I need some mobo suggestions for a G4 Cube Hackintosh.

kanglinyao · Dec 21, 2014

I have been reading posts here over and over again and I am still enjoying doing so. I finally ordered 3 G4 Cubes from ebay for a long term hackintosh project. They will hopefully arrive later on Monday. Could you guys give some suggestion on what mother board I should use for Haswell CPUs? I am not going to add a GPU to the cube, but I want to keep that option open for the future modification.

I looked at Intel Intel DQ77KB. It is a convenient to use for its on-board DC-DC converter , but it does not support Haswell and it is not cheap. Has Intel released a Haswell version for this Mobo?

I also looked at GA-H97TN, but its hackintoshability is unknown.
I found this post:

Alan's Thin mini-ITX: GA-H87TN - i3-4330 - HD4600

Compare the two Mobos:

	Chipset	RAM	Audio	LAN	Power Connector
GA-H97TN	Intel[SUP]®[/SUP] H97 Express Chipset	2 x 1.5V DDR3/1.35V DDR3L SO-DIMM sockets supporting up to 8 GB of system memory	Realtek[SUP]®[/SUP] ALC887 codec	1 x Realtek[SUP]®[/SUP] GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)	1 x 2-pin power connector
GA-H87TN	Intel[SUP]®[/SUP] H87 Express Chipset	2 x 1.5V DDR3 SO-DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory	Realtek[SUP]®[/SUP] ALC887 codec	1 x Realtek[SUP]®[/SUP] GbE LAN chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)	1 x 2-pin power connector

Cube photos are coming soon...

neilhart · Dec 21, 2014

kanglinyao said:
I have been reading posts here over and over again and I am still enjoying doing so. I finally ordered 3 G4 Cubes from ebay for a long term hackintosh project. They will hopefully arrive later on Monday. Could you guys give some suggestion on what mother board I should use for Haswell CPUs? I am not going to add a GPU to the cube, but I want to keep that option open for the future modification.

I looked at Intel Intel DQ77KB. It is a convenient to use for its on-board DC-DC converter , but it does not support Haswell and it is not cheap. Has Intel released a Haswell version for this Mobo?

I also looked at GA-H97TN, but its hackintoshability is unknown.

Cube photos are coming soon...

As a general rule the thin mini-ITX motherboards do not have a PCIe X16 slot so if you go that way you loose the option of adding a performance GPU card (now or later).

Also I would advise that you select a low power CPU.

If cost is a concern the Gigabyte GA-B85N motherboard is a nice option with support for a 1/2 size PCIe Wifi/BT card and a mSATA along with a PICe x16 slot. And takes Mavericks and Yosemite installs without issue. If you keep the options within reason you can run a 160w Pico PSU.

Another mini-ITX motherboard that is really trick is the ASUS Maximus VII Impact but is a little pricey however it does run OS X very well.

Good modding,
neil

ersterhernd · Dec 21, 2014

What exactly are you looking for in an advantage over the DQ77KB?

There are several available on eBay at the moment, at prices that compare to what I paid retail in 2013. One major advantage of the DQ77KB is the onboard 5V standby (on the custom solutions header) which can power the Cube touch sensor. I haven't seen any other board with that feature anywhere.

FWIW, to preserve the original authentic function of the Cube with solid performance of an i3 or i7 processor, the older Intel board is going to be a tough one to beat. I think it was Neilhart who introduced it to the forum for the first time; kudos to him for the great find. I built three Cubes with it, all of which get daily use running a vanilla install of Yosemite via a Clover UEFI boot.

Its unfortunate that Intel dropped them. They are truly a winner for the application of Cube mods.

Good Luck with your project and post pics as you go!

Cheers!

kanglinyao · Dec 21, 2014

neilhart said:
As a general rule the thin mini-ITX motherboards do not have a PCIe X16 slot so if you go that way you loose the option of adding a performance GPU card (now or later).

Also I would advise that you select a low power CPU.

If cost is a concern the Gigabyte GA-B85N motherboard is a nice option with support for a 1/2 size PCIe Wifi/BT card and a mSATA along with a PICe x16 slot. And takes Mavericks and Yosemite installs without issue. If you keep the options within reason you can run a 160w Pico PSU.

Another mini-ITX motherboard that is really trick is the ASUS Maximus VII Impact but is a little pricey however it does run OS X very well.

Good modding,
neil

Thank you Neil. I will do some homework on mother boards you gave me. I think between a silent system and a loud 3d beast, I prefer a silent machine.

I also read your post about the Maximus VII Impact. It look great and the audio card seems promising for a HiFi capable machine. The only worry I have for this mobo is the tall I/O shield. I might not be able to keep the original release handle if I use it or any other GIGA BYTE z97 wifi mobo.

Are you going to start your Maximus VII Impact any time soon? I believe you have bought the Mobo. It is a piece of art work!

kanglinyao · Dec 21, 2014

ersterhernd said:
What exactly are you looking for in an advantage over the DQ77KB?

There are several available on eBay at the moment, at prices that compare to what I paid retail in 2013. One major advantage of the DQ77KB is the onboard 5V standby (on the custom solutions header) which can power the Cube touch sensor. I haven't seen any other board with that feature anywhere.

FWIW, to preserve the original authentic function of the Cube with solid performance of an i3 or i7 processor, the older Intel board is going to be a tough one to beat. I think it was Neilhart who introduced it to the forum for the first time; kudos to him for the great find. I built three Cubes with it, all of which get daily use running a vanilla install of Yosemite via a Clover UEFI boot.

Its unfortunate that Intel dropped them. They are truly a winner for the application of Cube mods.

Good Luck with your project and post pics as you go!

Cheers!

Thank you. I do hope that I could keep as much original authentic function as possible. Have you looked into the GYGABYTE H87TN. I hope it could keep some unique features that DQ77KB has.

ersterhernd · Dec 21, 2014

The Gigabyte boards are feature rich and have proven success with OSX as per this post. I looked through the PDF manual and didn't see any source of 5V standby power onboard. In order to get a touch sensor working the power would have to come from somewhere else like a PicoPSU, which of course would be more work, wiring and expense.

The Cube mod is a great showpiece to have on your desk. Whatever you decide for the internals, I'm certain you'll be proud to display it running Yosemite. Very cool indeed.

Cheers!

neilhart · Dec 22, 2014

kanglinyao said:
Thank you Neil. I will do some homework on mother boards you gave me. I think between a silent system and a loud 3d beast, I prefer a silent machine.

I also read your post about the Maximus VII Impact. It look great and the audio card seems promising for a HiFi capable machine. The only worry I have for this mobo is the tall I/O shield. I might not be able to keep the original release handle if I use it or any other GIGA BYTE z97 wifi mobo.

Are you going to start your Maximus VII Impact any time soon? I believe you have bought the Mobo. It is a piece of art work!

Well my project should probably be moved to the "Others" forum section as I do not intend to do another classic G4 Cube hack. I am in the process of building a small machine that I can set the G4 Cube acrylic cover over with the intent of a display the machine detail.

And on the subject of thin motherboards; I have hacked the ECS H87H3-TI and have it in the LOL (this motherboard took some effort to bring OS X up on it). If I were to do another thin motherboard I would probably choose the Gigabyte GA-H87TN as it has all of the features needed in a Cube hack IMHO.

Good modding,
neil

kiwisincebirth · Dec 22, 2014

ersterhernd said:
The Gigabyte boards are feature rich and have proven success with OSX as per this post. I looked through the PDF manual and didn't see any source of 5V standby power onboard. In order to get a touch sensor working the power would have to come from somewhere else like a PicoPSU, which of course would be more work, wiring and expense.

I would disagree. Although not as convenient, the Gigabyte motherboard has a internal DC power connector. Assuming this is directly connected to the external connector, then you could draw voltage from this. A simple 5V voltage regulator can then power the Cubes power switch

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5V-DC-DC..._Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item5d52db0952

This of course may be of no benefit, since the Gigabyte motherboard has the same USB headers that get in the way (in my build they did) of the cube power switch.

Kiwi

ersterhernd · Dec 22, 2014

Thats a great idea for voltage to the touch sensor, Kiwi. Certainly an alternative to the 5V standby available on the DQ77KB, without a lot of additional hardware. As you said, to use the original Cube sensor isn't possible with the older Intel or the newer Gigabyte boards, but perhaps with some other boards with a different layout.

Good find!

neilhart · Dec 23, 2014

Standby power is always on pin 9 of the ATX 24 pin power connector so this is never a big problem.

Good modding,
neil

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