First Build Advice

[jfredson]

Hey all,

Been following this community for a while, planning to take my first dip into building a custom Mac Pro equivalent Hackintosh for photo/video editing. I've done all my research on hardware compatibility but would really appreciate some confirmation on my choices before pulling the trigger.

My planned build is as follows:

CPU: Intel I7-9700KCooler: Corsair H60 (2018) Single Fan 120mm
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi LGA 1151
Memory: Ballistix Sport LT 32GB (2x16GB)
System Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500GB
Project Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB
GPU: Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX580 8GB
Power Supply: Corsair RMX750x 750W 80 Plus Gold
Case: Corsair 200R

So the plan is to start with this build to just get up and running and then add more archive HDDs down the road as needed. My current archive HDDs are all external so I'm not going to replace them just yet. I also want to be able to upgrade to 64GB RAM at some point too, so I opted for a 750W power supply even though it is a little overkill for right now.

Does this look like a solid build for what I'm doing considering that I've never built a Hackintosh before? Is this everything I am going to need to get up and running with a fully useable Mac? I believe the motherboard I picked has both Wifi and Bluetooth builtin so that I can use AirDrop and Handoff out of the gate. Is there anything else I need to consider before pulling the trigger?

Thanks for any and all advice!

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hey all,

Been following this community for a while, planning to take my first dip into building a custom Mac Pro equivalent Hackintosh for photo/video editing. I've done all my research on hardware compatibility but would really appreciate some confirmation on my choices before pulling the trigger.

My planned build is as follows:

CPU: Intel I7-9700KCooler: Corsair H60 (2018) Single Fan 120mm
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi LGA 1151
Memory: Ballistix Sport LT 32GB (2x16GB)
System Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500GB
Project Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB
GPU: Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX580 8GB
Power Supply: Corsair RMX750x 750W 80 Plus Gold
Case: Corsair 200R

So the plan is to start with this build to just get up and running and then add more archive HDDs down the road as needed. My current archive HDDs are all external so I'm not going to replace them just yet. I also want to be able to upgrade to 64GB RAM at some point too, so I opted for a 750W power supply even though it is a little overkill for right now.

Does this look like a solid build for what I'm doing considering that I've never built a Hackintosh before? Is this everything I am going to need to get up and running with a fully usable Mac? I believe the motherboard I picked has both Wifi and Bluetooth builtin so that I can use AirDrop and Handoff out of the gate. Is there anything else I need to consider before pulling the trigger?

Thanks for any and all advice!

Your system as configured should be compatible with MacOS High Sierra and Mojave. I agree that a 750W power supply is a bit overkill. A 650W should be more than enough.

The WiFi and Bluetooth on the motherboard are not compatible with MacOS, and you will need to get a separate WiFi/Bluetooth card if you want to have them when running MacOS.

You might as well go for 64GB RAM (16GB X 4) right now if your budget allows since the RAM prices are at their lowest point right now in years.

You will need access to a real Mac or working hackintosh in order to download the MacOS installer and make a bootable USB stick for use on your new system.

Note also that there are some functionalities on a real Mac that may not be available on a hackintosh, such as Thunderbolt 3 and Target Disk Mode.

 

[macs_forever]

If those SSDs are what you own, fine. There used to be a problem with the 970 EVO+, don't know if there still is. I own 2 - 2TB SSDs a 960 PRO and an HP EX950. The HP drive is faster for almost all scenarios and it is less expensive.

 

[Shiitaki]

If those SSDs are what you own, fine. There used to be a problem with the 970 EVO+, don't know if there still is. I own 2 - 2TB SSDs a 960 PRO and an HP EX950. The HP drive is faster for almost all scenarios and it is less expensive.

I've read that 970 EVO+ had issues too, after I helped a buddy build a system with one. So I have no idea what the problem, but it works great for him. I usually spend the money I would have used chosen Samsung because I like the fact they build the whole drive and have never been found swapping out inferior parts on retail units after the reviews are completed. But 110 for Sabrent at 3GB/s makes it hard to spent 220 for the same size Samsung.

The HP drive was one I was looking at, good reviews online. The Sabrent is even cheaper and same performance class.

 

[Shiitaki]

Hey all,

Been following this community for a while, planning to take my first dip into building a custom Mac Pro equivalent Hackintosh for photo/video editing. I've done all my research on hardware compatibility but would really appreciate some confirmation on my choices before pulling the trigger.

My planned build is as follows:

CPU: Intel I7-9700KCooler: Corsair H60 (2018) Single Fan 120mm
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi LGA 1151
Memory: Ballistix Sport LT 32GB (2x16GB)
System Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500GB
Project Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB
GPU: Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX580 8GB
Power Supply: Corsair RMX750x 750W 80 Plus Gold
Case: Corsair 200R

So the plan is to start with this build to just get up and running and then add more archive HDDs down the road as needed. My current archive HDDs are all external so I'm not going to replace them just yet. I also want to be able to upgrade to 64GB RAM at some point too, so I opted for a 750W power supply even though it is a little overkill for right now.

Does this look like a solid build for what I'm doing considering that I've never built a Hackintosh before? Is this everything I am going to need to get up and running with a fully useable Mac? I believe the motherboard I picked has both Wifi and Bluetooth builtin so that I can use AirDrop and Handoff out of the gate. Is there anything else I need to consider before pulling the trigger?

Thanks for any and all advice!

I would suggest a bigger CPU cooler, a single 120mm all in one may work fine for a stock clock. If you start overclocking it won't be enough unless you put insane fans on both sides of the radiator. I'm using a Noctua NH-15S with a 9600K and mild overclock and it is okay. But if you are using more cores and going for 5Ghz across all cores, I think you will need more like 2x140 or a really high performing 2x120. A NH-15 mops the floor with a single fan water cooler.

Supporting evidence: https://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

I was looking for a chart with a NH-D15 and the single 120mm water cooler, but as you can see in the chart the the big air is in the middle of the big water coolers. With insane 180mmx38mm case fans at 2K rpm I can still thermal throttle the 9600K with prime95 with small FFTs at 4.8 across all cores. In normal use it works fine, but since you are using a K cpu and more cores I thought I might point that out.

 

[jfredson]

Your system as configured should be compatible with MacOS High Sierra and Mojave. I agree that a 750W power supply is a bit overkill. A 650W should be more than enough.

Thanks, yeah, I’ve been thinking about doing that. It looks like if I max out the RAM to 64GB and add two HDDs for archive, I only get up to 523W. Is there anything else that might cause my power consumption to get close to maxing out 650W?

WiFi and Bluetooth on the motherboard are not compatible with MacOS, and you will need to get a separate WiFi/Bluetooth card if you want to have them when running MacOS.

Yeah I’ve been reading about that. I can’t seem to find a solid recommended WiFi/Bluetooth card. Can you recommend any?

You might as well go for 64GB RAM (16GB X 4) right now if your budget allows since the RAM prices are at their lowest point right now in years.

I’m definitely planning to max out the RAM down the road but I’m working on a pretty strict budget for this building so I think 32 GB is a good starting point.

You will need access to a real Mac or working hackintosh in order to download the MacOS installer and make a bootable USB stick for use on your new system.

Yeah, got that, thanks. Will any old USB stick work?

Note also that there are some functionalities on a real Mac that may not be available on a hackintosh, such as Thunderbolt 3 and Target Disk Mode.

Thanks, I wasn’t aware of this. I’ll have to do more research to make sure that won’t be a problem for us.

 

[jfredson]

I would suggest a bigger CPU cooler, a single 120mm all in one may work fine for a stock clock. If you start overclocking it won't be enough unless you put insane fans on both sides of the radiator. I'm using a Noctua NH-15S with a 9600K and mild overclock and it is okay. But if you are using more cores and going for 5Ghz across all cores, I think you will need more like 2x140 or a really high performing 2x120. A NH-15 mops the floor with a single fan water cooler.

Supporting evidence: https://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

I was looking for a chart with a NH-D15 and the single 120mm water cooler, but as you can see in the chart the the big air is in the middle of the big water coolers. With insane 180mmx38mm case fans at 2K rpm I can still thermal throttle the 9600K with prime95 with small FFTs at 4.8 across all cores. In normal use it works fine, but since you are using a K cpu and more cores I thought I might point that out.

Wow, thanks, that’s great advice. I hadn’t considered that cooling would be a limiting factor when overclocking the CPU. Are all of the coolers listed in that test generally compatible with a Hackintosh and the I7 9700K? I noticed the buying guide here only lists a few coolers and it doesn’t look like any of them are 2x140mm.

 

[pastrychef]

I would suggest a bigger CPU cooler, a single 120mm all in one may work fine for a stock clock. If you start overclocking it won't be enough unless you put insane fans on both sides of the radiator. I'm using a Noctua NH-15S with a 9600K and mild overclock and it is okay. But if you are using more cores and going for 5Ghz across all cores, I think you will need more like 2x140 or a really high performing 2x120. A NH-15 mops the floor with a single fan water cooler.

Supporting evidence: https://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/noctua/nh-d15-versus-closed-loop-liquid-coolers/1

I was looking for a chart with a NH-D15 and the single 120mm water cooler, but as you can see in the chart the the big air is in the middle of the big water coolers. With insane 180mmx38mm case fans at 2K rpm I can still thermal throttle the 9600K with prime95 with small FFTs at 4.8 across all cores. In normal use it works fine, but since you are using a K cpu and more cores I thought I might point that out.

I agree. Noctua coolers are awesome. Here's one of many NH-U12A reviews...

I personally use an NH-D15S with an i9-9900K. I'm currently clocked at 5GHz, but I've also gone to 5.1GHz. It even boots and runs fine at 5.2GHz but the temps were in the 90Cs. YMMV...

 

[jfredson]

If those SSDs are what you own, fine. There used to be a problem with the 970 EVO+, don't know if there still is. I own 2 - 2TB SSDs a 960 PRO and an HP EX950. The HP drive is faster for almost all scenarios and it is less expensive.

Thanks, I’ll have to check out that HP drive. Have you used it successfully in a Hackintosh build?

 

[jfredson]

I agree. Noctua coolers are awesome. Here's one of many NH-U12A reviews...

View attachment 425568


I personally use an NH-D15S with an i9-9900K. I'm currently clocked at 5GHz, but I've also gone to 5.1GHz. It even boots and runs fine at 5.2GHz but the temps were in the 90Cs. YMMV...

What’s the difference between the D15 and D15s?