New To System Building... Recommendations?

[Bones3D]

Hey guys,

For a while now, I've been looking into the possibility of building a machine from scratch as my next hackintosh project, after seeing how rediculously overpriced the Mac Pro line has become for most consumers.

Lately, I've been looking at your CustoMac Build page as a starting point, but I can't help thinking the specs for configurtions are starting to look a bit dated. (Especially on the high end model toward the end of the list...)

Would it be possible for someone to recommend a slightly more up-to-date parts list which would result in a fairly reliable setup? My budget is about $1,600. Usage will be primarily 3D modeling/animation, photoshop and game development... so every ounce of performance I can squeeze out of this thing, the better.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Bones3D]

Interesting... I was just checking out the CustoMac Pro 2010 thread, and it seems NewEgg has a combo bundle that's almost identical to the configuration "NordicExploration" mentions toward the bottom of the page... practically word for word, minus the video card.

Any reason why this configuration shouldn't work with iboot, multibeast, etc...?

Combo Specs

- Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
- GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior
- COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RS850-AMBAJ3-US 850W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Power Supply
- COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler Intel Core i7 compatible
- CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8
- Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Extras

- GIGABYTE GV-R577SO-1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
- Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM

Total Cost: $1,129.97

Any other ideas or recommendations? I've still got about $400 more in wiggle room to up the performance further, if possible...

 

[Bones3D]

Another configuration that I'm (loosely) considering is the possibility of using an HP xw6400 workstation motherboard with two 2.33GHz Xeon e5345 quad core processors, which I could get the processors and motherboard for around $500. (About the same cost as my earlier CPU/motherboard combo...)

The problem is how to know which one is going to perform better over all.

Of course, there's always the six core i7 processor out there for $550 or so.

So... does anyone have any advice?

 

[Going Bald]

Interesting... I was just checking out the CustoMac Pro 2010 thread, and it seems NewEgg has a combo bundle that's almost identical to the configuration "NordicExploration" mentions toward the bottom of the page... practically word for word, minus the video card.

Any reason why this configuration shouldn't work with iboot, multibeast, etc...?

Combo Specs

- Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
- GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior
- COOLER MASTER Silent Pro RS850-AMBAJ3-US 850W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Power Supply
- COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler Intel Core i7 compatible
- CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8
- Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Extras

- GIGABYTE GV-R577SO-1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
- Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM

Total Cost: $1,129.97

Any other ideas or recommendations? I've still got about $400 more in wiggle room to up the performance further, if possible...

This all looks good. I would use the extra for a small SSD to put the OS on and then put the user files on the 1TB drive. Just make sure you get one with the SandForce controller.

 

[Bones3D]

Well, I managed to chisel some of the specs down a bit on pretty much everything but the CPU, video card and motherboard, going with the least expensive components I could find.

My cheapest option would actually allow me to walk away with a machine of equal performance to that one for around $900. Shelling out $950 would give me the option of going to a 3.2ghz quad core processor... and at around $1290, I could move up to the 3.33ghz six core CPU. Guess it's worth pinching those pennies and limiting good looks to what's inside the casing...

Of course, that dual xeon setup I was considering earlier is still eating at me a bit. Would a system like that need a massive cooling configuration beyond fan cooled heat sinks?

Finally, has anyone ever successfully assembled a *reliable* hackintosh using AMD processors and parts? After digging through site after site for pricing, I couldn't help noticing that many of AMDs own processors were often less expensive when it came to offering more processor cores per CPU. (Meaning, there is potential for a 12 or even 16 core hackintosh across two or more CPUs at the extreme high end...)

 

[slowjin]

Finally, has anyone ever successfully assembled a *reliable* hackintosh using AMD processors and parts? After digging through site after site for pricing, I couldn't help noticing that many of AMDs own processors were often less expensive when it came to offering more processor cores per CPU. (Meaning, there is potential for a 12 or even 16 core hackintosh across two or more CPUs at the extreme high end...)

Pretty sure there are folks who have but this forum is for Intel CPUs only. It almost seems as though it will be faster to wait for Apple to start supporting AMD processors in addition to Intel CPUs

 

[Yarblin]

- Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
- GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- GIGABYTE GV-R577SO-1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

I just got the same motherboard, and also a 5770 (I chose the ASUS one). ATM I'm only able to get video out of the DVI port at the moment - figuring out what's up with that over here: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16362

My only thought is to spend the extra $10 dollars on the processor and get the i7 core 960 3.2GHz (working great!).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115224&cm_re=core_i7_960-_-19-115-224-_-Product

 

[Bones3D]

Okay, one last item...

Core i7 970 vs core i7 2600

Are these about the same in performance or is there a significant speed difference? Also, are there any compatibility issues with the 2600 version and Mac OS X? (I have noticed the 2600, is cheaper than 6-core 970 by about $250-300.)

 

[Going Bald]

Okay, one last item...

Core i7 970 vs core i7 2600

Are these about the same in performance or is there a significant speed difference? Also, are there any compatibility issues with the 2600 version and Mac OS X? (I have noticed the 2600, is cheaper than 6-core 970 by about $250-300.)

i7 970 is socket 1336 - i7 2600 is socket 1156 - different motherboard totally.

 

[damndoe]

Hi,

- Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

Get the 960, its only like 10 bucks more.

- GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Make sure its Rev 2.0

- CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP6GX3M3A1600C8

Get 3x4GB. No point to buy 2GB modules. Only so little more money. Also while Corsair is probably ok, 1333 Mhz RAM totally does the job. I ordered Crucial ones..

Further: look for SSDs they will improve your "real" performance by like 20-50% (no joke).

p.s.: i7 970 if you want heavy multithreading. Its a great bang for the buck if you are going for 6 Cores (12 with HT). The i7 980x etc.. are far more expensive but offer only little more compared to the 970. Still the 970 is almost twice of what the 950/960 costs. (970:6c/12t vs 950or960:4c/8t)

If you want massive gaming speed (in cost of more hasseling with OS X cause of Sandy Bridge) then go with a 2500k or 2600k (and some Gigabyte... or maybe ASUS board... having a P67 chipset)... maybe 2500k is easier to do, no clue about 2600k running well now (check Gordos Guide maybe he uses one))