I think I may have the parts already but I would appreciate a second opinion.

[BeoXS]

The ubiquitous story:
My wife's MacBook is nearing the end of it's life at the worst time. We are not financially stable (I have 2 jobs and she works full time as well). I was hoping to give her my MacBook Pro (which works like a champ) to replace it, but I need to replace mine if I do. I have a three year old PC build that use to use to edit with. Since I don't use it that much anymore I thought maybe I could use it as a hackintosh. Any advice would be appreciated.

The build:
Processor: Intel Xeon E5645 Westmere EP 2.4Ghz 12MB L3 Cache 1366 80W BX8061 14E5645
RAM: Kingston 48GB (3 x 16GB) 240-pin DDR3 SDRAM ECC Registered 1333 (PC3 10600) Model KTH-PL313Q8LVK3/48G
GPU: EVGA ACX Cooler 03G-P4-2784-KR G-SYNC Support GeForce GTX 780 Superclocked 3GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V300 series 2.5" 480GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive SV300S37A/480G
HDD1: WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0GB/s 3.5" Internal Drive
HDD2: WD Black 3TB Performance Desktop Hard Drive - 7200 RPM SATA 6 GB/s 64MB Cache 3.5" - WD3003FZEX
Optical Drive: Asus Black 12X Blue-ray Burner SATA BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS
Case: SUPERMICRO SYS-7046A-T Workstation/Server Nehalem-ready Barebone, Dual LGA1366 Intel Xeon 5600/550 Series (4U Rack mountable)

My expectation is to have to buy new memory (I'm experienced with Apple's infamous "kernel panic" issues) and the GPU. I've seen builds with the processor so I know that it still works with macOS Sierra but my biggest fear is that the SuperMicro case and it's pre-installed Motherboard and power supply are not.

Thanks in advance for anything good or bad.

 

[Adrian B]

Let me first clear up the RAM, case and PSU concerns that you have raised.

Apple do use very high quality RAM that is designed and guaranteed to work with their own hardware - other quality PC manufactures also do the same. Two issues rose around the introduction of Mavericks back in 2013 and then 10.9.2 in Feb 2014.
The fist point is that Intel tightened the specification around the low power states of the board/CPU requirements that made most older non Haswell compatible PSU models have issues with Haswell architecture hardware. This does not have any bearing on pre-Haswell hardware.

The RAM issue was also a problem with many Windows users as it was also an issue with some motherboards requiring UEFI/BIOS updates (slow and fraught process for many people) and RAM that was really designed for older Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge architecture. RAM support is dependent on the specific board - if the board has an issue with the RAM then it can appear as an issue in any OS. This issue isn't going to be a problem for you and you will not need to change RAM the Mavericks 10.9.2+ kernel panics are well behind us now. These RAM issues originally happened with third party RAM that was claimed to be macOS compatible when it was not.

A GTX 780 that was new and purchased prior to November 2013 will probably run on the standard macOS drivers, but a second build (revision) that entered the sales channels in November 2013 requires the drivers. You can only identify a specific model by removing the cards cooling and look at the GPU chip to find the revision number. The PSU and case will not have an issue either and will be able to run any operating system that the board, CPU and GPU can support. The Asus BD drive may prevent sleep, but that is really not an issue to prevent macOS from running on your build.


Check for your specific motherboard model number as that will detail. According to one sales site that I looked at it was indicated that the board model number might be X8DAi - can you check this with your documentation and with the actual board PCB. This vital information will help move your installation forward if there is sufficiant existing information done by previous users of the same board.
https://www.tonymacx86.com/search/4254915/?q=X8DAi&o=date

 

[BeoXS]

Sorry for the delay in responding; I had a major A/V install at work last week.

My kernel panic issue was with Maverick, but it had more to do with an issue with my antivirus than the RAM (*cough* ESET *cough*). I did have the book for the case/mobo but after three moves in three states over 4 years I seem to have misplaced it. The Asus BD drive keeping from going to sleep won't be a problem, but it is nice to know ahead of time. Believe it or not I bought the GPU in November 2013. I don't know Newewgg's policy for back stock - my experience is that they try to get rid of the old stock first so I probably have the pre-November card. So, basically, I have to just try it to see what happens.

It'll be another week before I get the chance to try it but I will post the results when I get the chance.

Thanks Adrian B!

 

[Adrian B]

https://www.supermicro.com/products/system/4U/7046/SYS-7046A-T.cfm