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Update: i7 / EX58-UD5 build

schmoppa
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schmoppa
schmoppa
Posted
Posted

I put together the computer last weekend and all is well so far.

 

A few notes and observations:

 

1. I used Kakewalk. I found out that the 4 steps listed on the first post of that thread aren't exactly complete. Where it said "read onscreen instructions" it should have said "read the guide you downloaded with the Kakewalk software." I was tired and it was late, so I missed the guide and the instructions it provided for bios tweaking. I was getting Kernel panics before I did the BIOS tweaks, which was cause for alarm.

2. the SSD install (once I found the guide) was easy. But my 1.5TB Seagate wasn't showing up in Disk Utility. I wound up plugging it into a different SATA port and that seemed to work. Not sure why it wasn't working in the original port I used (but I saw there are different colored sata ports, I assume some work with the onboard RAID and some don't (I admit I haven't looked closer into this).

3. I started with a conservative overclock to about 3.3GHz. After testing that for a couple hours under normal usage, I threw caution to the wind and went for 4GHz (air cooled). It still seems stable, and I have played WoW on it just fine, no crashing. I did not adjust voltages at all. I will have to use a real benchmarking tool to stress-test the system.

4. I didn't realize I needed to get a 2.5"->3.5" drive adapter for the SSD. Whoops! At the moment, the drive is sitting on its side resting on a little bit of foam

5. Apps load very quickly! WoW loads very quickly (including loading into Dalaran when highly populated)

6. WoW performance: running at 1920x1200 at ultra settings, highest texture filtering setting. In Dal I get 30FPS (which is actually very good!). Elsewhere it is more like 70-80, even flying around Northrend.

7. The front panel headphone jack doesn't seem to be working. The case had two connectors for audio. I forget which one I plugged in (Azalea?), but I'll have to switch it to the other one. The motherboard headphone jack works fine.

8. The case is nice. I bought it since it has several large fans, and large fans tend to spin slower while moving the same amount of air, resulting in less noise. That said, the system is a little louder than I had hoped, but I believe this is due to the GPU fans.

9. I haven't added any kexts or updated any bios at all. This is basically default from Kakewalk (and a full Snow Leapard install disk). I haven't even looked into what I could possibly update, I just want to get used to it and tackle that later (though I am open to suggestions from anyone who knows of must-have updates). I haven't even checked the bios versions of the board or SSD drive...

10. CPU temps seem good - they were about 40C at the 3.6GHz overclock I ran, haven't checked at 4GHz

11. Haven't updated from OS X 10.6 to 10.6.3 yet.

12. One of the LAN ports didn't seem to want to take a manual IP, but the second one did just fine. Running µTorrent with light network load seems to bog down surfing responsiveness. Not sure if it's the app (will have to try another), the firewall (which I've opened the correct ports and forwarded to my IP), or the Realtek card, which many have experienced problems with.

13. When the computer goes to sleep, while I can make the mouse light up again by moving it, that doesn't turn the computer back on. I need to push the power button to wake the computer (I assume this is due to a power saving BIOS setting.

 

Things I want to look into:

 

1. Figure out how to monitor CPU and GPU temps in Mac OS and how to control fan speeds, especially the GPU fans, dynamically based on load and/ or app

2. Figure out if I can overclock the GPU

3. See if I can / need to tweak memory timings

4. Run benchmark tests

5. Image the install before I do anything major

6. Figure out if I should add any kexts or otherwise tweak the system

7. Figure out how to upgrade to 10.6.3

8. Explore 1st LAN port quirkiness

9. Explore network responsiveness issue when using µTorrent.

10. Figure out if I can make the computer sleep but wake if it gets a network request for a bittorrent request.

I will be adding further thoughts, experiences, and goals in this thread. Feedback, questions, and suggestions are very welcome!

 

Here is my system:

 

CPU: i7-920

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Memory: CORSAIR DOMINATOR

6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

GPU: MSI N250GTS Twin Frozr 1G GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Boot Drive: OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (I have an extra Seagate 1.5TB drive for data)

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7

HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long

Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

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Mackilroy
Mackilroy
Posted
Posted

Sounds awesome! I'm getting all my parts Thursday, though I'll be using the 8800 GT I have lying around from my Mac Pro for the installation. And I'll be using the i7 930. Other than that, good to know Kakewalk is easy, I'll be using it for the install (same as nebraskaboy).

  • 2 weeks later...
mac09hack
mac09hack
Posted
Posted
I put together the computer last weekend and all is well so far.

 

A few notes and observations:

 

1. I used Kakewalk. I found out that the 4 steps listed on the first post of that thread aren't exactly complete. Where it said "read onscreen instructions" it should have said "read the guide you downloaded with the Kakewalk software." I was tired and it was late, so I missed the guide and the instructions it provided for bios tweaking. I was getting Kernel panics before I did the BIOS tweaks, which was cause for alarm.

2. the SSD install (once I found the guide) was easy. But my 1.5TB Seagate wasn't showing up in Disk Utility. I wound up plugging it into a different SATA port and that seemed to work. Not sure why it wasn't working in the original port I used (but I saw there are different colored sata ports, I assume some work with the onboard RAID and some don't (I admit I haven't looked closer into this).

3. I started with a conservative overclock to about 3.3GHz. After testing that for a couple hours under normal usage, I threw caution to the wind and went for 4GHz (air cooled). It still seems stable, and I have played WoW on it just fine, no crashing. I did not adjust voltages at all. I will have to use a real benchmarking tool to stress-test the system.

4. I didn't realize I needed to get a 2.5"->3.5" drive adapter for the SSD. Whoops! At the moment, the drive is sitting on its side resting on a little bit of foam

5. Apps load very quickly! WoW loads very quickly (including loading into Dalaran when highly populated)

6. WoW performance: running at 1920x1200 at ultra settings, highest texture filtering setting. In Dal I get 30FPS (which is actually very good!). Elsewhere it is more like 70-80, even flying around Northrend.

7. The front panel headphone jack doesn't seem to be working. The case had two connectors for audio. I forget which one I plugged in (Azalea?), but I'll have to switch it to the other one. The motherboard headphone jack works fine.

8. The case is nice. I bought it since it has several large fans, and large fans tend to spin slower while moving the same amount of air, resulting in less noise. That said, the system is a little louder than I had hoped, but I believe this is due to the GPU fans.

9. I haven't added any kexts or updated any bios at all. This is basically default from Kakewalk (and a full Snow Leapard install disk). I haven't even looked into what I could possibly update, I just want to get used to it and tackle that later (though I am open to suggestions from anyone who knows of must-have updates). I haven't even checked the bios versions of the board or SSD drive...

10. CPU temps seem good - they were about 40C at the 3.6GHz overclock I ran, haven't checked at 4GHz

11. Haven't updated from OS X 10.6 to 10.6.3 yet.

12. One of the LAN ports didn't seem to want to take a manual IP, but the second one did just fine. Running µTorrent with light network load seems to bog down surfing responsiveness. Not sure if it's the app (will have to try another), the firewall (which I've opened the correct ports and forwarded to my IP), or the Realtek card, which many have experienced problems with.

13. When the computer goes to sleep, while I can make the mouse light up again by moving it, that doesn't turn the computer back on. I need to push the power button to wake the computer (I assume this is due to a power saving BIOS setting.

 

Things I want to look into:

 

1. Figure out how to monitor CPU and GPU temps in Mac OS and how to control fan speeds, especially the GPU fans, dynamically based on load and/ or app

2. Figure out if I can overclock the GPU

3. See if I can / need to tweak memory timings

4. Run benchmark tests

5. Image the install before I do anything major

6. Figure out if I should add any kexts or otherwise tweak the system

7. Figure out how to upgrade to 10.6.3

8. Explore 1st LAN port quirkiness

9. Explore network responsiveness issue when using µTorrent.

10. Figure out if I can make the computer sleep but wake if it gets a network request for a bittorrent request.

I will be adding further thoughts, experiences, and goals in this thread. Feedback, questions, and suggestions are very welcome!

 

Here is my system:

 

CPU: i7-920

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard

Memory: CORSAIR DOMINATOR

6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

GPU: MSI N250GTS Twin Frozr 1G GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Boot Drive: OCZ Vertex Series OCZSSD2-1VTX120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (I have an extra Seagate 1.5TB drive for data)

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7

HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long

Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

 

 

Your system is very similar to the one I build 6 months ago. I chose the same MoBoard and CPU with OCZ RAM and an Nvidia 9800GTX+ video card. I had knocked around loading Leopard on this box at first but when it came to Snow Leopard, I had a bad time of it. Finally got 10.6.2 loaded using Digital Dreamers script that runs on an Intel MAC to build a bootable disk for a Hackintosh.

 

But just last week I ran across Kakewalk 2.1. I first tried the CD .iso load method and it worked until I need to take out the Snow Leopard DVD and put the boot disk back into the CD/DVD drive. I couldn't get Kakewalk to load the boot loader onto the disk. So I tried the USB stick loader setup and it went perfectly. All I had to do was set up the USb stick on an Intel Mac and plug it into a USB port on the PC with a disk readt to be loaded and after all that just restart the system after removing the USb stick. Pretty slick.

What has amazed me is that there are very few Kexts in the Extra folder to make this all work.

schmoppa
schmoppa
Posted
  • Author
Posted
Nice Build! Similar (I think) to what I'm going to end up with.

 

How was the graphics card - worked fine right out of the box? Nice and fast?

 

Thanks

Ben

 

Hi Ben, sorry for the late reply (I hadn't subscribed to the post)

 

The card has been fine for me so far, and yes, right out of the box as I still haven't done anything except load snow leopard 10.6 (no updating, no extra kexts, etc).

 

Performance seems good - as I mentioned above, ultra settings for WoW at 1920x1200, triple texture filtering with totally reasonable framerates (70fps flying around northrend, maybe 25-30 in Dalaran which, if you are familiar, is slower more due to the density of users in and around that city in the game). WoW probably isn't the most graphically-intense game, but it's all I play so the card is good for now.

 

Your system is very similar to the one I build 6 months ago. I chose the same MoBoard and CPU with OCZ RAM and an Nvidia 9800GTX+ video card. I had knocked around loading Leopard on this box at first but when it came to Snow Leopard, I had a bad time of it. Finally got 10.6.2 loaded using Digital Dreamers script that runs on an Intel MAC to build a bootable disk for a Hackintosh.

 

But just last week I ran across Kakewalk 2.1. I first tried the CD .iso load method and it worked until I need to take out the Snow Leopard DVD and put the boot disk back into the CD/DVD drive. I couldn't get Kakewalk to load the boot loader onto the disk. So I tried the USB stick loader setup and it went perfectly. All I had to do was set up the USb stick on an Intel Mac and plug it into a USB port on the PC with a disk readt to be loaded and after all that just restart the system after removing the USb stick. Pretty slick.

What has amazed me is that there are very few Kexts in the Extra folder to make this all work.

 

The big hangup for me was making sure I followed the guide I downloaded with the ISO generator (where you also have to make sure you pick the right motherboard). It will tell you the exact BIOS settings you need. If we have the same motherboard, then I don't see why you would have troubles loading unless it's an optical drive thing.

 

But I'm glad you got it to work via USB!

  • 2 weeks later...
moonbase70
moonbase70
Posted
Posted

Hi All ,

I have build my first hackintosh this is the list of components :

 

Mother board Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5

Cpu intel Core i7 930 a 2.8 ghz

Ram 6 GB corsair ddr3 1600

Scheda video MSI nvidia Gts250

PSU Fractal design Newton r2 1000 Watt

Case Fractal Design delfine black pearl

2 HD western digital 1 TB for the library and audio recording

2 HD western digital 500 giga for the two systems OSX 10.6.3 and Windows 7

 

I have used kakewalk system for installation and all is working out of the box

Thank you all for the info and for support !!!!

Fabio

 

I have problem with ono device on my hackintosh:

i use the usb controller Frontier design Alpha track but on the hackintosh seems to not work

i have try on my mac book with 10.5.8 and all i working well and also in my G5 with 10.4.11

Anyone have idea or experience on that ??

Let me know

mrmacdoo
mrmacdoo
Posted
Posted

Hi!

 

i read all your posts; i'm building an i7 hackintosh too! I was hoping for some advice

 

here's my parts list. am i missing anything other than an audio and video card? Is compatibility good? Not sure abou the mobo, or what audio card and video card to get. Any suggestions? Its for audio (Logic), 3D rendering (maya) and gaming.

 

Is the SSD a good idea? I heard no TRIM on OSX, will that be okay?

 

should i overclock?

 

will this cooling be adequate?

 

any other advice?

 

thanks!

 

screenshot20100511at100.png

 

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Mackilroy
Mackilroy
Posted
Posted

You don't need an audio card.

 

I'd get an HD4890 or GTX 260 if you're really into gaming.

 

Overclock? Only if you want to. The base cooler that the 930 comes with is all right, and I've heard you can do some mild overclocking with it, but I wouldn't try anything major.

 

Other advice? Get a different motherboard. Or a cheaper power supply. You don't need a 750 watt PSU – mine is 500 and powers my 930, three hard drives, and an HD4890.

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