Mac Mini Replacement

[itry2hide]

I have a core 2 duo Mac Mini - 2.33 Ghz processor (upgrade), 3 gigs of ram, 80 gig HD. It's been a nice box, but is starting to show it's age. Here is what I'm considering as a replacement.

• APEVIA (ASPIRE) X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 Black Computer Case
  
• GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
  
• MSI GeForce 9400 GT N94GT-MD512 Video Card
  
• Intel Core2 Duo E7500 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
  
• MSI GeForce 9400 GT N94GT-MD512 Video Card
  
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
  
• Patriot 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory (2x)
  
• Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B
  

The whole setup is a little over $500 from Egghead.

 

My monitor supports DVI - I'm guessing the video card should work ok.

 

Questions:

• Will this setup work without too much trouble?
  
• Should I get a PCI ethernet card? I need Bonjour support for Jaadu on my iPhone. In fact, what about remote access in general. I currently use LogMeIn for remote control from my Windoze Notebook, and HTTPS (WebDav) to access files remotely.
  
• What about sound?
  
• Here is the crazy questions: Has anyone run VMware Fusion on a Hacintosh? I only need Windows for one app, and I do have a company supplied laptop for that, so it's not critical
  
• What about Rosetta? I do have an app that only runs on PowerPC chips.
  
• Will this support Snow Leopard?
  
• Can I use a quad core processor instead? What is the best in terms of price/performance
  
• How about a link to a good install :-)
  
• Will the Video Card fit in the box?
  

I know this is a lot of questions - I'm excited about the project, and want to make sure I get it right from the start.

[Zaap]

My monitor supports DVI - I'm guessing the video card should work ok.

I would consider a different video card (the 9400GT itself is fine, but a different model.) From what I've read here from others, the hybrid cards aren't so great in that the HDMI port is useless for Mac. Better to get a card with dual DVI, especially if you ever want dual DVI monitors. (VGA works with an adapter). Also- you don't need a low-profile card for that case if you picked it for that reason.

 

 

[*]Will this setup work without too much trouble?

Yup. That board is one of the most popular for Hackintosh, and well-supported.

 

[*]Should I get a PCI ethernet card? I need Bonjour support for Jaadu on my iPhone. In fact, what about remote access in general. I currently use LogMeIn for remote control from my Windoze Notebook, and HTTPS (WebDav) to access files remotely.

 

Yes, for two reasons. First, the newer versions of the motherboard have an incompatible network controller. Second, even with working onboard, usually Bonjour isn't supported, so best to get a fully-working PCI ethernet card. Check the HCL list in my sig, there are many such cards.

 

[*]What about sound?

The onboard works fine. However, I always recommend people just get this $8 USB sound card. No matter what OS version (Snow, Leopard, Windows, Linux) or update fiasco or whatever, the USB audio works because it's driverless, so no worries about kexts for it or anything else. On top of the ease, it also just plain ol' sounds better.

 

[*]Here is the crazy questions: Has anyone run VMware Fusion on a Hacintosh? I only need Windows for one app, and I do have a company supplied laptop for that, so it's not critical

 

I run it all the time on my hacks, as do many others. It works fine. I'd also recommend you check out Virtual Box. It's free and yet works really well. For the past month or two I've been using it rather than VMware (because I haven't bothered to get Fusion 3 for SL) and for my uses it performs just as well. Works in SL without any problems.

 

 

[*]What about Rosetta? I do have an app that only runs on PowerPC chips.

Hmm... I recall I had to install Rosetta in Snow Leopard in order to install Final Cut Pro Studio. (Weird because FCP itself doesn't use it, but I guess the install package requires it.) At any rate, it worked without a hitch. I take it it used to be included in Leopard, and is now an optional install in SL.

 

[*]Will this support Snow Leopard?

Yup. I personally don't own a G31M-ES2L system anymore, but there are guides floating around for installing SL on it.

 

 

[*]Can I use a quad core processor instead? What is the best in terms of price/performance

Yup. Since you do plan to run a Virtual Machine, I would recommend you stick with processors with Virtualization Technology support. The 'low-end' quad that fits that bill is the Q8400 at about $170. The Q9400 is probably a better buy at around $190.

 

 

[*]How about a link to a good install :-)

 

You might try this one. I can't confirm as I haven't tried it myself.

 

[*]Will the Video Card fit in the box?

Yup. I use the case you picked all the time in builds, and highly recommend it. It's one of the easiest cases to work in because the mobo tray slides completely out the back and you'll install the board and add-on cards outside the case, which is much easier than dicking around down in a tower case. In this photo, you can see a full-sized graphic card and two PCI cards installed and now the populated board is ready to be slid back inside the case. From there, I just had to connect the power and case-wiring, add my drives, and fire it up.

 

One thing to keep in mind, the PSU that comes with this case is pretty general-purpose. I've used it with Core 2 Quad builds (Q8200 and Q8300) and never had one go bad on me. But if you want to be absolutely certain, you can replace it with a higher quality standard ATX PSU.

 

In the photo, notice where the metal end of the DVD-R bay is, is just about where a (short) DVD drive will end in the case. Luckily, the SATA and power attach on the opposite side. A standard PSU is a few mm longer than the stock. There's actually just enough room for the PSU and wiring. (I just clarify this because it's not outwardly obvious that this case supports full-sized parts.)

 

Oh, and if you stick with the stock PSU, don't forget to order THIS molex-to-SATA adapter. You'll be yelling curses if you don't, because the stock only has one SATA power connector.

 

Good luck with your build!

[itry2hide]

Thanks for the advice. I'll check the HCL and get a different video card. Ordering today, I'll let you know how it works!

 

 

I would consider a different video card (the 9400GT itself is fine, but a different model.) From what I've read here from others, the hybrid cards aren't so great in that the HDMI port is useless for Mac. Better to get a card with dual DVI, especially if you ever want dual DVI monitors. (VGA works with an adapter). Also- you don't need a low-profile card for that case if you picked it for that reason.

 

 

[*]Will this setup work without too much trouble?

Yup. That board is one of the most popular for Hackintosh, and well-supported.

 

[*]Should I get a PCI ethernet card? I need Bonjour support for Jaadu on my iPhone. In fact, what about remote access in general. I currently use LogMeIn for remote control from my Windoze Notebook, and HTTPS (WebDav) to access files remotely.

 

Yes, for two reasons. First, the newer versions of the motherboard have an incompatible network controller. Second, even with working onboard, usually Bonjour isn't supported, so best to get a fully-working PCI ethernet card. Check the HCL list in my sig, there are many such cards.

 

[*]What about sound?

The onboard works fine. However, I always recommend people just get this $8 USB sound card. No matter what OS version (Snow, Leopard, Windows, Linux) or update fiasco or whatever, the USB audio works because it's driverless, so no worries about kexts for it or anything else. On top of the ease, it also just plain ol' sounds better.

 

[*]Here is the crazy questions: Has anyone run VMware Fusion on a Hacintosh? I only need Windows for one app, and I do have a company supplied laptop for that, so it's not critical

 

I run it all the time on my hacks, as do many others. It works fine. I'd also recommend you check out Virtual Box. It's free and yet works really well. For the past month or two I've been using it rather than VMware (because I haven't bothered to get Fusion 3 for SL) and for my uses it performs just as well. Works in SL without any problems.

 

 

[*]What about Rosetta? I do have an app that only runs on PowerPC chips.

Hmm... I recall I had to install Rosetta in Snow Leopard in order to install Final Cut Pro Studio. (Weird because FCP itself doesn't use it, but I guess the install package requires it.) At any rate, it worked without a hitch. I take it it used to be included in Leopard, and is now an optional install in SL.

 

[*]Will this support Snow Leopard?

Yup. I personally don't own a G31M-ES2L system anymore, but there are guides floating around for installing SL on it.

 

 

[*]Can I use a quad core processor instead? What is the best in terms of price/performance

Yup. Since you do plan to run a Virtual Machine, I would recommend you stick with processors with Virtualization Technology support. The 'low-end' quad that fits that bill is the Q8400 at about $170. The Q9400 is probably a better buy at around $190.

 

 

[*]How about a link to a good install :-)

 

You might try this one. I can't confirm as I haven't tried it myself.

 

[*]Will the Video Card fit in the box?

Yup. I use the case you picked all the time in builds, and highly recommend it. It's one of the easiest cases to work in because the mobo tray slides completely out the back and you'll install the board and add-on cards outside the case, which is much easier than dicking around down in a tower case. In this photo, you can see a full-sized graphic card and two PCI cards installed and now the populated board is ready to be slid back inside the case. From there, I just had to connect the power and case-wiring, add my drives, and fire it up.

 

One thing to keep in mind, the PSU that comes with this case is pretty general-purpose. I've used it with Core 2 Quad builds (Q8200 and Q8300) and never had one go bad on me. But if you want to be absolutely certain, you can replace it with a higher quality standard ATX PSU.

 

In the photo, notice where the metal end of the DVD-R bay is, is just about where a (short) DVD drive will end in the case. Luckily, the SATA and power attach on the opposite side. A standard PSU is a few mm longer than the stock. There's actually just enough room for the PSU and wiring. (I just clarify this because it's not outwardly obvious that this case supports full-sized parts.)

 

Oh, and if you stick with the stock PSU, don't forget to order THIS molex-to-SATA adapter. You'll be yelling curses if you don't, because the stock only has one SATA power connector.

 

Good luck with your build!

[itry2hide]

Thanks for the advice. I'll check the HCL and get a different video card. Ordering today, I'll let you know how it works!

 

 

OK, I placed the order. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

 

APEVIA X-QPACK-NW-BK/420 Black Aluminum 1.0 w/ ABS plastic front panel MicroATX

Desktop Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail

 

1 ZOTAC ZT-94TEH3P-FDR GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16

HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail

 

1 Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

Desktop Memory Model PVS24G6400LLK - Retail

 

1 GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

 

1 ASUS USB-BT21 USB 2.0 Mini Bluetooth Dongle - Retail

 

1 Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q9400

[itry2hide]

Help! I get a kernel panic when updating to 10.6.2 using software update.

 

The panic is something like - mismatch between kernal and CPU

 

I used this install http://www.infinitemac.com%2Ff57%2Fguide-r...r-g31m-t3672%2F

 

I know you probably need more info. I'm reinstalling 10.6.0 right now because it was working pretty well.

[Zaap]

I'm still running 10.6.1 on my machines, so I don't know about 10.6.2 issues.

[LogicalUser]

check out netkas.org, it has some updated kexts for 10.6.2 that might help