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[Solved?] i5-8400 on H310 M-ITX: Advices appreciated on First Build

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Joined
Jun 3, 2018
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Motherboard
ASUS Prime H310T/CSM
CPU
i5-8400
Graphics
UHD 630
Mac
  1. MacBook Air
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
Hi,
I decided that I will try to build a medium-duty machine (no gaming/intensive job/OC) that can fit into a Mac Mini enclosure to replace my veteran mid-11 MBA. Let's not talk about Mac Mini enclosure for a while (cooling is rather hard XD) but the key components themselves.

I will use this computer mostly for browsing and office/school work, but since I have a bad habit of hoarding tabs, I would need a rather big RAM. Also, I do some music composing, light 3D designing, and drawing as hobbies.

I have found out that ASUS recently launched a new Thin Mini-ITX motherboard, namely the Prime H310T. I could have gone with an H110 or Q170 MoBo, but 1) I want to use a newer CPU (Coffee Lake or Kaby Lake), 2) it seems that it is the best to match up the gen. of CPU and the chipset, and 3) gigabyte's MFH27AI is just a lie—I SPEND TWO DAYS GOOGLING AND ALL I FOUND WERE EUROPEAN SELLERS WITH NO STOCKS (FRUSTRATION INTENSIFIES). So, on a budget of around $800 and a cap of $1k, the components I am thinking is as the following:
  • ASUS Prime H310T, w/ Realtek RTL8111H & ALC 887 and UEFI AMI BIOS: most likely about $100
  • i5-8500: $205
  • intel stock cooler
  • onboard intel UHD 630 graphics
  • DDR4-2666MHz SoDIMM (16G) x1 (since I am so frustrated with my MBA's 4G memory): $190~
  • 500G WD blue M.2 SATA SDD x1: $110
  • DW1830 wifi+BLE card: $30~
  • 18V 250W home-brew PSU (based on a high-power LED power supply): $50~
I will either buy a cheap ITX case before I take care of the cooling for my ambitious plan or just let the whole computer run exposed for a while (since everything is secured onto the MoBo itself, I should be fine...right?).

As the motherboard is so new it is only available on eBay from Israel, I assume that no one tested if it's Hackintosh-compatible; so, probably all we can do is to read the spec page and hope it would work.

So then...
  1. How much faster is NVMe SSDs versus SATA ones? Should I add that add'l $50 to $60 to upgrade to an NVMe instead?
  2. I saw seldom mentions of i5-8500, nor is it in the buyer's guide. Should I just go with it, step down to 8400, or step up to 8600K? Or, any other CPU recommendations?
  3. Do you guys think this plan would work? Will I have any hardware that might be incompatible for Hackintosh?
Thank you so much for the help!

(If it won't, I'll probably just build a Windows machine somehow...)
 
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Well, this is sinking, and I am not sure if I should start a new thread...

Anyways, now I think I will be settled on i5-8500, and I will try the build anyhow. The big question now becomes:

Is it worth that $50 to $60 to upgrade from an M.2 SATA SSD to an M.2 NVMe SSD?

BTW, I plan to install High Sierra (not that I have any other choices w/ Coffee Lake).
 
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Well, this is sinking, and I am not sure if I should start a new thread...

Anyways, now I think I will be settled on i5-8500, and I will try the build anyhow. The big question now becomes:

Is it worth that $50 to $60 to upgrade from an M.2 SATA SSD to an M.2 NVMe SSD?

BTW, I plan to install High Sierra (not that I have any other choices w/ Coffee Lake).
If you plan to put Asas H310t/csm inside a Mac mini case, you should get a 35w CPU like i5 8500t. Search Mac mini 2011 buid andyou will see other threads using Mac mini case. I did use Asus H110t/csm with i5 7500t. Cooling indeed is a major issue. I printed two bottom covers and found it is important to install a fan blowing out hot air when the room temp is high recently.
 
Did you have any luck with this build? I'm considering the same motherboard coupled with an Akasa fanless case for a compact, silent and VESA-mountable build. I'd assume it would be similar to getting a h370 board running, which doesn't seem all that difficult, but I'd love to hear what your thoughts on it are.

1. The performance difference is there but isn't noticeable in day-to-day use IMO. I notice zero difference between my Samsung 840 (SATA) and Samsung 960 EVO (NVMe)
2. All 8th gen i5 and i7 CPUs should be fine but the i3 does require some extra work.
3. I think DW1830 requires three antennas, which could be a hassle, otherwise not really
 
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Hi,

I have just finished a build with similar specs, using the information on this forum:

- Akasa Euler MX
- Asus H310T Prime
- Intel i5-8500T
- Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666MHz SoDIMM
- Adata XPG X8200 480GB

I'm using the integrated graphics and a USB soundcard. Everything's working fine except shutdown doesn't function properly. Have tried the Clover shutdown fix, but that didn't do the trick.

Geekbench scores for the CPU are around 4600 (single) and 17700 (multi), pretty decent I think.
 
Hi,

I have just finished a build with similar specs, using the information on this forum:

- Akasa Euler MX
- Asus H310T Prime
- Intel i5-8500T
- Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666MHz SoDIMM
- Adata XPG X8200 480GB

I'm using the integrated graphics and a USB soundcard. Everything's working fine except shutdown doesn't function properly. Have tried the Clover shutdown fix, but that didn't do the trick.

Geekbench scores for the CPU are around 4600 (single) and 17700 (multi), pretty decent I think.
Hello, can you share your EFI folder with me, please? I have same logic board and can't figure out how to properly set Intel UHD 630. Whatever I do, I always boot to black screen. Thanks.
 
I'll make it easy for you, here's my kexts folder (from /EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other). All I did so far was adding the right kexts. Both SMBIOS 14,2 and 17,1 seem to be working nicely with the integrated graphics.
 

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I'll make it easy for you, here's my kexts folder (from /EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other). All I did so far was adding the right kexts. Both SMBIOS 14,2 and 17,1 seem to be working nicely with the integrated graphics.
Thanks, but my problem is not in kexts. Which macOS version did you use? Can you share your Clover config?

EDIT: I've already figured it out... i need to inject EDID.
 
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OK, that's great. btw. I don't know anything about EDID, sorry about that. Did you manage to finish your build? Are your USB ports and shutdown/restart functioning as well?
 
OK, that's great. btw. I don't know anything about EDID, sorry about that. Did you manage to finish your build? Are your USB ports and shutdown/restart functioning as well?
Yes, USB ports and shutdown/restart working ok. I create a Custom SSDT for USBInjectAll.kext according to these RehabMan instructions - https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-creating-a-custom-ssdt-for-usbinjectall-kext.211311/
For proper shutdown/restart you must use "OsxAptioFixDrv-64.efi" from Clover install, with "AptioMemoryFix-64.efi" or "OsxAptioFix3Drv-64.efi" it won't shutdown or restart.
 
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