Replicating the 2013 Mac Pro Hardware

[machidester]

I am fortunate to have a 12 Core Xeon E5 2697 v2 sitting on my desk waiting to be used. I am hoping the replicate the hardware of the current Mac Pro, though not the formfactor. I'm obviously curious about the most appropriate hardware to use... including what is compatible.

Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Gene, I'm glad to see this board is getting alot better hardware support in Mavericks, but as far as I can tells still no power management, even though these chips are being used in current Mac hardware. Is this a fair replacement for the options and specs of the (admittedly different form factor) Mac Pro board?

RAM: I doubt i'll spend the money on ECC memory because I'm not sure my non server uses will benefit from it. I'll probably just use the fastest RAM I can manage, probably some gSkill 2400 memory in a 4x4GB or 4x8GB config. Suggestions for maximizing this hardware are appreciated.

PCI SSD: Can't decide between a decent PCI SSD like an Asus ROG RAIDR or a SATA based drive like a Samsung EVO... can obviously get more storage from a SATA drive, and ive never had success with OSX installs on PCI SSD's, but i haven't tried since summer 2013.

Video Card: Probably go with a Firepro of some kind to complete the mac pro, since i do some work with OpenCL... but i might just find a decent 600 series Nvidia card to run two displays.

Last questions... suggestions on a very very compact mATX case? I don't want to spend stupid money on it, but id definitely consider something somewhat overpriced if its good.

 

[Going Bald]

RAM: I doubt i'll spend the money on ECC memory because I'm not sure my non server uses will benefit from it. I'll probably just use the fastest RAM I can manage, probably some gSkill 2400 memory in a 4x4GB or 4x8GB config. Suggestions for maximizing this hardware are appreciated.

If you are going to go with the xeon, might as well go with the ECC RAM - that way you could try the MacPro 6,1 system definition without having to delete any kexts.

Last questions... suggestions on a very very compact mATX case? I don't want to spend stupid money on it, but id definitely consider something somewhat overpriced if its good.

Try the latest BitFenix mATX
http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/colossus-micro-atx#reviews
https://teksyndicate.com/videos/bitfenix-colossus-microatx-case-overview
http://www.amazon.com/BitFenix-Colossus-BFC-CLM-300-KKLS1-RP-Supply-MicroATX/dp/B00HVMK708/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_3

 

[trs96]

I am fortunate to have a 12 Core Xeon E5 2697 v2 sitting on my desk waiting to be used. I am hoping the replicate the hardware of the current Mac Pro, though not the formfactor. I'm obviously curious about the most appropriate hardware to use... including what is compatible.

The 2013 Mac Pro uses the C602J chipset so that would be the most compatible
one to go with. A motherboard with C602 should also work just as well. The difficulty when matching hardware close to the Mac Pro's is to keep it as small and quiet as the 2013 model. You'd have to
go at least ATX or for the best match E-ATX.

RAM: I doubt i'll spend the money on ECC memory because I'm not sure my non server uses will benefit from it. I'll probably just use the fastest RAM I can manage, probably some gSkill 2400 memory in a 4x4GB or 4x8GB config. Suggestions for maximizing this hardware are appreciated.

You won't need to be running a server to benefit from ECC ram. The Gskill 2400 won't give you any
better performance than 1866 ECC ram. It would likely be more expensive as well. I'd go with the
Crucial 1866 MHz Mac Pro certified memory. When a discrete gfx card is used the higher clock speed
ram is not really needed. You couldn't tell the performance difference anyway, even in gaming.

If you're staying with non-ECC I'd go with the Corsair ram that is on the Asus supported list like:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Dominator-Platinum-Desktop-CMD16GX3M2A1866C9/dp/B007Z1CVIQ

PCI SSD: Can't decide between a decent PCI SSD like an Asus ROG RAIDR or a SATA based drive like a Samsung EVO... can obviously get more storage from a SATA drive, and ive never had success with OSX installs on PCI SSD's, but i haven't tried since summer 2013.

I'd go with the Samsung 840 Pro option here.

Video Card: Probably go with a Firepro of some kind to complete the mac pro, since i do some work with OpenCL... but i might just find a decent 600 series Nvidia card to run two displays.

It looks like the R9 280x will give the best OpenCl performance. Even better than a W9000.
Not sure yet if they will work in CrossFireX but we'll have to test that with 10.9.2

Last questions... suggestions on a very very compact mATX case? I don't want to spend stupid money on it, but id definitely consider something somewhat overpriced if its good.

The AeroCool Dead Silence case looks really nice and roomy for a mATX CustoMac case. Check out
their website for details.

Also remember to get a CPU cooler with a 130W or better TDP rating. Good luck on your build.