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.

Rear Ports (USB Out, Drive Switch, AC Power) Thus, only one AC plug and no external power brick is required. 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. This is actually DC powered, so I used a power source from a broken internal drive enclosure. I ended up using an external DVD drive which I opened up and modified. While initially I was hoping to use bluray - Lion would not recognize the drive. 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. The iMac G5 is also quite ergonomic, in both its sliding and tilting.Īs I've mentioned the loss of the optical drive even as an option was unfortunate. The effect of having both together is great. However, there are multiple ways to 'resurrect' an iMac G5 as an external monitor depending on available parts. 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. Even still, to be a workstation, I feel multiple monitors are invaluable. Plus, the nature of the iMac G4 itself allows you to pull the display much closer to you than an ordinary LCD would sit. 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. The 20' iMac is a sizable display as is, but several factors actually make the screen bigger than most 20' displays. Personally, it has become difficult for me to use LCDs under 19' as I've become so accustomed to larger displays. (Obviously if you already have a 17' dead iMac G4, its a different story). 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. I would highly recommend this to anyone in search of a 'weekend hobby' who shares my enthusiasm for this generation of apple products. While the core components are completely unchanged from my previous 20' iMac G4 mod, this represents the completion of the overall setup. New Setup with iSight G5, Mac Mini, and iPad

Apple mac g5 empty chassis