Can I Build iPod from Parts? - Page 2

there is no 160gb drive that will work in the 5.5G without modification and even then its a little unstable. there is 120gb and 240gb that will work though. i'm afraid the logic board you link is not original; its OEM, which is another thing entirely; it will also be the 32mb version, which will run slowly with larger HD and will also because it will be writing to and from the memory more often it will run your battery down more quickly. there are some good OEM boards around, but there are also cheapo knockoffs; and that i'm afraid is what yours looks like. the components used are of lesser quality and tend not to last as long.

5G and 5.5G both use wolfson DAC afaik. Best thing for you to do would be to get a broken 60GB or 80GB model with a broken hard drive. They have the larger memory to allow buffering of additional data and whatnot. The hard drive is really the most expensive part of fixing up an iPod. The logic board can be had for around $30 - $50 depending on whether you find a good deal.

I'd recommend you purchase broken iPods from a dealer who doesn't sell their own *good* iPods. I've not had good luck with these for the obvious reason if it was good enough to get working with ease, they probably would have done it. I've had better luck with people who have low feedback numbers who are selling their own iPods because they broke, or sellers who sell random stuff and came across some bad iPods.

Try to get units that power up and show a folder or sad iPod icon. You don't want to mess with units that don't power up because it could be water damage. Although, admittedly my 2 or 3 best finds were units that didn't power up, because some connector or other was off the board. I just had to resolder the part or just reconnect a cable to get a full working iPod, but that's pretty rare.

When you're looking for 5.5G vs 5G, keep in mind the only advantage is the search function and a brighter LCD, no other real differences afaik.

Something else to keep in mind as you're planning for this... with a broken iPod you might not know which part is broken and end up spending money on parts that end up not resolving your problem. But that's the risk you take with this route.

For the cases, you have to be careful because some of these replacement cases are just down right atrocious. I found one seller that I really like (theraininc) and have been ordering all my cases from him. I've gotten one bad batch and he replaced them with very little hassle with good ones. You can find most other parts on there as well (no, I'm in no way affiliated with the seller, I've just had bad experiences with random sellers that I don't want to see others repeat).

It could have 32mb of ram, I have a 820-1975-A that has 32mb which im currently using, but I am also convinced that I previously had a 820-1975A which had 64mb ram but I dont have that board anymore to verify that.

the 820-1975A is 5.5 logic board and so it seems it could have 32 or 64mb

the 5gen board P/N 820-1763-A could also have 32 or 64mb other than asking if retailer knows for sure what ram is onboard its either a 50/50 chance or you could hopefully find a knackered ipod 5th gen 60gb or 5.5 gen 80gb and hope the logic board is working.

I dont think it will be a massive problem at all unless your going for the 240 gig drive and you fill it to capacity.

It won't affect your listening enjoyment, or shouldn't anyway.

well you end up with 111 or 109 cant remember now, you wont get the full 120 anyway owing to how they calculate size, but ultimately I dont think it's going to be a deal breaker having 32mb for that size hdd.

You could strike lucky and it be 64mb, I've had two 5.5 logic boards for the same price from the same seller, one was 32mb one was 64mb so fingers crossed if you get that one.

To verify wether you have 32 or 64, just run diagnostics onboard ipod.

If the picture is the actual unit, it's 64MB. I'm pretty sure the chip right above the dock connector is the RAM. The units with 32MB are narrower and more of a rectangle.

there is no such thing as authentic anymore, all are OEM except for used ones. all will use wolfston dac too, that will not let you know you have a legit one. the wolfston dac is not overly expensive, the collection of all other parts together is where they save money and in cheaper manufacture techniques. often you will see them with black glue kinda stuff around the ICs instead of them having the pins exposed and soldered. as dazzer said, you might be lucky, but I wouldnt count on yours being the one in the pic hehe. most times the seller doesnt even know what you are talking about when you ask if its a 32 or 64mb board. you just have top see when you get it, the way I see it, if you are gonna blow serious money on the rest of your rig, why be a cheapskate when it comes to the source?? up to you thopugh and I do wish you the best of luck; you might get lucky and the seller doesnt know what he has.

The 5.5G iPod 60/80GB uses a ZIF connector, so you'd need to use a 1.8" HDD with that same connector. I believe the 160GB Toshiba is NOT a ZIF, but the 120GB and even the 240GB should be (the latter SHOULD work with a 5.5G iPod, at least as per RapidRepair).

As for saving money, I don't think building from scratch like this will do that. I 100% agree with what sputnik13 wrote -- you are taking a risk and have to assume that broken iPods on EBay may not be fixable. You'll have better luck with a eBay seller who seems to be selling their own stuff, as they might be easily fixable. I dabbled with iPod buying / fixing for awhile, and it's very hit or miss.

will it be an original ipod or are you planning on making other changes, asides from the larger harddrive (larger screen, wooden housing)

I'm terribly sorry for replying to such an old thread but I just found it to be extremely helpful for my research in buying ipod 5.5gen parts.  I was ready to pull the trigger on the 32MB version of 820-1975-A, but it sounds like I will need the 64MB version since I plan to install the 240gb hard drive.  My question for you guys is this:  Is there any high res photo available online where I clearly see the difference between a 32MB board vs. a 64MB board?  Or can someone please post some comparison photos?

I found a retailer on ebay (idemigods*com) that claims to be selling the 64mb version for "$10 extra", so I want to make sure I'm not getting ripped off

 

Thanks!

If you can't find photos or a way of easily identifying a difference I'd just buy it and see. If you get ripped off $10 leave negative feedback and make do with the 32mb.
It's not desirable, but it's not going to kill you - or your iPod.

 

It's easy to tell how much RAM it has when you install Rockbox, so you'll end up knowing.