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How do I make like, a beyond barebones Powerbook G4?

A

applefan1997

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 2, 2005
423
2
Koreatown, Los Angeles, California
I cant really afford a actual G4, so I decided to make a bare desktop type thing.
Here's what I thought:
To have a logic board ONLY, add memory to it, connect a externel display,external keyboard/mouse,external disk drive(s),and power adapter.
It'd look like a green board with wire sticking out leading to the said additions, in other words.
Do I need anything else to add, in terms of technicalities?(not the case parts, actual display,keyboards,I mean do I need some extra board or something?,By the way, I obviously wont need a battery, so no charging boards required.
Any hel[p? Thanks!!!
 
Fans.

Why does it have to be a powerbook, since it's clearly not portable?

Why not just eBay yourself an older (therefore cheaper) G4 desktop? It comes with a case and everything..
 
I cant' see a point to doing this....lemme get this straight: you want to get a PowerBook G4 logic board and connect it to external (presumably USB/Firewire?) drives, a display and mouse/keyboard?

You won't save any money over a desktop G4 Mac and you'll end up with a very fragile computer - with no case the logic board will be very suceptible to environmental dangers like static discharge and moisture.

You're better off going to a reseller and buying a complete, functioning 400Mhz Powermac G4 for $289+shipping. A Powerbook G4 logic board will probably cost twice that much - for the money you'll be spending you could buy a dual 500MHz tower, or even an older white iBook G3.

ebay is possibly even cheaper for a used G4 tower, no reason to have a Frankenstein Powerbook.
 
Actually, I was inspired by this idea for several reasons:
1. If I wanted to, I could buy the case parts,etc if i ever wanted to, so I chose a powerbook
2. I dream of an iBook(any one with firewire), and cannot get one(fallen deals,no credit card,paypal,etc...)
3. The size is small
4. I could keep it in a static proof bag, buy case parts for $15 each to protect it if not a bag.
5. There's a 400Mhz G4 board for $135 on ebay.
I remember seeing this on another website, but forgot where.
It seemed economic, anyway.
EDIT: It needs fans? I thought it was "convection cooled"
 
applefan1997 said:
Actually, I was inspired by this idea for several reasons:
1. If I wanted to, I could buy the case parts,etc if i ever wanted to, so I chose a powerbook
2. I dream of an iBook(any one with firewire), and cannot get one(fallen deals,no credit card,paypal,etc...)
3. The size is small
4. I could keep it in a static proof bag, buy case parts for $15 each to protect it if not a bag.
5. There's a 400Mhz G4 board for $135 on ebay.
I remember seeing this on another website, but forgot where.
It seemed economic, anyway.
EDIT: It needs fans? I thought it was "convection cooled"
Click to expand...

I have to say I don't follow your reasoning here but yeah, if you buy that $135 board, a power brick, RAM, and the external drives you will have the least portable working Powerbook on earth. In a bag.
 
yellow said:
No. The G4 Cube was cooled by convection. The G4 iMac might also be fanless, I don't remember.
Click to expand...


The iMac G4 had 1 variable rate fan, with no heat sinks on the G4 processor (heat pipes instead). Even PowerBooks have fans, they're not very big fans, but they're there and do run periodically.
 
mklos said:
The iMac G4 had 1 variable rate fan, with no heat sinks on the G4 processor (heat pipes instead).
Click to expand...

Ah-ha.. I seemed to remember thinking it was fanless and being wrong, but couldn't (quickly) find any confirmation either way. Thanks.
 
If you get a Powermac Board get one from a Sawtooth G4. The processor cards are cheaper and it has an AGP slot. You can get an el cheapo case and power supply for it by doing an ATX conversion http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/ATX_G4_AGP_conversion/G4_AGP_to_ATX_case.htm . I have heard of people doing the conversion with Gigabit, Digital Audio and Quicksilver 2001 boards but you lose the powered ADC connector in video cards. Beyond the board and case. You can pick up a 450mhz processor for $5-10 off ebay. If you want more speed get a 1.6Ghz G4 CPU from gigadesigns for $270.
 
Don't do it. It's like building a car from all spare parts -- will cost you way more in the end than just buying the car. But, you may need to learn your lesson the hard way and it may make you appreciate Mac engineering for powerbooks in their original case down the line. Do yourself a real favor though and keep a stringent accounting of what it actually costs to do it this way.

Speaking of, I do have an old g4 400-500 topcase, I think a bottom case and some other logic board parts if you do buy this thingie. Yes, they are cheap.

Oh and yes the powerbook 400mhz did have one built in fan on the top case for the logic board. After the 667mhz models, they had two fans (more heat).
 
Yebot said:
That made me giggle.
Click to expand...


Me too. I could almost picture Steve himself going on about how awesome this new gadget is, and then after a short pause... "In a bag." (emphasis on the "bag") Bam! Crowd goes wild.
 
Lord Blackadder said:
I cant' see a point to doing this....lemme get this straight: you want to get a PowerBook G4 logic board and connect it to external (presumably USB/Firewire?) drives, a display and mouse/keyboard?

You won't save any money over a desktop G4 Mac and you'll end up with a very fragile computer - with no case the logic board will be very suceptible to environmental dangers like static discharge and moisture.

You're better off going to a reseller and buying a complete, functioning 400Mhz Powermac G4 for $289+shipping. A Powerbook G4 logic board will probably cost twice that much - for the money you'll be spending you could buy a dual 500MHz tower, or even an older white iBook G3.

ebay is possibly even cheaper for a used G4 tower, no reason to have a Frankenstein Powerbook.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

Save your money for a couple more weeks months and get a G4 Powermac. If you don't have credit or a credit card give them cash to your parents and ask if they could pay for it with their credit card. Problem solved you have a machine that actually works and looks aesthetically clean.
However good luck whatever you decide on doing.
 
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