MP 1,1-5,1 How to disassemble the MacPro 4,1 - for ATX Casemod

[Patti van Blindflug]

Hello together,
I'm currently building up a Hackintosh. Therefore I would like to casemod an old MacPro. Now I have emptied up the MAc, but get stuck at the metal board below the PSU and DVD drive bay. I removed all screws, but the board does not come off?

Any ideas or hints?

Thanks,
Patti

 

[Macschrauber]

I see three screw heads at the supporting plate for the PSU fan.

 

[Patti van Blindflug]

Yes, that is right! But because the fangrid has some more hidden screws I would like to leave that in!

It is not anymore connected to that metalplate between top (Psu+DVD) and bottom, that I want to remove!

 

[velocityg4]

You need to remove the latch and latch bar assembly that normally locks the side panel on. Before you can remove the disk bay assembly.

 

[Patti van Blindflug]

Thanks! Yes that helped! To remove that latch is not so easy and obvious! You have to remove the "clamps" on the back

!

 

[Macschrauber]

Is the case stable after removing or does it wriggle?

 

[Patti van Blindflug]

Yes the Case is still stable. But I can not say how it behaves acustically once it is fully populated with hardware! Linus Sebastian also had a build without that plate and it seems ok.

Casemod Mac Pro by Linus

But I angle ginded the plate and put it back in, because I still want to mount a BR-Drive and the aluminium plate for the PSU for cosmetics! So in my case it is more ore less as stable as before.

 

[Patti van Blindflug]

Modified the front connector with 2x USB A 3.2; 1x USB C and 3D printed Reset Switch.

 

[velocityg4]

Modified the front connector with 2x USB A 3.2; 1x USB C and 3D printed Reset Switch.

View attachment 1959482

That's nice. I've always wanted to do that on my G5 ATX Mod. Just keep thinking I'll do it one day. But that build has finally been relegated to file server. After seven or eight years of use. So, I doubt I'll ever do it.

 

[Patti van Blindflug]

Status Update:

 

[Patti van Blindflug]

Mainboard and PSU now fits to the case!

 

[bmoore262]

Looking good. I imagine your new system will certainly be more reliable than an old mac pro. God bless 'em.

 

[RicardoF1RST]

Very nice I/O panel solution

Did you manage to remove / re-fit the PSU fan plate? and if not, do you think it possible by just removing the latch bar and divider plate? i.e. without having to dismantle the outer skins?

I need to cut new cable slots in mine, I have removed the cross head screws from the base, the 6mm(!) nuts (all of them) from the case top and the torx head screw caps from the side panel. The only thing holding it in are the two rivets BUT IF I can sort them, I can't see how the plate can lift out given the threaded bar of the nuts and the raised threaded inserts of the side panel catching on the holes of the fan bracket.

Its unbelievable how many differing fasteners Apple used in these cases! & madness how "bolted" in the PSU fan plate is. 12 fasteners and Rivets as well!