Building a H4ckint0sh after I sold my 2010 iMac - seeking help and advice

[pastrychef]

I don't know what type of connector the wifi card on that motherboard uses. It's either M.2 or mini PCI-e. If it's M.2, you can replace it with a DW1560. If it's mini PCI-e, you'll still need a BCM94360CD/CS with an adaptor.

Either way, the wifi card will still need to be replaced.

 

[originalmagneto]

I don't know what type of connector the wifi card on that motherboard uses. It's either M.2 or mini PCI-e. If it's M.2, you can replace it with a DW1560. If it's mini PCI-e, you'll still need a BCM94360CD/CS with an adaptor.

Either way, the wifi card will still need to be replaced.

The description in the "Expansion slots" section says "1 x M.2 Socket 1 connector for the wireless communication module (M2_WIFI)"

So I guess I won't be needing the adaptor then? The only downside of that MB is that it does not support USB3.1 and Thunderbolt...

 

[pastrychef]

If it uses M.2, a DW1560 card will work.

It's also missing two DIMM slots, M.2 slot for SSD, and it only has one PCI-e expansion slot.

 

[originalmagneto]

If it uses M.2, a DW1560 card will work.

It's also missing two DIMM slots, M.2 slot for SSD, and it only has one PCI-e expansion slot.

Hm, I think I saw a m.2 slot for ssd (it even supports NVMe, so I guess AHCI is a given). The one PCI-e exp. slot could be used for the Thunderbolt expansion maybe?

 

[pastrychef]

You must make sure that the motherboard explicitly states that Thunderbolt is supported.

 

[originalmagneto]

Ok, pulled the trigger in the wifi/bt card, I ordered BCM94352Z and I'm going to put it in this MB http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5982#ov.
The wifi/but functionality is crucial for me since I rely on handoff/continuity and iMessage a lot.

The GC will be the GTX960 (second hand). Praying that I can make the NVIDIA Web Drivers work with this one.

The m.2 storage is a question, I can buy a Samsung sm951 128gb AHCI card for cheap so I will go with that and the HDD with the hope I can create a custom Fusion drive out of these and that a 128gb SSD is enough for a smooth performance.

 

[gamingaccess]

Ok, pulled the trigger in the wifi/bt card, I ordered BCM94352Z and I'm going to put it in this MB http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5982#ov.
The wifi/but functionality is crucial for me since I rely on handoff/continuity and iMessage a lot.

The GC will be the GTX960 (second hand). Praying that I can make the NVIDIA Web Drivers work with this one.

The m.2 storage is a question, I can buy a Samsung sm951 128gb AHCI card for cheap so I will go with that and the HDD with the hope I can create a custom Fusion drive out of these and that a 128gb SSD is enough for a smooth performance.

Why didn't you ordered the Bcm94360cs or the Bcm94360cd?

 

[Going Bald]

Why didn't you ordered the Bcm94360cs or the Bcm94360cd?

Probably because the linked board specs mention the WiFi slot is M.2 socket 1 and he wanted the card to fit?

 

[originalmagneto]

Btw still on the fence regarding the graphics card. There have been positive reviews of the reference RX470/480 cards so maybe I'll take the plunge and invest in those (most probably the Sapphire RX470 4GB version).

And the last thing again...the SSD. I'd much rather buy a NVMe m.2 card than a AHCI version. One of the reasons is the price (much lower than AHCI), the other one is the technology itself. It baffles me why Apple sticker with AHCI (or some variant) when a native NVMe is clearly superior. I was hoping for an updated iMac that would implement NVMe ergo, native macOS NVMe drivers but that didn't happen Now im torn again.

I know that the wifi/bt/AirDrop/iMessage problems will cause the most headaches to me, but at this stage, I wanted to share my feelings

 

[originalmagneto]

UPDATE 01.11.2016

Ordered the parts (see my initial post for updated links) and I guess I will start building it next week. Will update the post with my progress.

The most demanding (I guess) will be setting up the Wifi/BT (swapping the m-2 cards + software tinkering) + iMessage. I eliminated the graphics card potential issue by going with an older card (GTX680)

Other than that, I think I'll be fine with my setup. The goal was to build the most OOB functioning hackintosh and we will see if it lives up to my expectations.