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Basic Starter Build Advice

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mikeandersonwa

mikeandersonwa

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Dec 6, 2016
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I'm wanting to build my first Hackintosh, and I'm trying to figure out what areas I can cut costs without crippling performance. For background, I do post production audio for a living (almost entirely in Pro Tools 12), and my current iMac runs Sierra, so I'd like to stay on Sierra if possible. I do a fair amount of work in Photoshop as well, and minimal video editing, but it would be nice to have a machine that can handle editing 4K video.

So first, here's the shopping cart I have set up on Amazon: total cost $598.57
Roswell ATX Mini Tower - $33.45
Corsaire CS Series 550W Power Supply - $77.95
Gigabyte Micro ATX DDR4 LGA 1151 GA-H110M-S2H Mother Board - $64.50
Intel i5-6400 2.7Ghz Processor - $188.00
Crucial MX300 275GB SSD (Boot Drive) - $83.98
Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD (Storage Drive) - $48.99
Broadcom BCM94360CD Wifi/Bluetooth - $45.60
Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Ram - $54.00

Main Specs:
2.7GHz i5
8GB DDR4 RAM
275GB SSD/1TB HDD
Integrated Graphics

So a few questions:
1 - Would this build work?
2 - Can I add bluetooth at a later date without having to totally re-install everything? Yes, based on forum reading
3 - Can I add a graphics card later too? Yes, based on forum reading
4 - Could I use this motherboard instead and eliminate the need for a separate WiFi or Bluetooth card? Not as relevant with new build, but still a good question to know for future reference.

Any recommendations on how to get more bang for my buck on my first build? For reference, my current Mid 2011 iMac has the following specs:
2.5GHz i5
12GB 1333MHz DDR3
AMD Radeon HD 6750M 512GB
500GB Hard Drive
 
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Hello,
Parts look good. Shouldn't have a problem. Let me try to answer your questions?
1. Yes it should work.
2. Yes you can add bluetooth later.
3. Yes you can add GPU later as well. Just have to install Webdrivers. The GTX 750 Ti will do. If you need more power go to the 900 series.
4. Yes you can use the H170N. You have to replace the network card with another one that will work. You can use the BCM94352Z M.2 card. It will work with Kext installed. If you go with this card it will save the PCIe slot for your GPU and save a USB port for your BT dongle.

Question? Why go with the Intel i5-6400? For a few bucks more you can get an Intel i5-6500. I actually use an Intel i5-6400 in my Mini build but I got mine on a sale for $130. I would suggest upgrading the CPU if you can.
 
I'll check out the i5-6500, definitely wouldn't hurt to upgrade the CPU at the start. If I wanted to upgrade the CPU later on would I be able to do that without completely re-installing everything?
 
aztlan78 said:
Question? Why go with the Intel i5-6400? For a few bucks more you can get an Intel i5-6500. I actually use an Intel i5-6400 in my Mini build but I got mine on a sale for $130. I would suggest upgrading the CPU if you can.
Click to expand...

Would the i5-6600 still work? I can't see why it wouldn't, but figured it's safest to ask before pulling the trigger and buying it. Amazon link included for reference.
 
mikeandersonwa said:
So first, here's the shopping cart I have set up on Amazon: total cost $598.57
Roswell ATX Mini Tower - $33.45
Corsaire CS Series 550W Power Supply - $77.95
Gigabyte Micro ATX DDR4 LGA 1151 GA-H110M-S2H Mother Board - $64.50
Intel i5-6400 2.7Ghz Processor - $188.00
Crucial MX300 275GB SSD (Boot Drive) - $83.98
Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD (Storage Drive) - $48.99
Broadcom BCM94360CD Wifi/Bluetooth - $45.60
Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Ram - $54.00
Click to expand...

I've updated the following parts:
EVGA 400W power supply - $25.38
Intel i5-6600 3.3Ghz - $214.99

This gives a faster processor, and a lower overall price. New total price: $572.99
 
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