WiFi & graphics card in mini-ITX build?

[GJJR]

This will be my first computer build ever! My goal is something to run Photoshop and LightRoom quickly and efficiently, processing significant numbers of raw files, while potentially having several other programs open as well, like mail, Chrome and Word. I have no interest in gaming (I know, shocking!), but I gather Photoshop and light room are both processor and graphics intensive, as well as needing to write quickly to temp storage and long-term storage. I would also like to have it as compact and using as little desk space as possible, since the monitor I want, NEC PA 272W takes A LOT of space.

I wanted to buy a Mac, for better integration with my iPhone iPad and AppleTV, but they just didn't have what I think I need. Mini Mac is a little underpowered, iMac forces you to use their monitor, and Mac Pro is very expensive. A friend who has built both PCs and Macs is advising I do a dual boot with a separate SSD for each boot, so if I have trouble with the Hackintosh side I can probably use Windows side.

Something like the Customac Mini Deluxe sounded quite good. I was assuming I could use a mini ITX motherboard and case, and was planning to build around that, but now I'm wondering where I would put the Wi-Fi card to work with El Capitan, if I have a board with only one PCIe slot and want to have a 2GB graphics card. Can I still get a "Golden build" for a mini ITX motherboard? Handoff, etc? Could I run Ethernet cable from the router and have my other devices connect by wifi?

How do people get full Mac functionality with a mini ITX build? Do I need to think in terms of a different format motherboard (ATX or micro ATX) if I want to add a graphics card and El Capitan wifi? I see builds that have one or the other but not both. Is there anything else I would be losing out on by going with the mini ITX?

If this build works as I expect, I don't see needing to upgrade anything more than possibly 32 GB RAM to last me 5+ yrs.

Here's what I'm thinking of including so far:
- Intel i7 6700 (non-K) processor
- Noctua NH-L9I CPU Cooler
- Gigabyte GA-H170N-wifi Mini-ITX Motherboard - don't need to overclock
- Crucial Ballistics LT 16GB RAM
- Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB (two @ $92 each)
- Seagate Constellation 2TB HDD
- EVGA 650W Pwr Supply
- Silverstone Fortress FTZ01 case (not cheap but sounds much more elegantly made and finished than the milo m07 or Raven rvz02) needs only 4" wide desk space
- Broadcom BCM94352Z WiFi
- cd/DVD burner external slim slot-loading in drive bay
- EVGA GeForce GTX 750 TI 2GB GPU added later if integrated graphics don't seem up to the speed I want

Other questions: 1) if I don't add a graphics card, the DVI port on this motherboard wont handle full resolution for this monitor. Will HDMI work well enough? Will I wish I had higher resolution DVI or DP?
2) how does one learn video output resolution specifications for other motherboards?
3) why do you recommend gigabyte cards as opposed to other cards like MSI H170I PRO AC or Asus?

Suggestions? Comments?

 

[Going Bald]

I would suggest the H170-WiFi with a Core i7 6700K (91 Watt) and a Noctua NH-L9x65 (95 max Watt) if you do not plan to overclock. Get a case with a full sized optical bay in the front, or at least a floppy drive size bay and put in a trayless hotswap bay. This way you can switch out the drives and OS X spotlight will not be leaving its tracks all over your Windows drive.

You can swap out the WiFi/BT card that comes with this board for a Broadcom card that works natively with OS X.

 

[trs96]

You can only fit an SFX power supply in that case. ATX will not fit. And you really don't need a 650 W PSU to power an I7 and a 750Ti. Those will work fine with even a 350W PSU if it's high quality. Get Gold rated, Japanese capacitors if possible.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256084

 

[kiiroaka]

The GeForce GTX 750 needs 300W, minimum, so a 450W SFX 12V Haswell Certified PSU should be sufficient.

With only two mem slots to work with it would probably be better to go with a single 2x16GB kit from the very start, and since that mobo probably doesn't support 2x16 you might want to research other mobos that do.

 

[Stork]

This will be my first computer build ever! My goal is something to run Photoshop and LightRoom quickly and efficiently, processing significant numbers of raw files, while potentially having several other programs open as well, like mail, Chrome and Word. I have no interest in gaming...Here's what I'm thinking of including so far:
- Intel i7 6700 (non-K) processor
- Noctua NH-L9I CPU Cooler
- Gigabyte GA-H170N-wifi Mini-ITX Motherboard - don't need to overclock
- Crucial Ballistics LT 16GB RAM
- Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB (two @ $92 each)
- Seagate Constellation 2TB HDD
- EVGA 650W Pwr Supply
- Silverstone Fortress FTZ01 case (not cheap but sounds much more elegantly made and finished than the milo m07 or Raven rvz02) needs only 4" wide desk space
- Broadcom BCM94352Z WiFi
- cd/DVD burner external slim slot-loading in drive bay
- EVGA GeForce GTX 750 TI 2GB GPU added later if integrated graphics don't seem up to the speed I want

Other questions: 1) if I don't add a graphics card, the DVI port on this motherboard wont handle full resolution for this monitor. Will HDMI work well enough? Will I wish I had higher resolution DVI or DP?
2) how does one learn video output resolution specifications for other motherboards?
3) why do you recommend gigabyte cards as opposed to other cards like MSI H170I PRO AC or Asus?

Suggestions? Comments?

The Maxwell chipset Nividia cards are low powered, and, thus, don't require a large PSU. That said, I, too, use either a 650 watt or a 550 watt (minimum) with my builds using the GTX 750 Ti or 950 graphics cards. A little head room ensures the ability to upgrade. You'll need a graphics card for the Adobe applications as on-board graphics won't do the job. I would not consider anything less that a GTX 950/960 series which can now be bought for less than $150/$200, respectively.

I'd highly recommend a BoardCom BCM94360, iMac WiFi/BT4 compatible mPCIe card and adapter like I did with my Hector build (see link in my signature block). That iMac combo card makes the computer act more "Mac-like". Additionally, you'll get a solid 1300 Mbps speed if your wireless router is designed to TX/RX that speed.

So, to the questions.
1) For your requirements, buy a graphics card. Don't use on-board graphics for the Adobe applications.
2) Motherboard video output resolutions are defined in the motherboard's specifications, both on the motherboard's web page and in the motherboard's User Manual (which you can download).
3) We recommend the EVGA and Gigabyte graphics cards because they're in the top tier of graphic cards manufacturers, and they are known to work w/o problems. Stay away from graphics cards that offer a VGA (D-Sub) port as these cards are not on the originating manufacturer's reference design. You can read in the Graphics forum section about other manufacture cards.

Good luck!

 

[BillG66]

I’m going to be attempting a similar build — the graphics card will take up the single PCIe slot. So, to be clear, if I get the GA-Z170N WiFi, the installed BT/WIFI card is removable? The resulting open slot would accept the Broadcom product with no additional modification?

 

[Stork]

I’m going to be attempting a similar build — the graphics card will take up the single PCIe slot. So, to be clear, if I get the GA-Z170N WiFi, the installed BT/WIFI card is removable? The resulting open slot would accept the Broadcom product with no additional modification?

Correct.

 

[BillG66]

Stork... I apologize for the late reply, but thank you. I ordered the Broadcom.

 

[pokepoke4]

Stork... I apologize for the late reply, but thank you. I ordered the Broadcom.

hey quick question... uhh, did this work? cos i'm attempting the same thing. which broadcom card did you get?

 

[BillG66]

hey quick question... uhh, did this work? cos i'm attempting the same thing. which broadcom card did you get?

Yes, but you'll need some kexts and you'll need to patch your config.plist to make it work. All kexts and patch instructions are available on this site. The model is in my sig below: Broadcom BCM94352Z.