HackPro video and image post production.

[photomathon]

Hi,
I wrote this in the previous forum, but nobody comment ...
http://www.tonymacx86.com/buying-advice/102492-video-production-hackintosh.html

so maybe it's not that bad to start fresh a one.

I'm building my (first) HackPro for video editing, photography workflow and digital content in general purposes ... so I'm figuring out and learning

I already made one mistake, so why not to document my process !

I'm kind of new in these stuff, so I'm reading everything at least three times and very slow. Still in learning mode ... but somehow is fun and "relaxing"

Thank you everyone !!!!

AFTER RESEARCH, this is my final list (July 1, 2014)
please feel free to throw me some advice !!

BitFenix Shinobi *** PURCHASED ***
http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/shinobi/

Intel i7 4930K CPU
http://ark.intel.com/products/77780​

Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 motherboard
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4288#ov

Trident X 32GB (8x4GB) DDR3 RAM
http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-2133c9d-16gtx

EVGA GeForce GTX780 graphic card
http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=03G-P4-2781-KR

WD HDD Black 1TB SATA III 7200 rpm 64MB cache
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=760

OCZ Vector 150 240GB SATA III (x2)http://ocz.com/consumer/vector-150-ssd/specifications

Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3
http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/483

Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 140mm (top fans)
http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/260

Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 120mm (front and back fans)
http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/259

Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 100 - Power supply 1000w
http://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/300

​

What do you think?​

... and here are my rookie mistakes

Asus Z97 Pro MotherBoard *** PURCHASED *** TO BE RETURNED -- to many things won't work or fit
http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z97PROWiFi_ac/

Intel i7 4790K CPU
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KPRWAX8/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2XPHOKBKODQKA&coliid=I2DWJM3QBJ1ASO

Corsair H80i CPU cooler
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/hydro-series-h80i-high-performance-liquid-cpu-cooler

Corsair H100i CPU cooler
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZN2NH6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2XPHOKBKODQKA&coliid=I2LBQM9B4E0AQT&psc=1

G.Skill Trident DDR3-2400 32GB (8GB x 4)
http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-2400c10q-32gtx

Gigabyte GiForce GTX 780 Ti Graphics Card
http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4890#ov

Seagate Barracuda 2TB 6gb/s HDD - for system, software and storage
http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/desktop-hard-drives/desktop-hdd/?sku=ST2000DM001

OCZ Vertex 450 SSD 128Gb - for scratching video projects
http://ocz.com/consumer/vertex-450-sata-3-ssd

Newtow R3 1000W Power Supply
http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/power-supplies/newton/newton-r3-1000w

 

[rwillett]

I think for your first Hackintosh you should stick to the tried and tested rather than the more experimental, e.g. as you have found out, the X79 motherboard is not fully working and hacks are needed.

The way I would look at this is to look at what work you are actually trying to do and build a system to support that. e.g. if you want a FCP X video editing system then the Nvidia card is not very good for FCP X. The AMD cards such as the 7970, R280X (same card really) or even a part of older 5770's will stomp all over your 780. However if you are using Adobe Premiere or other systems then the 780 could be a good choice. The 780 is a great card, just not for FCP X. None of the nVidia cards are

Not sure what motherboard you will want, my advice is to go for a MB which has lots of threads on this board. The Gigabyte Z87X series are good, I have the 'bottom' of the range one out of choice as the top of the range has Thunderbolt (don't need), additional graphics outputs (don't need as I have dual 5770's and turn off the on-board graphics as that slows things down). The rest of the specs of the UD3H are just the same as the UD7H (AFAIK). I'm told Asus boards are just as good. For your first build, get a tried and tested system that lots of people have used, there are good guides around and you know will work.

Memory just needs to be compatible. I do some moderate video editing with 16GB and it's find for me. I drive three monitors with two graphics cards and "it just works". 32GB is nice but unless you are really, really, really hammering your video editor I suspect you may never really use it.

CPU cooler goes with the CPU which goes with the Motherboard. Be careful on the really big CPU's as they overhang the CPU and memory sockets which means you need low profile memory. I don't over clock as I have no need. If I want a faster chip, I'll buy one

Not sure why you have two 240GB SATA's unless you want to raid them up and get faster performance. My suggestion would be to try out a single one and see if it all works. The more complexity you have in your system, the more chances of things completely ****ing up and you'll never work out what the problem is. How much experience do you have of RAID on Mac OS X. You can always put one SSD in, if you have it all working, back the system up to the 1TB (or another external disk) with Carbon Copy Cloner, check it all works and then (and only then) add a second SSD in. I use 2 x 512GB SSD's in non RAID mode and it's fast enough for me.YMMV.

I think your HDD is too small, get a far bigger one, or better still get two and RAID those for data storage. Don't forget power consumption though.

Your PSU is very big. A 1KW PSU would drive two R280X's or 7970's with 200W to spare and would be a monster. However do you need it? If you plan on using dual graphics cards and can afford them, then it might be a good idea. However the cost of your system is going up and up.

I have NO fans on my system apart from the CPU and GPU fans. You have four big ones. You don't really need that many.

Overall my advice is keep it simple, use tried and tested components that lots and lots of other people use. Being on the bleeding edge with new kit that's sexy and snazzy but nobody has ever used before is a pain in the arse when you are the first person to find a problem. Been there myself and got the T-short in my professional career. Keep it Simple is the motto.

No idea what this lot is going to cost, but it might be worth looking at a second hand mac pro. I had most of the components for my Hackintosh (and a real Mac pro, but quite old) but you're looking at buying new. Look at your budget and think carefully.

Rob

 

[photomathon]

You rock man, thank you for sharing your experience !
Mainly for my image production I use ... Adobe prods. Photoshop, Lightroom, Premier, Aftereffects. Not FinalCut for now. You got me clear for those 400+ bucks !

I went over the Z97 Pro for its specs, but then realized it has many things that don't work now. So I check around and found the x79 more suitable and solid (?) ... and now looks the GAZ87x performs much better than the X79, Thank you !!!

Now .... I gotta do more home work and see the parts.

I plan to OC the CPU, that's why I'm going to get the "hydro cooler" ... I had in mind the Corsair H100i. What would be your choice, the big one on the MB or the one with tubes that pumps air to the CPU ?

Re: the storage. The HDD is for applications and software, the 2 SSD for scratching editing ... and yes, I'll be backing up everything outside. Didn't actually know what RAID was ... I wiki-ed it ... and I still rocket-science for me ... would you please share if the effort pays the result with any daily example?

AND you have right ... I'm going to get just one SSD for now ... so I can cut down budget and finish the build earlier ... same with the fans. Thinking to just get one for front and back ... and if I go back to the H100i, want to replace their factory ones for these that are more silent ... and maybe use those too in the front.

With out planning ... I got into editing ... and now I'm editing in a laptop ... so you can see it's a pain in the neck ... I see this damn beach ball all over all the time ... maybe that's why I over shopped ... I want to make sure ... I don't wait like 3 hours to get a video file exported ... or since the image is not rendering fast enough ... I can't see details that gotta fix later (after file importing) ... it's too much waist of time. That's why I don't want a desktop "mac-sealed" because then I won't be able to upgrade memory or storage ... or other things ... I rather go kind of with the same budget than a MacPro ... knowing that in a couple of years I can pimp my build. Eventually ... I'll get more video editing flow and then I plan to get a second graphic card ... that's why the big power supply.

So thank you, I'll go over my homework to see if all the other parts are a good match!

 

[neuroman]

I think the x79 platform is ok as long as your are willing to work with it. In that specific case, ASUS was more compatible for me since I was able to get power management working with an I7 3930k whereas this was not possible with a Gigabyte ga-x79s.
Look at builds using the rampage IV or Sabertooth x79 MB.
There is also a long post on ASUS native power management and speedstep here.
You may want to look into adding a RAID card in the future for your storage/scratch disk.
ARECA cards have worked flawlessly for me.

Good luck.

 

[rwillett]

If you don't use FCP X then the 780 (or whatever nVidia card) should be fine. I would still check with other people on the specific version of the graphics card you wish to use as there are quite a few variants. Again tried and tested is the answer. If you know that the specific brand X works then get that specific brand. When I did this I got the SKU number so that I brought identical, not similar, but identical. That way cuts out doubt.

I like the Gigabyte motherboards, other people hate them and swear by the Asus ones. All I can say is that mine worked well out of the box with little configuration. I would very, very, very strongly advise you to get a motherboard that has lots of threads on this forum. There are golden releases where people have done an enormous amount of work detailing what they have done so you don't have to learn their lessons the hard way.

Personally speaking, I wouldn't overclock. The difference in speed is, to my mind, not worth the effort and if you do get crashes is this due to the over clocking, your configuration, application not working? You simply don't know. Buy kit that you *may* over clock in the future but take baby steps now and learn what works and what doesn't. Why worry about the correct voltage for your memory to make it run at 10% faster when you need to get the system working and stable. Over clock in a few weeks or months time when your system is rock solid. I can't comment on the water cooling as I don't need to do it. I have a single decent CPU cooler on mu i4770 running at 3.7Ghz and thats it. Its silent and quick. An extra 300Mgz is only 8% faster for a whole lot more pain and money. If I was that desperate for 8% I'll buy a bigger CPU.

I'm not clear where you are going to put your OS. It must be on the SSD for speed, but if you're putting scratch files there, then you need to be careful where everything else goes. From memory Adobe allows you to specify a scratch disk, I'm unclear if using an SSD for this is beneficial or a waste of money. You need to investigate further.

I still think the PSU is over the top. For you to fully utilise two graphics cards you need:

1. A 750W or higher decent PSU.
2. Work out the total power consumption of all the components and give yourself some headroom.
3. Budget for a second graphics card.
4. Make sure your motherboard can handle two high power graphics cards. e.g. it may need an additional power supply to the motherboard. My Z87X has a little SATA power adaptor on the board to supply dedicated power. This is in addition to the power adaptors on the graphics cards.
5. That your motherboard PCI slots can handle dual high bandwidth graphics cards. My motherboard actually can't handle full speed PCI graphics cards on all slots. It shares the bandwidth. Some motherboards can do this and are more expensive. You need to investigate further.
6. Have a case that allows full size and extra width graphic cards to fit. Some cases are too narrow and not deep enough.
7. Make sure you have enough space for cooling by whatever method you use, water or air. Your case will need to be quite large. I have a Coolermaster 690 and it's not really big enough for two graphics cards and all the cabling it needs.

All of the above add significant cost to your build. Only you can say if its value for money.

It's sensible to build with expansion in mind, but don't forget to look at the big picture and see the costs of an older mac pro and weigh up the Pro's and Con's. I still have a 2006 Mac Pro that runs VMWare Esxi now as its simply too slow for my day to day use.

 

[photomathon]

I really appreciate your kindness to share all these info.
I'm having a beer on your name right now!!
Have a great day !

 

[photomathon]

Thank you very much for taking your time to "write me".
I'm going for the Asus z89 ... I saw a few experiences that x79 has a lot of things that don't work out so easy.
Thank you again

 

[photomathon]

Update and success !!!

I'm happy to share that THANK YOU TO SHILLOH NIN'S BUILD FOR ERIC,
I'm enjoying a really great HackPro. I was abusing my poor laptop ... and now I have a 10 times powerful editing station.

I don't consider myself an expert ... But somehow I can follow instructions (again Thank you SHILOOH, you rock !!! ). I'm more like a "parasite" of this community, because I'm surviving thanks to your knowledge and great attitude to teach.

Here is the final list of the components I used:

Intel i7 4930K CPU
http://ark.intel.com/products/77780


​

Asus Rampage IV Extreme
http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/RAMPAGE_IV_EXTREME/overview/

EVGA GeForce GTX780 graphic card
http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=03G-P4-2781-KR

G.Skill RipjawsZ (8x4GB) DDR3 RAM - 2133 mhz
http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-2133c11q-32gzl

OCZ Vector 150 480GB SATA III
http://ocz.com/consumer/vector-150-ssd/specifications

WD Velociraptor 1T
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=20

Asus Optical Drive
http://www.asus.com/Optical_Drives/DRW24B1ST/

Be Quiet! Silent Wings 2 120mm (front and back fans)
http://www.bequiet.com/en/casefans/259

Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 100 - Power supply 1000w
http://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/300

Be Quiet! Dark Rock 3
http://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/483

Fractal R4
http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-r4-arctic-white

​

I haven't installed all the software I need yet because one main issue:
The SSD after getting Mavericks installed ... despaired ... nothing could find it. OCZ is sending me another one.

In the mid time I have two issues so far:

1. The ethernet changes by "herself" the IP, so the internet connection get cut.

2. After 5 mins, somehow the PC restarts by itself. Every action I take ... simple action, like open an app, empty the trash ... Any action that needs an "enter" to run, resets the PC.​

As I said I'm not an expert, so I just wait for the SSD. Run this build with Mavericks on that new SSD ... and see if these or other issues happens ...

From what I've learned so far ... I begin to think it might be an issue with the motherboard

What do you think? ... Do you know if there two issues are something that I can fix now?

​

 

[sparky98]

For the restarting issue, updating the BIOS solved it for me, although I have a slightly different build

 

[photomathon]

thank you man!
I updated the bios to this version.

Somehow my memories are running slow (?). I think that might be the problem.