Hack Pro for Photoshop/Lightroom - PSU questions

[waysaz]

Hi! First post here. Long-time Mac user and techie. I planned to build a Hackintosh later this year for photography and graphic design (CS5/Lightroom 4 or 5), but my Macbook Pro up and died. Fried logic board.* So I get to pull the trigger tomorrow. Yay!

I've paid close attention to DPS's "Lammergeier" and Papageientaucher's Silent Lightroom builds, except I'll use the GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H board. However, I'm not sure what to do for the power supply.

Sketch of build:
MB: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H (the Thunderbolt board is getting hard to find)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 in girly white - I lack the tools and experience to mod my G5 case (plus I'm using it)
SSD: Existing 120 gb from OWC, will later add another for Lightroom catalog
HDD: 3 for now, might add more. Intrigued by DPS's RAID of 2.5" drives - I have extras too
RAM: 16 gb to start, 32 later
Video: built-in for now, but may add a video card later (I think newer Photoshop versions can put it to use)
DVD/CD: probably a Blu-Ray sometime later (I have an external for now)
OS: have Snow Leopard and Lion, willing to go Mountain Lion if needed

Monitor: ancient DVI/VGA Samsung 204t, want to replace soon (husband will love 4:3 screen!)
Keyboard: existing Macally
Apple Magic Trackpad (have an old Bluetooth dongle or can pick up a new one if it's an issue)
wired ethernet

For the install, I have a Snow Leopard DVD and would like to keep a SL partition to calibrate my monitor (very old Eye-One doesn't work in Lion). I can also borrow some time on a newer Mac to go straight to Lion/ML. (Using my old G5 right now, and so glad I never sold it!)

So how much PSU do I need? I'm looking for quality and efficiency but also future expansion (video card, more RAM, etc.). Quiet is nice too; my laptop and G5 have spoiled me.

Bonus: Tell me if and why I should upgrade to Mountain Lion for this build.

Thanks in advance! From what I've seen so far, this is a great community.


*Yes, I'm going to try to bake it. Why not?

 

[chrissa]

Hi there,

I just finished building my own Hack Pro for the same purpose. From my recent experience I would recommend buying and downloading ML directly - then follow the guide to create a bootable USB with Unibeast...

As for your PSU question: if you are planning to add things down the track just go for the biggest your budget allows!

Happy building

 

[waysaz]

Thanks, Chrissa!

Anybody else?

 

[HackintoshMan]

Maybe like 750 watts, that would allow for a dedicated GPU later.

 

[Adrian B]

Hi! First post here. Long-time Mac user and techie. I planned to build a Hackintosh later this year for photography and graphic design (CS5/Lightroom 4 or 5), but my Macbook Pro up and died. Fried logic board.* So I get to pull the trigger tomorrow. Yay!

I've paid close attention to DPS's "Lammergeier" and Papageientaucher's Silent Lightroom builds, except I'll use the GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H board. However, I'm not sure what to do for the power supply.

Sketch of build:
MB: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H (the Thunderbolt board is getting hard to find)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 in girly white - I lack the tools and experience to mod my G5 case (plus I'm using it)
SSD: Existing 120 gb from OWC, will later add another for Lightroom catalog
HDD: 3 for now, might add more. Intrigued by DPS's RAID of 2.5" drives - I have extras too
RAM: 16 gb to start, 32 later
Video: built-in for now, but may add a video card later (I think newer Photoshop versions can put it to use)
DVD/CD: probably a Blu-Ray sometime later (I have an external for now)
OS: have Snow Leopard and Lion, willing to go Mountain Lion if needed

Monitor: ancient DVI/VGA Samsung 204t, want to replace soon (husband will love 4:3 screen!)
Keyboard: existing Macally
Apple Magic Trackpad (have an old Bluetooth dongle or can pick up a new one if it's an issue)
wired ethernet

For the install, I have a Snow Leopard DVD and would like to keep a SL partition to calibrate my monitor (very old Eye-One doesn't work in Lion). I can also borrow some time on a newer Mac to go straight to Lion/ML. (Using my old G5 right now, and so glad I never sold it!)

So how much PSU do I need? I'm looking for quality and efficiency but also future expansion (video card, more RAM, etc.). Quiet is nice too; my laptop and G5 have spoiled me.

Bonus: Tell me if and why I should upgrade to Mountain Lion for this build.

Thanks in advance! From what I've seen so far, this is a great community.


*Yes, I'm going to try to bake it. Why not?

You will need a suitable USB keyboard for the setup - as BT does not work in UEFI bios.

Snow Leopard does not work without using iBoot on Z77 motherboard. You might be able to run the software to calibrate the monitor, but you should do so with DVI-D/HDMI connection. You cannot install Snow Leopard on older G5 hardware just as you cannot run Snow Leopard on modern hardware, one is too old, the other is too new.

I would suggest using a 650W modular Corsair Power supply, just as is recommended for the CustoMac Pro : http://www.tonymacx86.com/371-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-july-2013.html#custo_pro

I would install Lion onto a single Hard drive and use this for now. Mavericks is due shortly, it looks good, but it is not worth buying Mountain Lion if you have Lion available to you.



Adrian B

 

[Dschijn]

Yeah, 600-650W will be good (even for future high end cards).
But don't buy cheap and try to get a PSU with good efficiency (bronze, gold or platinum).

 

[waysaz]

Maybe like 750 watts, that would allow for a dedicated GPU later.

Thanks, HackintoshMan.

Why 750w? Seems like most recommendations are 650 or so, even with a graphics card.


Nancy

- - - Updated - - -

You will need a suitable USB keyboard for the setup - as BT does not work in UEFI bios.

Snow Leopard does not work without using iBoot on Z77 motherboard. You might be able to run the software to calibrate the monitor, but you should do so with DVI-D/HDMI connection. You cannot install Snow Leopard on older G5 hardware just as you cannot run Snow Leopard on modern hardware, one is too old, the other is too new.

I would suggest using a 650W modular Corsair Power supply, just as is recommended for the CustoMac Pro : http://www.tonymacx86.com/371-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-july-2013.html#custo_pro

I would install Lion onto a single Hard drive and use this for now. Mavericks is due shortly, it looks good, but it is not worth buying Mountain Lion if you have Lion available to you.



Adrian B

Thanks, Adrian!

My keyboard is USB, so that's easy. Trying to help a friend with a wireless keyboard on a malfunctioning G5 a few years back taught me that lesson!

I was leaning toward that power supply after more reading; thanks for the second opinion.

Glad to hear Lion should be enough; I've used Mountain Lion at the office and see no reason to upgrade. I may be able to sneak a new i1 into the order—no need to futz with older systems.


Nancy