Can I use a mac pro case that is empty to build a Hacintosh. Will it be alot more work than just using a normal case?
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Mac Pro Case
- Thread starter maclover12
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Yes. Have you looked inside a Pro? It uses a compartmentalized dual board system. PC boards are in a single form factor.
I have not been able to look inside of one yet but i am just going to have one motherboard could i still be able to use it? Is there any special parts i need to use if i use that case?
You most likely will need to cut up the motherboard to fit and get some sort of daughter card to place down below. Look at the pics here.
http://www.apple.com/macpro/design.html
The mid area with northbridge and PCI slots is that thin space, the bottom heat sinks are where the procs are and they are vertically mounted on a separate PCB.
You could cut up the case to de-compartmentalize the side to slot in an ATX mobo. Who knows what that would do to cooling and noise though.
http://www.apple.com/macpro/design.html
The mid area with northbridge and PCI slots is that thin space, the bottom heat sinks are where the procs are and they are vertically mounted on a separate PCB.
You could cut up the case to de-compartmentalize the side to slot in an ATX mobo. Who knows what that would do to cooling and noise though.
Most likely but I was in the middle of writing when Ashman70 posted so maybe see what others have done and see what you are comfortable with. Good luck.
Something like "Mac Pro Case+hackintosh".
I did this and found this:
http://www.s155158671.websitehome.co.uk/macprohackintosh.html
You'd be much better off with a PC case. Lian Li makes some great looking aluminum ATX cases that will fit the components you've chosen.
Using a PowerMac G5 case would work better, that would still need to be cut though!
Just use the mATX form factor to avoid cutting. There are many people who have done this very successfully on insanelymac etc. Someone has even made custom cables to connect the Mac Pro front panel with typical motherboard ports. The hard drive caddy cabling needs to be adapted, too.
A little research on a few other forums will be far more useful than anything you'll find here.
A little research on a few other forums will be far more useful than anything you'll find here.
Theres plenty of great looking pc cases, some are very similar in style to the mac pro.
Unless you know what your doing when it comes to metalworking i wouldn't bother with a mac pro case. Youd have to gut the inside, drill and tap new mounting holes, alter the back panel and fabricate brackets for holding internal components. Im sure theres plenty more i haven't thought of too.
Unless you know what your doing when it comes to metalworking i wouldn't bother with a mac pro case. Youd have to gut the inside, drill and tap new mounting holes, alter the back panel and fabricate brackets for holding internal components. Im sure theres plenty more i haven't thought of too.
Can you suggest one or two?
I looked really long and hard for PC case similar to the quality of the MP and never found one. There are a few that are similar superficially, but are of poor quality. I never once found one that had nice, thick, anodized aluminum with a largely tool-less design like the MP case. Almost everything is steel, thin, bends easily, has a plethora of little screws of multiple sizes, has poorly threaded holes, has slightly misaligned pieces, and has internal sheetmetal edges so sharp you can easily cut your hand. There are a few that claim to be thick aluminum but then I find out they are normal thin steel cases that have a thick aluminum plate stuck to the front for cosmetic purposes. Handfuls and handfuls of wires are evident all over the place, unlike the MP.
I found many PC cases that looked great in professional photographs online, Silverstone in particular. But then seeing them in person I discovered they were average cases at best, with a nice front plate (a common theme).
High quality PC cases are extremely, extremely rare (by my definition of quality). There are many expensive high-end PC cases, but high-end does not mean high-quality; instead they have a lot of expensive nonsense like UV or neon lighting, windows, liquid cooling, or other superficial gaudy features.
The one I liked the most (or disliked the least?) was the Thermaltake Level 10, but at $800 (at the time), it exceeded even my extremely generous budget for a PC case ($500). Even today, years later, it is still pushing $600-$700.
As I recall, one of the case designers for Antec said they couldn't sell a case as nice as the MP case for less than $600, and there was no market for PC cases that nice. PCs are entirely about price/performance ratios and getting the best benchmarks for as little as possible. As for quality, it's a race to bottom.
There are reasons why even old G5 cases still sell for good money on Ebay today, while old used PC cases are essentially worthless trash.
go here http://tonymacx86.com/ you will find all the info you need, lots of custom builds using a mac pro case.
Swapping Mac Pro 3.1 and 4.1 logic boards
Weve recently attempted to swap logic boards between Mac Pro 3.1 and 4.1 for a client. The Mac Pro 3.1 couldnt boot up. We suspected its the power supply. The client went out and bought a 2nd hand Mac Pro 4.1. We transferred all the airport and Bluetooth cards, RAMs and graphics card over to the Mac Pro 4.1 successfully. The only problem with the MP 4.1 was the casing. It was damaged very badly. The client requested us to try swapping the internals between the 2 MPs. We studied the logic board connectors and both were exactly the same, by looking at the labels on the board itself. The cables were also similarly labelled. The only difference is the RAM bracket mounting. We gamely gave it a try.
After 4 hours of dismantling and assembling, the MP 4.1 casing with MP 3.1 internals couldnt boot up. The diag LEDs OT A and OT B lights up. After googling a fair bit, we suspected the problem could be the heatsink sensor. We wanted to mount the original MP 4.1 heatsink but it turns out that is the other part that is different from MP 3.1.
It was the same issue with the MP 3.1 with MP 4.1 internals. The diag LEDs OT A and OT B lights up.
We decided to swap back the internals just to be sure we didnt damage the parts during our dismantling. With all the original parts in MP 4.1, it boots up perfectly. The MP 3.1 still didnt boot, but we were not surprised. It wasnt booting up originally, anyway.
Our suspicions included missing screws mounting the logic board and ram brackets that were not present, due to the differences in mounting brackets. Could the screws have a hand in the sensors failing?
We were hoping that there are others out there that have successfully done what we wanted to do and would share what they did to make it right.
Thanks in advance!
Weve recently attempted to swap logic boards between Mac Pro 3.1 and 4.1 for a client. The Mac Pro 3.1 couldnt boot up. We suspected its the power supply. The client went out and bought a 2nd hand Mac Pro 4.1. We transferred all the airport and Bluetooth cards, RAMs and graphics card over to the Mac Pro 4.1 successfully. The only problem with the MP 4.1 was the casing. It was damaged very badly. The client requested us to try swapping the internals between the 2 MPs. We studied the logic board connectors and both were exactly the same, by looking at the labels on the board itself. The cables were also similarly labelled. The only difference is the RAM bracket mounting. We gamely gave it a try.
After 4 hours of dismantling and assembling, the MP 4.1 casing with MP 3.1 internals couldnt boot up. The diag LEDs OT A and OT B lights up. After googling a fair bit, we suspected the problem could be the heatsink sensor. We wanted to mount the original MP 4.1 heatsink but it turns out that is the other part that is different from MP 3.1.
It was the same issue with the MP 3.1 with MP 4.1 internals. The diag LEDs OT A and OT B lights up.
We decided to swap back the internals just to be sure we didnt damage the parts during our dismantling. With all the original parts in MP 4.1, it boots up perfectly. The MP 3.1 still didnt boot, but we were not surprised. It wasnt booting up originally, anyway.
Our suspicions included missing screws mounting the logic board and ram brackets that were not present, due to the differences in mounting brackets. Could the screws have a hand in the sensors failing?
We were hoping that there are others out there that have successfully done what we wanted to do and would share what they did to make it right.
Thanks in advance!
