[SUCCESS] Zulu's Yosemite Build: GA-Z97N-WIFI + i5-4460 + R9 270x + RTL8812AU Wifi

Components

GIGABYTE GA-Z97N-WIFI LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128720]

Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2GHz LGA 1150 with Intel HD Graphics 4600 BX80646I54460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117302

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

ASUS DirectCU II R9270X-DC2T-2GD5 Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121802

Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148820

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

Thermaltake Core V1 Extreme Mini ITX Cube Chassis
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133260

TP-LINK TL-WN8200ND High Power Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n Mini USB Up to 300Mbps (REPLACED)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704163

TP-LINK Archer T4U AC1200 Wireless Dual Band USB 3.0 Adapter, 2.4GHz 300Mbps/5Ghz 867Mbps (NEW!)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G1S87113


Already owned:

WD Red WD40EFRX 4TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236599

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad - English (USA)
Apple Store USA

Logitech M570 910-001799 Black 1 x Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Trackball
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA10V20W7156

Samsung PN64H5000 64-Inch 1080p 600Hz Plasma HDTV
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-PN64H5000-64-Inch-1080p-Plasma/dp/B00I4OBXWI/


Comments

Just followed standard tonymacx86's Yosemite install guide (used SSD 2nd partition for OS X, Win8.1 Pro's in the first one), used the following MultiBeast settings (from Mini Beast: GA-Z97N-WIFI - i7-4770k - GTX 770 (2GB) build), and installed the Edimax EW-7811Un, EW-7722UTn v2.0 Mac OS X 10.10 driver from Edimax's Support Site. Everything works as far as I know and the experience of using it is similar to my 15" rMBP.

Update1: Replaced the TP-Link TL-WN8200ND 802.11bgn USB 2.0 wireless adapter (RTL8192CU) with a TP-Link Archer T4U (RTL8812AU) using Realtek's own drivers (shared in tonymacx86 forum here). Works well on my 15" rMBP (which I'm writing this now on) and this build. Still can't confirm 802.11AC transfer speeds for now as my AC1750 router arrives in a couple of days, by which I'll be updating this post on how it performs.

Update2: Using the drivers supplied by this forum (link in Update1, previous paragraph), I have been unable to connect at AC867 speeds with my recently-acquired (and very affordable) TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 router. I have reverted back to 10.9 drivers for the Edimax EW-7822UAC (similar chipset) found here (after the product description). It seems to be a USB2.0/USB3.0 switching issue as the Archer T4U switches between standards when operating at 802.11b/g/n speeds (USB2.0) and 802.11ac speeds (USB3.0) probably due to the power and bandwidth requirements. I was unable to use the installer package normally and instead used Pacifist to install the driver. Now I am experiencing much faster transfer speeds between my 15" rMBP and my hack, ranging from a minimum of 8-10MB/s to ~15MB/s. Still trying to tweak my connection settings (router) but I am very happy with the increase in performance, coming from a transfer rate of 2-4MB/s previously.

Overall a simple and easy build for me. I've built hackintoshes since Apple moved to Intel processors, and I must say things have progressed A LOT since then thanks to this community. The primary use of this system is simply to interface with my other various Apple products (iPhone/iPad/Retina Macbook Pro/Mac Pro 3,1) while providing flexibility using mainstream/enthusiast components for HTPC/gaming use. Not disappointed. The R9 270x was a bit of a last minute change for me since I was originally going for a GTX 760 for post-production/media creation compatibility, but found out the R9 270X's roots as a rebranded 7950 and D300-like performance with OpenCL (too bad no CUDA for Resolve Lite usage) while maintaining a very competitive price as compared to Nvidia cards easily made it as my final choice.

Will post pics of the complete build once I get and test it with my new AC1750 router.

PS. The Thermaltake Core V1 case is a bit larger than I expected, but the extra room at the sides of the PSU and Motherboard meant that the area on top of the motherboard can be free from any wiring, offering a great view of all the components, giving 100% airflow, and is completely silent. Was also a joy rerouting cables around the little nooks and crannies. Love this case.

Hi, I'm very interested with your build, most of all your graphics card. Does it work OOTB? Or some procedure has to be done? Compatible with dual monitor? Is HDMI working? Sorry for lots of questions. Im planning to buy the same card. Thanks!

Hi Zulu,

I don't know if you are still around.

Would you have few pictures of your build, to see the Core V1 and components.

Thanks

Will post pics in a couple of hours, totally forgot about that sorry!

But since my initial post I've changed some components: i7-4790K, ASUS MAXIMUS VII IMPACT, GSkill Ripjaws-X 16GB DDR3-2400, MSI GTX970 GAMING 4G, Seasonic M12II-620 EVO Modular PSU, NZXT Kraken X40. Basically most of the internals except the drives have been updated for more serious gaming/multimedia work.

whencamearound said:

Hi, I'm very interested with your build, most of all your graphics card. Does it work OOTB? Or some procedure has to be done? Compatible with dual monitor? Is HDMI working? Sorry for lots of questions. Im planning to buy the same card. Thanks!

Click to expand...

The 270x worked OOTB, but was unable to test multi-display functionality since the plasma TV was my planned "monitor" and had no other display on hand to test it with (up until now). HDMI was working, that was my primary interface to the plasma. HDMI audio was also possible using an HDMI kext - this sent video/audio to my receiver and had passthrough video to my plasma.

Since most of the internals of my previous build has been replaced with beefier components and only the chassis and some smaller items remain, I am posting a newer build summary which I will link to this page. Thank you.

Have you had issues working off of external HDs through USB? I just finished mine but when I was reading files off my external the OS froze on me. Tried fixing it and a issue with video and now I'm stuck in a boot loop. Think I am gonna reinstall and try what you did. Thanks for sharing this!