mATX Build with Thunderbolt

[NathanJames]

Hey guys. Ive spent some quality time in the forums but this is my first post and it might be a doozy.

I work for a film studio that does documentaries in various parts of the world. I had recently been thinking about the possibility of building a Hackintosh for myself when our main director asked us if we should invest in another Mac Pro for our new offices. I said, actually I think we could do better going the Hackintosh route. We could build three for the price of a built Mac Pro. So he said "make it so"

So, here where i'm at now. I was in the process of planning the parts and had every thing picked out for a good mATX system for about $1300. Then it struck me. WE NEED THUNDERBOLT. Its a pretty big deal actually because most of our external editing harddisks are Thunderbolt and some of our displays are thunderbolt.

I know there are plenty of ATX MOBOs with Thunderbolt 3 now but we also need to keep our form factor reasonable for traveling purposes. We need to be able to stick the tower in a Pelican case and fly across the world with it. So I think even Mid-ATX towers are not going to work for us. Id really like to use the Coolermaster Silencio 352 case if possible.

Heres the parts I had picked out in the mATX build. If anyone can help me get Thunderbolt built into this thing I would be very glad.

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H
CPU: i7 6700K
GPU: 04G-P4-3967-KR (GTX 960 4GB quiet version)
Case: Coolermaster Silencio 352 (mATX case)
Then all the standard extras: appropriate RAM, drives etc.

Id really like to keep the build in the $1300 range if possible.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[ebucheli]

I just got started ordering the parts for my system and I also needed thunderbolt support since I already have a Thunderbolt Display. I don't know about the H170M D3H but there is a thread of someone that got a z170MX Gaming 5 (which is also a mATX) working with the GC Thunderbolt 2 card. You can check it out here http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/w...bolt-2-on-skylake-mostly.189834/#post-1255746

The problem is getting the actual card, however I found it in Amazon Mexico, it's a little expensive but I thought it was worth it. I already ordered mine.

 

[kiiroaka]

The i7-6700 is 3.4GHZ, the i7-6700K is 4.0GHZ.

http://www.pricewatch.com/price/cpu/i7-6700k

Since it's an i7 K processor it won't come with an Intel stock cooler.

For an extra $30 get 0.6GHZ more? Sounds like a good deal to me.

NT,

I think you may want to upgrade the case, to something that can take a little more punishment, perhaps something all aluminium - maybe something like

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EJKG05U/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Then you would have a slim external USB DVD burner if you need to watch movies, for example. Lian cases are always nice, but they tend to be a little expensive.

With such a small enclosure you'll have to pay attention to the cpu heatsink size and the PSU size. Make sure you get the shortest PSU possible. http://www.minicase.net/product_E-D5.html

http://noctua.at/en/sip_productfaqnew/productfaq/view/id/133
http://noctua.at/en/nh_l12_tdp_guidelines
http://noctua.at/en/tdp-guide

Figure you'll have 75mm - 100mm of available space for the CPU cooler, depending on the case. For example,

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-m25/

can install a 80mm heatsink because the PSU is over where the CPU heatsink sits. Get a fan that sits above the edge of the motherboard (taller case) and you can probably install a taller cpu heatsink, like

http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-a41/ *** which allows up to 145mm heatsinks to be installed. If you get that one, go with the Noctua NH-U9S.

If Lian made a shallower case, where it didn't have 5.0" bays, where it didn't have 3.5" bays, where one or two drives could be installed on the floor of the case, under the mobo, then it would be perfect, IMO. It's okay if you're making a HTPC Media Centre box where you need more than 4 drives, but for the majority of users one or two drives would be enough and if one needs a 5.0" DVD device they can just install an external Slim DVD burner for under $25. Maybe something like

http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=522&area=en


http://www.tech-critter.com/2015/05/unboxing-review-noctua-nh-u9s.html

And don't forget to also install a Noctua case fan while you're at it.

 

[NathanJames]

I think you may want to upgrade the case, to something that can take a little more punishment, perhaps something all aluminium - maybe something like
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EJKG05U/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
Then you would have a slim external USB DVD burner if you need to watch movies, for example. Lian cases are always nice, but they tend to be a little expensive.

Thank you all for your responses. After some research I've decided to switch to the GA-Z170X-UD5 TH MOBO with a mid ATX case Cooler Master Silencio 652 ATX Mid Tower. Im sticking with the Silencio series because in film production having a quieter case is pretty important.

The GA-Z170X-UD5 TH has a USB-C port that offers Thunderbolt 3 support. I don't think OS X currently supports Thunderbolt 3 but there is a little adapter dongle thing available to convert from TB3 to TB2 plugs.

This is also a Z170 board so it will work with the possibility of overclocking the "K" series CPU. I don't plan to overclock yet. I just want to get it working but having that option is nice.

I am not going to go with the GC-Thunderbolt 2 PCIE card because they don't really make it anymore and it seems like its extremely difficult to get working correctly. Also, to make it work it looks like you have to use both Display port outputs of the GFX card:

I want the Displayport ports available for displays. Its not clear if that is has to be how its hooked up for the thunderbolt ports to even work for external drives and stuff but either way, it seems a bit too fussy. The Thunderbolt 3 port on the GA-Z170X-UD5 TH resolves my issue in a better way.

I also know that this new MOBO/CPU combination works as a Hackintosh after finding a working example in the forum from user jerivalu. So huge thanks to him for that.

were you planning on using a Thunderbolt monitor, or some other Thunderbolt device?

For film editing we use a bunch of various Thunderbolt devices. Displays, external drives and interfaces. So its kind of a necessity.

 

[Xperiances]

Hey,

How did your build go? Is the Thunderbolt 3 port working? Have you been able to get it running without the TH3 to TH2 Dongle? I'm planning to do the same thing so any information is valuable

 

[NathanJames]

Hey,

How did your build go? Is the Thunderbolt 3 port working? Have you been able to get it running without the TH3 to TH2 Dongle? I'm planning to do the same thing so any information is valuable

Well I haven't built it yet and I won't be able to till I'm back in the US for Christmas.
But that being said I have actually modified my build plans. The biggest change is that ive switch the build to a GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 which has support for Thunderbolt built in. That also means that i've switched to a normal mid ATX case rather than the mATX. Ive also decided to upgrade to a GTX980 from the 960.

My real goal is to smoke the performance of a Mac Pro. Not because I dont like the Pro, just because our team already has a pro and id like to test out the option of transitioning to Hackintoshes instead.
Once its built I will updated the thread.

 

[mm2margaret]

Well I haven't built it yet and I won't be able to till I'm back in the US for Christmas.
But that being said I have actually modified my build plans. The biggest change is that ive switch the build to a GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 which has support for Thunderbolt built in. That also means that i've switched to a normal mid ATX case rather than the mATX. Ive also decided to upgrade to a GTX980 from the 960.

My real goal is to smoke the performance of a Mac Pro. Not because I dont like the Pro, just because our team already has a pro and id like to test out the option of transitioning to Hackintoshes instead.
Once its built I will updated the thread.

So, I have a Hackintosh, based on a Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 TH, and in testing with the Apple USB C/Thunderbolt3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter, both of my Thunderbolt devices worked; First, a Thunderbolt to Firewire hard disk adapter (disk showed up, and I was able to eject it and re-connect it - remember, I'm ejecting a firewire disk, not a thunderbolt disk) and an Ethernet to Thunderbolt adapter. Unfortunately, I don't have any Thunderbolt 3 devices to test with.....

 

[PaladineUK]

Well I haven't built it yet and I won't be able to till I'm back in the US for Christmas.
But that being said I have actually modified my build plans. The biggest change is that ive switch the build to a GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 which has support for Thunderbolt built in. That also means that i've switched to a normal mid ATX case rather than the mATX. Ive also decided to upgrade to a GTX980 from the 960.

My real goal is to smoke the performance of a Mac Pro. Not because I dont like the Pro, just because our team already has a pro and id like to test out the option of transitioning to Hackintoshes instead.
Once its built I will updated the thread.

Not sure why you wouldn't go with the GA-Z170MX-Gaming 5 given it has been given Thunderbolt 3 via an update from Gigabyte. This would allow you to stay with a smaller case.

Also, I saw anothe rpost talking about aircooling - if you are going to be moving these around a lot I would seriously not recommend an air cooling solution - it will cause a lot of strain on the motherboard with being moved around so much - even smaller cases nowadays can fit a single 120/140mm radiator from an AiO CPU liquid cooling solution, which will work much better than any air cooler that isn't 15 feet tall with 72 fans attached and will be much much quieter and put less strain on the motherboard.

Finally - again this is with regards to wear and tear - if you have any engineers in your company you might want to ask them to rig up a GPU support bracket to attach to the inside of the case - if you are moving these boxes around a lot a GTX980 (or any other dual slot, full length card) is going to put a lot of strain on the PCIe slots and motherboard - so it would be useful to give them some extra support. Failing that, you could consider removing the GPUs during transport and putting them in foam inlaid cases (which you probably have lots of for other equipment anyway).

 

[mm2margaret]

@NathanJames: If your real goal is to smoke out a Mac Pro, you should check out this post: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/giacomoleopardos-workstation-triplet.199643/

First of all, it works (I know because I built one), but, it won't allow you to keep your case small. MATX and a $1300 budget? I just think that would be hard, given the cost of the processor alone. That build you're probably around $2.5k at least. But, it will allow you to add a SSD disk that's much faster than the one in any current Mac Pro: Samsung 960 Pro or Samsung 960 EVO. The Mac Pro SSD is quite fast, but not as fast as the Samsung 960 series (and there are other SSD units that are also very fast - it's not just Samsung, I think Toshiba OCZ is also quite fast).

 

[frestyl]

@NathanJames I'm in a similar situation as you and am just wrapping up a build. I'll list my parts breakout below. The only thing I'm still struggling with is Thunderbolt. I have it working under Windows 10, but thats as far as I have gotten. It's not deal breaker at the moment as we are using eSATA RAIDS and soon 10GBe to our NAS. I'll let you know if I make progress on the Thunderbolt and USB C.

I did want to make a quick comment on the feedback from @PaladineUK. I couldn't agree more with reinforcement–do whatever you can to reinforce everything that wiggles in your build, even the fan wires. Being shut down due to a chaffed wire can let alone a broken PCI card or slot can kill a shoot. I would also suggest you buy a spare motherboard and graphics card to take with you. If your boss needs justification just review the cost of not being able to offload footage and get dailies reviewed?

I don't have any experience with frequently transporting liquid cooled systems, but I would be cautious. You are betting pretty hard on consumer grade component not leaking during transport. Even in a pressure regulated pelican case I'm not sure what effect changes in air pressure would have on a sealed system. I would defiantly read up on this as a liquid cooled system would be more rugged.

Current Build
Sierra OS X 10.12.2* (updated yesterday)

Working
• Skylake CPU & Memory fully Recognized
• USB 3.0 (Tested External SSD and SD)
• WiFi (Hand off not tested as not blue tooth yet)
• Onboard NIC(s)
• Graphics Card Nvidia Web Drivers (Tested HDMI, DVI, Display Port) Have not tested HDMI audio out yet*
• Onboard Audio (Optical-out not tested)
• Updates/iCloud/FaceTime/iMessage

Not Working
• Thunderbolt 3/USB 3.1 C (MB firmware updated and working under windows)

Other
• Bluetooth not installed yet

Hardware
EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB CLASSIFIED

Ballistix Sport LT 64GB Kit (16GBx4)

Intel Core i7 6700K 4.00 GHz Unlocked Quad Core Skylake

GA-Z170X-Designare

OWC 480GB Mercury Electra 6G SSD

OWC 240GB Mercury Extreme Pro 6G SSD

Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i

Seasonic X-850 PSU

TP-Link AC1750 Wireless Dual Band PCI-Express Adapter (Archer T8E)