Putting G5 inside a Tower PC

[PowerPCMacMan]

This is TRUE... The LCS's functions and fan speeds are controlled by the firmware. I run a G5 Quad as my everyday machine along with my 6-core Mac Pro for heavy duty stuff and file servicing to my other PPC macs.

Any fan speed of a PPC mac is tied to OF.

Because the G5s are very strictly tuned for the cooling of that box. I don't mean by design, I mean the firmware on the thing is locked to that cooling. Any change, and the board firmware will likely freak out.

 

[Tesselator]

Funnily enough I dont need anything to make my life more challenging than it already is. I just felt like it might be a fun way to do something.

I say go for it man! But please document it with your video camera so we can watch!

Besides the usual commonsense you're going to need a drill motor, various bits, a small sawzall or saber-saw with fine-tooth blades, metal-files, maybe some tin-snips, and of course the usual screwdrivers, wire cutters and soldering irons.

Good luck, sounds like fun!

 

[JavaTheHut]

One last over looked note is try taking this thread over to the Power pc Macs forum you may have a little more luck with configs of Power pc server set ups there... good luck m8

 

[PowerPCMacMan]

I can assist him with that if he desires as I own a G5 Quad and know a lot about the PowerPC.

Because the G5s are very strictly tuned for the cooling of that box. I don't mean by design, I mean the firmware on the thing is locked to that cooling. Any change, and the board firmware will likely freak out.

One last over looked note is try taking this thread over to the Power pc Macs forum you may have a little more luck with configs of Power pc server set ups there... good luck m8

 

[comatory]

I'd say go ahead, it seems like a fun project to you so it's all cool. Yeah I recommend PPC forums as well.

As for cooling, luckily you dont have liquid G5 so I think it should be possible to cool it fairly easily. You say you have big-ass tower so that's good, that means you can mount lots of fans on the case. That might help you overcome the airflow issue.

The only thing is, you cannot plug in the fans to G5 motherboard, it won't probably have the correct power pins but I bet there's a way around that.

Anyway... you probably need a second power supply anyway to drive all those drives, G5 has only power cables for 4 devices if I am not mistaken. There is probably an adapter to power the fans, I haven't built a PC in few years so more experienced people will probably help.

If you post a new thread in PPC forums, can you please link to it? I'd like to follow your progress.

Also, once you get more $$$, look for used Mac mini. They're pretty cool file servers, I have 2009 C2D model with only 2GB of RAM but it works great. It serves as a Plex multimedia servers and is able to stream simultaneously to multoiple computers. I have Snow Leopard running on it.

I still think that very elegant solution would be to use Mac mini as your server and hook the drives via FW800 enclosure but youre right, they're damn expensive and if you add Mac mini to the mix its probably not worth it. I see big advantage in the low power consumption of Mac mini as opposed to G5, if it's going to be used for most of the year, your electric bill might be a bit high so who knows whats financially more sensible

This is actually what I want to do with my Mac mini once I get a good price on FW800 enclosure. I'd like to have at least 2 drive FW800 enclosure, but 4 drive would be better. I don't want NAS.

 

[benstevensuk]

To be fair I will be buying an iMac soon anyway, so this really is for ***** n giggles

The G5 arrived today, the box is properly battered. looks like someone has got drunk and tripped over it, landing on it and crushing the top and bottom stands.

So far, the fans work! lol sounds like a tornado after about 3 minutes.

But I think something else is wrong. The little white light at the front by the power button comes on and then goes off. It sounds like it's breathing but no real action.

I have plugged it in to two different displays but no life on them. HDD missing so I've tried to create a bootloader USB and HDD, but with Lion, so I might have to try an older OS

If I can get the machine to spring to life then I will be attempting to put it in a different case, but until then...

 

[666sheep]

So far, the fans work! lol sounds like a tornado after about 3 minutes.

But I think something else is wrong. The little white light at the front by the power button comes on and then goes off. It sounds like it's breathing but no real action.

If it's dual core (Late 2005), check diagnostic LEDs on logic board. Service manual will help. You'll find one on Scribd or elsewhere.

 

[comatory]

To be fair I will be buying an iMac soon anyway, so this really is for ***** n giggles

The G5 arrived today, the box is properly battered. looks like someone has got drunk and tripped over it, landing on it and crushing the top and bottom stands.

So far, the fans work! lol sounds like a tornado after about 3 minutes.

But I think something else is wrong. The little white light at the front by the power button comes on and then goes off. It sounds like it's breathing but no real action.

I have plugged it in to two different displays but no life on them. HDD missing so I've tried to create a bootloader USB and HDD, but with Lion, so I might have to try an older OS

If I can get the machine to spring to life then I will be attempting to put it in a different case, but until then...

You can only use 10.5 Leopard with that machine. Be sure to use specific installer for G5 or get a retail version of Leopard.

Check power supply too.

 

[benstevensuk]

Ive read about leopard, so that was on my list to change.

It's not that though. I think it may be graphics related.

I'm taking the memory battery for replacement tomorrow.

Have reset all the little bits and switches, taken out additional ram and reset the original properly.

But, more and more reading suggests its graphics card, logic board or processor. I think i might take it and get it diagnosed by apple shop before I proceed too much further. If it's dead, its dead.

 

[minifridge1138]

Ive read about leopard, so that was on my list to change.

It's not that though. I think it may be graphics related.

I'm taking the memory battery for replacement tomorrow.

Have reset all the little bits and switches, taken out additional ram and reset the original properly.

But, more and more reading suggests its graphics card, logic board or processor. I think i might take it and get it diagnosed by apple shop before I proceed too much further. If it's dead, its dead.

I'm not sure that Apple will work on a G5 anymore.
They won't install RAM in a PowerPC anymore, so i'm not sure if they'll diagnose one.

You do know how powerful a G5 is, right? And the software limitations you'll face?

I'm all for this as a fun project, I just want you to realize what you're about to do (and what you'll get for it even if you succeed).

 

[comatory]

I'm not sure that Apple will work on a G5 anymore.
They won't install RAM in a PowerPC anymore, so i'm not sure if they'll diagnose one.

You do know how powerful a G5 is, right? And the software limitations you'll face?

I'm all for this as a fun project, I just want you to realize what you're about to do (and what you'll get for it even if you succeed).

His decision has been already discussed here, OP is pretty aware of the limitation of that hardware.

Be careful so you dont sink much money into that machine, it wouldnt be worth it. If its GPU then its all good cause I think you might get a spare one for really cheap but CPU and motherboard... dont really think so. Your best bet would be to ask around forums (or better, in your area) for anyone, who would be willing to donate the parts or the whole machine. I know there are places where they want to just get rid of the computers and give them away for free. A friend found functional iMac G3 next to the trash, with keyboard, mouse and install CDs.

 

[benstevensuk]

good news

yay,

with some fiddling around i have now got the motherboard and chips working, so now i am at grey screen with file and question mark.

unfortunately ive thrown all my old keyboards away so i cant get much further today.

however, with working chip and board i can continue my little game and try to take the contents of one G5 and put it in a server tower. who knows what will happen next lol

but, like i said this is as much for a bit of fun as it is anything else. a distraction from too much work as i work full time as an area manager and am also launching my own consultancy business. who said i needed a more challenging life, this is for fun

thanks guys, keep up the comments and advice, all helpful

 

[DJenkins]

I have sort of been following along with this thread, but I seem to be missing out on something... what is wrong with leaving the G5 in the G5 case?

Is all this just for the extra drive space? Surely you could look around for a PCI card and external chassis?

There was once upon a time a way to mount more drives internally as well - see here:

http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...g5-how-to-install-additional-hard-drives.html

But I haven't checked around to see if that product is still available.

 

[benstevensuk]

Thanks DJenkins,

Yes, it's all about drives.
I hadn't seen those cages before I started this little venture. But I also hadn't bought the G5 either.

It started with the want to create a server type machine using old parts, with a budget of next to nothing.

So, I found a large PC tower which houses 8 x 3.5 hdd plus 2 x 5.25 bays. This was £40 and very local, so I thought what the hell.

Then, I thought 'I like my Apple OS, how can I make that work?'
I looked at Hackintosh setups but thought why not put Apple hardware in my tower to power the thing.

Then I came across a battered G5 with bent case for £30 plus postage.

And here we are.

Spend so far:
£40 case
£45 G5 hardware
£9 memory battery

 

[comatory]

I bet you could "scrape" parts around to create hackintosh. It doesnt have to be anything too fancy, maybe some Core 2 Duo CPU with few gigs of RAM. I often look around for compatible stuff but Ive seen people build succesful hackintoshes out of the "golden build" guidelines, you just have to fiddle a bit more.

Just an idea in case your experiment doesn't work.

 

[benstevensuk]

Yep, and that was one option, I have loads of old tower pc's lying around, keep collecting from freecycle and work leftovers. But, when I saw the G5 for £30 +P&P I thought it might be a bit more adventurous in a 'get it to fit the box' way and a little less adventurous in a 'make the bloody software work' way lol

stupidly, though, i've thrown all the old usb keyboards away and now have to acquire one again.

but it will be interesting to see what happens next lol

 

[benstevensuk]

oh dear

well, for anyone still interested, i came to a problem today.

the mother board does not fit in the huge enclosure i got!
it can be turned 90 degrees vertical but i would never get a power supply in.
all those drive trays, which is why i bought the enclosure, get in the way of everything else

so, G5 is now back together and i have to decide on what next...

 

[AppleDApp]

I'm not sure a G5 can do USB 3 but have you looked at connecting it to a DAS?

 

[comatory]

well, for anyone still interested, i came to a problem today.

the mother board does not fit in the huge enclosure i got!
it can be turned 90 degrees vertical but i would never get a power supply in.
all those drive trays, which is why i bought the enclosure, get in the way of everything else

so, G5 is now back together and i have to decide on what next...

maybe fix the G5 case? you could put eSata card in and save up for eSata enclosure.

what about just cutting off the back of the case? i know its not elegant solution.. but if it'll be used as a file server, you can just probably put the whole thing in some closet or something.

 

[Tesselator]

well, for anyone still interested, i came to a problem today.

the mother board does not fit in the huge enclosure i got!
it can be turned 90 degrees vertical but i would never get a power supply in.
all those drive trays, which is why i bought the enclosure, get in the way of everything else

so, G5 is now back together and i have to decide on what next...

Yup, time to whip out the sawzall bro... Don't let a little thing like dimensions get in your way!