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[Success] GA-Z170N-WiFi | i3-6100 | Intel HD 530 - Sierra Server

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Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
33
Motherboard
GA-Z170X-Designare
CPU
Intel Core i7-6700K
Graphics
NVIDIA (Zotac) GTX 1080
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
Classic Mac
  1. iMac
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
saganic0’s 2017 Server build – Gigabyte Z170N WiFi - i3 6100 – Intel HD 530


Components

Gigabyte Z170N-WiFi Motherboard
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Intel i3-6100 Processor
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Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3000MHz (2x8GB) Memory (CMK16GX4M2B3000C15)
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Sandisk 240GB SSD Ultra II
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Syba SATA III 4 Port PCI-e Card (Marvell 88SE9235)
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Seagate Barracuda 4TB 3.5" HDD (x2)
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Silverstone SG11B Micro ATX Computer Case
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AOC 21.5" IPS Monitor (I2269VWM)

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Already owned

Corsair CX750M Power Supply (80+ Bronze)
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Comments

This build is mostly about low power consumption and high storage capacity. It is also a gift to my parents as they're running a 2007 iMac (Core 2 Duo, 2GB Ram, 256GB HDD). My Dad has just started a business and needs something he can use to manage his products via Wordpress, as well as creating and printing invoices with Word. My step-mum also wanted something she could use Photoshop & Illustrator on as she teaches Art & Photography at a local school.

However, I also wanted something for myself in the process. Open Directory and some decent file storage would do wonders for me. I'm a Web Developer by trade, and I'm constantly out and about with my MacBook Pro. I'm hoping to get a solution running with DynDns for my MacBook whereby I can login to a user at home from anywhere, all files etc stored on the machine at home, this way my somewhat small storage on my MacBook can stay clear of most of my working files and store applications only.

I've done some research into the macOS Server application and although the reviews are pretty bad (when compared to other Windows and Linux solutions), I'd still like to give it a go. This will purely be a build guide to begin with, however, I will update it with some guides on getting macOS Server Open Dir running later down the line.


The Build

Motherboard
Chosen for its frequent use and documentation in the tonymac community. I have the rev 2.0 version, came with BIOS ver FA (initial release), updated to f20, then f21. Lacking the number of SATA ports I required so that's why I picked up a PCI-e SATA adapter.

CPU
Cheapest I could find at the time. The i3-6100 is also recommended in the latest buyer's guide here.

Cooling
Standard Intel stock cooler for now, the case comes with a 120mm fan, I may grab a couple 80mm to fit in the top at some point in the future. For now, temps around 30deg.

Power Supply
Already had this left over from one of my previous builds so it came in handy.

Case
I wanted to find something small for this build as it is located above a cupboard in the kitchen/dining room area. The Silverstone SG11B was great.

Storage
240GB Sandisk for OS, plenty for this rig. 2x4TB Seagate Barracudas (green) in RAID 0 for high speed and storage capacity, totaling 8TB, lower power usage at just 5 watts each.


Installation

There are many build guides you can follow for this board. I'd recommend searching for the Z170N Wifi on the forums here.


Just to make sure…


1. Set your BIOS as follows:

Save & Exit > Load optimized defaults

Peripherals > XHCI Hand-off > Enable
Peripherals > Super IO Configuration > Disable

Chipset > VT-d > Disabled

BIOS Features > Windows 8/10 Features > Other OS
BIOS Features > Storage Boot Option Control > UEFI Only
BIOS Features > Boot Option #1 > UEFI USB Drive

Save & Exit > Save Changes & Restart​

2. Make your UniBeast installer flash drive.
3. Install macOS as per the guide
4. Run MultiBeast with the following parameters:




What works

- USB 3.0
- Audio
- Ethernet
- Intel HD 530
- PCI-e SATA III Controller (OOB)

What doesn’t work

Thanks to @glebrand for pointing out the 530 does not sleep/wake:

Sleep and wake - Generally accepted 530 doesn't sleep/wake

Messages – however I'm not concerned about this at the moment.
WiFi & Bluetooth - not bothered for now as the rig is wired in to our router via ethernet.

Additional Notes
Will keep you all updated on the macOS Server situation. For now everything seems to be working perfectly.

Check out my current main build here
 

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Last edited:
Good-looking build :)

Yes, that temperature for an i3 Skylake is spot-on. You've no real need to upgrade the cooler - which would mean an expensive buy to get a low-profile one that can improve on that.

I imagine it's a quiet machine too.

:clap:
 
Good-looking build :)

Yes, that temperature for an i3 Skylake is spot-on. You've no real need to upgrade the cooler - which would mean an expensive buy to get a low-profile one that can improve on that.

I imagine it's a quiet machine too.

:clap:

Thanks @UtterDisbelief, yeah I did a benchmark yesterday and it peaked at around 45deg. Interestingly, it was only pulling 15watts from the wall. Love this low-power beast!
 
Thanks @UtterDisbelief, yeah I did a benchmark yesterday and it peaked at around 45deg. Interestingly, it was only pulling 15watts from the wall. Love this low-power beast!
Awesome build! I have the same mobo. Can you give me some hints on how you got the USB ports working at full speed on Sierra? That's the only thing I'm having trouble getting my brain wrapped around. Thanks for your help!
 
nice build. But 1 question.


how? It is generally accepted that HD 530 has problem with display wake after sleep mode.

You're absolutely right. I thought it was working - it absolutely is not at this point. I've disabled sleeping on both the hack and the display for the time being. Thanks for pointing this out.
 
You're absolutely right. I thought it was working - it absolutely is not at this point. I've disabled sleeping on both the hack and the display for the time being. Thanks for pointing this out.
Well, at first I was happy because I thought you've found how to solve this notorious problem, but unfortunately no. Ok, hope someone will find how to fix this issue.
 
what bios version are you using??? are you getting the ghost boot entry problem? have you made the mistake of booting into the recovery partition? (F20c or F7)
 
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what bios version are you using??? are you getting the ghost boot entry problem? have you made the mistake of booting into the recovery partition? (F20c or F7)

Hi @dasboot5, sorry for slow replies - very busy with work at the moment!

I'm using latest BIOS that isn't in beta (F7). I do get the ghost boot entry problem, I get this with both this hack and my main desktop hack (see description).

This doesn't really concern me though, I'm rarely playing with anything in the BIOS and you can manually edit Clover entries to show only the boot partitions/drives you want anyway. Hope this helps!



Awesome build! I have the same mobo. Can you give me some hints on how you got the USB ports working at full speed on Sierra? That's the only thing I'm having trouble getting my brain wrapped around. Thanks for your help!

Hi @Starbird, apologies for the slow reply! To be honest with you, they seemed to work perfectly OOB. Are you on latest non-beta BIOS ver (F7)?
 
Any updates on running macOS server? I'm interested in using it on my hackintosh, but I don't know if there's any known issues regarding this (macOS server on a hackintosh in general)?
 
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