Rate My Parts!

Hi. I'm putting together a Hackintosh for my brother's Christmas present (shhhhh ). I've been going over parts like crazy and have narrowed it down to the following list:

Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V
Intel Celeron G540 (Own)
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
Seagate Momentus XT 500GB
XFX Radeon HD 5450
Edimax EW-7722In (Own)

XION XON-710P
Logitech K400

My goal is to build a machine that will run Mountain Lion (ML) as smooth as possible. This machine will be used to surf the web, play games via emulators, stream Netflix, connect to iPhone, nothing intensive in the least.

My questions mostly concern the compatibility of my selected parts with ML. I'll list them for expedience:

1. Is it safe to assume that if a video card works with one build that it will be compatible with other builds?
2. Since HD 2000 graphics aren't supported, do you connect the display via onboard outputs or the outputs on the video card?
3. Are the onboard Network and Audio of the MOBO supported by ML?
3. Do you foresee any other compatibility issues with ML?

This is going to be my first Hackintosh and I'm sure I'll have more questions as I continue my research. I'll post them as I think of them. As always, thanks for your help and happy Hackin!

You need to rethink this, start here: http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/search/label/CustoMac

You'll need a can opener to get that mATX board into the mITX case. Sandy Bridge cpu's in Ivy boards are never a good option. I'm not certain the 5450 is supported, someone can confirm that for you (of course you could use the Search function). More research is necessary. You could post your budget, that would help.

Don't worry 'bout the (shhhhh ), nobody here will tell him.

The case is listed as mATX/mITX compatible, so that shouldn't be a problem. I totally overlooked the Sandy in and Ivy, but honestly I was only interested in the Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V because of the free gift of 8GB of G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB and the extra expansion slots. My other choices in MOBO are as follows:

ECS H61H2-M2 - Because it's cheap. Only found slight hints online as to if it is compatible.
Foxconn H67S - Because it's confirmed to work.
GA-H61N-USB3 - Because it's confirmed to work.

I'm not sold on the 5450 either. I could go with a Geforce 210. I couldn't find the ASUS Geforce 210 cheap, but I did find the a XFX 210. My budget is basically as cheap as I can get, hence why I'm going with a Celeron and Graphics card vs a i3 with HD 3000. With the motherboards listed my budget currently ranges from $230 - $270.

One question about compatibility keeps bothering me. Is a part in the CustoMac Buyer's Guide compatible with only the parts it is listed with, or is it compatible in general? If this could be clarified then I could at go ahead and buy a few parts.

Again, this will be my first Hack so I'd like to keep it simple and low maintenance. I'm treating this as preparation for hacking my Maximus V Gene/3570K rig later this year.

If you want a B75 board why not try the B75N http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4405#ov and use a true mini ITX case.

You're not going to get a full size graphics card in there anyway. I'd go for a cpu with HD 4000 graphics onboard, and save on spending money on those anemic half height cards.

My understanding is that the B75N isn't available yet.

They're in stock at my suppliers for something like 70 Euro. In the US this would likely be 70$.

I wasn't able to find it anywhere here in the US. Gigabyte also has an mATX board with ThunderBolt that I like but they haven't release it here. :

HackinBug said:

I wasn't able to find it anywhere here in the US. Gigabyte also has an mATX board with ThunderBolt that I like but they haven't release it here. :

Click to expand...

??? Link available? Can't find it on GA website.

Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H-TH

I can only find one on eBay for purchase, though it makes no mention of Thunderbolt.

HackinBug said:

Gigabyte Z77MX-D3H-TH

I can only find one on eBay for purchase, though it makes no mention of Thunderbolt.

Click to expand...

Yeah, they also have 2 new ATX boards on their site that haven't hit the etailers yet. Wonder when they will be available?

And when are they going to do away with that stupid outdated d-sub VGA connector??? A DP would make a lot more sense!

EDIT: I totally missed this thread - http://www.tonymacx86.com/132-worlds-first-matx-thunderbolt-board-questionable-us.html