Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Adding 2 Extra Drives to a G5

Posted by timothy on from the driven dept.

Dave Calhoun writes "The G5 tower is a work of art but Steve only provided two hard drive bays. Some of us need much more than that and don't want a stack of external firewire cases. So I found a way to add two drives inexpensively. They sit between the front of the G5 grill and the CPU fans."

53 comments

  1. Wow! by timothv · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wow. Basic case modding. PC users have been doing this for decades, yet it's big news when a mac user does it.

    1. Re:Wow! by teksno · · Score: 1

      this is so pointless i dont even want to try to come up with a whimsical reotrt to point out the pointlessnes of this article getting /.'ed...

    2. Re:Wow! by daviq · · Score: 0
      I wouldn't diss our case modding abilities if I were you .Just see these sites:
      1. http://www.machacks.com/
      2. http://www.applefritter.com/hacks
      --
      Go to the w3.org and put Slashdot.org through the validator.
    3. Re:Wow! by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 1

      Well, you're not him. Thank god, because he made a good point. All that is done with this mod is someone bolted a hard drive cage to the grill of a G5. Hot damn, that's fancy. You know, I installed a hard drive cage in my computer. Can I get /. coverage?

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    4. Re:Wow! by falcon5768 · · Score: 1
      worse, they make products that do this that while a bit more expensive garentee wont damage the drives or computer from heat output and such.

      If your modding your G5 with extra HDs to begin with, odds are your either crazy, or your doing it for your line of work, thus the benifit of having a garentee on the mod from a company far outweighs the money saved hacking it yourself.

      I love hacks, dont get me wrong, but I hate POINTLESS hacks.

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

    5. Re:Wow! by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 1

      Here's a question: Did the drive cage have to be put right there? I mean, anywhere would disrupt the airflow, but right there pretty much stops the air from entering the case.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    6. Re:Wow! by FuturePastNow · · Score: 1

      The only place to give a G5 more hard drives without disrupting airflow is to put them in an external enclosure. I suppose you could remove the optical drive to an external enclosure and put a couple of hard drives in its place.

      --
      Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
    7. Re:Wow! by falcon5768 · · Score: 1

      the ones the companies made actually where tested to not disturbe it surprisingly and if its the high end model, there is not much air flow to begin with (they are watercooled)

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

    8. Re:Wow! by FuturePastNow · · Score: 1

      Even with watercooling, you still have to blow air over the radiators to move the heat out. The high end G5s appear to have the same fans (two in front of the processors, two behind) as to low end models.

      Mounting a drive cage in front of the fans has to disrupt the airflow a bit, though I can't imagine it would actually harm the computer. Most likely the fans would just spin at a higher-than-normal RPM. Since Apple advertises "quiet operation" as a design feature of the G5, they can't make something like this stock. But I don't buy that there's no effect.

      --
      Give a man fire, and you warm him for the night. Set a man on fire, and you warm him for the rest of his life.
  2. And...? by nystagman · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How is this news? There have been several variations on this minor mod. And this one is, well, a bit ugly, to be frank.

    --
    Theory and practice are the same in theory, but different in practice.
  3. Coral Link by TheRedHorse · · Score: 0, Troll

    http://homepage.mac.com.nyud.net:8090/davecalhoun/ PhotoAlbum99.html

    1. Re:Coral Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you, Karma Whore. The slow cache from Coral will come in handy in case we slashdot Apple.

  4. work of art from....Steve? by WMD_88 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The G5 tower is a work of art but Steve only provided two hard drive bays.
    Wrong. Jonathan Ives only provided two hard drive bays.

    1. Re:work of art from....Steve? by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I wonder if the transition to desktop versions of Intel's dual core Yonah chips will allow for better thermal management and more space for expansion.

      One major main reason the cooling system for the G5s is so huge is that the G5s are very power hungry and run hot. I bought a dual 2.5 G5 and the amount of heat flowing from it noticably flows out from under the desk. I'm second guessing the choice of buying this thing vs. a 20" iMac especially as the heat of summer is going up. My Xeon workstations have considerably more expansion capabilities, are reasonably quiet and don't seem to pump out as much heat, too bad I don't care much for Windows or Linux anymore.

      One thing of contention now is, when all desktop CPUs go dual core, will Apple have to use two of them for their high end Macs, for four processors?

    2. Re:work of art from....Steve? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Take a look at this.

    3. Re:work of art from....Steve? by Oscar_Wilde · · Score: 1

      That doesn't really answer the question.

      The link you posted only shown pictures of a prototype in an existing case deign.

  5. drawback by toQDuj · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You do mess with your air flow this way. and it is shit ugly. the two bolts that is.
    It appears that people and manufacturers are not taking a proper air flow into consideration anymore. standard pc's are now riddled with fans blowing in all directions.
    People should take a lesson from the sun E450 type machines for instance. although they are huge beasts, the air flows from front to back, is guided neatly past all 4 processors (which do not have fans of themselves) and passes out the (3) powersupplies.
    Temperatures can be monitored from inlet to cpus to PSU's like this , and there is nothing obstructing the air flow. ever. excellent design.
    Apple does the same in their powermacs, but this man either forgot or thought 200W (100W per proc) would be easy to dissipate.

    --
    Every experiment which ends in a big bang is a good experiment.
    1. Re:drawback by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      I don't think an extra two drives will be a significant problem, being that hard drives often dissipate about 10W each, a drop compared to the CPU heat.

      There are commercial kits for adding drives that do this better.

    2. Re:drawback by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not the heat the drives put out. It the airflow they obstruct.

    3. Re:drawback by sootman · · Score: 1

      As I said elsewhere, the G5 has four separate thermostat-controlled temperature zones. If the CPU zone needs more air, it'll spin those fans faster. If you ever boot one up in target disk mode you'll hear how fast all those fans can spin. It comes down to this: if the modder turns this Mac on, and the CPU-zone fans aren't spinning at maximum speed, the CPUs are getting enough air. Period.

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    4. Re:drawback by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      7200RPM ATA133 harddrives generate way more than 10W of heat each.

      The 10,000RPM SATA or U320 ones you can probably fry eggs on.

  6. They sit between the front of the G5 grill... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... and block the rather important flow of air over the CPUs.

    I wonder how long before you start having system lock ups and fry your CPUs and/or motherboard?

  7. Looks like dead G5 soon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Disrupting the air flow that goes into the CPU coolers is STUPID. Sure the fans may be spinning, but it doesn't mean they are moving the same volume of air, which leads to a hotter G5 then a dead G5.

    1. Re:Looks like dead G5 soon. by sootman · · Score: 1

      Well, anonymous uninformed poster, the G5 has four separate thermostat-controlled temperature zones. If the CPU zone needs more air, it'll spin those fans faster. If you ever boot one up in target disk mode (oh, wait, you obviously don't have one) you'll hear how fast all those fans can spin. It comes down to this: if the modder turns this Mac on, and the CPU-zone fans aren't spinning at maximum speed, the CPUs are getting enough air. Period. Nothing for an AC to worry about.

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  8. This is a joke, right? by Karma+Farmer · · Score: 1

    This guy just bolted a very ugly sheet metal box in front of the fans on his G5. And, the bolts stick through the grill outside the case.

    About the only thing I could compare this to is slapping narrow high profile snow tires on the back of a civic, to jack it up and make it look more aggressive. Or, possibly gluing a wing to the trunk, upside down, with elmers glue.

  9. Form follows function. by argent · · Score: 1

    Some people buy Macs because they want to actually use them, not because they want to admire the case from a distance.

    About the only thing I could compare this to is slapping narrow high profile snow tires on the back of a civic

    Hardly. It's more like slapping snow tires on a Civic because you're going to drive through snow.

    1. Re:Form follows function. by Karma+Farmer · · Score: 1

      It's more like slapping snow tires on a Civic because you're going to drive through snow.

      OK, I'll grant that. It's like slapping bald snow tires on the back that are too big and rub against the fenders, then.

    2. Re:Form follows function. by argent · · Score: 1

      It's like slapping bald snow tires on the back that are too big and rub against the fenders, then.

      Unless you know something about those drives that I don't, they're not "bald".

      As for the rest: if you have a Civic and you need to drive through snow, well, you gotta do what you gotta do. Just don't turn too tightly and you'll have plenty of clearance.

    3. Re:Form follows function. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except Civics are front wheel drive.

  10. Yikes! by Hadlock · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Holy desicration of industrial design, batman!

    What happens if you need to take 100 gigs of information to a friend of client? I'll give you a hint: Taking the whole computer, or unplugging the drive from your computer and installing it in theirs isn't a good solution. You might as well just get a SATA card for the G5, and run the cables through a hole in the rear to a seperate ATX case (that you already had to gut for the drive bay holder) with it's own power supply to house the drives. At least then

    • You don't fuck up the air flow
    • you have more capacity for future drives
    • you're not taxing the G5's power supply
    • the ATX case can be used as a sort of uber fire wire (or in this case, SATA) drive, that can be plugged in to other G5s.

      oh, and you don't have those stupid bolts sticking through the front of the case.
    --
    moox. for a new generation.
    1. Re:Yikes! by bhima · · Score: 1

      I have three 400 gig drives sticky taped where this guy has that sheet metal thing. I have no problems except the Highpoint SAID RAID card ended any hopes I had of having the box deep sleep. For what it's worth it is not that easy to find an appropriate power supply for a DIY raid enclosure.

      --
      Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
    2. Re:Yikes! by IntergalacticWalrus · · Score: 1

      "What happens if you need to take 100 gigs of information to a friend of client?"

      I usually keep my pr0n to myself, thank you very much.

      But seriously, who the hell needs to carry that much data with him? Yeah, you, I guess, and a bunch of other people, but you guys are definitely in the minority. Have you ever thought of the fact that some of us DON'T NEED TO CARRY OUR FUCKING HARD DRIVES AROUND, and are therefore perfectly satisfied with internal stuff? Keep your overexpensive external HDs to yourself. We DON'T CARE about them.

    3. Re:Yikes! by argent · · Score: 1
      Apparently you don't fuck up the air flow by putting drives there:

      When I tested the Swift, the only concern I had was the effect the drives "invading" the CPU bay might have on the temperature control system of the G5. The fan that blows air over the CPUs now sucks air over the three drives. How will those drives affect air flow? Will drives heat up the air being blown over the CPUs? I used to ThermographX to monitor the 7 temperature probes in the G5. The temperature readings were not significantly affected by the presence of the extra drives. -- Five Drives in a G5
  11. Very interesting by pissu_man · · Score: 0, Redundant

    There was rumor on ThinkSecret about this, I cant believe its true!

  12. IBM vs Intel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    PowerMac G5 versus PowerMac P4

  13. Not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Foreword: IAAACDT (I am an Apple Certified Desktop Technician)

    Don't expect the unit to run at the same dB level. Obstructing the CPU intake fans is going to make them run faster (read: louder), not to mention the heat of the drives is going to be pulled in by those fans and passed right into the CPU heatsink, making the exhaust fans spool up too. Then there's the ribbon cable from the IDE controller card, that could possibly block air from the expansion card intake fan.

    If you need more drives, expect a blowdryer in return.

    1. Re:Not bad by numbski · · Score: 1

      Being what you are then, is there anything within your level of expertise you could suggest as an alternative?

      I agree with you, you're pulling the heat of the drives onto the cpu. Perhaps use something along the lines of a reserator to cool the cpu(s), and run the hoses out a card slot in the back? Then you could perhaps deal with the airflow issues.

      Just throwing out ideas. Then again, when you consider placing a reserator outside, you might as well look at external drive enclosures. *shrug*

      --

      Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

  14. Kids these days. by solios · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I needed more disk on my G5 at work, so I did the unthinkable : I PLUGGED A PAIR OF FIREWIRE DISKS INTO IT.

    OH MY FUCKING GOD SO HARD.

    Not only that, they're portable, non-ugly, and don't screw with the air flow. :P

    1. Re:Kids these days. by argent · · Score: 1

      FIREWIRE .. portable, non-ugly, and don't screw with the air flow

      Higher latency, more cables to deal with, and makes the system as a whole less portable.

      Though I wouldn't have bothered with the cage: he could just have screwed the drives directly to the grille. Less interference with the air flow and the cabling's easier.

  15. That thing isn't art. by generalleoff · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The G5 case is a joke. That damn thing not only limits you with only 2 internal drive bays it also dose not allow you to have a second optical drive or anything else. the front panel is all bare and boring. The last generation G4 case was a work of art.

    1. Re:That thing isn't art. by argent · · Score: 1

      10-4 good buddy, the Powermac G5 is simply overcompensation for the noise of the last generation Powermac G4s.

  16. adding drives at a premium by DualG5GUNZ · · Score: 1

    two--pricey--solutions to this problem have been mentioned on Slashdot before: http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/06/16/ 1732246&tid=181&tid=3&tid=137

    --
    "I'm a philosophy major. That means I can think deep thoughts about being unemployed." -- Bruce Lee
  17. Would the new MacIntel desktops be smaller? by chillmost · · Score: 1

    I hope that the transition to Intel will allow for the desktop models to be a little shorter in height. The G5 desktops are a bit taller than the average desktop, mac or otherwise, and it doesn't fit into standard size cases or PC shelves. I currently have a little rolling shelf that I got from IKEA in which I stashed my MDD G4. There are also CD holders on the side in which I can hold my software CDs. It's pretty convenient. Unfortunately the G5s are about 4 cm too high to fit in there. If I were to get a new G5, I would have to get a new shelf. Not that having to get new shelves would make or brake the purchase of a new Mac, but it is just one other thing to consider.

    --

    --Residential Interior Design

    1. Re:Would the new MacIntel desktops be smaller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that's easily solved with a hacksaw.

  18. Oh no! by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

    It might make noise!

    1. Re:Oh no! by christopher240240 · · Score: 1

      Have you ever heard all 9 fans of the G5 towers running at once? It's not just a little noise, but reminiscent of a 777 taking off.

  19. G5 mods are ok but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why has no one posted this story yet ?

    http://news.com.com/Whats+really+behind+Apple-Inte l+alliance/2100-1047_3-5742034.html?tag=macintouch

    Jobs throws some light on move to Intel, rejects Cell etc....

  20. Case Mods by derubergeek · · Score: 0, Troll

    i once added a memory card to my pc and i didn't loose any sleep over it. now i have 512 megahurtz of ramm. so shut up you stupid mac looser.

    --
    Trust me. This is an inactive account. Regardless of what the /. bean counters might report.
    1. Re:Case Mods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "512 megahurtz of ramm" ?

      Flippin sweet!

    2. Re:Case Mods by derubergeek · · Score: 1

      Thanks. At least somebody has enough intelligence around here to recognize sarcasm. Which is more than I can say for whomever modded it down as a troll.

      --
      Trust me. This is an inactive account. Regardless of what the /. bean counters might report.
  21. G5 Drive Bracket by walterc · · Score: 5, Interesting
    My friend and I designed this solution, and we've been having them fabricated for some time now (9+ Months).

    We've moved quite a few of them since and have received a few suggestions for improvements, but overall people have been very happy with the product and it seems to fit their needs (feedback can be read at either the G5 Drive Bracket site or eBay). It's also much cheaper then the other solutions covered in the previous slashdot article.

    --
    Walter

  22. response to questions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There have been several questions or critisisms of what has been done here so I'd like to address some of them.

    1. This isn't cool cause pc users have done it for years - I didn't post this project to be cool, i did it so others who want to do something similar could benefit from what I have learned.
    2. Your gonna burn up your cpu's! - no, i've been monitoring my temp and it has been rock solid, no change from normal.
    3. Your fans are gonna run all the time - no, the fan comes on and off. Perhaps it runs a bit more than normal, that would be hard to measure, but it does not run all the time.
    4. This is going to be louder than normal - yes, i'm sure it is. An external firewire case would also add noise.
    5. Why not use an external firewire case? - I have space restrictions so using an internal solution was preferable to me.

    I hope I have address the concerns here.

    Dave