Bierfreund Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x 8GB DDR3-RAM Kit GPU: Zotac GeForce GT 640 Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 550D PSU: existing 450W 80Plus (not sure atm, i think an Antec) Storage: existing Samsung SSD 830 Series 256GB Is this configuration OK or what component could cause trouble? I'm mostly unsure about the Motherboard. I know the Gigabyte Z77Series board should be a good pick for OSX installations, but there a plenty of different models... I read that the GA-Z77X-UP5 TH should be a perfect choice. That board costs around 260€ (335$) here in germany. The GA-Z77-DS3H costs around 80€ (103$). That's a difference of 180€ (232$). I don't have high requirements on the motherboard: I need one PCIe x16 slot for the graphik card, one SATA 6Gb/s for the SSD and of course i want USB 3.0. That's it. So i think i have no advantage in buying the A-Z77X-UP5 TH, except OSX Mountain Lion is running properly on the cheaper GA-Z77-DS3H of course. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/287264-review-of-my-planned-hardware-configuration/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.D. Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Not only is that a good motherboard choice (See the wiki reference to it here) but there has been a all-in-one post-installation tool designed specifically for this motherboard and UEFI BIOS which is available here. The only reference that I found on the wiki for the 640 is here. That referenced an OEM version of that card, but still said it works OOB. The wiki here is a great fountain of information regarding hardware/software compatibility. I just assumed Mountain Lion for you install, so if I was wrong, or you have any other compatibility issues - the wiki can be found here. Good luck with your build! 2 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/287264-review-of-my-planned-hardware-configuration/#findComment-1899367 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bierfreund Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 Thanks for your helpful reply and the links! "all-in-one post-installation tool" sounds great I picked the Zotac GT640 because a GT640 is also part of the actual iMax series, which should makeit compatible. The Zotac GT 640 is cooled passive and i want a passive graphic card (GT650 and higher all have fans). I guess an AMD HD 7750 (e.g. an Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD 7750) would offer more perforance than an Nvida GT 640, but i expect more trouble with an AMD graphic chipset, because apple does not use it (yet). An AMD HD 7750 is also not listed in the HCL you linked above. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/287264-review-of-my-planned-hardware-configuration/#findComment-1899490 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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