Minimod's hackintosh - i7 3770k, GA-Z77X-UP5 TH

[miv79]

miv79's hackintosh - i7 3770k, GA-Z77X-UP5 TH

Edit - I've changed the thread title to reflect my change of username. I was asked to change my name from minimod so as not to be confused with a moderator. Apologies if this causes any confusion for anyone.

Hi all, I'm a long time Mac user finally about to embark on my 1st hackintosh project!

The machine will mainly be used for After Effects, graphics and web design but I can see some serious gaming potential too! No plans to overclock right away but wanted to extend the life of the machine by having the ability to speed things up a little in a few years time.


EDIT - 23 Aug 2012 - Updated status of components

I now have all my parts except the power supply (which is being delivered today) so I'll be starting the build tonight!

I will be updating this post in the next few days with my experiences and multibeast screen-shots etc.

Components:

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower - Black Pearl

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Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77X-UP5-TH
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CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K

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PSU: Corsair HX 650W - Professional Series 80 Plus Gold Modular PSU (ordered)

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Cooling: Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H100 High Performance CPU Cooler

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RAM: Corsair Vengeance - 16GB (2x8GB) - DDR3 PC12800 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit​

Graphics - GTX670 - Currently deciding which brand to get - ordering in the coming weeks.

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SSD: 2x 128GB Samsung 830 Series 2.5" SSD

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HDD: 2x Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 1 TB 7200 RPM Internal Hard Disk

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Display: Dell Ultrasharp U2412M 24 inch IPS Widescreen LED monitor.
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Notes:
Motherboard - I chose to go with a UP5 instead mainly because it's very close to the UD5H in terms of features and OOB support and doesn't have the same issues as the UP4. I wanted this over the UD5H for the new ultra durable 5 technology and better power regulation. I don't presently have any Thunderbold equipped devices.

Graphics - HD4000 to begin with. Later upgrade to GTX 670.

Bluetooth/Wi-Fi - I will be using ethernet and a cheap Microsoft wired keyboard/mouse for the time being. Will later treat myself to a working wifi/bluetooth card and get an Apple Trackpad and wired keyboard (with numpad).

Display - I've chose the Dell U2412M (£250) for its IPS panel and slightly higher than 1080p resolution. (1920 x 1200 vs 1920 x 1080). If I really like it I'll probably pick up another one early next year.

Optical drive - I really don't think I need one. Can't remember the last time I used a CD or DVD.

Software: Mountain Lion is now purchased and sitting on a Unibeast created USB drive. Just waiting for a computer to plug it into!


EDIT - 21 Aug 2012 - I've had assistance with the following questions. Thanks Going Bald!

RAM Questions:
I have a couple of questions about the RAM which I've yet to order. I'm pretty settled on Corsair Vengeance but have a couple of questions.

• As the CPU cooler is water based rather than air, should I be using the taller heat-sink RAM rather than the low profile version?
  I much prefer the look of the LP Vengeance but wondered whether they actually make much of a difference in terms of RAM cooling.
  (Bear in mind I'll have 3 other fans in the case in addition to the H100' fans. (2 intakes at front, 1 exhaust in the rear-top, next to the h100 rad which will be exhausting out the top of the case).
• It kinda makes sense to pay a little bit more and get 2x 8GB (rather than 4x 4GB) to allow easy upgrade to 32GB at a later date. However all the 2x 8gb 1600Mhz Vengeance kits that I've seen all appear to be CL10 rated rather than CL9. Would these still work ok and is CL10 vs CL9 likely to make any real word difference to my setup? (I suspect the difference in negligible).

Optical drive questions:
I was hoping that i didn't need an optical drive. (I don't think I've used a CD or DVD in the last 3 years). Obviously this is fine for Mountain Lion but what about Windows 7? I assume i can create a USB installer for Windows 7 if I purchase a downloadable version directly from Microsoft?

PSU questions:
650W should be fine right? Bear in mind its a high end 650W PSU, the system uses Ivy Bridge processor, Ultra Durable 5 tech on the mobo, no heavy overclocking and a maximum gfx card option of a GTX 670 (possibly an OC version). Also unlikely to have more than 6 SATA drives in total.

Thats about all for now!
Thanks to the Tonymac crew and all those that have (inadvertently or otherwise) helped already!
Updates soon!

 

[Going Bald]

PSU - you could run your listed hardware on a 450W PSU, so 650W gives you a little head room to add more platter drives and an optical drive in the future if needed.

RAM - as long as you have good ventilation and are not overclocking the system, low profile ram is just fine.

For your Win7 install, if you have access to a Win7 machine at work with a dvd-rw, try this http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2432-usb-windows-7-installation-key-drive-create.html

 

[miv79]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I also found this link in the MS site, sounds like it might actually be pretty simple. Download the ISO, download the USB creation tool and off you go!
http://emea.microsoftstore.com/UK/en-GB/Service-Centre/Windows-7-USB-DVD-Download-Tool

 

[miv79]

Anyone have any thoughts on the CL9 and CL10 rating differences between 4x4GB and 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance?

Both are DDR3 1600MHz, with the 4x4 being CL9 and 2x8 being CL10, guessing its probably something not worth worrying about!

 

[Going Bald]

Anyone have any thoughts on the CL9 and CL10 rating differences between 4x4GB and 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance?

Both are DDR3 1600MHz, with the 4x4 being CL9 and 2x8 being CL10, guessing its probably something not worth worrying about!

You won't be able to tell the difference.

 

[miv79]

You won't be able to tell the difference.

Hehe, pretty much as I thought. Thanks again Going Bald, going to finish up my ordering now.
Then its just a matter of waiting...

 

[Going Bald]

Hehe, pretty much as I thought. Thanks again Going Bald, going to finish up my ordering now.
Then its just a matter of waiting...

One thing you might want to consider when deciding on 4x4 or 2x8 is if you think you will ever need more than 16Gb and want to max out the board- get the 2x8

 

[miv79]

Thanks again Going Bald. I went for the 2x8GB in the end...

 

[HacKDo]

Hello Minimod

Could you please post your experience with the "Dell Ultrasharp U2412M 24 inch IPS Widescreen LED monitor." , now that your build is a couple of weeks old? I am looking for same especially for it's 16/10 format , 1920 X 1200 res and IPS display. Any positive or negative comment ?

 

[Cruel_Brit]

I am very interested to know if this works out well. It's almost exactly what I plan to build and it'll be my first Hackintosh too. Only differences in my spec are:

27" 2560 x 1440 display (probably Samsung unless I can be bothered to buy Apple for aesthetic reasons)
16GB, 1600MHz CL7 instead of CL9 RAM - the price difference here in Singapore isn't that much so may as well try.

I don't really need full on graphics but will probably get a GTX560Ti just so I don't have to every worry about upgrading.

Everything else is ditto your spec including the Thunderbolt (and no I don't have any devices yet either). I'll want it for backup. I considered putting a RAID card in the Hackintosh but it's a very specific solution versus Thunderbolt.

Good luck!