Would this work... An i7 4771, UD3H, GTX770 build (and a dynamic Google Docs shopping list)

[kaarna]

Hello.

I'm going to make my first build. And I've made a shopping list system that might interest some of you as well.

I've made a dynamic Google Docs spreadsheet shopping list, that updates the prices from Amazon.de (or if you tweak it a little, almost any other webstore). The real benefit of this shopping list method (at least for me) is that I can mix products from different webstores, compare their prices in the same spreadsheet, and get the total sums of what my build will cost.

Here's a link to the example Google Docs spreadsheet, which also has the parts for my build:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Au_LU7_L9JDFdGpQVkJxX2RXOVhDc0tKczRJZ1RreFE&usp=sharing

You can make your own copies from File->Make a copy… And with your own copy, you can modify it to be your own perfect shopping list for whatever.

It’s not easy or totally automatic to create and modify this kind of spreadsheet, but once you understand how it works (and that each store requires its own script), you’ll be able to make budgets that are dynamic.

Atleast Amazon prices tend to change all the time, and the price that is updated dynamically is not actually the cheapest Amazon price. There might be cheaper Amazon offers in the small print, but I haven’t yet looked for a way to fetch those prices dynamically.

I also wrote a blog post about how the scripts work, and there's also example script for Amazon.com: http://sadesaapuu.wordpress.com/201...s-from-amazon-into-a-google-docs-spreadsheet/

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Well, that's the shopping list, but my real question would be about my build.

I'll be using this as my main and only desktop machine (to replace my Macbook 1,1 which is still going strong after 8 years.) I hope this system will last me an optimistic 8 years (with some upgrades, possibly a second GTX770 at some point...).

My work and hobby stuff for this computer will include video editing, some DaVinci Resolve with occasional Red-footage (usually DSLR), music with my Apogee Duet and Logic Pro, C++ OpenGL programming, 3D with Blender, some gaming, and hopefully a 2560x1440 display at some point.

So it has to be as powerful as I can afford, and at the same time as quiet as possible, because I'll use it for audio recording as well. So, that's the usual contradiction...

Will this work:

Fractal Design Define R4 Titanium Grey	One of the quietest and ok-looking. Bonus points for designed in Sweden.
Intel Core i7 4771 3.5 Ghz CPU	I'm not overclocking, and it's only 10€ more than 4770.
MSI Nvidia 770 GTX 4GB	MSI Twinfrozr was one of the quietest in a local test by Muropaketti-site
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H Motherboard	October buying guide. Would there be any benefits with UD5H?
Sandisk Extreme II SSD 480 GB	For a triple boot. Partitions OS X: 380 GB, Windows: 40 GB, Linux w/ Gnome 3: 60 GB
16 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz RAM	Might add more later.
Seasonic 660W P-660	Or the Seasonic X-650 which is mostly passive cooled and recommended by Silentpcreview, which ever is cheaper...
SYBA Firewire 400/800	Will this work with my Apogee Duet bus-powered audio interface & my bus-powered Firewire disks?
Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev. A	Also concidered the Noctua NH-D14, but some people said I'll be fine with this, as I'm not overclocking. It's supposed to be quiet.

If there are no objections (I mean suggestions on how to make it better, or incompatible parts) I'll be starting to order this weekend.

To sum up my main questions would be:
1. I'm going for the GA-Z87X-UD3H. Would there be any benefits with UD5H?

2. Will that SYBA PCI-Express Firewire 800/400 card work with sleep, and will be able to provide power for Apogee Duet and external Firewire drives? I read that the Startech one had some issues with sleep not working on some Gigabyte motherboards...

Thanks in advance.

 

[trs96]

Many have had successful builds recently with the same components you've listed so there is no
doubt it will work. For the differences between UD3H and 5H look at the GBt. website and do a
side by side comparison to compare the differences. This build could last 8 yrs. if well taken
care of but it would seem pretty slow by then with the current rate of change in hardware.
Give it a try and you'll be amazed at the performance difference compared to your Mac.

 

[benneq]

Is there any reason you chose the UD3H and not just the D3H? Costs 20 bucks less and only lacks eSATA and an additional internal SATA Controller, so 8 vs. 6 SATA3 ports.


The HR-02 CPU cooler is pretty much one of the best you can actually get. BUT on Monday the HR-22 will get released, it's even bigger, better, cooler and of course more expensive. But if you prefer quietness over price, you might want to choose the HR-22.

 

[kaarna]

Hey, thanks for the comments.

Is there any reason you chose the UD3H and not just the D3H?

I've been thinking about the differences between the two... but since I'm doing it the first time, it seemed more people were using UD3H. But somebody questioned this as well, and the reasoning was that the features on the UD3H are more for overclocking. But as you mention this, I might as well go with the cheaper one. I have no eSata devices, well actually the WD Studio harddrives might have it... but I doubt the ports even work in OS X??

I don't know if the UD3H is more "ultra durable" than the D3H, but if it is not, I might as well go with the D3H, if it works as well.

I'm in no hurry, so I might as well wait for the HR-22. And silence is my preference over price. (I concidered the Noctua NH-D14 which is double the price, but since I'm not overclocking, the HR-02 might be even more silent, I hope.)

But anyway. I'm now waiting for the i7 4771 to become available in my local (Finnish) webstore, which I'm probably going to use for most stuff, as I got concerned about warranty handling on some of the cheaper German sites. We'll see if some of the prices will come down while I wait.

 

[Lloydy187]

Hi there just curious did you go with this build and have success? I have the same card and would like to boot mac again but wondered if there was anything more you have to do to get the card working as it seems to not be recommended.

 

[kaarna]

I don't know which card are you referring to? Do you mean the GTX 770 or the motherboard, or the SYBA firewire card?

Well, I'll answer anyway, as it might be usefull for others as well.

In the end, I went with the build I mention in the first post, EXCEPT for the GPU. I changed the MSI GTX 770 Gaming 4GB to MSI GTX 780 Gaming 3GB. So I got the 780! Unfortunately I got the newer revision (GK110B). It was quite a lot more expensive, and I should have read before I bought, that it is not currently supported well. All applications that use OpenCL (open computing language) crash at startup. This means that e.g. Finder's Quick look and Preview crash on images, Adobe Premiere Pro CC doesn't work at all. Earlier versions such as Premiere Pro CS6 work fine. Everything else works fine, so I'm waiting for Nvidia to hopefully release new drivers at some point.
If after six month or so, I haven't gotten working drivers, I might just sell the card and buy a used GTX 770.

If you want a fully working and stable system, I recommend going with the GTX 770.

All other components that I used, are exactly as I wrote on the first post.

For the motherboard I chose the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H. It works fine. Installation was really easy, except the tutorials are not that precise. I looked for the best bios settings for my motherboard, and it worked fine on the first try.

I also got the SYBA PCI-Express Firewire 800/400. It works great with all my hardware. The Apogee Duet works great with it. And there is bus power coming from the firewire ports, so it powers the Duet, and my external firewire harddisks.
UPDATE on the Duet: I have had a couple of audio stutters when using Quicktime Player. For some reason other software have not had any audio stutter (e.g. VLC and Finder's Quick Look work ok, for now). I haven't yet tested Logic 9.
So, there seems to be a few glitches here and there, but I'm not sure if they are a fault of the hackintosh, or just regular bugs in Mavericks or other software (such as Duet drivers, or Quicktime Player itself).
I'll try to post some updates to this thread, if I encounter some more problems.
END OF UPDATE!

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Building the computer was challenging but rewarding. I looked at youtube for tutorials. The HR-02 Macho was the hardest to install, but I think I got it right, as the system is really silent and cool. Also some cabling was difficult. It helps if you do research on various aspects of building and installing. (But if you know everything, it is really easy and relatively fast.)

But I have to say, that some laptops and iMacs might be even more silent, but then again I never listened to their noise levels as thoroughly. When the computer is under my desk, I can't hear it at all. I will have to try doing some music recordings, so I can say if it can be heard on the mics. Probably not.

The Seasonic P-660 is also very silent. I highly recommend it for silent computers. And the Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium is a nice colour), seems to be a good and silent case too.

For the display I'm currently using the plastic Apple Cinema HD Display (which is probably 23 inch), with an ADC->DVI adapter from ebay.

And just bought a used Apple LED Cinema Display 27" which should make this feel more like a new computer (even though the display is used!) After I had gotten the computer built, I just didn't feel like it was a new computer, as the display is in such a bad condition (20+ dead pixels in the middle.)
But, I'll see how the LED Cinema Display works, after I get the adapter and extension cable next week. Now it's just sitting on my other desk, waiting to be used.

 

[seanmcd72]

I'm using the z87x-ud3h, 4771, and a GTX770 without issue. Well, the only minor issue is that either this motherboard or the CPU doesn't like running ram at 1600mhz. I just run the ram at default 1333 and have zero isues. If you look around most people tend to blame this on the motherboard.

Otherwise it rocks - super fast in Windows and OSX. Extremely easy to setup OSX Mavericks on.