Updates on 20" iMac G4 "PRO" Mod

The "PRO" iMac G4 Mod

I apologize about using the "PRO" moniker which along with "MINI" has become overused when referring to apple mods or speculation on future apple products.  I use it here simply to differentiate this mod from the very similar iMac G4 Sandy Bridge Mod.  This mod isn't really a "PRO", its really just different.  When I was putting together my previous mod, there were things I wanted to include but didn't because I was concerned it would alter the original appearance and function of the iMac G4.  I made the decision to keep that mod as faithful as possible to the original.  As such, the microphone, LED light, optical drive, and outward appearance were kept intact.  I had wondered how it would have turned out had I gone the other direction and after sometime, I have decided to find out.

I was hoping that Ivy Bridge ECX boards might be available by the time I started this mod, but to date I have seen only one: GENE-QM77 by AAEON which is currently cost prohibitive.  As such, I am proceeding with the same Quanmax KEEX-6100 I used in my previous mod.  This board has surpassed my expectations and as it was easily compatible with 10.7 Lion, I am hopeful 10.8 Mountain Lion will work smoothly as well.  That said, there was room for some improvements.

Preliminary Tests

RAM

For some reason, 4GB is listed as the maximum RAM on some parts of the KEEX-6100 documentation and 8GB on other parts.  It turns out that 8GB is the maximum and I have upgraded the RAM accordingly.

CPU

The top of the Dual Heatsinks

I had initially planned for a Core i7 Quad Core, but was concerned about temperature and power usage.  The highest wattage Pico PSUs were 150-160watt, but the native PSU supports 190watts.  Unfortunately, with the drive in place the native PSU does not fit.  In addition, the standard socket heatsink and fan were not adequate for the quad core, but a larger heatsink or cooling system could not fit.  As such, I used the dual core - i5 processor.

To use the Core i7 Quad, I simply need more space.  The optical drive will be eliminated.  This will allow for use of the native PSU as well as a more robust cooling solution.  I have described use of the native PSU in a previous post and this carries with it the added benefit of doing away with the power brick of the Pico PSU.  For the cooling, I have decided to fuse a passive Socket G2 heatsink with the larger desktop active heatsink pictured here.  So far, this seems to be a signficant improvement.

The KEEX-6100 with Large Heatsink/Fan

Add-ons

A Touchscreen

There are two accessories that I feel fit well with the iMac G4.  The first of these is a Touchscreen.  Those familiar with my blog may recall my cinema display mod which used a 5-wire resistive touchscreen.  While I loved the touchscreen itself, I did not love the resistive touchscreen.  It had a tremendous glare, took away from the LCDs image, and its responsiveness was less than perfect.  Also, incorporating a touchscreen into Apple's hardware has always been difficult.  Many other manufacturers have "wiggle" room.  These unused centimeters of space allow for a touch controller to fit.  They also allow for the touchscreen itself to fit in front of the display.  Apple tends to pack things in tight, making this much more difficult.

Optical, IR, Resistive, and Capacitive Touchscreens

In selecting the type of touchscreen to use there were two basic options.  The first option was using optical or IR touch which would have required an array and sensors within the bezel.  This would require moving the LCD further back with regard to the bezel.  The second option of resistive or capacitive (also Surface Acoustic Wave) used a glass or plastic panel that sits in front of the display.  As there is no extra room in the iMac G4's LCD housing this would mean either making the LCD itself thinner or having the touch panel sit flush with the bezel.  The decision was somewhat made for me as a result of the 16:10 20.1" dimensions required.  Modding a 19" 16:10 IR caused blind spots in the all too important corners and modding the 16:9 20" optical sensors to 16:10 caused it to barely function at all.  These methods have potential, but will require more experimenting.

I have obtained a 20.1" 16:10 capacitive touch screen from 3M that appears to function markedly better.  The largest negatives are its thickness and weight.  Because of its thickness, it will not fit in front of the LCD glass.  the active touch area falls within the bezel, the size of the touchscreen includes an inactive area that is on the outer portion of the panel.  Thus, it must go inside the bezel, outside the bezel, or the bezel must be modified.

Initially I thought about converting the backlight from CCFLs to brighter LEDs allowing me to shrink the diffuser inside the LCD housing.  The diffuser is a clear plastic piece used to spread the light uniformly.  Unfortunately I was not thrilled with the light distribution in some of my tests.  Again, this is certainly something that is possible and may be revisited in the future.  JeanLuc7 has done amazing work with conversion of CCFL to LEDs in his blog: 53 cent. (It is in German).  However, I decided to look to my older mods for ideas.

The Apple Cinema Display/iMac G4 Touchscreen Mod  used the housing from an apple cinema display.  This was done because at this time I did not know how to use the native inverter and the cinema displays would not fit.  Both the controller and the inverter fit within the Cinema Display's housing.  I then attached the resistive screen to the front of the cinema display and the iMac G4 bezel in front of that.  This was not an elegant solution as the touch panel protruded far in front of the LCD itself.  Even the touch wires were exposed and wrapped around the side.  To internalize everything, I decided to cut the inner part of the ACDs bezel allowing the touch panel to sit flush with the bezel.  This was a dramatic improvement.   See the ACD/iMac G4 Touch Improvements post for details.

Here are pics of a trial of a modded iMac G4 bezel using the same concept:

The Front

The Back

20.1" 16:10 LCD

 The bezel contains a white plastic with a clear plastic over it.  To this plastic tabs attach an "LCD Frame" to which the LCD is held in place by screws that come in from the side.  This causes the LCD to be recessed from the bezel in front of it.  Above you may see that I have cut away the inner (white and clear) plastic part of the frame.  Allowing the touch screen to sit flush with the bezel and thus "fit" within the iMac G4s LCD housing.  The problem is that the nonactive border of the touch panel and the metallic casing of the LCD itself will be exposed.  In the Cinema Display Mod, this was covered by the iMac G4 Bezel.  Here I am thinking of adding some type of thin strips in either the white color of the iMac or a gray/silver color that will go around the inner border sitting on top of the bezel/touch panel interface.  After all, I want this "PRO G4" to look different.  Any ideas would be appreciated.

An iSight Camera

In my current setup I use an iMac G4 and iMac G5 (both of which use an ACD controller to work), with a modern generation external mac mini.  The G4 has an optical drive in its base, while the G5 has an iSight which has been converted to USB.  What I've noticed is that having the camera on the G4 would have made so much more sense.  Being able to move the camera  as easily as you move the screen makes a lot of sense.  As I am modifying the panel already, fitting an iSight should be possible.  Several iSights may work, I have seen the 13" MacBooks camera used, but as I have and am familiar with the iSight from the iMac G5 and it appears to fit.  If you look at the modified bezel back picture, you may notice a small part of the gray LCD "Holder" is missing. This has been removed to accommodate the iSight camera.

I believe I'll be able to fit the small touch controller as well as the iSight Camera.  The problem is that the computer is in the base and I will need to wire this to the computer in the base.  While opening up the neck and adding additional wires is possible, it is not ideal, and we do have extra wires.

The Additional Wires

For USB we will need 4 wires.  As we have 2 items 8 total wires will be needed.

There are 2 wires the supply the LED.  One Red and One Green.  While the LED on the LCD is ok, I have been planning on putting an LED light elsewhere regardless.

The 2 LED wires

Although I plan on having a microphone, I will test out the consequence of placing it either on the top or bottom front of the base.  This will allow me to use these 3 wires intended for the microphone.  The Red, Black, Black wires of the microphone are pictured below.

The 3 Mic Wires

The Orange and Purple Wires are not used in this mod.  Although the Yellow is not hooked up in the picture it connects via resistor to the 5V VEDID, and is required to turn the monitor on.  Thus 2 wires are available.

Unused Inverter Wires

2+3+2 = 7.  As a result an extra wire is needed.  When I tried combining the ground or power wires for these two items, I ran into problems, so they must be kept separate.  Thus, an extra wire is needed.

Isolating the hot pink wire

I wanted to leave the LCD power itself alone if I could, so I decided to use the Yellow wire from the inverter.  My thinking was that the yellow wire (very low power) is required to turn on the inverter.  I stole this power from the DVI VEDID pin(5V via a 6.8Kohm resistor) and split it between this wire, the hot/pink (true VEDID wire) and (also via resistor - 1Kohm) the Hot Plug Detect DVI pin.  So I figured I'd move the split into the LCD case itself.  Isolate the hot pink wire and (leaving it connected) strip it with an X-acto knife and add a connection via resistor to the yellow wire that goes to the inverter.  This leaves me the entire yellow wire that traverses the neck to use for my USB hookups.

The Yellow wire being diverted

When hooking up the two USB devices without the monitor being on it works flawlessly.  However, when I turn the monitor on, I run into all sorts of problems from lousy response time to an occasional power drain warning.  Now, while I suspect the power drain comes from a connection grounding out, its the poor connection that bothers me the most.  I am concerned that the power running parallel with these wires in the neck is creating interference and that they may not be properly shielded to perform the task I am intending.

This leaves me with a couple options

1) Adjust which wires do what and try combining different combinations - here is whee I will start.

2) Use only one of the USB devices.  This would depend on how well they would function.  Obviously I'd lean towards the touchscreen.  But, if the touchscreen does not work well or if its weight alters significantly the motion of the neck, I would still like to incorporate the iSight.

3) Add a USB or mini/micro usb hub in the LCD case.  As it is very tight, I am not sure this would fit, but its worth a shot.

4) Replace the existing mic/led wire with a shielded Dual usb cable.  Maybe difficult to thread, but also a possibility.

An Unusual Problem

During this testing I came across an unusual problem that I believe is innate to the ECX board and native PSU itself.  Initially the screen would be black then light up when the computer was turned on.  When the computer would be turned off - there would still be a slight glow from the backlights.  Interestingly this seemed to be modulated by the yellow inverter wire where adding higher levels of resistance between this wire and the 5V dimmed this light, I could not eliminate it.  Disconnecting the 5V to the PSU or the PSU's 24V to the inverter turned off the light.

Native PSU's Blue and White Leads

At first I could not understand this as the 5V rails come from the DVI pin of the ECX board which was off.  I figured that some voltage keeps flowing through this pin, so I took 5V from elsewhere.  I connected this to the 5V from the SATA/MOLEX connector on the board.  However, I still had the same problem.  Then I tried a USB, again the same.  I realized that some voltage was flowing through all the ECX boards 5V rails as long as it was connected to the PSU, even if the board was off.

I believe this is a quirk between the native PSU and the ECX, as the native PSU is "always on" supplying 12V to the ECX.  The ECX requires only a 4pin 12V connector, it then down converts this to 5V.  So it appears there is always some power on the 5V rails. To solve this, I went to the 12V rails which are supplied by the PSU and not modified by the ECX.  Using the small 15watt 12V to 5V downconverter I have previously discussed and hooking the White/Blue of the PSU to the 12V Yellow/Black of the SATA/Molex via the downconverter, I eliminated this problem.

Wanted to mention this to anyone in case you are using my exact setup.

Connection to 12V Rail via Downconverter

So it appears I have some more work to do on this.......But I am going to put this project to the side for now, as I will explain in my next post.  Thanks for reading.

Anniversaries and an iMac G4 "Sandy Bridge Mod" Pro Version?

I hadn't even realized that I failed to acknowledge an important anniversary.  The iMac G4 was introduced on January 7th, 2002 by Steve Jobs at the San Francisco Macworld.  The 20" was released later in November 18, 2003.  Then only 2 and a half years later (August 31, 2004) the iMac G4, with its sunflower inspired horizontal design, was discontinued in favor of the iMac G5's vertically oriented all-in-one.

Many reasons have been suggested to why this was done.  The cost of the neck, the difficulty in supporting increasing LCD sizes, and the cooling needs of the notoriously hot G5 processor.  I have been using one version of this as an external monitor hooked up to a mac mini and now a second version as a modernized all-in-one and it remains one of the most enjoyable desktop user experiences I have know, even 10 years later.

With my sandy bridge "genuine" mod my goal was to be as true to the original as possible, but I have been thinking about doing a version that has some extra features not found in the original.  Some of these may be possible, some of them are not.  To make extra room in the base, the optical drive will be removed.  So, I am contemplating doing a "PRO" version of the iMac G4 mod.  I have enough spare parts and I think this may be a fun alternative.  I will likely use the TMDS to DVI method and not the apple cinema display controller method.  The overall look of the iMac G4 will be changed (something I wanted to avoid in the previous mod).  Things I may add:

3M Touchscreen

• A Touchscreen: One of my favorite mods used a resistive touchscreen and it fits this form factor quite well.  However, I did not like the glare, resolution, or touch accuracy of the resistive touchscreen.  I have however located a capacitive touchscreen that should fit in this mod.  Its flaw is that it is somewhat thick and heavy.  An alternative may be incorporating optical sensors in the bezel.
• LED backlighting: This would be necessary to fit the touchscreen, but something that has been done in similar projects by JL7, and adds improved backlighting and power efficiency.
• Quad Core Processor: I changed from a mobile core i7 quad core to a dual core i5 as a result of both heat production and power consumption in my latest mod.  However, a quad core i7 machine is still something I would love to do.  As well as maxing out the RAM to 8GB.
• Native Power: Increased power needs would require a big power supply and the only one that could fit is the native supply which other modders have used.
• Better Cooling: Use of the native PSU would require shifting of the mobo downwards.  This as well as heat generated by the quad core processor and the PSU itself would require a much more powerful cooling solution.  At the very least a large active heatsink on the CPU and a 92mm case fan.  However, an intake fan at the bottom may be needed as well.  This will use of the space that was previously used by the optical drive.
• iSight Cam: in my G4/G5 setup, I use the iSight cam on the G5, but I have been wishing that there was one on the G4's LCD as it would be much easier to manipulate.  The microphone is already there, modifying the LCD enclosure to support an iSight may be possible.

iMac G4 iSight Mock-up

• Apple Modification: Just to visually delineate this, I was considering altering the apple on the base.  A light up apple or IR sensor are possibilities
• ???Improved Graphics: This one is difficult, although its something I would like to add, most of these small boards do not have PCI-Ex16 slots.  Even conversion of mini pcie is usually only to x1, and this makes it difficult to get much improvement over on chip sandy bridge graphics.  Fitting and powering a full size card would also be difficult.  I will continue to give this thought, but its probably unlikely.  Even if you wedge a mini itx in, you would have difficulty fitting even a low profile card in to the dome.  

Although this mod would involve tradeoffs including louder fans, loss of the optical drive, and loss of the exact iMac G4 appearance, there are clearly advantages as well.  The iSight, LED backlights, and touchscreen in particular are things I would love to add.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Mini-itx Problems, SBCs and Embedded Boards

Base with Drive

When making an all-in-one you have to realize the base of the G4 is very small - Much smaller than you think.  The faraday cage inside provides all the real "support" of the base.  Unfortunately 4 steel "legs" make it even tighter.  Below the drive pictured here there is only about 1/2" inch.  The iMac was convection cooled so everything just stacked on top of each other leaving no room for airflow.  Below is how an atom mini itx board with standard fan and heatsink looks interns of thickness next to the original iMac G4's motherboard.  Remember the drive sits right on top of the motherboard - there is no wiggle room.

This standard size fan takes up much of the room that the drive occupied as well.  Even above the drive there is minimal room (enough for a 3.5" hard drive and then a fan.  The power supply was actually split in two and placed on opposite sides of the hard drive.

Without having to grind down the faraday cage even fitting in a mini itx is difficult.  You have to put it in at an angle, accessing the ports can be difficult.

Even when using just a mini itx board, no optical drive, no graphics card, just a small hard drive, there are two problems with creating a "powerful" system: Power and Heat.

By power I am referring to where the power source goes.  No atx power supply can fit in any way.  The existing power supply is not compatible with atx and regardless the 17" is only 160watts.  Pico power supplies are really the only option and these are limited to about 150 - 175 watts.  Remember, some of this has to go to power the display, support USBs etc.

By heat I am referring to the very poor air flow of the steel faraday cage.  The only air entry points are some slits at the bottom and holes at the top.  You would never, ever choose this as a computer case.  The mini itx has to sit at the very bottom (its the only place it fits).  So anything else you want to put in the case - wires, wifi, optical drives, ssds, whatever, has to go on top of the board.  This further blocks air flow.  Trust me, even with pristine wire management anything other than a very low power system is going to have problems.  So you are VERY limit din what can go on top of the motherboard.  If you are building a system just to show that it can power on, a "proof of concept" then you don't have to worry.  But, if you want a stable, reliable system that you can use daily, there is a better way.  There are actually two options:

1) Go Big: You want the system you want.  Dedicated graphics, optical drive, big power supply.  Then go external.  This is the way I went with my mac mini setup and I couldn't be happier with it.  I went dual monitors and was then able to use the base to house the optical drive and 20" monitor power supply.  Keep in mind the iMac is a desktop, you aren't carrying it room to room.  This makes upgrades a breeze and you are no longer limited by size, heat, or power.

2) Go Small: What if you could fit a motherboard at the top of the dome.  The CPU sitting right under the ventilation holes would allow for some airflow.  What's more, this would allow you to use the space below however you see fit.  In my all in one I went with a bluray optical drive.  There are compact options beyond mini-itx.  These are usually referred to as either Single Board Computers or embedded systems.  Although most of these systems are not available from usual vendors such as amazon, newegg etc, they are still easily to obtain commercially.  I have dealt with many sales reps from the companies I am going to discuss and they have almost universally been very helpful.  These boards are sometimes more expensive then their commercial atx counterparts, sometimes less.  They tend to use laptop parts (which tend to be lower power and generate less heat).  They usually have on board power options.  Their expansion options are usually very limited (but there is really isn't any room in the dome for expansion).  They are usually associated with low power platforms but are NOT limited to these.  Many form factors are available, but I am going to focus on those that have I/O that is familiar and compatible with commercial products.  So lets see what's available.

Zbox Nano

1) The ITX's

- A) Mini-itx (170mm x 170mm) (6.7" x 6.7") - discussed above

- B) Nano-itx (120mm x 120mm) (4.7" x 4.7") - These are sometimes available from standard vendors.

     - I for one am very excited about AMD's fusion platform.  

       The Zbox Nano relies on a Zacate E-350 APU which yields on board AMD HD 6310 graphics.  This is available as a barebones system and although it comes with the zotac case, it can be removed.  If a hackintosh is your goal, this won't suit your needs.  But if you want low power, but some graphics power consider this option.

- C) Pico-itx (100mm x 72mm) (3.9" x 2.8").  You may not believe it, but this is a legitimate option.

Pico-itx

      - While not my favorite platform, Intel's Atom, is certainly capable of being a machine capable of everyday, routine tasks.  And is available on most PicoITX bards.

Epic SBC

2) Industrial Computers 

- A) EPIC - Embedded Platform Industrial Computers (165mm x 115mm) (6.5" x 4.5").  These can blur the line between mainstream and industrial systems, but many have nothing but standard I/O and are have identical chipsets and features to the larger mini-itx boards.

      

3) Drive Sized Platforms

- A) 5.25" Embedded - (203mm x 146mm) (8" x 5.75") - designed to be the same size as a 5.25" drive.  Although longer then mini itx, its narrower shape is better for the iMac.  If you don't use an optical drive these may be considered (although they are on the larger size).  Available in everything from Atom, to Intel Core 2 Duo, to 1st and 2nd generation Core i processors.

KEEX-4030

- B) 3.5" Embedded/ECX - (146mm x 105mm) (5.75" x 4") - similarly designed to be the same size as a 3.5" drive.  ECX is an intel developed standard, meant to give the performance of mini-itx in a smaller form factor.  Similarly available in many varieties.  Global American again has a wide selection from Atom up to 1st generation Core i processors.  Two popular makers of these systems are Quanmax and Portwell.  Online distributors such as logicsupply.com offer these boards.  For my All-in-one I used the Keex-4030, a Quanmax Core 2 Duo Mobile Processor Board.  I found it easy to use and it delivered solid performance.  A second generation core i/sandy bridge mobo has been announced by Quanmax, but I have not found it available yet.

I would probably recommend either Nano-ITX or 3.5" ECX as they offer the best availability, standardization, and size to performance ratio.  Just remember that a non-standard board may have some quirks (proprietary connectors, limited expansion).  Do your homework first, before buying.  But there are plenty of options for small motherboards beyond mini-itx.

Completed Mod - Mac Mini with iMac G4 and G5 dual monitors

Original Dual Monitors with Mac Mini

New Setup with iSight G5, Mac Mini, and iPad

While the core components are completely unchanged from my previous 20" iMac G4 mod, this represents the completion of the overall setup.  I would highly recommend this to anyone in search of a "weekend hobby" who shares my enthusiasm for this generation of apple products.  Most people seem to be interested in the 17" mod, but as someone who has used both, I would recommend putting the resources into the 20" mod, if you truly intend to use this as a main desktop computer.  (Obviously if you already have a 17" dead iMac G4, its a different story).

Personally, it has become difficult for me to use LCDs under 19" as I've become so accustomed to larger displays.  The 20" iMac is a sizable display as is, but several factors actually make the screen bigger than most 20" displays.  For one, the aspect ratio is 16:10 not 16:9, for 20" this makes a substantial difference (1680x1050 vs 1600x900) in the overall size and pixel density.  Plus, the nature of the iMac G4 itself allows you to pull the display much closer to you than an ordinary LCD would sit.  Even still, to be a workstation, I feel multiple monitors are invaluable.  I got fortunate in "spare parts" that I was able to put the iMac G5 (native LCD, Apple Cinema Display's controller, inverter, and power source) together very quickly.  However, there are multiple ways to "resurrect" an iMac G5 as an external monitor depending on available parts.  The effect of having both together is great.  The iMac G5 is also quite ergonomic, in both its sliding and tilting.

While an All-In-One was the ultimate goal, by the time I figured out how to "modernize" the iMac with a Core 2 Duo Processor, Core 2 Duos were obsolete. With the mac mini also growing in length and depth, an all-in-one would need to be a hackintosh.  While the discussion regarding the price point of the mac mini is justified (depending on how you value aesthetics, form factor, and low power consumption), you can not call this generation underpowered.  I have been quite impressed, unless you are a gamer, there is not much you can't do with this machine.  (Im using the 2.7Ghz Dual Core i7 with discrete graphics.) For those waiting for the "X-Mac" this really might be it.

I originally concealed this in the inner part of the desk, but the I bought a great under desk mount with 4 front facing powered USB ports.

As I've mentioned the loss of the optical drive even as an option was unfortunate.  While both the G4 and G5 enclosures lend themselves to addition of an optical drive, its on the G4 where the drive actually contributes to the design.  While initially I was hoping to use bluray - Lion would not recognize the drive.  I ended up using an external DVD drive which I opened up and modified.

This is actually DC powered, so I used a power source from a broken internal drive enclosure.  I use the original iMac G4's AC plug, but split it, with one going to the cinema displays power brick and one going to the drive.  Thus, only one AC plug and no external power brick is required.

Rear Ports (USB Out, Drive Switch, AC Power)

The rear panel contains the original 3 pronged receptacle for AC power, an on/off switch for the drive, a USB out, the outgoing USB cable and HDMI cable.  The USB cable belongs to the cinema displays controller which then supplies 2 ports.  One is taken up by the drive internally, the other is on the back (hooked up to the camera here).  So, by having the drive plugged in, you essentially replace the used USB port.

Drive open

There is a quirk with the DVD drive.  When there is no media in the drive, the keyboard eject shortcuts do not work and you can not access the front button on the drive.  To eject the drive you have to open disk utility, click on the drive and press open.  Now by putting Disk Utility in the dock, opening the drive takes only 3 clicks, however, this is somewhat of a nuisance.  When media is in the drive this does not seem to be a problem.


SOLVED - thanks to fellow modder and iMac enthusiast Jean Luc, I now have an eject icon in the upper right corner, that allows me to easily eject and close the drive in the G4's dome.

This works flawlessly.  It eliminates a flaw of the mini and gives purpose to the base of the iMac G4.

Besides cleaning up a few of the rear ports, this iMac G4 mod is complete and perfect in this setup.  This is largely the same mod as before without the all in one.

Side/Rear iMac G5 (1st Generation) Mod

The iMac G5 chassis leaves plenty of room for further modification.  It is designed for speakers and its own drive.  Because I have an optical drive in the G4 and use the apple pro speakers, these are likely to be superfluous.  As of right now the Cinema Displays cable goes out where the power cable exited.  So the power brick is outside.  I may internalize this.  While I do like the ability to physically move the camera, I may consider obtaining an isight G5 and seeing if I can get an isight camera and convert it to USB.


UPDATED - with advise from Jean Luc and research I have realized that there is a considerable difference between the original iMac G5 (1st Generation)and the iSight iMac G5 (3rd Generation - much thinner, and with iSight camera/mic).  I am going to attempt to transfer the contents from this G5 to an empty chassis from an iSight G5.  I believe this will likely fit this mod better.  As I have stated much of the iMac G5's shell is currently wasted space, having a smaller, sleeker chassis would likely look better and save some desk space.  Although much tighter, the only contents that will need to fit are the Cinema Display's LCD controller and inverter .  In addition, as Jean Luc explains in the comments below, the iSight is simply a USB device.  With addition of either a USB adapter for the microphone, I can connect these to the Apple Cinema Display's USB ports.  As this leaves only 2 Firewire 400 ports, I would likely either hold off on adding the rear ports to see if my "thunderbolt dock" idea becomes feasible, or use a firewire to usb dock to add USB ports to the rear of the iMac G5.  The RAM access panel at the bottom may also let me bring back the Cinema Displays hardware touch power and brightness controls to the bottom of the display.

FURTHER UPDATED - I have indeed used JLs advise and the chassis of the iSight G5 complete with original microphone and iSight Camera.  Please see this post on the iMac G5 iSight for details.

At the very least I'm likely to add the Cinema Display's Firewire 400 and USB ports.  As I mentioned earlier, this monitor is hooked up using a mini display port via the thunderbolt port, I'd love to utilize this fact to make this a "dock".  Exactly as apple has done with its new Thunderbolt displays.  Thus, with one plug I could not only get the image to the G5s LCD but "transfer" the mac minis ports to the easily accessible rear panel of the G5.  This would allow for significant convenience.  I'm hoping such a dock may eventually become available or perhaps it could be taken from a broken thunderbolt display in the next year or so.

In general this is even beyond the setup that I envisioned as a best case scenario when I began this project.

Suggestions are appreciated.  And if there is interest I'd be happy to provide technical details.  Thank you for reading!

Optical Drives, Mac Minis, and Thunderbolt

Courtesy of apple.com

So the final part of my setup is "the actual computer".  I decided to go with the higher end non-server model.  I would have gone with the server for its quad core i7, but discrete graphics is quite important to me.  I have had some so-so experiences with onboard intel graphics in the past.  In terms of upgrades - I very much wanted a SSD, but for $600, it was not going to happen.  I have spoken to people who have changed or added drives to last years mini (same design) and while not simple it is doable.  So I went with the base 5400rpm 500GB drive knowing that eventually I'll likely add another drive or swap this out entirely.  I did decide to invest in the 2.7Ghz dual core i7 processor as this is something I won't be able to replace later and at $100 the cost wasn't ridiculous.

There was one "surprise" for me, I was not expecting the demise of the optical drive.  While this does cause me to alter my design, it really is not a big deal for me.  That said, I am somewhat disappointed in the decision.  The reason I say that is because it decreases the versatility of the machine.  Plenty of people viewed this as an ideal and elegant HTPC, many of those people have DVD collections, instead of an iTunes movie library.  For the Macbook Air - the initial decision to loose the optical drive allowed the chassis to become even thinner.  In the case of the mac mini there is an empty bay.  The design hasn't gotten smaller and unless you have two storage drives there is simply empty space.  Even if a drive wasn't included in the base model, an option for a Build to Order one would have been nice.  Optical media may not be the future but for many people it is the present and as small as it is, the mini is still a desktop computer.  Obviously, Apple can do what they want and as a huge media digital distributor they have a vested interest in seeing optical media disappear as soon as possible.  But, I thought they could have waited another generation as the people I know who waited for this machine as a living room computer have not decided to go digital, but have instead gone in a different direction.

This does open up some design potential for my setup which uses a converted iMac G4 and iMac G5:

While my initial design included a bluray drive in the base, I took it out as I thought it was redundant with the mini on the desk.  An internal drive was less complicated when there was a computer in base.  As this attached simply through an SATA + PWR connector to the motherboard.  While SATA to USB + Power brick adapters are available, I would like to keep the design as simple as possible.  Meaning I would prefer only one AC plug, no external power bricks and as few cables going between the mini and and the iMac G4 chassis as possible.

For there to be only "1 plug" I obviously have to split power off somewhere.  I can do this on the "AC side" before the power brick or on the "DC side" after the power brick.  I have an old 5.25" external drive enclosure that I have no further use for.  This includes a small power supply and onboard SATA to USB.

With some internal rearrangement I should be able to fit both the power supply as well as the drive.  Currently all that is in the base is the Cinema Displays LCD controller and Power Brick.  I am hoping to keep the power supplies at the top of the dome.  The drive in the middle and the controller on the underside of the drive.  Leaving the very bottom for some wire management.

Using the Cinema Display's on-board USB ports will allow me to connect the drive and replace the "used" USB port with one that will be on the back of the iMac G4s base.  In addition I will add either the rocker switch or a push button on/off to the back of the iMac G4 for the drive.  I do have the option of Firewire 400 ports but will probably not hook these up.  Although there is not currently any reliable support for it, I do have a full side 5.25" tray loading bluray drive which has already been modified to fit in the iMac, so I will probably be using this.

Courtesy of CNET

Another option is to use the iMac G5 or both.

PicoPSU by Mini-box.com

Of course, as I have previously noted, I have plenty of room in the iMac G5's chassis.  The way I felt this looked the best was to mimic the original look, whereby one cable comes out the back.  So the Cinema Display's Cable comes out the hole n the back, which I will eventually surround with white rubber to make it look as clean as possible.  As a result, the power brick is external.  To use an internal slim slot loading I need an SATA power source (12V), but the power coming in via the Cinema Display is DC at 24V.  In order to siphon off power I need a DC to DC voltage regulator or power supply.  I chose a picoPSU which can use 24V input.  I chose this because it was cheap, small, gives me lots of options, and I am familiar with it.

Using this and a SATA to USB I can again use the onboard USB slots of the cinema display.  And as I am already connecting the Cinema Displays cable to the computer, I may hook up the firewire 400 ports and connect them to the back of the monitor where they were designed to hook up to the iMac G5.

Back Panel Thunderbolt - Courtesy Apple.com

In my opinion one of the most interesting products Apple just launched was its new Thunderbolt display.  The idea that one cable (externally no different than the display cable) can turn the monitor into a "dock" is brilliant.  What would be ideal for my setup would be if they ever sold a separate "Thunderbolt dock".  A Thunderbolt cabe at one end with a mini display port, USB, firewire, ethernet, thunderbolt out (for daisy chaining) etc at the other end.  This would allow all sorts of devices/accessories to be stored in the iMac G4/G5 housing.  An example may be using Macbook Air with onboard Intel HD3000 graphics hooked up to a modified iMac G4 or G5.  But inside of the iMac enclosure is not just an LCD but a powerful PCI-Express graphics card hooked up via thunderbolt (I know it wouldn't be fully x16 - but it would still be very capable) as well as a 3TB HD array and Bluray drive that all becomes accessible as you hook one cable up to your laptop.  It really may make these mods more than just monitors.

My Dream Setup - iMac G4 and G5 - Dual Monitors

The iMac G4 "mac mini monitor"

Although this has been a great hobby for me, my goal has always been to produce a computer and setup which allows me to use the form factor of the iMac G4 with modern hardware and the Mac OS.  As you can see from my summary, most of my mods - besides the black iMac/VESA - have been disassembled for parts as I feel that the mods have gotten better and I simply don't have use for that many iMac G4 hacks.  The fact that I have completed a 20" all-in-one iMac G4 complete with ports and a blu-ray drive using the ECX core 2 duo board shows me that this mod is doable. The only negative is problems with snow leopard (and presumably Lion) with this board.  However, there should be no compatibility problems with the new Sandy Bridge KEEX-6100. Still, I have expressed my reservations with hackintoshes in the past and I would prefer a true mac.  So while I have been using my touchscreen iMac/Cinema Display mod with my old mac mini, I have really come to prefer the appearance of my newer mod, the native iMac G4 all-in-one mod.  So after filming a video of the all-in-one mod and much deliberation, I decided to disassemble this mod and "switch" this mod with the apple cinema display one.  Thus, I will get the benefit of a brand new/white exterior and the native housing which makes this completely indistinguishable from the original iMac G4.  I will however loose the touchscreen.  I simply felt that this came closer to what I originally set out to do.  For myself I do not mind the small footprint of the mac mini being on the desk as well.  Plus, this leaves open other possibilities such as using it as a desktop monitor for my Macbook.

Two Ports: DVI and Power

I did decide to make one additional switch.  Although the mod works fine with the original iMac G4's LCD - the apple cinema display's LCD has a better contrast ratio, viewing angle, brightness, and response time.  I had an extra apple cinema  LCD (which was intended for the mod detailed later in this post that I ended up not needing).  So I replaced the iMac G4's LCD with the Cinema Display's.  Here you can see photos of the new iMac G4 hooked up to the mac mini and apple pro speakers via the iFire adapter.

From the back

 I left out the bluray drive (as Mac does not yet support it), but now have plenty of room for the power brick which is now included internally.  So only a DVI out and C14 Plug is required on the back.

iMac G5 with Cinema Display Cable

My ideal setup has multiple monitors.  Unless I have a 27" screen - I find having the extra screen real estate important for multitasking.  At first I considered two iMac G4s but thought that may look odd.  So I decided to add my second favorite iMac design of all time - the iMac G5.  I obtained a broken 20" iMac G5 in good cosmetic condition and removed all but the lcd itself.  I had an extra apple cinema display with a broken screen - I put the cinema displays components around the native iMac G5's lcd (which luckily still worked) and I now have an external monitor in a G5 shell.  For now I just wired the cinema displays cable out the back where the C14 plug used to be.  There are still some issues to work out such as the monitor now being very light.  Also, the screws in the bottom no longer fasten into anything.  And, I do plan on wiring the 2 USB and Firewire 400 inputs of the Apple Cinema Display to make them accessable on the rear panel of the G5.  I know I did not go into detail on this mod - as there really isn't much to it.  Just know that the native iMac G5 panel works with a cinema displays controller board.  If anyone is interested in this, please let me know and I will add a step by step and parts list.  And if you are wondering why I didn't use the TMDS to DVI hack, its because I would still have to power the iMac G5's inverter which also requires a 24V line.  Sure, the iMac G5's power supply could be altered, however, the power supply on this was broken and I had the cinema display components.

On the 20" iMac G4

Unfortunately, my mac mini does not support dual monitors (the current one does).  I am hopeful of a new Sandy Bridge mac mini which will be the centerpiece of this setup.
So first the iMac G4 connected to the mini.

On the 20" iMac G5

Then the iMac G5 connected.  And hopefully in July...Both!










As always comments, questions, and suggestions are appreciated.  Thanks for reading!

The Future Is Bright

I have considered many options as to where to go with this new design.  This 20" design is identical to the original iMac.  Using the same LCD, monitor casing, and containing all components except for the power bricks within the base.  Some things I have considered doing with this:

1) Adding a touchscreen - this may or may not be possible.  I believe if I use the apple cinema displays native LCD and remove the grey housing - this may give me the few extra mm I need to fit the touchscreen within the monitor housing.  I would also need to fit 5 extra wires with in the neck, this may be tough, but I believe some of the LCD wires I'm currently using may not be needed.  If I could re-purpose
 even 2 or 3 of these, this may be enough.

2) Passive cooling - Although there is only 1 small fan, it is audible.  I may see what temperatures are like with only the heatsink or a larger passive heatsink on top of this one to make this pc silent.

3) Snow Leopard to Lion (10.7) - At this point it seems that not only would I want to make this hackintoshable with snow leopard but I'd want to do so - so that I'd be able to upgrade to Lion.  I have thought about just putting snow leopard on but without graphics hardware acceleration it feels like it somewhat defeats the purpose of upgrading the machine.  As I have previously described there are two problems with this board in terms of hackintoshability
     
 A) The Compact Flash Card - a nice feature of this board is its ability to use compact flash as its primary hard drive.  However, Snow Leopard does not seem able to recognize it.  Thus, I would need a very small solid state option.  While I was at first reluctant - I found a very good deal on a 1.8" SSD and I am amazed at just how small they are.  I'm not sure if the picture does it justice.  Even with the mini SATA plug, the thing is tiny and near flat.  I am not worried about this fitting anymore.  In addition, I can always keep the Compact Flash card to allow a nice easy dual booting option to Windows or Linux if I choose.



B) The On-Board Intel GMA4500HD - There appears to have been little progress on this front and although resolution can be forced - I don't find having marginally functional graphics a viable alternative.  This board does have a PCI-Ex4 slot so looking through my own stock I have a few options. To the right you can see a few video card options.  On top is a PCIEx1 Ion graphics card.  I could hook this up using the PCIEx1 riser cable seen attached.  Or below this is a silent ASUS 5340 this is a x16 card but I could use a x4 to x16 adapter and some combination of a x16riser or x4 riser (pictured) to connect to the ECX board.  So which is better a 5340 @ x4 or an Ion @ x1.  I'd probably have to try both to see.  This may also require a power supply with more wattage, but more importantly the extra room for the card would likely mean I would need to sacrifice the blu ray drive.  I do not believe this can fit any other way.

4) Modern hardware and upgradability - When I began this blog several years ago, my goal was to update the iMac G4 not just as a proof of concept but so I myself could use the iMac G4 again.  I am currently getting a lot of use out of the Apple Cinema Display/iMac Hybrid mod.  The reason is for one it has a touchscreen, which is fun to use, but mostly because it is hooked up to a mac mini.  The mac mini has snow leopard which is I prefer to use.  Also I know that new mac minis are on the horizon and I'll be able soon to hook this machine up a new (hopefully) Sandy Bridge mac mini running OS10.7.  So I began wondering if there was really much use in pursuing this as an all in one.  Perhaps I should just put a DVI or display port on the back and use it with an external mini. (The new Mini's designs make it impossible to fit the motherboards into the G4's enclosure).  An Intel Core 2 Duo (mobile processor) is certainly not as "modern" as it was when I began this project.  But then I saw this:

Courtesy of Quanmax Inc.

I have spoken to a Quanmax representative who indicated these will be available at the end of July.  There is no reason this board should not be hackintoshable and this is likely to be the same specs of the next generation mini (though nothing is guaranteed).  I was worried about the future of the ECX board and was not sure if I would see anything other than Atom/Fusion or other low power chipsets.  I am delighted that quanmax seems to be pushing forward with the latest technology.  However, this board is likely to be quite expensive even without the processor and if it comes down to this or a next generation mac mini - I would favor the mini.

Personally, the all-in-one was a proof-of-concept for me.  I have never minded having the small footprint mini external.  This makes upgrading a snap and increases the usability of the iMac for me (I can also connect it to my macbook for more screen real estate).  What I am probably going to do is switch the bases of my last two 20" mods.  Thus, making the touchscreen/apple cinema display mod the all-in-one and the native appearing mod hook up to the external mini.  I will also likely put the bluray into the native mod that connects to the external mini.  This will allow me to add the hard drive and graphics card to make the apple cinema display/touchscreen a hackintosh/windows dual boot (the touchscreen will likely be more useful with windows).  The reason really comes down to the fact that while I think hackintoshes are good for enthusiasts - I personally don't feel secure in using them as a primary computer.  I also hope that the addition of multitouch gestures in Lion makes up for the loss of the touchscreen.  While a nice addition, the touchscreen does detract from the overall quality of the image and leaves the monitor covered in fingerprints.  I have also been working on a conversion of a broken iMac G5 to a display only.  My goal would be to have a native appearing iMac G4 and G5 as dual monitors hooked up a new mini running Lion as an homage to my favorite computer designs of all time.  So lets go apple - lets see some hardware refreshes soon.