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carterx · Jan 10, 2008, 02:50 PM

I do not understand why Apple insists on staying with the G5 Tower casing and not redesign them.
I've been trying to trouble shoot a Mac Pro by swapping parts out of another identical computer and when I compare these towers to the G3 & G4's, I could have everything done in a 1/3 of the time. I think Apple really needs get rid of the deign monkeys and spend the time and money to design something that really works. Even the new intel iMac's are badly setup on the inside compared to the previous model G5 iMac's.

.

newtech · Jan 10, 2008, 03:00 PM

Get serious, the G5/Mac Pro case is much easier to access components than the cramped el Capitan derived cases any day.

Leonard · Jan 10, 2008, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by carterx

I do not understand why Apple insists on staying with the G5 Tower casing and not redesign them.
I've been trying to trouble shoot a Mac Pro by swapping parts out of another identical computer and when I compare these towers to the G3 & G4's, I could have everything done in a 1/3 of the time. .

You must be swapping stuff that isn't customer swappable. The machine is designed to easily instal the customer swappable parts and even a few parts that the customer shouldn't touch.

carterx · Jan 10, 2008, 06:11 PM

I'm talking about pulling everything out to the case pretty much. The older model towers were easy. Just think they could make pulling the rest such as board, front fan etc.
The front fan uses a PCI clot filler to pull the front fan out which after gutting 3 of these towers today, they take a bit to move. But whatever, to each their own $0.02

MacosNerd · Jan 10, 2008, 06:14 PM

I like the case, there's a ton of room for expansion, plenty of space for cooling, great look. Why would they change it.

Simon · Jan 11, 2008, 03:03 AM

I think with the G5 case Apple put the focus on the customer. For all the type of stuff the user plans to do (add HDDs, add RAM, swap PCI cards) the new case is great. It offers lots of space, requires hardly any tools and of course it looks great. The G4 cases were more cramped and made it more difficult for users to swap stuff. OTOH I agree with you that they were easier to dismantle entirely. But personally I think Apple made the right call: a service technician can be expected to be more skilled when it comes to disassembling a computer. The case should make it easy for the generally much less skilled user.

Richard Richard · Jan 11, 2008, 03:10 AM

my mp was making a dreadful racket the other day , so i popped off the side and lo and behold that 'delightful' leaf blower the x1900 was full of fluff - took just <5 minutes !

in the old days when i had a quadra , i bet i'd have to call out a service technician to do that and charge me £150 ( in fact they did )

i love the case ! beautifully made too

SierraDragon · Jan 11, 2008, 06:22 PM

Yup, I too am glad they did not mess with the excellent MP case design.

-Allen Wicks

MacosNerd · Jan 11, 2008, 06:49 PM

great marriage of form and function to be sure

iSavant · Jan 11, 2008, 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by carterx

... I think Apple really needs get rid of the deign monkeys and spend the time and money to design something that really works.
.

Oh good grief, LOL

Set down the crackpipe and back away from the keyboard

My opinion, it's far and away the finest design to date. It's gonna be very difficult to improve upon.... but that's just my opinion.... and I could be wrong... or something.

k2director · Jan 11, 2008, 08:24 PM

I think the current case is pretty damn good. Install memory? Easy. Install new hard drive? Easy. Install SATA or graphics card? Not quite as easy, but about as straightforward as I've ever seen in a case.

The only thing that is a little difficult is installing a second CD/DVD drive into the available slot. That takes a little effort, but still, just about anyone can do it.

chris v · Jan 11, 2008, 08:56 PM

The only superior aspect of the B&W G3 thru MDD case was that the motherboard laid down with the door, making access to the PCI slots, RAM , battery, etc. a bit easier. However, changing a hard drive or a CD/DVD drive, or a power supply was a right royal pain by comparison. There's tradeoffs for sure, but I sure wouldn't call the G5/Mac Pro enclosure a failure, by any stretch.

Lateralus · Jan 11, 2008, 09:32 PM

I really can't think of a way in which the G5/Mac Pro case is better than the El Capitan case.

The El Capitan machines were just as expandable as far as PCI slots and optical bays (MDD v Mac Pro, anyways) but were much easier to add RAM or a PCI card to since neither required turning the machine on its side to get good leverage, as is the case with the G5/Mac Pro case.

Other than being gorgeous, I really think the G5/Mac Pro case is pretty horrible.

MarkLT1 · Jan 12, 2008, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by Lateralus

I really can't think of a way in which the G5/Mac Pro case is better than the El Capitan case.

The El Capitan machines were just as expandable as far as PCI slots and optical bays (MDD v Mac Pro, anyways) but were much easier to add RAM or a PCI card to since neither required turning the machine on its side to get good leverage, as is the case with the G5/Mac Pro case.

Turning the case on its side to install RAM or a PCI card? I've done both in my Mac Pro, with no need for extra leverage. Didn't have to move the machine at all from its current position on my desk- pop off the side, pull out the RAM cards, install new RAM, pop in the card, pop in a PCI card. What I do much more often, however, is installation of hard drives, and for this I think the MP case REALLY shines. Pull a bracket, pop on a drive, pop the bracket and drive back in. About as easy as it can be.