[Success] Intel i5-4690S Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 660Ti

[dsmedic10]

DSMEDIC10's Haswell Build:
GA-B85-HD3 - i5-4690S - GTX 660 Ti​

Components

Intel Core i5-4690S Haswell CPU
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2LIF3C/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116990

Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E36XNQ0/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128629


Already Owned

Gigabyte GTX 660 Ti
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008UG2W20/

Antec EA-650 Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EarthWatts-EA-650-Green-BRONZE/dp/B004NBZAES/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044[/SIZE]

8 GB Corsair XMS3 DDR-3-1333MHz RAM
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003N8GVUY/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145315

Antec P280 Tower Case
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005X3E5BO/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129179

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A6PPOK/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4831KK0962

Logitech Wireless Mouse M705
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0034XRDUA/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104390

Samsung 830 SSD 128GB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0077CR60Q/

Samsung EVO 840 SSD 250GB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E3W1726/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147248

Seagate External USB 3.0 HDD 2TB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00834SJS0/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178474


Comments

This was my first hackintosh build. I'd say overall it was a success. I ran into some problems as I'll outline below. But overall this was a fun project. On a build scale of 1-10 where 1 would be considered a pre-built computer that had all the software already configured and running, and 10 being a complete disaster where I returned most of the parts because of problems, I'd say this was a 3.

I built the hackintosh because of two reasons. One was because it seemed like a fun project. Two was because I really wanted to run Logic Pro for my recording studio and didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on an actual Mac. I have no problems with Mac's and I've used them in the past, and really enjoyed Logic Pro as a DAW package. But building a hackintosh seemed like a less expensive way to get the system I wanted.

Goal:

I've always built my own computers and installed versions of Windows on them. This time my goal was to build a Mac OS and Windows 7 dual boot computer. I wanted the ability to play my Windows games (Skyrim, X-Plane, Civ5, etc) while still using the excellent DAW software package Logic Pro X. Since I was currently using an AMD Phenom II 965BE and Asus motherboard, the first thing I needed to do was research on an Intel motherboard/CPU.

Part Selection:

Using information from this website and reading a lot of posts, I selected a Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 motherboard. I selected this motherboard for the fact that I would be able to install Mac OS easily. The B85 chipset is similar to the more common Z87/H87, but it lacks a few features, namely SLI support and RAID support. Since I didn't need either of those features, I selected this motherboard over others due to lower cost.

Next was the CPU. My goal here was to have a quad core CPU that had turbo boost and was low power. I really wanted to have a low-power computer, especially coming from my overclocked AMD. Intel recently refreshed it's Haswell CPUs and I bought the fastest "S" series (65W) CPU released, the i5-4690S. It's a 3.5GHz CPU that turbo-boosts to 3.9GHz and still keeps within it's 65W TDP.

My existing components would suffice as compatible hardware, including my Gigabyte GTX 660 Ti, 8GB Corsair RAM, Antech P280 case and power supply. I reused my Samsung 830 and EVO 840 SSD for the drives and selected the 830 as my Mac OS drive, while retaining my existing Windows 7 install on the EVO 840.

Installation Procedure:

Before I began the hardware install, I booted my AMD system one more time, booted Windows 7, made a system backup, then proceeded to uninstall all the AMD specific drivers (LAN, audio, chipset, etc). Once uninstalled, I shutdown Windows.

Next was the removal of my AMD hardware and installation of the new Gigabyte motherboard/CPU. I booted the new system and entered the BIOS to enable my Samsung 830 SSD on which I would be installing Mac OS. I disabled the Samsung EVO 840 which had Windows 7 on it.

After installing the new hardware, I followed the Mavericks install guide found on this website. I created my Unibeast USB with Mavericks 10.2 and MultiBeast 6.3 using my wife's MacBook Air. Then I booted my new computer and entered the BIOS to configure it as outlined in the numerous Z87 BIOS guides. I configured my drives and disabled the on-board graphics (using the GTX 660 Ti instead). I enabled USB support and set those options to "Auto". In fact I set every configurable option to "Auto". I enabled the LAN and audio. I setup my CPU and case fans to run in "Silent" mode. I configured the memory speed to 1333 MHz (appropriate for my RAM) and disabled the RAM profile.

I booted the UniBeast drive and installed Mavericks on the primary SSD (Samsung 830). Note that in order to actually get to the Mavericks install screen I needed to boot using the "-x" boot command flag. Mavericks installed as expected without problems. Upon reboot (again booting using the Unibeast USB with the "-x" flag) I installed MultiBeast. I selected typical options in MultiBeast including USB support, Fake SMC, Realtek LAN, ALC892 audio, etc. I also installed the Chimera boot loader (3.0.1) via MultiBeast.

After installing the drivers, I rebooted and entered BIOS. There I enabled the Samsung EVO 840 SSD (with my existing Windows 7 install). I set the primary boot drive to the Samsung 830 (Mac OS drive) and secondary to the EVO 840 (Windows 7).

Now I was able to boot the computer (without the UniBeast USB) and the first boot drive (Samsung 830 with Chimera installed) was booted and I was presented with the Chimera boot menu. I had a number of choices including Mac OS, Windows 7, and "System Reserved". As we know from experience, Windows 7 actually boots from the "System Reserved" partition. I selected that and booted Windows without a problem. I installed the necessary Windows drivers for my new motherboard.

Once Windows was installed, configured and happy, I rebooted to Chimera and selected Mac OS. The system booted with a KP. So I tried to boot again and the system booted successfully.

From here, I configured Mac OS to my liking. I went so far as to edit the Chimera boot file and hid the "Windows 7" partition and renamed the "System Reserved" partition to "Windows764". This only applied to the Chimera boot menu. So now when I boot the machine, I have two choices, Mac OS or Windows764.

One problem I had was random freezes. I installed, reinstalled, uninstalled and deleted many kext files with no success. I finally tracked my problem down to using the standard Mac OS NVidia drivers. I downloaded the NVidia Web Drivers and updated them via the NVidia app. This fixed my random freezing problem. However I was having a GPU-not-clocking-down problem. For this, I researched this web site and found that the latest 10.9.3 Mavericks and newest NVidia drivers fixed this problem. I tested this by running the Heaven benchmark. After exiting the benchmark, my GPU remained at high frequency. Using the latest NVidia drivers with Maverick 10.9.3 fixed this. Incidentally I installed the "combo update" for Mavericks 10.9.3 rather than using the App Store. Once I installed the 10.9.3 update, I reinstalled my LAN and audio drivers from MultiBeast and rebooted.

Overall I am quite happy with my hackintosh computer. I'm just beginning my stability tests before I install my DAW software. I'd say that the system is quite stable right now, but further testing will be done. Windows 7 boots without any problems and is very stable and fast. One thing I will mention is that I use Windows Backup and Restore. With the drive setup I have (Mac OS primary drive, Windows 7 secondary), Windows Backup and Restore fails with a VSS and SPP error. I fixed this by entering the BIOS and disabling the Mac OS drive, forcing the Windows drive to become the primary. I then boot the system (no Chimera of course) directly into Windows 7, use my Backup and Restore to backup my system, then reboot into BIOS and change all the drives back. A little cumbersome, but it works.

 

[Misscomp]

Dear DSMedic10,

I also read you Amazon review. You said in that review that the cpu worked right out of the box after you installed it on the motherboard. Then you said that you did update the BIOS. Does this mean that you bought an older version of the motherboard that did not have the updated BIOS in order to run the newer generation Core I5 processors but things did work anyways for you? Or did you have an up to date motherboard? The new BIOS was released some time in February of this year I believe.

I have an oder version B85 motherboard that I purchased in 11/2013 and may not be able to run the new intel CPU's.

thanks,

Misscomp

 

[dsmedic10]

Hello, thanks for checking out my review on Amazon, I hardly think anyone reads those anymore!

My CPU installed right away, OOB, with no problems. I immediately booted into BIOS and set the configuration accordingly. You should note in my User Guide thread here, I ran Windows first, and got Windows running BEFORE I attempted installing Mac OS. The reason I note this is because when I booted Windows and installed all the Gigabyte software and drivers, I utilized the @BIOS app which installs the latest BIOS for the motherboard. I did this in Windows.

I installed the latest BIOS because I wanted to make sure I had the most up-to-date BIOS before installing Mac OS. As a rule, once my BIOS is setup and working, I RARELY update it again, unless I am having a problem and the BIOS update specifically fixes my problem.

Therefore, it made sense to update my BIOS before installing Mac OS, knowing my CPU will be supported in the BIOS and OS.

If I recall, the BIOS that shipped with the motherboard did not officially support my latest CPU - however it did in fact boot and work correctly under Windows.

I knew I would need to latest BIOS to support my latest CPU, the June 2014 release of the refreshed Haswell CPU i5-4690S.

I checked the Gigabyte website and it specifically stated that my latest i5-4690S CPU was supported under the latest BIOS. That is why I updated it. Although technically I could (and did) run the system using the shipped BIOS. The CPU did not "turbo" to the correct speed using the shipped BIOS nor did it read the correct CPU ID or other processor info. After updating the BIOS to the latest, my CPU info was correct and "turbo" speeds were correct.

 

[WonkeyDonkey]

Nice build!

Im a big fan of the 'S' series chips. They run nice and cool, and dead easy to sort out your system cooling too.

 

[Misscomp]

Dear DSmedic10,

Can you tell me when you purchased your motherboard? If I am not mistaken the new BIOS refresh for the new Haswell cpu's came out in March or April? I bought mine last November and I want to buy the new Haswell models that was just released. But I am afraid that I have the old BIOS and will not run correctly. I have contacted Gigabyte and they said that the motherboard should have the latest BIOS. If you were able to run your cpu with the old BIOS then I will also try it as well. If it does not work I will have to borrow someones cpu and update the BIOS. I would rather not take this route.

I know my old AMD motherboard will let you run the newer cpu then update the BIOS. Thanks a lot for the post. I find that the fact that you were able to move the windows os from one computer to another computer without reinstalling Windows is pretty neat. I did not know you can do this. Is the Windows OS running stable?

Misscomp

 

[dsmedic10]

Why don't you backup and update your existing B85 motherboard BIOS before installing the new CPU? This way you know you have the correct, supported, BIOS for the new CPU.

I bought my motherboard from newegg in late May 2014. It did not have the latest BIOS. I was however able to get the CPU running with whatever BIOS shipped - I do not have a spare "supported" Intel to use. I didn't think it would be problem anyways since it's a 'refresh' and not any new architecture. In my experience, I installed the "new" CPU using the "old" BIOS, booted Windows and updated the BIOS. You could also update the BIOS from the BIOS itself but I didn't think of that beforehand and therefore didn't prepare a USB stick with the latest BIOS on it.

As far as transferring from AMD to Intel in Windows, it was exactly as I described. You have to pay attention PRIOR to removing your AMD setup. I uninstalled all ASUS components from Windows (ASUS was my AMD motherboard). I then uninstalled all AMD drivers. I looked at my AMD motherboard and made a note of what drivers would need to be uninstalled: Chipset, USB3.0, Audio, LAN, etc. I uninstalled the AMD Catalyst software as well. I did not change my graphics driver (using Nvidia GTX 660Ti). I did not change my Windows 7 license (needed to be reactivated after installing new motherboard).
Note that I uninstalled all these things IN ONE SESSION. That is, I did not reboot (even though each uninstall stated I needed to reboot).

Once my drivers were uninstalled, I shut Windows down. Entered BIOS, set everything to default (as I was going to sell the motherboard later) then shut the system off. Removed AMD/ASUS parts.

I then installed my Gigabyte motherboard and Intel CPU, heatsink/fan, reinstalled my SSD/HDD cables, re-ran my wiring to make everything look nice, then fired the system up and entered BIOS.

I set the BIOS according to the typical Z87/H87 guides here. I set my Mac OS SSD as primary. I set my (existing) Windows 7 SSD to secondary port.

When it came time for me to run Windows for the first time using my new Intel hardware (after my Mac OS install), I disabled the Mac OS SSD in the BIOS. Then when I next booted, the system immediately booted into Windows (because the Mac OS SSD was disabled). Windows booted and got to the desktop and then proceeded to ask me for driver disks. I actually clicked "cancel" and installed the Gigabyte software package, which installed all the necessary Gigabyte drivers. This required a reboot which I did. Windows booted back to the desktop and basically was exactly as I had it using my AMD setup - only using Intel hardware instead.

I didn't have to tinker with it since. I updated the Intel hardware drivers using the Gigabyte software. This gave me the latest chipset/LAN/Audio drivers. Installed one or two "Windows updates" and then proceeded to back the system up to my external HDD, just in case.

After this I proceeded to do some stability testing. I had no problems with the programs or benchmarks I ran. The system, in my opinion, is extremely stable. Just as stable as my AMD setup, where I installed Windows 7 fresh (one year ago).

Both Windows and Mac OS are extremely stable, fast, and exactly setup the way I wanted.

 

[Misscomp]

Thanks again for the informative post. I currently do not have a cpu for my motherboard but I am looking around for one. I have the Gigabyte B85m D3H model.

Misscomp

 

[dsmedic10]

Understood. In that case you will have to be willing to experiment. If you intend on getting a CPU for that motherboard then you should be able to get the latest Haswell CPU and install with. I don't know what motherboard revision you're using, but on Gigabyte's website, the latest BIOS version is FA (for revision 2.x) and that supports the latest CPUs.

You can experiment and get the newest CPU and then update the BIOS after you've installed the hardware. That's basically what I did. I suppose there's the chance it doesn't work but I don't think you will have that problem.

 

[dsmedic10]

Just wanted to update those who are interested. My GA-B85-HD3 built Hackintosh has been working great for the past three months.

I had a lot of little gremlins I was dealing with since my initial build. Mostly related to freezing and USB/Video problems. I traced my crashes down to the following caveats to my build:

• Need to use Nvidia drivers
• Install 10.9.2 then upgrading to 10.9.4, running the latest Multibeast (6.4.1)
• Using the AUDIO drivers from Multibeast 6.2.1 due to loss of audio after sleep
• Utilizing external USB 3.0 power hub
• Moving USB dongle for Logitech Mouse to located it closer to the actual mouse (was causing mouse crashing after sleep)

Once I got a handle on these item, my McMac has been super fast and rock stable. I haven't had a crash in weeks and I've used it every day, including startup, shutdown and resume from sleep. Allowing the machine to sleep and resume with a mouse-click is how I typically use it. I hardly ever shut it down or restart it unless I boot into Windows 7.

My USB problems were a combination of a bad USB flash drive, poor USB 3.0 ports on my motherboard, and having too much interference with my USB Logitech mouse receiver. Once I figured those problems out, the system had been excellent.

I've customized my McMac computer and I've very happy with it. I used GarageBand and Logic Pro X on it as my primary DAW through a TASCAM US-1800. Have not had a single problem.

Hopefully someone who wants to build a Hackintosh can use my guideline and build list to create their own Mac OS system.