Keep the hard drive bay to one side if you plan to house a couple of 3.5' drives. The amount of time, pain, and frustration saved by the prefabricated metal back-panel and perspex motherboard tray kept this build an enjoyable one. If you only spend money on 1 thing, the bare-minimum has to be the ATX conversion kit or at least a motherboard tray. Cooler Master Bezel USB 3.0 3.5-inch drive bracket for front USB ports.Silverstone FP55 5.25-inch to 3.5-inch bay conversion kit for holding SSDs and front USB ports.be quiet! Pure Winds 2 (120mm) fan for the rear exhaust fan.Pressed mesh fan grill to protect the rear mounted fan.Fan/Radiator bracket (2 x 140mm) for mounting a the CPU cooler to in the future.

G5 Full ATX conversion kit with integrated PSU mount.Most of these parts are either optional or you can find your own solutions, but because I’m a caring lover and I want the option upgrade the PC components in the future, I splashed out on the following parts: The second is BlackCH Mods who sells an adapter for the power button and front panel so it can be used with ATX motherboards. They provide cutting documents for some of the parts used in this article, and an online shop where I sourced many of the pieces. The first is The Laser Hive in the UK who designs and fabricates custom hardware for case modifications, including a variety of G5-specific parts. Two suppliers have been invaluable during this project: Of course, for modding purposes it doesn’t matter if it’s in a working as long as the case looks healthy.

Alas, it was missing come parts that allowed a glimpse of it’s former life. I like to think it had an exciting career working hard on TV productions, designing posters, or perhaps photography for a estate agent who specialises in grain silos converted into homes. Whilst I don’t know what sort of life my G5 had before I dragged it’s hefty weight back to my place. In 2020, I picked up this old man on Ricardo (Switzerland’s version of eBay) for 100 CHF (~$100 USD).

Sourcing a G5 caseīack in the mid-2000s, a shiny new anodised aluminium G5 would cost you a minimum of $2,000. Here’s how I gave an Apple Power Mac G5 a 15-year upgrade by transforming it into an ATX gaming PC. If, like me, you fell in love with an aluminium metal box in the mid-2000’s and spent many of the following years dreaming of the day you could drop $2,000+ on something that lives under your desk, you’ll understand how excited I was to invest some of my COVID-time to fulfil this teenage fantasy.

Power mac g5 conversion