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waffle head build

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waffle head

waffle head

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Hello,

Here is how I got the following build going. Massive thank you to tonymacx86, MacMan, Lnx2Mac and everyone that contributes to this forum.

GA-X58A-UD3R rev2.0 (FC)
Intel core i7 950
Gainward GTX 285 1GB DDR3 (DVI, VGA, HDMI)
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 12GB (3x4GB)
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/RW
OCZ Vertex 2E SSD 60GB
2x Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Scythe Mugen 2 rev.B
Corsair TX 750W
Coolermaster CM 690 ii Advanced Case


1)
Burnt iBoot CD
Downloaded 10.6.5 combo update
Downloaded Multibeast 3.0.3
Downloaded FC bios from Gigabyte's website.
Downloaded DSDT-GA-X58A-UD3R-2.0-FC.aml from the DSDT database

2)
Assembled components.
Only installed 4GB of ram. Only installed DVD/RW and SSD drives. Only USB Keyboard and Mouse as peripherals.

3)
Flashed Bios with FC version (had to unpack the .exe on a Windows machine first) using Q-Flash. Rebooted to Bios, then set up as follows:
Load Optimized Defaults
ACPI Suspend Type = S3(STR)
HPET Support = Enabled
HPET Mode = 64-bit mode
PCH SATA Control Mode = AHCI
Hard Disk Boot Priority = CD-ROM/DVD

4)
Installed Snow Leopard on SDD using iBoot.

5)
Inserted USB thumb drive with 10.6.5 combo update, Multibeast 3.0.3 and DSDT-GA-X58A-UD3R-2.0-FC.aml
Ran 10.6.5 combo update.
Put DSDT on desktop.
Ran Multibeast 3.0.3 with the following checked:

UserDSDT Install
System Utilities
Realtek ALC8xxHDA
AppleHDA Rollback

Rebooted to Bios, changed boot priority to SSD. Rebooted from SSD.

7)
Installed the rest of the RAM and hard drives.

8)
In Bios, followed Lnx2Mac's optimal settings guide:

Enabled all Advanced CPU Core features
Set RAM's XMP Profile to Profile 1 (this made the ram run at just under 1600MHz)
Enabled Isochromous Support and Virtualization Technology

(see http://lnx2mac.blogspot.com/2010/07/opt ... ation.html)

9)
Downloaded and installed Lnx2Mac's Realtek RTL81xx Driver
Downloaded and installed Nvidia CUDA driver 3.2.17 for Mac
Ran Multibeast 3.0.3 with the following checked:

System Utilities
64-bit Apple Boot Screen


Results

Audio, video, sleep all working.

In System Profiler:

Machine is recognized as MacPro 3,1 and with an Intel Core i7.

All the RAM shows up as expected, but that it's running at 1333 MHz and not 1600 MHz as per the Bios settings. I've read that this is just a cosmetic issue, and that the RAM will actually be running at 1600.

GTX 285 is recognized correctly in System Profiler. Works with VGA and DVI. With my HD monitor, the maximum resolution (1920x1080) works. The card has DVI, VGA and HDMI out, but I don't have a HDMI cable so I haven't been able to test that yet.

64-bit Kernal and Extensions: Yes (in System Profiler/Software)

Dashboard ripple effect works. Top menu bar is translucent when set to be.

Passed 'chess test' (not that I know what that shows)

Geekbench (32-bit version) gives a score of 9532.

Cinebench 11.5 OpenGL score of 23.57 fps.


Stress tested with Prime95 - one hour without any errors. Temps did not exceed 78c.

One pass of Memtest86+ with no errors.


Updates

Updated to 10.6.6 via software update with no problems, no need to reinstall or change anything.

Updated to 10.6.7 via software update with no problems, no need to reinstall or change anything.
 
If you're fairly satisfied with what you now have and it has no kernel panics or odd glitches, I'd stick with what you have. If, however, it's sole purpose was for video editing or gaming, then I'd do the reinstallation and give it a shot, but only after realllllly looking into it and making sure that it would actually increase the frame rates by a significant amount. Enthusiast or not, if it only winds up actually giving you 2 extra frames, there's no point in running across the burning embers of reinstallation -_-
 
Thanks for your imput. I am tempted to leave it as it is seeing as everything is working well, but I built this machine for video, animation and still image editing with Adobe CS5, so I would like to try and get more performance out of the graphics card. I certainly wouldn't reinstall without having done a bit more reading around, and not if the only possible advantage is 2fps more in a cinebench score.

I am convinced that the GTX 285 can perform significantly better than this in OpenGL as people with a similar build seem to be getting between 28 and 35 fps.

EDIT
It seems that the OpenGL score I've been getting is normal:
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10703
 
I'm hope it is appropriate to ask questions on a rig I'm setting up with the same basic specs. So far, I have the same mobo and CPU. I'm looking into RAM and am wondering a few things:
-what voltage is your RAM?
-Do you think the 1600 is worth the extra cost over 1333?
-are you overclocked? If so, did you hit any bottlenecks in voltage or cooling?
-are you happy with your video card choice? I'm going to run an old 9500gt for a short time while I do more research and look for a deal on a more modern card.

Thanks!
 
The DRAM voltage is set at 1.5v as rated by Corsair for this particular model. I think that a lot of 1600MHz ram is rated at 1.65, so check with the model you are going with.

With regards to the 1600MHz vs 1333MHz thing, I have heard that it doesn't make that much difference, and that having tighter CAS timings is more important. I went with the 1600MHz because the 1333MHz wasn't much cheaper with the same timings.

I have not tried to overclock yet as I think I might have a CPU cooling problem, probably due to me not applying the TIM very well. Either that or Istat menus are not reporting temperatures correctly.

I'm very happy with the GTX 285. I went with this card specifically to benefit from CUDA acceleration in CS5.
 
hi waffle,

I finally got everything. Actually the same stuff you have. I followed everything you wrote. Two differences though: I couldn't get the fc bios so I took the ff. I saw that the dtsd thing was labelled ff... to be honest I have no idea what this dsdt thing is about, also in the bios I couldn't find the PCH setting to set up to ahci, I only found an ICH setting with the same choice, so I tried that. I also tried a esata setting and the ich. Result, all the time: gray screen at first boot of Iboot.

heeeeeeeelp




.... ok

I got through the gray screen. Was my fault.

so now i can launch the osx dvd, it comes with the creamy screen with the gray apple and loads for a while. Then suddenly the monitor turns off... drive is still knocking about but the monitor just shuts down.

any idea?

... again : heeeeeeeeeelp
 
ok, tried to change the pci first display in bios, didn't change a thing. I^m desperate, tried it 3000 times. What's the most annoying is that apart from the monitor switching off, everything seems to be ok. BTW I'm using a 0sx 10.6.6 installation. Could tht be the issue?

Please help me
 
I don't think the 10.6.6 CD would be the problem, but if you can get hold of a 10.6.3 disk it might be worth giving it a go.

I think the problem is probably due to your BIOS settings.

Start by selecting 'Load Optimized Defaults'. The PCH Sata Control Mode thing is important, you have to set this to AHCI. Don't change anything you're not sure of in the bios. Don't enable eSATA or anything like that, just leave everything else as it is after you have loaded the optimized defaults. This is the guide I followed:

http://lnx2mac.blogspot.com/2010/07/opt ... ation.html

Follow that guide, make sure you have done the things I listed correctly. Don't mess around with the BCLCK or RAM settings.

Only have the DVD drive and the SSD connected to the motherboard, and make sure that the DVD drive is in SATA port 0 and that the SSD is in SATA port 1. You should be using the white SATA ports, not the blue ones which are controlled by the JMicron chip.

Other ideas:
Which port is your monitor plugged into? Have you tried using different ports/cables?
Are you sure you have wired everything up correctly inside the case?
Are you sure the graphics card is working? Have you tested it in another machine?

Don't give up!

EDIT

One more thing - are you sure your monitor is working properly??

EDIT 2

It might also be worth trying a different BIOS revision, I saw that the older ones aren't on the gigabyte website anymore but you can download from other sites. Make sure that you download the DSDT for whichever BIOS revision you go with so that you have it ready for the Multibeast installation.

I found the FB bios on this page
http://drivers.softpedia.com/downloadTa ... -UD3R+Bios
It might be worth looking around for the FC, FD or FE versions.
 
Thx for the response. I finally found a solution: on the Iboot screen I typed "PCIRootUID=1" and then launched SL installation dvd. Worked like a charm, could install the system. I haven't finished though, had to leave the house. Hopefully everything ahead will go smoothly.

Thanks!

Cheers
 
I read something about a limitation to the 285 gtx for cs5 mpe. is this still true?
 
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