Success. i7 6700k, integrated graphics, Asus VIII Gene

[DrieStone]

DrieStone's Build: ASUS MAXIMUS VIII GENE - i7-6700K - HD530

Components

ASUS ROG Maximus VIII GENE (LGA 1151) Motherboard
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012NH1MCM/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132569

Intel Core i7-6700K Processor
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012M8LXQW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G3UK4240

Noctua NH-D14 Processer Cooler
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002VKVZ1A/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) Memory TDRED416G2400HC14DC01
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313668

Thermaltake SMART 550 Watt Power Supply SP550PCBUS
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUM178Q/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153172

DIYPC Cuboid-R Black/Red Case
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01J8UUZAW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811353062

LG Blu-ray Drive UN12NS40
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I3PNK5Q/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W04FJ6017

Crucial MX300 525GB SSD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IAGSD68/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156151

Samsung 850 Evo 500GB SSD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OBRE5UE/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147373

ASUS GeForce GTX 970 STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NJ9BJ8G/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121899


Comments

My current work PC was a MacBook Pro 2012 version. I needed something with some more horsepower, and after the lack of anything from Apple I decided to build a Hackintosh. The added benefit is that I can dual boot into Windows if need be (plus gaming). I also wanted cheap and fast. I took my time ordering components, and figure I probably saved about 25% off the price of buying everything at once. My total cost, including Windows 10 license was $1261.00 (this doesn't include keyboard/mouse/monitor).

I knew I was going to overclock, so I wanted to make sure I had a quality motherboard that was setup to do that (and more), so I opted for the Maximus Gene (I thought I was building a smaller computer too). In retrospect this was overkill. The Gene is a great board, so no regrets. I purchased the Noctua Cooler which is enormous, but it fit in my case fine.

I did purchase slower memory. In my research it seems as though memory speed isn't a significant bottleneck for things like After Effects.

I'm pretty unsatisfied with most PC cases, especially in my price range (cheap). I'm pretty happy with the Cuboid-R. It's bigger than I thought, but it's pretty convenient to work on since the board lays flat and you have access on three sides. Plus it has room for more fans.

Issues:

I still haven't gotten my GTX970 (I'll update this when I do). Things went fairly smoothly. Once I got Sierra installed, I ran MultiBeast, and began getting panics. I had to increase the video memory through a BIOS setting. I then had to tweak my MultiBeast settings further to get audio and USB working properly. I had the typical black boxes/glitches with the Intel integrated graphics, but found fixes for the Skylake video. It took me about two days to get the system stable, but I can say that all of my components seem to work together.

Speed:

I've done some limited testing by overclocking to 4.8Ghz (almost 20k on multi-core Geekbench). I ran all 8 cores at 100% for 10 minutes without an issue (and the fans on the case and cooler barely make a peep). I might try some additional tweaks and see if I can get multi-core over 20k.

 

[Stork]

Welcome to the GENE club!

 

[DrieStone]

Thought I'd update this. I got my GTX970 in my case, but did run into some minor issues with the DIYPC case, the heat pipes on the GTX interfered with the bracket for the optical drive (even if I didn't have a drive it still would have been an issue). I ended up moving my wireless card to the 16x slot and using the 8x slot for the GTX970. It's not perfect, but based on my research, the loss is minimal.

I went through the usual pains while upgrading, but after a few hours of tinkering, everything seems to be running well. I've increased the score to 1.345 which seems to have corrected the occasional lock-up. So I will continue to run at 4.8Ghz unless I see additional issues.

I'm now running dual monitors (1440P and 1080P), and my Hackintosh has been transitioned to "primary" duties.

My only minor disappointment is that I've only seen about a 2.5x increase in my After Effects export. I was hoping with CUDA and the faster processor to see closer to 4x.

 

[pastrychef]

Welcome to the Gene club!

Awesome that you got your CPU to clock to 4.8GHz. I ran my system at 4.7GHz for months and it was 100% completely stable.

Recently, I delidded my CPU and ran the AI Suite again and it was only able to get my CPU to 2 cores at 4.8GHz and 2 cores at 4.7GHz.

What type of temperatures are you seeing? When I run Handbrake, my CPU temps max out at 69C. I'm extremely impressed with the Noctua heatsink.

 

[DrieStone]

When I stress test all four processors I max out at about 71C. I'm a little worried about how that will be in the summer, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

 

[pastrychef]

Wow! 71C at 4.8GHz is great. I don't think you will have any problems in the summer.

 

[joshuawas]

I know this was a while ago but could you post your settings for MultiBeast? I have the same MOBO and processor as you, and I'm also using integrated graphics. I keep getting kernal panics when I boot to Sierra as well. What were the fixes you found for Sierra integrated graphics?

 

[DrieStone]

I had issues with MultiBeast, (and Clover Configurator) ended up editing my config file manually. I've attached my config.plist, it may help you... note that I removed the serial number and UUID from the SMBIOS section since iMessage wants unique values here.

I think what you want is the section under KextsToPatch (AppleIntelSKLGraphicsFramebuffer). It was long enough ago that I don't remember (and I've been running Nvidia once I got my card).

 

[umran23]

I had the typical black boxes/glitches with the Intel integrated graphics, but found fixes for the Skylake video.

Can you please explain how you solved this issue?