Help me chose a motherboard

[Nyssa]

Hey all,

So i have started my first hackintosh build. Currently i have the dell optiplex 790 motherboard with the msi gtx 1060 gpu. Not going to lie,
i really don't like the aesthetic of the build, and i wanted a better gpu that is catalina compatible, so i purchased the sapphire nitro+ rx 580 se and some directional SATA cables, but the clearance is still not enough. So i figured i should look for a new motherboard that is better looking and have a better performance. My cpu is an i7 2600. I have looked at the Gigabyte z390 UD mobo, but if anyone has any recommendation that would be around the 150 dollars mark (used ebay is fine too)please share it with me. Thank you

ps. I bought the computer pre built and have been using it for gaming.

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hey all,

So i have started my first hackintosh build. Currently i have the dell optiplex 790 motherboard with the msi gtx 1060 gpu. Not going to lie, I really don't like the aesthetic of the build, and i wanted a better gpu that is catalina compatible, so i purchased the sapphire nitro+ rx 580 se and some directional SATA cables, but the clearance is still not enough. So i figured i should look for a new motherboard that is better looking and have a better performance. My cpu is an i7 2600. I have looked at the Gigabyte z390 UD mobo, but if anyone has any recommendation that would be around the 150 dollars mark (used ebay is fine too)please share it with me. Thank you

ps. I bought the computer pre built and have been using it for gaming.

Your old CPU won't work with new motherboards such as those based on the Z390.

If you want to get a Z390 motherboard, you will also have to get a 8th or 9th generation Intel CPU (e.g. i7 9700) and also new DDR4 RAM to go with it. Are you prepared to make such an investment?

 

[Nyssa]

Thanks for the reply.
it’s a hard question because i have to take many things into consideration.
I guess the cheaper and better solution would be to buy another gpu that would fit the motherboard but at the end of the day i still wouldn’t like the looks.
i feel like if i get all the components to go with the z390 ( with an i3 cpu) and hopefully resell my older parts it won’t be too expensive and i can have an up to date hackintosh too. Am i wrong?

 

[Jamesbond007]

Thanks for the reply.
It’s a hard question because I have to take many things into consideration.
I guess the cheaper and better solution would be to buy another gpu that would fit the motherboard but at the end of the day I still wouldn’t like the looks.
I feel like if I get all the components to go with the z390 (with an i3 cpu) and hopefully resell my older parts it won’t be too expensive and I can have an up to date hackintosh too. Am I wrong?

If what you want is an i3 CPU (e.g. i3 9100 / i3 9100F) with just 4 cores, then perhaps you can also consider a cheaper motherboard like those based on B365 / H370 to further cut down the cost. Actually if you don't plan to overclock the CPU (and for that you need K / KF CPUs) then a Z390 motherboard is not strictly necessary unless it has some features you may want such as the number of M.2 slots.

By using an i3 9100 (NOT the i3 9100F, mind you, which does NOT have CPU integrated graphics) you should be able to install and run Mojave or Catalina using a cheaper B365 / H370 motherboard and CPU integrated graphics, and then you can also save the cost of a separate graphics card. But the i3 9100F is quite a bit cheaper than the i3 9100 so you will have to compare the cost to see if this really save you money.

And if you can sell your old components for a reasonable price (don't expect too much from them as they are pretty old) then it probably won't be too expensive for you.

 

[Nyssa]

I don’t think i need overclocking at all. I would be doing video editing (just 1080) in final cut, adobe audition voice over, and light gaming.
I’ll look into the mentioned motherboards then.
i already have the sapphire nitro+ 580 graphics card that i want to keep. I assume that is better than the integrated gpu?

 

[Jamesbond007]

I don’t think i need overclocking at all. I would be doing video editing (just 1080) in final cut, adobe audition voice over, and light gaming.
I’ll look into the mentioned motherboards then.
I already have the sapphire nitro+ 580 graphics card that I want to keep. I assume that is better than the integrated gpu?

If you already have a Sapphire RX 580 then it is way better than the CPU integrated graphics, and it is also supported on MacOS Mojave and Catalina.

But since you use Final Cut Pro, having the CPU integrated graphics is beneficial as Final Cut Pro will make use of it. So an i3 9100 will still a better choice than an i3 9100F for you.

 

[Nyssa]

Thank you. I appreciate your answers.