Mac Mini first build - DIY case + reccomendations

[Andreoz]

Hello Everyone

I'm new here and I'd like to say thank you all in advance for the effort you all do!

I have been reading the forum for a while and I got into the idea of building a Hackintosh as I am very curious and I want to give it a go!

The setup I was thinking of is the following:

Mobo GA Z170N Wifi or Gaming 5 (which one would you reccomend?)

CPU I3 or I5 (6th or 7th gen - I want a smooth/future proof performance out of it so probably the I5 would be beter?)

RAM 2x8GB Crucial DDR4 Desktop RAM

SSD Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB + 1TB HD

PSU Corsair VS 450

Coler - any small one

GPU not sure yet. I might add it in the future.

CASE : Here is the interesting thing. I was thinking if I could build my own case? Have you guys ever done it?

Let me know what you think of the configuration or if you have any advise! I am happy to listen to you


Thanks for reading

Peace

 

[chedda7]

Mobo GA Z170N Wifi or Gaming 5 (which one would you reccomend?)

They are very similar boards. The GAMING 5 is geared towards overclocking, with more power delivered to the CPU (4+4 pin) and additional cooling on some MoBo components. I would get whatever is cheaper since your build doesn't seem geared towards OCing.

CPU I3 or I5 (6th or 7th gen - I want a smooth/future proof performance out of it so probably the I5 would be beter?)

6th Gen is perfectly fine IMO. There are deals to be had on it and it is VERY similar to 7th Gen in terms of performance.

CASE : Here is the interesting thing. I was thinking if I could build my own case? Have you guys ever done it?

I have a few friends that build their own, but I have not personally done this. I would ask what are your reasons for this? If it is to save money or space I would not bother with it as there are both cheap and small cases available.

If you just want to tinker around, then have fun .

Obligatory spreadsheet with most mini-ITX cases compared.

 

[Andreoz]

They are very similar boards. The GAMING 5 is geared towards overclocking, with more power delivered to the CPU (4+4 pin) and additional cooling on some MoBo components. I would get whatever is cheaper since your build doesn't seem geared towards OCing.



6th Gen is perfectly fine IMO. There are deals to be had on it and it is VERY similar to 7th Gen in terms of performance.



I have a few friends that build their own, but I have not personally done this. I would ask what are your reasons for this? If it is to save money or space I would not bother with it as there are both cheap and small cases available.

If you just want to tinker around, then have fun .

Obligatory spreadsheet with most mini-ITX cases compared.

Hi chedda7! Thanks for your reply. Would it make sense to overclock such setup? Or is it too basic? Maybe an i3 would be enough?

I am a bit of a DIY kinda guy, so I might find interesting to try and build my own case, but I am not sure if it's that easy. Thanks for the spreadsheet anyway, I can see a lot of patiente in it

 

[chedda7]

You would need a 'K' series processor to even consider overclocking. Based off that and the fact that you listed "any small one" as a cooler, you probably don't have to worry about it.