iMac 2017 Video Editing Build

[ReynardFox]

I just priced out the equivalent of a $2700 (upgraded) iMac on NewEgg. Here's a summary of the hackintosh specs:

• Fractal Design R5 Case (added to summary)
• 4.2 GHz quad-core i7
• 16GB 3000MHz DDR4
• GTX 1060 with 6GB Ram
• 500 GB SSD
• 250 GB M.2 Drive (new item, smaller, but much faster)
  
• Wireless AC Wifi Card (new item)
• Water Cooling System
• Wireless Solar Keyboard
• Wireless Touch Mouse
• 27in 4k monitor with height, pivot, swivel, etc

This build would cost $2,029.14 $2,090.05. And it'd cost a mere $1378.76 $1398.75 if you already had a monitor, mouse, and keyboard; that's half the cost of the official iMac!

I'd be interested in hearing ya'lls thoughts / suggestions. Maybe there's something I missed or something I could do better? https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=32286186

Note: Changed out SSD and updated the pricing on 06/20/17.

 

[JCMunsonII]

I just priced out the equivalent of a $2700 (upgraded) iMac on NewEgg. Here's a summary of the hackintosh specs:

• 4.2 GHz quad-core i7
• 16GB 3000MHz DDR4
• GTX 1060 with 6GB Ram
• 500 GB SSD
• Water Cooling System
• Wireless Solar Keyboard
• Wireless Touch Mouse
• 27in 4k monitor with height, pivot, swivel, etc

This build would cost $2,029.14. And it'd cost a mere $1378.76 if you already had a monitor, mouse, and keyboard; that's half the cost of the official iMac!

I'd be interested in hearing ya'lls thoughts / suggestions. Maybe there's something I missed or something I could do better? https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=32286186

Case?

 

[phlydude]

I just priced out the equivalent of a $2700 (upgraded) iMac on NewEgg. Here's a summary of the hackintosh specs:

• 4.2 GHz quad-core i7
• 16GB 3000MHz DDR4
• GTX 1060 with 6GB Ram
• 500 GB SSD
• Water Cooling System
• Wireless Solar Keyboard
• Wireless Touch Mouse
• 27in 4k monitor with height, pivot, swivel, etc

This build would cost $2,029.14. And it'd cost a mere $1378.76 if you already had a monitor, mouse, and keyboard; that's half the cost of the official iMac!

I'd be interested in hearing ya'lls thoughts / suggestions. Maybe there's something I missed or something I could do better? https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=32286186

Is the water cooling really necessary? Unless you are OC'ing the CPU, air cooling should be fine and won't be as noisy as you think. A Noctua low-profile cooler is nice and quiet under most loads. The case you selected may support all the radiators you can think of but a more airy case with some low dB fans is likely more cost effective.

Wireless input devices are nice but they won't do squat in UEFI/BIOS so having wired on hand is helpful, at least until your system becomes stable (and I don't know that I'd want a refurb'd mouse).

I am still of the mindset that more RAM = more better - curious what the $ increase is if you go to 2x16GB vs 2x8GB?

 

[pastrychef]

You'd probably want to use an NVMe (or AHCI) M.2 SSD to more closely emulate the performance of an iMac.

 

[ReynardFox]

Is the water cooling really necessary? Unless you are OC'ing the CPU, air cooling should be fine and won't be as noisy as you think. A Noctua low-profile cooler is nice and quiet under most loads. The case you selected may support all the radiators you can think of but a more airy case with some low dB fans is likely more cost effective.

Wireless input devices are nice but they won't do squat in UEFI/BIOS so having wired on hand is helpful, at least until your system becomes stable (and I don't know that I'd want a refurb'd mouse).

I am still of the mindset that more RAM = more better - curious what the $ increase is if you go to 2x16GB vs 2x8GB?

Yeah, that fan is still a bit pricey. How much is the Noctua cooler you'd recommend?

The K750 keyboard works flawlessly in UEFI on my current z97x-ud5h hackintosh. I've also got several wireless mouses that work as well. And I've got an extra wired keyboard laying around. So not concerned about that one.

It looks like the 32GB chips are still pretty expensive. Best option here might be to wait for the right sale. For example:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231888
G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR4 2400 (2x8GB) -- $106.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR4 2400 (4x8GB) -- $236.99

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231914
G.SKILL TridentZSeries DDR4 3200 (2x8GB) -- $160.99
G.SKILL TridentZSeries DDR4 3200 (4x8GB) -- $322.99

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231967
This memory (on sale) is cheaper than most 32 gb options, but is a bit slower too. It's still running as fast as the new iMacs though. So this might be the most affordable alternative.
G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series (2x16GB) -- $202.99

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232091
And for $17 more, you could get the faster DDR 3200.
G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR4 3200 (2x16GB) -- $229.99

 

[Adrian B]

There is a worldwide shortage of RAM that is keeping prices of RAM and SSDs at an inflated price point - this is set to continue for the duration of 2017 and further rises in price should be considered viable as manufacturers struggle to get the amount of product that they actually need to service demand.

Apple and Amazon have both helped to fund Foxconn, who are buying the RAM division of Toshiba. Apple and Amazon looking to protect availability of cloud products (server RAM and storage drives) while Apple also require RAM for mobile and desktop devices as well as cloud storage.

 

[ReynardFox]

There is a worldwide shortage of RAM that is keeping prices of RAM and SSDs at an inflated price point - this is set to continue for the duration of 2017 and further rises in price should be considered viable as manufacturers struggle to get the amount of product that they actually need to service demand.

Apple and Amazon have both helped to fund Foxconn, who are buying the RAM division of Toshiba. Apple and Amazon looking to protect availability of cloud products (server RAM and storage drives) while Apple also require RAM for mobile and desktop devices as well as cloud storage.

That's interesting. I've heard rumors about it for a while, but haven't ready much. So does that mean Toshiba ram might get cheaper next year on Amazon?

I'm not in any rush, since my z97x-ud5h is still performing OK...but wanted to go ahead and start researching for a possible 2017 or 2018 Black Friday build.

 

[ReynardFox]

I just updated this build with a smaller, much faster M.2 SSD and added a Wireless AC card. This build now costs $2,090.05. And it'd cost a mere $1398.75 if you already had a monitor, mouse, and keyboard; that's half the cost of the official iMac!

I'm considering increasing the RAM on this build from 16GB to 32GB whenever prices on the newer chips goes down. So far, the most affordable 32GB option I've found is the G.SKILL Ripjaws 2400 (2x16GB) for $202.99. That's about $76 more than the faster Corsair Vengeance 3000 (2x8GB).

Let me know if anyone else has any suggestions or sees any issues with this slightly updated build:
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=32286186

 

[Adrian B]

That's interesting. I've heard rumors about it for a while, but haven't ready much. So does that mean Toshiba ram might get cheaper next year on Amazon?

It means that Amazon and Apple are trying to protect supplies for Movie streaming and Cloud storage services. Apple aslo must have a reliable supply for foxconn factories that produce iPhone, ipad and other portable macs which make up the vast part of Apple sales. RAM is a vital component in so many devices that all tech companies rely upon.

RAM/SSD prices likely to stay high for some time yet, hopefully they will gradually reduce in price to give consumers more bang for buck in the next 3-4 quarters. Keep your eyes peeled for signs of reducing prices or look carefully at sale prices. If you are buying a whole new system, then you can balance savings made on other components against higher RAM/SSD prices so you still come out on top budget wise.

I'm not in any rush, since my z97x-ud5h is still performing OK...but wanted to go ahead and start researching for a possible 2017 or 2018 Black Friday build.

Tough to beat a good Z97 system, even with a new Z270 build the upgrade is actually reasonably small. Z97 Devil's Canyon is aging well - I have just built another Devil's Canyon machine because it made better financial/performance sense. Second hand RAM kits from eBay have been good value as some people are updating and selling RAM for half of the cost of new kits.

 

[ReynardFox]

It means that Amazon and Apple are trying to protect supplies for Movie streaming and Cloud storage services. Apple aslo must have a reliable supply for foxconn factories that produce iPhone, ipad and other portable macs which make up the vast part of Apple sales. RAM is a vital component in so many devices that all tech companies rely upon.

RAM/SSD prices likely to stay high for some time yet, hopefully they will gradually reduce in price to give consumers more bang for buck in the next 3-4 quarters. Keep your eyes peeled for signs of reducing prices or look carefully at sale prices. If you are buying a whole new system, then you can balance savings made on other components against higher RAM/SSD prices so you still come out on top budget wise.



Tough to beat a good Z97 system, even with a new Z270 build the upgrade is actually reasonably small. Z97 Devil's Canyon is aging well - I have just built another Devil's Canyon machine because it made better financial/performance sense. Second hand RAM kits from eBay have been good value as some people are updating and selling RAM for half of the cost of new kits.

Yeah, I've been looking at upgrade options as well. Looks like the processor isn't much faster and don't see many benefits to the motherboard. However, this newer build can support faster memory and faster SSD drives.

However, a cheaper option would be to add an additional 16GB DDR3 ram to my current pc for $100 and overclock it to 2400 MHz. Although I'd love to add that new M.2 SSD as well. Just can't tell if it'd run at full speed on the z97x-ud5h. That could hold me over for 1-2 more years.

Another consideration is my current motherboard may be having issues managing default voltages, which makes it unstable with certain apps such as iPhoto. I had @imbrenden point out that possibility in another thread: Success Build!!!: macOS Sierra on gigabyte z97x ud5h+ i7 4770k+ 16gb ram+ gtx 760