- Joined
- May 30, 2012
- Messages
- 108
- Motherboard
- ASUS P8Z77-I (patched ROM)
- CPU
- i7 3770k
- Graphics
- Gigabyte GTX 670 2GB OC edition
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
ajlowndes' SomeWhatQuietProdigy: P8Z77-i Deluxe - i7-3770k - GTX 670 - 16GB RAM
Components
Bitfenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Case - Arctic White
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RJQ3GQ
ASUS P8Z77-i Deluxe Mini-ITX Intel Z77 Motherboard (with edited BIOS)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZT22ZU
GIGABYTE GV-N670OC-2GD GeForce GTX 670 Windforce OC 2048MB Graphics Card
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0080I06WQ
Intel Core i7-3770K Quad-Core Processor
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SZ0EOW
G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB Kit (2 x 8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200 2400MHz RAM
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0080FFZ8E
Corsair Hydro Series H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CWCH80)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051U7HMI
Corsair HX650W PSU
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LVUPZQ
IOGear GBU521 BT4.0 bluetooth dongle
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007GFX0PY
2 x OCZ Technology 60GB Agility 3 Series (SSD)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Z0S6RU
Atheros 9280 Abgn Half Size Wireless Card
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008UNNG1Y
2 x Noctua NF-F12 PWM Cooling Fan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00632FL8A
BitFenix Spectre Pro 200mm Fan - All Black
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007OWPFUM
Sizeable donation To TonyMacx86.com without which this build would not have been possible
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=CC3JC8VG8ETHQ
Already Owned
Apple Mac OS X version 10.8 Mountain Lion
Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion - Apple Store
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200 1.5 TB 7200RPM (HDD)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00066IJPQ
Apple Wired Keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DLDTAE
Apple Magic Mouse
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TLTGM6
Apple Magic Trackpad
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XIJ3MW
Comments
I know this build is fairly close to some others on these forums, but it's different enough, and I've learned enough knowledge to share, that I thought a seperate build guide would be helpful to someone who wants to build this as well. So here goes:
Build Notes in no particular order:
- When putting the hardware together it's all fairly straight forward. However, one noob mistake I did make was with the USB3.0 cable from the case - I plugged the big blue USB3.0 cable into the appropriate header on the motherboard, and ALSO the little auxiliary USB2.0 one into the USB2.0 header. That caused problems when the computer didn't know which controller to use to drive the mouse I was trying to use - so it behaved jerkily, like both controllers were fighting for it. So don't be a noob and do that
- I didn't hit the power button even once before flashing the BIOS from samisnake's excellent thread and repo. So I don't have any experience setting it up with the stock BIOS.
- I chose two SSD's so I could dual-boot with Win 7. That's fairly straight forward, search out some excellent threads on how to set that up. I found the best way was to get the OSX SSD drive working on it's own, then UNPLUG it, PLUG in the other SSD and prepare it like you would if you were just installing Win 7 on a new computer. After that, plug in your OSX drive again, boot into BIOS and set it as the first boot device - that way chimera will load first and detect all the other drives.
- Unless you're tolerant of a lot of noise, or like to leave the H80 on it's lowest setting, I would recommend swapping out the stock fans for some quieter ones. I am really happy with how it is running now, and it's much quieter than it was with the stock fans, though it is by no means "Silent" - more like "SomeWhatQuiet"... (NB: My definition of "Silent" enough would be the same amount of noise that my MacBook makes when I leave it on, downloading etc overnight, without any heavy processor stuff.)
- The replacement wireless card - if you don't buy this (the motherboard does have in-built Ethernet which ultimately works fine, but I wanted the flexibility, not to mention I wanted to be able to set up Find My Mac, just in case - see below), then disable both on-board wireless and onboard bluetooth in BIOS (see BIOS notes in the next section).
- I dont' think many people who buy this motherboard realise, but there are TWO USB3.0 Controllers. The ones above the Esata ports are Intel Z77 USB3.0 controllers, as are the case ports plugged into the motherboard header. The two ports below the Ethernet plug are Asmedia 1042 USB3.0 ports. When troubleshooting USB3.0 issues don't assume all 6 available ports are the same, because they're not. Right now I get much more success with the Intel ones while the Asmedia ones don't work at all.
- The Bluetooth dongle I bought doesn't give a great signal through a solid wood desk. So if you want it to work great I recommend getting a USB extension cord and taping it to the back of your desk/monitor so the dongle is in view of your bluetooth devices. That way it works a treat. Note that on my system it takes a few seconds after wake to get it to recognise the mouse again - I'm still working on that. Another option is to plug the dongle into the USB ports under the aluminium keyboard - but that seems to cause wake problems as well. Still working on that too.
- If you live in Australia, and someone gave you one of these -
don't for god's sake use it if you plan to have sleep working. Especially while you're in the troubleshooting stage. It causes the system to wake by cutting power to peripherals (like USB devices) soon after your system sleeps.
Installation Notes
1. BIOS settings to change (NB: I am using the 0607 modified BIOS found at samisnakes' link above):
AI Tweaker\Memory Frequency -> [DDR3-2400MHz] (this is specific to the type of RAM I purchased as listed above)
Advanced\USB Configuration\Intel xHCI Mode -> [Enabled]
Advanced\USB Configuration\EHCI Hand-Off -> [Enabled]
Advanced\Onboard Devices Configuration\Bluetooth Controller -> [Disabled]
Advanced\Onboard Devices Configuration\Asmedia USB 3.0 Battery Charging Support -> [Enabled]
Boot\Wait for 'F1' if Error -> [Disabled]
Boot\Fast Boot * -> [Enabled] (note - this is a new feature in 0607)
USB Support -> [Partial Initial]
Network Stack Driver Support -> [Disabled]
Boot\Boot Option Priorities -> set these to your system. I found it handy to open my case and label the hard drives/cables so I know at a glance which hard drive is which. This was especially handy when I came to unplugging one to install Win 7).
2. Create your Unibeast flash drive. I used Mac OSX 10.8.0, with the 10.8.1 combo update and now the 10.8.2 combo update also on the same drive [note - I think it would be better to create a new Unibeast volume with 10.8.2 now that it's out]. I also put Multibeast 5.0.2 on there as well so it's all available in one handy little package. Note that for now the USB2.0 flash drive has to be plugged in to a USB2.0 port - It won't work if you plug it into one of the USB3.0 ports.
3. Install Mac OSX following the instructions on tonymacx86.com - they are very easy to follow. If you have OSX updates available, I'd install those as well, booting with the Unibeast drive each time (until you get to the chimera screen, and selecting your new Mountain Lion installation instead of "USB"). If you have problems with 10.8.2 then there's a bunch of great tips in the comments of this thread.
4. Multibeast. [Note: performing Step 10 at this point is a good idea - scroll all the way down for that] At the end of the OS installation you *could* boot into your Unibeast flash drive and at the Chimera prompt choose your new installation and everything (well, nearly) would work fine every time. But you don't want to rely on having that Unibeast drive plugged in all the time, do you? So go ahead and start up Multibeast 5.0.2 and select the following options:
(note that I haven't installed the ALC898 audio drivers myself - that's because my USB speakers have their own in-built drivers, so installing the ALC898 just complicates things). Also with the OpenCL driver for the GTX670 - I did this fix manually).
6. Enabling Find My Mac. Well I really really wanted to be able to find my brand new Hackintosh if anyone decided to steal it. And I had a lot of fun finding out if it could be done. So I followed the video and terminal instructions found here and it works great. Note that this only works because I swapped out the Wifi card that came with the P8Z77-i with the Atheros 9280.
7. Enabling TRIM support. This is really easy and only 3 terminal commands and a reboot are required. You can view the ShortAndSweetToThePointVersion or the LongWindedVersionWithExplanations.
Check if it worked by clicking the little apple logo at the top left of your screen -> About this Mac -> More Info -> System Report -> select Serial-ATA in the Hardware section on the left and you should get something like -
8. Getting Sleep working (note - DSDT edit required).
Okay so this is kind of the hard bit, but really it's not all that hard. Expect to spend around 2 hours doing this the first time, including learning what the hell a DSDT is. After that you'll probably want to do these edits after each hardware and major software change (e.g. OSX updates).
- [Guide] Creating your own DSDT for most boards shows you the basics - where to get the DSDT Editor software and how to extract the one that your computer last used to boot (i.e. your current boot session). Forget steps 3 (there are no patches for this board), 5 and 6 as they don't apply for this build. But you might as well read them anyway, you're learning how the software works after all.
- After you've extracted your DSDT you want to make just one change to get sleep working. Hit <CTRL>F to find the string "_PTS" (incidentally that stands for "Put To Sleep"). The first line will look like:
Delete it, coz it causes the system to wake immediately. See here for a longer explanation of what it should look like before and afterwards.Code:
Store (SMIM, \_SB.PINX) - To finish creating your custom-DSDT-with-one-line-removed, you will need to choose IASL -> Compile before you can choose IASL -> Save AML as... The problem with that is there are lots of errors that come up during Compile preventing you from doing Save AML as. For me, all the errors were easy to fix by reading [GUIDE] Extract and Fix DSDT MSI Z77A-G43. Yes I know that's for a different board, but the fixes are all the same.
- That's it. After you have saved your AML file, dump it in Extras and rename it to DSDT.aml. I found it easier to keep track of which one I am currently using by colouring them:
9. org.chameleon.Boot.plist options. Here are mine, including the commands to make my Chimera look a bit nicer.
Code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>EthernetBuiltIn</key>
<string>Yes</string>
<key>GraphicsEnabler</key>
<string>No</string>
<key>Graphics Mode</key>
<string>"1920x1080x32"</string>
<key>Kernel</key>
<string>mach_kernel</string>
<key>Kernel Flags</key>
<string>darkwake=0</string>
<key>Legacy Logo</key>
<string>No</string>
<key>Timeout</key>
<string>1</string>
<key>Hide Partition</key>
<string>"Win7OS"</string>
<key>Rename Partition</key>
<string>"System Reserved" "Windows 7"</string>
<key>UseKernelCache</key>
<string>Yes</string>
<key>Rescan</key>
<string>Yes</string>
</dict>10. Backing up. I purchased SuperDuper!, along with a 2TB MyBook which works via USB3.0. It's worth it, especially with the RAID setup I currently have. Time Machine also works, saving all changes to the same 2TB USB drive alongside the SuperDuper! backup.
Yes I understand that I have 2TB of backup for 3TB of storage - but I'll worry about that when I start running out of space... at my current rate that'll be in 6-8 years. At the moment I do have to remember to unplug the USB3.0 drive before booting or sleeping though, or the computer complains (says no).
Geekbench:
1. Bluetooth works great but after sleeping it takes a while before the USB devices are recognised again. I have a feeling a sneaky apple controller is trying to take over upon wake, so I'll see if I can find a fix for it. A wait of 5-10 seconds usually resolves this though.
2. For some reason my Keyboard also doesn't always work on wake - I have to unplug it and re-plug it in again. Small issue at this stage.
EDIT: On further contemplation (no solutions yet, sorry), I believe these two issues are probably one issue with USB sleep. Seems that somewhere very soon after the computer wakes up, all USB devices lose power completely. I.e. the devices still have sufficient power to wake the computer, but immediately after that they disconnect for a split second. hmmm...
Thanks to:
MReangles
Ged
Tec Junkie
Samisnake
Tonymac
thelostswede
Going Bald
ReturningInTheClouds
...and I've probably forgotten some. But this would not have happened at all without the extensive help from all these people and the community at large. Thanks
Ged
Tec Junkie
Samisnake
Tonymac
thelostswede
Going Bald
ReturningInTheClouds
...and I've probably forgotten some. But this would not have happened at all without the extensive help from all these people and the community at large. Thanks
