Motherboard replacement

[johnnytucats]

My Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H motherboard died after 8 years and I'm looking for a replacement that will hopefully work for a couple of years…my plan being to buy an appropriate Mac at that time.

I'm thinking that moving everything onto another full-size ATX LGA 1150 motherboard should be pretty easy but I'm looking for tips to make the transition as smooth as possible regarding OpenCore.

I'm thinking the replacement will be an ASUS but if anyone has suggestions I'd appreciate that, too. My only requirements (that seem to not be on everything I've looked at) is that it has six SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports and a decent number of USB 3 ports.

 

[P1LGRIM]

This might help :

https://compatibleproducts.intel.com/ProductDetails?activeModule=Desktop%20Boards&chpst_prd_cd=Z87

 

[pastrychef]

My Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H motherboard died after 8 years and I'm looking for a replacement that will hopefully work for a couple of years…my plan being to buy an appropriate Mac at that time.

I'm thinking that moving everything onto another full-size ATX LGA 1150 motherboard should be pretty easy but I'm looking for tips to make the transition as smooth as possible regarding OpenCore.

I'm thinking the replacement will be an ASUS but if anyone has suggestions I'd appreciate that, too. My only requirements (that seem to not be on everything I've looked at) is that it has six SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports and a decent number of USB 3 ports.

The latest generation of Intel CPU/chipsets I have hacked was Coffee Lake. I tried both Gigabyte and Asus and preferred the Asus by a wide margin. I found the Asus to be much less finicky with RAM and easier to overclock. Plus, I was able to replace the internal Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card with a macOS compatible one which did not work on the Gigabyte. Lastly, I was able to wake the Asus from sleep with a single mouse click where the Gigabyte required several clicks and the Asus had the "pulsing" power LED when sleeping and the Gigabyte didn't.

I would not be too concerned with USB 3 ports. You will be limited by the macOS 15 port limitation anyway.

You should be able to pull the boot drive from your dead system, replace the OpenCore bootloader on it and use it with your new system.

 

[Middleman]

If you're looking for a replacement motherboard I wouldn't mind recommending Gigabyte's Aorus range.
They seem to be quite solid performers for me. If you are looking for a motherboard with 6 SATA ports they currently have the Z490 Aorus Ultra on Amazon for $283.63. This LGA1200 ITX motherboard is fully featured with M.2 NVMe slots, Hi-Res audio chip (Realtek ALC1220VB), Thunderbolt 3 support, Intel LAN 2.5 GBe, Intel WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5 to having a wide range of USB ports (3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, 1 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A, 4x USB 2.0 Front 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1). Coupled with the fact that it is Comet Lake compatible (Comet Lake being Apple's last officially supported Intel chipset) means you should be able to run most of the latest macOS versions up to Big Sur, Monterey & Ventura with no issue.

 

[johnnytucats]

If you're looking for a replacement motherboard I wouldn't mind recommending Gigabyte's Aorus range.
They seem to be quite solid performers for me. If you are looking for a motherboard with 6 SATA ports they currently have the Z490 Aorus Ultra on Amazon for $283.63. This LGA1200 ITX motherboard is fully featured with M.2 NVMe slots, Hi-Res audio chip (Realtek ALC1220VB), Thunderbolt 3 support, Intel LAN 2.5 GBe, Intel WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5 to having a wide range of USB ports (3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, 1 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A, 4x USB 2.0 Front 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1). Coupled with the fact that it is Comet Lake compatible (Comet Lake being Apple's last officially supported Intel chipset) means you should be able to run most of the latest macOS versions up to Big Sur, Monterey & Ventura with no issue.

Thanks but I'm specifically looking for a MB to fit my existing processor and RAM so as to spend as little as possible.

 

[johnnytucats]

The latest generation of Intel CPU/chipsets I have hacked was Coffee Lake. I tried both Gigabyte and Asus and preferred the Asus by a wide margin. I found the Asus to be much less finicky with RAM and easier to overclock. Plus, I was able to replace the internal Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card with a macOS compatible one which did not work on the Gigabyte. Lastly, I was able to wake the Asus from sleep with a single mouse click where the Gigabyte required several clicks and the Asus had the "pulsing" power LED when sleeping and the Gigabyte didn't.

I would not be too concerned with USB 3 ports. You will be limited by the macOS 15 port limitation anyway.

You should be able to pull the boot drive from your dead system, replace the OpenCore bootloader on it and use it with your new system.

Thanks. You're emphasizing what I already thought was true about ASUS v. Gigabyte for the time period based on what I've seen through the years.

I'm currently reading up on what I'll have to change in the current OpenCore configuration.

 

[Middleman]

Thanks but I'm specifically looking for a MB to fit my existing processor and RAM so as to spend as little as possible.

I understand what you're saying here, but hear me out for my reasoning.

The reason I gave you the above advice is simple. You are getting the best compatibility and potential for upgrading.
This is my conclusion as a hackintosh user from spending tens of hundreds of hours on various builds over the years, and its an important one. The problem with sticking with the 1150 is first about availability of the chips. Other than from used sources, there are none available to buy new (not that I know of). Secondly solid working replacement parts are getting hard to find - and this doesn't include DDR3 RAM, which these days is as expensive as DDR4 for half the performance. In fact even for LGA1200 Comet Lake chips, they are starting to get limited in supplies now too (if purchased new). On top of that you will have issues running macOS. Monterey can certainly run on Haswell but if you want to use Ventura onwards you will need minimum Kaby Lake for best results (because Apple has pulled all Broadwell/Skylake support from it).

I'm not saying you can't continue with your current CPU and memory, but at some point you should consider changing over because of potential diminishing returns on your investment - it's not cost effective getting an older system when you can get better performance for a similar amount of money, and especially more so if parts of your system has been affected by wear and tear somewhat. By paying a little bit extra you are getting something much more than just a faster chip, but really good compatibility, reliability and upgrade potential across the system.

 

[johnnytucats]

I understand what you're saying here, but hear me out for my reasoning.

The reason I gave you the above advice is simple. You are getting the best compatibility and potential for upgrading.
This is my conclusion as a hackintosh user from spending tens of hundreds of hours on various builds over the years, and its an important one. The problem with sticking with the 1150 is first about availability of the chips. Other than from used sources, there are none available to buy new (not that I know of). Secondly solid working replacement parts are getting hard to find - and this doesn't include DDR3 RAM, which these days is as expensive as DDR4 for half the performance. In fact even for LGA1200 Comet Lake chips, they are starting to get limited in supplies now too (if purchased new). On top of that you will have issues running macOS. Monterey can certainly run on Haswell but if you want to use Ventura onwards you will need minimum Kaby Lake for best results (because Apple has pulled all Broadwell/Skylake support from it).

I'm not saying you can't continue with your current CPU and memory, but at some point you should consider changing over because of potential diminishing returns on your investment - it's not cost effective getting an older system when you can get better performance for a similar amount of money, and especially more so if parts of your system has been affected by wear and tear somewhat. By paying a little bit extra you are getting something much more than just a faster chip, but really good compatibility, reliability and upgrade potential across the system.

I wouldn't invest in a new hackintosh at all now. I hate having to take a chance on a $90-$100 used motherboard for this one but Apple's current lineup just doesn't excite me enough to spend probably $3000 total for a new Mac and to get all my internal hard drives connected externally, get a new (better and necessary) monitor and deal with Apple Silicon software early adoption.

This one, until it died, was serving me well. Saving my money for that two-year goal!

 

[phunguss]

How many internal drives do you have? I usually focus on small builds, I don't have many full size motherboards. Of the Mini-ITX sizes in 1150 socket that I own are Gigabye H97N-Wifi and H87N, Asrock Q87T low profile, Lenovo M73e, and Dell 3020/9020 Micro. So the Lenovo/Dell do not have a PCIE slot for your video card, but Gigabyte and Asrock do. Not sure how many sata ports you need or if you just want to reuse your CPU on the cheap. Literally everything I buy is used/obsolete from eBay. I don't think I have ever purchased new for a build.

 

[trs96]

I wouldn't invest in a new hackintosh at all now. I hate having to take a chance on a $90-$100 used motherboard for this one but Apple's current lineup just doesn't excite me enough to spend probably $3000 total for a new Mac

You can get a barebones T1700 Dell workstation for less than most of the used Haswell motherboards on Ebay. The 4770K will work in it.

Dell Precision T1700 PC Desktop - Customized for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dell Precision T1700 PC Desktop - Customized at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Just add a couple of Sata ports via the PCIe x4 slot. If you want only the motherboard you can buy one for under $30. Brand new too, not refurbished.

Dell Optiplex XE2 T1700 7020 9020 MT Desktop Motherboard YC9KY 8WKV3 F5C5X | eBay

Dell Optiplex XE2 SFF MT VGA Dual DP LGA 1150 DDR3 Desktop Motherboard YC9KY. Laptop Parts / Shells. Chassis / Cover. Hard Drive Caddy. Fans & Heatsink. Cell Phone Screen & Parts. Server Parts. Laptop Battery.

www.ebay.com

You would need a few adapters to make it work with your own case. Cost is about $25.

Dell Optiplex 7010 9010 7020 9020 and Precision T1700 Front Panel Header Adapter | eBay

It allows you to connect standard PC case I/O headers to theDell Optiplex 7010, 9010, 7020, 9020, XE2 and Precision T1650 & T1700 motherboards as well as the front USB ports and audio jacks. These adapters will also get rid of that annoying front panel error on startup.

www.ebay.com