[Success] BoomR's 360/VR Production Build > GA-Z170X-DESIGNARE - i7 6700K - NVIDIA GTX 970

[BoomR]

many thanks for the info! should i consider as a first noise lowering solution all those low noise products on SilentPC site and the likes?

Sorry - I don't have much experience with those, especially as it relates to how effective those non-fan cooling mechanisms are. I'm sure they're fine; otherwise, SilentPC.com wouldn't be in business . You'll have to weigh the costs of those options vs. a standard CustoMac build. You might also consider building your own iso box. I had one in my old studio built out of a basic Ikea kitchen base cabinet. I'm sure there's got to be a YouTube video or instructions on how to make your own. That might be a different route to consider...

And with that, we're starting to get off-topic for this thread. You might want to post a new thread in Forums > The Build > Buying Advice & see if you can get some feedback on what others have successfully used for quiet builds. I think @Stork has an Fractal Design "quiet" case that is a good start. Check out his builds, and also do some research on quiet cases, too.

 

[Blerticus]

Yes - the m.2 drive should appear in Disk Utility so you can partition/format, and then install. If you are having issues, you might want to post on the original thread for M.2 support that I linked to at the top of this thread & see if RehabMan can help you troubleshoot your issue. I'm no expert by any means. I was running into a similar problem & he helped me iron it out.

Ok!!! It's up and (mostly) running off the m.2 drive. Thank you for this thread.

The NVIDIA Web drivers for my GTX970 are "sticking", which is great, too.

I have a couple remaining issues:

1. Intermittent kernel panic. I haven't quite determined the pattern, but a kernel panic will occur every-so-often during boot while the Apple Logo is displayed. The computer then reboots, and all seems fine.
   [Once I capture a video or picture, I'll post it]
2. Audio. I just want/need the on-board audio to work (for now). Even though several devices appear in the "Sound Preference" for both "Output" and "Input", I still don't hear anything. (I have not tried audio input yet ... baby steps ... )
   
   
3. More Audio. In a previous attempt at the build, I was getting sound through my monitor via the GTX card. Is there an easy way to enable that?
4. When shutting down, it will reboot. (I know there's a discussion elsewhere about this, and I'll find it again. )
5. Thunderbolt. System Information says, "Thunderbolt: No hardware was found."
   I did the FW update recommended above, and it seemed to take. Not sure what else needs to happen to make this appear.
   [Note: I do *not* have any thunderbolt devices plugged in yet. I hope to acquire some in the near future. Maybe a device needs to be plugged in for it to work]
   

Thanks, in advance, for any ideas you might have. (I'm scouring through this site. It's an amazing site with a wealth of information. Wow!)

-- Mark

 

[BoomR]

Ok!!! It's up and (mostly) running off the m.2 drive. Thank you for this thread.

The NVIDIA Web drivers for my GTX970 are "sticking", which is great, too.

I have a couple remaining issues:

1. Intermittent kernel panic. I haven't quite determined the pattern, but a kernel panic will occur every-so-often during boot while the Apple Logo is displayed. The computer then reboots, and all seems fine.
   [Once I capture a video or picture, I'll post it]
2. Audio. I just want/need the on-board audio to work (for now). Even though several devices appear in the "Sound Preference" for both "Output" and "Input", I still don't hear anything. (I have not tried audio input yet ... baby steps ... )
   View attachment 243742 View attachment 243743
   
3. More Audio. In a previous attempt at the build, I was getting sound through my monitor via the GTX card. Is there an easy way to enable that?
4. When shutting down, it will reboot. (I know there's a discussion elsewhere about this, and I'll find it again. )
5. Thunderbolt. System Information says, "Thunderbolt: No hardware was found."
   I did the FW update recommended above, and it seemed to take. Not sure what else needs to happen to make this appear.
   [Note: I do *not* have any thunderbolt devices plugged in yet. I hope to acquire some in the near future. Maybe a device needs to be plugged in for it to work]
   View attachment 243744

Thanks, in advance, for any ideas you might have. (I'm scouring through this site. It's an amazing site with a wealth of information. Wow!)

-- Mark

1. After a week or so, I started having that issue randomly, too. I think I may have found a fix, though. Make sure to boot -v (verbose) so you can see all the messages that lead up to the KP. Try & take some pics & share. For me, it'll happen a couple 2-3 times in a row after I add or remove new devices. Sometimes booting with -f (I think that's "forget kernel cache") seems to fix. BTW, If I use a standard SSD, I **never** have any KPs on boot. I am suspecting it may be something with the M.2...?? More research...Let's tag-team this one.
2. Make sure that your speakers are connected to the correct audio port. You need to be connected to the middle one in the row closest to the PCIe slots. Since none of your audio options are grayed out, they should be working. If it wasn't working, there wouldn't be anything showing up on either inputs or outputs.
3. HDMI audio is a bit of a different beast. Check out Toleda's posts & detailed instructions on how to get this working.
4. In Clover Configurator > ACPI page, there is a checkbox for a "FixShutdown". That's worked for me & should take care of it.
5. You will not see anything in the system info about any of the TB hardware if nothing is plugged in & working. This has been a known issue all along. Nothing to worry about.

--B

 

[priapice]

Hi BoomR,
Have you tried this build with Pro Tools? I'm currently running an old i7-950 Snow Leopard build running PT9 and preparing to put together a new system to run PT12 on Sierra.

 

[BoomR]

Hi BoomR,
Have you tried this build with Pro Tools? I'm currently running an old i7-950 Snow Leopard build running PT9 and preparing to put together a new system to run PT12 on Sierra.

I have not... Yet... This is a separate machine than what I use in my music studio, dedicated to stuff I do in Final Cut Pro X with some special plug-ins that let me edit/produce 360/VR video.

If I have time this weekend, I'll try & download/install PT12 on it. My HD|Native card is in my other machine, unfortunately. But I strongly believe this machine will kick-a** with Pro Tools... of that, I nave no doubt.

 

[priapice]

I have not... Yet... This is a separate machine than what I use in my music studio, dedicated to stuff I do in Final Cut Pro X with some special plug-ins that let me edit/produce 360/VR video.

If I have time this weekend, I'll try & download/install PT12 on it. My HD|Native card is in my other machine, unfortunately. But I strongly believe this machine will kick-a** with Pro Tools... of that, I nave no doubt.

That would be great if you get the chance. As you know, Pro Tools is so fussy about every little component, and all the recent builds I'm finding online seem to be x99 based which would be stretching my budget

 

[dim78]

Can anybody tell me if this is working on el capitan, trying to get an apollo card working and it has worked once out if 20 boots. It's working in win 10 properly, was it wrong of me to update aud firmware from a hackintosh?

 

[BoomR]

Can anybody tell me if this is working on el capitan, trying to get an apollo card working and it has worked once out if 20 boots. It's working in win 10 properly, was it wrong of me to update aud firmware from a hackintosh?

Is your Apollo actually a Thunderbolt interface? (a lot of people around here call all types of audio interfaces "cards.") If so, I think you need to make some memory allocation adjustments in the BIOS > Thunderbolt for the extra resources required by the Apollo. Check the link at the top of this post for a link to @QkY 's build - whose music production build was the baseline for my build. He's got some specific settings to get TB working properly, as he's got 2 Apollo cards daisy chained off one of the TB ports.

 

[dim78]

Yeas

Is your Apollo actually a Thunderbolt interface? (a lot of people around here call all types of audio interfaces "cards.") If so, I think you need to make some memory allocation adjustments in the BIOS > Thunderbolt for the extra resources required by the Apollo. Check the link at the top of this post for a link to @QkY 's build - whose music production build was the baseline for my build. He's got some specific settings to get TB working properly, as he's got 2 Apollo cards daisy chained off one of the TB ports.

Ok yes it is a thunderbolt interface I'm using the apple th 3 to th 2 adaptor , thanks alot I'll Check that out and see.if that helps!

 

[Wolfie81]

On a side note, does anyones MB lights not quite match up on the colour wheel in BIOS? Seems to have a strong blue hue across all spectrums.