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Fractal Node 304 Haswell: GA-Z87N-WIFI (rev 2) - i7-4770k - GA GTX 770 (2GB)

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Joined
Dec 28, 2012
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56
Motherboard
Fractal Node 304
CPU
i7-4770K
Graphics
GTX 770
Fractal Node 304 Haswell mini ITX: GA-Z87N-WIFI (rev 2) - i7-4770k - GA GTX 770 (2GB)

Fractal-Node-304.png

Components

Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI (rev 2) Motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8244756

Intel Core i7-4770k Haswell Processor
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CO8TBQ0/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 RAM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006YG9EEW/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148545

Noctua NH-U12S - CPU Cooler
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C9EYVGY/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608040

Qnix 27" PLS (LG IPS) Display
http://www.amazon.com/QNIX-QX2710-LED-Multi-Thunderbolt/dp/B00H2EIUYK/

Logitech K750 Mac Solar Keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005L38VRU/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126274

Already Owned

Antec Neo ECO 620C - Bronze Certified
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HC9CFG/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031

Fractal Node 304 (Black) - Mini ITX Case
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009LHF4FO/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352027

Crucial M4 256GB SSD
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2JL2A/

Comments

My 2011 MacBook Pro 17″ is dying a horrible graphics card death, and it’s come to the point where it’s unusable. I got a 15″ Acer to run Ubuntu on and hold me over until I get a new desktop built, but I can’t see myself using Ubuntu as a main operating system, since I’ve used OSX since 2006 (8 years), and I have a workflow worked out that I can’t match in Linux (although I do love the power of the command line). As such, I’ve decided to build my first Hackintosh, and I’ll live without a laptop.

I built a media server back in November 2013, so I’ll be using the case and hard drives from that build to house all this new stuff. I’m also building a Tiny House that my wife and I will live in (~200 sq ft), so mini ITX is a must for space requirements. What I'll end up doing, though, is moving this 8TB (6TB usable) into another enclosure, and I'll run that NAS with Ubuntu 14.04 server to house my iPhoto, iMovie, and iTunes libraries (using sparse disk images and auto mounts).

I would have preferred to have put everything in one case (all hard drives, etc), but I discovered that I needed a graphics card for my video editing work. I first bought the EVGA GT 740 (newly on the Buyer's Guide) - but it was incredibly loud. It sounded like it was at max RPM from the second it started receiving power to the moment it turned off.

I decided instead to purchase an expensive graphics card (when in Rome?), so I got the $300 Gigabyte GTX 770. I was deciding between this and the MSI variant, as reviewers say they are both incredibly quiet. Turns out the Gigabyte 770 is quiet indeed! With the case on, I can barely hear it, the Noctua CPU cooler, the PSU, and the Node 304's three case fans. Exactly what I want - a quiet PC with TONS of power on reserve.

The only things I have yet to do are overclock the CPU and the GPU, but since I'm not a gamer, I'll take my sweet time doing those.

Multibeast%2520Settings.png

The only thing that doesn't work on this rev 2 board is WiFi. It comes with a WiFi AC card that I'm sure would work in Windows, but it doesn't work in OSX. Bluetooth worked when I first booted up, but after running Multibeast a couple more times, I must have disabled the driver that made it work.

This machine will be relying on a hard-wired connection (for NAS connections, etc) 100% of the time anyway, so I'm not worried about WiFi not working.

Hack%2520Pro%2520Geekbench.png

I don't have Geekbench 3, so the Geekbench 2 64-bit scores will have to suffice. My 2011 17" Antiglare MacBook Pro scored around 11,000, so I'm incredibly happy to see such a boost in performance with this machine. I can't wait to really get used to it and start putting it through its paces.

Edit: Cinebench Scores, Extra Photos

Graphics%2520Card.jpg

The 740 just wasn't cutting it (WAY too loud), so I dropped $300 on the 770, and it is whisper quiet. Also, looks way more impressive in person than it does in the Newegg photos.

Graphics%2520Card%2520Installed.jpg

The GPU along with the CPU cooler (Noctua NH-U12S) are super quiet! Even the PSU is really quiet! Looks great, and I can barely hear a thing.

Cinebench%2520GPU%2520Results.png

Crazy high GPU score in Cinebench!

Cinebench%2520CPU%2520Results.png

It's not a Xeon, but it's definitely a respectable CPU! Now, to overclock it...

Edit: CRASHING

This machine has been crashing like crazy lately. I'm trying to copy my iPhoto/iMovie/iTunes libraries over to my NAS, and either via NFS or Samba, about 20GB in, ethernet will completely die, and I have to reboot the computer to get connectivity again. Even simply logging out won't do the trick.

Also, I have had quite a few freezes over the past two days. The screen/audio will just freeze, and I have to do a hard reset. I'm guessing this has to do with the fact that I got a rev 2 mobo from TigerDirect, and not a rev 1. It's unbelievably annoying, and I don't know what to do about it, since this is the only recommended mini ITX board by TonyMacx86. I don't have time to mess around with fixing this, since this is my main work machine, and I work from home as a web developer.

I definitely cannot recommend buying this motherboard to anyone out there looking. Just isn't stable at all.

Second Edit:

I updated the BIOS to the newest verison available from Gigabyte's website (F6b), and changed its settings according to a guide from this website, and then I installed the 2.4.14 ethernet driver (along with KillerALX), and I am finally experiencing stability. No system freezes (yet!), and I've transferred over 200GB of data with no network controller freezes.

Happy to report, this system is finally everything I wanted it to be!
 
Very nice!

This is definitely interesting to me as I have the same case, but I have not bought the smaller components for it yet.

I see you used the NEO ECO PSU... it just so happens I have the same one. Per everything I have been reading on various forums, it says there is no way a full sized GPU and a full sized ATX PSU such as that will fit without modular cabling, and even then, only a few will fit (such as the Seasonic G series.). Care to take a few more pics of clearance?

As far as the CPU cooler - how much clearance do you have for RAM? Are you using ANY of the hard drive caddies that came with the case? I'd love to see a few more pics to help me out with this undertaking as well if you wouldn't mind :D
 
First of all, I LOVE HOUSE, MD. Secondly, sure - I'd be happy to take more photos. Clearance is very tight in this case, but I'm not using a modular PSU, and this huge GPU and VERY large CPU cooler both fit without a problem. It took a bit of maneuvering, but everything has proper clearance, and I now have the cpu cooler fan on the GPU side of the radiator, so it's blowing the CPU's heat into the open, so it can be blown out the rear of the case.

I only have one SSD in the case right now (currently have my four WD Red 2TB drives in a Rosewill V6-S enclosure, running Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS server off of a USB flash drive, in RAID5. I'm getting 90MB/s transfer rates over gigabit to the Hackintosh! It's like the drives are in the Hackintosh case, attached to its motherboard!

I don't have photos of the new layout right now, so I'll try to snap some tomorrow and upload them for you to see my cable layout. It's hard to do cable management in such a small case, but I did the best I could.
 
Gordo, you're past due for a build description, you know. I'll be looking forward to you writing one for your new system. :thumbup:

In the meantime, you might gain some insights to being a 9-series early adopter by looking at my Hector build description and guide. I had "fun" trying to get Hector to work with HD4600. :crazy:
 
Thank you! I look forward to those pics!

As far as the CPU cooler - I did notice that you had it turned towards the back of the GPU - would it not fit with the fan blowing air toward the back of the case?
Yeah, unfortunately, the way the GA-87N-WIFI (rev 2) is laid out, it would hit the PCI card if it were turned facing the back of the device. I don't think Noctua had mini-ITX mobos in mind when they made this huge fan. :)

Hackintosh%2520Detail%2520Shot%252003.jpg

Overview of the whole system.

Hackintosh%2520Detail%2520Shot%252004.jpg

Unused PSU cables. You can also see the end of the Graphics Card here - plenty of space left - probably another 3-4 inches.

Hackintosh%2520Detail%2520Shot%252006.jpg

New CPU cooler location, so now it's not blowing heat onto the GPU, which is undoubtedly a good thing.

Hackintosh%2520Detail%2520Shot%252007.jpg

PSU cables and space behind GPU. Plenty of room to place things, but I'm especially glad the cables come out of the right side of the PSU - if they didn't, it would be MUCH tougher to ensure they aren't pressing up against the GPU.

Hackintosh%2520Detail%2520Shot%252008.jpg


Hackintosh%2520Detail%2520Shot%252009.jpg

Space between CPU cooler and GPU - just millimeters!

Hackintosh%2520Detail%2520Shot%252010.jpg

With the front case fans blowing toward the rear, there's plenty of space in the right side of this case for the hot CPU air to be pushed out the rear fan by the front fans.

Hackintosh%2520Detail%2520Shot%252011.jpg

That's as good of cable management as I can achieve in this small space, with all those extra cables. It still works out pretty well.

* * *

The only thing I'm not thrilled with, is that the two front case fans won't turn on unless I physically start them spinning, or I turn the case fan setting to high, then back down to low. It's like they're not getting enough voltage to start up, or something. Just a minor inconvenience though, as everything else is fantastic.
 
Very interesting! Thank you!

As far as the PSU - you said that the cables come out of the side? Based on the pictures on Newegg, it looks as if they are coming out of the back of the unit.... I know space is tight, but could you get a picture of the PSU/GPU clearance from the back of the PSU to the back of the GPU? I see a few inches, but I am not sure what you mean by the cables.

Good move on moving the fan. Do you have any temperature readings while running? I'd be interested to see them if you have them :D

How is the RAM clearance with that cooler turned that way?

Stork - I know I am due for an upgrade! However, with now having a house and a wife, hobby money isn't nearly as easy to come by as it was previously! Computer tinkering is an expensive hobby you know. My HTPC is still rocking with a i3-2125 and my main PC with my 2500k. My wife now has a hack as well and I've since converted from XBMC to Plex and got a Harmony remote controlling it all. As you said, WAF is important with these things!

I'm buying things piece by piece now and slowly upgrading the main PC. I think my next one will be of ITX factor (which will actually happen before anything else) and by full SSD (1-512gb for OSX, 1-128gb for Windows).
 
...Stork - I know I am due for an upgrade! However, with now having a house and a wife, hobby money isn't nearly as easy to come by as it was previously! Computer tinkering is an expensive hobby you know. My HTPC is still rocking with a i3-2125 and my main PC with my 2500k. My wife now has a hack as well and I've since converted from XBMC to Plex and got a Harmony remote controlling it all. As you said, WAF is important with these things!
:thumbup: How well I know! :lol: Keep up the good work, my friend.
 
Very interesting! Thank you!


As far as the PSU - you said that the cables come out of the side? Based on the pictures on Newegg, it looks as if they are coming out of the back of the unit.... I know space is tight, but could you get a picture of the PSU/GPU clearance from the back of the PSU to the back of the GPU? I see a few inches, but I am not sure what you mean by the cables.
No, what I meant was that it comes out on the right side of the rear of the PSU. Not on the 'side' side of the PSU. The cable bundle comes out on the 'front' side of the Node 304 case, whereas if it came out on the other side of the rear of the PSU, it'd be butted up right against the GPU. Here's a detailed shot:

Close%2520Up%2520PSU%2520and%2520CPU%2520Cooler%25201.jpg

I'd say there's about 1 to 1.5" of clearance between the PSU and the GPU.​
Good move on moving the fan. Do you have any temperature readings while running? I'd be interested to see them if you have them
Here are some readings at a pretty idle state. Once I get the chance to really rev this thing up, I'll take some more readings.
Screen%2520Shot%25202014-08-04%2520at%25201.35.06%2520PM.png


How is the RAM clearance with that cooler turned that way?
The Noctua is actually high enough off the mobo that there's plenty of clearance for RAM. I don't know if there would be enough clearance for RAM with huge heatsinks on it (probably not).

Close%2520Up%2520PSU%2520and%2520CPU%2520Cooler%25202.jpg


Close%2520Up%2520PSU%2520and%2520CPU%2520Cooler%25203.jpg


Close%2520Up%2520PSU%2520and%2520CPU%2520Cooler%25204.jpg
 
Very cool guide! I've used the H87N and the white version of the case for my build. Out of interest, do you ever find the front fans aren't spinning at low speed? I occasionally have to 'tap' them to get them working.
 
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