- Joined
- May 3, 2015
- Messages
- 18
- Motherboard
- Asus Sabertooth X79
- CPU
- i7-4930K
- Graphics
- Asus ROG STRIX Geforce GTX 1070
- Mac
This is a repost as my previous thread was deleted by mods due to containing external image hosting, so I have used a cached version to restore all the information from the original post:
Sep 25, 2017
Hi Guys
Yet another Power Mac G4 build !
For right now, I don't actually have any plans to put a computer inside, this is more of just a fun project to learn and develop my skills. Eventually, this will replace my 2010 Macbook Pro, which I use as a daily desktop replacement. But it is getting on a bit, and when it eventually packs up, then I will most likely put a computer into the G4 case. But for now, it's just a fun project
I bought the G4 back in Jan 2016 for 99p from eBay. A bargain, as it was in pretty good condition!
First thing to do was strip it out.
Then Cut out the side fan hole, which was a bit messy (will be cleaned up later).
Next to cut out a side hole for any future power supply
This hole came out much better
Next a fan mount for underneath. This will either be for a water cooler radiator, or just another fan, I've left the options open.
Included a dust mesh protector to collect the inevitable floor dust and dust bunnies
I also cut a hole in the front for some front mounted USB and Audio ports
Using the G4 mATX kit from The Laser Hive, I drilled the holes and cut off the old stand offs for the new mATX setup.
Using an old donor computer I had laying about, I test fitted the motherboard
I wanted the side panels to be coloured white, but I wanted to do something different from all the other Stormtrooper style case mods. So I set about removing the silver paint from behind the side panel. The first panel I sanded it all off, which took a LONG time!
Masked up ready to paint
4 light coats later
I always loved the old rainbow apple logo. It always brings back fond memories from my childhood, so I wanted the side logos to be the same retro design. I printed out a test image to stick to the side to see how it would look with the new white side panel, and I really liked it!
The second panel I used Methylated Spirit to remove the paint, which to be honest, was just as hard as the sanding !
Had some professional decals made up for the rainbow apple logo
If people are interested in doing the Retro Apple Logo themselves, here's the custom template that I made specifically to fit the Apple Logo on the side panels:
Just ask any decal printing company to print this in 11x11cm and it will match up perfectly with the apple logo on the G4 side panel .
Really happy with how they turned out
Next step was to get the front power switch to work with a conventional mother board.
Following some google searches I found which cables did what and soldered on the connections.
The power button worked first time to my surprise. The only problem was the reset button doesn't work. I put this down to it sharing the same ground wire, so I may have to solder it direct to the board to get it to work possibly.
Next are painting the top and bottom panels. I wanted them to be the same satin texture as from factory, so I painted them Satin Black:
I also painted the power button housing and the inside fan housing. Forgot to take pictures of the end result
That was May 2016, I then went through a rather nasty break up, and just lost all interest in the project.
And it lay boxed up in my attic for a good year before I stumbled upon the project photos while having a computer clean up and I then decided that I really wanted to finish the project that I started with such enthusiasm before .
So down it came, and I started the project up again.
Next, I wanted to have a front intake fan for better cooling. The CD/Zip drive bay was almost exactly the same size as two 80mm fans, so I bought two ARCTIC F8 80mm fans and two 80mm guard covers. The guard covers were too wide to fit in the hole left by the CD/Zip drive bay, so I had to trim and sand the sides down to fit. I then used some P40 that I had left over from a car project and I bonded them together as one cover
I then glued it into the front panel. I'm really happy with the fit
I decided that I didn't like the front USB/audio ports, it didn't look as professional as the rest of the build, so I decided to fill in the holes before the front got painted.
Tried P40 first, but it didn't give a smooth enough finish for the holes to be unnoticeable after painting, so started agin with some P38 instead
After sanding
Had to cut out a lot of the front section of the metal case to get the two 80mm fans to fit
I then had to fill in the holes I cut for the front USB hub on the metal case as well
P40 for the outside
P38 for the inside
I plan on painting the whole of the metal case Satin Black as well, so the filler won't be noticeable on the final result.
As I had completely taken the metal casing apart, rivets and all, and there has been a lot of hole cutting and metal bending, I wanted to be sure that everything fitted back together properly before doing any more work on the case.
So I put all the unfinished parts back together to test fit it
It looked really weird, but after a small amount of panel bending, everything fitted back together ok
The inside with the fans and painted parts
I then put my donor computer in just to make sure that everything worked fine, as I had been dismantled and sat in an attic for a year. Everything worked fine
Sep 25, 2017
Hi Guys
Yet another Power Mac G4 build !
For right now, I don't actually have any plans to put a computer inside, this is more of just a fun project to learn and develop my skills. Eventually, this will replace my 2010 Macbook Pro, which I use as a daily desktop replacement. But it is getting on a bit, and when it eventually packs up, then I will most likely put a computer into the G4 case. But for now, it's just a fun project
I bought the G4 back in Jan 2016 for 99p from eBay. A bargain, as it was in pretty good condition!
First thing to do was strip it out.
Then Cut out the side fan hole, which was a bit messy (will be cleaned up later).
Next to cut out a side hole for any future power supply
This hole came out much better
Next a fan mount for underneath. This will either be for a water cooler radiator, or just another fan, I've left the options open.
Included a dust mesh protector to collect the inevitable floor dust and dust bunnies
I also cut a hole in the front for some front mounted USB and Audio ports
Using the G4 mATX kit from The Laser Hive, I drilled the holes and cut off the old stand offs for the new mATX setup.
Using an old donor computer I had laying about, I test fitted the motherboard
I wanted the side panels to be coloured white, but I wanted to do something different from all the other Stormtrooper style case mods. So I set about removing the silver paint from behind the side panel. The first panel I sanded it all off, which took a LONG time!
Masked up ready to paint
4 light coats later
I always loved the old rainbow apple logo. It always brings back fond memories from my childhood, so I wanted the side logos to be the same retro design. I printed out a test image to stick to the side to see how it would look with the new white side panel, and I really liked it!
The second panel I used Methylated Spirit to remove the paint, which to be honest, was just as hard as the sanding !
Had some professional decals made up for the rainbow apple logo
If people are interested in doing the Retro Apple Logo themselves, here's the custom template that I made specifically to fit the Apple Logo on the side panels:
Just ask any decal printing company to print this in 11x11cm and it will match up perfectly with the apple logo on the G4 side panel .
Really happy with how they turned out
Next step was to get the front power switch to work with a conventional mother board.
Following some google searches I found which cables did what and soldered on the connections.
The power button worked first time to my surprise. The only problem was the reset button doesn't work. I put this down to it sharing the same ground wire, so I may have to solder it direct to the board to get it to work possibly.
Next are painting the top and bottom panels. I wanted them to be the same satin texture as from factory, so I painted them Satin Black:
I also painted the power button housing and the inside fan housing. Forgot to take pictures of the end result
That was May 2016, I then went through a rather nasty break up, and just lost all interest in the project.
And it lay boxed up in my attic for a good year before I stumbled upon the project photos while having a computer clean up and I then decided that I really wanted to finish the project that I started with such enthusiasm before .
So down it came, and I started the project up again.
Next, I wanted to have a front intake fan for better cooling. The CD/Zip drive bay was almost exactly the same size as two 80mm fans, so I bought two ARCTIC F8 80mm fans and two 80mm guard covers. The guard covers were too wide to fit in the hole left by the CD/Zip drive bay, so I had to trim and sand the sides down to fit. I then used some P40 that I had left over from a car project and I bonded them together as one cover
I then glued it into the front panel. I'm really happy with the fit
I decided that I didn't like the front USB/audio ports, it didn't look as professional as the rest of the build, so I decided to fill in the holes before the front got painted.
Tried P40 first, but it didn't give a smooth enough finish for the holes to be unnoticeable after painting, so started agin with some P38 instead
After sanding
Had to cut out a lot of the front section of the metal case to get the two 80mm fans to fit
I then had to fill in the holes I cut for the front USB hub on the metal case as well
P40 for the outside
P38 for the inside
I plan on painting the whole of the metal case Satin Black as well, so the filler won't be noticeable on the final result.
As I had completely taken the metal casing apart, rivets and all, and there has been a lot of hole cutting and metal bending, I wanted to be sure that everything fitted back together properly before doing any more work on the case.
So I put all the unfinished parts back together to test fit it
It looked really weird, but after a small amount of panel bending, everything fitted back together ok
The inside with the fans and painted parts
I then put my donor computer in just to make sure that everything worked fine, as I had been dismantled and sat in an attic for a year. Everything worked fine
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