New HackMini Project : tiny, powerfull, quiet and not expensive

Note for moderators : this build is not achieve and can't be in user build so I post it here.

Hi,

I manage the computers of a small advertising agency (print&web). Last Apple imac & macmini releases disapointed me. Apple should be top quality&performance and I was waiting for SSD in all models (we are in 2012 !). And what ? To have an SSD you have to take high price models and a an expensive option. Idem for RAM...

Then I decide to try to build the first hackintosh for the company (in Europe it is not illegal) to make a test. This computer will be for the salesman so it had no need to be powerfull. But I want to make a test that will work for graphic designer (using Adobe CS Standard suite).
My boss agree but hate big PC power and want something which don't take place on the desktops (we have 6 imacs 24/27' and a mac mini).
Last things, I do a search on profesionnal display monitor : 27' and 2560x1600 resolution and for my test, the "hackmini" will have to be compatible with these kind of display monitors.

So here is my Builds :

The case : Streacom F1C evo



I compare all cases and must of them remains bigs comparing of the mac mini.
Mac Mini is 197x197x36mm, volume : 1,4L
This case is 197x197x77mm, volume : 3,0L
All others cases I found are minimum 6,7L (like LIAN LI - Mini Tower Chassis PC-Q12B, Streacom FC8 or Antec ISK 310-150), no one is so little than F1C.
Notice that, this case has a new "Evo" version that has some optimisation like a space to place the SSD on the side of the motherboard (with 2 screw holes on the bottom).

Power Supply : Streacom nano150 PSU
I make tons of research and calculation : 150w is enough for my build (which is more powerfull than a real mac mini).
But you must use only the CPU graphic card like Intel HD4000.

MotherBoard : ZOTAC H77-ITX WiFi B-E (for those who don't need a displayport like me, I recommand Gigabyte mini-ITX MB like GA-B75N)
For a Tiny case like Streamcom F1C it must be an mini-ITX format.
I want all new things : H77 chipset (cheaper than Z77), USB3, Sata6, etc.
Intel HD4000 is compatible with 2560x1600 resolution. But... not HDMI and for DVI you must have dual DVI port which is not the case generaly with motherboards... The only output port which is fully compatible with this resolution is Display Port. So I had to found a MB having a display port.
Unfortunately Asrock or Gigabyte motherboards havent a display port. I find a Zotac MB which have one so I choose this one (maybe not the best choice).

CPU : Intel Core i3-3225
I hesitate between mobile cpu (T or S series) or desktop cpu.
Intel Core i3-3225 is a dual core powerfull cpu which is only 55w so I choose this one.
(Note : for office or graphic use, I prefer a dual core cpu than a quad core cpu having a lower frequency.)
I see an other F1C build on this forum with a 65w CPU, it works fine even if temperature are a little hot.
The Fan Ventirad I choose seems to be better and the CPU is 10w less so it should be fine.

CPU Cooler : NOCTUA NH-L9i
The height of the cooler must be as low has possible. There is 70mm available in total (MB+CPU+Fan+free space for air flow).
This Fan has a height of only 37mm and a 92mm slim fan which seems to have good performance (33CFM max).
I read some test on the net and it seem to be excellent.



RAM : 16GB DDR3
A lot of ram is always a good thing for graphic designer using Adobe CS softwares.
So at the current price of the RAM, I put the max supported by the motherboard.

SSD : Crucial M4 128 Gb
I don't want at all an Hard Drive but a SSD. This is the main reason because new mac mini and imac disapointed me.
Moreother, at the agency we have a fileserver so the workstation don't need a lot of disk space.
I install SSD in replacement of the HD of a mac mini and an imac of the agency. I recommand 128Gb to be unworried.
I see everywhere that these SSD works very fine on Mac OS X then I don't do more search.



---------------

Mac OS X Install

Only Mountain Lion (10.8.x) should work with this Hardware.
I follow herflet topic who has the same MB and do some extra search on the forum.

I might do my DSDT search before bying this MB and maube choose an other MB because there is no DSDT for these Motherboard.
I might choose instead Zotac H77-ITX A series (a little more expensive) or Zotac Z77-ITX (much more expensive).
For people who don't want/need displayport I recommand choosing a Gigabyte mini-ITX motherboard having a DSDT.

I manage to install Mac OS X without major problem by followin herflet topic. But like him, I had : no sound (and then no youtube video), no wifi, no bluetouth. I try a lot of things by following herflet messages but don't manage to have sounds. The only way I manage to have it is to disable kernel cache in Chameleon config. Then it works fine but take twice time to boot (it is still fast thanks to the SSD / with kernel cache it takes few seconds to boot !).

Temperatures & Silence :
I made some temperature test (room: 20°) :
Idle (case closed) : about 40 to 45°C
Fully stressed (4 instances) with CPUTest app : 55 to 60°C (it's high but ok), stable
There is only one fan (I read elsewhere than additionnal case fan are useless and permits to gain only 1 or 2°C) and it is very quiet, don't worry about that, even fully stressed, it make very low noise.

Conclusion :
We can now mount powerfull HackMini at a small price (520€ / 700$ without taxes & keyboards/mouse/display).
The case & power supply are a little expensive : 150€ but it is very small, well designed and beautyfull (I don't understand why they don't make a model without the DVD tray which no people use with this kind of build, for classic PC too).
I just recommend using an other mini itx motherboard (Gigabyte) which have a DSDT.

This motherboard is available every where but US.
Look at GA-B75N.
It is same as Custo Mac Mini boards without wireless so less hassle than Zotac.

Thanks a lot, I didn't knew this MB. It's a perfect MB (uefi, 30€ cheaper) but like (all?) others mini-ITX MB, it haven't displayPort which is the best for 27' professionnal Monitor having a 2560x1600x30bpp (30 bits/pixels) resolution. I required it. But it seems in fact that all these motherboard have a dual-DVI port which is required for 2560x1600x24bpp (but I'm not sure for 2560x1600x30bpp) ; it is not written but all MB backside pictures seems to show a dual-dvi connector (?).

By the way, for all people who want a "hack-mini" (without this kind of displayport problematic) this hardware setup with GA-B75N motherboards permits to have a (very) cheaper & more powerfull "mac-mini". I recommend this case, this CPU (55w & more powerfull than mac-mini ones even it is called "i3" and not "i5" and this CPU Cooler for that.

@Sylvio84

Recently I have bought the new Mac Mini Quadcore i7 but before I was thinking going the same way like you. The same case with same psu and cooler. But instead of the Zotac H77 I had choosen the Z77-ITX model. Because here in this forum there's a good thread by miramar and it looks that this board works without any hassles (speed, speedstep, audio, lan,...).
And for you it has 2x HDMI and one mini Displayport. Don't know if this Displayport supports your requested resolution. Maybe have a look on it. It's not cheap but a choice. Unfortunately it looks that is sold out here in Europe (maybe a new one is coming out).

Very nice. I'd like to do this, but I have an i5 4670K (84W). Do you think this case and cooler could handle that?