Spec'd out x99 Mac Pro for around $3k - Need some advice

[bbish937]

So I've just decided to build myself a Hackintosh. Since, I was originally considering buying an actual Mac Pro for around 5k without any peripherals, I'm willing to expand my budget a bit in terms of the Hackintosh. I read through the buyer's guide and had a few curiosities...What about x99, Haswell, and TB ports for El Capitan? So I went ahead and spec'd the ideal build that I would want to start with and I just wanted some advice from any experienced Hackintosh builders here or just let alone pc rigs. So I'm just wondering how this setup would work, if it would work, what you guys think, and any suggestions you may have?

All advice is welcome, not sure if the parts/case will exactly mesh well but I'm learning

So here's the beast, or at least I think:

OS: El Capitan

• MOBO: Asus X99 Deluxe w/ Thunderbolt adapter = $540

• CASE: Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 - arctic white = $120

• COOLER: Swiftech H240-X All-in-One Liquid Cooling Kit = $150

• CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.5GHz LGA 2011-v3 = $500

• RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB Kit (8GBx4) DDR4 2400 = ​$220

• SSD#1: Samsung SM951 256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD = $200

• SSD#2: Samsung 850 EVO 2 TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD = $700

• EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB SC+ GAMING ACX 2.0+ = $600

• POWER: EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR 80 PLUS GOLD 850 = $150

I've also included prices I found from amazon/newegg these are rounded some up some down. So if anyone was curious of certain cost of things these are semi-accurate, but if anyone knows any cheaper prices please share.

Thanks!

 

[BillStewart]

I'm considering building a very similar build.

Are you concerned at all by the reviews for the Mobo?

 

[bbish937]

A little, I think the general reviews are misleading due to simple statistical problems such as bias and small population size. The reviews on Amazon for the Asus X99 Deluxe are around a 4/5 but you also have to consider that many of the people who gave it bad reviews, if it was good may have not given a review at all. Reviews that have a small population size tend to side negatively as people habitually will have the desire to make a review if they've had a bad experience over a good one. This of course is not true with all reviews or all people but so I don't judge the MOBO off of those.

What I am worried about is the reviews of x99 working in general with El Capitan. It seems to be quite on the rare side and that makes me nervous.

My overall 4 worries I hope to be answered, which is why I made this post. Hopefully someone with the experience or knowledge can shed some light on these.

1. Using an X99 MOBO with OSX, specifically El Capitan? Does the handoff/phone call/sms work?

2. How does the EVGA GTX 980ti interact with OSX, specifically El Capitan? I have heard some horror stories using this graphics card.

3. How does the Intel Core I7-5930K work with this build and OSX?

4. Finally, any issues with the RAM/MOBO/CPU combo for El Capitan?

I'm new to the whole hackintosh game and although this is the ideal build I'd want to have, I understand there might be necessary changes for compatibility. But I'd like it to work with El Capitan, bc that is what I'm currently running.