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Mini Mac Build (Advice needed desperately for a newbie)

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ragedarya

ragedarya

Joined
Oct 2, 2011
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Motherboard
fujitsu ah530
CPU
i5
Graphics
intel 5100
Mac
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Classic Mac
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Mobile Phone
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I have been doing copious amounts of forum reading and digging and so far I have found these parts to be the most optimal if I am to attempt to create a Mini Mac around a $550 budget.

2TB seagate Drive (already have it)

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 Intel H61 Express Chipset Mini ITX DDR3 800 Intel - LGA 1155 Motherboard
Processor:
Intel Core I3-2105 Processor
RAM:
Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1333MHz PC3-10666
Graphics:
Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 - 1 GB DDR3 HDMI/DVI-I/VGA PCI-Express
Case:
Silverstone SG05B Mini-ITX
Slim DVD drive
http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-In ... B004FY4TLI
LG Electronics Internal Optical Drive GT40N


So I'm going to install Lion directly, with unibeast and I was wondering whether my components will work out of box once I use the DSDT for my board.
 
if you want to save some money, you could use the Intel HD3000 graphics instead of buying a card. Also, I think I read some where that the LG dvd drives give some issues with sleep. The Sony drives have fared better. You will have to make sure you partition your 2TB Drive down to 1TB or less. Drives currently have to be 1TB or less in order to boot from them.
 
bc24 said:
if you want to save some money, you could use the Intel HD3000 graphics instead of buying a card. Also, I think I read some where that the LG dvd drives give some issues with sleep. The Sony drives have fared better. You will have to make sure you partition your 2TB Drive down to 1TB or less. Drives currently have to be 1TB or less in order to boot from them.
Click to expand...


Im pretty much set on that card =/ but thanks for the tip. Also, How about using a toshiba slime drive then? Does everything else look good for lion?
 
I'm sure any slim drive will 'work.' The question is, "how well will it work?" Most of the stuff I've read on here is that the Sony drives work best (as in there aren't any noticeable issues). Other brands 'work,' but they have minor issues related to when the computer sleeps. I think there's a wiki or a thread that lists compatible hardware and the issues that people have had (not just here at tonymac86.com, but on other sites like osx86project.org and insanelymac.com too). If you're willing to take a risk on having a slight issue, then go ahead with any brand. You may find another model/brand that works. If you do find one that works without issue, then post it and let people know it works well. If you have issues with it, post those too, then people will know what not to buy or how to make it work. So, it will work, but how well?
p.s. if you have the brand and model number try searching the forums here and see if anybody else has it and if they have had problems.
 
Gordo74 said:
Question is, why are you set on the card?

It will only be marginally faster than the HD3000 and the HD3000 supports multiple displays as well.
Click to expand...


Well.... Ive never been a huge fan of internal graphics so its not a viable option for me to get the graphics card? I do intend to do gaming and I feel this card will adequately fit those needs... I dunno...
 
bc24 said:
I'm sure any slim drive will 'work.' The question is, "how well will it work?" Most of the stuff I've read on here is that the Sony drives work best (as in there aren't any noticeable issues). Other brands 'work,' but they have minor issues related to when the computer sleeps. I think there's a wiki or a thread that lists compatible hardware and the issues that people have had (not just here at tonymac86.com, but on other sites like osx86project.org and insanelymac.com too). If you're willing to take a risk on having a slight issue, then go ahead with any brand. You may find another model/brand that works. If you do find one that works without issue, then post it and let people know it works well. If you have issues with it, post those too, then people will know what not to buy or how to make it work. So, it will work, but how well?
p.s. if you have the brand and model number try searching the forums here and see if anybody else has it and if they have had problems.
Click to expand...


oh and I see you are using the APEX black case but I keep reading about over heating issues with it? I am in love with that case but the problem is, I dont know how far I will go in order to get adequate cooling.
 
ragedarya said:
oh and I see you are using the APEX black case but I keep reading about over heating issues with it? I am in love with that case but the problem is, I dont know how far I will go in order to get adequate cooling.
Click to expand...
I haven't had any over heating issues, but I don't do a lot of high-intensity stuff, and I don't do any gaming with it. If you plan to game, it makes sense to get something that you can keep cool and have a stand alone graphics card.
 
I was also wondering, do I have to get a HDMI compatible monitor? Or can I use a HDMI to vga cable?
 
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