The "FrankenMac G4"

[Enabler]

ATX conversion.......................Lol

1. iStarUSA D-416 Case
2. EVGA 600B Power Supply
3. Icy Dock ExpressCage 6-Bay 2.5" SAS/SATA Drive Cage for 5.25" Bay
4. SATA DVD-R drive with Kingwin IDE to SATA converter
5. SeriTek/S2 PCI SATA Card & 1 Generic SATA card with SeriTek Firmware
6. 1 PowerMac G4 to ATX Power Supply converter cable (Purchased from a fine gentleman on Etsy)
7. I used the CPU Fan & Power On assembly from the original case
8. 1 generic 5 Port USB PCI card with NEC chipset
9. 1 Magma PCI Host card with Intel chipset (To connect to ProTools Mix system in Magma chassis)

Machine is stable and much quieter now as the EVGA Power Supply is near silent
I just need to find a Quiet CPU fan with the same airflow as the original

Specs: G4 MDD Firewire 400 upgraded with dual 1.42 G4 CPU & Copper Heatsink

Link to the Power Supply convertor cable
Be sure to order the proper cable for the type of G4 you own
http://atxg4.com/order.html

[GaryN]

Nice work!

[macStuff]

ive dreamed of doing this; (for the benefit of the expanded ATX style drivebay spaces of course)
you are living the dream! 



business in the front
party in the back
lol


thats quite the "hack" job

dual 1.42 G4 CPU?
stock cpu from the fw800 system? https://everymac.com/systems/apple/powermac_g4/specs/powermac_g4_1.42_dp_mdd.html

[Enabler]

yes the CPU was pulled from a MDD Firewire 800 model, bought just the CPU on Ebay

As you can see I never did pass Machine Shop in high school.............lol
Quite a hack job it was, I removed the outer plastic shell, then cut the door hinge off with Tin snips,
then just dropped the whole motherboard right down into the case and secured it with Zip Ties.

I have to thank whoever invented Zip ties, my conversion depends on them

I hope this inspires others to do the same cuz the Power Supply in an old G4 will eventually go

[IIO]

how did you manage to find the PCI host card? or did you ignore the usual price tags (what did you pay?)

[Enabler]

Keep a close eye on eBay as they come & go on there.
I bought a few on ebay over the last 5 years so be patient
I have paid anywhere from $50 to $100

Magma is out of Business now so this stuff is getting harder to find
Here is one now with the Intel Chipset for proper use in OS9
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Magma-PCIHI68-01-03527-00-PCI-Expansion-System-Host-Interface-PCI-Card-36832/192976104917?hash=item2cee45add5:g:dFwAAOSwhktdHtPD

[IIO]

really. here in germany it starts from 350 USD. so i might look in the US and pay 40 for shipping?

do you have a 13 slot? with rev2 chipset? which is mostly/only compatible with generic OS9 cards?

[IIO]

lol, only by now i notice that you have left the back side and the left side plastic panel as it was.
that´s what i always had in my mind when racking a G4.

[Enabler]

That's right you would have to machine a custom back panel for the case
since the G4 pci slots are in the opposite position of a standard ATX case
so I just dropped the whole thing in.

Here is my 13 slot chassis. this is the one to get with Intel chipset. Works in OS9 and OSX
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Digidesign-Pro-Tools-13-Slot-Expansion-Chassis-with-HD-Core-and-2-HD-Accel-cards/153348792010?hash=item23b44cdeca:g:X0kAAOSwPWtcRtAu

[IIO]

the alternative would be to do it all by cables, but i think what you did is by far more elegant.

[Custos]

"I have to thank whoever invented Zip ties, my conversion depends on them"

Ah yes I've used them even to secure racks of hardware when on a tight budget. I still need to get a host card for my magma chassis. Great work! Looks nice 👍

[IIO]

using them a lot for cables but also for mounting powerswitches to the backside of 19" and the like.

[Enabler]

Update to the Build..........

Because the DAE engine in Protools & Logic TDM will not Record audio to any of the drives connected to the the Serial ATA PCI cards
I purchased a Bi Directional IDE to SATA adapter that fits right down into the ATA-66 bus then connected that to my Record SSD in the ICY Dock ExpressCage

Here is the link & picture:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SYBA-SD-ADA50016-SATA-II-to-IDE-ATA133-Bi-directional-Adapter-NEW/192367638531?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I have 5 PNY SSD's in the ICY Dock ExpressCage bought from my local BestBuy
1) 120GB with Mac OS9
1) 120GB with OSX 10.3.9 Panther
1) 120GB with OSX 10.5.8 Leopard
1) 240GB for EXS & SampleCell Samples
1) 240GB for Recording Audio tracks