Proposed mATX build

[BuntyMac]

This will be my first time building a Hackintosh, and though I've built computers before, I've got no experience of building the mATX format.

Given that, I'm sticking closely to the recommended components, but I have a couple of questions. My basket at Amazon contains the following stuff, but I've got a few questions before I pull the trigger.

• GIGABYTE Intel LGA1151 H170 M-D3H HDMI Micro-ATX Motherboard
  
• Corsair CP-9020077-UK CS650M 650 W 80 Plus Gold Certified Low Energy and Low Noise 120 mm Fan Power Supply Unit
  
• Ballistic Sport LT 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR4 2400
  
• Intel Core i5-6600K LGA1151 3.5-3.9 Ghz
  
• Samsung EVO 250 GB
• Seagate Barracuda 3TB Sata 3
• Corsair Carbide Air 240 Micro-ATX Case
• 102.11AC Desktop Wifi Card A/B/G/N/AC/Bluetooth 4.0 OSX Yosemite 10.10+ by fenvi

Uses: basic workstation, occasional gaming, some audio. Dual booting into Windows 7 Pro.

My questions are:

1.) I've no desire to overclock this machine, but the i5-6000K doesn't come with a stock cooler. Can anyone recommend a decent CPU cooler?
2.) I plan on adding a graphics card, but having decent working Wi-fi and Bluetooth is important to me. Will I be able to run both on this motherboard?
3.) Is there anything I've missed here? Advice, observations, criticisms, etc. all welcome.

Thanks in advance.

 

[trs96]

1) I would go with the I5-6500 non-K version. This one comes with an Intel stock cooler which you could use. The 6600K does not.

2) Go with the GA-H170M-DS3H then you'll get two PCI-e X1 slots instead of two useless PCI slots. You'll need one for a PCI-e Wifi BT card like the Fenvi T919. This is mandatory to have both BT/Wifi and a discrete gfx card working at the same time. The Fenvi combo cards don't seem to work at all in a x8 or x4 slot.

 

[BuntyMac]

Thanks trs96, that's really helpful. I was going with the 6600K because that was the one that was recommended on the main page of the build guide, so I assumed there was something specific about the K versions that made them more suitable for the mATX boards? The non-K processors seem less expensive as well.

Ah, I see the K CPU's are multiplier unlocked so meant for overclocking. Hence the lack of a stock cooler. That makes sense now.

But I can't find a DS3H on Amazon UK. They've got a D3H, and HD3 and something else... but after a Google search, I can't find one anywhere in the UK. They seem to have finished making them. I can get the later version, GA-H270M-DS3H though. You think that'd be OK? And there's an earlier version -- a GA-B250M-DS3H available. But I'd rather go with later versions if they'd work OK.

 

[trs96]

It's better to go with an H170M board with a Skylake CPU. Search for it at other sellers in the EU. Somebody still has one for sale that you could get shipped to you I would think. You could use the HD3 version but it only accepts DDR3 ram, not DDR4. If you can live with slower ram it could work too. Final option would be to go with the H270M-DS3H but you'd need to move up to the I5-7500 to pair with that and then fake the CPUID to get it to work. The onboard audio may also be a problem until later in 2017.

 

[BuntyMac]

It's getting really hard to find the H170's at all now. They seem to be discontinuing them. Well, there's a H170M-DS3H in Germany and one in Israel, but that's about it. Not even used ones on Ebay.

I've always had really good experiences with Gigabyte motherboards, but I'm wondering whether I should be looking at other brands? I've heard good things about Asus.

It's a tough choice otherwise though. Given that I abandoned Macs when my Titanium Powerbook gave up the ghost (I'd been a loyalist since the IIcx but I just got sick of paying the Jobs tax), I'd planned on dual booting for a while anyway. So, I guess I'll go with a H270-DS3H and live with the limitations.

 

[BuntyMac]

Ha! I think I've found one. Little mom and pop shop in London. Want me to pay through the nose for it, nevertheless, it seems worth the dough because of how it solves my problems.

Unfortunately, I can't get anybody on the phone to check they actually have it in, but my order seems to have gone through on their website. I'll wait and see if it arrives before I order any other components, just to be on the safe side.

I just checked my current build. It's actually ten years old -- an Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 running XP -- and it would probably be servicable still if I just popped in a couple of extra sticks of RAM. It's really only just starting to irritate me. When I built it, I somehow suckered myself into buying DDS2 RAM, when DDS3 had just been released and that's bugged me for the last ten years.

OK, when my components arrive, I've no doubt that I'll be back in here, harrassing you all for help on various issues. trs96, thanks again for your help.

 

[trs96]

Sounds good. If you build one of these with a Core I5 and plenty of DDR4 ram it should last you quite a long time. Running both windows and macOS if you want to dual boot. Hope it all works out on the purchase.

 

[DrBEN]

I had trouble finding an H170 and finally settled for a Gigabyte H110M-H for US$60 to use for a very basic mATX build (Internet browsing, YouTube, email, limited word processing, iPhoto, no gaming).

 

[BuntyMac]

I had trouble finding an H170 and finally settled for a Gigabyte H110M-H for US$60 to use for a very basic mATX build (Internet browsing, YouTube, email, limited word processing, iPhoto, no gaming).

Yeah, it appears that I spoke too soon. Mom and Pop were advertising goods that they didn't actually have in stock.

Scumbags.

I did try to call them to check, but they were continually engaged.

"I am afraid we cannot supply the Gigabyte GA-H170M-DS3H, it looks like there are no further stocks. Sorry for any inconvenience, the order has been cancelled and the card payment not taken."

Back to the grindstone then.

 

[BuntyMac]

So I'm currently looking at the Asus H170M-Plus for my motherboard. That appears to have very similar features to the Gigabyte GA-H170M-DS3H. It's on the list of recommended motherboards, and while I've always used Gigabyte for my previous builds, I know Asus has a good reputation.

Here's the spec. Does this sound OK?

https://www.asus.com/uk/Motherboards/H170M-PLUS/specifications/