Silent HTPC Build: Streacom DB4 case, ASRock Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITX/ac, Core i5-7600, Sierra

[GerhardZ]

Good luck with your efforts! I'm guessing you've got WiFi/BT already sorted, right?

Thanks! As this is my first Hackintosh, I've been going through a huge learning curve, but so far I'm quite happy with the results.

With the DW1560 card, BT and Wifi are easy to get working. Am typing this message from my sofa on my wireless Apple keyboard and trackpad

 

[smoldersonline]

That's just great - congratulations! It's an amazing rig. In the event my (Plex) Mac mini would die on me, I will certainly also consider this case.

I'm close to pulling the trigger on this motherboard, but that rig would then serve as my main desktop workhorse.

 

[GerhardZ]

That's just great - congratulations! It's an amazing rig. In the event my (Plex) Mac mini would die on me, I will certainly also consider this case.

I'm close to pulling the trigger on this motherboard, but that rig would then serve as my main desktop workhorse.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this case. The quality is amazing and after using it for some time now, it really does control the temperature really well.

The motherboard is great, but keep in mind that some minor issues can only be fixed once Apple supports this chipset natively. Hopefully in a few months.

 

[smoldersonline]

Are you referring to the Intel HD Graphics 630, or are there any other issues? Thanks again!

 

[lee.iii.will]

Nice setup! I was actually contemplating the EXACT same setup just a month ago. I've got the DB4 and the ZeroFlex240 as well! I decided I didn't want to buy all new parts just to have Thunderbolt 3 and a few percent speed improvement. I'm waiting for 2+ Thunderbolt 3 ports and a bit better support for them. I'm using a Impact Vii, i5-4690K, HDPlex 300W PSU, M.2 NVMe, 4x hdd's. I may end up making a build log here when my MDPC-x sleeving gets in and I finish that up!

Also, just a heads up, you have the passive heatsink setup a bit differently than Streacom recommends. Check out page 12 in the Streacom Manual. They say it should have the heatpipes outward facing, directly in contact with the side of the case. Though, I am curious, what do your temps look like? I am curious if they'd be any better. Have you done a stress test and recorded Idle numbers? Also, do you plan on getting the LH6 Heatpipe kit? If you'd just like a lower temps, it may be worthwhile! I'm currently working on some custom bent heat pipes so I can install mine since my Power Daughter card gets in the way.

 

[GerhardZ]

Are you referring to the Intel HD Graphics 630, or are there any other issues? Thanks again!

Intel HD630 is working fine. However, I didn't manage to get HDMI audio to work after a major effort with Rehabman. Also, this is an HTPC, so it's connected directly to my TV. Whenever I turn my TV off and on again, the screen stays black. I need to log in remotely from my laptop and cycle the monitor resolution in order to get rid of the black screen (or a hard restart of the computer).

Also, on restarting the computer, I often get the 'forbidden' logo. I'll then have to reboot a few more times until it boots OK. Not sure why that is...

What's working well:
- Regular sound out through the Voodoo 2.8.9 kext. This motherboard has really good onboard sound. A major improvement from my old Mac mini.
- Ethernet
- Wifi and Bluetooth (with DW1560 card)
- USB3

Guess I'll have to be patient and wait for more native support for Kaby Lake from MacOs.

 

[GerhardZ]

You will not be alone with this motherboard. My Fatality it's on the way!
I will focus immediately on the "Thunder". I think we will have to follow a path similar to this:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...-ga-z170x-ud5-th-i5-6600k.199242/#Thunderbolt
But on a untested mobo, on a different producer, and we are not Tony


What do you mean with basic to sort? This mother board has glitches?

Great to hear I will have some company soon in the quest to get this MB fully functional! Please let me know when you receive it so we can compare notes and try things together.

The motherboard is amazing, no glitches, but since MacOS still doesn't natively support Kaby Lake, not everything is working perfectly. See my post above for an overview.

I'm sure that with time and persistence, we'll get it to work perfectly

 

[GerhardZ]

Nice setup! I was actually contemplating the EXACT same setup just a month ago. I've got the DB4 and the ZeroFlex240 as well! I decided I didn't want to buy all new parts just to have Thunderbolt 3 and a few percent speed improvement. I'm waiting for 2+ Thunderbolt 3 ports and a bit better support for them. I'm using a Impact Vii, i5-4690K, HDPlex 300W PSU, M.2 NVMe, 4x hdd's. I may end up making a build log here when my MDPC-x sleeving gets in and I finish that up!

Also, just a heads up, you have the passive heatsink setup a bit differently than Streacom recommends. Check out page 12 in the Streacom Manual. They say it should have the heatpipes outward facing, directly in contact with the side of the case. Though, I am curious, what do your temps look like? I am curious if they'd be any better. Have you done a stress test and recorded Idle numbers? Also, do you plan on getting the LH6 Heatpipe kit? If you'd just like a lower temps, it may be worthwhile! I'm currently working on some custom bent heat pipes so I can install mine since my Power Daughter card gets in the way.

Thanks See.ii.will. I was contemplating the same strategy to stick with the better supported Skylake chipset. I know that from a performance perspective there's no notable gain with KL. It was really the Thunderbolt port on this ITX MB that messed with my brain into going the unsupported KL route. Definitely a lot more challenging, but let's just say this has become my new midnight hobby

Thanks for the heads up on the heat pipes. I'm quite sure I followed the manual exactly, but I'll have another look. My heatsink is directly in contact with the outer case, so don't understand what I could have done wrong. My CPU temperature is around 50C. The outside of the case feels slightly warm to the hand, but definitely not hot. Since I'm using it as an HTPC (no gaming at all), I don't think I'm stressing the CPU much (no overclocking either). As such, I don't se much need for the extra LH6 pipes.

Look forward to your build log and pictures. Sounds like you have an amazing setup.

 

[GerhardZ]

Handoff/Continuity is working with your Broadcom 1560 (m.2 version)?
I am considering to buy one from China.

Sorry, I haven't tried that yet as I don't use those functions on my HTPC. This purely a rig for downloading torrents and playing videos through Plex.

 

[lee.iii.will]

Thanks for the heads up on the heat pipes. I'm quite sure I followed the manual exactly, but I'll have another look. My heatsink is directly in contact with the outer case, so don't understand what I could have done wrong. My CPU temperature is around 50C. The outside of the case feels slightly warm to the hand, but definitely not hot. Since I'm using it as an HTPC (no gaming at all), I don't think I'm stressing the CPU much (no overclocking either). As such, I don't se much need for the extra LH6 pipes.

Look forward to your build log and pictures. Sounds like you have an amazing setup.

I've thrown together a few quick images to show you what I mean:

So the large\long aluminum heat spreader should have the side with the heat pipes facing the case wall, rather than the inside of the case. In theory you should see a bit better thermal performance since the copper comes in direct contact(maybe with some thermal paste), with the actual heatsink. If you're seeing 50C temps under normal use you may not have any issues, though. Also, you may want to look into undervolting your processor. In a situation like this, where you have limited cooling capacity, it helps if less heat is generated. If you do a search on Youtube there are some good videos that will show about a 20C heat reduction under full processor load. I've got my i5-4690K undervolted by 0.099 V and have dropped my temps by about 18-20C when under load without any performance loss.

Just got my sleeving in last night from MDPC-x and I'm quite excited to get that done! Part of the reason I'm no longer using my ZeroFlex 240 is because it only has two Sata Power connectors...Kinda low even for an ITX setup. That and the AC to DC conversion is where most heat is generated(when working with a very efficient PSU) so using an external power brick brought down my internal case temps by about 2-3C(with the minimal testing that I did).


Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help in some way! Best of luck with the board\KL hack project!