The Power Mac G5 project

Let's revive an icon of the past.

June 27, 2020 • project

When the pandemic hit and gaming with friends became my new social life, I needed a proper gaming PC. But let's be honest - most gaming rigs are ugly. So I found the ultimate solution: using an old Macintosh enclosure.

A legendary machine

Back at WWDC 2003, Apple revealed the new Power Mac G5. Featuring the PowerPC G5 processor developed in partnership with IBM, Apple marketed it as the world's first 64-bit personal computer for the consumer market.

Brochure G5
"The world's fastest personnal computer" - brochure of the Power Mac G5 (2003)

The machine was also notable for its chassis design, it was the first Apple computer to use an anodized aluminium alloy enclosure. With its clean lines and perfect ventilation, it's a masterpiece of design that still turns heads more than 20 years later. I've always been a fan of this machine.

Finding a case

I got one online for less than 30 €.

Power Mac G5 1 Power Mac G5 2
Years of dust and grime.

I started by gutting the machine and removing every component. I found this teardown guide which explains in detail how to disassemble it. I kept the architectural parts because I wanted to create a modern machine with the internal as similar as possible to the original G5.

case detail
Instructions engraved on the back of the side panel.
Power Mac G5 gutted
Empty Power Mac G5, I only kept the architectural parts.

The aim was to keep the cooling zones than the original G5 have. Even if a modern system produces way less heat.

Power Mac G5 cooling
The Power Mac G5 is divided into four discrete thermal zones. This allows the system to increase or decrease the temperature of a single zone without affecting the others.

The upgrade

Fitting standard PC parts into Apple's unique layout is not an easy task. The G5 is custom-designed by Apple, and the motherboard and power supply are not standardly sized. Hopefully two companies are selling parts

The first one is The Laser Hive in the UK who designed specific parts for custom G5 builds. I choose the ATX G5 Kit which allows placing a standard ATX motherboard inside the G5 case, Apple's custom design.

The kit from the laser hive installed on the back.

The other one is BlackCH Mods which created a special adapter kit to use the original power button and front panel ports with standard ATX motherboards.

The adapter kit of BlackCH Mods.

Parts list

I chose:

  • Processor: Ryzen 5 3600
  • Graphics: GeForce 1650 Super
  • Motherboard: B550M DS3H
  • SSD NVME M.2 (250 Go)
  • RAM 8 Gb DDR4
  • Fans Noctua NF-B9 (92 mm)
components
The components
Giving it a new heart.
Power Mac G5
Testing hardware.
The final upgraded version.

Final Outcome

Here is the upgraded version. It looks exactly the same as the original, but equipped with modern hardware.

The upgraded version.

The performance gap is quite impressive. The new CPU offers ten to twenty times the performance of the dual-processor G5 from 2003. As for graphics, they are up to 1,000 times more powerful, illustrating the technological gap between GPUs from the early 2000s and those from the late 2010s.

a bento montage showing every change in performance and functionality of the upgrade

On the other hand, the superb aluminium casing has not aged at all and retains its modern aesthetic 🩶.

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