[BUILD] GA-EP45T-UD3LR + Q9550 + 8gb DDR3 + 9800GTX + Snow Leopard

[theorie]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm new to the forums so I'm not sure if this is the right place for this, but here it goes...

 

I've been running a dual-booting Leopard/Vista machine at my workplace for awhile now, but I convinced my boss that it's time to upgrade.

 

The machine I am currently using is as follows:

• Mobo: Asus P5B Deluxe Wi-Fi
  
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (overclocked: 3.00GHz)
  
• RAM: Corsair 2gb (2 x 1gb) DDR2-800 Dual-Channel
  
• Vid: (2) eVGA 8600 GT 256mb PCIe-16x
  
• HDD: WD Raptor 72gb SATA
  
• PSU: 500w Enermax
  
• Optical: DVD+/-RW
  
• Case: Lian-Li PC-V1000A Plus II (Silver)
  
• Monitor: Asus 22" VGA/DVI LCD
  
• OS: Dual-boot: Vista x64 Ultimate / OS X Leopard 10.5.6
  

This machine has worked great, but it's my own machine that I brought into work, and now the boss is ready to buy a company machine for me to work on. He gave me a budget of $1500 (less than the price of a mid-rage 24" new iMac). I wanted it to be a quad-core, DDR3 machine, so here is what I worked out:

 

• Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EP45T-UD3LR LGA 775 Intel P45
  
  
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core
  
  
• RAM: Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (x2: 8gb total)
  
  
• Vid: EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB
  
  
• HDD: WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0
  
• PSU: Corsair CMPSU-520HX 520W Modular
  
  
• Optical: DVD+/-RW (selling mine to my boss)
  
• Case: Lian-Li PC-V1000A Plus II (Silver) (selling mine to my boss)
  
  
• Monitor: ASUS VW246H 24" VGA/DVI/HDMI LCD
  
  
• OS: Dual-boot: Vista x64 Ultimate / OS X Snow Leopard 10.6
  

I purchased the $29 Snow Leopard DVD via Amazon and was going to use that for the install, following the Lifehacker Snow Leopard Hackintosh Guide.

 

Everything should come next week...I'll post photos of the build after I get it up and running. Wish me luck.

[c0rk007hck]

Nice, I'm planning to buy the GA-EP45T-UD3P.

 

Good luck!

[TychoB]

The only thing in your list that has the potential to disappoint is the Asus monitor. Without a doubt it is a TN panel(judging by the price and the 2ms spec), which the iMac is not. If you're doing intense graphic / photographic / video work, then you will yearn for something more colour faithful, irrespective of where your head is in relation to the screen...

 

Although I had to compromise on size, I chose the Dell 2209WA e-IPS display. It's only 22" 1680 x 1050, but the colorimetry is superb over a large field of view. I could not go back to a TN panel again.

 

Just my two cents…

 

P.S. Deeply envious of Q9550 and 9800GTX, but couldn't justify the expense right now!

[theorie]

The only thing in your list that has the potential to disappoint is the Asus monitor. Without a doubt it is a TN panel(judging by the price and the 2ms spec), which the iMac is not. If you're doing intense graphic / photographic / video work, then you will yearn for something more colour faithful, irrespective of where your head is in relation to the screen...

 

Although I had to compromise on size, I chose the Dell 2209WA e-IPS display. It's only 22" 1680 x 1050, but the colorimetry is superb over a large field of view. I could not go back to a TN panel again.

 

Just my two cents…

 

P.S. Deeply envious of Q9550 and 9800GTX, but couldn't justify the expense right now!

 

This machine is more for web dev, but also some light photoshop work. I actually have the same Asus monitor in the 22" flavor, and it's really pretty decent for photo work. We'll see what the 24" is like...

 

Oh and just for fun, here's my home workstation...running Vista x64 Ultimate...

 

 

• Silverstone TJ07 Case (black)
  • Custom Lexan Window
    
  • murderMod rear panel
    
  • (2) Scythe Kama-bay 120mm fan units
    
  • Custom Carbon fiber subfloor
    
  • Custom Carbon fiber 5.25" bay panels
    

  [*]Intel Core2Extreme Quad-Core CPU @ 4.0GHz

  [*]Zalman CNPS 9700NT Heatsink

  [*]eVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 Motherboard

  • Nickel-plated copper mosfet heatsinks added
    

  [*]4GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 RAM

  • Corsair active memory cooler
    

  [*](2) eVGA 9800GX2 Video Cards @ 700MHz core / 1075MHz memory

  [*]eVGA 7600GT PCIe Video Card

  [*]150gb WD Raptor 10k RPM HDD

  • Scythe "HIMURO" HDD Cooler
    

  [*]SATA DVD+/-RW Drive

  [*]1200w Thermaltake Toughpower PSU

  • Custom sleeved modular cables
    

Currently in the process of building a custom phase-change cooling unit.

 

Cheers.

[theorie]

well the parts came last friday and i've got the machine up and running.

 

still waiting on the snow leopard install dvd to come...

 

here are a couple of photos.

 

 

[theorie]

well it's alive. running 10.6.1 with parallels and vista ultimate x64 installed. everything works, except for the sound...can't seem to find which kext will work for the ACL888 and ICH10R...help?

 

anyway, here are some (crappy iphone 2g) photos and screenshots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

updating 10.6 to 10.6.1

 

trying various audio kexts...

 

desktop screenshot

 

about this hackintosh

[theorie]

up and running with parallels now. no more dual-boot. using coherence mode, which is nice. no problems at all with vista ultimate x64 and snow leopard side-by-side.

 

 

had trouble installing parallels at first. tried to install Parallels 4.0.3540.209168, but it wouldn't go. had to modify the installer package to install, which worked, but then the service wouldn't start. i upgraded to 4.0.3846.436204 and it works fine - too bad i don't have a full license, so i'm using the trial for the time being.

[shibz]

well it's alive. running 10.6.1 with parallels and vista ultimate x64 installed. everything works, except for the sound...can't seem to find which kext will work for the ACL888 and ICH10R...help?

 

I have the same motherboard (EP45-UD3LR) and got sound to work by removing AppleHDA.kext and installing VoodooHDA.kext

 

The onboard spdif out connector (2 pins) doesn't work unfortunately, or I'd be able to piggyback sound through my geforce to my tv via DVI > HDMI cable, if you get that work I'd like to know!

[theorie]

I have the same motherboard (EP45-UD3LR) and got sound to work by removing AppleHDA.kext and installing VoodooHDA.kext

 

The onboard spdif out connector (2 pins) doesn't work unfortunately, or I'd be able to piggyback sound through my geforce to my tv via DVI > HDMI cable, if you get that work I'd like to know!

 

hmmm i tried removing the applehda.kext and then installing the voodoohda.kext, but i still dont have any devices listed in the system prefs > sound > input/output

 

perhaps i'm using a different voodoohda.kext? where did you download yours from? could you maybe send it to me?

[iPlayChicks]

NICE! I'm actually building a desktop too, same motherboard, slightly better processor, same gpu.

Here's my configuration:

 

MoBo: $100

GIGABYTE GA-EP45T-UD3LR LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...8-371-_-Product

 

CPU: $320

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...5-130-_-Product

 

RAM: $130

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...5-265-_-Product

 

Graphics Card: $135

EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...0-339-_-Product

 

HDD: $80

Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...6-283-_-Product

 

I need a case with like 5+ USB ports, has GREAT cooling, an ethernet card (I think), a decent dvd burner, and also a power supply that'll be enough for all of this. Would I be able to use that power supply? Also, have you been able to fix the audio as yet? Did you try what was listed on the lifehacker guide?

 

How many ports does that case have?

 

Thanks!

[theorie]

Well we liked our Snow Leopard Hackintosh so much, we're building another...similar setup, but only 4gb of ram this time.

 

The reason why is because of something strange with multi-user mode in Quickbooks Premier 2009.

 

Apparently the Mac version of Quickbooks Premier 2009 doesn't support multi-user mode, a feature that allows multiple users to access the Quickbooks database at the same time. The Windows version of Quickbooks does support this feature.

 

We installed Vista Ultimate x64 using Parallels 4 on all of the Macs in our office. After that we installed Quickbooks Premier 2009. We attempted to setup one of the computers, an iMac, as the Quickbooks "server" and then setup all of the other computers as clients. For some reason, the clients cannot open the Quickbooks database on the "server". I then switched it so that the Hackintosh was running as the Quickbooks server, and suddenly every computer in the office can access the Quickbooks database...weird.

 

So, long story short, we're building another Snow Leopard Hackintosh to function as the Quickbooks server.

 

I'll post photos when the parts come and I get it up and running.

 

Cheers!

[theorie]

just finished setting up our second build based on this mobo. total cost was under $1000.

 

still havent figured out how to get the audio working. tried like 10 different kexts...no success. any ideas?

 

here are the pics:

 

 

 

 

[JoeMack]

Hi,

 

I'm curious if you edited the smbios file to get 'about this mac' to show 'ddr3 1066', or if it detected it itself? I just did an install with the same mobo and have ddr3 1333 ram. I'm getting mixed results:

 

* system profiler and about this mac both showed 'ddr2 800', until I edited /Extra/smbios.plist and now they show ddr2 1333 (still don't know where the 'ddr2' is coming from)

 

* sysctl hw.busfrequency hw.physmem hw.memsize shows:

1332000000 (correct)

2147483648 (half the installed 'physical' ram)

4294967296 (correct)

 

* activity monitor shows 4G total ram

 

so... I *think* osx sees all 4G, it just doesn't display it properly in 'about this mac' and system profiler. dunno why hw.physmem is half

 

on another note, how did you get your onboard lan working? mine was not recognized initially, but after a few reboots and tweaking other settings, it suddenly showed up.

 

as for your audio problems, check this post: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=188349

it worked for me

 

cheers

[c0rk007hck]

Edit the smbios.plist in your /Extra directory, the folder can be hidden

[ManiacBS]

Hey there!

 

I just found your topic as I was searching for a mobo to buy for my new HackMac Pro. I currently have an AMD setup running Leopard and plan to switch to a new vanilla-capable hackintosh based on an Intel QuadCore running Snow Leopard.

Because the EP45T-DS3LR is the only EP45 board which is buyable in Germany, I'm happy you have chosen this one and tried it out. Perhaps you can tell me some more about your hackintosh. Does anything (except the sound) work? Sleep, Wake, Shutdown, Restart, ... I'd like to build a hackintosh as close to a real Mac as possible.

 

I've read that the EP45T is using an Realtek ALC889 instead of the ALC888 you tried to install. Perhaps, this can help solving your problem!

 

Greets!!

[theorie]

Does anything (except the sound) work? Sleep, Wake, Shutdown, Restart, ... I'd like to build a hackintosh as close to a real Mac as possible.

 

I've read that the EP45T is using an Realtek ALC889 instead of the ALC888 you tried to install. Perhaps, this can help solving your problem!

 

Sleep, Wake, Shutdown, Restart - all work fine. No problems.

 

Like I said, the only problem I have had is getting the onboard audio to work. I've tried every kext i can find, but can't seem to get it to work.

 

I ordered 2 of these USB audio adapters today. I think these will work for the time being. Only $12.99 each at NewEgg. I'll share my results when they come.

 

[theorie]

I ordered 2 of these USB audio adapters today. I think these will work for the time being. Only $12.99 each at NewEgg. I'll share my results when they come.

 

it works! i have sound! woowoo! plug-n-play. no kext/driver needed.

[khongaeng]

it works! i have sound! woowoo! plug-n-play. no kext/driver needed.

 

Could you go into more detail of how you got your build to work in general. I have the same motherboard, and I am having the hardest time getting it to work. Did you use the same DSDT.aml and kexts as are in the lifehacker guide? or did you have to modify them yourself?

[theorie]

Could you go into more detail of how you got your build to work in general. I have the same motherboard, and I am having the hardest time getting it to work. Did you use the same DSDT.aml and kexts as are in the lifehacker guide? or did you have to modify them yourself?

 

i followed the lifehacker guide exactly (except used this hardware) and even used the same files from the lifehacker guide.

[Chokse]

i followed the lifehacker guide exactly (except used this hardware) and even used the same files from the lifehacker guide.

 

 

 

Found this site that looks like it might help with your problem.

 

http://omgili.com/jmp/jHIAmI4hxg_k9DaAHoi3...TGDKIth3e7Hc7Q-

 

I am anxious to see if this works because I am looking to use the same motherboard in my Hackintosh (I know the DDR2 motherboards seem to work well, but I'd really prefer to have DDR3 memory).

 

I am also curious to know if the Optical Audio Port works on this motherboard as I would like to run it into my home theater audio system. Do you know if the optical audio works?

[good.times]

Hi there,

 

i got the nearly the same mainboard, just with DDR2 support instead of DDR3 (Gigabyte EP45-UD3LR).

 

Used the Upgrade DVD and Lifehackers guide too and everything worked like a charm out of the box, exept sound. Then i found this thread here at insanelymac, deleted my AppleHDA.kext, used KextHelper to install the new AppleHDA.kext linked in this thread, repaired permissions on my hdd, restartet once... et voilâ... sound is working fine.

 

Let me know if it works for you also

 

cheers,

Times

[phanguy]

Any chance you can tell us what your bios settings are? Only because following the Lifehacker instructions involves disabling the onboard ethernet. Or is that the only thing you didn't do? Because mine isn't very stable. Also, what instructions did you use to get Parallels to install? I tried the instructions to get it to work with AMD, but it didn't work for me. Thanks.

[phanguy]

Ok so I found the way to install Parallels. The instructions are a bit different from the older AMD instructions. Just for peoples' reference, here's how it's done on Parallels 4:

 

1. Convert the Parallels .dmg with Disk Utility to a read/writeable .dmg and open it with a program which is able to show invisible files (f.e. Path Finder)

 

'Install' is only a program which directs to the installer's metapackage. It is invisible, so you need a special tool.

 

2. Open the invisible Install.mpkg's contents and open 'distribution.dist' with TextEdit.

 

3. Search for this sequence:

 

function pm_install_check() {

var result = false;

var cpu_check = system.run('./cpu_check');

var is_vm_started = system.run('./vm_check');

 

4. Replace this line

 

var cpu_check = system.run('./cpu_check');

 

with this one

Code:

 

var cpu_check = false

 

You don't necessarily need to make the dmg read/write accessible or even use a special tool to see hidden files. You can always use this command in Terminal to see all hidden files in OS X:

 

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE

 

Then you can just drag and drop the Install.mpkg onto your computer and edit the distribution.dist. These steps allowed me to get Parallels installed.

 

 

Though I'm still having issues. Currently my machine is running Leopard 10.5.8 and even though Parallels is installed it won't start up a virtual machine because it's saying my CPU doesn't support it. Though I'm fairly sure it does... I'll report back when I know for sure.

 

Edit: Unfortunately my CPU does indeed not support virtualization. I happened to get the one quad core cpu that doesn't... Lame.

[tony9394]

This is a good post. I am going to try this. I am new to hackintosh. I just ordered the same mobo. can you tell me, what exactly do i have to change on the bios?

[phanguy]

This is a good post. I am going to try this. I am new to hackintosh. I just ordered the same mobo. can you tell me, what exactly do i have to change on the bios?

 

There is a link in the original posters post to the Lifehacker instructions on how to do this. The bios settings are there:

 

http://lifehacker.com/5351485/how-to-build...start-to-finish

 

But really the only thing you absolutely need to make sure you set is to have the SATA controller set to AHCI.