First Client Build: Super Mac Mini (Help me please)

[hinsaru]

Hi guys, I really enjoy the advice given from this forum and being able to see such a great helpful community here.

To be honest, I have never built a hackintosh (yet) as I am still ordering parts for mine. But what I do is I am an audio engineer who specializes in recording and production (yes I work in a studio all day).

I've been looking at alternatives to buying a mac pro but still run Mac OSX since it is a standard for audio production, recording, and mixing in this industry (probably for aesthetic purposes). I eventually planned out my build and started ordering parts as we speak.

Now recently a client of mine whom I have been working with for the past few months have been trying to find an alternative too. Problem is he is a constantly touring artist and planning on moving to another country by next year. His current system though is a Mac Mini (probably bought during 2009) and chokes up a lot especially running after few tracks. I told him about my "hackintosh" project and he was interested and willing to invest on one as well.

Although I have no professional experience dealing with computers nor have any experience building hackintoshs, I do have experience handling computer electronics. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to experiment and truly learning setting up a hackintosh before completing my own build. So I decided to take a look at mini-itx builds.

What I'm stuck on is the case as well as power supply. The client specifically wanted a case that is as small as the current Mac Mini (which dimensions are 7.7" x 1.4" x 7.7") as well as perform better than the most loaded Mac Mini server to this date (i7 2.6GHz, 8gig of RAM, 256GB SSD for $1399). I was given $800 to build this computer and decided to use PCPartpicker to pick out some parts and plan out which products to get.

Here is my build for now: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JymU

For the processor I decided to go for the Intel i7 3770K cause I can get to Microcenter which offers their i7 3770k for $230. It saves a lot of money in my opinion and enough to keep some for myself!

For the Motherboard The Gigabyte GA-77N has all I need for the client to be satisfied. I will be purchasing the Atheros AR5BHB92 wifi card to replace the built in one for WIFI.

For Storage and Memory I went with the Samsung 840 250gb SSD and Corsair Vengeance LP 8gigs. I think this is plenty for the user plus he has external hard drives to store all of his sessions (which is recommended).

Now the issue is the Intel i7 3770k from what I've heard generate a sufficient amount of power and built in power supply cases have had issues shutting down. I was thinking about purchasing this case:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Mini-ITX-enclosure-PicoPSU-compatible/dp/B003DXI288/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_2

with this power supply (since it's PicoPSU): http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Box-picoPSU-160-XT-Power-Mini-ITX-Supply/dp/B005TWE6B8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1363227539&sr=1-1&keywords=picoPSU

Now the question is.. with about 160Ws of power (dunno the reliability of PicoPSUs) is it enough to power up this build and take at least some amounts of stress?

Also for those who had experience with the M350 Universal Case... is there a way you can make a "cut-out" for a PCIe Firewire card to stick out? The client has only firewire drives and I'm willing to mod the case as long as it doesn't damage any components.

Thanks for the help guys! Any suggestions especially power supply + case combo is welcome.

 

[aaron97]

Hi guys, I really enjoy the advice given from this forum and being able to see such a great helpful community here.

To be honest, I have never built a hackintosh (yet) as I am still ordering parts for mine. But what I do is I am an audio engineer who specializes in recording and production (yes I work in a studio all day).

I've been looking at alternatives to buying a mac pro but still run Mac OSX since it is a standard for audio production, recording, and mixing in this industry (probably for aesthetic purposes). I eventually planned out my build and started ordering parts as we speak.

Now recently a client of mine whom I have been working with for the past few months have been trying to find an alternative too. Problem is he is a constantly touring artist and planning on moving to another country by next year. His current system though is a Mac Mini (probably bought during 2009) and chokes up a lot especially running after few tracks. I told him about my "hackintosh" project and he was interested and willing to invest on one as well.

Although I have no professional experience dealing with computers nor have any experience building hackintoshs, I do have experience handling computer electronics. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to experiment and truly learning setting up a hackintosh before completing my own build. So I decided to take a look at mini-itx builds.

What I'm stuck on is the case as well as power supply. The client specifically wanted a case that is as small as the current Mac Mini (which dimensions are 7.7" x 1.4" x 7.7") as well as perform better than the most loaded Mac Mini server to this date (i7 2.6GHz, 8gig of RAM, 256GB SSD for $1399). I was given $800 to build this computer and decided to use PCPartpicker to pick out some parts and plan out which products to get.

Here is my build for now: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JymU

For the processor I decided to go for the Intel i7 3770K cause I can get to Microcenter which offers their i7 3770k for $230. It saves a lot of money in my opinion and enough to keep some for myself!

For the Motherboard The Gigabyte GA-77N has all I need for the client to be satisfied. I will be purchasing the Atheros AR5BHB92 wifi card to replace the built in one for WIFI.

For Storage and Memory I went with the Samsung 840 250gb SSD and Corsair Vengeance LP 8gigs. I think this is plenty for the user plus he has external hard drives to store all of his sessions (which is recommended).

Now the issue is the Intel i7 3770k from what I've heard generate a sufficient amount of power and built in power supply cases have had issues shutting down. I was thinking about purchasing this case:
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Mini-ITX-enclosure-PicoPSU-compatible/dp/B003DXI288/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_2

with this power supply (since it's PicoPSU): http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Box-picoPSU-160-XT-Power-Mini-ITX-Supply/dp/B005TWE6B8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1363227539&sr=1-1&keywords=picoPSU

Now the question is.. with about 160Ws of power (dunno the reliability of PicoPSUs) is it enough to power up this build and take at least some amounts of stress?

Also for those who had experience with the M350 Universal Case... is there a way you can make a "cut-out" for a PCIe Firewire card to stick out? The client has only firewire drives and I'm willing to mod the case as long as it doesn't damage any components.

Thanks for the help guys! Any suggestions especially power supply + case combo is welcome.

I'm glad to hear that your interested in building a hackintosh. Sadly, your never going to be able to find a case thats even close to being as small as the mac mini. For the power supply, 160 watts is cutting it really close, even if you use the HD4000 for graphics. Plus your using a non-name brand power supply. I would suggest getting a bigger one. Since firewire compatibility is really important, take a look at this thread http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/59767-firewire-800-400-card-own-100-compatibility-6.html.
Good luck