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[HowTo] Building my first OSx86 box...

bofors

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in OSx86 10.4 (Tiger)

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matix
matix
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Looking great so far. As i already told you bofors, i am eagerly awaiting your final results!

 

Also, let me recommend the Arctic Cooling freezer 7 pro heatsink. Best one for the money. About 2 times as tall as the stock ones though :weight_lift:

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bofors
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Just a brief update...

 

The box is built and seems to be working prefectly and boots the OSx86 install disk.

 

Right now I am trying to update the BIOS without a floppy drive.

 

I am installing Windows 2K, but this thing say it can boot off of USB so I going to try substituting that for floppy.

 

 

EDIT: OK, BIOS is being flashed, should be installing 10.4.3 in a few minutes.

 

EDIT2: 10.4.3 is installing, seems to be going slower that I would expect though...

 

I guess this is known issue that is solve with some of the 10.4.4 kext's, but I have to set my SATA drive an as IDE (not AHCI) in BIOS or OS X does see it. See here for the solution: http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=6995

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bofors
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I am on this box now...

 

So the on-board Ethernet is working.

 

Audio is working through USB speakers (I will test normal audio jacks and 5.1 later).

 

aboutthismac7al.jpg

 

gma9503ap.jpg

 

FireWire Bus:

 

Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec

 

 

...

 

 

Ethernet:

 

Media Options: Full Duplex

Media Subtype: 100baseTX

 

FireWire is great, but that does not look like Gigabit Ethernet to me.

 

EDIT: That's because my router is only 100baseTX, thanks MacGirl!

 

Here is the Xbench:

 

xbenchk3af.jpg

 

This is my first experience on OSx86 and I have to say I am very impressed. Fast and stable. Just a couply very minor issues, stuff like I see on my Macs that is not quite perfect.

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Careless
Careless
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make sure you look through the bios to activate all the necessary options.

aswell, i thikn the ammount of AS5 you put is reasonable, and i think i willl be doing the same thing when I redo all my stuff this coming week.

 

and about the antec you have. usually when there's an air filter, the fan is supposed to be directly behind it. that's sort of weird how they put it in that case. but i guess the reason has to do with it being quiet and atleast having SOME air flow for the front. It's better than having none.

 

either way. im glad it's up. let us know how the EFI goes! and remember to switch out your kernel for an unpatched version. i find my system is a bit more stable now after doing so.

 

EDIT:

hmmm xbench isnt quite as good as i expected.

can you list the specs of the system as i have done in my sig?

 

But i was at a friends house tonite who has a dual 1.8 ghz with 4x256 mb of ram, and it performed just about as well as your computer did. think he scored a 75 or something.

damnit, if i could get my hands on some nvidia drivers that work, i think i'll have a 175+ machine

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bofors
bofors
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Well FireWire is definitely working:

 

firewire0nk.jpg

 

 

 

let us know how the EFI goes!
Yes I think I am seeing EFI-features when I played with BIOS settings here. I mean, before and after the BIOS screen, I saw some things...

 

and remember to switch out your kernel for an unpatched version. i find my system is a bit more stable now after doing so.

OK, I did see some other's kernals were included with this OSx86 install.

 

hmmm xbench isnt quite as good as i expected.

can you list the specs of the system as i have done in my sig?

 

I will list the specs and add to my sig too. I was not sure what to expect for an XBench score here, but I think a 76 is reasonable considering the GMA950. The Pentium D is good but not great either :happymac:

 

I am super tired now, but I will playing with this all day tomorrow. In particular, I will trying 1680 x 1050 on my 20" panel and if I get the 10.4.4 kext's I need for ACHI, I am going to drop another Raptor in and try to set up a strip RAID (that should kick my Xbench score up a knotch ;) )

 

Cya... and thanks for the help!

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forcer
forcer
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congrats bofors, I see all things are working fine!

I hope you'll be impressed also in windows.

btw.. you can use shift+alt+3 and shift+alt+4(cut) to grab your screenshots.. you'll find them on desktop. :happymac:

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Careless
Careless
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hey bof-meister.

 

you mind taking readings of your temperature on idle and under load in windows?

 

also, you may wanna check for system stability using Prime95 for a day or two.

 

ask me if you need help, there are some settings that need adjustment, nothing major though.

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macgirl
macgirl
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The mouse is a LogicTech MX510 and "USB Overdrive" is supposed to be used with it and OS X. I would assume that "USB Overdrive" has no problems on OSx86, but that is still an open question for me:

 

http://www.usboverdrive.com/

Yes it has problems since it is not Universal Binary yet, and because it uses a driver does not work. But SteerMouse is Universal now, I just bought it days ago, I can use it with my PowerBook and the MS BlueTooth Mouse as on X86 with the Logitech BT Mouse and the MS Wireless Mouse, of course it does not detect PS/2 mice ass supported even if they are the same when you connect them as USB.

 

FireWire is great, but that does not look like Gigabit Ethernet to me.
Do you have a Gigabit Ethernet HUB/Switch?

 

Here is the Xbench:

 

xbenchk3af.jpg

 

This is my experience on OSx86 and I have to say I am very impressed. Fast and stable. Just a couply very minor issues, stuff like I see on my Macs that is not quite perfect.

Not bad, I just get the same results with my AMD3500+ but without QE and CI, so I gues that even with my unsupported Geforce 6600 but very fast it will have better results when a kext is released.
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bofors
bofors
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make sure you look through the bios to activate all the necessary options.

 

I have gone through the BIOS a couple of times and I think it have it set right, but I am not sure what all the "necessary" options are either. So, if someone reading this knows some of the specifics please post them. Otherwise, all features are generally enabled but the SATA drive is set as an IDE (not AHCI) until I get the new 10.4.4 kexts: http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=6995

 

 

 

congrats bofors, I see all things are working fine!

I hope you'll be impressed also in windows.

btw.. you can use shift+alt+3 and shift+alt+4(cut) to grab your screenshots.. you'll find them on desktop. :D

 

Thanks forcer, I certainly appreciate your posts and assistance in choosing the "right" motherboard.

 

 

Yes it has problems since it is not Universal Binary yet, and because it uses a driver does not work. But SteerMouse is Universal now, I just bought it days ago, I can use it with my PowerBook and the MS BlueTooth Mouse as on X86 with the Logitech BT Mouse and the MS Wireless Mouse, of course it does not detect PS/2 mice ass supported even if they are the same when you connect them as USB.

 

EDIT: USB Overdrive is now Univeral!

 

Thanks for the information about SteerMouse, Alejandra!

 

Will be trying it with my Logitech MX510 later (which I have to yet to try out)

 

Do you have a Gigabit Ethernet HUB/Switch?

 

Yes and that appears to be the problem! I just check my PowerMac and it say the same thing. Now it is time for me to order a new Gigabit Router. I am looking Asante GX5 line:

 

http://www.asante.com/products/productsLvl3/GX5_Series.asp

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bofors
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Looks very nice. I can imagine that your OSX probably flys :)

 

OS X "feels" about as fast as my PowerMac, I do not think Xbench scores reflect OS X speed well at all:

 

systemfull7lf.jpg

 

What are the odds that this mobo will run 10.4.4 retail?

 

I think it is just a matter of time, perhaps weeks or months. Really, I think the question is wether or not an EFI motherboard will even be necessary to run 10.4.4 as it appears that EFI loaders can themselves be load from disk and most people have BIOS boards.

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bofors
bofors
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This should wrap-up the actually box building report that I completed last night.

 

This shot shows the case on its side prepped for the motherboard with heatsink installed. Simply look at your board and see where the brass "stand-offs" need to be placed on the case. Rember to use the a socket driver and tighten this to the case (I borked this up and only hand-tightened them the first time).

 

pict00018cu.jpg

 

Now the motherboard goes in the case, it's holes are aligned with brass "stand-offs" and attached with about ten screws. (I borked this step up too and used some of the wrong screws, I did not notice that Antec gave two similiar but different sized screws. One type for attaching the motherboard to the brass "stand-offs" and another for attaching 5.25" drives to rails):

 

pict00023if.jpg

 

Attaching the cables was of minimal hassle, here Intel motherboard's map was good and useful (but instead of being cluttered with ten langauges, it just had pictures :)). The only real problem I had here was trying to determine the polarity of about three plugs for switchs and LED's on the case front (but it looks like I got it right or it just does not matter). There were a few exta audio plugs that I left unattached too.

 

The only other thing noteworthy has to do with the front fan I elected to install. The fan had a "three pin" socket which could be plugged into the motherboard but also came with "Molex" adapter that can be used to power it directly off the PSU like a drive. I first attached the plug to the motherboard, but it appeared that the fan was not getting enough power sometimes as it would not spin untill pushed. Switching to the "Molex" adapter solved this problem and otherwise this fan has a built-in thermal sensor which determines speed.

 

Next, I stood the case upright and installed the DVD-R drive in the top front 5.25" bay (at which point I noticed that I had been using the wrong screws with the motherboard, so I had to go back, fix that problem and the brass "stand-off" tightening issue described above). Then I prepped the case for an SATA drive, Intel gave me two SATA interface cables (red ribbon in picture):

 

pict00048kg.jpg

 

Contray to Intel's advice, I installed the RAM last. Aside from the front fan issue noted above, the machine appeared to work perfectly and I booted into the BIOS screen:

 

pict00061lj.jpg

 

I then downloaded Intel's BIOS update and installed Windows 2K to flash it. That completed the box, it was now ready for 10.4.3 which installed without any problems. The only issue I ran into is that I had to leave the SATA drive set to IDE (not ACHI) in BIOS for the 10.4.3 installer to see it. That issue is fixable with 10.4.4 kexts and my next step:

 

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=6995

 

Here is a shot the box in use, I am just using some old Apple USB speakers for now and have not touched the Logitech MX510 mouse yet:

 

pict00023pr.jpg

 

After I get ACHI working, I am going to drop another Raptor in and try set up a striped RAID in OS X's Disk Utility.

Edited by bofors
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dungeon
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This should wrap-up the actually box building report that I completed last night.

 

This shot shows the case on its side prepped for the motherboard with heatsink installed. Simply look at your board and see where the brass "stand-offs" need to be placed on the case. Rember to use the a socket driver and tighten this to the case (I borked this up and only handed tightened them the first time).

 

pict00018cu.jpg

 

Now the motherboard goes in the case, it's holes are aligned with brass "stand-offs" and attached with about ten screws. (I borked this step up too and used some of the wrong screws, I did not notice that Antec gave two similiar but different sized screws. One type for attaching the motherboard to the brass "stand-offs" and another for attaching 5.25" drives to rails):

 

pict00023if.jpg

 

Attaching the cables was of minimal hassle, here Intel's map was good and useful (but instead of being cluttered with ten langauges, it just had pictures :hysterical:). The only real problem I had here was trying to determine the polarity of about three plugs for switchs and LED's on the case front (but it looks like I got it right or it just does not matter). There were a few exta audio plugs that I left unattached too.

 

The only other thing noteworthy has to do with the front fan I elected to install. The fan had a "three pin" socket which could be plugged into the motherboard but also came with "Molex" adapter that can be used to power it start off the PSU instead. I first attached the plug to the motherboard, but it appeared that the fan was not getting enough power sometimes as it would not spin untill pushed it. Switching to the "Molex" adapter solved this problem and otherwise this fan has a built-in thermal sensor which is determines speed.

 

Next, I stood the case upright and installed the DVD-R drive in the top front 5.25" bay (at which point I noticed that I had been using the wrong screws with motherboard, so I had to go back and fix that problem and the brass "stand-off" tightening issue described above). Then I prepped the case for an SATA drive, Intel gave me two SATA interface cables (red ribbon in picture):

 

pict00048kg.jpg

 

Contray to Intel's advice, I installed the RAM last. Aside from the front fan issue noted above, the machine appeared to work perfectly and I booted into the BIOS screen:

 

pict00061lj.jpg

 

I then downloaded Intel's BIOS update and installed Windows 2K to flash it. That completed the box, it was now ready for 10.4.3 which installed without any problems. The only I ran into is that I had to leave the SATA drive set to IDE (not ACHI) in my BIOS for the 10.4.3 installer to see it. That issue is fixable with 10.4.4 kexts and my next step:

 

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=6995

 

Then I am going to drop another Raptor in and try set up striped RAID in OS X's Disk Utility. Here is a shot the box in use, I am just using some old Apple USB speakers for now and have not touched the Logitech MX510 mouse yet:

 

pict00023pr.jpg

 

 

Would you mind post what you bought, why you bought it, where you bought it and for what price. Thanks.

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bofors
bofors
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Regarding the case, if I wanted to do this "right" I would choose a Lian Li PC-60B (or similar aluminum model)

 

xoxide187763093946tv.gif

 

With matching optical drive cover:

 

xoxide1881160888445gn.jpg

 

These guys carry the complete Lian Li line: http://www.xoxide.com/lianli2.html

 

But so far, the Antec Sonnata II is fine and my major complaints are the obnoxious blue LEDs and fake metal cover for the front ports. I would rather have the ports and drives exposed, no doors, like my Power Mac G5 and the Lian LI PC-60B

 

As of now I am unsure what power supply I would recommend, which one reason the Antec Sonatta was convient (it comes with good 450W power supply with four SATA connectors), but these improvements would only add about $100 to the total system cost (but easily included in the $1150 sum above)

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johnniecarcinogen
johnniecarcinogen
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I used a black PC-60B for my sister's pc a year and a half ago. I was alittle disapointed by the strange prong like mobo screw socket things but a nice case. If I had my way i'd get a pc v1000 which I find beautiful and kinda Power Mac-ish.

 

EDIT: actually after looking at the inside layout of the v1000, I noticed that it has the square holes also and probably uses the prong things rather than the screw type bolt holders most cases use (if that makes since). No biggie though, I guess they have their advantages.

 

XgceU02wYg66pcV0g6oBjnq8yjpR.jpg

Edited by johnniecarcinogen
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bofors
bofors
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I guess they have their advantages.

 

It's funny because, as described above, this is the only part of my build that I screwed up. I suppose Lian Li gives you some kind of clip to use with these "strange" sockets (perhaps spring-loaded, like those Intel uses for attachting the heat sink to the motherboard that pop). That sounds like it could be better than jacking around with with ten little screws.

 

Regarding, the pc v1000 case, I do not want wheels, do they come off? Does Lian Li sell something to replace them with?

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vfilby
vfilby
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Thanks for posting this thread! I have been lucky so far and have been able to run OS X, stable and native, since 10.4.1 was leaked. At this point I can no longer go back to XP so I'll either have to upgrade key components to make my computer work with OSX or I will have to buy a new iMac. I would much rather upgrade this box and buy a kickass new display than a new iMac.

 

It sounds like I could upgrade to the mobo, processor you used to fix all my problems. I am currently running an Intel 2.8GHz w/SSE2 on an Asus p4p800. The biggest problems I have are lack of video drivers and some performance issues b/c I have no SSE3. I am very eager to see if you can get dual video with an ATI or NVIDIA card.

 

Definitely keep us posted!

 

Cheers,

V

 

P.S. I think the sonata is a great case, I have had v1 for a year or so now.

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bofors
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I have the Lian Li PC-65B...

 

I used a black PC-60B...

 

I would like to know what power supplies you guys have been using with these Lian Li PC-6X series cases.

 

I am also interested in anyone else's recomendation or experience here as well. I a am total n00b on power supplies right now.

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bofors
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The biggest problems I have are lack of video drivers... I am very eager to see if you can get dual video with an ATI or NVIDIA card.

 

Unless, there is a break through on video drivers, I am planning to order an ADD2-N card for only about $35... a real bargain if it works (does anybody here know for sure???)

 

Intel Advanced Digital Display 2 ADD2

 

This is what Apple was putting in the Developer Transition Kit, so we know it definitely works for a single display. Using an ADD2-N card here would add a single DVI-D output while (hopefully) retaining the use of the standard VGA. So, this would theoretically allow me to drive two independent displays but one of them would be VGA, which is fine for me.

 

add2.png

 

http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/...aphics+915main&

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