Dual Boot Gaming Rig

[StickyS]

Dual Boot Gaming Rig-ASUS Maximus V Formula/G.Skill RAM HELP NEEDED

Hey all, I'm new here so I apologize in advance if I do anything wrong. I am currently done with research and am about to start ordering components for my new gaming rig, and I wanted to do a final compatibility check.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Rosewill 1000W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit)
Keyboard: Logitech G110 Wired Standard Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse
Other: SteelSeries QcK Gaming Mouse Pad



Keep in mind that I already have two monitors and a PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 GPU.
All of the components are verified as compatible with both Windows and Macintosh, except for the ASUS Maximus V Formula motherboard and the G.Skill Ripjaws 8gb(2 x 4gb) 2133MHZ DDR3 RAM.
My question here is: Can the Asus Maximus V Formula mobo and the G.Skill RAM be used in a dual boot rig, with Macintosh and Windows software?

 

[skyflyer999]

I saw that you are buying some things at microcenter, if you live near one, the 3770k is $229.00.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/388575/Core_i7_3770K_35GHz_LGA_1155_Processor

 

[Going Bald]

Hey all, I'm new here so I apologize in advance if I do anything wrong. I am currently done with research and am about to start ordering components for my new gaming rig, and I wanted to do a final compatibility check.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Rosewill 1000W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit)
Keyboard: Logitech G110 Wired Standard Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse
Other: SteelSeries QcK Gaming Mouse Pad



Keep in mind that I already have two monitors and a PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 GPU.
All of the components are verified as compatible with both Windows and Macintosh, except for the ASUS Maximus V Formula motherboard and the G.Skill Ripjaws 8gb(2 x 4gb) 2133MHZ DDR3 RAM.
My question here is: Can the Asus Maximus V Formula mobo and the G.Skill RAM be used in a dual boot rig, with Macintosh and Windows software?

Personally I would prefer the Samsung 830/840 SSDs because I like the Samsung controller better, but vertex4 are probably alright.

1000W PSU is way more than you need. If you ran 2 gfx cards in SLI and had 6 HDDs you would only need 750W.

You will want to go to http://biosrepo.wordpress.com/asus/z77/ and download the BIOS there for your board and flash it to your board first. This unlocks the MSR in the BIOS and allows AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext to do its thing without causing a KP. The benefit you get is speedstepping and sleep works and you don't need NullCPUPM kext.

A tip for installing Win7: to prevent it from creating the System Reserved partition, preformat the SSD with OS X disk utility or a 3rd party tool like gparted.

 

[StickyS]

Alright, so a 750W PSU would be enough? And, to make sure I understand, the motherboard and ram DO run with mac software, correct?

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit)
Keyboard: Logitech G110 Wired Standard Keyboard
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse
Other: SteelSeries QcK Gaming Mouse Pad

----------
Any other suggestions? Price range is $1500.00 strict.

 

[BitterMelon]

Alright, so a 750W PSU would be enough? And, to make sure I understand, the motherboard and ram DO run with mac software, correct?

If you're not going to use a graphics card, 250W would be ok. If you are using a mid-highend graphics card, 500W would be ok.

I think the motherboard is ok (check the builds, I think there are some with that board there), but Gigabyte is usually recommended if you can get it. RAM is never a problem.

 

[runebinder]

You might want to look at getting 2x8GB sticks of RAM instead of 4x4GB, that way if you ever feel the need to expand to 32GB you don't have to replace what you already have.

Agree with Going Bold on the Samsung SSDs, in particular the 830 series. Anandtech reckon it is the most compatible SSD controller for OS X atm. Check the OCZ forums in regards to the Vertex 4 and OS X, I have seen a few people post issues with that combination.

 

[StickyS]

I think 16gb of RAM will do. I will also be overclocking my system very often, which is why I think I will need the extra power capabilities. Also, on Amazon, it says the Vertex 4 is compatible with Mac, so that should be fine. Also, I'm pretty sure the Vertex 4 SSD's also have the fastest benchmarks for solid state drives...but what is an "ssd controller"?

 

[runebinder]

Sorry, being lazy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive#Controller Pretty much sums up what they do. Choosing the right controller is quite important if you want to enable trim as some will work better than others, the Samsung 830 is one of the most stable under OS X.

Be careful on the Mac compatible side, I bought a OCZ Octane SSD for my MacBook Pro which worked fine till Mountain Lion came out, all of a sudden most of the time it never got past the boot screen, reinstalled OS X etc thinking there was a problem with my Mac till I found out it was an issue with the firmware on the drive, and everyone else who had one was experiencing the same thing. Took them over 2 months to get the problem fixed, and that drive is badged as Mac compatible to. Yes the Vertex 4 may come out top on benchmarks, but any other decent SATA III SSD will be so fast in actual usage you would be hard pressed to notice a significant difference.

I would still recommend looking at the OCZ forums and the OS X section, would be far more valuable pre-purchase research than some benchmarks.

 

[StickyS]

Sorry, being lazy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive#Controller Pretty much sums up what they do. Choosing the right controller is quite important if you want to enable trim as some will work better than others, the Samsung 830 is one of the most stable under OS X.

Be careful on the Mac compatible side, I bought a OCZ Octane SSD for my MacBook Pro which worked fine till Mountain Lion came out, all of a sudden most of the time it never got past the boot screen, reinstalled OS X etc thinking there was a problem with my Mac till I found out it was an issue with the firmware on the drive, and everyone else who had one was experiencing the same thing. Took them over 2 months to get the problem fixed, and that drive is badged as Mac compatible to. Yes the Vertex 4 may come out top on benchmarks, but any other decent SATA III SSD will be so fast in actual usage you would be hard pressed to notice a significant difference.

I would still recommend looking at the OCZ forums and the OS X section, would be far more valuable pre-purchase research than some benchmarks.

---OK, thanks. After doing a bit more research, the 830 IS a better choice for my Macintosh drive - I will still be keeping the OCZ Vertex 4 for the Windows drive. There are two options for the Samsung 830 128gb SSD on Amazon - as far as I know, one is without an installation kit and one is with. Will I need the installation kit? Does the case(NZXT Crafted) come with all of the necessary cables already?

 

[Going Bald]

---OK, thanks. After doing a bit more research, the 830 IS a better choice for my Macintosh drive - I will still be keeping the OCZ Vertex 4 for the Windows drive. There are two options for the Samsung 830 128gb SSD on Amazon - as far as I know, one is without an installation kit and one is with. Will I need the installation kit? Does the case(NZXT Phantom) come with all of the necessary cables already?

If you get the notebook kit it comes with a neat little SATA to USB connector that comes in very handy because it can also be used to connect notebook sized drives via USB without having to have an external case. Not sure it was worth the extra $20, but it was the one I bought.