FCPX Radeon build: Z97X-UD5H/i7-4790k or ASUS x99a/i7-5820?

[psgrafix]

I'm from the shallow end of the tech gene pool and looking for advice on upgrading my second Hackintosh, a GA-Z97X-UD5H/i7-4790k/GTX-760 I've been using for FCPX video editing for two years. It's starting to glitch (occasional slowness, random freezes) and I need to upgrade from Yosemite to Sierra anyway to install FCPX 10.3. After much reading in forums it seems I should also switch the GPU to a Radeon 280, 280x, RX 4XX or (?) for better Open CL performance. I also have the option to build with a recently-acquired PC, ASUS x99a/i7-5820k/GTX-770. I'm hoping for full functionality, high performance and as little technical challenge as possible. Any suggestions on which way to go and which GPU? Thanks in advance.

 

[Stork]

Can't comment on the X99 motherboards, but I need to warn you about the 280/280X/400 series as there is a bug in the hackintosh implement of those cards - no wake from sleep. Check Fl0r!an's sticky thread in the Graphics forum section for more information > Radeon Compatibility Guide - ATI/AMD Graphics Cards If you can live w/o sleep/wake-up working, then look into the 280X or 400 series cards.

What about your experience with the Nvidia GTX 760? If it was good, choosing a 900 series Nvidia graphics card will give you better integration in a hackintosh. (I don't use FCPX, so I'm just pointing out an alternative.) I mentioned the 900 series cards because Nvidia has yet to update their drivers to support the this years 1000 series cards. I picked up a used GTX 980 from eBay for the price of a new, unsupported GTX 1060 3GB card.

 

[psgrafix]

I've had three Nvidia cards and all were easy to implement and bulletproof, but Final Cut Pro X, especially the latest updates, makes much better use of the Radeon/AMD cards because of its reliance on Open CL so I'm not interested in spending time or money on swapping cards to anything but a Radeon card. According to Fl0r!an's AMD compatibility table the 280, 280X work OOB with no issues. If not, couldn't I just set the system not to sleep? As for the 480, it's tempting but I'm doubtful I'd have the tech patience to see that through under the current state of affairs. My no-cost ($$) route is to just upgrade the OS and stick with the GTX-760, which works fine, though I might swap for a 770 I have in another PC if that'll get me a small boost and no installation headaches, and just wait for smarter heads to figure out how to get the 480 to play nice. I was hoping to consolidate the pain of upgrading OS and hardware into one torture session though. Even though there are several posts in the forum claiming success, technical proficiency required to build with the ASUS X99a/i7-5820k also seems overly daunting to me. If I only had a geek brain or someone to hire for a build.

 

[Stork]

I...but Final Cut Pro X, especially the latest updates, makes much better use of the Radeon/AMD cards because of its reliance on Open CL so I'm not interested in spending time or money on swapping cards to anything but a Radeon card. According to Fl0r!an's AMD compatibility table the 280, 280X work OOB with no issues. If not, couldn't I just set the system not to sleep? ...

I like your reasoning. Go with the 280X which is what I have in my 2010 Mac Pro (5,1). Yes, you can turn off sleep in the Engery Saver Preference pane.

...Even though there are several posts in the forum claiming success, technical proficiency required to build with the ASUS X99a/i7-5820k also seems overly daunting to me. If I only had a geek brain or someone to hire for a build.

LOL! Don't feel like the Lone Ranger! That's why I stick with the non X motherboard systems.

 

[psgrafix]

I hate sitting around and thinking about stuff, usually gets me in trouble, so I just bought a new Visiontek Radeon R9 280X 3G gddr5 vt r9280x3gvt on ebay for $149. I don't imagine the card will give me any trouble, though I'll have to swap some parts between the PC and the Hackintosh (possibly the power supply - replace a Seasonic 620w with 850w, and maybe the case if the 280X is too big for my Antec 900 2. Thanks for your help and for the wonderful resource Tonymacx86 is. I'll update as I make the changes. Let the sleepless nights begin.

 

[psgrafix]

Success! temporarily. My son-in-law (IT degree, smart, 1st Hackintosh experience) got a good install working with the 280X. I happily worked on the computer for several hours this evening moving files around, updating apps, etc. with no problems then it just restarted all on its own and entered a reboot loop that gives me about 8 seconds after the OS is fully open. Apps open at the time of the first reboot reopen even though I quit them in the eight seconds before rebooting. My subconscious kept telling me, "this is too easy."

 

[psgrafix]

I like your reasoning. Go with the 280X which is what I have in my 2010 Mac Pro (5,1). Yes, you can turn off sleep in the Engery Saver Preference pane.

LOL! Don't feel like the Lone Ranger! That's why I stick with the non X motherboard systems.

Well, it's working almost perfectly now except for signing in to the Apple App store and USB 3.0. I posted some very good benchmarks on the Radeon thread.

i7-4790K CPU isn't boosting past 4K.

Well, actually it is, according to HWMonitor, but just not showing in About this Mac and System Report. USB 3.0 is only working on one of two front panel ports and not at all on any of the rear panel mobo ports, not working at all. USB 2.0 rear ports are working. I also still can't sign in to the Apple App Store with the "Unexpected error… computer could not be verified," message. I don't think any of this is related to the R9 card though.

 

[JasonM71]

I hate sitting around and thinking about stuff, usually gets me in trouble, so I just bought a new Visiontek Radeon R9 280X 3G gddr5 vt r9280x3gvt on ebay for $149. I don't imagine the card will give me any trouble, though I'll have to swap some parts between the PC and the Hackintosh (possibly the power supply - replace a Seasonic 620w with 850w, and maybe the case if the 280X is too big for my Antec 900 2. Thanks for your help and for the wonderful resource Tonymacx86 is. I'll update as I make the changes. Let the sleepless nights begin.

Hey how is your Visiontek 280x working now? (I'm still undecided on an AMD card--such as the 280x--or an Nividia card because I can't decide whether to build the machine for FCP and w/ AMD, or for Davinci Resolve and use Nvidia) . . . anyway, I just picked up a Visiontek 280x at Microcenter for $160 in case I decide to go AMD/FCP, but I have a few questions for you if you don't mind:

1. Is it out-of-box operable or do I have to figure it out with drivers and other guidelines I can find here?

2. Is it really a 13.5" card as the dimensions on Amazon say? . . . I ask because if it is that big I will return it as I am going to do a a Mini-ITX build and the case I plan to use, Silverstone SG13, has a 9.3" limit. But I wanted to grab the card in case it works out for me because it was the last one in stock.

3. I think the 280x TDP is rated at 250W, but I see other reports that it's going to need 400+ at load. And I see you found 620w insufficient and went to 850w. Well, I bought the Silverstone 600W SFX thinking that I would have plenty of headroom. Will I have have power problems though?

 

[psgrafix]

Hey how is your Visiontek 280x working now? (I'm still undecided on an AMD card--such as the 280x--or an Nividia card because I can't decide whether to build the machine for FCP and w/ AMD, or for Davinci Resolve and use Nvidia) . . . anyway, I just picked up a Visiontek 280x at Microcenter for $160 in case I decide to go AMD/FCP, but I have a few questions for you if you don't mind:

1. Is it out-of-box operable or do I have to figure it out with drivers and other guidelines I can find here?

2. Is it really a 13.5" card as the dimensions on Amazon say? . . . I ask because if it is that big I will return it as I am going to do a a Mini-ITX build and the case I plan to use, Silverstone SG13, has a 9.3" limit. But I wanted to grab the card in case it works out for me because it was the last one in stock.

3. I think the 280x TDP is rated at 250W, but I see other reports that it's going to need 400+ at load. And I see you found 620w insufficient and went to 850w. Well, I bought the Silverstone 600W SFX thinking that I would have plenty of headroom. Will I have have power problems though?

It works great OOB with OS 12.1 or later – FCPX is MUCH faster than with the GTX760 I was using – but you're going to have to return your Visiontex 280x if you're building a Mini-ITX. I had to remove a couple of hard drives from the two middle bays on my Antec Nine Hundred Two mid-tower case to fit the Visiontek 280X. I overbuilt with a Corsair 1000W psu to be sure I can add another 280x and still power all the drives I have crammed in. It was on sale cheaper than the 850W.

 

[JasonM71]

It works great OOB with OS 12.1 or later – FCPX is MUCH faster than with the GTX760 I was using – but you're going to have to return your Visiontex 280x if you're building a Mini-ITX. I had to remove a couple of hard drives from the two middle bays on my Antec Nine Hundred Two mid-tower case to fit the Visiontek 280X. I overbuilt with a Corsair 1000W psu to be sure I can add another 280x and still power all the drives I have crammed in. It was on sale cheaper than the 850W. View attachment 234229

Thanks for replying. Can you tell me the actual length?

I can't find any info on that except on Amazon which often has bad dimension entries. They say it's 13.5, which I don't believe because the Visiontek is actually 2 fans, not 3. Yes, I will probably have to return it if I build in the Silverstone SG13, but if I choose a Node 202 or Silverstone ML08 I can use any card up to 13.5" inches. I prefer the Silverstone SG13 however and may have to give up this card. But OOB functionality is really nice.

How much power does the card draw by the way?