powermac g5 what is that little box?

[WalterDirt]

Alright so I bought a G5 2.0Ghz dualie. Aside from the mini its my first real mac. The first thing I did was open the puppy up and look at its guts. Everything seems normal except this one little box. It's been bugging me and I can't figure out what it is.

Between the Optical Drive and the Hard drive bays theres a round looking plastic module with 4 little cables running into it that I haven't a clue what it is. Does anybody know?

It has a cable that plugs into the motherboard, but even disconnected the machine boots. It's a bit hard to get to.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lacero]

Beats me. I've always wondered what that was as well. Maybe someone geekier than me can answer that question.

 

[stevey500]

I am also interested !

 

[dejo]

My (older) G5 Dual 2.0GHz has fans between the optical drive and the HDs. Can anyone post a picture?

 

[jimsowden]

I'll ask the service guy at work wednesday.

 

[mklos]

It could be the heat sensors. I know there's sensors in every zone. It could also be the plugs from the USB, FW, Power Button, and headphone ports.

 

[Macmaniac]

Could you post a picture, my guess is that it is some sort of fan, although I can't be sure without a picture, their are fans in places people don't realize.

 

[WalterDirt]

Here is the picture, nobody seems to know what this is uh?

what is that little box

 

[kwajo.com]

Here is the picture, nobody seems to know what this is uh?

what is that little box

oh THAT box! when I look inside my G5, it's clearly a widget or a doodad.

 

[TEG]

Looks like a converter from Legacy Power Connector to SATA power Connector. It could also be the "brain" behind the fans, controlling them, etc.

TEG

 

[anonymous161]

Where do all 4 of the cables go?
It looks like the controller for the fans, like Teg said.

 

[mowogg]

Looks like a fan to me.

 

[hob]

I'd say it's a fan - i noticed it too as soon as I opened up my new machine!

Yup, definitely a fan!!

It has a cable that plugs into the motherboard, but even disconnected the machine boots. It's a bit hard to get to.

Why on earth would you unplug it?!

 

[kwajo.com]

I'd say it's a fan - i noticed it too as soon as I opened up my new machine!

Yup, definitely a fan!!


Why on earth would you unplug it?!

i'm not convinced it's a fan, I guess the usrrest way to find out is to count the other fans in the case. if you count 8 others, then it's a fan, if there are 9 others, then it's a bomb