Edit: This is such a good thread that after talking with Bofors, we're going to move it to the Genius Bar so that others can learn from his work. I've consolodated a few posts for the sake of simplicity. - Mashugly

My OSx86 Box

FedEx just delivered the my Antec Sonnata II case and the rest of my parts, so I am starting to build my first OSx86 box right now.

I am going to probably start with the motherboard, processor and heatsink / fan assembly. I bought some Artic Silver to use there, but I have not done this part before so I might be a little bit slow.

Otherwise, since I have no floppy drive, it looks like I am probably going to have to load Windows to update my BIOS before proceeding to the OSx86 installation.



Here are all the parts that I'm using!

Part :: Model Number :: Vendor :: Price

Motherboard :: Intel D945GNTLKR :: OnSale.com :: $126.99

This board is supposed to support EFI and BIOS, it has FireWire 400, Gigabit Ethernet, Intel's GMA 950 integrated graphics, 16x PCIe, 4 SATA channels and supports RAID (ICH7R Southbridge). According to the OSx86Project's HCL's and other sources, this is a very well supported board that should be fully operational with 10.4.3. Moreover, well informed people believe that the new Core Duo Macs use Intel's 945 chipset.

NOTE: This board sold out at OnSale.com by the time my order was processed, I got it from ZipZoomFly for $139.99 with free 2nd day air shiping. However, there has been a run on these boards in the last two weeks and it is sold out a ZipZoomFly and some other vendors. Yet similiar boards, perhaps lacking Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire or TPM, and perhaps in a different form factor, are also avaible, but do NOT get one with the Sigmatel 9223 chipset (the ones with optical audio out, like the D945GNTLR) because they are not supported yet.


CPU :: Intel Pentium D 920 :: OnSale.com :: $255.99

This Presler looks like the closest chip to a Yonah (or Conroe) that is available right now (65nm process, 2.8 GHz, 2 x 2 MB cache and 800 MHz front side bus). Looking over the Intel CPU line, this clearly looks like the high performance best value right now.


CPU Cooing :: Arctic Silver 5 :: ClubIT.com :: $5.97

I ordered the CPU "in box" which means it is supposed to come with a heat sink and fan. I will be sticking with the stock CPU fan for now, but it looks like using this "grease" between the heatsink to the CPU is good idea for better thermal dissipation.


Case / PSU :: Antec Sonata II / 450W ClubIT.com :: $99.97

This is a highly rated "silent" case and power supply that is supposed to come with all the SATA connectors that I will need. While I was tempted to blow a lot more money on a top-of-line aluminum case (Lian-Li or Silverstone), this looks like a much better value and also has a FireWire 400 port on the front of the case. The only issue with this case is that include an CPU cooling duct which may be poorly designed and left uninstalled.


Case Fan :: Antec Smartcool 120mm :: OnSale.com :: $12.99

The Antec Sonata II includes a rear 120mm "Tricool" fan (3-speed swith) which I believe is for exhaust, but also includes mounts for a CPU air duct fan, GPU fan and front case fan. RIght now I am sticking with the "stock" CPU fan and not installing a PCIe graphics card, however I want to install some 10K RPM Raptors which might get hot, so this "Smartcool" (automatic temperature sensor speed adjustment) is suppose to go in the case's front fan bracket to cool them.


RAM :: Corsair ValueSelect :: NewEgg.com :: $169.00 x 2
DDR-667 / PC5300
VS2GBKIT667D2
(2 x 1GB)

While 4GB of RAM might sound like overkill, I would actually consider going with more if the OSx86 motherboards I like supported it, but I think 2GB is what I would recommend for most folks around here. OS X is big time RAM-hog compared with Windows and Linux. I was originally going to get 4GB of "pqi" RAM from NewEgg at $163.44 per 2GB kit, but then I saw this Cosair RAM which I think is higher quality/performance for $169.00. I believe that the "pqi" RAM has a CAS latency of 4 while the Corsair is 3.

EDIT: This is definitely not CL 3 RAM that I bought, it is CL 5.

EDIT 2: My motherboard detects this RAM's default timings as 5-5-5-15, but AnandTech claims this stuff is rated for 4-4-4-12 at the board memory voltage of 1.8V: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2797&p=17


Hard Drives :: Western Digital
Raptor SATA
10K RPM

WD360GD :: ClubIT.com :: $105.99 x 2
36 GB


WD740GD :: NewEgg.com :: $135.00 (after $20 rebate)
74 GB

OK, I know I went a little wild here, three Raptors, but I wanted to play with SATA RAID (striped for 2x speed) with two of the 36 GB drives, and well the price on the 74 GB drive was too good to pass up (the rebate offer ended today). Anyways, it is somewhat unclear what I will end up with in my "Hackintosh" but my G5 PowerMac has an empty bay, so one of these might end up in there as a "swap" partition for virtual memory.


Optical Drive :: Pioneer DVR-110D :: ClubIT.com :: $43.97
16x16 Double Layer
DVD +/- RW

Apple typically uses Pioneer DVD burners, so at this price I see no reason to mess around with anything else.


Monitors :: Dell 2005FPW :: Dell.com :: $490.90 (w/ sales tax)
20" (1680 x 1050) :: $429.77 (w/ sales tax)

AnandTech has a great article comparing the Dell 2005FPW with Apple's 20" Cinema Display. While their have been some quality problems with the 2005FPW it uses the same panel as Apple's 20" Cinema Display. While not quite a cool, the Dell panel has many more features than the Apple and clearly a much better value. Instead of buying one larger panel, I buy two smaller panels and run them together, again, it is a much better value. But until the ATI x1600 video card is fully supported on "unsupported" OSx86 boxes, I am not going to buy a video card and just use the Intel D945G motherboard's GMA 950 to run a single display. So, I was only going to order one 2005FPW now and plan to get another later (when I get a ATI x1600 or whatever supported video to run dual displays). Anyways, the Dell guy offered my $60 bucks off if I ordered the second 2005FPW last night, so I did. I was then planning on canceling my first 2005FPW order to just get one at the better price, but Dell has already shipped them both after telling me the expected ship date would be 1.19.06. I still might decline to receive or otherwise send back the more expensive order, but not likely now. Dell is the only vendor who charged me State sales tax.


Keyboard Apple USB Keyboard OnSale.com $29.00

I was looking at some others like the Kensington's and MacAlly's, but I really just an Apple. Having the all the right keys all in the right places will make my Hackitosh feel more like the real thing. Apple keyboards are high quality and the price is right, otherwise, my only issues are the lack of USB 2.0 ports (the have USB 1.1), white keyboards get dirty and I would like a flatter keyboard. I will actually probably sticking this keyboard with my Cube and instead use one of my older flatter black Apple keyboards with this machine.


Mouse :: Logitech MX510 :: ClubIT.com :: $27.97

I was really close to ordering a Mighty Mouse, but I have never used one and I know that it is a little "different". The only issue with Logitech is OS X drivers, apparently we are suppose to use USB OverDrive which is suppose to be good but I have yet to check if it has been ported to x86 yet (so I may be stuck using something else for while). Otherwise, MX510 has gotten great reviews, the price is right and it has eight buttons.

NOTE: MacGirl reported above that "USB OverDrive" is not working on OSx86 yet, so one must use "Mouse Steer" instead.


Shipping :: $34.00

Dell ships for free and ClubIT shipped for free on every but the Arctic Silver and mouse. Once shipping costs were included NewEgg lost some of my business to ClubIT, who in particular shipped the case for free. Otherwise, I am in no rush here and should get all these parts by next weekend.

Total :: $2260.81

The only other things I expect to add to this system later is a video card (probably an ATI x1600) once they are supported on "unsupported" OSx86 hardware, a video card fan and possibly a better CPU fan or cooler. That should put the grand total a little under $2500.

Now, let's subtract the Dell panels ($920.67), the Raptors ($345.4), the 4GB of RAM ($338), and add an NVIDIA GeForce 6600 256MB video card (~$125), a Hitachi 250GB SATA (~$125) and 512 MB RAM (~$75) instead. That comes out to be $981.74. Now, for an even more fair price comparison my system with stock Dual 2.3GHz PowerMac G5 at the actual discounted price I could buy it for of about $2332 (a little more than 10% off retail price plus the State sales tax that Apple charges me), let's go ahead and add in about $170 for nice Lian-Li or SilverStone aluminum case:


Dual Hackintosh Pro: ~$1150

Dual PowerMac G5: ~$2300


Half off...

Good luck. Please keep us updated with your progress

Thanks and I will be posting my results and progress in this thread. I will also provide a detailed list of what I bought, why I bought it, where I bought it and for what price.

By the way, I made a related post for people wanting to covert a .dmg to an .iso and then patch it on a Mac here:

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=7389

I have just read over the Artic Silver instruction and it looks like I to first remove the thermal "pad" on my stock Intel heat sink. This is some kind of waxy material that Artic Silver is meant to replace and that company says to use of some plastic and or a specific solvent. It look like the "pad" should peal off fairly easy with a plastic knife.

Note I am wearing examine latex gloves when working with Artic Silver, the processor and and heat sink / fan assembly for two reasons: (1) hands have oil (and dirt) that will interfere with the function on the ArticSilver and otherwise I want to keep all surfaces very clean and (2) ArticSilver is pretty toxic.

thank you. cant wait

Here is picture of the wax-like thermal "pad" on the bottom of the heatsink-fan assembly:



I manage to gently peel and scrape most of it off with a flexible plastic ruler (don't use anything that can scratch the soft copper ):



But that was just not good enough, this surface must clean of that wax crap. It directly interferes with the Artic Silver. So, a proper solvent must be used. Ideally one would use xylene (like benzene) here. Acetone would be good too (but nail polish remover is not recommended and absolutely do not use anything oily nor apply heat , i.e. no hot water). I had neither so I went with hold house isopropyl-alchohol (rubbing alochol) and that worked pretty good with lens paper. Again, the point to get the copper surface very clean while being carefull not to scratch. Rubbing it is actually good because the surface polishes:

Lookin Good

bofors,

Is this a box that will theoretically be compatible with 10.4.4?

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
why did you get a Pentium D?!

you should have purchased the same processor as mine.
I'm getting benches and speeds as fast as the FX-60 processor for about 1/4 the price =(

and thats on stock voltage.

but that HSF looks nice =)

i have to redo the artic silver on my processor. i found that the first time i did it, it was too thick, so its actually creating an insulated surface, rather than a dissipitating one.

so im gonna go do that again soon.

and remember to let the AS5 heat cycle. i found that it was the best way of achieving the best curing for the AS5.

leave it on for a day, then turn it off for 8 hours. do that for one whole week, and your temps will drop 7 to 10'C

I'm anxious to see how this turns out.


if only i had a better video card
i can tell my games are struggling to keep up with my CPU because of my crappy video memory.

And i have such a nice setup too, but the vid card is being a poo-head

Hey Mashugly...

Yes, I got an motherboard that supports EFI, an Intel D945GNTKLR, so once we get the new OSx86 "issues" worked out it will certainly work with 10.4.4+. Here is the thread where we were discussing motherboards:

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=7192

also... i found that trying to make a smooth layer of AS is hard.

whether you use a razor or not, its probably going to be too much.
what i would do is just plop a dab of the stuff right in the center... but make it like the shape of a BB pellet.

the heatsink, if put on directly straight, will work perfectly, and will distribute the AS all over the integrated heat spreader by itself.

and after all, the entire IHS doesnt have to be smoothered in AS5, because the core is directly under the center (on AMD processors anyways)... so thats really the only area that needs attention.

too much artic silver is a bad thing.

hey bofors.. isnt EFI sorta like a serial code check though?

I mean, wont the EFI program on the board you bought sorta send the wrong info to the EFI request... causing it to halt?

or is all EFI detection just a "yes" "no" deal?

Well of course, I would have probably rather gone with AMD and perhaps I will in the future. But I am focusing on maximum comptability here. This means the Intel 945 chipset and the GMA 900/950 graphic's chip. So AMD was not an option for me right now.

Anyways, I am pretty happy with the processor's specs and price. I got a Pentium D 920, Presler (65nm), 2.8GHz (2 x 2MB cache), 800MHz Front Side Bus (FSB). This is the closest thing to a Yonah right now with twice as much cache, albeit unshared and a faster FSB, it should be compariable. We can get do some benchmarking later.

And, oh yeah, this Pentium D 920 was only $250...



That is my plan, and yes too much Artic Silver would be bad, very little is needed. Like the volume of a rice grain and I am not going to try spreading it much at all, only rotating the heatsink a little once it is one the heat spearder. The heat of processor should spread very thoroughly and evenly over time. Apparently some 200 hours are need as well as full cooling cycles to room temp.



There are a lot of EFI issues that we are just beginning to understand. Normally EFI has no serial code or anything, however it is possible to combine EFI with the on-board TPM chips to create signed (or even encrypted) firmware. But I really doubt that Apple would have gone that far simply because just like BIOS, the EFI firmware will need to be updated and anything like that would cause huge problems for really little benefit.

We will get through this EFI learning curve soon enough and probably really like all the cool features that it offers... but it is not just a "yes or no deal". The EFI isn't just detected, but rather EFI loads operating system and device drivers (like for the ATI x1600 graphics chips).

I do not want to turn this into an EFI thread though. This one should be used for loading operating systems and general EFI discussion:

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=6969

And this thread should be used for discussing EFI and the ATI x1600 graphics drivers:

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=7174

awesome.

i thought you were buying just a regular box and going to use it as a OSx box no the side. but if your intention is to make it 100% compatible, then i guess you got it right on the money, d00d! *high5*

i wouldnt even twist the heatsink on too much after puttting it on, i'd say like one or two degrees in either direction. creating swirls in the AS5 will create air pockets too, you just wanna slowly grind it into both small crevices of the IHS and the HSF.

But i think you know what you're doing man. im not gonna bother explaining stuff. I'd see it as an insult to your intelligence, which is not what i wanna do.

and dont use the grain of rice example from the AS5 site. it's so weird.
its like

One quarter of the size of one uncooked long grain white rice.

LOLOLOLOLOL... wtf is that.

Now, back to my hardware installation.

I think I am going to put the motherboard in the case and then attach the heat sink and fan assembly, but I am not sure about this. I need to look over the Intel motherboard and Antec instructions again on this question. If anybody knows whether I should install the heat sink and fan assembly before I but the mother in the case please let me know promptly.

Anywas, I have been getting the case ready for the motherboard and I had to take out Antec's CPU/GPU cooling duct:



Then I had replace the stock I/O panel with the special one that came with my board which has a FireWire port amoung other things:



Next, I was going install a 120mm "intake" fan, near the front of the case to help cool the hard drives (I bought two 10K RPM Raptors for this box):



But that fan came with four screws that I thought I was supposed to use to mount it in the case (on the right). I spent a long time trying to figure out if they were supposed to be self-tapping or what, because I could not see how to use them in case. I was about to put the front 120mm aside and get back to it later, but I noticed that the case came with four silicone rubber plugs that are supposed to be used here (on the bottom left). I know this because I can that these are exactly what Antec used to fasten the 120mm rear exhaust fan. Also, this is supposed to be a quiet case with noise dampening rubber here and there:



So, I am going to mount the front 120mm next and they try to figure out whether I should put the motherboard in before or after I attach the heatsink and CPU fan assembly.

definately put the heatsinnk on before.

it will give you a better feel for if you're seating it correctly.
just support the heatsinnk as your moving it around.

my HSF weighs almost 1 kilogram (860 grams) and it will crack my mobo to pieces if it carry it around like a hot plate.

btw... that mouse. its almost the same as the mx1000 which i have.
how do we get the forward and back buttons to work on the side?

Hmm... Intel says to put the chip in the socket, install the motherboard and then attached the heat sink. But since we are dealing with Artic Silver here, I think I will take your advice and install the heat sink first and then motherboard..



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/

Intel, InShmell....
they only tell you that because they're using their stock HSF, right?
and you should be using another HSF, as that would void the warranty

but anyways.

install it out of the case, and carefully put it into the case as one unit.
you may need to put a backing plate on it or something anyways, so you cant do that when it's in there.

since i am right handed... this is what i would do.

1) put case on its side.
2) put mobo on a leveled table.
3) apply thermal paste accordingly.
4) put the screws and a screw driver on the right side of the mobo, where your better hand is.
5) put the heatsink on the chip, guiding it with your right hand (from the sides) and putting your left hand ontop of the heatsink, so that you can press down.
6) remove right hand, and keep left hand there, to press down, as you install screws or clips. most important step
7) tighten screws cross wise... top left, bottom right. never let go of that pressure hand (left hand)
8) if you let go of your left hand, or relieve pressure, you must restart, as you just introduced air into the thermal paste.
9) dont press down too hard y0o0o0o0o! you wanna just seat it correctly, but not crush the mobo and its underpins.
10) carefully move mobo into case.

its not that hard, but the best advice is to have the HSF seated correctly at ALL times. and plan ahead before you put it down....its sort of awkward when you have your left hand on the HSF, trying to keep it steady, and you notice that the screwdriver and screws are on the left of the motherboard. it happened to me and i felt stupid for it, because it was the one time that i applied the thermal paste perfectly.

oh and thanks for the drivers =) i might test them now.

I find it much easier to put the heat sink on the board before installing the board. Your Arctic Silver application is right on. I clean my heatsinks and heat spreaders (the metal over the chip) with rubbing alcohol before applying a rice grain sized amount of AS5 to the spreader. Then I lock the heat sink into place. Having the motherboard out of the case makes it easier to line up and clamp down the heat sink.

Looking good so far!

--SS

Well Intel's instructions so obfuscated by using the way they organized them, that they are really difficult to follow and any person with half-a-brain would have sorted them by language not by instruction like Antec did, so you can just pick you language and then read continously. Intead I have to deal with something the size of a road-map cluttered with all this stuff. It is like the "Tower of Babel" and this part just cracks me up:



"NOTE: Installation instructions are not part of the Three Year Limited Warranty"

Do they actually mean their useless "paper" is not covered under warranty?

Anyways, here is the "intake" fan pre-loaded with the silcone plugs:



I had to use some "needle-nose" pliars but it went in fairly easily:



Guys, thanks for your all the suggestions, I going to print them out now, look them over, and get the processor and heat sink fan assembly attached to the motherboard now.

is that where the front fan goes?
because on my case there is a hole in the front where it gets air from and sucks it into the case.

air is supposed to come in from the front, and leave from the back.

If you still have the budget better change your HSF with something like Zalman or Thermaltake, the one that came with your CPU is crap.

it should be fine for his application.
i dont think he's overclocking it.


switching to AS5 from the stock thermal pad is good enough.

I got an Intel D640 and i used the one that came with my CPU and you know what ..... it idles at 50 c and shoot to 70 c at full load that's the reason i changed mine to Zalman. Just my .0002 cents and now idles at 30 c and 42 at full load.

Yeah, I was wondering about that too, but that's where it is suppose to go. The front of the case actually has an washable air filter, but I don't think most people use a front fan on the Antec Sonata II.

Here is the Pentium in the 775 socket on the motherboard, I cleaned the "heat speader" with Isopropyl Alchohol fairly well:



Some fraction of a rice grain or BB of Artic Silver (hopefully not too much):



I them laid the heatsink fan assembly on top of the Pentium aligning it's spring-loaded fasteners to the holes in the motherboard and they rotate it a +/- just a few degrees, keepting the fasteners in their sockets (but not attacted yet).



Then one-by-one, I pushed the four fasteners throught their hole in the motherboard and until they "popped" and lock in place. Here is the back side of board where I could tell the heatsink fan assembly was properly secure:











Yeah, I know there are much better CPU coolers and I will probably looking at those later. But I am not overclocking here and just trying to keep things simple for the moment. I also just went with a basic power supply and case, where in the future I will probaby switch to a Lian Li case and some other power supply.

As a Mac user, it is has been a while since I built my own machine and I still have a lot to learn, so I appreciate your input here. Usually, I just pay Steve Jobs to do this stuff...

I understand And you sure got a screamer there and enjoy your new build

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

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

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).







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:



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.

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

Well FireWire is definitely working:





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...


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



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

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!

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.

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.

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.

Do you have a Gigabit Ethernet HUB/Switch?

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.

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





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




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)



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

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

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

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





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.

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).



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):



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):



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:



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:



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.

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

Sure I can do this now.

Dang. . . . nice system man.

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



With matching optical drive cover:



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)

These are the Dell 20" 2005FPW panels which I bought for this system but have yet to hook up (I have them on my PowerMac G5 right now):



Again, as discussed above, AnandTech has a great article comparing the Dell 2005FPW with Apple's 20" Cinema Display.

I have the Lian Li PC-65B with the CD rom bezels, wonderful case

I really want to get that motherboard and start building........

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.



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

I have the Antec NeoPower 480. It's a modular PSU, meaning you plug wires into it vs. having all the wires coming out of it. Makes for a nice clean case.