Good News for who want to build a cheaper Leopard Hackintosh

[Pismo101]

I'm planning on doing that. Looks like the GeForce 6200 is about the best you can get in a PCI form. It's a real shame Intel crippled this board by not adding a PCI-e slot to it.

 

It really is a shame intel didnt add a pci-e slot instead of pci. that would be coolest board ever.

i got a Zotac nVidia GeForce 6200 512MB PCI card for my D945GCLF for 40€. QE/CI is only supported if you use natit v0.2dual. It only recognizes 256MB, but that seems to be ok. It works like a charm with a 42" LCD-TV (even HD-Videos).

I'm loving it. The only thing that doesn't work is sleep mode.

 

In case someone has a different pci graphics card which works quite well (maybe even with sleep mode working),please tell me.

 

My install config is iAtkos 5i with the install documentation from UnaClocker:

 

I went back through the install to document the choices I picked in the "Customize" install.. Here's what works:

iATKOS 5i Main System (default)

Bootloader - PC EFI V9 (default)

X86Patches

-- Decrypter

---- Apple Decrypt (default)

-- SMBIOS drivers

---- SMBIOS-EFI (default)

-- Disabler.kext (default)

-- ACPI

---- Stock ACPI Modified (you have to choose this one)

Drivers

-- VGA

here i selected geforce, natit v0.2dual

[---- Intel

------ EFI String for Intel (select this as well) ]

-- System

---- SATA

------ Intel SATA (select this one)

---- NTFS-3G (at some point, you'll regret it if you don't select this one)

That's it! Select those, install (make sure the drive was formatted GUID), and reboot. Make sure the DVD is removed from the drive before you try to boot, or it will kernel panic. If it does kernel panic, remove the DVD, reboot, you'll be fine.

Software update, select everything, you'll be fine.

 

By the way IDE works as well.

If you want to use iAtkos in a different language than english, don't forget to install the appropriate language pkg.

[CPT_MAC]

Pismo101

 

I am using a FX5200 from ZOTAC. Sleep and wake up works very well. I don't think it is your card. You may check in the Graphic card section i have posted a tutorial which I found here from others.

 

I am using the IPC 10.5.6 distro, maybe this make the difference. Tomorrow I will check DVI to HDMI on a 52 inch Samsung.

 

 

GeForce 5200 FX:

 

Chipsatz-Modell: GeForce 5200 FX

Typ: Monitor

Bus: PCI

VRAM (gesamt): 128 MB

Hersteller: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Geräte-ID: 0x0322

Versions-ID: 0x00a1

Monitore:

17'' LCDMonitor:

Auflösung: 1024 x 768 @ 85 Hz

Farbtiefe: 32-Bit Farbe

Core Image: Hardware-unterstützt

Hauptmonitor: Ja

Synchronisierung: Aus

Eingeschaltet: Ja

Quartz Extreme: Unterstützt

Monitoranschluss:

Status: Kein Monitor angeschlossen

[UnaClocker]

Yeah, if you select the options I listed, sleep won't work on this board. I had to go back and try a dozen different combinations of SMBIOS and ACPI before I got sleep working, even with the onboard video. Unfortunately, I didn't document which settings ended up working out for me.

[cosmictopsecret]

Has everone a running integrated Audio in this Board?

I tried on my Intel D945GCLF2 - but without any success.

 

(10.5.4 from MSIWindosx86.iso)

[UnaClocker]

Has everone a running integrated Audio in this Board?

I tried on my Intel D945GCLF2 - but without any success.

 

(10.5.4 from MSIWindosx86.iso)

 

Yes, onboard sound Just Works with iATKOS. This isn't a bloody wind, stop using that piece of $hit distro.

[wkearney99]

Has anyone here used iAtkos v5i with this motherboard? If so, what Customize settings did you use? I've tried several and all lead to a kernel panic on reboot.

 

I had this mobo working, someone else built it. Somehow I managed to fiddle with the video driver 'enough' to cause a reboot kernel panic. I'm now using a fresh blank drive to set up a new install. But I can't quite get it right. Suggestions?

[loopy]

This settings made by UnaClocker with iAtKos 5i works Perfectly!

[UnaClocker]

Has anyone here used iAtkos v5i with this motherboard? If so, what Customize settings did you use? I've tried several and all lead to a kernel panic on reboot.

 

I had this mobo working, someone else built it. Somehow I managed to fiddle with the video driver 'enough' to cause a reboot kernel panic. I'm now using a fresh blank drive to set up a new install. But I can't quite get it right. Suggestions?

 

After you are done installing, make sure you remove the DVD before rebooting, otherwise you will get a kernel panic. If you forget, simply remove the DVD and reboot again.

[cosmictopsecret]

Yes, onboard sound Just Works with iATKOS. This isn't a bloody wind, stop using that piece of $hit distro.

 

OK, Thanks. It works

But which distro would you prefer for this board? (perhaps with a Link )

[bcotnam]

Edit - i ended up getting my sleep/restart/shutdown to work properly now. Here is the solution in case anyone else was having the same problem. In the terminal i entered the following commands:

 

terminal> sudo pmset autorestart 1

terminal> sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3

Just wondering if anyone knows a fix for the sleep as i'm having an issue which i will elaborate below.

 

I am running leo4all v3 with the vanilla kernel and have updated to 10.5.6. I also patched my GMA950 to fix the resolutions and works great because after i updated to 10.5.6 my resolutions would only support 1024x768, if anyone wants a fix for the resolutinos problem on the GMA950 i can't post the link in the forums. Its not hard to do, but want to make sure you follow the directions or you will get a kernel panic.

 

so, the sleep problem. My restart and shutdown works fine until i sleep the computer. As soon as i sleep the computer my computer wont shutdown, but rather just restart. What i have to do to temp fix is disconnect my power supply and turn it back on and my shutdown works, but as soon as i sleep the computer the problem happends again. So, as long as i dont sleep the computer everything works, but as soon as i sleep it wont shutdown properly. So, for now i am jsut not using sleep mode.

 

Everything else works great.

 

Just wondering if anyone else had this problem or if there is a fix otherwise i just won't use sleep mode, its not a big deal. I'm sure i read something about this on the forums, but couldn't remember and thought i would ask you guys..

 

Also, i just want to mention i am using intel D945GCLF2.. Maybe i have to use the SleepKernel in order for sleep to work, but i like the vanilla kernel and if there is a fix on the vanilla kernel for sleep that would be great.

 

Cheers..

[UnaClocker]

OK, Thanks. It works

But which distro would you prefer for this board? (perhaps with a Link )

 

I just said in that reply, and I've said it about 6 times in this thread, maybe 3 times on this page alone. iATKOS 5i

And you can't link to a pirated copy of OS X, that's not allowed. Find it yourself.

[don123]

I've just ordered up a D945GCLF2 board.

 

I'll be giving this a shot as well.

 

I'll report back soon.

[UnaClocker]

Here are some pictures of mine, I installed it into a Dell machine that originally had an AMD setup that just refused to work properly with Leopard. Works great.

 

Wiggling the mouse even wakes the machine from sleep, just like a real Mac. That's pretty surprising to me.

[Newchurch]

Hello,

 

here are some pics of my Apple Cube HTPCwith D945GCLF2, a build-in GeForce 6200 with PCI-bus for DVI to HDMI and a DVB-T usb-stick inside, there's a thread in German forum:

 

 

 

 

Greetings from Germany

Newchurch

[Pyrofallout]

Would think the D945GCLF2 should work just the same. Only difference appears to be the dual-core CPU vs the single-core CPU.

 

How big of a performance difference are you guys seeing off the 330 as opposed to the 230?

[UnaClocker]

Would think the D945GCLF2 should work just the same. Only difference appears to be the dual-core CPU vs the single-core CPU.

 

How big of a performance difference are you guys seeing off the 330 as opposed to the 230?

 

Actually, the single core was 270.. Anyways.. I don't see/feel much of any performance difference. But it does look cool seeing 4 cores in the System Monitor (hyperthreading - on the vanilla kernel).. I imagine if the machine were running multiple apps at once, or one very well written app, it would spread the load out nicely. Snow Leopard should really be able to take advantage of this sort of thing.

[hnzw_rui]

Actually, the single core was 270.. Anyways.. I don't see/feel much of any performance difference. But it does look cool seeing 4 cores in the System Monitor (hyperthreading - on the vanilla kernel).. I imagine if the machine were running multiple apps at once, or one very well written app, it would spread the load out nicely. Snow Leopard should really be able to take advantage of this sort of thing.

Actually, most netbooks have the single core Atom N270. The reference Intel D945GCLF board has the single-core Atom 230. The only mini-itx motherboard I know of which makes use of the Atom N270 is the relatively expensive MSI IM-945GSE-A. As can be derived from the model number, it also uses the lower power consumption mobile 945GSE chipset instead of the 945GC.

 

@Pyrofallout

I was checking out Xbench results this morning and there didn't seem to be much difference between the Atom 230 and Atom 330. If you're buying new, for the US$10 price difference, I'd go with dual-core. The extra core would probably help for heavy multi-tasking. If it's just to upgrade an existing Atom 230 system, probably not worth it.

[Atomized]

@Pyrofallout

I was checking out Xbench results this morning and there didn't seem to be much difference between the Atom 230 and Atom 330. If you're buying new, for the US$10 price difference, I'd go with dual-core. The extra core would probably help for heavy multi-tasking. If it's just to upgrade an existing Atom 230 system, probably not worth it.

 

Depends on whether you need gigabit lan or s-video I suppose. For some people, gigabit is a must have.

[hnzw_rui]

Depends on whether you need gigabit lan or s-video I suppose. For some people, gigabit is a must have.

True. Forgot about that. Lack of gigabit is one of the reasons I haven't jumped on any of the Intel mini-itx boards (D201GLY/2, D945GCLF) despite having wanted to build a mini-itx system for a long time. If you already have a system though, and your case permits it, you can easily add a gigabit PCI adapter. Probably cheaper than replacing the motherboard.

[wkearney99]

Gigabit LAN with a processor that slow (xbench of around 45) seems a bit pointless. It's unlikely to be able to saturate even a 100BaseT connection link. I have an atom-based system and transfers from it through a gigabit switch to a gigabit host are nowhere near even 100mbps speed (when other gigE clients are). Yes, it's a fine chip and suitable for a great many applications. Paired with a gigE connection probably isn't one of them. For me it's the low power consumption, at which it's amazing compared to other chips.

[UnaClocker]

Spoken like someone who has never used an Atom.. The real world performance (rather than benchmark performance) of an Atom is rather impressive.

[hnzw_rui]

Gigabit LAN with a processor that slow (xbench of around 45) seems a bit pointless. It's unlikely to be able to saturate even a 100BaseT connection link. I have an atom-based system and transfers from it through a gigabit switch to a gigabit host are nowhere near even 100mbps speed (when other gigE clients are). Yes, it's a fine chip and suitable for a great many applications. Paired with a gigE connection probably isn't one of them. For me it's the low power consumption, at which it's amazing compared to other chips.

If you can't saturate a 100mbps connection, then there's something wrong with your system/set-up. When I still had Vista Ultimate installed, I was getting throughput of 40+MB/s (320+mbps) while copying a 14GB MPG file (OTA HD recording) from a Samsung Spinpoint F 1TB drive on the media server to the Atom's Seagate Momentus 5400.4 250GB drive. Copying a bunch of smaller files (mp3, txt, etc) were much slower, though (15MB/s or 120mbps). I'm still learning my way in OS X so I don't know how to check network througput during file transfers, yet.

 

Also, while the Atom processor itself is a marvel in terms of low power consumption, the chipset it's paired with is a veritable power hog (TDP of 22W, I believe) which kinda offsets the power savings gained with the Atom. I know several people who have achieved lower power consumption using a microATX AMD 740G mobo + underclocked Athlon LE-1640.

[don123]

No need to split hairs...When I get mine (Shipped Monday) I'll test the network perf and let you know my impressions.

 

There's no reason I can think of that one couldn't best 100BT perf - I'm not saying I expect 400-500 Mbits, but 150-200 should be doable.

[Atomized]

The last of the parts for my build arrives monday and I have plenty of large files to transfer over from a pc on my network. I'll benchmark as well.

[don123]

Well - not all my parts arrived (PS, Case, DVD still missing) but I couldn't resist a trial run on the bench.

 

Using a mini-pci BCM4318MPG (Gateway OEM) with a mini-pci to pci adapter.

 

Used iPC 10.5.6, guessed at what drivers I needed, and installed.

 

Out of the box no Restart / Suspend but shutdown and everything else works including Airport...

 

Been running for 5 minutes and just had to post one more success with this board.

 

UnaClocker is spot on when he says this board is very usable - feels great so far as a workstation.

 

Cat's Meow!!

 

When the rest of my parts get here I'll be building this unit in a case with a boot-132 setup. Maybe I'll use the iSynapse disk or do my own for the learning process. Maybe then I can figure out how to get OSx86 running well on my Gateway 6020GZ i855 based laptop...

 

That's it for now.