My first Hackintosh! Intel Core i7-3770K / GA-Z77X-UP5-TH

So, I'm getting ready to put these:

Intel Core i7-3770K
GA-Z77X-UP5-TH
GeForce GTX 550 Ti

into this:
Corsair Carbide*500R

Pretty much following the Buyer's Guide recommendations. I don't need a super crazy graphics card, because I'm mainly doing audio. Also, this is my first Hack -- although I have built PC's before -- so I want to do my best to make sure it works on the first try.

My main buying advice question:

1. Should I buy a CPU cooler? This is not explicitly recommended in the buyer's guide, but cooler (vs louder?) seems worth $85 (Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler) ... ?

Also,

2. I don't see this motherboard listed on the DSDT page (unless I somehow missed it). Should I expect to find a DSDT for this one in the next few days? Or am I missing something?

3. When/if do I need to run BridgeHelper? http://www.tonymacx86.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=43 (again, sorry for noobish questions, or if this has been answered somewhere - didn't see it anywhere in the UniBeast 1.5 guide)

aTdHvAaNnKcSe

(THANKS in advance)

1. Yes, the stock coolers are noisy and perform poorly. That said, $85 is a bit over the top and that's a massive cooler that is anything but easy to fit. For less money you could pick up a watercooler that would be as good, if not better.

2. Agh.... No, there won't be a DSDT for this board, as it doesn't need one which we've posted a million times already. The Gigabyte 7-series boards don't need DSDT's to work.

3. If you're installing Mountain Lion, you don't need to use the Bridge Helper.

Do keep in mind that if you're planning on using Thunderbolt devices with that board, they're not hot swappable.

thelostswede said:

1. Yes, the stock coolers are noisy and perform poorly. That said, $85 is a bit over the top and that's a massive cooler that is anything but easy to fit. For less money you could pick up a watercooler that would be as good, if not better.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! I'll do some research on water coolers. (Any suggestions, maybe to add to the Buyer's Guide?)

thelostswede said:

2. Agh.... No, there won't be a DSDT for this board, as it doesn't need one which we've posted a million times already. The Gigabyte 7-series boards don't need DSDT's to work.

Click to expand...

Understood. Sorry - I obviously missed (or forgot) that important bit of info. (It might be helpful for noobs like me (and for you to avoid head injury via ) to maybe list on the DSDT page which MB's don't need DSDT.)

thelostswede said:

3. If you're installing Mountain Lion, you don't need to use the Bridge Helper.

Click to expand...

Understood. Thanks!

thelostswede said:

Do keep in mind that if you're planning on using Thunderbolt devices with that board, they're not hot swappable.

Click to expand...

That bit of advice I have noticed. It's a low-priority issue for me. I'm guessing this issue will eventually be addressed. I will keep checking the forums for updates on the hot-swappability.

how stable the system is it ???? rock solid ?

iNews said:

how stable the system is it ???? rock solid ?

Click to expand...

As far as I can tell, the UP5 TH is better in terms of what works properly compared to the UD5H, but I'd say both boards are as stable as you could possibly expect from a hack.

jessestern said:

Thanks for the advice! I'll do some research on water coolers. (Any suggestions, maybe to add to the Buyer's Guide?)


Understood. Sorry - I obviously missed (or forgot) that important bit of info. (It might be helpful for noobs like me (and for you to avoid head injury via ) to maybe list on the DSDT page which MB's don't need DSDT.)


Understood. Thanks!


That bit of advice I have noticed. It's a low-priority issue for me. I'm guessing this issue will eventually be addressed. I will keep checking the forums for updates on the hot-swappability.

Click to expand...

Make sure you install the latest version of Chimera, as it's not part of MultiBeast. We'll have new versions of both coming soon which will address some issues, but I can't say when. Anyhow, it all works with your components as it is now, so no biggie.

Your idea about listing which boards don't need a DSDT on the DSDT page isn't half bad and we might just do that.

As for watercoolers, Corsair have some pretty decent sealed units that are as easy to install as it gets.

thelostswede said:

As far as I can tell, the UP5 TH is better in terms of what works properly compared to the UD5H, but I'd say both boards are as stable as you could possibly expect from a hack.

Click to expand...

i read and love every comment u post !! u r very helpful , thanks again

2. Agh.... No, there won't be a DSDT for this board, as it doesn't need one which we've posted a million times already. The Gigabyte 7-series boards don't need DSDT's to work.

Click to expand...

so to be clear, the Z77 and H77 is also a GigaByte 7 series ?
so you dont need drivers for network and sound and chipset ?


Sorry for the question

antonov314 said:

so to be clear, the Z77 and H77 is also a GigaByte 7 series ?
so you dont need drivers for network and sound and chipset ?

Click to expand...

You will not need a DSDT, but you will need kexts for the audio and Ethernet. Look at the build forums for builds using the board in question.

So, I managed to install Snow Leopard 10.6, then applied the Combo Update 10.6.6 and EasyBeast (all the most basic options, with System Utilities), then restarted successfully with iBoot (gonna deal with the boot0 error later).

Now, I can open the App Store, but I get this message: We could not complete your purchase. OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion requires a Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7 or Xeon processor.

Of course, I'm running the i7. I'm probably missing something obvious here....

Suggestions?

aTdHvAaNnKcSe
(THANKS in advance)