How I changed a G5 into a PC

[Turner]

I got a shiny new Apple G5 for Christmas. I loved the case, but I’m no Mac user. So I....

* Get a brand new dual processor G5, then
* Rip out everything,
* Cut out the back of the case so I can use a PC motherboard, and
* Install an Athlon motherboard.

This is what it looked like before:

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure G5 is a great computer, but I wanted a Dell for Christmas. I don’t have any programs for Apple and didn’t feel like waiting for them. I thought about selling it, but my parents would be upset with me. After all, this was a very expensive gift and it meant a lot to them to give to me.

First I removed the fans, ductwork and the board. I had to disassemble part of the case - it's held together with star head screws. I have NEVER seen a finer made case.

The G5 uses a total of 7 Delta fans and 2 Delta blowers. I really wanted to keep them in use, but I could not figure out the wiring pattern - 4 black wires, I could not figure out the polarity. I think Apple had these custom made for them.

Before installing the board, I had to cut out a section of the case for the ATX panel:

The temporary switch was installed for the reset button.

Here is what it looks like after the board was installed. I had to snap the stands for the Apple board off, then I used old plastic stand offs from my collection of parts. I had to glue in spacers so they would be the right height.

Its too bad Apple decided to mount the board on the opposite side, because you can only fit a Micro ATX board due to the location of the slots. I considered cutting out the entire back and doing a total swap with my old Dell PC, but I think it would have ruined the over all look to the case.

The power supply had to be removed; it was hidden away under the lower panel. I installed in an ATX supply with Velcro:

When I showed my friend, who happens to love Apple, he looked sick. He did not say anything to me. He just put his hands on his head and was in shock. I wish I had a picture of that.

It emits a green glow from the front...

...and back.

It’s a good thing my parents don’t know anything about computers, because I’m sure they would be really angry if they knew what I did. I have to say that I'm happy - I can keep on using XP.

The board is a Biostar Micro ATX, with a 2200 Athlon XP with an Adaptec 29160 SCSI controller and two 36 GB Atlas 10K V hard drives. I am stuck using the onboard video because there is no AGP slot. I had no money for a SATA controller and quite honestly, I swear by SCSI (the G5 comes with SATA drives).

In the future, I want to get an Athlon 64 board and CPU with AGP support for a decent video card.

I use it mostly for Internet, ripping music/DVDs and pissing off my friend.

I put all the parts from the G5 into a box and gave it to my friend. He was rather happy. I think he is going to try to install them into his G3 - I hope he's successful.

Click here for the full story

 

[Kilroy]

I don't even like Macs and even I think that was a waste. gg

 

[Turner]

Oh I agree. I'm no mac lover. . .

Make sure you go to the link to get "The Rest of the Story."

 

[Gothmog]

That is like taking a brand new Porsche and installing an old ford engine, but each to his own I guess.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Moderator Action: Moved to Computers...

This is cool; gotta tell my roomie who works for Apple.

 

[Pirate]

Originally posted by Gothmog
That is like taking a brand new Porsche and installing an old ford engine, but each to his own I guess.

I totally agree, but if Porsche engines use metric bolts and all you have are imperial tools, then it's not such a bad idea. Still, it was G5, man!!

 

[hawai_74]

Poor guy to have the most beautiful and powerful computer managed by Panther and destroy it for a crappy PC (surely with windows...), he is a masochist

 

[Rout]

Awww... it was all a LIE!
Check out the full story link.

 

[Speedo]

Great joke. That would be an extremely stupid thing to do IRL though.. just sell the darn thing and buy a PC. High end G5s run something like 3 grand don't they?

 

[blackhalo15]

what is so good about g5's?

 

[Turner]

It's one of the fastest processors on the planet.

There's a thread in this sub somewhere about the fastest processors on the planet. Check it out, and where the G5 ranks.

Edit: Here's the thread.

 

[Goober]

Well, I have heard that Mac is more reliable then Micro$oft, but then again, anything would be more reliable then Micro$oft . . .

Ya, I woulda just sold the thing, and bought my self a decent PC, because you can play more games on PC's, and we all know that playing games is the only important thing that you do on PC's . . .

 

[Comraddict]

G5 is one of fastest CPU, after intel and AMD ones

 

[nihilistic]

But why? Aren't macs much more expensive than PCs? Wouldn't you get a better value by simply sellinng to or switching with some mac-lover? With the price of a dual G5 you can easily get a dual opteron (maybe even a quadruple opteron).

 

[Speedo]

G5 is one of fastest CPU, after intel and AMD ones

Last I heard, the Athlon64 FX-51 was the fastest, followed by the G5. It beats Intel though, since Intel doesn't even have a high end 64 bit offering.

There's a thread in this sub somewhere about the fastest processors on the planet. Check it out, and where the G5 ranks.

That's a cluster of G5s, not a single G5 that you can buy. Take a bunch of 386s and get them running in a cluster and you'd have a pretty fast system.

 

[Goober]

Originally posted by Speedo
That's a cluster of G5s, not a single G5 that you can buy. Take a bunch of 386s and get them running in a cluster and you'd have a pretty fast system.

That would have to be a LOT of 386's. Gee, I remember the good old days when my family had our first computer, the good old 386. It was more reliable then my parents current computer, rather sad . . .

Until my Dad decided to give it away though. THAT was a bad decision, coulda donated it to a museum . . .

 

[Vancouver 2010]

Originally posted by RealGoober
That would have to be a LOT of 386's. Gee, I remember the good old days when my family had our first computer, the good old 386. It was more reliable then my parents current computer, rather sad . . .

Until my Dad decided to give it away though. THAT was a bad decision, coulda donated it to a museum . . .

And then it could've ended up in the museum's trash bin.