- Joined
- Jul 10, 2012
- Messages
- 25
- Motherboard
- Intel DQ77KB
- CPU
- Xeon E3-1230 V2
- Graphics
- GeForce GTX 770
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
The promoted products:
NVMe fusion drive
Photo 1: My fusion drive: A 1 TB WD Caviar Green and a 128 GB NVMe SSD
The essential feature of the Q77 boards is one PCIe 2.0 x4 slot. Originally this had little use, but is now perfect for adding a NVMe solid state drive. 7-series motherboards are generally unable to boot directly from NVMe and BIOS updates are unlikely to exist for Intel or Dell motherboards. This is however not an issue as the the NVMe drivers can be added to a bootloader like Clover. Even better, and easier is to configure the NVMe SSD and a normal hard drive into a fusion drive under macOS. There are some complications in booting fusion drives under Clover. I have posted my experiences and instructions at the end of this guide:
The PCIe adapter needed is a passive card that directs the four PCIe lanes to the correct pins on the M.2 connector. These Chinese adapters are now 2 euros apiece including postage, but I ordered my for under $1. (You must search around AliExpress for the best deal on the same product.)
Photo 2: The $2 PCIe to M.2 adapter. This one lacks the heat spreader of the more expensive adapter.
The PCIe x4 slot on the Q77 motherboards is only generation 2.0, unlikely the PCI x16 slot which is PCIe 3.0. This is not really a problem, as few NVMe SSDs, apart from the Samsung 970 Pro, are able to fill the 4 GB/s capacity of a PCIe 3.0 slot. I ordered a 128 GB KingSpec NE-128 for €24,41. The drive promises 1500 to 1800 MB/s read speeds. Write speeds are lower, but the 256 GB model promises double the write speeds at 1000 to 1300 MB/s for €35,82 ($41,11). Most of the slower NVMe drives in this speed class only have two PCIe lanes, but the KingSpec NE-XXX uses all four, making it well suited for use in a PCIe 2.0 slot.
I believe Ivy Bridge processors still offer the best performance per dollar. (Apple seems to think so too, as they have not upgraded the Mac Pro.) I prefer Xeon E3 version 2 processors with hyperthreading and no integrated graphics. I ordered a Xeon E3-1230 v2 from AliExpress for €68,74. Now you can find them for €63,77 ($73,16).
When ordering anything from AliExpress, remember that it may take one month for the goods to arrive. Plan well in advance.
Dell OptiPlex 7010 motherboard
The Dell OptiPlex 7010 family comes in four different case styles. USFF, SFF, desktop and mini tower. All except the ultra small form factor have PCIe x16 and PCIe x4 slots. On the small form factor motherboard the PCIe slots sit next to each other, so it is impossible to use a double-width graphics card and a NVMe adapter without a PCIe riser. The desktop and the mini tower share the same MicroATX size motherboard. The difference seems to be, that on the desktop motherboard one of the four SATA connectors is not soldered in. Newegg offers a refurbished motherboard for $59.99 as "Dell Optiplex 7010 9010 Intel PC Desktop System Motherboard" listing the following part numbers: 773VG KRC95 YXT71 GY6Y8 KV62T W2F8G 0773VG 0KRC95 0YXT71 0GY6Y8 0KV62T 0W2F8G. A search on eBay with these keywords produces 92 listings. Another useful search is looking for Dell brand motherboards with a LGA1155 socket, but note that only the 7010 / 9010 motherboards have the Q77 chipset and the PCIe x4 slot.
The Dell Optiplex 7010 is highly hackable, see these guides:
Photo 3: My Power Mac G5 running macOS High Sierra. The fan assembles are still missing.
The Optiplex 7010 MicroATX motherboard is very similar to the Intel reference design for the Q77 chipset, the DQ77MK. I used the Intel board for my Power Mac G5 upgrade. In this build only the motherboard and the processors were removed, everything else stays original. The DQ77MK has two features that make it well suited to replace the G5 motherboard.
- Dell OptiPlex 7010 motherboards with Q77 chipset for $10 to $20 on eBay
- PCIe x4 to M.2 adapters for $1 to $2 on AliExpress
NVMe fusion drive
Photo 1: My fusion drive: A 1 TB WD Caviar Green and a 128 GB NVMe SSD
The essential feature of the Q77 boards is one PCIe 2.0 x4 slot. Originally this had little use, but is now perfect for adding a NVMe solid state drive. 7-series motherboards are generally unable to boot directly from NVMe and BIOS updates are unlikely to exist for Intel or Dell motherboards. This is however not an issue as the the NVMe drivers can be added to a bootloader like Clover. Even better, and easier is to configure the NVMe SSD and a normal hard drive into a fusion drive under macOS. There are some complications in booting fusion drives under Clover. I have posted my experiences and instructions at the end of this guide:
The PCIe adapter needed is a passive card that directs the four PCIe lanes to the correct pins on the M.2 connector. These Chinese adapters are now 2 euros apiece including postage, but I ordered my for under $1. (You must search around AliExpress for the best deal on the same product.)
Photo 2: The $2 PCIe to M.2 adapter. This one lacks the heat spreader of the more expensive adapter.
The PCIe x4 slot on the Q77 motherboards is only generation 2.0, unlikely the PCI x16 slot which is PCIe 3.0. This is not really a problem, as few NVMe SSDs, apart from the Samsung 970 Pro, are able to fill the 4 GB/s capacity of a PCIe 3.0 slot. I ordered a 128 GB KingSpec NE-128 for €24,41. The drive promises 1500 to 1800 MB/s read speeds. Write speeds are lower, but the 256 GB model promises double the write speeds at 1000 to 1300 MB/s for €35,82 ($41,11). Most of the slower NVMe drives in this speed class only have two PCIe lanes, but the KingSpec NE-XXX uses all four, making it well suited for use in a PCIe 2.0 slot.
I believe Ivy Bridge processors still offer the best performance per dollar. (Apple seems to think so too, as they have not upgraded the Mac Pro.) I prefer Xeon E3 version 2 processors with hyperthreading and no integrated graphics. I ordered a Xeon E3-1230 v2 from AliExpress for €68,74. Now you can find them for €63,77 ($73,16).
When ordering anything from AliExpress, remember that it may take one month for the goods to arrive. Plan well in advance.
Dell OptiPlex 7010 motherboard
The Dell OptiPlex 7010 family comes in four different case styles. USFF, SFF, desktop and mini tower. All except the ultra small form factor have PCIe x16 and PCIe x4 slots. On the small form factor motherboard the PCIe slots sit next to each other, so it is impossible to use a double-width graphics card and a NVMe adapter without a PCIe riser. The desktop and the mini tower share the same MicroATX size motherboard. The difference seems to be, that on the desktop motherboard one of the four SATA connectors is not soldered in. Newegg offers a refurbished motherboard for $59.99 as "Dell Optiplex 7010 9010 Intel PC Desktop System Motherboard" listing the following part numbers: 773VG KRC95 YXT71 GY6Y8 KV62T W2F8G 0773VG 0KRC95 0YXT71 0GY6Y8 0KV62T 0W2F8G. A search on eBay with these keywords produces 92 listings. Another useful search is looking for Dell brand motherboards with a LGA1155 socket, but note that only the 7010 / 9010 motherboards have the Q77 chipset and the PCIe x4 slot.
The Dell Optiplex 7010 is highly hackable, see these guides:
- [Guide] Install High Sierra on the Dell Optiplex 7010 / 9010 Desktop PC
- [Guide] Install Mojave on the Dell Optiplex 7010 / 9010 Desktop PC
Photo 3: My Power Mac G5 running macOS High Sierra. The fan assembles are still missing.
The Optiplex 7010 MicroATX motherboard is very similar to the Intel reference design for the Q77 chipset, the DQ77MK. I used the Intel board for my Power Mac G5 upgrade. In this build only the motherboard and the processors were removed, everything else stays original. The DQ77MK has two features that make it well suited to replace the G5 motherboard.
- It has two system fan headers that work in voltage regulated mode with 3-pin fans. These headers can control the original G5 fans down to 600 rpm with the proper settings in Visual BIOS.
- Intel Desktop Boards do no not need a POWER OK signal from the PSU. This makes it possible to use the original G5 power supply without modifications.
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