New Build with around £1500 budget - Open to Critique

[dalecorderoy]

Let me be the Devil's advocate here: With such a budget, and no gaming use, you should consider a MacStudio for future-proofing—possibly watching out for refurbished opportunities.

You have not really defined your target macOS version (minding that "up to date" will hit end-of road about two years from now…) performance requirements and/or hardware requirements (add-in cards?), so it's difficult to evaluate how much "bang" you get for your "bucks". But I'll note that, while the first list did not fully made sense (oversized Z490 MB, "bad spot" 11th gen. CPU and non-matching DDR5 RAM), there could be some merit in a Z490+10th gen.+DDR4 build in that it should be distinctly less expensive than Z790+12/13G+DDR5 and cause less headaches to maintain (because it would match the last Intel configuration with native support, and because manufacturers have stopped updating it… and breaking our hacks in the process) for exactly the same useful life.

Hi mate,

Great points and completely understand where you are coming from. I didn't make it completely clear but I plan to due boot the machine in Windows as well for those other programs. The goal I was hoping to achieve is to build a powerful machine but be able update my old hackinstosh and make a fresh install in this new system, so was looking for components that could be compatible with the latest OSX environment. I'm not too worried about keeping up with the latest OS and updates for years on out as I do get what you are saying about the support dying out. When using it as a Mac, it will be offline most of the time and just for my audio production but wanted to build it to be stable as I possibly could.

 

[dalecorderoy]

The only memory on the QVL for that board is DDR4. DDR5 will not work.

ASRock > Z490 AQUA

Supports 10th Gen Intel Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel Core™ Processors (LGA1200)<span style=color:red;>*</span>; Supports DDR4 4800MHz+ (OC); 1 PCIe 3.0 x16, 2 PCIe 2.0 x1; NVIDIA Quad SLI™, AMD 3-Way CrossFireX™; Graphics Output Options: HDMI, Intel Thunderbolt™ 3; 7.1 CH HD Audio...

www.asrock.com

There are still some new entry level MSI Z490 motherboards you can buy in the UK. Asrock wouldn't be my first choice for a hackintosh. Especially not when you combine an 11th gen CPU with a Z490. You can also save a lot of money here and put it into a better graphics card.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0876HBFVC/?tag=tonymacx86-21

Thanks for taking a look, I did post an updated list above after some very valuable feedback from my initial post here: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...0-budget-open-to-critique.326647/post-2377490

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Thanks for taking a look, I did post an updated list above after some very valuable feedback from my initial post here: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...0-budget-open-to-critique.326647/post-2377490

If you are dumping ASRock and going with Asus, then okay. But remember, the Golden Build you reference is Z690 and your list now shows Z790. As far as I know, no Z790 has made it to the status of Golden as yet. It is so far removed from Apple hardware that, so far it's a tough call. Again, you are pushing it to the cutting edge.

 

[dalecorderoy]

Yes, we saw that, but were worried it was still showing DDR5 RAM and not DDR4 ...

Ahh, would it be clearer if I edited the component list from the initial post? The updated list included the ASUS ProArt Z790 Motherboard which is DDR5 compatible

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Ahh, would it be clearer if I edited the component list from the initial post? The updated list included the ASUS ProArt Z790 Motherboard which is DDR5 compatible

No, I can see what you've changed.

I think you might have missed my full reply above ... Refresh etc.

 

[dalecorderoy]

No, I can see what you've changed.

I think you might have missed my full reply above ... Refresh etc.

Just refreshed, for some reason the full reply didn't populate first time Ok great, I see what you mean. So it would probably be a safer bet to stick with the Z690 as per the golden build?

 

[etorix]

I didn't make it completely clear but I plan to due boot the machine in Windows as well for those other programs. The goal I was hoping to achieve is to build a powerful machine but be able update my old hackinstosh and make a fresh install in this new system, so was looking for components that could be compatible with the latest OSX environment. I'm not too worried about keeping up with the latest OS and updates for years on out as I do get what you are saying about the support dying out. When using it as a Mac, it will be offline most of the time and just for my audio production but wanted to build it to be stable as I possibly could.

Thanks, this makes your case for a Hackintosh clear.
So the choice is basically between the last two Intel sockets.
LGA1200: Z490 + 10th gen. (last supported hardware, both of Z590 and 11th. gen bring issues)
Settled and very stable. Not the highest possible performance, but if you can still find motherboard and CPU I'd guesstimate that it might cost about 60% of a LGA1700 build—less bang for less bucks, which could work out a fair option.

LGA1700: Z690/Z790 + 12/13th gen.
Highest possible performance, at a cost (money and, likely, extra time dealing with update issues). Z790, and BIOS updates to support 13th gen. CPU, have brought some complications compared with earlier success stories on Z690+12G, so strictly sticking with a Golden Build motherboard would probably help.
Take some time to read the relevant build threads, including those for Z690/Z790 motherboards you do not consider as relevant general information may still be in there, and chose your own evil.

 

[dalecorderoy]

Thank you so much for the precious feedback. I've taken in all your advice and reviewed much of the information in the golden builds and user builds plus recommendations for compatibility.

Finding some of the suggested components to exactly match has been quite hard due to a lot of them now being discontinued in most UK stores.

I've come up with a revised list.

CPU: Intel 10 Core i9 10850K Comet Lake CPU/Processor £240

GPU: PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 6600 Hellhound 8GB Graphics Card £219

MOBO: ASRock Z490 AQUA E-ATX Motherboard with PCIe 4.0 £299

RAM: G.Skill RipJaws V Series 32GB 288-Pin SDRAM DDR4 4000 (PC4-32000) 1.40V Dual Channel £72

SSD: WD_Black SN850X 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 NVMe £114

PSU: Corsair RM850x 850 Watt Fully Modular 80+ Gold £147

CASE: be quiet Orange Dark Base 900 E-ATX Full Tower Case £147

(Only needed if I don't get the ASRock Aqua)
COOLER: Arctic Liquid Freezer II 280 ARGB Black All In One Liquid CPU Cooler £109

I know it was mentioned that the ASRock Aqua will work but might be a sticking point, however, there is currently a very good deal on it being reduced from £799 to £299 so thought it was worth considering and doing the extra leg work to make it work. The other option I could go for is the GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS MASTER Intel LGA1200 which is a bit more at £356 or even the Gigabyte Z490 AORUS XTREME Motherboard at £427 if that is even better.

Also, I could improve the graphics card if you feel that might be a bit underweight.

Thanks again for all the great help with this. Truly appreciate it as I really value the expert advice.

 

[dalecorderoy]

Thanks, this makes your case for a Hackintosh clear.
So the choice is basically between the last two Intel sockets.
LGA1200: Z490 + 10th gen. (last supported hardware, both of Z590 and 11th. gen bring issues)
Settled and very stable. Not the highest possible performance, but if you can still find motherboard and CPU I'd guesstimate that it might cost about 60% of a LGA1700 build—less bang for less bucks, which could work out a fair option.

LGA1700: Z690/Z790 + 12/13th gen.
Highest possible performance, at a cost (money and, likely, extra time dealing with update issues). Z790, and BIOS updates to support 13th gen. CPU, have brought some complications compared with earlier success stories on Z690+12G, so strictly sticking with a Golden Build motherboard would probably help.
Take some time to read the relevant build threads, including those for Z690/Z790 motherboards you do not consider as relevant general information may still be in there, and chose your own evil.

Really appreciate the explanation here so much. Took your advice along with UtterDisbelief and trs96 - modified the component list for an LGA1200 socket build above. Think it is looking ok now, though I'm currently wondering if the Aorus Master would be a safer option for stability compared to the ASRock Aqua motherboard or if it would be similar to how others have got Z490 ASRock boards to work in User Builds and Golden Builds?

 

[etorix]

Also, I could improve the graphics card if you feel that might be a bit underweight.

With this generation you don't even need a dGPU: The iGPU is supported.
A dGPU is for extra power (complex audio timeline maybe?) and/or driving more screens. If a RX660 does what you need, stay at that.

I'm currently wondering if the Aorus Master would be a safer option for stability compared to the ASRock Aqua motherboard or if it would be similar to how others have got Z490 ASRock boards to work in User Builds and Golden Builds?

None of these E-ATX motherboards have been popular choices due to their size and price. So, in any case, it's your responsibility to fine tune the EFI. Hopefully, once this is done the Z490 Aqua will be as stable as other AsRock boards and the Z490 Aorus Master will be as stable as other Gigabyte boards—but we cannot know in advance.