Contribute
Register

Late 2015 MacPro Killer...HELP!!!!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
13
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
Hello everyone,

I am a complete newbie when it comes to building my own hackintosh...

So I need all you wisdom, knowledge and help...:thumbup:

I want to build a beast...something that will keep up with a fully spec'd late 2015 Mac Pro at least...I am running on a budget though...about £1500 GBP or $2000 USD.

I have been going through the 'Buyers Guide' continuously but being new to 'Build your own' I am completely lost...:banghead:

Only thing I am certain about is:

1) Intel® Core™ i7-6700K Processor
(8M Cache, up to 4.20 GHz)

2) Ballistix Elite 32GB Kit (8GBx4) DDR4 2666 MT/s (PC4-21300) DIMM 288-Pin Memory - BLE4C8G4D26AFEA

3) Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB 2.5 inch Solid State Drive

I have no idea which:
  1. Motherboard I should choose
  2. Graphics card
  3. Power supply
  4. CPU Cooling
  5. Accessories (bluetooth adapter, wifi, optical dvd/bluray)
4K is a must ad this build will be used for Video Editing on FCPX, VFX on AE, Music Production on Logic.

Could anyone please help me...I will be forever grateful...

Thank you all...

:headbang:
 
Last edited:
If 4K is a must then don't count on on-board video because while it may be able to do 4K it will be limited to 24HZ. You'll probably want an nVidia GTX 980 as a minimum.

I usually suggest that you get the max amount of memory, which in this case would be 64GB. If that means going with slower RAM then so be it. It helps if they were all made from the same Lot, with the identical chips and timings. Buy 32GB now and chances are that there will be small differences in timings with sticks made a year from now. Since it's an Intel mobo you would probably only want Double Sided RAM sticks, even though, afaik, the Z170 is not dual channel. Given the choice between 32GB of DDR4 3200 and 64GB of DDR4 2400, I'd pick the DDR4 2400 every time. Before buying RAM make sure that it is certified with the mobo. Compare certified RAM from one manufacturer with the certified RAM for a different mobo to make sure you're getting the best bang for your buck. In other words, if 64GB of certified RAM for one mobo is $600 and faster certified 64GB RAM for another mobo is $400, you may want to go with the latter mobo and shift the savings to the video card and/or SSDs.

Why not go with a NVMe SSD instead of the Samsung EVO which has TLC chips?, even if it means going with a PCI-E adapter card which you would install in the X4 slot. Some PCI-E SSDs are very expensive, though, and while it may be better to go with a mobo that supports it out of the box, that same mobo will probably share PCI-E lanes with external SSDs and/or video cards.

When it comes to the NIC I only go with Intel because I have read too many horror stories with the Killer NICs. It may not be a problem now but it may be in the future, say when OSX Sierra comes out, or Windows 11 or Windows 12, just as it was a probem when Windows 10 came out and Killer NICs didn't have a driver ready for W10.

PSU? For me it has to only have Japanese capacitors. It should be Haswell certified. I went with a Seasonic 650w PSU. There are websites that only test PSUs... just as there are websites that only test & review computer cases or video cards or CPUs or disc drives. Do a lot of research, do searches for "problems" and read all the consumer reviews on Newegg and Amazon. Once you know what to look for you can discount some of the negative reviews which were caused by incorrect setup, not being supported, etc.
 
Last edited:
If 4K is a must then don't count on on-board video because while it may be able to do 4K it will be limited to 24HZ. You'll probably want an nVidia GTX 980 as a minimum.

I usually suggest that you get the max amount of memory, which in this case would be 64GB. If that means going with slower RAM then so be it. It helps if they were all made from the same Lot, with the identical chips and timings. Buy 32GB now and chances are that there will be small differences in timings with sticks made a year from now. Since it's an Intel mobo you would probably only want Double Sided RAM sticks, even though, afaik, the Z170 is not dual channel. Given the choice between 32GB of DDR4 3200 and 64GB of DDR4 2400, I'd pick the DDR4 2400 every time. Before buying RAM make sure that it is certified with the mobo. Compare certified RAM from one manufacturer with the certified RAM for a different mobo to make sure you're getting the best bang for your buck. In other words, if 64GB of certified RAM for one mobo is $600 and faster certified 64GB RAM for another mobo is $400, you may want to go with the latter mobo and shift the savings to the video card and/or SSDs.

Why not go with a NVMe SSD instead of the Samsung EVO which has TLC chips?, even if it means going with a PCI-E adapter card which you would install in the X4 slot. Some PCI-E SSDs are very expensive, though, and while it may be better to go with a mobo that supports it out of the box, that same mobo will probably share PCI-E lanes with external SSDs and/or video cards.

When it comes to the NIC I only go with Intel because I have read too many horror stories with the Killer NICs. It may not be a problem now but it may be in the future, say when OSX Sierra comes out, or Windows 11 or Windows 12, just as it was a probem when Windows 10 came out and Killer NICs didn't have a driver ready for W10.

PSU? For me it has to only have Japanese capacitors. It should be Haswell certified. I went with a Seasonic 650w PSU. There are websites that only test PSUs... just as there are websites that only test & review computer cases or video cards or CPUs or disc drives. Do a lot of research, do searches for "problems" and read all the consumer reviews on Newegg and Amazon. Once you know what to look for you can discount some of the negative reviews which were caused by incorrect setup, not being supported, etc.

Thank you kiiroaka for taking your time and replying to my problem..

As you maybe able to tell im a complete newbie and this will be my first build EVER.

Your reply has cleared up alot for me and has saved me from just going to Amazon and clicking "add to basket"

My appreciated and you rock!!!!!
 
Good call, Remington.

As far as the mobo goes, you want 4 RAM slots and no PCI slots. Typically you want three or four PCI-E x16 slots (the long ones) and three or four PCI-E x1 (short slots). That is typically for an ATX mobo.

If you want a uATX then you want four RAM slots, space between the RAM slots and the end of the video card, typically will have one PCI-E 3.0 X16 slot.

Why four RAM slots? Because if you buy a two RAM slot uATX mobo you will only be able to install 32GB of RAM, since they don't make 32GB RAM sticks, and if they did it would be very expensive. Why would you want max RAM? The more RAM you have the less likely that the system will do disk swaps to the SSD, which could slow it down over time (Samsung TLC is notorious for that "problem"), or destroy it. Truth be told, some guys don't have any problems with their SSDs, others have multiple problems. Me, I won't do SSDs with SanForce controllers - and they are in a lot of drives, even some from Intel. Google it. For example,
http://www.overclock.net/t/1441894/sandforce-controller-vs-other-controllers

They may have fixed some of their problems but "they", some M.2 SATA drives, which I can't recall the name of, give me grief at work.
 
Newer SKYLAKE ITX motherboard will accept two 16GB memory modules (max 32GB) and only one PCIe slot for video card. You will need to check the motherboard specs to verify that info. You can get ITX motherboard if you have no future plans to use more than 32GB RAM or additional PCIe slots. ASUS and Gigabyte got WIFI/Bluetooth module made by Intel which OS X will not recognize. You will need to replace the module with Broadcom chipset. Then you won't need additional PCIe slots and keep the computer in small form factor.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/b...us-z170i-pro-gaming-wifi-and-bt.191274/page-2

The next level up would be mATX which will between ITX and ATX with 4 memory slots (max 64GB) and 4 or 5 PCIe slots. I think this route is best for you since you want wifi and bluetooth as many motherboards with built-in WIFI and Bluetooth don't work too well with OS X. You can buy a WIFI adapter and Bluetooth USB dongle that are compatible with OS X without installing drivers.

ASUS Z170I Pro Gaming is a good ITX motherboard with WIFI/Bluetooth module but will need to replace it for Broadcom.
ASUS Z170M-PLUS is also good mATX motherboard with no WIFI/Bluetooth so need to purchase them separately.

I purchased ASUS Maximus Gene VIII because I want M.2 slot on the top of the motherboard for easy access if I decide to use M.2 SSD in the future. Most all ITX motherboard with m.2 slots are located on the bottom and it can be a problem accessing to it and heating issues as well especially with Samsung 950 EVO SSD. Currently M.2 SSD have some issues with wake/sleep so I'll wait until its resolved.
 
Last edited:
Are you looking for ITX, mATX or ATX motherboard? I would recommend going with ASUS.

His remington,

I am looking at the Z170x ud5 th or the maximus extreme but a
I am totally lost to be honest with you in regards to the pros and cons...

I'm more for the Z170x as it's a little cheaper than the maximus VIII but "should" cope with what I throw at it...

So any help is appreciated...
 
Last edited:
Guys,

You are amazing...

Right...tell me if I am on the right track please..

Motherboard
Gigabyte Z170x ud5 th

Processor
Intel i7 6700k 4.0ghz

Gpu
Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX 980 4GB DDR5 PCI Express

Ssd
Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD SM950 Solid State Drive and a seagate 3TB 3.5 inch 7200RPM 64MB Cache SATA3 Hard Drive

Psu
Crosair CP-9020054-UK RM Series RM650 80 Plus Gold 650W ATX/EPS Fully Modular Power Supply Unit

Cpu cooling
Crosair CW-9060007-WW Hydro Series H60 High Performance 120mm Rad All-In-One Liquid CPU Cooler

WiFi Bluetooth
Gigabyte wb867

Ram
64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4, PC4-17000 Internal Memory Kit

Case
Bitfenix Neos - tower - ATX

*fingers crossed
 
Last edited:
If you can get the AHCI version of the Samsung 951 it will be less problematic to boot OS X from that drive.
The 951 Pro NVME version requires a third party driver/kext for it to work as a boot drive. It can also have shutdown restart issues.

Here's a link the the AHCI 951 which is supported OOB by OS X. You'll get over 2200 MB/s read speeds with one of these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VELDBJ6/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
 
Last edited:
This PSU is better, made by Seasonic as OEM supplier and supports Haswell. Its what I use. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817438049

550VA should be enough since my computer use only 100VA during idle and 250VA at full load with nVidia card.

Gigabyte WB867 is not supported and not listed on Tonymac86 Buyer's Guide as Apple don't use Intel chipset. You need Broadcom chipset.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RL4A314/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Everything else looks good... now read the guide to see if you will be able to do it.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/g...0k-intel-hd-530-thunderbolt-dual-boot.191292/
http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/skylake-ga-z170x-ud5-th-issues.181785/
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top