[SUCCESS] first build ever - Gigabyte & Corsair 650D

[orestesdd]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

Vendetta, initially I will NOT overclock the CPU since I am fairly new at building. Heck, this is my first time EVER. If I OC the CPU, I will have to learn how to do it, and when I do it, I will follow your advice of not doing it to the point of messing up with RAM. In my case, it will have to be simple OC.

Most people are aware of the issue with fitting a cooler along with big RAM, so most reviewers will mention any conflicts in this area. Most coolers have removable fans on both sides of the heatsink, and typically you can remove the fan from the side that the RAM is on to make room for said RAM. But, check out some reviews and see what people have to say.

This is a great advice regarding high profile RAM. I will still go with the low profile to be safe.

Regarding the GPU, I was talking to a few other people here in another thread and this is how I got to pick that GPU model. I just hope it will work too. Initially I liked a Shapphire 6870 GPU which lots of people have used, but since the model was a little old, it is hard to find (the model was from 2010).

Now about the SSD, I will stick to the one I picked above. If in the final cut I have enough money for the 120 Vertex 3, than I will buy one.

For this system "Mac OS X", I will not play games. I preferred console games. If I play a game, it will be on Windows even though I am more in favor of installing Ubuntu as a dual boot. My plans for this "hackintosh" are to learn xCode and how to program for a Mac OS. Another thing I will try will be to install "eclipse" and MAMP to create a small internal web server at home. Anyhow, thanks for writing your comments and advice here.

 

[Vendetta]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

Regarding the GPU, I was talking to a few other people here in another thread and this is how I got to pick that GPU model. I just hope it will work too. Initially I liked a Shapphire 6870 GPU which lots of people have used, but since the model was a little old, it is hard to find (the model was from 2010).

Now about the SSD, I will stick to the one I picked above. If in the final cut I have enough money for the 120 Vertex 3, than I will buy one.

For this system "Mac OS X", I will not play games. I preferred console games. If I play a game, it will be on Windows even though I am more in favor of installing Ubuntu as a dual boot. My plans for this "hackintosh" are to learn xCode and how to program for a Mac OS. Another thing I will try will be to install "eclipse" and MAMP to create a small internal web server at home. Anyhow, thanks for writing your comments and advice here.

Not sure if you saw my post edit, but you can get the Vertex 3 120GB right now for about the same price as the 90GB. Worth it if that's something you're interested in.

 

[orestesdd]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

Vendetta, I did see your post, but I cannot buy anything until next month, and at the earliest it will be June 15, for I am waiting to get paid some quarterly dividends from my stock investments. Besides, I am afraid to buy something when I am ready to build just in case a part comes DOA.

One more thing, I may have to change the case which seems to be about 3 inches deeper than what I want or have room for. I will start looking for a replacement, preferably Corsair. According to newegg website, the size of the white case is 23.30" x 10.40" x 20.00", and I believe that the 23.3" how deep or long is the case from the front to the back. I can't only have a case with 22" deep at the most. Any how, thanks for your other post.

 

[Vendetta]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

Vendetta, I did see your post, but I cannot buy anything until next month, and at the earliest it will be June 15, for I am waiting to get paid some quarterly dividends from my stock investments. Besides, I am afraid to buy something when I am ready to build just in case a part comes DOA.

One more thing, I may have to change the case which seems to be about 3 inches deeper than what I want or have room for. I will start looking for a replacement, preferably Corsair. According to newegg website, the size of the white case is 23.30" x 10.40" x 20.00", and I believe that the 23.3" how deep or long is the case from the front to the back. I can't only have a case with 22" deep at the most. Any how, thanks for your other post.

I understand. Just thought if you could swing the $100 now, it'd be a good deal for you. No worries.

Also, for a case, look no further:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811352015

 

[Stork]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

orestesdd,
I concur with Gordo74's and Vendetta's advice. I've found both of the wise fellows who know their stuff. I'd been a Mac type of guy since my first SE/30 in the late 80's. So, I lucked out in the Fall of 2010 when I decided to build the entry level tonymacx86 Recommend Build. (It's now the core of my HacHTPC.) Vendetta provided sage advice, then, and, actually, made the build simple. Since that time, I've used Gordo74's advice on a regular basis, too. So, while you may feel you're sailing in uncharted waters, you one up on the rest of the Noobs.

Here's my two cents. Go with what you can afford or just need for today with upgrading in mind.
- General: if you aren't in a hurry, Newegg (and Micro Center if you're near one) have good sales on a weekly, sometimes daily. Sign up for Newegg's newsletters. Good stuff at VG prices which Amazon sometimes matches within hours on it's site.

- GPU: If I was a betting man, I bet on Apple adding more graphics cards in the next releases for Lion and/or Mt. Lion. While a 6870 is the best card that Apple currently supports, there are other less expensive cards to get you going. I'm starting to see the 77xx series for less than $175 which no doubt will be supported by Apple in the near future. Keep an eye out for sales.

- Memory/CPU Cooler/Case. Kinda mutually exclusive choices. I started out with G.Skill Ripjaws which had fins. What a PITA with the CPU Cooler I used (Sycthe Mugen 2)! So, I eventually replaced the Ripjaws with G.Skill ECO series. I'm currently running Corsair's Vengeance Low Profile White 1.35v in Zorro. Recently, I picked up a Cooler Master 212 Plus CPU Cooler; I'm impressed and highly recommend it for it's cooling and minimum interference with the memory. Cooling is also a case design consideration. There are several good review articles on silent cases that are highly effective with their cooling. I've got a Corsair 600T (HUGE!) and a Lian Li PC-A05NB, both of which are great at cooling and are quiet. I have Gelid fans sitting on the shelf that are extra quiet for my Mac Pro Case project. And, Gordo74 has been prodding me to get a Fractal Refine Design R3 case to see what a really silent case is about. Consequently, memory dimensions and the CPU cooler are to be considered together while the CPU Cooler needs to be matched to the case's cooling design and width of the case.

- Power Supply. There are a couple of PSU calculators out there. Try a couple. The GPU mfgr will likely recommend a minimum PSU wattage for their cards. IIRC, my Gigabyte 5770 "Batmobile" had a recommended 500 watts. So, unless you plan to run two GPUs and gobs of hard drives, 550-650 will do you fine. I've got several makes, but I will only buy Seasonic from now on. Very well designed, efficient PSU's some of which are fully modular. Expensive though, but Newegg just had a sale on the 750W Gold Seasonic - regular discount of $159 on Sale for $120.

In conclusion, the Sandy Bridge mobo and CPU you've selected will serve you well. The selection order of importance: mobo/CPU, GPU and optical drive(?!) are the components that you need to pay attention to when selecting a Hackintosh system. (Optical drives sometimes cause problems with installation and sleep/wake-up. Apple uses Sony and Pioneer in their desktop systems. Thus, all the tonymacx86 Recommended Builds have the Sony listed. But, my Sonys are noisy, and I've found the LG Lightscribe version for ~$25 USD to work fine and are relatively quite when burning.)

You've got your build. Now watch for the sales.

Good luck! Report back with your finds and experience.

 

[orestesdd]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

Stork, thanks very much for making all these nice comments. Let me explain what I am doing. By the way, I am not taking this thing lightly, for I want to do my best to build something I am proud of. Probably this will be my first and last build, for I am at the sunset of my career.

... And, Gordo74 has been prodding me to get a Fractal Refine Design R3 case to see what a really silent case is about. Consequently, memory dimensions and the CPU cooler are to be considered together while the CPU Cooler needs to be matched to the case's cooling design and width of the case.

Anyhow, I took a look at Fractal Refine Design R3, but I had an issue with a heat-sink which I was about to select. For instance, I just decided to pick a heat-sink which you also mentioned; that is, a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, but then during further research I found out I needed a case which should be 8" wide or wider; thus, I had to switch cases once more, and I decided to go with a Corsair Obsidian 650D.

- Power Supply. There are a couple of PSU calculators out there. Try a couple. The GPU mfgr will likely recommend a minimum PSU wattage for their cards. IIRC, my Gigabyte 5770 "Batmobile" had a recommended 500 watts. So, unless you plan to run two GPUs and gobs of hard drives, 550-650 will do you fine. I've got several makes, but I will only buy Seasonic from now on. Very well designed, efficient PSU's some of which are fully modular. Expensive though, but Newegg just had a sale on the 750W Gold Seasonic - regular discount of $159 on Sale for $120.

I do like, for no reason, Corsair PSU, and I don't work for or own stocks of Corsair. However, I will take a look at Seasonic. I only plan to have two OSes install, but for now I will only have Mac OS X Snow Leopard. I do plan to have one SSD and possibly 2 or 3 HDDs, but nothing more than that. For now, it will only be one SSD and one HDD. Thus, should I go for a 750w instead of a 650 just for future upgrades?

(Optical drives sometimes cause problems with installation and sleep/wake-up. Apple uses Sony and Pioneer in their desktop systems. Thus, all the tonymacx86 Recommended Builds have the Sony listed. But, my Sonys are noisy, and I've found the LG Lightscribe version for ~$25 USD to work fine and are relatively quite when burning.)

A question here regarding your DVD drive comment, should I go with the LG drive you mentioned? If so, could you handle the link to the actual drive in "newegg" or "amazon"?

I hope you read this at least one more time since I will be making changes to the original post until I actually settle down and buy the hardware. I already bought the SL DVD from Apple, and a 16GB thumb drive to help me with the install. I got already a DVD burned with iBoot to SL install (10.6 version). I can't wait to hear more from all of you who has helped me so far. Thanks once more.

 

[Vendetta]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

Anyhow, I took a look at Fractal Refine Design R3, but I had an issue with a heat-sink which I was about to select. For instance, I just decided to pick a heat-sink which you also mentioned; that is, a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus, but then during further research I found out I needed a case which should be 8" wide or wider; thus, I had to switch cases once more, and I decided to go with a Corsair Obsidian 650D.

I do like, for no reason, Corsair PSU, and I don't work for or own stocks of Corsair. However, I will take a look at Seasonic. I only plan to have two OSes install, but for now I will only have Mac OS X Snow Leopard. I do plan to have one SSD and possibly 2 or 3 HDDs, but nothing more than that. For now, it will only be one SSD and one HDD. Thus, should I go for a 750w instead of a 650 just for future upgrades?


A question here regarding your DVD drive comment, should I go with the LG drive you mentioned? If so, could you handle the link to the actual drive in "newegg" or "amazon"?

I hope you read this at least one more time since I will be making changes to the original post until I actually settle down and buy the hardware. I already bought the SL DVD from Apple, and a 16GB thumb drive to help me with the install. I got already a DVD burned with iBoot to SL install (10.6 version). I can't wait to hear more from all of you who has helped me so far. Thanks once more.

Just to note, the Fractal Design is more than 8" wide. Also, the cooler you've chosen is only .25" taller than the cooler Gordo used for his own build inside of the Fractal Design case. I'm sure he would tell you that there is plenty of room in there for the cooler. He'll have to be the final word on that though.

Just as a heads up, I'm pretty sure Seasonic makes Corsair PSUs. They're both quality, but Seasonic has been held in high regard for a long time. Either way, I say you just find the best deal that suits your needs. If you don't need a fully modular PSU, you can get a better deal. As far as the size goes, it's really up to you. While 750w gives you more headroom, it's likely just all a waste. Not to mention, most PSU perform most efficiently when they're under load. Bigger is not necessarily always better.

I'd go with the Sony Optiarc myself, that's the most proven drive for hack.

 

[orestesdd]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

I'd go with the Sony Optiarc myself, that's the most proven drive for hack.

OK, I will not give a second thought at the DVD drive. It will be Sony to play it safe. Thanks.

 

[Bobcat86]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

Vendetta wrote:
Just as a heads up, I'm pretty sure Seasonic makes Corsair PSUs. They're both quality, but Seasonic has been held in high regard for a long time. Either way, I say you just find the best deal that suits your needs. If you don't need a fully modular PSU, you can get a better deal. As far as the size goes, it's really up to you. While 750w gives you more headroom, it's likely just all a waste. Not to mention, most PSU perform most efficiently when they're under load. Bigger is not necessarily always better.

Having built hundreds of Wintel PC's in previous life, I can tell you that the bigger the PSU the better. As Vendetta rightly noted, PSUs perform better when under load and the quality/stability of the voltages start degrading when going over 50% capacity. As this is the part that you will less likely change, it is worth investing more in this one as speed or obsolescence is not a factor here. Furthermore, a bigger PSU will be ready for anything you would wish to throw at it, for testing or upgrading purposes, without creating capacity issues.

For any other part, I suggest middle of the road performance. This year's high performance/price is next year's (sometimes 6 months) middle performance/price. High performance parts have a serious tendency to quickly go down in price when newer models are introduced.

You could have a decently performing Hackintosh forever if you wisely choose your middle of the road and upgrade regularly.

BTW I have an LG optical drive and no issues.

Just my $.02 !

 

[orestesdd]

Re: first build ever - Hackintosh or otherwise

You could have a decently performing Hackintosh forever if you wisely choose your middle of the road and upgrade regularly.

BTW I have an LG optical drive and no issues.

Just my $.02 !

Thanks very much for your comments. I really appreciate them.