Hi everyone - im new on here and i'm after sum help - just got my hands on a Powermac G4 Mirror Door case and want to use it for a windows based system. I already have a couple of macintel mini's and boot camp etc but I want to get rid of my crappy PC tower and either build a new windows based system into the G4 case or transfer what I can over from the old case.



I paid £30 for this little beauty on ebay. No internals tho. It seems alot more difficult than the other G4 cases because the PCI slots are all swapped round so I think I may need a Mini ITX board.  Any info wud be great, links to ppl who have done it with THIS version of the G4 case as all i can find is the older (easier) cases.

Unless someone wants a challenge - i'll pay you!! lol

Thanks.

not many folks around here doing this type thing, but there are a couple.  Maybe someone will chime in on a good board suggestion.

Sacrilege!!!! LOL  good luck with your mod, sorry I can't help, keep us posted!

I'd keep everyone posted if i had something to start with - dont even know where to start looking, or for what components 

What PC are you starting with?  Or are you building from scratch?  The first thing I would do is measure the motherboard tray.  Go to http://www.newegg.com and check out some of the motherboards and their sizes.  This case is a tough build, as I put a G3 b/w in one.  Once you have a board picked out, print out a full scale photo of it and then you can start checking clearances.  PC are not Macs, but until I can run OSX on a PC build (yes I know its possible, but illegal-cough, cough and really doesnt run everything I need), it may be a while before I buy a new Mac.  It is so much more fun to pick the parts and build it yourself.

Post more if you need a hand in your mod.

nice score!  gotta love ebay!

best of luck with the mod..

Here is a site where someone put a PC in a G4 case, it might give you some ideas.
http://www.slcentral.com/articles/01/8/g4pc/

I don't think a pc board will work in a MDD case. The mac logic board is upside down in the MDD , And the PC board pci/agp slots won't line up. like in the older g4 cases. I could be wrong though ,check before you buy any expensive parts.

Oops seems you knew that , My bad.

You could check out this thread: http://www.macmod.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,222/topic,2130.0 where the guy put a pc into a G5 - he had to cut a new back plate to get all of the inputs to match up, which maybe is what you'd have to do.

Hi everyone - thanks v.v.v.v.v.much for the links and advice etc. It's guna be hard but worth it in the end. I'll have a read thru the links when I get bk from work. I've seen some other G4 cases running windows componenets but this is my fav case so worth giving it a try. I will need help along the way so i apologise now for anymore silly questions i might ask...

I think i'm better off starting a new system from scratch. Ideally to run what this windows one does im using now. usual internet rubbish like browsing and msn along with PC games I play online and maybe expandable to run Vista in the near future. Doesnt have to be highest spec. But sumthing decent. It's awhile since I built this system and it still runs ok but starting to show its age.

Windows XP
Gigabyte motherboard
AMD 3200
2Gb RAM
128mb Geforce GFX card
160Gbx2 HDD
Broken DVD drive
V.noisey CPU fan (thermaltake heatsink)

At the moment I dont recall, but are BTX motherboards reversed pci slots?  I think they are and if so, that is what you will need.  There will be some case hacking too, just so you know.  More than likely you will lose one of the optical drive bays, but who needs two anyway.

You could cheat, get an old sawtooth or smurf case, and swap the panels and plastics over.

The plastics from the older models wont fit.  The door from an older model will fit though as for my mod I used a G3 door/MB mount/pci slot cover.  I think I have an old G4 case or two and I know I have a spare MDD rear plastic if you want to give modding it a go.  You may end up hacking the rear, but that doesnt mean you cant fab up something to cover it.

It's best to get a micro ATX or ITX board and for the CPU to sit near the peripheral plug-ins.
Doesn't matter where the memory sits because you can always buy a adapter that makes the memory sit sideways. Then measure twice drill and cut for mounts and for the peripheral plug-ins to be accessible.

where can i get this adapter???
thx,l.    roflmao

Well you could look here:

http://www.adexelec.com/other.htm#DIMM100-A

::)

Maybe I'm being blind or stupid, but none of those look like the RAM sockets are at 90 degrees to the originals. They look like they just make the RAM stick out more.

War,
you sir, are neither.
The photos don't show the 90 degree version, I can't imagine why.
But I have to back TCPMeta on this, I have used one in a PC I built years ago. I don't remember why exactly, but I need to put the memory on its side.