the stock Intel low profile heatsink because of this.

View attachment 531694

Edit: I'm not sure why the second picture is rotated. The was correct when I uploaded. I cleaned up the wires later and got a 4 pin cpu power extension.
Click to expand...
Wow, thats not bad. This weekend, I'm actually laser cutting an I/O shield, getting a new cooler that has about a 1/2 of an inch more clearance than mine, a new CPU, and potentially a new graphics card. Tonight, I also got the power LED working like a charm. Really mad that my GT210 doesn't work in this machine (works in my MacPro :mad:). I put a newer 6790 in this machine and it worked fine, so it shouldn't be an incompatibility. Until I get something better, I'm using a 8800GS, not too terrible.
 
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