Want Stable, Proven, Build, Advice?

[cakemonster]

Hello,

I currently have two hackintosh systems, both I7 860/p55m-UD4 based with ATI 5770 graphics and 16 GB of Gskill RAM each. I am still running 10.6.8 and want to upgrade. I have not been paying as much attention to the evolving setups over the last few years as my systems have done what I needed. I use them for home and some scientific computing uses (3D visualization etc).

I have looked through some of the guilds and golden builds. As I will be using my case, power supply, SSDs, HD, etc over, I hope to just replace the MB, processor, RAM and graphics if needed.

Main Goals

-I would like a stable proven system with a nice guide if possible. I would love a full Mac Pro, but my hackintoshs have served me so well so far I am looking for another "4 years system".
-I will not be gaming but do need a basic graphics card for driving two 24 inch monitors and some scientific visualization. Maybe integrated has gotten good enough, but happy to buy a card.


I am thinking:

Intel Core i7-4790 3.6 GHz 1150
GA-Z97X-UD3H

Questions:

1. This is a recommended MB. Are there any that are more "native" or easier to keep setup?
2. Will a 5770 graphics card still work (graphics enabler = yes) with the newer OS or would it be better to grab a new card? If so, what is good buck for buck ~ $120? Are there any cards that are just "native" now, i.e. just use a regular driver, nothing else?
3. Can I use my 16GB of DDR3 RAM from my old MB, or better to grab new stuff?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429
4. Anyone running this MB and a basic card who has a good guide (I have found several but they seem to vary in how they achieved builds?) Is it recommended to go DSDT free now? I am so used to having a DSDT, but is there no advantage for this board and processor?

Thank You.

 

[Going Bald]

I am thinking:

Intel Core i7-4790 3.6 GHz 1150
GA-Z97X-UD3H

Questions:

1. This is a recommended MB. Are there any that are more "native" or easier to keep setup?
2. Will a 5770 graphics card still work (graphics enabler = yes) with the newer OS or would it be better to grab a new card? If so, what is good buck for buck ~ $120? Are there any cards that are just "native" now, i.e. just use a regular driver, nothing else?
3. Can I use my 16GB of DDR3 RAM from my old MB, or better to grab new stuff?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429
4. Anyone running this MB and a basic card who has a good guide (I have found several but they seem to vary in how they achieved builds?) Is it recommended to go DSDT free now? I am so used to having a DSDT, but is there no advantage for this board and processor?

Thank You.

1. This should be one of the easier ones to set up.
2. HD5770 still works well with Yosemite - I still have mine from 5 years ago working in all versions of OS X 10.6, .7, .8, .9, .10
3. DDR3 RAM is DDR3 RAM - you can use it, but it is slower than the base rate of the newer boards/CPUs bus speed, so it might seem sluggish and cause you some problems
4. DSDT free is recommended for all Haswell series boards. DSDT only required if you want something like HDMI audio, and even there, I think toleda is going to SSDT in his guide.

Plan to buy a new Haswell rated PSU. Haswell CPUs idle/sleep/hibernate at a much lower wattage than your old one and your current PSU will shut down on you.

 

[cakemonster]

-Thank you

-Interesting regarding the power supplies. This is what I had in both machines...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

Both have been great, but sounds like the low power thing an issue you don't want to mess with. Either disable those low power states or get a new PS.

-Regarding RAM, interesting. It has the same specs as the RAM listed on the recommended site, maybe I will try it and see if I need faster.

-As far as setting it up. Other than trial and error and what other people say, is there a good way to know what settings you need for the post installation tool? Do you just look at what controllers/audio the board has?

-Realtek ALC1150 (Audio)
-Intel GbE LAN chip (Network)

SATA support?
Other necessary modules?

Thank You...

 

[Going Bald]

-Thank you

-Interesting regarding the power supplies. This is what I had in both machines...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

Both have been great, but sounds like the low power thing an issue you don't want to mess with. Either disable those low power states or get a new PS.

-Regarding RAM, interesting. It has the same specs as the RAM listed on the recommended site, maybe I will try it and see if I need faster.

-As far as setting it up. Other than trial and error and what other people say, is there a good way to know what settings you need for the post installation tool? Do you just look at what controllers/audio the board has?

-Realtek ALC1150 (Audio)
-Intel GbE LAN chip (Network)

SATA support?
Other necessary modules?

Thank You...

Your PSU is OK - look at the specification page - Haswell Ready - Yes
If you check your board specs @ http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5101&kw=GA-Z97X-UD3H1.1#sp you will see supported RAM - 1333, 1600, 1800(OC), etc. indicating the bus speed is base 1333 but can be set to 1600 with XMP profile in BIOS, so your RAM is OK

As far as post install goes, DSDTFree will get you everything you need except audio and network. For your specs, select DSDT Free and Intel network. For audio, see toleda's guide http://www.tonymacx86.com/audio/

 

[cakemonster]

Your PSU is OK - look at the specification page - Haswell Ready - Yes
If you check your board specs @ http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5101&kw=GA-Z97X-UD3H1.1#sp you will see supported RAM - 1333, 1600, 1800(OC), etc. indicating the bus speed is base 1333 but can be set to 1600 with XMP profile in BIOS, so your RAM is OK

As far as post install goes, DSDTFree will get you everything you need except audio and network. For your specs, select DSDT Free and Intel network. For audio, see toleda's guide http://www.tonymacx86.com/audio/

Thank You for your help.

It seems like this board (or maybe Haswell in general) is quite finicky.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/yosemite-...ga-z97x-ud3h-i5-4690-gtx660-3.html#post932448

It is interesting how sensitive it is to RAM and power supply. Are there boards that are less sensitive, or is this just the way things are with Haswell (and maybe newer chips to come) given size constraints and the ramifications of die shrinks etc?

Has this mostly been worked out for people? Are there other combos (MB etc) that are less prone to resets?

 

[trs96]

Thank You for your help.

It seems like this board (or maybe Haswell in general) is quite finicky.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/yosemite-...ga-z97x-ud3h-i5-4690-gtx660-3.html#post932448

It is interesting how sensitive it is to RAM and power supply. Are there boards that are less sensitive, or is this just the way things are with Haswell (and maybe newer chips to come) given size constraints and the ramifications of die shrinks etc?

Has this mostly been worked out for people? Are there other combos (MB etc) that are less prone to resets?

Remember that is only one thread. It doesn't mean the Z97X-UD3H or 4690K has anything wrong
with it. What I see most often when people have these problems is that they have done something
wrong with their initial setup of the bios or the choices they make in Multibeast. I completed a build
with the exact same motherboard and CPU in January. Didn't require a single boot flag and never
had a single freeze then and up until today. I did install with one DIMM of ram and then added the rest
after the install. That is due to an OS X issue and is not hardware related. So don't be afraid to buy
that GA motherboard, it's not overly "sensitive" or faulty in any way. If you get the right ram and a
Haswell ready CPU it won't give you any problems.

 

[cakemonster]

Appreciated. Any different between the black and regular boards practically in terms of setup? Specs seem the same. Black seem to be nicer from a testing point of view.

 

[trs96]

Appreciated. Any different between the black and regular boards practically in terms of setup? Specs seem the same.

None whatsoever. Easiest to set up with integrated graphics first. Then run M.Beast and select
the iMac 15,1 system definition. Adjust bios settings and add the gfx card after that. Personally
I would get the K version 4790 for a few dollars more so that you can utilize overclocking
features of the Z97X. Even if you don't plan to overclock now, things may change a few
years later.

 

[cakemonster]

Thank You.

I am looking hard at CLOVER, but will start with Chimera as that is what I have used.

Have you had any luck with CLOVER or tried it? I will start with Chimera/Tonymac standard install.

Long term it seems like a good thing to learn/understand. Sounds like the config.plist is what we would have to customize for each MB, and maybe other components. But for the most part the MB.