neilhart's first Kaby Lake scratch build case project

[neilhart]

I have decided to scratch build a Kaby Lake system in the mini-itx form factor.

I had wanted to use a S4 Mini case from Josh Sniffen (NFC Systems) but I learned that one will not be available in the short term, thus the scratch build. I will come back and do that project when the case is in my hands.

The new system will start out with a i3-7350K CPU which rumor has it that some will OC to 5 GHz.

Edit: I have up graded the CPU in this system to an i7-7700K and it runs at 4.5GHz.

I have an ASUS ROG Strix Z270i motherboard on order. This MB has the dual M.2 sockets plus M.2 WIFI/BT (will need to upgrade the radio) along with a rear facing USB 3.1 Type C port. No TB but then I am not into that.

And I was so impressed with the Silverstone Tundra Series TD02-E CPU cooler (I used one on my redo of the EX58 system last year) that I purchased another one for this project.

While I have sketched out the project, it is my usual rolling prototype build process. The final case will be 12 inches front to back, will stand 11 inches plus a little for feet, and 6 inches wide.

This is my start. Using 5/8 inch square aluminum bar stock, I made up a batch of corner cubes, center drill three ways and threaded to 6 x 32.

The left and right sides are from 1/8 inch (apx 3 mm) aluminum flat stock cut to 10.5 x 12 inches. The remaining sides are from 1/4" black ABS. I am using stainless steel 6 x 32 flat head cap screws (1/4 and 3/8 inch lengths) to assemble the panels.

Comment and questions are welcome. More to follow.

Good modding,

neil

 

[neilhart]

A small update:

I assembled the basic unit, two sides and the top and bottom ABS pieces.

And started to cut round holes for the cpu cooler fans…

and thought better, and decided on a more traditional rad pattern.

I used the scroll saw for the rough cut and then filed to the line…

Then assembled it looks like this.

Next up is either add ventilation holes in the bottom panel for the GPU or start the rear panel. I need to nail down the mother board location before going much farther.

I expect the real motherboard to arrive mid next week.

Comment and questions are welcome.

Good modding,

neil

 

[neilhart]

Another update -

The ASUS Z270i mini-ITX motherboard arrived yesterday afternoon.

And I put it onto my mini-ITX bring up stand…

after installing the i3-7350K CPU, an intel clip-on cooler and 16 GB of memory.

I had prepared a UEFI UniBeast Sierra 10.12.3 USB installer with the FakeCPUID from Tony’s Kaby Lake thread post #1. And I used a GT 240 GPU for ease of bring-up (avoid the on-board GPU for now).

With an extra trip through the # 0234 UEFI BIOS, I was able to boot Clover into the Sierra installer and a short time later was at the installed Sierra desktop.

I had no rapid fix for sound so I installed VoodooHDA 2.8.9 on one of my new bootable partitions and that seems to work okay.

More things to sort out. As expected the WiFi is a non op although the BT side of the radio works. And I need to look at what it takes to get the Hardware Monitor app to work.

Anyway the motherboard is a work of art although I may turn off the RGB LEDs that auto cycle through a ever changing patterns.

I currently have 4 bootable partitions (on two SSDs) where each partition is configured slightly differently; this is with two installation runs and two SuperDuper! passes.

I will jack around with the motherboard for a day or two before inserting it into the project case (which is coming along nicely).

Good modding,

neil

 

[Soothsayr]

Are you planning on pulling out the Wifi/BT card and inserting one that works in that slot? I believe I read somewhere that one of those recommended Broadcom cards will fit in the slot.

 

[RumpelHumpel]

Are you planning on pulling out the Wifi/BT card and inserting one that works in that slot? I believe I read somewhere that one of those recommended Broadcom cards will fit in the slot.

Tell me more.
Is it possible to replace the onboard WIFI/BT with another card what is supported on mac os sierra?

The onboard BT card is working but at the moment it's not possible to keep a stable bluetooth connection with the trackpad 2.
A little bit annoying.

 

[neilhart]

Tell me more.
Is it possible to replace the onboard WIFI/BT with another card what is supported on mac os sierra?

The onboard BT card is working but at the moment it's not possible to keep a stable bluetooth connection with the trackpad 2.
A little bit annoying.

Yes you can replace the radio card in the WiFi/BT module. I have just completed this operation using a BCM94352Z purchased from Amazon. And there is a thread on this subject: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/bcm94352z-installed-on-asus-z170i-pro-gaming-wifi-and-bt.191274/ The same process worked on my Z270i motherboard.

BTW does your USB 3.1 Type A and Type C ports work on your Strix motherboard? Currently on my Z270i they do not recognize a device under Sierra 10.12.3. Just another detail to work through.

Good modding,
neil

 

[RumpelHumpel]

USB 3.1 A is working.
USB 3.1 C, I don't know. I have no devices with such USB interface
But I think when USB 3.1 A is working the C should work too.

I replaced my z170 board with z270 board and didn't do anything.
It worked out of the box.

 

[neilhart]

Small update:

I swapped in the BCM94532Z radio and modded the config.plist and added the 4 kexts to /L/E for WiFi/BT and that is now up and running.

I also swapped in the Samsung AHCI SM951 SSD and ran the BlackMagic disk test on both the crucial 512 GB SSD and the m.2 SM951 see below.

While the current Hardware Monitor app wont’t run correctly, the Intel Power Gadget app does work as seen here.

This is with the SM951 in the bottom m.2 slot. I need to shutdown and move the device to top slot to test that m.2 slot.

Edit: I did move the Samsung AHCI SM951 to top m.2 slot and the system booted up without issue. Now if I had a second device I would do a RAID 0 and get super silly fast access. I also checked out the front USB 3.0 ports and the HDAudio header; these worked so I need to focus on getting the motherboard into the new case.

Good modding,

neil

 

[Soothsayr]

Is continuity/handoff working for you with no issues? Can't wait to start my z270i build soon! My Dan case is on its way!

 

[neilhart]

Is continuity/handoff working for you with no issues? Can't wait to start my z270i build soon! My Dan case is on its way!

I have not used those features and I have my system disassembled so can not respond with an observation. You do understand that the WiFi/BT card that comes on the motherboard needs to be changed out to a compatible one ( I used a BCM94352Z that I purchased on Amazon).

The 'Dan Case' is a sought after case. Please document your build with a thread and photos.

Good modding,
neil