The 4K Dell OptiMac - 9020 MT - Core i7-4790 - Radeon RX 570 - LG 4K IPS Monitor

[trs96]

Looking at the motherboard layout, when you say USB 3 is hooked up to your case, but I’m confused about the USB 2 ports in the photo of the top of the case that are listed as working. What connection is happening there?

For the front I/O, if you were to purchase a spare one off of eBay for example, would it be possible to cut back enough material to expose the pins and connect to the case I/O using standard DuPont connectors? Is there anything (sizing or spacing) that would impede that? If it were to work, it would allow you to use the headphones and all other I/O, correct?

I connected the case USB 3.0 to the motherboard's 3.0 header (royal blue). Then I connected the case USB 2.0 to the motherboard's Internal 2.0 header. The SFF board doesn't have that one. In the lower left you'll see the 19 pin header for the Front Panel. That includes everything other than the front USB 3.0 ports. There's really no way I know of to connect the case's USB 2.0 and headphone.mic connections to that. It would be excessively complicated and difficult to do. The pins have a non-standard 2mm pitch which creates the problems. It's very simple to do it the way I did.

 

[trs96]

For this to achieve the wife approval factor, I’ll have to look into your Option 2 that you listed for the power switch and investigate the front I/O panel further.

Option #2 is really quite easy. Just cut off the led lighted power button from the Dell Power switch cable.

Separate out the wires (yellow and black) for the pwr switch. Connect up those cables to the case power button cable and that's it. No polarity issues to worry about. You can also hook up the white power LED light on the case too. Orange LED+ and Blue LED-. Polarity matters there. Once you get a MT system and disassemble it all this will be much clearer. BTW which 5K monitor did you end up going with and did it work with the WX4100 ?

 

[XmasGiftWIP]

I connected the case USB 3.0 to the motherboard's 3.0 header (royal blue). Then I connected the case USB 2.0 to the motherboard's Internal 2.0 header. The SFF board doesn't have that one. In the lower left you'll see the 19 pin header for the Front Panel. That includes everything other than the front USB 3.0 ports. There's really no way I know of to connect the case's USB 2.0 and headphone.mic connections to that. It would be excessively complicated and difficult to do. The pins have a non-standard 2mm pitch which creates the problems. It's very simple to do it the way I did.

View attachment 443747

Thanks, @trs96. I totally had forgotten about the internal USB 2.0 connector since I don't have one on my SFF board.

As far as the non-standard pitch, I remember a few years back, I used some breadboard jumper wires to go from a 2.0mm to 2.54mm standard on a homemade USB TTL serial cable to recover some data off of a dead HDD. It wasn't the slickest looking, but I covered it some heat shrink wrap and it looked professional enough and held up to repeated use. I'm sure I still have some left.

Would something like that work potentially? If so, I can try and find a link for some to share.

 

[XmasGiftWIP]

Option #2 is really quite easy. Just cut off the led lighted power button from the Dell Power switch cable.

View attachment 443748

Separate out the wires (yellow and black) for the pwr switch. Connect up those cables to the case power button cable and that's it. No polarity issues to worry about. You can also hook up the white power LED light on the case too. Orange LED+ and Blue LED-. Polarity matters there. Once you get a MT system and disassemble it all this will be much clearer. BTW which 5K monitor did you end up going with and did it work with the WX4100 ?

That's exactly the picture I needed! That looks like it should be a piece of cake. I'm sure it will help some other folks as well.

Still in search of the monitor unfortunately as my source on the opposite side of the country fell through, so I'm unable to report back on 5K capability. Currently using an old Dell 1440p monitor while I search eBay, Craigslist, colleges, and any other place I can think of for that specific monitor at a price I can swing (there's a few currently listed at ~$1K) The WX 4100 seems to be working fine so far, but that's in my wife's nonexhaustive trial run.

 

[trs96]

Would something like that work potentially? If so, I can try and find a link for some to share.

I think it will. There are numerous ways to go about wiring the OEM Dell cable to the case's power switch cable. For now I'm just keeping the stock Dell power button cable intact. I'll wait to see what all the creative case modders here come up with. Then I'll probably cut it and attach the wires to the case's PW Switch cable as a long term solution.

 

[trs96]

At the end of post #2 I've started a list of the best micro ATX cases for transferring your MT Dell system into. If you have any more to add to the list that you think are well built and a good match let me know here. I've owned the DLM 21 and the Tt H17 and can verify that the build quality is top notch for the low price you are paying. The Define Mini C gives you the best airflow if you'll be pushing your system all out for longer periods of time. That is money well spent in those situations.

Recommended Third Party mATX Cases for your Dell OptiMac

Darkflash DLM 21/22 @ 54.99 USD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R4L54NX/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Fractal Design Define Mini C @ 79.99 USD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N05CPU8/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Thermaltake Versa H17 Micro ATX @ 44.99 USD
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07THWKT6V/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
​

All of the above cases will require a standard ATX PSU to work. The Dell OEM PSU cables will not reach far enough.

If your budget is extremely limited and you need a new case because you got a Dell case in very bad condition (on a low cost refurb deal). Have a look at the Rosewill line of mATX cases. You can use the stock Dell PSU in these as they all have a top mounted PSU design.

Rosewill,Micro ATX / Mini-ITX,Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Cases | Newegg.com

Shop Rosewill,Micro ATX / Mini-ITX,Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Cases on Newegg.com. Watch for amazing deals and get great pricing.

www.newegg.com

When you buy a 30 USD case don't expect lots of airflow or cable management options. It's really just something to hold the hardware. Expect to have lots of flex in the thin steel side panels. If you can spend 15 dollars more for the Versa H17 then go with that. If you want the best looking micro-ATX case with a TG side panel (hinged) then get the DLM 21 or 22.

 

[joel_ezekiel]

Hi, it has been a while since I have even turned on my optimac, and I decided to get off my bum and get the updates installed.

Last time I tried to update it didn't work and I had to roll it back, I am currently on macOS 10.15 (19A602) and its has worked perfect with minimal fuss, could someone help me out with what updated kexts I need to install, and where? It's been a while since I installed macOS and I've forgotten most of what I did .

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you.

 

[trs96]

Last time I tried to update it didn't work and I had to roll it back, I am currently on macOS 10.15 (19A602) and its has worked perfect with minimal fuss, could someone help me out with what updated kexts I need to install, and where? It's been a while since I installed macOS and I've forgotten most of what I did

I've advised against updating to Catalina until the 15.3 update. Primarily because of bugs in the OS and also because of the changes in the folder file structure in Clover. I look at the .1 and .2 updates of macOS to be primarily extensions of the public beta. That means it's not quite ready to permanently upgrade to those. Here's how one article starts out about 10.15.2

The new macOS 10.15.2 update is out with a ton of bug fixes and a few new features. It even fixes the speaker pop on the MacBook Pro 16 for many users. This is what you need to know about the new macOS Catalina update.

Discussion of recent Clover changes in great detail can be viewed in this post: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...xxx-v2-4k-r4972-to-v2-5-r5018-example.281428/

The folder drivers64UEFI, is now drivers/UEFI and drivers64 is now drivers/BIOS. To update you must do some things manually or things will be in the wrong place and/or duplicated and the system will not boot correctly. So it makes it rather messy to go from r4960 to the newer r5102 or any r5xxx version for that matter. The good news is that Unibeast 10 is now available so you can make an installer for 10.15.3 (when it's released this month) and test it out on either a clean SSD or just see if you can boot to the installer with it. UB 10.0 includes Clover r5102. The drivers we'll use with that will be slightly different from what Unibeast uses. Also you'll need to delete the UB 10.0 config.plist when you create it and use the one specific for the Dell Optiplex as described in post #1.

It's best to update the three primary kexts we use for audio and graphics function. AppleALC, Lilu and Whatevergreen. Point updates of Catalina usually require that you update those as well.

I'll be posting a brief Catalina upgrade guide later this month, possibly early February for those that want update to 10.15.3. If you are able to wait until then that is my advice.

 

[trs96]

Wait no longer to get that Sapphire RX 570 4GB for your Mini-Tower
​

This is the lowest price we'll ever see for a new Sapphire Pulse RX 570 4GB card. Buy soon if you want one in your OptiMac. With one of these cards video editing in macOS is very smooth. Gaming in Windows it lets you play most any title at 1080p high settings. Best value in hackintosh graphics cards available right now.

AMD Navi Cards are Here ~ Sapphire Pulse RX 570 Polaris Deals Now

Looks like AMD and Newegg are clearance pricing these for the New Year. $124 shipped is an awesome price for a new 570 with full warranty. I know 570s are very cheap in the used market on Ebay but I prefer to buy a new card for peace of mind. You'll save just 30-40 dollars, not really know what...

www.tonymacx86.com

These are only 9 inches long so no problems with the fit in your Dell OEM mini-tower case. No mods needed. Just replace the stock Dell PSU. A 450W modular PSU is preferred and is plenty to power the RX 570 via the 8 pin connector.

 

[joel_ezekiel]

Thank you for the incredibly detailed response, unfortunately while I was waiting for your response last night the damn thing installed the update, I thought I said remind me later but I guess I clicked the install later button.

Since I have wiped the USB stick I used to boot the hackintosh last time, I’ll probably leave it until you post this update guide.