- Joined
- Nov 17, 2014
- Messages
- 30
- Motherboard
- Asus Z97-Deluxe
- CPU
- I7 4790-k
- Graphics
- GTX 760
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
BigJ's CustoMac Pro:
Asus Z97-Deluxe (NFC & WLC) / i7-4790K / GTX 760 / 16 GB / OSX 10.10.1
Asus Z97-Deluxe (NFC & WLC) / i7-4790K / GTX 760 / 16 GB / OSX 10.10.1
Components
Asus Z97-Deluxe (NFC & WLC) - simply because it includes the Asus ThunderboltEX II Duo card bundled in the pack.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K2MATEI/
Intel Core i7-4790K
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KPRWAX8/
Asus GeForce GTX 760 DirectCU II OC -2GB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DBPKEOI/
Corsair CMY16GX3M2A 1866 C9R Vengeance Pro Series 16GB (2x 8GB)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D2LGRO2/
Samsung 840 Evo 250 GB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3W1726/
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005T3GRNW/
Apple USB DvD Drive
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008AL9VXI/
Corsair Builder Series CXM 750W Semi-Modular PSU
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ALK3KEM/
Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Case (CC-90110300WW)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D6GINF4/
IOGear GBU521W6 - Bluetooth 4.0 USB Micro Adapter
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007GFX0PY/
Corsair H100i Hydro Series Cooler (240mm radiator)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZN2NH6/
Already Owned
Steel Series WoW MMO Gaming Mouse
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005L38QHA/
Apple Thunderbolt Display 27''
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YLCKYA/
Apple USB Keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DLDTAE/
Comments
1. My objective was to build a mac that was also capable of decent gaming (eg. WoW in Ultra with 45FPS in most places and no stutters and lags)
2. I also wanted something very stable with most things working (almost seamlessly)
3. I really wanted to take advantage of the 27' Apple Thunderbolt Display that I already had.Installation
Instructions: (follow this order exactly, don't skip ahead)
- Build your PC without the thunderbolt card (keep it outside) and boot in windows (I have a separate Windows 8 SSD from another PC I just popped in to get me started)
- Use a non thunderbolt monitor at this stage
- Update your BIOS to the latest version 2XXXX
- Load all your motherboard drivers and tune the board so it's running a really nice windows machine
- Install the Thunderbolt drivers for windows
- Power down PC and install the thunderbolt card
- Boot into windows (to activate the thunderbolt card in the bios)
- Restart and go into Bios make these changes:
Boot>Security>Other OS
Advanced>Thunderbold Config>
Security - set to none
Cache - 128K
- Plug in the Thunderbolt Monitor and then turn on PCAdvanced>Thunderbold Config>
Security - set to none
Cache - 128K
- Boot back into windows and see your thunderbolt monitor come alive as well as your standard monitor
Now we have a machine that's ready for OSX.
Follow these instructions to get a UniBeast bootable USB and stick it in the front USB panel (http://www.tonymacx86.com/445-unibeast-install-os-x-yosemite-any-supported-intel-based-pc.html)
Step 4 (in the instructions link above): you may get some kernel panics - it has to do with memory. Use "-maxmem 4096" as a boot argument if you have 16gb like me
Install OS X and then restart. Use the USB stick to boot and then select your OS X Installation on your hard drive to boot.
NOW STOP Following the directions above - before you get to MultiBeast step 6.
Use your separate mac to ensure you have a iCloud account/iTunes ID/Apple store ID/FaceTime, etc.
Input those in the relevant places of the install of OS X (eg. when it prompts you - don't skip, input at this stage) This will guarantee you can use iMessage/FaceTime/iTunes/etc,etc etc
Now install MultiBeast (download here: http://www.tonymacx86.com/downloads) I used the following config which I have attached to this post. (Load and then build)
Working:
- Thunderbolt display with hot swap most items (as long as they have been previously identified in windows) Beware: if your computer goes to sleep you loose FaceTime camera, mike and sound
- Audio: Front plate as headphones - with kexts from MultiBeast
- Thunderbolt display audio as USB (OOB once you recognize it in windows)
- Thunderbolt display FaceTime HD camera and Microphone (OOB)
- Discrete Video Card (OOB)
- Ethernet on-board (OOB)
- Intel SATA chipset requires kexts from MultiBeast
- USB 3,0 onboard (OOB)
- iMessage/Facetime/AppStore/Itunes (everything works just fine as long as you input your email address (iCloud accounts) before multicast and while installing OSX rather than after. Naturally then never log out of iCloud, etc)
Not Working
- Sleep function
- Built in WiFi
- Didn't try to get built in Bluetooth to work because the little £5 IOgear device is so small and so inconsequential, and it works OOB.
If anyone can help me to get the Wi-Fi working and the sleep function I would be really grateful. Otherwise, a really solid system here, no crashes, no issues, just don't let it go to sleep (disable), or the bluetooth, the Thunderbolt screen's sound (speaker/mike/camera) all stop working).