First Build: How many choices do I have?

[GustoMoka]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum so thanks in advance for your help and understanding

Here’s my situation:

I’ve been using both Mac and PCs for a few years now, but I would like to declutter my IT inventory a little. That’s why I’m doing some research for a dual boot Win7/OSX ML hackintosh

My plan is to “adjust” my current PC in order to accommodate a nice hackintosh-friendly configuration to use both Win and OSX environments. I also already purchased OSX Mountain Lion.

I look for a “very easy-to-hack", stable configuration
I will play on Win
I will use 2 x SSD ( one for each OS )
I will NOT overclock
I will NOT put a second VGA for SLI/Xfire

So here’s what I think I will buy:

-I5 3570K ( because of the HD4000, or possibly a 3770 non-K )
-8 gb RAM ddr3 ( maybe later I’ll upgrade to 16 )
-nVidia 660 ti card ( I still have to choose which vendor )
- 120/128 ssd ( I still have to choose which model )

I would like to keep using my actual OCZ Vertex 3 ssd for Win. Do you think this could be a compatibility problem ?

But in the end…. My main doubt is still about the mainboard!
Is there a way to determine if a mobo is compatible or not ?

I mean, after reading the buying guide I think the Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H could do for me, but between this one and the GA-Z77X-UD5H there’s a big money gap. If, for example, I needed just a few more USB or Sata ports… would I be forced to bypass all the other models inbetween (D3H, UD3H, UP4… ) and get the UD5H ?

What is important to look for on the mobo description?
Does it have to present Realtek Audio instead of VIA ?
Does it have to present Realtek LAN instead of something else?

There’s a lot of motherboards out there, and I have no problems in purchasing a Gigabyte product over another vendor… but I would like to be able to understand and choose wisely without missing an opportunity for a better deal that suits my needs.

Sorry for the long post, I am sure a lot of you had the same doubts befor the first build

Any advice will help!

 

[potemkin]

First Build: How many choises di I have?

Money gap is your decision.
Number of USB ports is yours too.
Realtek is necessary for audio.
Voodoo is bad for sound and causes kernel panics.
It needs fixes to make it work properly.
You could use USB audio or bluetooth audio.
Realtek network is best.
Intel network and Atheros do work depending upon exact chip used.
You can use Apple USB ethernet also.
Download Multibeast and look at PDF inside.
It will tell you chips that are supported.
Reading PDF before running MB is recommended.

 

[Going Bald]

First Build: How many choises di I have?

There’s a lot of motherboards out there, and I have no problems in purchasing a Gigabyte product over another vendor… but I would like to be able to understand and choose wisely without missing an opportunity for a better deal that suits my needs.

Sorry for the long post, I am sure a lot of you had the same doubts befor the first build

Any advice will help!

There are a lot of non-Gigabyte boards out there that will work just as well as he GA boards do. See http://biosrepo.wordpress.com/faq/ and check out the ASUS, MSI and ASRock boards that work just as well as a GA board once you flash the BIOS to alow native power management in OS X. Compare PCIe slots, USB ports SATA ports, etc and find one that meets your needs and fits your budget.

 

[GustoMoka]

First Build: How many choises di I have?

Money gap is your decision.
Number of USB ports is yours too.
Realtek is necessary for audio.
Voodoo is bad for sound and causes kernel panics.
It needs fixes to make it work properly.
You could use USB audio or bluetooth audio.
Realtek network is best.
Intel network and Atheros do work depending upon exact chip used.
You can use Apple USB ethernet also.
Download Multibeast and look at PDF inside.
It will tell you chips that are supported.
Reading PDF before running MB is recommended.

Thanks for your answer, these are the informations I was looking for
So the main reason other GA boards are not suggested is because of the different audio and network chips, right ?

There are a lot of non-Gigabyte boards out there that will work just as well as he GA boards do. See http://biosrepo.wordpress.com/faq/ and check out the ASUS, MSI and ASRock boards that work just as well as a GA board once you flash the BIOS to alow native power management in OS X. Compare PCIe slots, USB ports SATA ports, etc and find one that meets your needs and fits your budget.

This is the method I've been using to select my hardware since my first PC build.... I just thought I could encounter major bumps in case of a bad choise because of compatibility with OSX and the hack itself. I mean, I thought the recommended boards were almost the only ones able to work for a project like this.
Thanks for explaining that GA boards just let you jump a step in the hack process. ( Did I get it right? )

Let's say I decide to accept the bios flashing step and look for other vendors too... Do I have to make sure the board will have Realtek Audio and Network ? ( for ease of configuration )

 

[Going Bald]

Thanks for your answer, these are the informations I was looking for
So the main reason other GA boards are not suggested is because of the different audio and network chips, right ?



This is the method I've been using to select my hardware since my first PC build.... I just thought I could encounter major bumps in case of a bad choise because of compatibility with OSX and the hack itself. I mean, I thought the recommended boards were almost the only ones able to work for a project like this.
Thanks for explaining that GA boards just let you jump a step in the hack process. ( Did I get it right? )

Let's say I decide to accept the bios flashing step and look for other vendors too... Do I have to make sure the board will have Realtek Audio and Network ? ( for ease of configuration )

Realtek audio and either Intel or Realtek NICs are going to be the easiest. Atheros NIC is a little iffy, depending on the chip. Check User Builds for the board(s) you are interested in and see if there were problems with the audio or NIC and if it looks good, go for it.

 

[GustoMoka]

Realtek audio and either Intel or Realtek NICs are going to be the easiest. Atheros NIC is a little iffy, depending on the chip. Check User Builds for the board(s) you are interested in and see if there were problems with the audio or NIC and if it looks good, go for it.

I have a lot more clear idea about the boards now. I'll do some research and hope for the best.
In case of other issues I'll reopen this thread, without littering the forum with other new ones.

Thanks for the help guys!

BTW: do you think I could go for a <500w PSU ?

 

[Solidww]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum so thanks in advance for your help and understanding

Here’s my situation:

I’ve been using both Mac and PCs for a few years now, but I would like to declutter my IT inventory a little. That’s why I’m doing some research for a dual boot Win7/OSX ML hackintosh

My plan is to “adjust” my current PC in order to accommodate a nice hackintosh-friendly configuration to use both Win and OSX environments. I also already purchased OSX Mountain Lion.

I look for a “very easy-to-hack", stable configuration
I will play on Win
I will use 2 x SSD ( one for each OS )
I will NOT overclock
I will NOT put a second VGA for SLI/Xfire

So here’s what I think I will buy:

-I5 3570K ( because of the HD4000, or possibly a 3770 non-K )
-8 gb RAM ddr3 ( maybe later I’ll upgrade to 16 )
-nVidia 660 ti card ( I still have to choose which vendor )
- 120/128 ssd ( I still have to choose which model )

I would like to keep using my actual OCZ Vertex 3 ssd for Win. Do you think this could be a compatibility problem ?

But in the end…. My main doubt is still about the mainboard!
Is there a way to determine if a mobo is compatible or not ?

I mean, after reading the buying guide I think the Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H could do for me, but between this one and the GA-Z77X-UD5H there’s a big money gap. If, for example, I needed just a few more USB or Sata ports… would I be forced to bypass all the other models inbetween (D3H, UD3H, UP4… ) and get the UD5H ?

What is important to look for on the mobo description?
Does it have to present Realtek Audio instead of VIA ?
Does it have to present Realtek LAN instead of something else?

There’s a lot of motherboards out there, and I have no problems in purchasing a Gigabyte product over another vendor… but I would like to be able to understand and choose wisely without missing an opportunity for a better deal that suits my needs.

Sorry for the long post, I am sure a lot of you had the same doubts befor the first build

Any advice will help!

Have you checked to see if your ASROCK z68 board is compatible?

 

[GustoMoka]

Well, actually no I didn't.

That is because I may switch the PC components with a friend of mine who needed new ones... so I thought I could take this opportunity to build up a new machine for me which could also serve as a nice base for an hackintosh

Anyway I really should check on this Asrock Z68 Extreme 4 compatibility... I may discover this project could be easier than expected.

Thanks for the hint!

 

[Solidww]

Well, actually no I didn't.

That is because I may switch the PC components with a friend of mine who needed new ones... so I thought I could take this opportunity to build up a new machine for me which could also serve as a nice base for an hackintosh

Anyway I really should check on this Asrock Z68 Extreme 4 compatibility... I may discover this project could be easier than expected.

Thanks for the hint!

Your welcome. I know at least one Asrock Extreme 4 board is compatible with OSX installs.

 

[GustoMoka]

Hi all again.

Thank you all for your help. I think I will give the hack a try this afternoon.

I opted to flash the bios on my current Asrock Z68. The flash went just fine, so I plan to make a clean install on a spare HDD I have around.

Just a few last points before I start:

-since I flashed the bios with the modded 2.20 version... I shouldn't have problems about sleep, stop and so on right? And in case, should I erase the "NullCPUPowerManagement.kext" file?

-Are the "System Definitions" important in Multibeast? How do they affect the installation?

Thanks again!