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The 4K Dell OptiMac - 9020 MT - Core i7-4790 - Radeon RX 570 - LG 4K IPS Monitor

This is true. You generally end up spending more time and money on these hacks than initially planned. What you can't get when buying a pre-built Mac from Apple is the satisfaction and enjoyment of doing these kinds of mods and making your own unique system. To me it's more of an interesting hobby rather than a purely cost saving attempt.

Indeed, I am immensely proud of the final product, current iteration* and have gained a plethora of knowledge and experience.
 
If you look at the latest 2018 Mac mini unibody AL chassis what could you possibly do to increase the airflow ?.
I use two 2009 Mac mini AL chassis.
 
I use two 2009 Mac mini AL chassis.
The older Macs like those 2009 minis bought used are somewhat moddable. I've not seen anyone mod their brand new shiny late 2018 Aluminium Mac mini because it would destroy all the resale value. The best you can do is apply better thermal paste. The starting price for a new one is $799 and that's with an i3 and only 8GB of ram. Limited to onboard Intel UHD630 graphics. A lot to pay for an internet surfing device IMO. A new $400 iPhone SE can do a lot of what a Mac mini can do and you even get a display to look at !
 
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MSI Radeon RX 5600 XT GAMING MX 6GB for $239.99

This is a current deal going on at Newegg. I've also posted about it in Deals of the Day.

Is it worth the extra money over the cost of a new RX 580 8GB ? I haven't bought one to test yet. If you do have the MT and don't have a dedicated card it's certainly worth consideration. It's 3 years newer than the RX 580 so it will be supported for longer by macOS. The card length is 11.7" so it won't fit the MT case unless you mod it. It should also fit in most any mATX case with a good amount of room in the front of the case. If you are a AAA gamer and have the i7-4770 or i7-4790 you'd definitely have higher gaming framerates as an option. Not sure how much it would improve video editing. If you do try one make sure to report back here what you think of it.

 
Don't know if this is the right place to post my issue ...

I have successfully installed Catalina on my 7020 i5 SFF. Everything is working fine,even tweaked the BIOS for 4K support for my LG monitor.
The LG is connected to the onboard DP port.
Issue is that when I turn off my monitor or switch input the signal is not returned. When manually switching dp port I see second desktop, switching back will result in a 800x600 screen.

Wwhatevergreen and Lilu are up to date

Nevermind, had to plug in into first DP port.
Issue now is that I don't have audio on that DP. Only on the second, but I am only using one DP port
 

Attachments

  • config.plist
    8.7 KB · Views: 74
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Issue now is that I don't have audio on that DP.
DP audio only works on one of the two ports. This is something that no one has come up with a solution for. The obviously simple answer is to plug in headphones or computer speakers to the line out jack for audio and then there's no need for DP audio. A compromise I know but when you calculate how much money these save over buying a 2014 or newer iMac, it's probably worth it when you have a few things that aren't perfect.
 
New HP monitor released with DP input !
I posted this in Deals of the Day. Lowest priced new DP input monitor you'll find anywhere online.

 
Issue now is that I don't have audio on that DP. Only on the second, but I am only using one DP port
Make a backup and try this - replacing Properties in your current config and please report back.
Atttacjhed your original config with changes made - drop as is into clover folder. Reboot and interrupt Clover to select configSND as the config used. Please report back - this is not my work and Im not sure if Ive ever tested.

Code:
        <key>Properties</key>
        <dict>
            <key>PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x2,0x0)</key>
            <dict>
                <key>enable-hdmi20</key>
                <data>AQAAAA==</data>
                <key>framebuffer-patch-enable</key>
                <data>AQAAAA==</data>
                <key>framebuffer-stolenmem</key>
                <data>AAAABA==</data>
                <key>AAPL,ig-platform-id</key>
                <data>AwAiDQ==</data>
                <key>framebuffer-unifiedmem</key>
                <data>AAAAgA==</data>
                <key>framebuffer-con2-type</key>
                <data>AAQAAA==</data>
                <key>device-id</key>
                <data>EgQAAA==</data>
                <key>framebuffer-fbmem</key>
                <data>AAAAAw==</data>
                <key>framebuffer-con2-enable</key>
                <integer>1</integer>
            </dict>
            <key>PciRoot(0)/Pci(0x03,0)</key>
            <dict>
                <key>hda-gfx</key>
                <string>onboard-1</string>
                <key>#no-controller-patch</key>
                <integer>1</integer>
                <key>layout-id</key>
                <integer>13</integer>
            </dict>
            <key>PciRoot(0)/Pci(0x1b,0)</key>
            <dict>
                <key>hda-gfx</key>
                <string>onboard-1</string>
                <key>#Comment</key>
                <string>Realtek ALC280 Audio Configuration</string>
                <key>layout-id</key>
                <integer>13</integer>
            </dict>
        </dict>
        <key>UseIntelHDMI</key>
        <false/>
    </dict>
 

Attachments

  • configSND.plist
    8.8 KB · Views: 45
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Make a backup and try this - replacing Properties in your current config and please report back.
Atttacjhed your original config with changes made - drop as is into clover folder. Reboot and interrupt Clover to select configSND as the config used. Please report back - this is not my work and Im not sure if Ive ever tested.

I tried your configSND but no difference.
DP audio only works on one of the two ports. This is something that no one has come up with a solution for. The obviously simple answer is to plug in headphones or computer speakers to the line out jack for audio and then there's no need for DP audio. A compromise I know but when you calculate how much money these save over buying a 2014 or newer iMac, it's probably worth it when you have a few things that aren't perfect.

Thnx trs96, Thats what I did indeed, use the rear audio out for now.
 
please delete
 
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