Chassis compatibility: 2006 - 2012

[Amsterdamned]

I managed to snag a couple of Mac Pro early 2009 dual quad Xeon towers, for a good price, but the price was partly due to them both being a bit mangled, in the chassis department.

Attempts to straighten one of them have failed and the other is, unfortunately, well past saving.

Here in sunny South Australia, the availability of decent donor cases is non-existent but I have seen a few older (2006 etc) full Mac Pro towers with excellent cases.

So, to my question; would a shell from a 2006 be compatible with a 2009? I don’t mean the internal case itself, just that single piece of aluminium that wraps round it.

Has anyone ever attempted a transplant?

My ideal scenario is to swap over the good shell and then sell on the older Mac Pro internals.

Any other suggestions, on finding a decent case, nearby, are welcome

 

[crjackson2134]

I doubt it’ll work, but give it shot and let us know.

 

[mattspace]

first thing I'd look for is pictures of the backs of the machines, to see how much of the rear cutouts match. It could involve wholesale chopping the back out of the donor.

Handy with a TIG welder, anything's possible.

 

[tsialex]

Nope.

2006 and 2007 use the same case design. 2008 is unique. 2009/2010/2012 uses another design.

You can adapt a 2006/2007 to a 2008 motherboard with some trouble, but you can't install the 2009+ hardware on a earlier case. Take a look on the design of the CPU tray cage and how the drives are mounted, on 2006/2007/2008 every drive has a little card for SATA signals and power - on 2009+ everything are on the logic board.

Edit: removed incorrect info on 2006/2007 size.

 

[Amsterdamned]

Ok, forget the actual case, I’m more thinking along the lines of the aluminium wrap that holds the case. The part that encompasses the feet and handles.

I know it’s possible to separate those two pieces but I don’t know if any of the older cases have the same sized “wrap” as the others.

Have a look at the second photo in the link below.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/hampton-park/desktops/mac-pro-in-pieces/1191937848

Am I making sense?

 

[verdejt]

Here is one for you. Not sure how the extra shipping would be.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacP...0.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xmacpro+enclosure.TRS0

 

[pl1984]

I have all three variations (1,1, 3,1, and a 5,1) and just performed a quick and dirty measurement of each. Every measurement I made was identical between the three. Some of the measurements I made:

• Side edge to side edge top width
• Top rear outer handle edge to top front outer handle edge
• Top rear inner handle edge to top front inner handle edge
• Front and rear handle widths
• Bottom front foot edge to top front handle edge

This was not an exhaustive list of possible measurements but enough for me to reasonably conclude the outside dimensions of the systems are the same.

If there's a specific measurement you'd like let me know what it is and I'll get it for you.

 

[chrfr]

2008+ cases are larger than 2006/2007 ones.

No they're not. External dimensions are identical across all versions.

 

[Amsterdamned]

I have all three variations (1,1, 3,1, and a 5,1) and just performed a quick and dirty measurement of each. Every measurement I made was identical between the three. Some of the measurements I made:

• Side edge to side edge top width
• Top rear outer handle edge to top front outer handle edge
• Top rear inner handle edge to top front inner handle edge
• Front and rear handle widths
• Bottom front foot edge to top front handle edge

This was not an exhaustive list of possible measurements but enough for me to reasonably conclude the outside dimensions of the systems are the same.

If there's a specific measurement you'd like let me know what it is and I'll get it for you.

Now we’re getting somewhere

If you could possibly have a quick peak inside all 3, do the mount points look to be in the same place?
[doublepost=1533905261][/doublepost]

Here is one for you. Not sure how the extra shipping would be.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-MacPro-Empty-Aluminum-Tower-Case-Enclosure-Hackintosh-Build-620-4224-A1289/292649635102?hash=item4423470d1e:g:73IAAOSwqm1bKrJX:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!33844!US!-1&_sacat=0&_nkw=macpro+enclosure&_from=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xmacpro+enclosure.TRS0

The seller doesn’t look to post to Australia but the costs would be prohibitive I’d guess.

Cheers for the thought, though.

 

[pl1984]

Now we’re getting somewhere

If you could possibly have a quick peak inside all 3, do the mount points look to be in the same place?

What mounting points are you referring to?

 

[verdejt]

I know the drive sleds are not interchangeable between 2009,2010,2012 and the earlier years. The later years have a longer drive sled. I know one difference is that in the earlier models they had firewire 400 and firewire 800 on the rear chassis and in 2009 and later they only have 2 firewire 800 ports on the back.

 

[Macschrauber]

it's a pita to peel the outer frame off but it's doable. All Screws. Thats what the TE means I guess. Should fit but it needs a try.

The inner frame is different of course. But as always the handles are bent it's "just" swapping or fixing the outer shell.
[doublepost=1533949568][/doublepost]here is a picture of the inner frame of a 5.1

 

[Amsterdamned]

What mounting points are you referring to?

I was referring to the torx bolts that hold the inner frame (see photo above) to the outer shell.

There may be a problem that I hadn't foreseen, though. I was reading through the tech guide for a 2006 from the site below and found a photo of a chassis with the logic board removed. What I hadn't even thought about were the mount points for the board; they look to form part of the shell, unless there's another plate that attaches to the shell.

http://www.tim.id.au/blog/tims-laptop-service-manuals/#toc-apple

 

[pl1984]

I was referring to the torx bolts that hold the inner frame (see photo above) to the outer shell.

There may be a problem that I hadn't foreseen, though. I was reading through the tech guide for a 2006 from the site below and found a photo of a chassis with the logic board removed. What I hadn't even thought about were the mount points for the board; they look to form part of the shell, unless there's another plate that attaches to the shell.

http://www.tim.id.au/blog/tims-laptop-service-manuals/#toc-apple

I just had a look at my 3,1 and I didn't see any obvious torx bolts. This suggests I would have to remove some of the internal parts to check. Would that be a fair assessment?

 

[Amsterdamned]

I just had a look at my 3,1 and I didn't see any obvious torx bolts. This suggests I would have to remove some of the internal parts to check. Would that be a fair assessment?

I’d say so, yes.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I think my idea may already be dead in the water, as the shell looks to come pre built with mount points for the relevant logic board.

If that is indeed the case, and there isn’t a secondary sheet that provides those mount points, I am indeed toast.

 

[pl1984]

I’d say so, yes.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I think my idea may already be dead in the water, as the shell looks to come pre built with mount points for the relevant logic board.

If that is indeed the case, and there isn’t a secondary sheet that provides those mount points, I am indeed toast.

Probably best that you purchase a case for your specific model.

 

[verdejt]

try DV Warehouse for your enclosure.

 

[mattspace]

try DV Warehouse for your enclosure.

the problem in Australia is always going to be shipping costs - non-upgraded dual 2.23 4,1s still go for around US$700 here, and you can pay $US1400 for a standard spec dual 5,1. Even the parts are hard to find.

Microseconds in Sydney might be a place to try - they deal in, and scrap old macs for parts exclusively.