nobodynose
Moderator
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2012
- Messages
- 3,914
- Motherboard
- ASRock Z370M Pro4
- CPU
- i7-8700
- Graphics
- RX 560
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
nobodynose's Build: Core i3-2105 - GA-H77N-WIFI - 8GB RAM - Intel HD 3000
Components- Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI MiniITX motherboard (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009JDTWVC)
- Intel Core i3-2105 CPU (http://www.amazon.com/Intel-I3-2105-Dual-Core-Processor-Cache/dp/B0051YS85O)
- Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) RAM (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003N8GVUY)
- CoolerMaster Elite 120 MiniITX case (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008R524GS)
- CoolerMaster Extreme Plus 500W PSU (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G0WPLK)
- Samsung 840 series 120GB SSD (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NHAF06)
- WD Green 3TB HDD (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RORMF6)
- IOGear GBU521 USB Bluetooth adapter (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GFX0PY)
- Atheros AR9280 Mini-PCIe Wifi card (from eBay)
- Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 from Apple App Store
Comments
This is a build I just completed for a friend of mine, who has a Mac mini (mid 2009) that's on its last legs. It will be used as an HTPC, attached to a 46" LCD TV via HDMI. I hope I've gotten the links in this post correct so that click through purchases will benefit this site.
I originally decided to go with a Sandy Bridge motherboard (the GA-H61N-USB3) to keep the cost down a little. But the one I got turned out to be DOA, so I returned it and got the GA-H77N-WIFI, which has the added bonus of cheap WiFi (with the addition of a $10 Atheros AR9280 Mini-PCIe card from eBay). I kept the Sandy Bridge Intel Core i3-2105 CPU, however -- didn't see the need to exchange it, as it will be sufficient for his needs.
This is a pretty standard build, deviating just a little from the CustoMac mini. The case is the CoolerMaster Elite 120 - in my opinion one of the most attractive Mini ITX cases available. I knew from past experience that the Apex MI-008 is a little difficult to work with and has VERY little air space inside to keep it cool; the Elite 120 is bigger, but has enough clearance between the optical drive and the CPU cooler for my comfort, as well as a nice big slow-RPM cooling fan in the front. The power supply is a CoolerMaster Extreme Plus 500W (a little much for this build, but I didn't want to go with a noisy cheapo PSU that would die within 6 months).
I went with 8GB of Corsair XMS RAM - I've had nothing but good experiences with this RAM in the past. For storage, I got a Samsung 840 series 120GB SSD; my friend added a 3TB HDD. He already had an external USB DVD-RW drive (I don't remember the brand, but it works and isn't causing any sleep problems), which I just took out of its case and slapped into this system. Bluetooth is essential to him, so I added an IOGear GBU521 USB Bluetooth dongle. He already has a Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo to use.
The build went very smoothly using UniBeast 1.7.0 and MultiBeast 5.2.1 to install Mountain Lion 10.8.2. Here are the MultiBeast settings I used:
I initially forgot to change the system definition from MacPro3,1 to Macmini5,1 so HDMI video didn't work, but once I figured out my mistake and ran MultiBeast again to change it everything works fine.
Total cost: $610.53
