Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H + Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 OC

[kaefer]

Hi guys,

After the last Apple Event without new MacMinis I'm gonna build my first Hackintosh.
I'm a bit unsure of certain parts and would like to get your advice whether those parts will be compatible.

The machine is intended for studying, bit of web development, browsing the web apart from developing, occasionally gaming, etc......a bit of everything - I don't wanna be limited and if I wanna try sth different I want it to work OOB and not upgrading certain parts first (e.g. video editing).

I'm going definitely for Mavericks - first question: FusionDrive or separating OS and data manually? Is TimeMachine for a FusionDrive working as intended on a Hackintosh? Or should I better go for another backup utility? What would you recommend for a separated setup?

CPU: i5 4670k vs i7 4770k - the difference is about 90€ here....will I notice the speed difference I get with the i7 Hyperthreading?

Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H
I think this µATX board won't let me miss sth.
Are there any issues with this board? Do I need a custom DSDT? Flash the BIOS? Any ports not working? How is it with the audio ports and an Apple iPhone headset (only one 3,5mm for right + left out and mic in)?

Case: Bitfenix Prodigy M white (therefore the µATX board)

Graphics: I wanna go for the HD 7870 (exactly this model: http://geizhals.at/sapphire-radeon-hd-7870-ghz-edition-oc-11199-19-20g-a864427.html) - I noticed it's about 30% quicker than the GTX 650 Ti Boost (2 GB VRAM) at nearly the same price. Would it be better to stick with the nVidia in terms of compatibility? I read the HD 7xxx are supported since Mountain Lion 10.8.3 ... same on Mavericks?

RAM: 2x8 GB should be enough

Storage: 120 GB Samsung 840 SSD for the OS and a 1 TB WD Black for the data......or a FusionDrive of this two drives. Pro/Cons? (maybe I want to add a second SSD/WD drive later on for Windows 7).

WiFi-Card: TP-Link TL-WDN4800

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (enough? Do I need a better one? Is this model easy to assemble? Consider it's my first PC build as well....)

PSU:
I'm a bit unsure what wattage I'm gonna need - Everywhere on the net I found different opinions. I think with this one I'll be on the safe side - it's not cheap, but I don't wanna have any issues with it....
be quiet! straight power e9 600W
(or is this the absolute overkill and a 400W will be enough?)

Already owning: A monitor (Fujitsu IPS 23"), Apple wired keyboard, USB-Wireless (with a micro-sender) mouse.

Anything I need beside the listed parts? The case is shipped with 2 fans (1x front, 1x rear) - Will I need more of them/bigger ones? Thermal paste for the CPU/Cooler or will this be included in either CPU or Cooler?

All together would be about 1100-1200€ - It's not exactly cheap, but I'll get a beast of a mac (hopefully).

Thanks in advance for all advice and so on

 

[kaefer]

*bump* any opinions?

 

[trs96]

*bump* any opinions?

Kaefer, If this is your first build (customac) the easiest way to be certain all will go smoothly is to stick
with a CPU, Motherboard and Graphics card that is in the Buyer's Guide. The Prodigy M will be excellent
for staying cool while gaming and the Hyper 212 will be more than adequate as a cpu cooler. The PSU
is also a choice. As far as speed the SSDs without a fusion drive setup are plenty fast as well as
the 4670K. The 4770k is only faster in multi-threaded applications, you won't notice it.

The only way to answer all your questions is to build it, install OS X and try it out
for a few days to see if it meets your needs. Best of luck on your build.