noob - no access to mac/hackintosh

I'm a processor snob I guess (I use an i9-7980xe). Always buy more memory than you think you need, max out the memory for the motherboard if you can. Others have posted success with the i3-8100. If you buy it, use a motherboard others have used in a successful build with THAT CPU. If this is your first build and you think you're a noob, don't be a pioneer. Build a known good combination so it is easier to get help. My experience with the intel video has not been good. I'd use a separate video card. I've had very good luck with the RX 560 but it does require a patch. Mine is the MSI low profile, 2 slot wide, 4GB version.

If you buy an ITX MB and case, I Love my PC-TU100. It's wonderfully small and the handle on the top is a great feature. The only down side is that you REALLY need to put a thin fan in the bottom and ditch the 2.5 drive bays if you use a decent GPU. With NVME on the motherboard, this shouldn't be a problem. I am using a 1060 GPU and i7 processor in my TU100. A low watt i3 would likely do just fine without modification. I highly recommend the low profile Noctua heatsink/fan combo. It works great with a taller fan on my i7. It will do great as-is with an i3.

thanks for the tips.

i was thinking more atx and following the customac budget atx build. the budget atx build recommends an i3-8100 but no video card?

P1LGRIM said:

Good plan - Don't forget to come back and update this thread when you succeed.

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dear p1lgrim and tonymac,

I successfully got my mackintosh/customac working! your site is amazing and as a grateful thanks, I donated some money to your site as a small token of gratitude. I am typing this from my new hackingtosh today - AWESOME. (https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...400-gtx-1060-3gb-16gb-ram-high-sierra.251061/)

still a few kinks here and there to work out but the basic are there and my customac/hackintosh is running as fast as the high-end iMacs without the price tag! I have been at it for 5 hours now and am thoroughly knackered. will post in a separate thread about my success and problems today.

success though is: high Sierra running on this config: gigabyte z370m-d3h, i5-8400, 16 gb of ram, gtx 1060 3gb (drivers installed and working).

thanks so much tonymac86!

andysydney2003 said:

I am typing this from my new hackingtosh today

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That's great news
Thanks for coming back to update the thread.