- Joined
- Oct 18, 2012
- Messages
- 94
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte GA-Z97-D3H-F9
- CPU
- i7 4790T
- Graphics
- GTX 760
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
im82's Semi-Silent Power Build: GA-Z97-D3H - i7 4790T - Gigabyte Geforce GTX 760
Components
Gigabyte GA-Z97-D3H Rev 1.0 Firmware F9 motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K2RQDLQ/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128713
Intel Core i7 4790T SR1QS Processor
Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B CPU Cooler - discontinued; replaced by the Scythe Mugen 4.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SCPH9W
16GB Crucial DDR3-1333 (4 x 4) Memory
Lian Li PC-A05NB Midi Tower (2 OEM fans) Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112218
FSP Fortron Hyper M85+ Modular 700W (2 OEM fans) Power Supply
Gigabyte Geforce GTX 760 (GV-N760OC-2GD) 2048MB/2GB GDDR5 Rev 2.0 Graphics Card
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DGM8B6O/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125466
Samsung 840 Pro 512GB SSD
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NB8WTI
Sonnet Presto Gigabit Pro, 1x 1000Base-T, PCIe x1 (GE1000LA-E) Ethernet Card
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017K6BR8
Creative Sound Blaster X-FI surround 5.1 Pro USB audio card
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044DEDCA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147194
GMYLE Bluetooth Adapter Dongle, Ultra-Mini USB Broadcom BCM20702 Class 2 Bluetooth V4.0 Dual Mode Dongle Wireless Adapter with LED
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MKMJGO/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1AZ0F11466
Apple Wireless Keyboard
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MC184LL-B-Wireless-Keyboard/dp/B005DLDO4U
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823101013
TeckNet Bluetooh Wireless Mouse BM306
http://www.amazon.com/TeckNet-Bluetooth-Wireless-Mouse-BM306/dp/B000Q7V0W4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA32J2X46338
Transcend TS32GJF710SPE JetFlash 32 GB USB-Stick USB 3.1
http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-JetFlash-Flash-Drive-TS32GJF710S/dp/B00LFVITLK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9FT3EV0306&cm_re=Transcend_710-_-0WX-00FX-000E4-_-Product
Sony Optiarc AD-7241S Lightscribe DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118032
Additional Components
KAWAI MP8 MKII MIDI Master Keyboard
http://www.kawaius.com/PDF/Kawai_MPII_review_Aug2008.pdf
discontinued; replaced by KAWAI MP11 MIDI Master Keyboard:
http://www.amazon.com/Kawai-MP11-Professional-Stage-Piano/dp/B00IL7PCUC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA5442FP7017&cm_re=kawai-_-9SIA5442FP7017-_-Product
Yamaha RXV-2700 Home HIFI Receiver
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RXV2700-7-1-channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B000JF54GQ
Canton Ergo RCA x2 HIFI Front Speakers
http://www.amazon.de/Canton-Ergo-RC-A-schwarz-Stand-Lautsprecher/dp/B00007F8CM
Canton Ergo CM 500 HIFI Center Speaker
https://www.amazon.de/Canton-Ergo-CM-500DC-buche-Center-Lautsprecher/dp/B00007F8AW
Canton Ergo RCL x2 HIFI Rear Speakers
https://www.amazon.de/Canton-Ergo-RC-L-Stand-Lautsprecher-Paar-kirsch/dp/B00005LAX5
Superlux semi-open type professional monitor headphones HD681F
http://www.amazon.com/Superlux-semi-open-professional-headphones-HD681F/dp/B002Z9CLD8
ViewSonic LightStream PJD7720HD 3D DLP-Projector
https://www.amazon.com/ViewSonic-PJD7720HD-Lumens-Theater-Projector/dp/B01EAPUHYY/
Ancient Power Mac G5 Dual bundled Apple USB Keyboard
OEM Logitech USB Mouse
Comments
This is a 400 EUR upgrade from an old guard (GA-X58A-UD3R Rev 2.0, 24GB RAM, i7 960). That's the reason for then "old" RAM, "old" GPU, "old" fan etc.
I could find a 4970T for around 250 EUR (used) and the Motherboard for around 65 EUR (used). I did also purchase a FSP modular 85+ 700w power supply for around 70 EUR (new) to un-clutter my Lian Li Midi tower.
Runs 20-25°C idle, 25-30° load, 40-50° heavy load (Prime95 stress test).
Deep sleep works, power management works. No issues at all.
Noise is similar to a Powermac G5 Dual in idle - but - even at full load it does not get any louder.
I listed all the additional components because everything works like a charm, is semi silent and very low temperature - a huge improvement over the X58A UD3R (old guard) and it was a rather cheap upgrade (compared to buying a new Mac).
Adding some dampers and its a perfect pro audio machine.
Geekbench3 32Bit: 12085
Geekbench4 64Bit: 12536
iMessage seems to be working fine OOB!
The Build
Use Case
- Audio / MIDI / Sound Production
- Semi-Silent Home Theatre / Office
- Casual Gaming
Installation
Installation and Setup
- Used an USB Keyboard and USB Mouse for UEFI BIOS configuration and installation purposes.
- Followed TonyMacs Installation Guide
- UEFI BIOS BIOS Pre Install:
- I did disable Ethernet and Audio in the UEFI BIOS as I got dedicated solutions for that
- UniBeast 6.1.1: UEFI Mode
- MultiBeast 8.1
- System iMac 14,2
- Clover UEFI
- FakeSMC kext + HWMonitor Bundle - No other kexts.
- Official Apple Trimforce Enable.
- Enabled Apple Remote Desktop (helps when your OS X runs but display drivers show a blank screen).
- Power Management
- Worked well, already, OOB
- Improved by SSDT Guide + EFI Mounter V3.
- Disabled Power Nap in EnergySaver Prefs. to enable real deep sleep.
- Installed WebDriver-346.03.06f01.pkg (Nvidia OS X Web Drivers for 10.11.4).
- Set OS X to boot automatically (Guide) without delay and re-enabled System Integrity Protection via EFI Mounter V3 Clover config.plist editing.
- UEFI BIOS Post Install: Enabled Ultra Fast Boot
- UEFI BIOS Photos can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/wFTOX
Use Case
- Audio / MIDI (via GarageBand, Logic Pro X, Native Instruments Kontakt 5)
- Semi-Silent Home Theatre / Office
- Casual OS X Gaming via Steam
Files
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