Joshintosh Merges Vintage Mac and Powerful PC

Apple’s Macs may be the pinnacle of designer tech, but if you’re a PC gamer, you know the lure of a computer with a cleverly curated collection of components to render those demanding details with ease. There’s surely a sensible way to find unity between the two sides. There’s also Joshintosh.

Josh Greenwalt of RetraCast has done a lovely job of fitting a PC into an old Macintosh case. More than a typical Raspberry Pi or single board computer in a novelty enclosure, Josh has crammed in a monstrously powerful PC that can run modern games on high graphics settings. The thinking here is “if you’re going to cut up a case, make it worthwhile.”

The video is filled with challenges and solutions, like how do you fit a video card meant for a spacious tower into a compact vintage carcass that doesn’t have a single port or peripheral matching today’s landscape? Nonetheless, Josh faced the challenges beautifully, but concedes that 3D printing a new case from scratch might be preferred.

We asked Josh about what it took to bring the project to life:

What was the hardest part?

The most tedious and aching part was hand cutting metal for hours on end in a dark and cold shed. But the actual hardest part otherwise was figuring out the initial design and layout for all the components. This may be obvious to say, but this 40 year old Macintosh case was not designed for modern PC components and everything had to fit into unconventional spots and orientations that still took into consideration their wire routes and cooling.

A good example is the graphics card, a long rectangle. Typically this is mounted horizontally with the ports facing the rear of the PC case. Thus most PC cases are designed to be deep enough to accommodate. This Macintosh on the other hand is taller than it is wide or deep, so I had to mount the graphics card vertically to fit and run extension cables to relocate the ports to the rear of the case.

How has the response been?

Everyone has been very interested in the project and final product. Many people like it for different reasons such as the retro look, the care that went into the mods, and even the little animated face I made for it. I personally think it really grabs attention because it looks very different than the typical PC cases you see out there today. It’s just fun, but still completely usable.

The only negative thing that has been brought up is the fact an original Macintosh had to be sacrificed for the build, which I completely understand. I at least specifically chose a non-working unit for this reason.

What tool would you buy before making the next one?

If I were to redo it with a larger budget, I would like some tools that can cut and drill metal with more precision and ease. On one hand, I think hand cutting parts like the case made me really take my time, and using a metal file to slowly carve the cuts to a smooth and straight shape gave me lots of precision. But on the other hand, all the cuts took forever to do. A few of the drill holes inside are not as straight as I’d like either since I used a hand drill on small and slippery metal surfaces. But in the end, it still all worked out one way or another.

I mention it in the video, but a 3D printer would also be helpful. I want one so I could theoretically print a whole separate Macintosh from scratch, but even for this modded project using an original Macintosh, a 3D printer would have been likely easier than hand cutting metal brackets from scraps.

Do you have any advice for anyone trying it themselves?

Most importantly, I would recommend anyone cutting up these old plastic cases and circuit boards to wear a mask and gloves since breathing in the dust particles from them cannot be good.

But for the actual project, I would recommend really taking your time. Whether it’s slowly filing away the edges of cuts to look smooth and neat, or double checking mounting holes and components line up, any mark is permanent and it’s not like you can easily just get another Macintosh to use. Plus, it’d be a shame to waste a whole other unit due to impatience. I’ve also seen many projects where people cut up old things for modification and the edges look hacky and jagged rather than smooth and clean. Filing and sanding is easy but makes a huge difference.

Is there anything you’d like to share that didn’t make it in the video?

One thing I do want to add is though I came up with the idea on my own, I am not the first person to put modern PC parts in an old Macintosh body. Even my idea to 3D print a new Macintosh is not unique. What I do think that sets the Joshintosh apart though is its full set of features like a screen, speakers, floppy disk front ports, screen animations, powerful PC components, and a relatively clean interior layout that still allows for swapping parts in the future. Plus the attention to detail on the smooth exterior cuts.

I am proud of what I’ve accomplished, though I’m not saying this purely to brag. Projects like this show that there are multiple ways to do things and new improvements can be discovered. I’ve never built a PC before this, but I was surprised how straightforward and standardized the core component assembly process was.

I think going in with little prior knowledge helped me think outside the box and not restrict myself to common practices. I think many experienced PC builders may have just seen it didn’t fit horizontally and think to find a smaller weaker graphics card or give up. You need to still understand how things work, but sometimes going in with an open mind or different perspective can be beneficial.

I realize this sort of comes full circle as Apple, and the original Macintosh itself, were very much disrupters in their industries. They even eventually took on the slogan “Think Different”.

It’s certainly the most powerful way we’ve seen a vintage Mac recycled. If you’re interested in making a version of your own and would like him to make 3D files you could use, check out Josh’s video. I’m a particular fan of the animations running on the built-in screen.

Josh made a follow-up video that goes deep into the dirty build details: