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Building a Budget Haswell Build: How Low Can You Go?

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Hello,

I want to know, does GA-H81M-HD3 "have simple post-installation, don't require a DSDT, and have native sleep/wake functionality" ? Just like specific Gigabyte 8-series motherboards listed in http://www.tonymacx86.com/405-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-december-2013.html#motherboards ?

If H81M-HD3 have the native support within OS X 10.9, i want to make a cheapomac for me.

Thanks a lot!!

:ch: Socket 1150 Haswell Mainboard **
:ch: Compatible ALC 892 audio *
:ch: Compatible Realtek LAN *
:ch: UEFI by Gigabyte **

* Just like many of the other GA boards in the guide
** Exactly like all the other GA boards in the guide

All you'll need is at least 4GB of Ram and an Intel CPU with Hd4600 graphics
and it will work with no problem. Make your Mavericks Unibeast drive and run
Multibeast post install. It's not complicated. For post install run Multibeast DSDT
free, select Realtek ALC 892 for audio and Realtek Lnx2Mac or the Apple Realtek
RTL8169 ethernet kext and Zenith's Universal USB 3.0. Then restart to boot without
the unibeast drive. Can't get much easier than that.

The only different choice in Multibeast for those with the GA-H81M-H mobo version is to select
the Realtek DSDT free audio choice, ALC887. Same applies for the H81M-HD2 model.
 
Bios Settings for the GA-H81M Motherboards

Not a lot of changes are needed. Here's some screenshots of the main changes.


140325015334.jpg140325015523.jpg140325015502.jpg
First load the optimized defaults then make the following 3 changes.

1. If your CPU has integrated HD4600 set Initial Display to IGFX

2. Change XHCI mode to enabled instead of Smart Auto

3. Change VT-d to disabled if you've got a Core I5 or I7 cpu with that capability.
(the Core I3-4330 or 4340 does not have VT-d so you don't have to disable it.)

4. Save and exit.

Note: if you want to set XMP profile to profile 1 wait till after you've installed OS X and ran
multi beast before you change that bios setting.
 
>> 2. Change XHCI mode to enabled instead of Smart Auto

Any explanation why one should do so? I experienced crashes *sometimes* when plugging usb devices. Might this solve it?
 
>> 2. Change XHCI mode to enabled instead of Smart Auto

Any explanation why one should do so? I experienced crashes *sometimes* when plugging usb devices. Might this solve it?
I should have explained that better.

With XHCI Mode = Disabled
The on-board USB 3.0 port functions like a 2.0 port. You can use this if you don't have any
USB 3 devices
and just want the ports to work at usb 2 speeds.

XHCI Mode = Enabled The on-board USB 3.0 port functions like a 3.0 port
This is the optimal setting, which will work with the USB 3.0 universal kext installed.

*NOTE: The rear panel USB 3.0 ports will only work with Zenith 432's USB 3.0 Kext
in S/L/E This is available to be installed when you run multi beast.

XHCI Mode = Auto
The on-board USB 3.0 port functions like a 2.0 port before OS USB 3.0 driver load.
Choose this if you don't have any onboard USB 2.0 ports to plug your mouse/keyboard into.

All the GA-H81Ms have two of the USB 2.0 ports onboard so plug your mouse / keyboard
and / or BT dongle into those two USB 2.0 ports on the back panel.

The XHCI Mode = Auto or Smart Auto would be the preferred choices for a Windows installation.
 
Hello,

If H81M-HD3 have the native support within OS X 10.9, i want to make a cheapomac for me.

Thanks a lot!!

We just built a low buck Hackintosh (that we called the "EconoMac") at our local computer club meeting this month that had very similar specs. Our goal was to keep it under $150 using many recycled parts:

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-H81M-H $55
CPU - Intel Celeron G1820 (2.7 GHz) $40
Video card - EVGA Nvidia GT610 $48

Already owned:

Memory - 4GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1600
HDD - Seagate SATA 320 and Seagate SATA 120
Optical - LG SATA DVD-RW

PSU - Thermaltake TR2-430
Case - HP Pavilion A1010n
Keyboard - Apple USB
Mouse - Apple Mighty Mouse
WiFi - Homebrew Apple Airport card
OS - OS X 10.8.5 Mountain Lion
(but also tested with 10.9.1, which ran just fine)


The end result of the parts was a surprisingly quick computer, one that easily goes toe-to-toe with a current i5 Mac Mini. For a while I thought I was going to be able to get OS X up and running with the GPU built into the Celeron, but that turned out to be a pipe dream. From what I could determine the Celeron G1820 has HD 2500 graphics (even though specs simply say Intel HD graphics), but most users (myself included) have been unable to get HD 2500 to the desktop with full acceleration. I came close, but ultimately failed. The fix was simple: just disable the onboard graphics in the BIOS and install a supported video card. As soon as I did I was able to boot to the OS X desktop with full acceleration and proper resolution.

HP_Front.jpg

The card reader is disabled, but other than that everything works perfectly. :D

Tom
 
what about this build :
Mainboard GIGABYTE™ H61M-DS2 DVI
Intel® Core™ i3-3225 Processor
Ram 4G 1333
Can I install mavericks with this ? thanks
 


....

CPU - Intel Celeron G1820 (2.7 GHz) $40

....

The end result of the parts was a surprisingly quick computer, one that easily goes toe-to-toe with a current i5 Mac Mini.

Thats not surprising. The single thread performance of a Celeron is not that bad. If you look at

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/singleThread.html

you will be dissapponted by the fact that a cheap Celeron is rated at ~1600 while the expensive i7 are rated at ~2000 i.e. only 20% faster. Since many applications are not multi threaded, they will not run significantly faster on a high end system. SSD and 8 GB RAM and you will have a really fast system for the typical office applications no matter what CPU you choose - as long as it is not an Atom.

But the Celeron has a lot of limitations, mainly the limited instruction set, e.g. no AES instruction set. So, a i3 can be an order of magnitude faster on encryption tasks than the Celeron.

The i3 is a good choice for budget users, the i5 will be fast enough for most users, the i7 is not worth the the extra money for most users. Or buy a Xeon if you don't need the CPU graphics. You get the computing power of a i7 for the price of a i5. That would be my advice.
 
So is it really worth spending about what $300-$400 on a Hackintosh? or Just go out and buy a mac mini with an i5 for a little over that price? You can even get a second hand mac mini i5 for $400. I think that is the stress free & cheapest way to go. I'm debating selling all my parts on ebay, and get an i5 mac mini and use it as a quiet small server..

This is precisely the debate that I've been having. However, what I've figured out is this. The mini that I want would be nearly $1300 list (2.6GHz, 8Gb, 256Gb SSD, I know, not exactly low cost). However, the graphics is the killer. The Intel HD 4000 graphics are Soooo lowly rated. A halfway decent graphics card is at least an order of magnitude better from looking at benchmark sites. While I do a fair amount of low stress work on my current computer (recently deceased), I also do online simulations and I don't think the HD 4000 would cut it.

Pricing out the CustoMac Mini Deluxe as described is about $1200, but that includes the GTX 760 graphics card. That is $250 of the total by itself. So assuming that I can get the Hack machine up and running without too much heartburn, the 2 machines appear to be comparable in performance except for graphics performance. That's what makes the difference to me.

To bring a 21.5" iMac up to similar spec's, it would be about $2100 and I wouldn't utilize my 24" LCD.
 
@flatlander

Take a look at this GA Brix build. It's specs blow the current $599 Mac Mini out of the water.
Less than $37 more than that base model. It's got 16 GB ram and 240 GB of SSD storage.
You also get a Haswell Core I5 with turbo boost.

TRS 2014-04-26 at 12.25.13 PM.jpg Click on this image to enlarge it.

It can easily be made into a customac with a simple bios update and a few settings changes that
tonymacx86 has recently figured out. I know you can't add discrete graphics but this is a great
low cost alternative to the Mini. For better onboard graphics go with a Brix Pro model with the
Iris HD 5200 graphics core.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/bios-uefi...updates-msr-unlocked-boots-native-kernel.html
 
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