Friday, April 2, 2021

A few months ago, I scored a fully working Apple PowerMac G4 Cube on eBay. My original plan was to convert it into a working computer by swapping the guts for a Raspberry Pi 4. After getting the initial build working, I wasn't particularly happy with the performance for a desktop, so I decided to look elsewhere.

Last week, thanks to a friend, I was able to purchase a Dell Wyse thin client labeled as a refurbished computer for around $100. It has a Pentium Silver J5005 inside, 8 GB of RAM, and a tiny built in flash storage.

I cracked it open, stripped it down, and sure enough the motherboard is the perfect size to pressure fit carefully inside the G4 Cube chassis. Result!

Next, I added a 250 GB Samsung EVO SSD, and installed Ubuntu Linux on it. I am using a little USB switcher so I can share keyboard and mouse with my M1 MacBook Pro, and it works wonderfully hooked up to a 4K monitor.

Next up, I need to clean the interior a bit, so some cable management, and find a way to integrate the power button.

What a fun project this has been so far!