Ready for the big jump for my first build!

[lanature]

Hello tonymacx86 community!

I've been looking to build a Hackintosh for over two years now and finally, I was able to put enough money aside to make it happen! I have a couple of questions, firstly about compatibility, then about the general procedures that I will have to follow!

I want my Hackintosh to run both Mac OSX Yosemite and Windows 8.1. Both OS will be on their own SSD and each will have their own HDD. Yosemite will be use to work with audio software for scoring movies, producing music and some graphic design. Windows 8.1 will be use to play some video games and use windows only software.

1) Are my parts compatible?

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor

I chose them accordingly to the buying guide, so hopefully, everything should be in order! Do you have another suggestion for the monitor? I realize that the case if for an ATX form factor and my motherboard is mATX, will I just have a big case with a lot of room to manage my cables and work some air flow?

2) What to do with my parts

a) After watching a lot of tutorials on how to build a computer, I feel confident about the steps need to build the machine. However, in one tutorial (the G4 one if I recall), they do and out of the box test build to make sure that the parts work. Is that necessary? How do you feel about this?

b) If I understand correctly, WiFi is not supported natively on a Hackintosh and I need to use ether ethernet cable or to by a WiFi card? I'm a tad confused about this part, so if you could enlighten me, that would be greatly appreciated!

I think that's pretty much it for my questions. As soon as this is cleared up, I'll buy the parts! I'll take pictures of my build and let you know if I'm part of the family at the end of this process! Thank you again!

Alexis

 

[newtype]

For your first build avoid all new Nvidia cards. They are nothing but problems right now due to driver and OSX patch issues. Sure it works, I got mine GTX 970 working but nothing but headache after recent security patch screwed up my build and I had to recover.

For first build, get a GTX 770 or 760, plug and play no driver needed.

Everything else looks fine just don't get any new gen Nvidia cards until the drivers are native.

 

[Kazbah]

1) Are my parts compatible?

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
If you do not plan on overclocking, you do not need K-CPU and can save $

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler (Great choice)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Superclocked Video Card
If you can afford it go GTX 970, my preference goes to MSI GTX 970 4G Gaming for their Twin Frozer cooler and robust power distribution system ... so silent and yet so powerfull. And yes, you need Nvidia web drivers until Apple bundles them in OS X.

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
That is a big case for your system.. you could also make due with a Define Mini or Arc Mini R2 or almost any mATX case.

Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
I have 2 PSU a Corsair RM 650 and a Silverstone Strider STF65-G and let me tell you that the Strider is a joy to work with compared to the Corsair. The Silverstone unit itself is smaller and the Silverstone cables are way more flexible than the one Corsair provides. Silverstone also offer short cable kits (something Corsair does not)

Have fun

 

[lanature]

Thank you very much for your help. I will change my case to a smaller one, I will take the locked CPU as I don't plan to overclock my rig and I will stick with my graphic card for a money reason. I cannot change my PSU because the Silverstone Strider is not available in Canada.

Again, thank you very much for all your help.

 

[Kazbah]

I cannot change my PSU because the Silverstone Strider is not available in Canada..

You can still get SilverStone at Canada Computers (I got mine from NewEgg.ca in 2013, I live in Montreal) .. but the Corsair will do with a little bit more cable folding.

You might wanna check this today : MSI GTX 960 Shell Shocker in Canada