- Joined
- Jul 29, 2019
- Messages
- 30
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte Z370M-D3H
- CPU
- i7-8700
- Graphics
- RX 580
- Mac
m4a's modest build:
Gigabyte Z370M D3H | i7-7800 | Sapphire RX580 8GB | Mojave 10.14.6
Gigabyte Z370M D3H | i7-7800 | Sapphire RX580 8GB | Mojave 10.14.6
Components
Gigabyte Z370M DS3H
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079LC7VHW/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/1JW-000J-000A7
Intel Core i7-8700
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07598HLB4/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/core-i7-8th-gen-intel-core-i7-8700/p/N82E16819117826
Noctua CPU Cooler NH-U12S 120mm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C9EYVGY/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16835608040
Crucial Ballistix Sport LT White 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 CL16 KIT OF 2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XHTGS4G/?tag=tonymacx86-21
Samsung 970 PRO 512GB
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CJ3RVP3/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-pro-512gb/p/N82E16820147693
Sapphire RX 580 Pulse 8GB
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071CQ5LRV/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/sapphire-radeon-rx-580-100411p8gocl/p/N82E16814202278
Fractal Design Define Mini C Tower mATX Black
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N05CPU8/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811352064
Still waiting on WiFi/Bluetooth stuff from Aliexpress:
Adapter: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32271415660.html
Card: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33012728725.html
Already Owned
LG Ultra HD 27UD88-W Display
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CDYB0QS/?tag=tonymacx86-21
Comments
This was my first build since Windows XP times when I was like 16. It was super fun, and I enjoyed it a lot.
I choose micro ATX motherboard because of the fairly compact size. I was looking at Z390 as well, but went for 370 because I saw less issues in users builds with it. For the video card, I picked Sapphire RX 580 in hopes that it would work out of the box and it looks like it did. Samsung 970 pro SSD was a no brainer since the price difference with evo was like 20 eur in my country. For a long time I couldn't decide between i5 8600 and i7 8700, but since I do some video editing from time to time, I decided to spend a little extra and future proof my hackintosh a bit. I am so impressed with Fractal Design's case, it's super silent, great cable management, compact and looks very good. I'm glad I went with this option. Probably went a bit overkill with the Noctua cooler, but oh well, it's super silent as well and seems to be keeping temperatures wery low.
Installation Notes:
Pretty much went with the standard Installation Guide from tonymacx86. BIOS version was F7 and didn't bother changing that. Made a little mistake with buying 32GB USB 3.0 flash drive. Got the usual "Still waiting for root device" when installing OS. Couldn't figure out how to get it working so I bought another flash drive. This time 16GB USB 2.0 and installation went perfect.
Post installation front side audio jack was working but the backside motherboard audio ports were not. Used toleda's audio guide to fix it. Worked only when didn't select "Optional 3 port" options. At least one port works. That's all I need.
Fixed iMessage using "An iDiot's Guide To iMessage". Worked after the first try. Yay!
Yesterday found out that I can't open jpeg images. Used Averett's "Fix for Finder Preview not working on Mojave 10.14.1+" to fix the issue. Works fine now.
One thing I have noticed having issue with is, if I plug my MacBook (USB-C) and hackintosh (HDMI) into my monitor at the same time, sometimes when I switch between devices, it shows that hackintosh is not plugged in. Then I have to unplug HDMI and plug it back in and it works again. This is not how I will work usually, so I am not too worried about it.
Other than that, the system is super stable, no crashes what so ever. It's quieter than my 2017 MacBook Pro. I can't even hear it.
Summary
What Works
So far everything that should work, works:
Sleep/wake with a keyboard press or mouse
iMessage/App store
All the USB 3.0 and USB-C ports
Audio front and back (just 1 back port though, but I don't care about the rest)
Ethernet worked out of the box
4K
Final cut, Adobe apps and everything else I have installed.
Wifi/Bluetooth
Unlock with Apple Watch (somewhat, see the update)
Benchmarks
I'm pretty stoked about these results. It runs as 2019 21" iMac which if would be similarly configured would cost around 2500 Eur. I paid around 850 Eur for parts + around 400 Eur for the monitor (which I had already).
Only thing I am a bit worries about is backups. Not sure what would be the best way of doing a backup. Should I grab a 500 GB HDD disk, add it in and do a backup every day using time machine?
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