adamsmasher's Haswell Build: GA-Z87X-UD3H - i7-4770K - HD4600

adamsmasher's Haswell Build
GA-Z87X-UD3H - i7-4770K - HD4600

Components

Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CU4L508/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128592

Intel i7-4770K Haswell Processor
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CO8TBQ0/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

Crucial Ballistix Tactical BLT2KIT8G3D1608DT1TX0
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006YG9C6C/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148561

Thermaltake Water2.0 Pro Closed Loop Processor Cooler
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007UIX1M4/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106189

Cooler Master Blade Master 120mm Variable Speed Computer Case Fan (R4-BMBS-20PK-R0) - Replacement fans for Water2.0 Pro's radiator fans
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030DL37I/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103069

EVGA GeForce GT 640 2048MB DVI/DVI/mHDMI (02G-P4-2643-KR)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0086UXQES/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130795

Sandisk Extreme SDD 120GB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B006EKJCWM/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171567

Corsair HX650 650w Professional Series ATX/EPS Modular Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0090I9VX0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012R

Silverstone Grandia Series SST-GD07B Aluminum Extended ATX / SSI-EEB / SSI-CEB HTPC Computer Case with Lockable Front Door Cases - Black
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007X8TQW0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163195


Already Owned

Apple Wired Keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B005DLDTAE/

Apple Magic Trackpad
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B003XIJ3MW/

HP 2311x 23" Monitor
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004G8QO5C/

Comments

Background

One thing to note with this particular combination of case and CPU cooler: you'll need to remove the drive cage from the case completely in order to mount the two fans and radiator used by the cooler. There's basically only one location it will work at the front of the case and the hard drive cage is in the way.

I didn't need an optical drive, so I was able to mount the SSD to the case using a small bracket. If you have multiple drives you can get a bracket that will let you mount your drives together, then mount that to the side of the case.

This is a nice case so it was worth the trade-off. One other recommendation: replace the case fans and cooler fans with the CoolerMaster Blade Master fans from the buyer's guide.

Cooler Master Blade Master 120mm Fan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030DL37I/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103069


Installation

First things first, update your Mountain Lion App to 10.8.5 before following the UniBeast 10.8 Installation Guide.
I updated this build to Mavericks, so be sure to follow our guide here for installing Mavericks on any supported Intel-based PC.
Then, I connected everything up (HDMI for the monitor).

Next, make sure that your motherboard's BIOS is set up correctly.

1. To access UEFI Setup, press and hold Delete on a USB Keyboard while the system is booting up;
2. Set to Optimized Defaults;
3. (Optional) Set X.M.P. Memory Profile to Profile1; and
4. Save and exit.

Now it's time to install. Plug in your USB drive and press F12 after turning the machine on. Choose your USB drive to boot from. Now choose UniBeast and run through the installation.

Note that to boot the installation the first time I needed to use -x to reach the desktop. Once you run MultiBeast with the settings shown in my screenshot below you won't need to use that again.


Benchmarks and More

Why does it say 2.3Ghz in about this mac? It should not because you have an 4770k core i7 which is stock clocked at 3.5Ghz.

sirretv said:

Why does it say 2.3Ghz in about this mac? It should not because you have an 4770k core i7 which is stock clocked at 3.5Ghz.

Click to expand...

Something was funny with the BIOS on it; I've since popped out the battery and set the BIOS options again so I'll post up new pics with the correct info.

Updated the pics with new results.

Much better

Hi, what happens with USB3 ports works native or still needed DSDT edits for USB2 compatibility?

Random question can I get away with only using the HD 4600 at least for a little while till I get a dedicated GPU? I haven't bought the thing yet so I wanted an owner's opinion rather than a table full of data

KruSion said:

Random question can I get away with only using the HD 4600 at least for a little while till I get a dedicated GPU? I haven't bought the thing yet so I wanted an owner's opinion rather than a table full of data

Click to expand...

Yes, depending upon your requirements for your system. I've used HD3000 and HD4000, and tonymacx86's Haswell Golden Build description uses HD4600. I will be using HD4600/5000 when I build my Haswell Thunderbolt system in time for Halloween.

Stork said:

Yes, depending upon your requirements for your system. I've used HD3000 and HD4000, and tonymacx86's Haswell Golden Build description uses HD4600. I will be using HD4600/5000 when I build my Haswell Thunderbolt system in time for Halloween.

Click to expand...

Haswell Thunderbolt. That sounds fun.

Hello,

Have any of you with the GA-Z87X-UD3H been having problems with audio stuttering (Multibeast 5.5 drivers)?

Thx,
devdev001