Slashdot Mirror
Case Tweaking
A reader writes "I don't know what they were smoking, but these guys decided that the G4 case makes for a great LAN party box. Of course, without the G4 and all that yucky Mac hardware -- just the aesthetics. They go about hacking and modding the case, turning a low power (aka, weak) x86 box and toss it into the G4 casing, and don't end up destroying the case to make everything fit. Lotsa pictures and explanations of every step in the process"
Insanity is the last line of defence for the master diplomat. But you have to lay the groundwork early.
Well computers are to people now, what cars where used to be. first you get it running AFAP, then befor you know it everybodys is running AFAP and the only way to distinguish your car or computer is with chrome, lights, etc...
Personally, I'm giong to go at and buy a lian-li and mod it to look "Juiles Verinish" so it will match my decor. I'm tired of having a nice place and then have this beige box standing out like a sore thumb.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
As has been mentioned before, Apple is in a unique situation where they control nearly all the aspects of the computer. The ATX standard and most PC motherboards are designed with either tower or desktop cases in mind.
Separately sold cases, which have to be compatible with a wide variety of motherboards, have a hard time replicating Apple's designs. In particular, in a tower case, the internal devices are all above the motherboard, so the cable connectors are at the top. A swing out design, like in the G4, is hard to do because the cables will get in the way. Take a look ColorCases to see what "niche" case manufacturers are doing despite these limitations.
On the other hand, companies like Compaq, Sony, and Gateway already ship their computers with custom motherboards and cases, and so have fewer limitations. They do offer their own takes on PC case design, just not exact copies of Apple's design for legal reasons. I mean, check out Compaq's Ipaq and Sony's Vaio Line and tell me they're ignoring design considerations.
As for computer enthusiasts who actually prefer compatibility, performance, and value to fancy design, we typically opt for the kind of cases listed here. (My specific case isn't listed there; it's an Antec S830.) They offer better cooling, more expandibility, and better access than most of the cases that tend to form before function. We're not immune to the concerns of aesthetics either; we just prefer to take matters in our own hands. Granted, some of the mods are of questionable taste and talent, but there are as many clean, professional jobs as bad jobs. And every one is the pride and joy of someone, no matter what you think of them.
And doubtful if they would sell it to you if you told them what you planned to do with it...
Looking for any old 8-bit Heathkit/Zenith software/hardware - http://heathkit.garlanger.com
I really wonder why none of the PC vendors I've seen use a similar swing-out case design.
m a_Display/ or the Apple site. This is by far the most easily maintainable consumer level machine I've ever encountered.
:)
The G4 case is a work of beauty. I'd love to see a PC version for the next time I decide to buy a PC (probably not for a while, it seems my Athlon will last me a while). Here is what I think is very slick about it:
* To do maintenance, you pull a handle on the side, the side swings out (as shown on the site). The motherboard pulls out with the side panel, meaning you no longer have to dig inside the machine to add memory or put in PCI cards, and you don't have to worry about using tools to open it. For an example shot, see the first few photos at http://profile.sh:81/Collection/Apple_G4_and_Cine
* All of the cables for IDE and such are very taught, and held onto the edge. No mess of cables to worry about accidentally loosening up when you add RAM.
* Handles are very convienent for moving it around. As a hidden feature, your machine is actually elevated slightly, rather then completely on the table. You don't have to worry about scratching the beautiful case, just the corner handles.
* The CD burner is nicely hidden from view, with a blue spring-loaded bezel over it. You hit the little blue eject button, and out pops the white cd-rom inside of it. No more worrying about color matching.
* Suprisingly good built-in speaker for the newer models
* Power light is nice bright & white, which fades in and out during sleep mode. This is just a cutesy thing though
Overall, it's of very high quality, I'd love to see a similar 3rd party type case for my Athlon. It's got a nice ColorCase brand casing right now. Any ideas on a similar case?
Ok, yeah, floppies do suck, but they're a commonly used medium. Anybody with a slow modem at home or no net connection at all probably uses them a lot. I use them to back up important data (2 copies, because floppies aren't 100% reliable, true) cheaply, and without having to buy a CD burner/tape drive/Zip drive for my old steam-powered Pentium 233. Remember, not everyone has a PIII with a brand new CD-RW. And let's be honest, the drives cost what... twenty bucks new? It doesn't kill you to put one in. You may need to exchange files with unfortunate wretches like myself on occasion.
Freedom: "I won't!"
Next project: take a new PowerBook G4, and remove all the innards and transplant them in an IBM PCjr case! That way you can get rid of the yucky titanium case and downright sickening 15.2" wide-aspect ratio screen. Cool!
Insert simplistic political, ideological, or personal proselytization here.
My machine at work is an older G4/533... (533 MHz PowerPC 7410, 512 MB of CAS-3 [slower] PC133 SDRAM, and the stock OEM nVIDIA GeForce2 MX). While 95% of my time (ok, 85%, but don't tell my boss) is spent in Final Cut Pro, Photoshop, and Cleaner 5, I have installed and played with some of the latest wizbang games. Quake 3, FAKK2, DeusEx, and UT all play very smoothly. "Timedemo" benchmarks show numbers in the 50 - 75 frame-per-second area. Just how much better does a game player need? I would imagine that the GeForce 3 gives even better performance, as well as the CPU improvements in the current G4s (733, 800, and 867 MHz PowerPC 7450). And who doesn't replace the stock mouse with a real one? Just like I did with my old Dell, the first thing I did was buy a nice 3 button scroll-wheel mouse. Works great in Mac OS 9.1 and OS X.
Sure the Mac is no gamer's dream, but it plays games as well as I would ever want. Plus it's a great workhorse.
Look at http://virtual-hideout.net if you have any interest in case modding. They have projects that put this to shame.
I am Providence.
It's nowhere nearly as cool as this case (http://www.eugenesargent.com/case1.htm). ;)
Thanks, Jethro
Jooleem. Get Addicted.
This case is spiffarifficus. Completely Rocketeer approved!
Geeesh, where does one get the money to buy a G4 just to remove out all the internal parts?
Watch next week as we disembowel an SGI O2 to make a bird feeder!
I posted to
Pretty soon we'll have to have flames shooting out of the floppy drive just to get chicks. I'm sorry man, but as a geek, if I modding my case will get me chicks, shit hell yeah, I'll do it.
Pretty soon we'll have to have flames shooting out of the floppy drive just to get chicks.
Ug
Evan - needs to hit preview before submitting
Screw fancy case mods, what I want is a case that puts the back of the case in front, and then moves a few bays so they are accessable, as well as the power buttons. If you have a lot of connections that you change frequently in the back of a PC, you know the feeling.
It would have to be a full tower, to get enough height above the motherboard for the cd drive and floppy, and it should have 2x 5 1/2" bays, but as long as everything is excessable from one side, I'd be happy.
By far the coolest case I've seen in a while =)
d =1 87889
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?threadi
- A 440LX-based motherboard
- A Celeron 466 MHz
wouldn't he be better off with the original Apple hardware? i mean, if you're hacking an Apple case, at least put something faster in it, like dual T-Birds!Just raise the taxes on crack.
They were all Mac-only shindigs.
I've got to mention the most amazing thing I saw in all that time, though. It was something so brief that I might have missed it since I was busy setting up systems and greeting people...
This guy shows up to the gaming session with a green iMac. He walks in carrying every damn thing he needs, plugs in, and is booting in about ten seconds. Within a minute of arriving, he's gaming!
My other buddies still drag around CPU boxes, cables, monitors, towels to wipe sweat from their foreheads, etc., etc., etc.
I learned that day that the iMac is one MF'n great game machine.
--Richard
Gah! What's everyone's obsession with the floppy drive? They suck, get over it.
Well, before the Internet came along, floppies were the best method for exchanging viruses.
Yeah, booting. Don't forget; we're talking about a Mac here, which has been able to boot from a CD, external FireWire drive, Zip drive, or whatever for about 10 years. The old Mac Classic could even boot from ROM (they had a complete version of the system software built onto ROM) for complete diskless operation. Thus the lack of a floppy for about 4 years.
Insert simplistic political, ideological, or personal proselytization here.
Invalid form key iTXPURWLGP