Compatibility question about a CustoMac

[ellinas]

Hello,

I've studied the customac guide for may 2014 and I'd like to express some of my concerns about a build I'm going to do. I've chosen the following parts, but before I buy them I want to know some things. It's a budget thing so I'd prefer to not replace any part with another that would increment the cost. So:

INTEL CORE I3-4330 3.50GHZ LGA1150

GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-D3H OR MSI Z87-G43 RETAIL

CRUCIAL (2X4GB) DDR3 1600MHZ BALLISTIX SPORT XT DUAL CHANNEL KIT

ASUS GT640-2GD3 2GB

What I'd like to know is if that native support without driver modification (as the guide says) about the graphics cards recommended including my GT640 , means that I won't need to install any kext at all. And if no, is there any kext available? Is it known if there will be future support for this GPU?

About the audio controller that comes with this motherboard, is it possible to make it work with 5.1 sound? Natively maybe (the reason to recommend it)? I'd very much like to hear that. And what about microphone? Will 3.5mm audio ports work?

Is MSI motherboard compatible too? I'd like to buy MSI to lower the cost.

Last question, will the ethernet work? I can't find a kext for the specific ethernet. Or I am blind.

I have in mind to install latest mavericks and update it to later upcoming major os x versions!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Going Bald]

Hello,

I've studied the customac guide for may 2014 and I'd like to express some of my concerns about a build I'm going to do. I've chosen the following parts, but before I buy them I want to know some things. It's a budget thing so I'd prefer to not replace any part with another that would increment the cost. So:

INTEL CORE I3-4330 3.50GHZ LGA1150

GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-D3H OR MSI Z87-G43 RETAIL

CRUCIAL (2X4GB) DDR3 1600MHZ BALLISTIX SPORT XT DUAL CHANNEL KIT

ASUS GT640-2GD3 2GB

What I'd like to know is if that native support without driver modification (as the guide says) about the graphics cards recommended including my GT640 , means that I won't need to install any kext at all. And if no, is there any kext available? Is it known if there will be future support for this GPU?

If card is in buyer's recommended list without noting kext needed it is supported OOB. Future support? Who knows? Apple drops support for older cards with each upgrade.

About the audio controller that comes with this motherboard, is it possible to make it work with 5.1 sound? Natively maybe (the reason to recommend it)? I'd very much like to hear that. And what about microphone? Will 3.5mm audio ports work?

5.1 sound is possible - set it up thru the midi app. Mic should work with right audio kext from MultiBeast.

Is MSI motherboard compatible too? I'd like to buy MSI to lower the cost.

MSI boards are compatible but require a patched BIOS or a patched kernel due to the locked MSR in the BIOS. Otherwise they work just fine.

Last question, will the ethernet work? I can't find a kext for the specific ethernet. Or I am blind.

Shows Intel on the board specs. Use AppleIntelE1000e for Intel NIC

I have in mind to install latest mavericks and update it to later upcoming major os x versions!

Thanks in advance!

Go for it.

 

[ellinas]

Thank you very much. So I have to buy Gigabyte motherboard as suggested in the guide to be fully compatible.

Now, something last, based on tonymac's history here. Do the parts recommended every month last for long? I mean someone that built a customac to be able to keep his pc for years. I don't want to upgrade in 1 year cause of compatibility issues. You already told about GPU's and I get it, but what about motherboards and cpus? Are these possible candidates to be dropped from future support too?

My main fear is that the next os version is comming soon and I don't want to be left with mavericks. I have a mania to have what's latest of everything

 

[trs96]

I've got a three year old Sandy Bridge system ( Intel / Gigabyte) and it runs Mavericks
with no problems at all. So, yes if you stick with parts from the Buyer's guide you
can install the future updates of OS X. Some of the discrete graphics cards though
can lose support and then you'll need to upgrade that to a newer one. Easy to do.

 

[ellinas]

Nice. That's what I wanna hear.

Thank you very much for your help.

Looking forward to get it to my hands. I've got usb install ready. All is left, to order it!

 

[Going Bald]

Thank you very much. So I have to buy Gigabyte motherboard as suggested in the guide to be fully compatible.

Now, something last, based on tonymac's history here. Do the parts recommended every month last for long? I mean someone that built a customac to be able to keep his pc for years. I don't want to upgrade in 1 year cause of compatibility issues. You already told about GPU's and I get it, but what about motherboards and cpus? Are these possible candidates to be dropped from future support too?

My main fear is that the next os version is comming soon and I don't want to be left with mavericks. I have a mania to have what's latest of everything

My GA-X58A-UD7 is now 5 years old and 5 generations of CPUs back and still going strong. I can still run all versions of OS X from 10.6.0 to 10.9.3 and everything is supported with the exception of the HD5770 - I have to run 10.6.7 for it to work as that is the first update with support for it. I used a Mac GT120 with it before 10.6.7.

 

[ellinas]

Wow! That says it all. I want just that.

I've got an old strong pc like yours. 7 years old. Intel core 2 duo with intel motherboard and still rocks with the latest os x

Now, I'm looking for the best prices in my country to have better support for the warranty if needed. I will write here soon. Any suggestion, tip, hint, info will be very much accepted and appreciated. Thanks

 

[Going Bald]

Wow! That says it all. I want just that.

I've got an old strong pc like yours. 7 years old. Intel core 2 duo with intel motherboard and still rocks with the latest os x

Now, I'm looking for the best prices in my country to have better support for the warranty if needed. I will write here soon. Any suggestion, tip, hint, info will be very much accepted and appreciated. Thanks

Suggest you do some reading in the Golden Builds before selecting from the Buyer's Guide.
Which hardware had the least problems with installation and post install running. Look especially at those that are using the same apps you will be using - i.e. dedicated video editing or DAW builds

 

[ellinas]

Thank you very much.

I'm not looking for something extraordinary.

I'm a web designer. So, a notepad and a photoshop will do just fine. I'm a movie guy too so all good

But I'll look into it of course because I want it for long term use. No one knows what will I need in the future, right ?

 

[ellinas]

Finally, I ended up with these:
INTEL CORE I3-4330
Gigabyte H87M-D3H
ASUS GTX650TI 1GB

I delayed cause I had to sell some other parts of my old pc to make some money!
I'll order them this week and I'll post here my results when they're home to their daddy