[SUCCESS] i7-2600K, GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3, GV-R5876P-2GD-B, 10.7.2

[Lorphos]

[SUCCESS] i7-2600K, GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3, GV-R5876P-2GD-B, 10.9.3

The original install was using OS 10.7.2 and subsequently upgraded. For the most up-to-date information regarding the most recent operating system version, please always check the most recent posts in this thread.

Lorphos' Build: i7-2600K - GA-Z68X-UD3H - GV-R5876P-2GD-B - 10.7.2​

Apple OS X Lion @ Mac App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/os-x-lion/id444303913?mt=12

Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev 1.3 BIOS F8
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00518M74I/

Graphics: Gigabyte GV-R5876P-2GD-B (ATI Radeon HD 5870 2GB Eyefinity 6) (used, off eBay)

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXSA/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

Cooler: Thermalright HR-02 Macho
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ERSN7G/

Memory: 16 GB, 2x G.SKILL F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT (4Gx2) DDR3-1333Mhz (PC3-10666)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004G8KCGO/

HDD: Crucial M4 SSD 128GB (SATA 6GB/s)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W2JKZI/

HDD: Seagate 500GB SATA 7200rpm drive
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TLIEHC

DVD: LG GH22NS70 DVD writer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136238

Bluetooth: ioGear GBU221WM USB Bluetooth (Broadcom)

Monitors: Viewsonic VP2290b (4x DVI, 3840x2400, 22.2"), Dell 2405FPW (1920x1200, 24")

Audio: Creative Labs Inspire T7900 7.1

Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A6PPOK/

Mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002TLTGM6/

Power supply: beQuiet 550W straight power

Case: Chieftec Dragon (older beige model with sound insulation)

Flatbed scanner: Epson Perfection 1670

Adapters: 3x Sapphire Active Mini DisplayPort to Single Link DVI adapter (44000-03-40G) and 2x passive Mini DisplayPort to Single Link DVI adapters

Comments

I decided to build this system because my dual core Macbook was too slow, I needed something faster for video editing with Final Cut Pro X.
The Viewsonic VP2290b (a rebadged IBM T221) requires a graphics card with up to four DVI ports so I went for the Eyefinity 6 version of the Radeon HD 5870.

I installed the system using Lion (10.7.2) from the App Store, UniBeast and MultiBeast. Everything is working just fine, including HiDPI, sleep mode, 7.1 audio, S-ATA 6GB/s, USB 3.0 and eSATA. Video editing with FCPX is really fast.

I am currently using 2 DVI ports to drive the VP2290b at 1920x2400@30Hz each. Still trying on getting it to work at 4x 1920x1200@41Hz (it's not working using Windows 7 either so it's not Lion's fault I guess). I'm using SwitchResX 4 to improve refresh rates when using fewer than 4 DVI ports.

If desired, I can add more details later. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Lorphos]

Re: [SUCCESS] i7-2600K, GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3, GV-R5876P-2GD-B, 10.7.3

Updated the firmware of the SSD a few days back to prevent the known problems past ~5000 hours of use.

Upgraded to OS X 10.7.3 today:
1. used the combo update
2. Using MultiBeast 4.2.1, installed "Drivers & Bootloaders" -> "Kexts & Enablers" -> "Audio" -> "Realtek ALC8xx" -> "AppleHDA Rollback" to get audio back

 

[jester969]

Have any pics of your monitors lined up?

 

[gronk]

I'm using the same board (with an i5 I intend to OC) but I'm having troubles with the SATA 6GB and eSATA, what choices did you make in Multi-Beast to get those working. These are the only issues I've had so far.

FWIW - My build was quick and easy. After 20 years of un/re/building Macs it was a little bit of a change, but it was revealing and a good learning experience. This seems to be a painless board.

(I notice my sig didn't take the update I made a week ago after I finished my build. I'll have to fix that...)

 

[Lorphos]

I'll check and get back to you later tonight. Not sure any kexts were required at all for SATA6 & eSATA..

 

[Stork]

gronk, what problems are you having with the SATA and eSATA drives?

The only SATA items in MultiBeast are for how the icons are displayed. See the MultiBeast Features document.

 

[Lorphos]

You wanted a photograph? Here you go...

monitore.jpg

 

[jester969]

You wanted a photograph? Here you go...

monitore.jpg

Dual monitors are the best. Nice!

 

[dxiong5]

I'm planning on using the same board also and have a question about the SSD/HDD capability. Are you running both Mac OS X and Windows on the same Crucial M4? I'm debating whether to go with separate SSDs and HHDs for each OS, with a total of 4 hard drives (too many?) - do know if this board will support that many?

 

[Lorphos]

Yes, I have both installed on the same SSD so it is a bit cramped.
It's much easier if you have separate drives. The board can easily handle 5 internal S-ATA drives:
You have 2 S-ATA 6GB/s ports (use them for SSDs) and 3 S-ATA 3GB/s ports.
That leaves 1 eSATA port for further expansion (assuming you use a S-ATA optical drive, too).
You can also add more S-ATA ports later using PCIe of course.