- Joined
- Dec 28, 2012
- Messages
- 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)
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Crazy high GPU score in Cinebench!
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!