hackintosh build. graphic card doubts

[lazban]

Hello everybody,

I got a iMac 5k late 2014 i5 basic version. I need a more powerful machine but i do not want to spend 3900€ for the new i7 iMac and some upgrades.

So, i want to try a 2k€ hackintosh.

I use my computer mainly for Lightroom and Photoshop. Sometimes I use final cut pro. I play some strategic game like civ6 and cities skyline.

My main problem is about video card. I can’t find them (often out of stock or high priced). tonymac mentions only geforce gigabyte e evga. what can i buy for my purpose? I guess lightroom and photoshop do not care about video card. Isn’t it? Can a 1050 ti be enough? (167€). for a 1060 you need 400€…

I want to buy a good monitor 2k (maybe Dell U2717D at 655€). do the 1050 ti can work well with this monitor? should I target a full hd?

Second problem is ram. they almost doubled in price in a year! I’m thinking to buy only a 16gb module of Corsair Ballistix Sport, at 128€). I will buy another one later.

the rest of the build should be:

CPU: i7 6700k (i won’t do overclock but the “k” has 4ghz instead of 3.4 e costs the same than non-“k”: 303€)

cpu cooler: Noctua NH-L12 (50€). this air cooler can be enough?

mother board: i’d like wi-fi and bluetooth on board in order to not waste a pci-e slot. One of the few mobo listed by tonymac is a Asus Maximus VIII hero alpha (a bit pricey at 231€).other mobos cost way less without wifi and bluetooth. i won’t insert a audio card in order to use the one embedded in the mobo that seems very good to me.

storage: i guess lightroom need a lot of disk speed. i’d like m.2 nvme (samsung 960evo) but tonymac doesn’t list it in compatibility list. so, i’d try samsung 850 evo 500gb (150€). I will pair a mechanical disk WD blue 2tb (72€)

psu: even with a 1080ti 450w should be enough for this build. So i guess corsair rm650x should be enough (134€)

case: i won’t put the case on my desk and i do not have a lot of space. so i need something compact like the corsair 300r for 87€

as extra i’d mount an optical drive (bluray and dvd burner) like LG (65€) .

It all costs 2.042€ (with the 1050ti and dell monitor). Can I spend a little less changing some component?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[nobodynose]

Hello everybody,

I got a iMac 5k late 2014 i5 basic version. I need a more powerful machine but i do not want to spend 3900€ for the new i7 iMac and some upgrades.

So, i want to try a 2k€ hackintosh.

I use my computer mainly for Lightroom and Photoshop. Sometimes I use final cut pro. I play some strategic game like civ6 and cities skyline.

My main problem is about video card. I can’t find them (often out of stock or high priced). tonymac mentions only geforce gigabyte e evga. what can i buy for my purpose? I guess lightroom and photoshop do not care about video card. Isn’t it? Can a 1050 ti be enough? (167€). for a 1060 you need 400€…

Plenty of GTX 1060 graphics cards can be had for much less than 400€ - here are a few examples:
246€ - https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01IOWT538/?tag=tonymacx86com-21
246€ - https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01KLM1GKE/?tag=tonymacx86com-21
269€ - https://www.amazon.it/dp/B01KHWOBCS/?tag=tonymacx86com-21

I want to buy a good monitor 2k (maybe Dell U2717D at 655€). do the 1050 ti can work well with this monitor? should I target a full hd?

For that price you can almost get TWO decent (Samsung) 4K monitors! The 1050 Ti should be able to run a 4K monitor quite well; just watch for at least a 60Hz refresh rate (don't settle for 30Hz). Here's one example (there are more):
324€ - https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00WUACE4S/?tag=tonymacx86com-21

Second problem is ram. they almost doubled in price in a year! I’m thinking to buy only a 16gb module of Corsair Ballistix Sport, at 128€). I will buy another one later.

This is the exact same RAM I just bought for my Kaby Lake build I'm about to do. If you can possibly afford it, it's better to buy a 32GB kit (2 x 16GB) than to buy a single 16GB now and another one later; that way you're sure to have a matched pair.

mother board: i’d like wi-fi and bluetooth on board in order to not waste a pci-e slot. One of the few mobo listed by tonymac is a Asus Maximus VIII hero alpha (a bit pricey at 231€).other mobos cost way less without wifi and bluetooth.

I don't know for certain, but the Wifi/Bluetooth card that comes with this motherboard is based on an Atheros chipset, not all of which are compatible with macOS; so there's a chance you might have to replace the Wifi card (it's most likely an M.2 card). Again, I don't know for certain if this is the case with this motherboard or not.

storage: i guess lightroom need a lot of disk speed. i’d like m.2 nvme (samsung 960evo) but tonymac doesn’t list it in compatibility list. so, i’d try samsung 850 evo 500gb (150€). I will pair a mechanical disk WD blue 2tb (72€)

NVMe SSDs work with macOS - see these two threads:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/os-x-driver-for-nvme-m-2-solid-state-drives-released.181387/
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...h-ionvmefamily-using-class-code-spoof.210316/

 

[lazban]

Thank you very much!
didnt know it was possibile but exactly the same monitor is present twice on amazon. For 655€ and for 476€. Anyway I'll take a closer look also to other monitors.
If 1050 ti can handle 4k, i guess i will go for that one (167€ doesnt seem too much to me for that card) and for a 2k monitor (but i want an ips panel and 60hz.

Also,
I guess you are right about asus maximus viii hero alpha. Or there can be chances. This guy succeeed with that mobo but he also lists a wifi card in his build. I guess I'll go for another motherboard, way less expensive, no wifi onboard (gigabyte z170 gaming k3, 123€) and find another solution for wifi and bluetooth. I do not plan to install other pci cards so I can spend one pci slot for a Fenvi Card (27€). Also a range extender and a wired lan connection could be a solution.

Anyway i'll keep on working on this build
thanks again