Hackintosh Mini build question and advises..

[tdpro]

HI all! Am new to the forum and new to hackintosh..

The delay of thunderbolt support for my mac pro has left me no choice but to look at the hackintosh setup... as an experiment I am thinking to try build a mobile work station for my recording setup, If it works I will proceed to plan for a mac pro multi core version...

My current main work computer is MacPro 2.26mzh 2xQuad, with 20G ECC RAM. Clients have repeatedly been asked me to go to fly out to their place to record and mix their albums. Problem is I am not comfortable in Windows, as I am so used to the quick keys on Mac I have no idea of the windows short cuts and this increase my work time. So I have thought about bring my Mac Pro but that would be crazy to fly with it.. so I am thinking to build a small system I can carry there..

At the moment I am liking the BitFenix Prodigy case, as this case is small enough and can handle lots of HD which is what I need.

I have a few questions regarding a mini hackintosh build around this case:

1.what is the most powerful hackintosh I can build base on using the particular case mentioned? I understand I will not be close to my mac pro, but how much can I push from these minis? Will I get anything that is near 50% of my current setup? much less?

2. Is Thunderbolt available for this case and the motherboards for the mini build?

What other disadvantages of using a hackintosh? I hear story about sleep and wake issues... Any advise on this issue would be very much appreciated.

Thank you for reading my post.. hope I can get some responds to point me to the right direction...

 

[trs96]

HI all! Am new to the forum and new to hackintosh..

The delay of thunderbolt support for my mac pro has left me no choice but to look at the hackintosh setup... as an experiment I am thinking to try build a mobile work station for my recording setup, If it works I will proceed to plan for a mac pro multi core version...

My current main work computer is MacPro 2.26mzh 2xQuad, with 20G ECC RAM. Clients have repeatedly been asked me to go to fly out to their place to record and mix their albums. Problem is I am not comfortable in Windows, as I am so used to the quick keys on Mac I have no idea of the windows short cuts and this increase my work time. So I have thought about bring my Mac Pro but that would be crazy to fly with it.. so I am thinking to build a small system I can carry there..

At the moment I am liking the BitFenix Prodigy case, as this case is small enough and can handle lots of HD which is what I need.

I have a few questions regarding a mini hackintosh build around this case:

1.what is the most powerful hackintosh I can build base on using the particular case mentioned? I understand I will not be close to my mac pro, but how much can I push from these minis? Will I get anything that is near 50% of my current setup? much less?

2. Is Thunderbolt available for this case and the motherboards for the mini build?

What other disadvantages of using a hackintosh? I hear story about sleep and wake issues... Any advise on this issue would be very much appreciated.

Thank you for reading my post.. hope I can get some responds to point me to the right direction...

Just in case you don't know, the Prodigy is built with thick, high quality steel and is quite heavy for a mini-itx case, it will
weigh well over 20 pounds with all your hardware in it. Also, without any case modding the largest motherboard that will
fit is mini-itx, so no Thunderbolt as an option on those boards. Ram is also currently limited to 16GB on a mini-itx board.
It's still a great case though and worthy of your consideration because you can build a very powerful high end system with it.

You will have to use full size ATX boards to get thunderbolt onboard. Most builds for music production use the GB UP5-TH
paired with a 3770K. See BoomR's build in the Golden builds section. To travel though you won't want to lug a 30 lb. ATX
case along with you. Take a look at some of the all aluminum micro atx cases from Lian Li and the MSI Z77MA-G45 or the
Gigabyte mATX boards that have display port options. It's also very easy to add FW 800 cards to these motherboards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112300

Above Lian Li all AL case is only half the weight of the Prodigy and can hold a mATX board and plenty of HD storage.
Also look at Lian Li's site for more detailed info. Some of their ATX cases are also very light as well. The following
ATX mid-tower would allow install of a TB motherboard (UP5-TH) and also weighs in under 10 lbs. when empty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112331

If Dual TB ports are essential, then this would be my choice for a build. Case and components will weigh less than half
that of a Mac Pro. Will hold a UP5-TH, 3 - 3.5 inch HDD's two SSD's and has a front USB 3.0 port. Put in some Noctua case
fans and you've got a quiet capable Mac Pro replacement. If you need to have the PSU rear mounted, then look at the
PC-A04S case by Lian Li. If you are in the EU you can get it in a silver brushed AL Mac like finish. Awesome, but not
available here in the US.

 

[tdpro]

Just in case you don't know, the Prodigy is built with thick, high quality steel and is quite heavy for a mini-itx case, it will
weigh well over 20 pounds with all your hardware in it. Also, without any case modding the largest motherboard that will
fit is mini-itx, so no Thunderbolt as an option on those boards. Ram is also currently limited to 16GB on a mini-itx board.
It's still a great case though and worthy of your consideration because you can build a very powerful high end system with it.

You will have to use full size ATX boards to get thunderbolt onboard. Most builds for music production use the GB UP5-TH
paired with a 3770K. See BoomR's build in the Golden builds section. To travel though you won't want to lug a 30 lb. ATX
case along with you. Take a look at some of the all aluminum micro atx cases from Lian Li and the MSI Z77MA-G45 or the
Gigabyte mATX boards that have display port options. It's also very easy to add FW 800 cards to these motherboards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112300

Above Lian Li all AL case is only half the weight of the Prodigy and can hold a mATX board and plenty of HD storage.
Also look at Lian Li's site for more detailed info. Some of their ATX cases are also very light as well. The following
ATX mid-tower would allow install of a TB motherboard (UP5-TH) and also weighs in under 10 lbs. when empty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112331

If Dual TB ports are essential, then this would be my choice for a build. Case and components will weigh less than half
that of a Mac Pro. Will hold a UP5-TH, 3 - 3.5 inch HDD's two SSD's and has a front USB 3.0 port. Put in some Noctua case
fans and you've got a quiet capable Mac Pro replacement. If you need to have the PSU rear mounted, then look at the
PC-A04B case by Lian Li.

Thanks for the replay, very helpful... as you could imagine, I kinda just jump into the pool I have no idea as yet what I am dealing with so I was not aware of the limitation of the case and motherboard.

Your suggested case looks very good too, as it can also house lots of HD. I will have a closer look at this.

As for GFX card, I am under the impression I dont need a very good one for audio.. I am using the stock GFX card and I have no complain.. of cos if there are good quality gfx card wouldnt hurt to see how much it cost also..

Thanks again for the help... the puzzle are starting to come together

 

[tdpro]

Hi all I have more question about the mini build so rather than starting a new threat I will just use this old one...

After months of reading I am going to try to build a mini ITX hack as a out station unit...

I think I will base the build on the CustoMac Mini Deluxe.. the case will be the SilverStone Ft03 mini..

My question is with this build, 16G of 1600 RAM, i7 3770K... how much power will I lose as compare to my Main system, Mac Pro 2009 2.26mzh 2xQuad nehalem, with 20G ECC RAM... Will I lose more than 50% of the Process power??

Also with the

GA-Z77N-WIFI, the PCIe slot is for any PCIe card?? I am not planning to use a GFX card but will insert a Universal Audio (www.uaudio.com) UA2 process card which is a PCIe card... Will I run into any trouble?? ​

Thanks everyone!

S

 

[Mate94]

Hi all I have more question about the mini build so rather than starting a new threat I will just use this old one...

Wise decision, thanks!

Hacks with 3770K scores around 14,000 in Geekbench, so it will be sligthly better than your existing Mac Pro.

The specifications say that this audio card is compatible with PCIe 2.0, then it should work.

 

[Adrian B]

Hi all I have more question about the mini build so rather than starting a new threat I will just use this old one...

After months of reading I am going to try to build a mini ITX hack as a out station unit...

I think I will base the build on the CustoMac Mini Deluxe.. the case will be the SilverStone Ft03 mini..

My question is with this build, 16G of 1600 RAM, i7 3770K... how much power will I lose as compare to my Main system, Mac Pro 2009 2.26mzh 2xQuad nehalem, with 20G ECC RAM... Will I lose more than 50% of the Process power??

Also with the

GA-Z77N-WIFI, the PCIe slot is for any PCIe card?? I am not planning to use a GFX card but will insert a Universal Audio (www.uaudio.com) UA2 process card which is a PCIe card... Will I run into any trouble?? ​

Thanks everyone!

S

Hi tdpro,

I think as your questions essentially boil down to the performance difference between your proposed build and your existing 2009 Mac pro and the compatibility of your chosen PCIe card with OSX, then the best way of getting maximum exposure to you target audience would be to address these as two separate questions over on the http://www.tonymacx86.com/music/ section.

You will find loads of information and people who can help you better. Threads like this one have lots of information much more relevant to you : http://www.tonymacx86.com/music/124...-hobbyist-pro-sumer-pro-drivers-mac-os-x.html


Adrian B

P.S. I think you might find that your proposed build is closer to the power of your Mac Pro than you might think, especially if you use an SSD

 

[tdpro]

wow I didnt expect to the reply is that this build will be equal or better the current mac pro I am using... its a pleasant surprise!!! I guess I really did under estimate the mini build... and this just injected a lot of confidence...



As for the UAD cards, they are not sound cards but processing cards for audio plugins... I will try the threat Adrian suggested and trace from there...

 

[Adrian B]

As for the UAD cards, they are not sound cards but processing cards for audio plugins... I will try the threat Adrian suggested and trace from there...

Sorry about calling it a sound card...not up on all this computer audio technical jargon


Good Luck

 

[tdpro]

all good.. thanks for the help...

I will be using the onboard Optical out to connect to my high quality D/A..

I am looking up the optical out now... anyone has problem with it? seems like some have problems and there seem to be a fix... still reading haha learning sooo much as I have not build a computer since 2009... I am so far behind in all the latest and news CPU and parts..

thanks again for the reply guys! So looking forward to starting the build!