Please Help Verify My Build

[CWSpear]

I've always been a bit of a software guy (I'm a PHP developer), so I know quite a bit about computers, but mostly the software side (which is why I know I want to go Mac).

I was looking at building my own computer (haven't done anything like this before... only replaced a part here or there over the hears), and I've been doing a lot of research and was going to just install Ubuntu, but I see that the Mac option isn't closed by going this route. I've tried to make sure the parts I picked were compatible with OS X, but I wouldn't mind a once over to make sure it's all compatible (with Mac and each other).

List updated with new recommendations

Core

Motherboard
$150 - GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512

Processor
$310 - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

Graphics Card
$135 - EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

Memory
$120 - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233246

Other Stuff

Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067

Power Supply
$50 - COOLER MASTER X6 Elite RR-X6NN-18PK-R1 Honeycomb Design 120mm Long Life Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103105

Hard Drive
$340 - OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-256G 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227792

The hard drive is just killer. But I think I need more than 150GB, and I think if I get 256GB, I won't need to upgrade anytime soon.

I also know the case is huge, but it was popular and cool looking. Peer pressure...

Anyway, any light you can shed will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Jamesbond007]

I've always been a bit of a software guy (I'm a PHP developer), so I know quite a bit about computers, but mostly the software side (which is why I know I want to go Mac).

I was looking at building my own computer (haven't done anything like this before... only replaced a part here or there over the hears), and I've been doing a lot of research and was going to just install Ubuntu, but I see that the Mac option isn't closed by going this route. I've tried to make sure the parts I picked were compatible with OS X, but I wouldn't mind a once over to make sure it's all compatible (with Mac and each other).

The motherboard... I'm not 100% sure about, and it might be more than I need? I know the Motherboard is the most important part, but it's also the one I'm having the hardest time with.

Core

Motherboard
$150 - BIOSTAR TZ77XE4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138354

Processor
$310 - Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73820
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229

Graphics Card
$135 - EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

Memory
$120 - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233246

Other Stuff

Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067

Power Supply
$50 - COOLER MASTER X6 Elite RR-X6NN-18PK-R1 Honeycomb Design 120mm Long Life Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103105

Hard Drive
$340 - OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-256G 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227792

The hard drive is just killer. But I think I need more than 150GB, and I think if I get 256GB, I won't need to upgrade anytime soon.

I also know the case is huge, but it was popular and cool looking. Peer pressure...

Anyway, any light you can shed will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Your motherboard and CPU are incompatible. The i7-3820 is a Socket 2011 CPU and requires a X79 motherboard to work. You need the Core i3-2xxx, Core i5-2xxx or Core i7-2xxx (Sandy Bridge) or the soon-to-be-released Ivy Bridge CPUs with that Z77 motherboard.

And, personally I would not recommend using a Z77 motherboard at this time since the new chipset is not fully supported under Mac OSX Lion and may present problems such as missing functions. If you want to use it right away I suggest getting a Gigabyte Z68 motherboard together with a Core i7-2600K / i7-2700K instead.

 

[CWSpear]

Your motherboard and CPU are incompatible. The i7-3820 is a Socket 2011 CPU and requires a X79 motherboard to work. You need the Core i3-2xxx, Core i5-2xxx or Core i7-2xxx (Sandy Bridge) or the soon-to-be-released Ivy Bridge CPUs with that Z77 motherboard.

And, personally I would not recommend using a Z77 motherboard at this time since the new chipset is not fully supported under Mac OSX Lion and may present problems such as missing functions. If you want to use it right away I suggest getting a Gigabyte Z68 motherboard together with a Core i7-2600K / i7-2700K instead.

Great, thank you! I updated the list to reflect those changes. I really appreciate your input.