New Hack with ASUS X79 Board ... Thoughts?

[jasonvp]

Hey folks -

My 'old' circa 2008 Mac Pro is still running strong, but I'd like to get something faster. I've been using Macs for quite a while, but I've never tried to build a Hack. I've been doing as much reading as I can on this site and others; I appreciate all of the resources available.

My proposed build will be the new hardware that was just released.

MoBo: Asus P9X79 Pro
Processor: Intel 3930K
Video Card: PNY nVidia Quadro 4000 (Mac)

(The video card is currently in my Mac Pro and is far too worthy to just 'throw away'. So it'll be moved into the Hack).

Given the pricing and lack of availability until just recently, I understand that I may be blazing a trail here. That's OK. What I'm after is: what happens when I get snagged by... something? I've read all about the DSDTs, but no such thing exists for this board (yet) so I can't use it. If I'm to ask for help, what kinds of things would I need to provide the worthies here so they can help?

Thanks!

 

[JimmyCypherz]

Dont think x79 is supported atm

 

[Jamesbond007]

Hey folks -

My 'old' circa 2008 Mac Pro is still running strong, but I'd like to get something faster. I've been using Macs for quite a while, but I've never tried to build a Hack. I've been doing as much reading as I can on this site and others; I appreciate all of the resources available.

My proposed build will be the new hardware that was just released.

MoBo: Asus P9X79 Pro
Processor: Intel 3930K
Video Card: PNY nVidia Quadro 4000 (Mac)

(The video card is currently in my Mac Pro and is far too worthy to just 'throw away'. So it'll be moved into the Hack).

Given the pricing and lack of availability until just recently, I understand that I may be blazing a trail here. That's OK. What I'm after is: what happens when I get snagged by... something? I've read all about the DSDTs, but no such thing exists for this board (yet) so I can't use it. If I'm to ask for help, what kinds of things would I need to provide the worthies here so they can help?

Thanks!

Your proposed CPU and motherboard are definitely not recommended at this time. The new Sandy Bridge-E is most probably not supported by Mac OSX Lion at this time, and it is unclear if and when it will be supported.

 

[jasonvp]

Your proposed CPU and motherboard are definitely not recommended at this time. The new Sandy Bridge-E is most probably not supported by Mac OSX Lion at this time, and it is unclear if and when it will be supported.

Is there something in OS X that would prevent the machine from working? Typically, BSD doesn't necessarily need to support a specific chipset type to boot and run, as long as said chipset responds to the right x86 and/or amd64 instructions.

 

[Jamesbond007]

Is there something in OS X that would prevent the machine from working? Typically, BSD doesn't necessarily need to support a specific chipset type to boot and run, as long as said chipset responds to the right x86 and/or amd64 instructions.

Now, I don't know too much. But there is definitely something in OSX that prevents us from using, for example, AMD processors and motherboards (at least without hacking by others), right?

I would definitely not be going with X79 myself even if I want to build a new PC Mac now. The Sandy Bridge CPUs and motherboards provide great performance at a fraction of the cost of these new things (the new 3930K is faster than the 2600K, but it is also at least twice as expensive) and they are well supported since Apple itself uses them. As Apple does not use these CPUs and chipsets at present, why take a chance? If you buy them and it turns out that I am right that X79 is not supported, what are you going to do?

Will they be supported in the future? I don't know. We can only speculate.

I suppose whether they can be used now will only be resolved by someone who dares to try first for the sake of us.