First Hackintosh - Compatibility and Questions Help!

[Sanjaka991]

Hi guys, this is my first build to make a hackintosh, I am just confirming my build and at the bottom I will ask some questions.

CPU: Intel Core i7 3770 - $295.00
CPU Cooler: Stock <~~ will this be enough? Should I get an after market CPU cooler??
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Motherboard - $70.00
RAM: 8gb Corsair Vengence (1x8gb) - $50.00
GPU: See Bottom
PSU: Corsair CX-500 Modular 80+ Bronze Power Supply - $85.00
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl - $150.00
HDD + SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 128gb - $125.00 / Seagate Barracuda 2TB $100

Now for my questions, for my graphics card, I want to upgrade to a 670 soon but do not have enough money currently. I will install Mac OS 10.8 on the ssd and once I get the money and purchase the GPU. Can I just simply install it and my build will recognise it ? Or do I have to go to iBoot or something? Same with the seagate barracuda. I might not have e nought money for that so can I just install it on the ssd and add the 2TB drive later and os 10.8 will simply recognise it? Ad lastly, is my build compatible and is the power supply enough? I think I should upgrade to a 600w or 650w

oh! One last thing, how do I choose what drive I'm install Mac OS on? Will that be shown when I'm installing os 10.8?

thanks! If your wondering why the prices are so damn high it's because I'm in Australia!
all prices from www.pccg.com.au

 

[POSTpro]

Hi sanjaka991,

I would recommend an after market cooler if you are planning on doing a lot of video/photo rendering or transcoding. In way of example, if you use handbrake to rip DVDs you will see your core temps spike to nearly 100 Celsius with the stock cooler. That's when I shut my system down and went and got a corsair h100. I haven't seen temps above 77 since. Also, if you're only going to get 8GB ram then get 2x4GB. Works better in pairs.

If you are going to add a nVidea GPU later than make sure your computer definition is macpro 3,1 or 4,1 etc. This will allow you to install the nVidea drivers without issue and the card will then be recognized...

Nice case, by the way... Enjoy your new hack and welcome to the community!

 

[DBP]

For the i7-3770 I would have said that the stock cooler was OK unless you cared about noise when it gets hot.
POSTpro runs a 3770K (not sure if it's over clocked) but raises a valid point. I used after-market coolers on both mine (without bothering with the stock coolers) because I wanted both quiet and cool. Ambient got to 36C in Melbourne today...

The motherboard looks nice and "hackable". But it has four RAM slots: definitely go for pairs of RAM as they go much faster that way (read the motherboard manual for the details about which slots to use to activate dual-channel mode). Either go for 2x 4 GB or spend a little more and go straight for 2x 8 GB. You can upgrade later with another pair of 4 or 8 GB (for 16, 24, or 32 GB total) as long as they've got the same timing specs.

With the SSD I would probably go for a 120 GB SanDisk Extreme instead. Not just because it's a few dollars less, but I have more faith in the SanDisk product than OCZ's. Either will work: there's no compatibility issue. Actually, there's an OCZ Vertex 4 in one of "my" Mac minis (not configured by me) which has been going fine for 4 months now. SSD choices sometimes come down to religion...

The only other concern I might have is with the PSU, given that you're planning on a GTX 670 which is rated as dissipating 170W. 500W is probably fine (you're not overclocking the CPU, you've only got one HDD, etc) but I would double-check with one of the online PSU calculators to be sure (has anyone got a calculator link to recommend?). You definitely want a bit of headroom in the PSU capacity so you don't run into problems: just check if 500W will do it. I have a 500W in my workstation with more drives and an OC'ed CPU, but no GTX 670.

Yes you can build the system using the internal HD4000 graphics (which on that board will drive up to two 1920x1200 screens). You could just add the GTX 670 later (using the default OS X drivers) and change the "GraphicsEnabler" boot flag, but many people go one better and install the latest drivers straight from nVidia (the recommendation of sticking with a MacPro system definition simplifies that installation).
Install the drivers, install the card, and you're away.

all prices from www.pccg.com.au

You can buy PC gear from the South Australian Urban Renewal Authority?