Has anyone used a Mac G3 or G4 case?

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:00 pm

Has anyone used a Mac G3 or G4 case and built a PC?

AuraAllan · Post by **AuraAllan** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:18 pm

I have seen a few on Bit-tech forums.
Can't find them right now though

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:25 pm

I have, and it's a PITA.

I actually have one for sale, but that's a PM issue.

There are several things that need to be taken into account, such as the cable lengths for optical drives, and also, you need to keep the RAM in check compared to the optical drive, because of the way the case is made.

putting a conventional mATX board inside a G3/G4 case means that where the RAM slots are located on the motherboard, are usually in direct conflict with the optical drive. also, sometimes capacitors come in conflict because of their height. the cases really need extreme modding and choice of components, because picking the wrong parts makes it impossible.

I have some pics, post if you're interested in seeing how the conflicts look, i don't have them uploaded readily right now, if you'd like to see them i'll put them up.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:38 pm

If you want to put them up thats cool. Its not a huge deal cause just from you saying that I probably wont try it but I do got a G4 case I could use.

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:47 pm

well, #1 problem is that the motherboard standoffs are different. you can't just put in an ATX motherboard, you have to basically rip out the existing standoffs and either drill your own new ones, or epoxy the old ones into the right places.

#2 is that your motherboard needs to be very slim. you have about 7 inches of playroom, past that, the RAM gets in the way of the optical drive, and the case wont close. i've seen some people chop apart the optical drive to make it fit, others go evil doctor on the board to make it fit, sometimes you need to do both. either way, it voids the warranty, so it means you're making that nice new hardware useless if you mess up.

#3 G3/G4 cases have horrible ventilation. They rely on the power supply for exhaust, and an internal, side mounted 120mm fan for drawing air in. problem is, it doesn't really have the ability to keep a full blown computer cool enough.

#4 is that heatsink clearance is dirt. if you aren't using a low profile cooler, forget it, tower coolers in the G3/G4 cases are not an option at all.

basically, you'd have to run some ITX system in the G3/G4 towers to make it quiet.

have you looked at maybe an open box, or refurbished Antec case? i buy a lot of my parts used (RAM, PSUs and HDDs are always new though) and I have to say, I've never been disappointed by the quality of used hardware. it also means that as a student, my budget might be able to fit something bigger and better than if i were buying everything new.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 3:54 pm

Where would you buy used hardware or cases?

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:00 pm

newegg...you've got to find the deals to get them really.

Antec also has some in their online store i believe. i think i saw a mini P18x series for ~100...good deal, but i don't need one.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 4:11 pm

Was just checking new egg they got some HP's I could buy all ready and set to go just wouldnt be quite as high of the specs as I would have liked... I dunno... lol

I only have $500 to spend to get me in the door and Im thinking number one things I should get with the money is Case, Mother Board, Power Supply, and Ram... that pretty much exhausts $500. Crazy... then I need processor, heatsink, graphics card, and optical drive, card reader, Yeah I forgot how complicated it is and time consuming... hah

mentawl · Post by **mentawl** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:24 am

Should take a look at something like TechReport's Econobox if you're looking for the $500 mark.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/17787/2

bonestonne · Post by **bonestonne** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:36 am

that system isn't bad, but i'd go with different GFX because the 5xxx series still has catalyst problems, and you could knock a few bucks off the price.

a dual core, DDR2 system would come in cheaper, and still be plenty fast. i don't feel obsolete with it, even though DDR3 is out now.

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:16 am

I was thinking mini-itx for ease of build if someone is set on using the old Mac case. Toss in a pico/brick combo and have fun.

Crim · Post by **Crim** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:34 am

I'm actually running my Athlon 2 X4 in a modded G4 case. Not quite done modding it but so far I'm happy with it. Also working on a G4 cube but I'm waiting for the lower wattage AMD chips to start showing up.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:31 pm

mentawl wrote:Should take a look at something like TechReport's Econobox if you're looking for the $500 mark.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/17787/2

Thanks! I guess I have to give up my dream of intel i7... thats ok i can still get work done with a quad core amd right? lol...

Alright Im learning so much Im going to see what I can piece together at newegg...

Trav1s · Post by **Trav1s** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 4:20 pm

Crim wrote:I'm actually running my Athlon 2 X4 in a modded G4 case. Not quite done modding it but so far I'm happy with it. Also working on a G4 cube but I'm waiting for the lower wattage AMD chips to start showing up.

Got any pics?

Crim · Post by **Crim** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:51 am

Trav1s wrote:
Crim wrote:I'm actually running my Athlon 2 X4 in a modded G4 case. Not quite done modding it but so far I'm happy with it. Also working on a G4 cube but I'm waiting for the lower wattage AMD chips to start showing up.
Got any pics?

I've got a couple.