Buy new graphics card or mainboard?

[carefree1]

Hi, everybody.
I'd like to have Mac OS X 10.9 running on my PC. However, since my hardware is rather old, my graphics card (GeForce 7900GS) is not supported since 10.8 (and i guess it is not in 10.9 either). The problem is, I don't know if I should replace my graphics card or the mainboard itself, because I had some trouble getting sound, USB 3.0 etc. work in 10.7 with my mainboard (Asus P8H67: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H67/).

So in short, I have this hardware:
- CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2125 CPU @ 3.30GHz
- Mainboard: Asus P8H67
- Graphics: GeForce 7600GS

What would be the cheapest change to get 10.9 running with these "special requests":
- Sound incl. microphone input
- I need to be able to use dual screen
- USB 3.0 support
- watch videos in FullHD

As you can see, other than watching HD videos, I don't need a lot of performance. I really don't need a performance upgrade, but a cheap upgrade to supported and rather troublefree hardware.

Thanks for advice.

 

[Adrian B]

You can use a USB audio device instead if onboard audio chips are giving problems (this is a problem for a grown number of people).
http://www.tonymacx86.com/audio/98115-simple-plug-n-play-usb-audio-device-os-x.html
Having said all that ALC887 should be working. If you are trying to use front audio ports on your case is there mention of a jumper on the motherboard that needs changed in the manual?

For graphics use change your graphics card for at least a GT610 if on a tight budget - if you can stretch to a GT640 or GTX650 from the buyers guide then that will give you a better working life for your newer card:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/398-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-november-2013.html#gfx_cards

Adrian B

 

[carefree1]

I am not sure about the audio on my board, but I THINK I got it to work last time (on OS X 10.7). If I can't get it to work, yea USB sound might be a solution.

About the graphics, I think a 610 would be more than enough. What are the advantages of a 640/650? Also what's about the noise level? My current graphics card has passive cooling.

 

[Adrian B]

I am not sure about the audio on my board, but I THINK I got it to work last time (on OS X 10.7). If I can't get it to work, yea USB sound might be a solution.

About the graphics, I think a 610 would be more than enough. What are the advantages of a 640/650? Also what's about the noise level? My current graphics card has passive cooling.

A GT610 will be a big upgrade against what you are using at present - passive versions are available on the market so you will find something locally. A GT640 is about 4 times the power of the GT610. It might just be overkill for your requirements though.
For USB 3, you should consider a USB 3 PCie card - do a search here and see what turns up.


Adrian B

 

[carefree1]

Yea, as I said I really don't need the performance. So I think a 610 would be enough for my needs. I guess dual screen would be no problem, right? (I will check myself right now anyway.)

When talking about USB 3 PCIe card, does that mean USB 3.0 on my P8H67 doesn't work (properly) or did you just miss that?

 

[Adrian B]

Yea, as I said I really don't need the performance. So I think a 610 would be enough for my needs. I guess dual screen would be no problem, right? (I will check myself right now anyway.)

I have used dual screen at 1920x1080 resolution on my GT520 (older version of same card) fine. Although day to day I use only one screen. HDMI and DVI-D work without any issues. Additional work is required to get HDMI audio running though.

When talking about USB 3 PCIe card, does that mean USB 3.0 on my P8H67 doesn't work (properly) or did you just miss that?

My bad - was getting that mixed up with answering another question on an old MSI board - just ignore that bit unless you are looking for more sockets. Are you having problems with your USB 3 ports or do things appear OK?


Adrian B

 

[carefree1]

USB 3 was fine on Windows 7. It did NOT work on 10.7, I think because Apple started official support of USB 3.0 in 10.8? (Or something like that.)

In fact, right now I'm only on one screen, but as there are some (old) screens just getting dusty, I figured I might as well use them. HDMI with audio is something I haven't thought of until now, but it would be nice to have some day. What do you mean by "Additional work"? Is it possible without getting insane, or is it perhaps conflicting with something else? Some tinkering would be okay. Would it be easier on other cards?
But well, I will ask again when I have all the suff ready and have problems with it.

I think I'll stick to my MB and get a 610 (http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0083Y1ZSG/?tag=tonymacx8603-21). I'll report back once I run intro trobules (or have a success story to share).

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[carefree1]

WOW! That really was a walk in the park. This was MUCH easier than all the OS X before (was on and off a Hackintosh since 10.5).

A little bit more detail:
- Got image from App Store on a friends computer. (Originally I had one prepared which I got via t*****t, but my USB wasn't readable.) However university internet helped me out, and I needed like 15 minutes for all the 5.3GB.
- Formatted USB & ran UniBeast: This was the only uncomfortable part. I told my friend I would need her MacBook for 20 minutes (for which I already unexpectedly used 15 on downloading the OS). However, instead of the said 10-15 minutes in the guide I needed 40.
- Turned off PC + put in new video card.
- Boot from USB -> no hard drives where shown in Mavericks Installer. I read up on this topic and found out it seems to be linked to some AHCI things. I already did does configurations (for 10.7) and the BIOS also showed my drives on startup, but I took a look anyway. Okay, somehow AHCI was off again, so I turned it on...and voila, I was done.

From there on everything worked like a charm. Video was no problem thanks to the new card, USB 3 worked OOB too, onBoard network as well. Almost forgot to run Multibeast. I did that and installed Bootloader and Audio (ALC887 for current mainboards) and sound was ready too. Even with microphone, even with different profiles for headphones / speakers.

What can I say? Brilliant!

Thanks for your help again, Adrian.

 

[Adrian B]

WOW! That really was a walk in the park. This was MUCH easier than all the OS X before (was on and off a Hackintosh since 10.5).

A little bit more detail:
- Got image from App Store on a friends computer. (Originally I had one prepared which I got via t*****t, but my USB wasn't readable.) However university internet helped me out, and I needed like 15 minutes for all the 5.3GB.
- Formatted USB & ran UniBeast: This was the only uncomfortable part. I told my friend I would need her MacBook for 20 minutes (for which I already unexpectedly used 15 on downloading the OS). However, instead of the said 10-15 minutes in the guide I needed 40.
- Turned off PC + put in new video card.
- Boot from USB -> no hard drives where shown in Mavericks Installer. I read up on this topic and found out it seems to be linked to some AHCI things. I already did does configurations (for 10.7) and the BIOS also showed my drives on startup, but I took a look anyway. Okay, somehow AHCI was off again, so I turned it on...and voila, I was done.

From there on everything worked like a charm. Video was no problem thanks to the new card, USB 3 worked OOB too, onBoard network as well. Almost forgot to run Multibeast. I did that and installed Bootloader and Audio (ALC887 for current mainboards) and sound was ready too. Even with microphone, even with different profiles for headphones / speakers.

What can I say? Brilliant!

Thanks for your help again, Adrian.

You are very welcome - enjoy your CustoMac

Adrian B