Contribute
Register

Should tonymacx68 continue to recommend Gigabyte motherboards in their suggested builds?

Should Tonymac's official build recommendations move beyond Gigabyte?

  • No, definitely not.

    Votes: 7 17.9%
  • Yes, definitely.

    Votes: 27 69.2%
  • Maybe, I'll explain below.

    Votes: 5 12.8%

  • Total voters
    39
Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 7, 2011
Messages
175
Motherboard
Asrock Z370 Extreme4
CPU
i7-8770k
Graphics
GTX 960
Mac
  1. MacBook Pro
Classic Mac
  1. iBook
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
My first two Hacks were Gigabyte boards. One has so far stood the test of time: a X68MA-D2H-B3 home theater PC. The other, a GA-X58A-UD3R, has had many more stability issues over the years, ultimately biting the dust within 18 months.

When replacing the X58 machine, I decided to try the platform's newest rendition, X79, which is LGA 2011. The CustomMac suggested boards from Gigabyte were not nearly as well received in reviews on hardware sites as other brands. Amazon and Newegg both had numerous customer complaints of stability on Gigabyte. Asus boards, on the other hand, were better reviewed and received better marks on user reviews. Furthermore, at least for X79, the support for the Asus boards on this site was much more rich. My build went, overall, very smoothly.

I understand that Gigabyte boards typically work OOB more so than other boards. But in some cases (X79), this doesn't seem to be case. Plus, Gigabyte boards in recent years seem to have suffered from stability issues other companies haven't.

What do you think -- is it time for Tonymac to revise their official build recommendations to include other builds? Is it really worth supporting Gigabyte only when other boards often run better and need zero to minimal extra work to do so? I personally don't think having to include a single bootflag, such as PCIRootUID, really should disqualify other brands from receiving the official stamp of approval in light of the problems a lot of Gigabyte boards have. That said, it's not like the boards don't provide ample support, including mods, for those who branch out to other brands.

Your thoughts?
 
The most important thing to consider when recommending a motherboard for a Hackintosh is its compatibility with Mac OS X. Sure, motherboards from other brands aren't very hard to set up, but you still have to flash a patched BIOS beforehand. Gigabyte boards work out of the box. If the only argument against Gigabyte boards are intangible criticisms like "stability", I think there's no reason to stop recommending Gigabyte. After all, a lot of Gigabyte motherboards have always had lower ratings than ASUS boards, even in the past. It's pretty much a given at this point. And a lot of people are willing to take the risk, because it makes setting up their Hackintosh just a bit easier.
 
your post raises a quite a few good points, heres my personal view on it (for what its worth).

the customac list is an easy to use list of known compatible hardware, which people can easily order from.
its not meant to be an exhaustive list, or an all encompassing list. noone is forced to use those recommended boards.
we have the user builds and golden builds forums, which include many systems based around asrock asus msi boards, as well as gigabyte.

the subject of modded bioses can divide opinions. some see it as a non issue, some see it as a deal breaker. that is why going with gigabyte boards in the customac list is easier. if someone wants to pick another brand, its a simple case of researching it. there is lots of info out there.

what kduvernay's z77 matx thread has shown, at least to me, is that many people want and need easy to read, easy to understand information, with clear choices given to them. kduvernay recommends the msi and asus boards listed in his thread over the biostar and asrock choices. result- those msi and asus boards are some of the most popular matx 7 series boards on the forum!

i guess my point is that for clarity and easy following, recommending one brand which is known to work in the customac list works. makes it less messy.
individual members are free make their own 'unofficial customac lists'. for example, the threads by kduvernay, minihack, miramar, neilhart, subaro0o, to name but a few have resulted in there being a wide range of boards used on these forums.

ask not what this site can do for you, but what you can do for this site ;)
 
The most important thing to consider when recommending a motherboard for a Hackintosh is its compatibility with Mac OS X. Sure, motherboards from other brands aren't very hard to set up, but you still have to flash a patched BIOS beforehand. Gigabyte boards work out of the box. If the only argument against Gigabyte boards are intangible criticisms like "stability", I think there's no reason to stop recommending Gigabyte. After all, a lot of Gigabyte motherboards have always had lower ratings than ASUS boards, even in the past. It's pretty much a given at this point. And a lot of people are willing to take the risk, because it makes setting up their Hackintosh just a bit easier.

The need to flash a custom BIOS seems pretty rare these days (I've actually never once seen this suggested!).
 
Which is why Gigabytes are recommend as being the most hack friendly platform.

And with their new Gigabyte 7 Series motherboards you don't even need a DSDT for full power management. How many other manufacturers can say that?

msi, asus (with the exception of the itx board), and biostar 7 series boards dont need dsdt modifications for pm.
 
msi, asus (with the exception of the itx board), and biostar 7 series boards dont need dsdt modifications for pm.

Well said sam! I do not know how many times I hear (From mods)..."I do not know why people buy a non supported board!" (Sabertooth x79) Yet, I see so many success builds here at tonymac. Sort of a contradiction.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top