Hackintosh: new guts in an old case?
March 5, 2010 6:25 AM Subscribe
Hackintoshfilter: Can I put a i7-920 quad core processor in an old school B&W G3 Tower case?
So I've got some speedy new hardware and I want to take a crack at putting together a Hackintosh. I also have an ancient B&W G3 tower (the box still runs, but I'd happily rip its guts out if I could disguise this beast of a machine in the G3 case). I know that this particular case had sort of a funky design (I think the way the door drops down is sort of unique). I held out on buying a case on the offhand chance that this might work, and if it's remotely feasible, I'd like to give it a shot.
If this is a bad idea or just straight up won't work, please let me know.
If there's any crucial info I left out, I'll be keeping my eyes on the thread.
If you've got any tips or alternate case recommendations, I'd love to hear them.
Here are the components I want to fit in the G3 case (I listed all of them because I'm not sure if there are any peculiarities that might pose an issue):
CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK
Video: ASUS EN210/DI/512MD2(LP) GeForce 210 512MB 64-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
CD/DVD: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer
So I've got some speedy new hardware and I want to take a crack at putting together a Hackintosh. I also have an ancient B&W G3 tower (the box still runs, but I'd happily rip its guts out if I could disguise this beast of a machine in the G3 case). I know that this particular case had sort of a funky design (I think the way the door drops down is sort of unique). I held out on buying a case on the offhand chance that this might work, and if it's remotely feasible, I'd like to give it a shot.
If this is a bad idea or just straight up won't work, please let me know.
If there's any crucial info I left out, I'll be keeping my eyes on the thread.
If you've got any tips or alternate case recommendations, I'd love to hear them.
Here are the components I want to fit in the G3 case (I listed all of them because I'm not sure if there are any peculiarities that might pose an issue):
CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK
Video: ASUS EN210/DI/512MD2(LP) GeForce 210 512MB 64-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
CD/DVD: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer
Response by poster: (I found this Picasa album of someone who put a Core 2 Quad in a Blue and White, but I can't tell how much modding it will take and if that's more trouble than it's worth)
posted by solipsophistocracy at 6:47 AM on March 5, 2010
posted by solipsophistocracy at 6:47 AM on March 5, 2010
Best answer: Do you have a Dremel tool? You're going to want one.
The motherboard will probably fit, in the roughest sense, but I doubt that the mounting screws will line up correctly, so you'll need to mount new standoffs inside the case to match up to the standard mATX (or whatever form factor your new mobo is) locations.
Also, the ports on the back of the machine won't match up with your new motherboard. You'll need to cut away some of the back in order to expose an ATX-sized square hole instead of the custom Mac-motherboard port layout that it contains now. This is where the Dremel is your friend.
I always thought the B&W and later Yikes/Sawtooth G4 designs were really nice cases; I loved how the side door just dropped open like that. Made it really easy to add RAM and drives (and at least the similar Sawtooth had a lot of internal room for drives if you wanted to shove them in there and stack them up; more than a G5 tower).
It's a cool project; good luck.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:18 AM on March 5, 2010
The motherboard will probably fit, in the roughest sense, but I doubt that the mounting screws will line up correctly, so you'll need to mount new standoffs inside the case to match up to the standard mATX (or whatever form factor your new mobo is) locations.
Also, the ports on the back of the machine won't match up with your new motherboard. You'll need to cut away some of the back in order to expose an ATX-sized square hole instead of the custom Mac-motherboard port layout that it contains now. This is where the Dremel is your friend.
I always thought the B&W and later Yikes/Sawtooth G4 designs were really nice cases; I loved how the side door just dropped open like that. Made it really easy to add RAM and drives (and at least the similar Sawtooth had a lot of internal room for drives if you wanted to shove them in there and stack them up; more than a G5 tower).
It's a cool project; good luck.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:18 AM on March 5, 2010
Best answer: you might be able to work it out backwards from this - this is someone who went the other direction (i.e. took the B&W G3 guts and put them into an ATX case). you may be able to work it out based on the mods he had to make for the ATX case to take the G3's motherboard.
right off the bat, it looks like your motherboard might be too big. the B&W G3 only had 4 slots (so, closer to mini-ATX) and that one has.. more than that. probably be best to go with a smaller mini-ATX style board, or at least compare the size of the motherboard in the G3 to the one you want to buy. (if yours lacks the motherboard, memail me - I've got a B&W still and can measure it later.) other than that, PSU and disks should fit OK. you might also want to see about finding some cages from a G4 PowerMac - some of them had double-stacked drive cages so you can fit more drives in if you want. the xlr8yourmac article will have the pinouts for the front panel buttons on the G3's case so you can make them work.
posted by mrg at 7:54 AM on March 5, 2010
right off the bat, it looks like your motherboard might be too big. the B&W G3 only had 4 slots (so, closer to mini-ATX) and that one has.. more than that. probably be best to go with a smaller mini-ATX style board, or at least compare the size of the motherboard in the G3 to the one you want to buy. (if yours lacks the motherboard, memail me - I've got a B&W still and can measure it later.) other than that, PSU and disks should fit OK. you might also want to see about finding some cages from a G4 PowerMac - some of them had double-stacked drive cages so you can fit more drives in if you want. the xlr8yourmac article will have the pinouts for the front panel buttons on the G3's case so you can make them work.
posted by mrg at 7:54 AM on March 5, 2010
great idea, i hope it works for you. i wish i had thought of it b/4 i got rid of my b&w.
posted by bravowhiskey at 12:51 PM on March 5, 2010
posted by bravowhiskey at 12:51 PM on March 5, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for being so helpful folks. After some careful consideration and scouring the web for diagrams/tutorials, I think I might be biting off a little bit more than I want to chew for my first build, since the G3 tower isn't optimized for my mobo and will require a lot of modification.
However, I still have every intention of eventually moving the rig over to the B&W case (once I'm confident that I can make the parts work in a simpler environment) or building a different one inside it later. I sure do appreciate your input!
posted by solipsophistocracy at 2:17 PM on March 6, 2010
However, I still have every intention of eventually moving the rig over to the B&W case (once I'm confident that I can make the parts work in a simpler environment) or building a different one inside it later. I sure do appreciate your input!
posted by solipsophistocracy at 2:17 PM on March 6, 2010
Well, before you write it off, open the G3 up and note the locations of the screws holding the mobo down. It's possible — unlikely but possible — that it uses a standard mATX screw arrangement. You'd still have to mod the back but that's not really that hard, unless you're really obsessive about how it looks.
If the standoffs are in the wrong places then yeah, that's going to be annoying, but it'd be worth checking on. You can find diagrams of the various ATX form factors online to check against.
posted by Kadin2048 at 2:17 PM on March 7, 2010
If the standoffs are in the wrong places then yeah, that's going to be annoying, but it'd be worth checking on. You can find diagrams of the various ATX form factors online to check against.
posted by Kadin2048 at 2:17 PM on March 7, 2010
Response by poster: Oh, I opened it up and messed around a little bit before throwing in the towel. The standoffs are definitely in the wrong spot, and the board is bigger by about a quarter of an inch in one direction and bigger by a couple inches in the other. I'm still all about sticking a sweet new hackintosh in an old G3 tower, but I want to make sure I can make one work in an unmodded case before I start trying to get fancy with it. Thanks very much for your helpful suggestions though.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 7:53 PM on March 8, 2010
posted by solipsophistocracy at 7:53 PM on March 8, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
It definitely is. I'm not 100% on the form factor of G3 components, but you'll definitely be able to make the guts fit with a little ingenuity (and perhaps some cutting).
Zip ties are your friend for tidying cabling, but make sure your motherboard is mounted properly with standoffs and screws, and that your power supply is firmly attached to something. I can also forsee issues in lining you video card / motherboard output ports with an appropriately sized hole in the back of the case, but it's definitely doable.
Disc drives and HDDs should be straight swaps.
posted by jozzas at 6:43 AM on March 5, 2010