Mac Pro replica (late 2013) - low power design

[JuanLobo]

Thanks. Over the next weeks i might have the time to play with the fan settings during different load settings (gaming, photoshop, lightroom etc.). For now its already the quietest computer i've ever had, and i have good ears

Any ideas where the slider for the standby in the power settings is gone ?

Apparently on some models, they have combined display sleep and computer sleep into one slider. What machine type do you have set in SMBIOS?

I just noticed I no longer have 2 sliders on my office retina Macbook Pro.

 

[klausi13]

Apparently on some models, they have combined display sleep and computer sleep into one slider. What machine type do you have set in SMBIOS?

I just noticed I no longer have 2 sliders on my office retina Macbook Pro.

I set the system definition to iMac 14,2, same as on my old ivy bridge setup. I will later try the classic MacPro definition.

Maybe it has also something to do with AppleACPIPlatform kext. I'm not sure which one i'm using right now (maybe one from 10.8.x because of the mainboard). How can i check the version ?

 

[Dschijn]

Klausi could you imagine to run your setup only with the buttom fan? By guiding/channeling the air from the buttom fan (the airflow from the cooler side) with a chamber direct and only into the cooler?
That should be better than guiding some of the air in the whole case.

 

[klausi13]

Klausi could you imagine to run your setup only with the buttom fan? By guiding/channeling the air from the buttom fan (the airflow from the cooler side) with a chamber direct and only into the cooler?
That should be better than guiding some of the air in the whole case.

It might work. If i find some time on the weekend i will give it a try with some paper inside the case

 

[PJALM]

I set the system definition to iMac 14,2, same as on my old ivy bridge setup. I will later try the classic MacPro definition.

Maybe it has also something to do with AppleACPIPlatform kext. I'm not sure which one i'm using right now (maybe one from 10.8.x because of the mainboard). How can i check the version ?

I have 2 questions.

1. Why would you use a Haswell SMBIOS on your Ivy? Ivy is 13,x Haswell is 14,x.

2. Why would you change the AppleACPIPlatform kext or any system kext for that mater. Why would you need that?

 

[klausi13]

I have 2 questions.

1. Why would you use a Haswell SMBIOS on your Ivy? Ivy is 13,x Haswell is 14,x.

2. Why would you change the AppleACPIPlatform kext or any system kext for that mater. Why would you need that?

1. Yes your are right, my fault. The setting for my Ivy was of iMac 13,2 and not 14,2.

2. I have to use a 10.8.x AppleACPIPlatform kext so that my system boot without the -x flag. When i will do the update to 10.9.2 i will check if it is still necessary.

 

[PJALM]

Try using dart=0 as a bootflag instead of a patched system kext. Your CPU has VT-d which OSX doesn't like.

 

[PencilNotPen]

Hi klausi13,
How did you do the little apple logo on the front of your build?

 

[klausi13]

Hi klausi13,
How did you do the little apple logo on the front of your build?

It was very easy. A friend of mine has a small brother label printer. So we just had to search the web for a high res apple logo, shrink it to the right size and print it. Then cut out the label as close as possible to the logo (i needed 3 tries not to destroy the logo ) and stick it to the bin, no tape or glow required. So if one day the logo fades out (printed on thermo paper) i just print a new one. Simple and very cheap

 

[klausi13]

It's now some weeks after i finished my Mac Pro Mod and i would share my experience so far.

I'm very pleased with the power consumption and the noise level in comparision to my last hackintosh. The normal power consumption of the system sticks between 19-25 watts, thats are around 30 watts less than my last system. The noise level of my new system is excellent. At daytime it is nearly impossible to hear the system and even in the nightime with no ambient sounds around you the system is very silent. When i plugged an external usb harddisk to my Mod to do some backups i was shocked how loud the harddisk (silent modell though) was in comparision to my Mod .

Because of the low power design i lost the 3D power of my gtx 660ti but the 3D power of the Intel HD4600 inside my CPU ist fast enough for my favorite games like Diabo 3, with some reductions of details. The CPU itself ist faster than my previous i5, so no complain here.

One drawback i've encountered when i've finished my Mod was the weak signal strength and the slow speed of my internal wifi setup. I've tried severel antenna setups (internal, external and mixed) and also switched the wifi card but i was still disappointed with the overall speed. So in the end i bought two netgear powerline adapter (the use not much energy) and now i'm pleased with my network speed.