mrgstiffler Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Here's what I'm planning on building and I just want to make sure everything sounds good: Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-UD2 -Everything I've read makes it sound like this board is good to go. Even sounds like eSATA works. Processor: Xeon x3440 (2.53GHz Quad core with HT) -I haven't seen much about this under OSX but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Anyone have experience with this? Graphics: Nvidia GTX260 -I already have this card and have had it running with Leopard. Shouldn't be any problems with Snow Leopard? Memory: 4GB GSkill 1600 -I know this wont be an issue, but I've read that people have had problems with more than 4GB. Would adding another 4GB cause me headaches? Optical: SATA BD/HD/DVD Burner -I know that BD isn't supported yet but I should be able to at least rip them in a VM and playback with VLC in OSX. A few extra steps involved, but I had a BD player connected to my TV so I rarely watch on my computer. HD/PSU/Case all not important My plan is for a vanilla kernel install that's as stock and stable as possible. I had Leopard running for about 6 months on my current PC but trashed it because it ended up getting unstable. I have a MBP and I purchased an extra copy of SL, so I should be good to go whenever my hardware comes in. I wont be dual booting Windows. Any advice before I place my order? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgstiffler Posted January 17, 2010 Author Share Posted January 17, 2010 I decided to save some money and potential hassle by going with the i5 750. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1387133 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evildemon989 Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Here's what I'm planning on building and I just want to make sure everything sounds good: Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-UD2 -Everything I've read makes it sound like this board is good to go. Even sounds like eSATA works. Processor: Xeon x3440 (2.53GHz Quad core with HT) -I haven't seen much about this under OSX but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Anyone have experience with this? Graphics: Nvidia GTX260 -I already have this card and have had it running with Leopard. Shouldn't be any problems with Snow Leopard? Memory: 4GB GSkill 1600 -I know this wont be an issue, but I've read that people have had problems with more than 4GB. Would adding another 4GB cause me headaches? Optical: SATA BD/HD/DVD Burner -I know that BD isn't supported yet but I should be able to at least rip them in a VM and playback with VLC in OSX. A few extra steps involved, but I had a BD player connected to my TV so I rarely watch on my computer. HD/PSU/Case all not important My plan is for a vanilla kernel install that's as stock and stable as possible. I had Leopard running for about 6 months on my current PC but trashed it because it ended up getting unstable. I have a MBP and I purchased an extra copy of SL, so I should be good to go whenever my hardware comes in. I wont be dual booting Windows. Any advice before I place my order? Assuming you mean GA=P55M-UD2, then yes, great mobo choice. As for processor definitely go for the i5-750. The graphics card should work fine, just you might need efi strings, or something of the like. The RAM will be fine, and yes if you want 8GB, it should recognize it fine. I've got the same board and RAM and have had no size problems. The optical drive will be fine. You may have a problem with bluray, but I doubt it. It's a risk that I would take. The vanilla kernel will be able to run on that mobo(I have it). Also, one last note. You may want to go with RAM that is 1333MHz with tight timings, not 1600MHz with 9-9-9-24 timings. The motherboard you picked supports only 800/1066/1333/2200 MHz speeds out of the box. I learned this the hard way. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1387221 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgstiffler Posted January 17, 2010 Author Share Posted January 17, 2010 Yes, I did mean the P55M-UD2. For the RAM, you are using 8GB right now with no problems? Are you using the 64bit kernel? I heard that Fry's might have a deal on an i7-860 for $229. That's only $30 more than the i5-750 that I ordered. I'm going to check it out when they open today and see. Would prolly be worth it to grab that instead. I'm also thinking about getting two 1TB SATA drives for the build. Anyone have experience with RAID-0 on this board? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1387588 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evildemon989 Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 Yes, I did mean the P55M-UD2. For the RAM, you are using 8GB right now with no problems? Are you using the 64bit kernel? I heard that Fry's might have a deal on an i7-860 for $229. That's only $30 more than the i5-750 that I ordered. I'm going to check it out when they open today and see. Would prolly be worth it to grab that instead. I'm also thinking about getting two 1TB SATA drives for the build. Anyone have experience with RAID-0 on this board? Currently I'm using two 2GB sticks of RAM. I do plan on buying 2 more 2GB sticks soon though. I wouldn't see how 8GB of RAM would change anything though. The 64bit kernel runs on this board flawlessly. And definitely go for the i7-860. I'm not sure how RAID-0 is with this board though. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1387831 Share on other sites More sharing options...
roaminggnome Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Currently I'm using two 2GB sticks of RAM. I do plan on buying 2 more 2GB sticks soon though. I wouldn't see how 8GB of RAM would change anything though. The 64bit kernel runs on this board flawlessly. And definitely go for the i7-860. I'm not sure how RAID-0 is with this board though. You could always do a software RAID in OS X. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1389905 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgstiffler Posted January 21, 2010 Author Share Posted January 21, 2010 I got the parts in yesterday and got 10.6.2 all setup. I'm very happy so far. I don't even need the VM for BluRay either. MakeMKV works perfectly. I can rip to MKV and then watch in VLC. Ripping only takes about 45 minutes. This is great! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1391810 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrgstiffler Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 I added another 4GB today and everything runs great. Running Snow Leopard with Windows 7 in Vmware Fusion Coherence mode and still have around 4GB free. Pretty solid setup I'd say. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1393344 Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBruno Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Yes, I did mean the P55M-UD2. For the RAM, you are using 8GB right now with no problems? Are you using the 64bit kernel? I heard that Fry's might have a deal on an i7-860 for $229. That's only $30 more than the i5-750 that I ordered. I'm going to check it out when they open today and see. Would prolly be worth it to grab that instead. I'm also thinking about getting two 1TB SATA drives for the build. Anyone have experience with RAID-0 on this board? Hi, Did you manage to get the hardware RAID on this board to work? I too have the P55M-UD2 and would like to use the built in Hardware RAID controllers. Bruno Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1423333 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffwill Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 I have the i5 750 and UD2 as well, this is an awesome setup. Did you by chance order this from newegg? they have a nice deal on all the part you listed, if so, i have the same set up as you (minus the blu-ray). The only problems I had was with getting the sound to work. I fount the answers I needed at http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/. This is an awesome site, bookmark it. There are guides to get everything running to a tee. If you haven't been there yet, go check it out. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/207572-p55xeon-snow-leopard-build/#findComment-1424046 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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