Looking for Mobo and GPU advice

[Cookiefamily]

Hello,
planning my first-time Hackintosh Build right now, that will be used for Content Production in InDesign, Photoshop, Quark XPress, Acrobat etc.
I still have some questions though about a fitting Motherboard since I do want to have the possibility to install a Thunderbold add-in card later on. And the Motherboard should not be too finicky so it is easier for me to get started (I do have a lot of experience in building PCs, setting up Windows and Linux servers etc, just not with Hackintoshs).

My parts so far are:

• i7-7700K
• (not decided on a cooler yet, probably gonna be noctua or beQuiet since I don't want to hear it all day whining under the table)
• Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2x16GB
• SSD is gonna be transfered from the current Mac Mini handling the work
• beQuiet DarkPower Pro 11 650W (In case I want to add a GPU later on... see more further down the post)
• Fractal Design Define R6 or Define Mini, depending on wether the Mobo is mATX or ATX

A question you might ask yourself already:

• Why are you not using 8th gen Processors?
  Cause I need to run Sierra and don't want to mess with Fake CPUID

That also means I should stick with a 200 series Chipset right?

And a question I have:

• Do I need a discrete GPU? Or can I just use the Integrated Graphics since my workflow does not really benefit from a GPU? I mean I can add one later on no problem if the applications get optimized for it.

That should be a pretty solid, future-proof build right? All I need now is advice on a Mobo that supports Thunderbolt Add-In cards and I need to know, if I can run without a discrete GPU.

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hello, planning my first-time Hackintosh Build right now, that will be used for Content Production in InDesign, Photoshop, Quark XPress, Acrobat etc.

I still have some questions though about a fitting Motherboard since I do want to have the possibility to install a Thunderbolt add-in card later on. And the Motherboard should not be too finicky so it is easier for me to get started (I do have a lot of experience in building PCs, setting up Windows and Linux servers etc, just not with Hackintoshs).

My parts so far are:

• i7-7700K
• (not decided on a cooler yet, probably gonna be noctua or beQuiet since I don't want to hear it all day whining under the table)
• Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2x16GB
• SSD is gonna be transferred from the current Mac Mini handling the work
• beQuiet DarkPower Pro 11 650W (In case I want to add a GPU later on... see more further down the post)
• Fractal Design Define R6 or Define Mini, depending on whether the Mobo is mATX or ATX

A question you might ask yourself already:

• Why are you not using 8th gen Processors?
  Cause I need to run Sierra and don't want to mess with Fake CPUID

That also means I should stick with a 200 series Chipset right?

To use the 7700K you will need a 200 series chipset motherboard (like the GA-Z270X-UD5 I have) or a 100 series chipset motherboard that has its BIOS updated to support 7th generation CPUs.

That should be a pretty solid, future-proof build right? All I need now is advice on a Mobo that supports Thunderbolt Add-In cards and I need to know, if I can run without a discrete GPU.

If you require Thunderbolt 3 support, you will most likely require a Z170 or Z270 motherboard that either has Thunderbolt 3 support onboard (like my own GA-Z270X-UD5) or a Thunderbolt header onboard that allows for a Thunderbolt 3 add-in card to be connected. These motherboard have been phased out by the 300 series motherboards and may be difficult to find. I have found an ASRock Z270 Extreme4 motherboard on Amazon US that seems to fit your bill.

 

[Cookiefamily]

That Mainboard does indeed look pretty promising, do you need additional drivers when you install the Thunderbolt 3 card?


And what about the GPU? Is a discrete one required?

 

[Jamesbond007]

That Mainboard does indeed look pretty promising, do you need additional drivers when you install the Thunderbolt 3 card?

And what about the GPU? Is a discrete one required?

If you use Windows, you will need to install Thunderbolt drivers to use Thunderbolt functions on the Thunderbolt card. No drivers are required when using MacOS.

And yes, you can use the CPU integrated graphics on the 7700K if you want. You do not need a discrete graphics card.

 

[Cookiefamily]

Thank you very much for you help