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| The Evil-iMac |
| Written by Brian | ||||
| Monday, 15 August 2005 | ||||
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The Evil-iMac The iMac is impressive. Released as an all-in-one computer from Apple, it crams every needed element of a computer all into one small case. Aside from the huge 15 inch CRT monitor, it had room for a slot-loading CD-ROM, hard-drive, processor, ram, and even speakers. Yet while this computer was great at its beginning, it was soon forgotten as the sands of time carried it away. A while back this site featured a story on an iMac converted to an “iPC”. It was built by a person known only as “Tony”. It had a Micro ATX Pentium III motherboard running at 1 GHz.
This line of thinking brought us the 1966 Subeam Tiger V8...and now it's bringing us the Evil-iMac. There are many differences between the iPC and the Evil-iMac. Most notably is the fact that it contains a full size ATX motherboard that runs an AMD 2700+ Barton processor (default 2.17ghz). I give you the creation of the Evil-iMac: First things first – I had to find myself an iMac (preferably in non-running condition). Where else than e-Bay? I found a local seller who had a bad Blueberry iMac . I purchased it for $20.00
This was all that was included – the hard drive, CD-ROM, and RAM were all taken out. But it wasn’t like I needed them anyways. I began the sacred art of gutting the computer.
While I do not think anyone will try this, I advise safety precautions be taken when removing the CRT tube and its associated electric components. Granted, my iMac was dead and was never plugged in, but I still discharged it in order to prevent accident electrocution.
All that main parts that were saved included the case, the HDD and CDROM caddies, CRT monitor frame, original iMac speakers, and for some odd reason – the iMac processor.
The rest, well…...
With the purging process complete – it was now time to install the PC components. First order of business was to modify the original monitor casing to fit in a repaired MAG LT 565 15” LCD screen. This had been personally repaired by me a few months earlier after getting it for only $40.00 online . All that was wrong with it was a blown inverter and a nearly dead CCFT tube. My trusty dremel tool cut out nearly all the original plastic tabs used to support the CRT. I was pleased to find out that the LCD screen fit very snug in the casing and only minor reinforcement was needed.
Installing the main computer components required me to move to the kitchen where I had long marble counter tops to work on. The first step was finding and securing a place where a full size ATX power supply would fit well. It had to be near the original iMac power port so I installed it in the very rear of the case.
Later it was moved over to the right a few centimeters to help the cord directly plug in. It was secured by drilling holes in the bottom of the case and then screwing it down through holes drilled in the metal. Heat was an important factor in this computer, so every wire was wrapped up in some loom. The next step was to install a CD-ROM and somehow secure it to the case. The original CD-ROM and hard drive caddies were too small and could not fit due to the new power supply. I scavenged in my closet and found a Samsung CD-RW. Then I cut some sheet metal that originally came on the iMac to form a bracket to hold the CD-RW down. I was very lucky in this instance because the CD-ROM tray just barely cleared the opening
There really was no good place for the hard drive – so with 4 small screws, it was secured to the top of the CD-ROM bracket and had just enough space for the IDE and power cables.
Since I had no idea if this computer was to blow up when I pressed my power button, I used a small 10 GB hard drive made by Samsung that I found in my closet.
(This was a test fit – the front was later secured into the CD-ROM bracket and the rear to the plastic case) All of it is secured and the case is about to go back on. So that’s it right?
Before my eyes it flashed to life and logged into a forgotten Windows 98 installation. From the picture you can see the bad CCFT tube causing a red area to come over the screen. This problem goes away after the tubes warm up for 10 minutes.
(Main desktop while my lava lamp illuminates its frame)
Valve’s STEAM and my over clocking utility. Right now the processor runs at 2.17 GHz but can easily be pushed past 2.5 GHz.
The iBar's theme didnt suit me, so I added an iTunes clone bar. The iTunes bar is an excellent reproduction of what the real OSX bar does and even magnifies the icons as you pass over them. The computer is also very quick performance wise. I ran Day of Defeat and played online right there in the kitchen.
Steam
Logon screen.
One final shot where you can partially see the internals.
My name is Brian – and I did all of this, on a Macintosh..sort of.. System Specs: AMD 2700+ Barton Processor
After creating the Evil-iMac I realized I had also done something else entirely new. I had created this machine entirely out of used parts I had laying around in my house (minus the actual iMac). But....thats not all that goes with this story. One day...all the problems started: 1) I started it up and instantly got a Registry error. It seems windows can no longer read or write from/to its registry. Something mysteriously corrupted it... 2) Any time a Mac theme is applied, it will randomly change back or crash, reverting it back to Windows default... 3) I was sleeping one night and awoke to a loud noise. I went into the hall and there I found Mr. Kabopolitz DEAD! The Evil-iMac was lying next to him with its mouse tightly around his neck. 4) I pleaded for the police to please take the Evil-iMac and put it in a cell, they looked at me like I was crazy, but I know its plotting....every night it starts up...that eerie apple glows in the dark. I fear I have created something that cannot be destroyed.....unless I take a hammer to it's motherboard, then I think that pretty much will do it. Credits: The whole reason I ever got into computers is because my Dad encouraged me to. Ever since he let me play Wolfenstein 3D on the i386 I have been hooked. My Dad has always believed in me and has always had my back no matter what I do. So this is for you dad, thanks for always being there and believing in me.
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