[Guide] HP 6300 Pro / HP 8300 Elite - A 100 percent Working and Easily Affordable CustoMac

[trs96]

Thanks. To be honest, I don't really need the extra USB ports... So if I got this one instead:

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00GO7DZUA/?tag=tonymacx8607-21

Would I be able to use and SSD in there if it were connected to the Sata2 port? Or would I be limited to using HDDs??

Yes, you can use an SSD connected to Sata port 2 or even the Sata3 (black) connector. I tested the Sata3 connector and you can boot from that if you'd like to.

 

[PDE]

Yes, you can use an SSD connected to Sata port 2 or even the Sata3 (black) connector. I tested the Sata3 connector and you can boot from that if you'd like to.

Thanks so much for looking into it--I appreciate the info.

 

[mstasko]

Just want to drop a line of thanks for this guide.
I have only 'built' a few hacks and have used them a number of years with success - each one having its own quirks and hoops to jump through. From Dell laptops to building from the ground up a system from scratch.

This was the 1st time I bought a prebuilt desktop and I would have to say this has been the easiest build to date!
Not sure what HP did with their BIOS vs other manufactures on the Q77 platform but everything worked out of the gate with minimal setup per the guide. Very easy / quick.

A couple of build notes that I ran into:
1 - DP vers. of the HP 8300 SFF board vs. the DP monitor. My monitor supports 1.2 whereas the board is 1.1 so I was unable to drive a monitor without a graphics card.
2 - Purchased the GT 1030 card but HDMI port did not drive my monitor only the DVI port. Unsure if this is a limitation with Sierra / nVidia drivers or a combination of the two. Either way I am running fine with the DVI
3 - USB Stick. The stick i initially used was at least 5 years old and USB 2.. Stick had unknown issues and impacted the initial build, save yourself time and grief and get a new stick - USB 3 16GB is under $10. Once I had that my install build went from 90+mins to under 30..

Other than those issue I wish I had a reason to build another one!

As for my specific build -

HP 8300 SFF / I7 / 24GB / SSD 500GB / 2TB HD / HP CDROM / BT USB / 10.12.6

 

[trs96]

@mstasko Do you have a 4K monitor with DP input ? Were you trying to use the HD 4000 graphics to drive it ?

 

[mstasko]

@mstasko Do you have a 4K monitor with DP input ? Were you trying to use the HD 4000 graphics to drive it ?

No, 2k. No, the 1030. For whatever reason when trying to boot with the hdmi cable it was not possible or at least it was going to a blank screen. I am going to test in a day to two trying to drive a LCD tv and my monitor at the same time. Sort of a mini htpc setup for fun.

 

[PDE]

Anyone have any idea if this card would work? Thanks!

https://www.startech.com/eu/Cards-Adapters/USB-3.0/Cards/2-port-usb-3-1-card~PEXUSB311A1C

 

[PDE]

I'm also having a problem where after it wakes up from sleep, the external HDs disconnect from USB... can't seem to figure out the issue. Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, but I can't find it if so. Anyone having the same problem? Thanks.

 

[craighazan]

HP 6300 pro CMT | i5 3470 | 1TB Firecuda drive (Windows10pro) | 256 GB Samsung Evo Pro SSD (macOS Sierra 10.12.6) | EVGA GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB
Hello Hackintoshers!.

First I want to thank @trs96 for this excellent guide!. I have successfully built my 1st ever Hackintosh and almost everything worked 1st time. Still having issues with the audio going through the HDMI but I'll continue reading through the forums to find a solution.
One thing that has surprised me though is the read/write speeds from the SSD which has Sierra installed on it!, 250 - 280 a second!. The same SSD in my 2010 MacBook Pro reads/writes at above 500 - 550 a second. Is this something that can be fixed?.

 

[trs96]

HP 6300 pro CMT | i5 3470 | 1TB Firecuda drive (Windows10pro) | 256 GB Samsung Evo Pro SSD (macOS Sierra 10.12.6) | EVGA GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB
Hello Hackintoshers!.

First I want to thank @trs96 for this excellent guide!. I have successfully built my 1st ever Hackintosh and almost everything worked 1st time. Still having issues with the audio going through the HDMI but I'll continue reading through the forums to find a solution.
One thing that has surprised me though is the read/write speeds from the SSD which has Sierra installed on it!, 250 - 280 a second!. The same SSD in my 2010 MacBook Pro reads/writes at above 500 - 550 a second. Is this something that can be fixed?.

Glad to hear the guide worked well for you. The slower speeds on your SSD could be caused by a few different things. Check to make sure you've got a Sata 6Gb/s capable cable and not Sata 3Gb/s which would lower the speeds. Make sure the cable is connected to the Sata0 connector on the motherboard, the dark blue colored one. Only that one will give you Sata3 speeds of over 500 MB/s. Connect your Firecuda drive to one of the two white (Sata1 or Sata2) connectors that provide slower speeds.

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HDMI audio should work with a 1050 Ti when you use the VoodooHDA 2.90 kext installed to /L/E with Kextbeast or other kext installation utility. Don't forget to also install AppleHDA Disabler kext too.

 

[craighazan]

Glad to hear the guide worked well for you. The slower speeds on your SSD could be caused by a few different things. Check to make sure you've got a Sata 6Gb/s capable cable and not Sata 3Gb/s which would lower the speeds. Make sure the cable is connected to the Sata0 connector on the motherboard, the dark blue colored one. Only that one will give you Sata3 speeds of over 500 MB/s. Connect your Firecuda drive to one of the two white (Sata1 or Sata2) connectors that provide slower speeds.

View attachment 276923
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HDMI audio should work with a 1050 Ti when you use the VoodooHDA 2.90 kext installed to /L/E with Kextbeast or other kext installation utility. Don't forget to also install AppleHDA Disabler kext too.

Thank you @trs96, Problem solved now getting speeds over 500 for read and writes!. I see what I have done wrong in regards to the HDMI audio, pretty sure I installed 2.80 not 2.90 using Kextbeast.
Another thing I wanted to mention is related to editing the config.plist in Clover Configurator. Wherein you specify which drive Clover boots up with and the time for automatic boot. I followed the instructions, saved the file in the correct folder. When Clover booted, The HHD/SSD changed order as expected but no 8 second countdown, as I wanted. When I selected boot OS X, it wouldn't!. The Apple appeared on the black background but the progress bar remained empty, it didn't fill up.