neilharts next modding project ?

[neilhart]

Hi Neil,

I just put that CPU into my Prodigy on a P8Z77-I Deluxe and it rocks... Gets about 8200-8500 on geekbench. I took out my 2500K and 6850 to put in my Mac Pro chassis that I am currently playing with. I absolutely recommend the CPU and the built in HD 4000 run great. I have a 212 Evo on it and it idles at 23/24. I don't do the stress tests that you guys run, but next time I run handbrake Ill let you know what temps it reaches.

I have the P8Z77-M Pro for the Mac Pro. Anything I should know about it? I'm planning to flash it with the modded bios and run the 2500K and 6850. I am planning on trying to get it up to 5.0 - I have the Mac Pro case fans which seem like they could work on the chassis fan headers of the board based on the pinouts for the fan and what is in the board manual. If I tell the fan controller in BIOS to always go 100 % that should give the 12v line on the fan 12v and the speed regulator power line on the fan should be receiving a steady 5v from the board according to the manual. From the research I have done here and at aquamac that will have the fans going at a constant 1100-1200 rpm. If this is too loud I can try harrowing a noctua L.N.A. or U.L.N.A. on them to lower the 5v to 3v. Does that makes sense or am I way off?

I'll be interested to see your experience with the intel board too. I got the dh61ag for my cube after your successful use of it. Wonder if it would be worth it to upgrade either the board or CPU on my cube.

Yes the ASUS P8Z77-M Pro maybe the near perfect Micro-ATX motherboard "in my opinion". I am running 10.8.2 with the modded 1504 BIOS (see http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/73558-z77-matx-motherboards-os-x.html ), 16GB memory and a i7-3770K where speed step works including sleep and wake from sleep.

This project will be my first experience with LVDS video so yet another learning curve. And as I see the relationships is the Intel DH61AG is a Sandy Bridge solution and the DQ77KB is the Ivy Bridge solution where the motherboards share most of the features and functionality. The same kind of relationship between the CPUs (i3-2125 and i3-3225) very similar, next generation. The problem here is cash flow... as you know this stuff is not cheap.

Anyway I am anticipating the hack and have played around with the iPhone 5 panorama to get this shot of my office/lab/man-cave. I have made space and have my M-ITX bring chassis ready, there on the right side table top.

Have fun,
neil

 

[Einsteiniac]

I bought that board a few weeks ago for my cube hack. Haven't had a chance to fire it up to test yet though because Fry's Electronics doesn't seem to have the right adaptor and I have just been too lazy to order one from NewEgg. I have the 3570k to go in that I am going to underclock to test but will probably settle with the 3770S I imagine. Maybe the 3770T depends on how much heat I can diffuse in the setup.

My only wish was that the PCI slot was a full x16 slot. Yes I am stupidly going to try to jam in a video card too.

 

[neilhart]

I bought that board a few weeks ago for my cube hack. Haven't had a chance to fire it up to test yet though because Fry's Electronics doesn't seem to have the right adaptor and I have just been too lazy to order one from NewEgg. I have the 3570k to go in that I am going to underclock to test but will probably settle with the 3770S I imagine. Maybe the 3770T depends on how much heat I can diffuse in the setup.

My only wish was that the PCI slot was a full x16 slot. Yes I am stupidly going to try to jam in a video card too.

What adaptor are you missing? And I agree this is the board for Cubes as it resolves cabling and PSU related issues and with SATA III it should be a great performer.

Good luck with the cube hack. And be sure to share your photos with us.

neil

 

[Einsteiniac]

What adaptor are you missing? And I agree this is the board for Cubes as it resolves cabling and PSU related issues and with SATA III it should be a great performer.

Good luck with the cube hack. And be sure to share your photos with us.

neil

Well Fry's sold a universal laptop charger. It came with like 10 different ends but none of them fit. One is ALMOST the right size but not quite.

It would be pretty awesome to be able to gut a PSU and see if I could keep that internal as well but I think then I am asking a bit much for the fanless setup.

 

[Jerime]

I need to borrow your lab as a render farm, that sound ok?

 

[neilhart]

Well Fry's sold a universal laptop charger. It came with like 10 different ends but none of them fit. One is ALMOST the right size but not quite.

It would be pretty awesome to be able to gut a PSU and see if I could keep that internal as well but I think then I am asking a bit much for the fanless setup.

I intend to use a Dell laptop power brick to start with and monitor the the input power with a "Kill A Watt" meter. The Minibox site has a power brick for this MB, check that our at; http://www.mini-box.com/AC-DC-power-supplies

Also while I have the system spread out on the work table, I will map the thermals using a "Kintrex Infrared Thermometer IRT0421" to identify the hot spots that might need special attention. I also monitor the heat build up on the power brick with this tool.

neil

 

[MacTester57]

I intend to use a Dell laptop power brick to start with and monitor the the input power with a "Kill A Watt" meter. The Minibox site has a power brick for this MB, check that our at; http://www.mini-box.com/AC-DC-power-supplies

Also while I have the system spread out on the work table, I will map the thermals using a "Kintrex Infrared Thermometer IRT0421" to identify the hot spots that might need special attention. I also monitor the heat build up on the power brick with this tool.

neil

Neil,
Your new project sounds interesting!

Do you think, that the DQ77KB will run fine without a DSDT?

 

[neilhart]

Without a DSDT... well it has been my experience that most of my hacks run 10.8 without DSDT.aml files. And the prior generation of this MB, the DH61AG, is running 10.8.1 in my G4 Cube hack without a DSDT where with Lion I did use one. I am hoping that the Q77 chip is as good as the Z77 chip.

Anyway we will know in the next day or two as I anticipate delivery of the CPU, MB, Memory and the Intel low profile CPU cooler tomorrow.

neil

 

[neilhart]

The parts that I ordered late last week arrived yesterday.

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And I decided to jump right in; I made up a mounting plate using a 12" square of aluminum sheet so that I could secure the CPU cooler and its fan.

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You have a choice of cooler orientation; I choose the one that is used in the Loop L5 kit.

The new components did POST okay and I was amused that it took me five or six times through the BIOS setup to get it to the point that it would start to boot my Unibeast USB stick. And not to surprisingly it did halt with an error before getting to the GUI installer screen.

It did not see the attached hard as being bootable...

Well if it was easy it probably would not be nearly as much fun. More later.

neil

 

[eelhead]

Hi Neilhart,

I was wondering on the workings of that cooler. Does it intake air from the top where the fan is located and then push it through the radiator? Or is there an intake slot on the side of the black fan housing I am not able to see?