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Like everyone else...am I missing anything in this build? (CustoMac/mATX Hybrid)

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mkammes

mkammes

Joined
Apr 15, 2018
Messages
57
Motherboard
ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-G GAMING (Wi-Fi AC)
CPU
i7-8700K
Graphics
GTX 1070 Ti
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
Classic Mac
  1. Classic
  2. iMac
  3. Xserve
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
Wanting to pack as much horsepower into a mATX form factor - don't need all of the expansion slots (nor footprint) a Full ATX build has.

http://a.co/cPMkSQM

Case:
  • Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 High Airflow MicroATX and Mini-ITX PC Case - Black
  • Corsair CS Series, CS550M, 550 Watt (550W), Semi Modular Power Supply, 80+ Gold Certified
  • Noctua Dual Tower CPU Cooler for Intel LGA 2011-0/LGA 2011-3 Square ILM/1156/1155/1150 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/3+,FM1/2 NH-D9L (Heatsink)
  • Noctua 120mm, Anti-Stall Knobs Design,SSO2 Bearing PWM Case Cooling Fan NF-S12A PWM
  • Noctua NF-A8 PWM Premium 80mm PC Computer Case Fan
Processing:

  • ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-G GAMING (Wi-Fi AC) LGA1151 DDR4 DP HDMI M.2 Z370 microATX Motherboard with onboard 802.11ac WiFi, Gigabit LAN and USB 3.1 for 8th Generation Intel Core Processors
  • Intel Core i7-8700K Desktop Processor 6 Cores up to 4.7GHz Turbo Unlocked LGA1151 300 Series 95W BX80684i78700K
  • Ballistix Sport LT 64GB Kit (16GBx4) DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) DIMM 288-Pin - BLS4K16G4D240FSB (Gray)
  • EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition, 8GB GDDR5, LED, DX12 OSD Support (PXOC) 08G-P4-5173-KR
  • Samsung 960 PRO Series - 512GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V6P512BW)

Build:
  • Patriot 16GB Supersonic Boost Series USB 3.0 With Up To 90MB/sec - PEF16GSBUSB
  • Arctic Silver 5 AS5-3.5G Thermal Paste
I *may* add a Thunderbolt card or a 10GigE card or a 2nd GPU in the future. Yes, I have too many fans, but I plan on stripping out the Corsair fans with the more quiet Noctua models.

Thanks for any and all input.
 
If you focusing on a ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-G GAMING (Wi-Fi AC) motherboard based systems, see pastrychef's build description> https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...wi-fi-ac-build-w-i7-8700k-amd-vega-56.239969/

However, your future upgrades will not be doable with the Z370-G. For Thunderbolt, you'll either need a motherboard that comes with Thunderbolt installed or with Thunderbolt header so as to add a Thunderbolt PCIe card. Consequently, the Z370-G is probably not the motherboard for you.
 
Last edited:
mkammes said:
I *may* add a Thunderbolt card
Click to expand...
No, you may not. An add-in thunderbolt card needs thunderbolt headers on the mobo in order to work.
At the moment, there is no Z370 mATX card with thunderbolt headers. So it's either stick with Z270/7th gen CPU or go 8th gen and choose between thunderbolt and mATX. I am evaluating mATX, ATX and mini-ITX for my studio build, and I need Firewire now and Thunderbolt somewhere in the future. Well, for the mATX hypothetic build I am currently considering using the cheapest mobo I found, which is very good BTW:
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z370M Pro4/index.asp
It has everything, from dual x16 to dual M.2, but still misses in the thunderbolt compartment.
The rationale here is spend as less as possible on the mobo and change it as soon as a Z370 thunderbolt-ready or even better integrated thunderbolt mATX - even if changing a mobo on a hackintosh isn't a simple and straightforward procedure.
Another option is going mini-ITX, and get the Asrock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming-ITX/ac, which some user in this forum has already tested and comes with gigabit eth and thunderbolt 3 already on board. You cannot add a second GPU later, though.
 
antosx86 said:
No, you may not. An add-in thunderbolt card needs thunderbolt headers on the mobo in order to work.
At the moment, there is no Z370 mATX card with thunderbolt headers. So it's either stick with Z270/7th gen CPU or go 8th gen and choose between thunderbolt and mATX. I am evaluating mATX, ATX and mini-ITX for my studio build, and I need Firewire now and Thunderbolt somewhere in the future. Well, for the mATX hypothetic build I am currently considering using the cheapest mobo I found, which is very good BTW:
https://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Z370M Pro4/index.asp
It has everything, from dual x16 to dual M.2, but still misses in the thunderbolt compartment.
The rationale here is spend as less as possible on the mobo and change it as soon as a Z370 thunderbolt-ready or even better integrated thunderbolt mATX - even if changing a mobo on a hackintosh isn't a simple and straightforward procedure.
Another option is going mini-ITX, and get the Asrock Fatal1ty Z370 Gaming-ITX/ac, which some user in this forum has already tested and comes with gigabit eth and thunderbolt 3 already on board. You cannot add a second GPU later, though.
Click to expand...

Great points, didn't even think of that. USB 3.0 will probably suffice, although 3.1/TB would be nice as I do have several TB devices on my MacBookPro that I'd like to use interchangeably. Thanks!
 
mkammes said:
Wanting to pack as much horsepower into a mATX form factor - don't need all of the expansion slots (nor footprint) a Full ATX build has.

http://a.co/cPMkSQM

Case:
  • Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 High Airflow MicroATX and Mini-ITX PC Case - Black
  • Corsair CS Series, CS550M, 550 Watt (550W), Semi Modular Power Supply, 80+ Gold Certified
  • Noctua Dual Tower CPU Cooler for Intel LGA 2011-0/LGA 2011-3 Square ILM/1156/1155/1150 and AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/3+,FM1/2 NH-D9L (Heatsink)
  • Noctua 120mm, Anti-Stall Knobs Design,SSO2 Bearing PWM Case Cooling Fan NF-S12A PWM
  • Noctua NF-A8 PWM Premium 80mm PC Computer Case Fan
Processing:

  • ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-G GAMING (Wi-Fi AC) LGA1151 DDR4 DP HDMI M.2 Z370 microATX Motherboard with onboard 802.11ac WiFi, Gigabit LAN and USB 3.1 for 8th Generation Intel Core Processors
  • Intel Core i7-8700K Desktop Processor 6 Cores up to 4.7GHz Turbo Unlocked LGA1151 300 Series 95W BX80684i78700K
  • Ballistix Sport LT 64GB Kit (16GBx4) DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) DIMM 288-Pin - BLS4K16G4D240FSB (Gray)
  • EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition, 8GB GDDR5, LED, DX12 OSD Support (PXOC) 08G-P4-5173-KR
  • Samsung 960 PRO Series - 512GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V6P512BW)

Build:
  • Patriot 16GB Supersonic Boost Series USB 3.0 With Up To 90MB/sec - PEF16GSBUSB
  • Arctic Silver 5 AS5-3.5G Thermal Paste
I *may* add a Thunderbolt card or a 10GigE card or a 2nd GPU in the future. Yes, I have too many fans, but I plan on stripping out the Corsair fans with the more quiet Noctua models.

Thanks for any and all input.
Click to expand...

You probably don't need the Arctic Silver. The thermal compound included with the Noctua heatsink is probably better.

As others have stated, Thunderbolt won't be an option. USB 3.1 gen 2 works.
 
Not sure if you have any input on this, but....

Everything has been going great, until I put the system under some heavy load. System even hard crashed at 1 point. iStat menus seems to show extreme temperatures, ambient seems to be around 95 degrees (F), but under heavy load, upwards of 150-200 degrees (F)

I've got the stock fans in the Cosair Carbide Air 240 (2 front, 1 up top that I swapped out for the Noctua 120mm NF-S12A.) I also used the Noctua Dual Tower CPU Cooler NH-D9L (Heatsink) which has a fan in the middle of the heatsink. Not sure what else I can do. I notice that the fans are auto throttle (maybe it's just the Noctua fan)so I suppose I can put those on full speed (?) all of the time.

My build also has a leftover Noctua NF-A8 PWM which I have yet to find a home for inside the case, if there are any ideas. Thanks!

Case cooling image:
AIR240_AIRFLOW.jpg
 
mkammes said:
Not sure if you have any input on this, but....

Everything has been going great, until I put the system under some heavy load. System even hard crashed at 1 point. iStat menus seems to show extreme temperatures, ambient seems to be around 95 degrees (F), but under heavy load, upwards of 150-200 degrees (F)

I've got the stock fans in the Cosair Carbide Air 240 (2 front, 1 up top that I swapped out for the Noctua 120mm NF-S12A.) I also used the Noctua Dual Tower CPU Cooler NH-D9L (Heatsink) which has a fan in the middle of the heatsink. Not sure what else I can do. I notice that the fans are auto throttle (maybe it's just the Noctua fan)so I suppose I can put those on full speed (?) all of the time.

My build also has a leftover Noctua NF-A8 PWM which I have yet to find a home for inside the case, if there are any ideas. Thanks!

Case cooling image:
AIR240_AIRFLOW.jpg
Click to expand...

200F is way, way too hot. Are you overclocking? If yes, try with stock speeds.
 
Nope, no overclocking. Stock.
 
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