Tired of the same old boring computer cases everywhere I decided to get me something special for my PC. So when one day I came across this modification of an Apple G4 case fitted to accomodate a standard x86 PC on HardOCP I knew what I wanted. Some expensive auctioning at eBay and a lot of drilling later I had a special PC myself. So now I am running a Linux-OS on a Windows-plattform in an Apple-case. Groovy, baby!
Since then I have disassembled the pc and bought me a laptop. The most hightech-specifications were:
- CPU: AMD AthlonXP 2600+
- Cooler: Swiftech MCX 462-V
- RAM: 1 GB MTD PC400
- Mainboard: ECS Elitegroup KM400-M
- Graphics: Gigabyte GV-N68128DH Geforce 6800
- Harddrive: Seagate 120GB ST3120026A
- Sound: CreativeLabs Soundblaster Audigy 4 Pro
- Optical Drive: LG GSA-4167B DVD-Writer
- PSU: TSP 420 P4 Ultra Silent TripleFan
- Monitor: Iiyama ProLite E431S-B 17'' TFT
- Cardreader: Cooltek 7-in-1 with 2 Front-USB-ports
- OS: Gentoo Linux
The size and layout of the motherboard was very crucial to the success of this case-mod.
The picture on the left shows the area which has to be nearly empty if the board should fit into the case. Only very flat components like the chips you see wont touch the optical drive cage or otherwise the side-door won't close. Most boards have transistors in that area, which have to be re-soldered. I didn't want to take that risk so I was lucky to find this board.
Although I bought the shortest optical drive I could find (and with another stroke of luck it also was a DVD-burner), one of the RAM-holders still had to go, leaving me with 'only' 1 GigaByte of RAM.
The picture on the left shows the area which has to be nearly empty if the board should fit into the case. Only very flat components like the chips you see wont touch the optical drive cage or otherwise the side-door won't close. Most boards have transistors in that area, which have to be re-soldered. I didn't want to take that risk so I was lucky to find this board.
Although I bought the shortest optical drive I could find (and with another stroke of luck it also was a DVD-burner), one of the RAM-holders still had to go, leaving me with 'only' 1 GigaByte of RAM.
What good is a 420 Watt PSU with three silently running fans if one of them sucks the air from the wrong
side of the case? Nothing, that's how good it would be.
But this would have happened, if I installed my PSU the way Apple's PSU are installed with the power connectors beneath the fan outlet. So I had to do some more cutting to make room for the fan outlet and install the PSU upside-down. Now the third fan (which can be seen in the background on the left side of the picture) sucks the hot air right away from the cpu.
But this would have happened, if I installed my PSU the way Apple's PSU are installed with the power connectors beneath the fan outlet. So I had to do some more cutting to make room for the fan outlet and install the PSU upside-down. Now the third fan (which can be seen in the background on the left side of the picture) sucks the hot air right away from the cpu.
Another incompatible component was the IO-shield of the G4-case. I once again had to use my old
companion, the dremel, to cut out a good piece of the backplate. Later I used some spare plastic piece
to model a new
back-plate for my PC. If I find the time, I will color it to match the rest of the case
And no case-mod is finished without some lighting inside. So I put three blue leds into the G4 case
which shine from behind the apple logo to show who really makes the most stylish computer cases. Move
the cursor over the picture to see how it shines in the dark.