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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Hardware Hacking > Would this even be possible?

Would this even be possible?
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Apr 12, 2003, 02:58 PM
 
Lately I have been looking at old mac cases and i really like the powermac 6100 case...long and skinny...anyways this may be a dumb question but would it be possible to take everything out of a 6100 case and put in a G4 or high G3 processor & motherbroad...ram...cdrom hardrive usb...or is it just a pipe dream? i have read alot of things online about making your own g4 but that was in a big pc case? any comments would be great...thanks

"I'm for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniel's."
     
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Apr 13, 2003, 12:18 AM
 
k i have a 6100 and a couple of my friends have various g4's
honestly i cant see it fitting, besides the heatsink on the g4's, the power supply i dont think would fit, and i dont think the cdrom, or dvdrom would be able to fit in either
and if you got the mobo in and a powersupply, i dont think you could fit in more then one hard drive

but i could be completly wrong
w3rd..
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Apr 13, 2003, 09:38 AM
 
the 6100 case is definitely too small. of course ive never tried, but getting it to work would require a very small powersupply, and a re-engineered cpu cooling deal.

plus i think that the g4 motherboard is very large and would interfere with the cd drive bay.

its not outside the realm of possibility, its just tough. i think. a g4 cube board would fit easily, though.
sine -''-..-

now known as pillowcase

     
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Apr 14, 2003, 01:42 AM
 
I could see putting a laptop LB and setup in to a 6100 case. But putting a Desktop/tower LB inside would be a bit big, you would have to house the power suppy somewhere other than inside the case, or fabricate one that fits.
     
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Apr 14, 2003, 01:40 PM
 
Quote:
"Lately I have been looking at old mac cases and i really like the powermac 6100 case...long and skinny...anyways this may be a dumb question but would it be possible to take everything out of a 6100 case and put in a G4 or high G3 processor & motherbroad...ram...cdrom hardrive usb...or is it just a pipe dream? i have read alot of things online about making your own g4 but that was in a big pc case? any comments would be great...thanks"

The major problem would be the graphic card. You would need some kinda "riser card" (a selfmade angled adaptor) to fit the GC inside. Heatsink: As sine -''-..- mentioned it would need a re-enginered (selfmade/modified) heatsink to fit in. Maybe you could take out the power supply and have it external just like the Cube did. Can someone provide me with some dimensional specs of MoBo´s, i have a 6100, i could check if one of them would fit.

Pat


Macintosh Quadra 950, Powermac 6100, iBook dual USB, Powerbook 667 DVI, Powerbook 867 DVI, MacBook Pro early 2011
     
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Apr 14, 2003, 03:09 PM
 
Take a look at this guy's site. He's selling G4s in a cooler 'pizza box' than the 6100. It has ALL the fixin's!!!

http://www.2khappyware.com/

Take a look at what's coming from them. Build-your-own mac -- starting at $350 for a barebones system/board case/powersupply!!!

Its nearly a reality for mac users to build their own. I'd really like it because it doesn't come with an OS, so you could put Darwin on it or a Free Linux distro.
     
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Apr 14, 2003, 03:31 PM
 
I know and i hope it will be sold. But let´s be realistic: Apple will find a way to kill this approach.


Macintosh Quadra 950, Powermac 6100, iBook dual USB, Powerbook 667 DVI, Powerbook 867 DVI, MacBook Pro early 2011
     
nredman  (op)
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Apr 14, 2003, 07:40 PM
 
Originally posted by sine -''-..-:
the 6100 case is definitely too small. of course ive never tried, but getting it to work would require a very small powersupply, and a re-engineered cpu cooling deal.

plus i think that the g4 motherboard is very large and would interfere with the cd drive bay.

its not outside the realm of possibility, its just tough. i think. a g4 cube board would fit easily, though.
what about taking laptop components? i have no idea what i am talking about...i am shocked i could even put ram into my ibook...if i had any clue how to mac a computer i would try to do it cause i think the 6100 case is really cool for some reason

"I'm for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniel's."
     
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Apr 14, 2003, 08:02 PM
 
Hmmmm... small footprint LB?

How about a LB from a FP iMac? Or even cheaper, go for the LB in a "Four color" or newer tube iMac? The internals on these don't take much space. Gut the iMac, mount the LB to the inside case of the 6100, and run cable extenders out of the port holes in the back and to the various drives in the drive bays... HEY, you could even get one of the iMacs with the 15 pin video outs in the rear! You wouldn't have to fiddle with any video pin-out schematics (which can be a chore), just run a DB15 cable out the back to your monitor.

Check with some of the local Mac places in your area and see if they have one of these iMacs with a bad picture tube. I'd say you could pick one up in that condition for very little cash (probably for less than $100).

What do ya think? I'll send you the schematics on `em if you're interested. Sounds like a do-able project. Let me know.

Retired
     
nredman  (op)
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Apr 16, 2003, 06:03 PM
 
Originally posted by MacNStein:
Hmmmm... small footprint LB?

How about a LB from a FP iMac? Or even cheaper, go for the LB in a "Four color" or newer tube iMac? The internals on these don't take much space. Gut the iMac, mount the LB to the inside case of the 6100, and run cable extenders out of the port holes in the back and to the various drives in the drive bays... HEY, you could even get one of the iMacs with the 15 pin video outs in the rear! You wouldn't have to fiddle with any video pin-out schematics (which can be a chore), just run a DB15 cable out the back to your monitor.

Check with some of the local Mac places in your area and see if they have one of these iMacs with a bad picture tube. I'd say you could pick one up in that condition for very little cash (probably for less than $100).

What do ya think? I'll send you the schematics on `em if you're interested. Sounds like a do-able project. Let me know.
i am looking into 6100 cases on ebay...the cheaper the better i suppose an imac LB probably would fit...i was thinking somekind of laptop LB but an imac would probably be cheaper...it would be cool to get the port on the back of the 6100 lined up with whatever usb, firewire, etc...anyways i am far from a computer maker any info would rock. or any other ideas ...thanks

"I'm for anything that gets you through the night, be it prayer, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniel's."
     
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Apr 16, 2003, 07:18 PM
 
the iRack from Marathon Computer shoves iMac guts into a 1U rack case. i have 6 of them. they are coolio.

http://www.marathoncomputer.com/irac.html

if you buy one of these and a iMac mobo make sure to get all the cabling... you need it and the iMac uses some really funky custom cables/connectors inside it.
010111
     
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Apr 16, 2003, 07:19 PM
 
LB? what's an LB?
I know you mean 'motherboard/mainboard' but 'LB'? doesn't click.

it's probably obvious and the second after I click 'submit reply' it'll hit me and I'll feel like a dumbass
     
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Apr 16, 2003, 07:42 PM
 
it's LB as in L.B. Johnson.

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logic board.
010111
     
nredman  (op)
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Apr 16, 2003, 07:42 PM
 
Originally posted by :XI::
LB? what's an LB?
I know you mean 'motherboard/mainboard' but 'LB'? doesn't click.

it's probably obvious and the second after I click 'submit reply' it'll hit me and I'll feel like a dumbass
someone posted LB in a previous reply....i was kind of lost at first too...think it means Logic Board...so thats what i meant i guess

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Apr 17, 2003, 11:01 AM
 
LB means the same thing as MB, or MoBo.

Logicboard, for those whom are uninitiated.

Retired
     
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Apr 17, 2003, 07:03 PM
 
Those 1U rackmout iMac cases are $400 NOT uncluding the iMAC!!!! What a rip off!!! Now I have heard of people, in this very forum, fitting iMac components in a 6100 case. I put an AT Socket7 PC in a 6100 case for use with KaZaA, abut a tower mac will never fit. Of coarse there is an easier way to do this. They do make G3 and even one G4 processor upgrade for the 6100, just plug it in and be happy!
     
   
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