MDD G4 Quicksilver MOD

[jjduro]

Hi All, this is my first post.
I recently bought a G4 MDD Quicksilver case to turn into a sleeck Hackintosh. The problem is: I did'nt know that the DVD drives would ocupy the same place as the memory banks.
Has anyone faced the same problem?
Thanks!


Mobo GigaByte EP45 ds3

[aquamac]

To make something out of this, I would think you should be looking at a BTX board. Intel made a few of these, but there don't seem to be too many around now. Alternatively, you will need to make some pretty major mods to the back panel. Still, there is potential here to make a great mod!!!

This type of thing:



Water-cool the processor and you might just do this!

[reddrag0n]

Great idea, but i forsee a problem down the road...

Look at where the CPU goes on most BTX boards. Right where that huge hulk of aluminum for the CD Drives resides.

Other than that, it should be a straight forward mod.

[aquamac]

Yeah, my thinking was water-cooling with a very small CPU chamber and side pipe attachments - there may be a bit of cutting of the fan support but it might just work!! Would be a lovely mod - I still think the MDD case is great looking and of all the G4 cases the door has the best quality closing mechanism/strength.

[jjduro]

Ok. Thanks for the help.

I'm sticking to my new Gigabyte EP45 - DS3 Mobo. And, yes, I'm having a lot of problems with the central case CD/DVD drives. I couldn't close the case, because of the memory banks. They hit the DVD enclosure. So, my friend and I, got hold of a drill and started cutting away part of the CD/DVD drive case (we had to put some screws, some bits and pieces, so the drive door wouldn't hit the lower end of the lower drive bay). Now, the memory banks are a few dog hairs away from the DVD case, but we can now close the lid.
The power source was also screwed to the top side, near the back.
We still have to figure out how we are going to make a nice looking back door. A lot of welding and metal cutting, I believe.
So, here are the pictures of the work so far.


The GigaByte EP45 - DS3 Mobo


The empty box


The BIG problem


The "delicate" iron works


It fits!!!!!

[aquamac]

Looking forward to seeing this in the future - looks really promising.

[jjduro]

My final version 1.0 of my G4 Hackintosh MDD Mod is finished

Without the plastic panels


This was one of the most complicated task: the back. My friend Peter made it using some of the original G4 case parts and bits and pieces of a grey PC. I believe that, for the more complicated parts, Peter was on Valiums ... and other stuff.


Another piece of hard work. The DVD bay door had to be cut - round edges - , or else we wouldn't be able to open it.


You can check my new G4 guts.


I had to cut another piece of the enclosure, to give some more ventilation to the power source. d**n! That's some hard metal to cut!


And this is the IT. Snow Leopard running on a G4.. And Apple said it couldn't be done I have to thank Aquamac and reddrag0n for the encouraging words, and, most of all, to my friend peter18lra. Without his patience, I would have given up after cutting the first bits of the case. A real hard case


Next, I'm going to try with a G5 ou MacIntel case... or maybe not

[aquamac]

Shame I cannot see the pics yet as I am away from home with a low bandwidth connection that will only show the text. Look forward to seeing your pics when I get home and on a "real" computer!

EDIT: Great job, This has really got me thinking! There are a lot of MDD cases out there that have either duff processors that would benefit from a little modification - I am sitting looking at two as I type......

[roccopagano]

Hi mate!
Sorry for my bad english
You've made a fantastic job modding the mdd G4 quocksilver. When I bought a used PowerMac MDD last week, I realised that it's different than a normal pc and I thought it was impossible to install a PC in there. Thanks to your fotos I get it
Thanks a lot!
I have a lot of work to do yet fixing the back of the case where now I've got a big hole I have to cut my dvdrom like you do to let it fit with my video card!
I just have one question and I hope you could answer me...
How did you fix the power button... behind the controller there's a Foxconn cable... how could I connect it to my mobo?!
Hope you answer me soon.... thank you for all.

P.s.: I didn't put any additional fan in it! I have remove them all! Do you think a fan somewhere inside is necessary?

[jjduro]

For the power button, I just connected the cables to a new plug and used it as it was. It is still the original button.

And yes, you need extra cooling. It gets rather warm inside the G4 case.