Killer MOBO

[Gedroo]

Hello everyone
i know that my question may be redundant but ... after 7 years of honorable service my hackintosh (i have yet to figure out if it is due to motherboard or cpu) is at the end of its life. I would like to know if anyone can recommend a build based on a future-proof MOBO, with Thunderbolt, capable of driving two displays? I have an old gtx650 that I could recycle, but I think I could do without it since I need to work with almost exclusively audio and not video editing. I have noticed that the z390 or z490 chipset is one of the top choices. I prefer to overspend on the MOBO, buy a decent CPU and two RAM and at least install Monterey, or stick with Catalina as long as possible. I hope some of you have a solution to my problem, unfortunately I don't have enough resources to buy a GPU as well. thank you

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hello everyone
i know that my question may be redundant but ... after 7 years of honorable service my hackintosh (i have yet to figure out if it is due to motherboard or cpu) is at the end of its life. I would like to know if anyone can recommend a build based on a future-proof MOBO, with Thunderbolt, capable of driving two displays? I have an old gtx650 that I could recycle, but I think I could do without it since I need to work with almost exclusively audio and not video editing. I have noticed that the z390 or z490 chipset is one of the top choices. I prefer to overspend on the MOBO, buy a decent CPU and two RAM and at least install Monterey, or stick with Catalina as long as possible. I hope some of you have a solution to my problem, unfortunately I don't have enough resources to buy a GPU as well. thank you

You wish to stay on Catalina or Monterey?

Then as you said the Z390 / 9th gen and Z490 / 10th gen platforms are the latest Intel platforms still supported.

You may use an Intel 9th generation CPU together with a 300 series motherboard or an Intel 10th generation CPU together with a 400 series motherboard if you want to use CPU integrated graphics. Make sure to choose a CPU with integrated graphics (No F at the end). They are supported on MacOS Catalina and later.

However, these platforms are all phased out already and you may have to find a second hand motherboard and CPU.

My main system's motherboard (Z390 Designare) has Thunderbolt 3 built in. But I am not sure if you can still find it. There are very few 300 / 400 series motherboards with Thunderbolt built in. Another one is the Z490 Vision D but again you may find it difficult to locate one.

Frankly with the Apple Silicon transition nearing completion the era of Intel Macs is ending. Intel platforms are not "future proof" with MacOS.

 

[Gedroo]

Thank you for your reply.
What do you think could be a good build to move to Monterey and be able to work at least 6/7 years without issues? I'm not a nerd, I never built a hackintosh from scratch, but I'm pretty able to assemble a PC, and I have updated a couple of time the OS on my hackintosh.
since I produce music, I'd like to stay in the Apple environment and enjoy the Thunderbolt capability. As I said, I don't need (Right now) a powerful graphic engine but a stable system to work with.
I could even forget about Thunderbolt expansion but I need a new machine (and I don't exclude migrating to Windows).
So, it seems that...
ASUS PROART Z490
GIGABYTE Z490 VISION D
ASUS PRIME Z490 A
Any Tb 3/4 supporting MOBO?

and similar should be the way.
If you have different solutions I will be glad to consider those.

In the end, I am considering any solid and trusted build (CPU/MOBO/RAM) based on Integrated graphic and an expandable Motherboard UNDER 1000 $/€

Thanks

 

[Jamesbond007]

Thank you for your reply.
What do you think could be a good build to move to Monterey and be able to work at least 6/7 years without issues? I'm not a nerd, I never built a hackintosh from scratch, but I'm pretty able to assemble a PC, and I have updated a couple of time the OS on my hackintosh.
since I produce music, I'd like to stay in the Apple environment and enjoy the Thunderbolt capability. As I said, I don't need (Right now) a powerful graphic engine but a stable system to work with.
I could even forget about Thunderbolt expansion but I need a new machine (and I don't exclude migrating to Windows).
So, it seems that...
ASUS PROART Z490
GIGABYTE Z490 VISION D
ASUS PRIME Z490 A
Any Tb 3/4 supporting MOBO?

and similar should be the way.
If you have different solutions I will be glad to consider those.

In the end, I am considering any solid and trusted build (CPU/MOBO/RAM) based on Integrated graphic and an expandable Motherboard UNDER 1000 $/€

Thanks

The Asus Prime Z490-A does not have Thunderbolt onboard. It has a USB-C port at the back but that port does not support Thunderbolt. But it does have 2 video ports (DisplayPort / HDMI) to drive 2 displays if you use an Intel 10th generation i3/i5/i7/i9 non-F CPU.

The Asus ProArt Z490 Creator 10G does have 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports at the back, and also 2 video ports (DisplayPort / HDMI) to drive 2 displays if you use an Intel 10th generation i3/i5/i7/i9 non-F CPU.

Depends on their availability and your requirements.

As to whether it will work at least 6 years, well, who knows? My own Windows system uses a X99 motherboard from 2016 which still works fine today. Another same model motherboard is in use by my brother, and also works for 6 years now. So it is definitely possible for them to last 6 years or more. But I also have an exact same motherboard (same model as the motherboard in my Windows system) which failed only 3 months after purchase. Luckily it was repaired and worked fine since.

But remember, the 6 years I mentioned here is from my date of purchase. In your case, a Z390 or Z490 motherboard bought second hand, even if it works properly, is most likely already been in use for 2-3 years already, so you have to take this into account.

 

[Gedroo]

Thank you again
I'm thinking to buy an Asus ProArt Z490 Creator 10G + a 10700k + crucial ballistix 2x16gb 2666 hz.

I'm just wondering about iGPU and OS compatibility.
Maybe I will struggle a little bit to make everything work. I will let you know.

 

[Jamesbond007]

Thank you again
I'm thinking to buy an Asus ProArt Z490 Creator 10G + a 10700k + crucial ballistix 2x16gb 2666 hz.

I'm just wondering about iGPU and OS compatibility.
Maybe I will struggle a little bit to make everything work. I will let you know.

If you are sure you are able to obtain the motherboard, then good for you.

The Intel 10th generation CPU and its associated CPU graphics are supported on MacOS Catalina and later.

 

[Gedroo]

Yes, of course. In my country that MOBO model is available on the ASUS shop and Amazon too.
I have almost no alternative, I will test my gtx650 for an A/B comparison since it's supported until Big Sur .
Bye

 

[10tacle]

I have a Z590 board and it’s fully supported (sidecar also). Is there a specific reason you guys are recommending 490?

 

[Gedroo]

Just because it could be cheaper and I'd have more trusted options. So, in the end i bought an used MacBook pro because I have no time (right now) to mess around with parts, buying list, boot loaders, configurations etc etc... I have some work to do and a few time. Anyway, I will come back in the hackintosh family as soon as I can, therefore any advice is appreciated. Tnx

 

[etorix]

I have a Z590 board and it’s fully supported (sidecar also). Is there a specific reason you guys are recommending 490?

Good for you if it works well. Z490 is the last platform that is "officially" supported in real Macs, so it's a safe choice—and having a working iGPU never hurts.
Z590 never got much traction because it was reportedly much more difficult to hack stably than Z490. Maybe your MSI board is easier than those from "the usual suspects" (Gigabyte and Asus). Or maybe the suitable solutions have eventually been worked out. Anyway Z590 is now a dead platform with a dead socket so it's hard to recommend over either Z490 (equally old and dead, but at least supported) or Z690/Z790 (equally unsupported, but at least a current platform for one more year).

Just because it could be cheaper and I'd have more trusted options. So, in the end i bought an used MacBook pro because I have no time (right now) to mess around with parts, buying list, boot loaders, configurations etc etc... I have some work to do and a few time. Anyway, I will come back in the hackintosh family as soon as I can, therefore any advice is appreciated. Tnx

The situation will not evolve, or not in a positive way. Hackintosh is on the way out because Apple will pull the plug on support in a not-too-distant future.
The future-proof strategy is to buy into AppleSilicon—used/refurb if might help.
Any new hackintosh build will have a limited useful life (tough you get to decide exactly how long it may last, depending how willing you are to keep running old versions of macOS and/or your work-critical applications). Options are Z390/Z490 for ease of build and support in macOS (including iGPU), but Z390 parts are getting hard to find (or way overpriced as "last one in stock") and Z490 is going the same way, and Z690/Z790, current but involving more tinker than previous generations (and a mandatory dGPU).