Z87 safer choice than Z97?

[bartek.chlebek]

Hi!

I love compatibility of my ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 with X58 and how it works pretty much OOB.
But it's time for an upgrade and I'm trying to pick the safest motherboard in respect of compatibility with OS X.

The guide (http://www.tonymacx86.com/building-customac-buyers-guide-september-2015.html) advises GA-Z97X-UD5H, but I wonder if GA-Z87X-UD5H would be a better choice because of Z87 chipset, which is used in recent iMacs.
AFAIK Z97 hasn't been used in any Mac yet.

I know there's never 100% safety with hackintoshes, but am I wrong being cautious with Z97?

 

[n3oNLit3]

If you do a forum search you will find many guides with very successful builds and stability on the Z97X boards.. I have one sitting in a box waiting for me to finish my case mod, and didnt think twice about using it.

Alas YMMV, but you will be fine going with either choice.

 

[bartek.chlebek]

Thanks for response

Yes, I've seen many successful Z97 builds, so I'm pretty sure it will work just fine ATM.
My concern is more about future proofing and future OS X releases.

I suppose Z87 gives that slight edge being used in real Macs, so I suppose I'll go with that.
I lose some newer CPUs support which Z97 has, but I plan to get Core i7-4790K, so I think I won't be replacing the CPU anyway for a few years.

Or is the fact that Z87 is used in iMacs completely irrelevant when it comes to OS X support?

 

[n3oNLit3]

I wouldn't say 'completely irrelevant' but we do have them working now and I see no reason that, that wouldn't continue. However as you stated nothing is 100% safe when it comes to Hackintosh..

 

[bartek.chlebek]

You know what, you're right.
I'll go with Z97.
I can always fall back to anything else if things go bad. Why reject newer hw if chances for failure are so slim.
Thanks again!

 

[PJALM]

Z87 is def more OOB then Z97. Apple has removed some Series 9 ID from kexts like for USB3 and LPC as Apple don't use Series 9 chipsets. May get worse as 10.11 progresses.

 

[bartek.chlebek]

Oh! That makes me drift back to Z87 again.
Thanks for mentioning that!

 

[PJALM]

Ya I would advise to use what Apple does, its like x99, some people make it work but OSX has no support so why do it? Besides you gain nothing between series 8 and 9.