Barncore Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Hey guys, I'm about to buy some parts for my first Hackintosh build, was just hoping you guys could take a look and let me know if it's all compatible or if any problems might pop up. Or if you have any suggestions for changes. PCpartpicker parts list here. Or if you don't want to click a link, here's the parts list: -CPU: i7 8700 3.2GHz -MoBo: Gigabyte Z370XP SLI -CPU cooler: Be Quiet Pure Rock Slim -RAM: Crucial 1x8GB DDR4-2666 (with an eye to add more in the future) -Storage: Samsung 250GB SSD, 860 Evo 2.5" + WD Caviar Blue 1TB 7200 3.5". -Videocard: MSI GeForce GT 710 2GB Low Profile -PSU: Corsair VS 550w -Case: Cougar MX340 ATX My budget is $1,000AUD and the computer will be used for cpu intensive audio editing and music production + heavy web browsing. No gaming. The audio software i use is Logic Pro X, and may switch to Reaper in the future. I plan to install Sierra OS, with an eye to upgrade in the future if i have to. Don't need a SUPER computer, mostly interested in smooth/reliable performance and being futureproofed. Thanks!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 1 hour ago, millusions said: not hackintosh specific, but get a better case, Antec or Corsair, you spend a 1000$ and put it in some el chipo {censored}box. try MSY for great hardware prices in OZ It's cheap but it's not a bad quality case. Will check out MSY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 1 hour ago, millusions said: look. a case can last 10 years or more. plus it's all you see, quality cases have quality fans and features, like coolermaster fans are just noisy junk so i dont imagine Cougar would do any better. Quality fans are 20$ each but once you hear it you cant go back - silent. i bought a couple of coolermaster fans for like 9$ each, never used them, too noisy. skip the CPU cooler maybe and spend at least 100$ on case. i have this case in one of my builds: https://www.msy.com.au/nsw/kingsford/pc-components/17847-antec-gx1200-windowed-usb30-mid-tower-gaming-case-without-psu.html got it when it was 100$, the only thing i dont like about it is only 2 x 3'5 bays and kinda hard to get to, 2 x 2'5 inch are ok. coloured antec fans, 2 at front, you can change the colours, not sure about the rest, i installed another 4 noctua fans in it, hard drive bay, CPU exhaust and 2 exhaust on top CPU temp controlled. some pics and review: https://www.techspot.com/products/cases/antec-gx1200.149776/ I still think you're underrating the Cougar case. Don't be fooled by the price, it's quality material. And i like the look. I don't feel like i'm settling for something undesirable to save a buck like you're suggesting. That Antec case IS pretty sexy though. I like the 2 lightup fans it comes with, and i like how there's a button on top to change the lights. If i skipped the "Be Quiet Pure Rock Slim" cpu cooler (which is $40) then i would easily be able to afford that Antec case. But would my air flow be good enough with just the 2 fans that comes with the case?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 2 hours ago, millusions said: 2 x 2'5 inch are ok. Looks like it has 3 x 2.5" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomTech Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 UHD 630 on 8700K is newer and more powerful than GT 710, so why to downgrade to GT 710? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 3 minutes ago, RandomTech said: UHD 630 on 8700K is newer and more powerful than GT 710, so why to downgrade to GT 710? I was told by a fairly reliable source that having gpu instead of on board graphics frees up power from other components (i can't remember which, i think ram) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomTech Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 2 hours ago, Barncore said: I was told by a fairly reliable source that having gpu instead of on board graphics frees up power from other components (i can't remember which, i think ram) It maybe true even if it's something I've never heard about before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 Hey milliusions, going back to our convo from before -- do you know if air flow would be good enough if i used that Antec case you suggested and its 2 fans + buy 1 extra 120mm case fan + use the stock cooler on a i7 8700 instead of buying an aftermarket cooler? Not sure what your knowledge of air flow is like but you mentioned skipping the CPU cooler in favour of the Antec case so now i'm curious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 I still think Cougar is more like a Chevy too except their company is new and trying to break into the market so their prices haven't caught up to their quality yet. You've definitely got me thinking though. I knew Antec were good but $79 is hard to pass up. And although it seems negligible i do like the idea of having some futuristic lights shining through the grill of the computer, haha. The top notch quality is a bonus, lol. I'm just trying to figure out if i can get the $25 that i've added into the expenses back by sacrificing something somewhere else. https://au.pcpartpicker.com/user/Barncore/saved/DLcsZL SOMEwhere has to be sacrificed if i am to afford this thing at all. I'm already over my budget. Previously the place of sacrifice was the case. My thought was that functionality is more important than looks. And luckily, cougar were high quality for their price. But now you've bloody gone and sold me on this Antec case! Hahaha. Curse you. I'd be okay with sacrificing some CPU and getting a 6th or 7th gen processor, but they are more expensive than 8th gen! I think the closest MSY near me is North Melb. I don't have a car though so might have to get it delivered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 Maybe the sacrifice can come from skipping the GPU altogether and just use onboard graphics on the 8700 like RandomTech suggested. As long as it works fine without any headaches then maybe that's the go-to option. Also need a HDMI port that plays at least 1080p60. What would be the pros and cons of that option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) Quote your motherboard is kinda expensive for non gaming setup, im not sure you'll need the features it has over a 100$ job I don't know of a $100 Mobo that supports 8th gen + thunderbolt + compatible with mac osx etc. I don't need a lot of those features like SLI etc but there's not a lot of cheaper mobo options. There's this one but it's only $20 cheaper. Gotta make sure it has thunderbolt support in order to properly futureproof myself. Don't forget the Hackintosh element too. Quote for 30$ double your SSD to 500GB skip the 1tb blue, 500GB evo at MSY is 119$. Nah, 2 seperate drives is a must in audio world. Also, i will need to clone my current 1TB over to the new 1TB. Quote skip the CPU cooler for now I dug around a bit, and the guy in this video did some tests and found that the i7 8700 throttles and doesn't perform properly with the stock cooler. ^ I'm probably misunderstanding the conclusion of that video haha, i watched it at 3am last night, but the conclusion i came away with was that the CPU will need an aftermarket cooler. Probably even more so if i'm using on board graphics. Quote buy used ram from gumtree, there's plenty of articles on net stating that RAM is one of the safest things you can get used. and go dual channel Good idea. What's dual channel? millusions you my friend are a case tease. Haha that's right a case tease. You got me all hot on the Antec and then brought me back down to earth. Edited January 4, 2019 by Barncore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) Hmm, it's really hard to search for RAM without the search results showing full computers Btw: this is the build i have planned now -- https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/4MNf4q (note- the Antec GX900B is only there as a placeholder cos the 1200 doesn't exist on that site) Edited January 4, 2019 by Barncore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barncore Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) Quote look. you kinda have a weird approach to this , lol Not surprised to hear that. I think i'm going crazy lol. I've been researching computer parts every night for a week straight and at this point i'm probably overthinking it. But i've never built a PC before (let alone a Hackintosh) and my budget is so tight that i can't afford to make a mistake by getting the wrong mix of components. So this is me being thorough. I'm trying my best to understand every angle of this process. But you gotta understand that i'm getting different opinions from multiple sources that sometimes contradict each other, so half the time when i'm throwing ideas at you (or anyone else) i'm doing it to check if the info aligns with other sources or not. Quote other things will come later, or later you will be stuck with junk because you only thought about right now. Don't think that part is a fair assessment. The ultimate intention behind all of my choices have been to futureproof myself. The desire for a cooler is to make sure i don't damage my cpu. Anyway Quote think about what you're doing, you want to skim on things so you can have thunderbolt, just in case, whats hackintosh got to do with that? i bet you 99% of hackintoshes dont have thunderbolt. i can really see you buying a 250$ thunderbolt hard drive enclosure. thunderbolt was released in 2011 , so what future proofing you talking about You gotta give me some credit. Thunderbolt is very alive and well in audio world. There's a company called Universal Audio that make arguably the best plugins, and have arguably the best audio interface on the market (the Apollo), and they use thunderbolt. I'd like to get one once i save up the money in a year or 2. So i will need to have thunderbolt for that. Another great company called Focusrite does interfaces through TB too. If you don't think TB is a big thing in audio world, then maybe i'm talking to the wrong person here. When recording audio you need as little latency as possible. Thunderbolt provides greater speed and less latency. It's what professional studios use. Recording audio is a key part of having an audio workstation. Hence thunderbolt. Quote watch some youtube case reviews All i've been doing for the past week is watching youtube reviews. At some point you gotta get real world experience from real people. That's why i'm reaching out on forums. It seems i'm probably reaching in the wrong places at the moment. Anyway thanks for your responses. Cya Edited January 4, 2019 by Barncore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipegame Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Thunderbolt is fast but everything is extremely overpriced, Apollo also makes the exact same interfaces with FireWire and USB and you can get them at much closer to normal prices these days. Also the apogee ensemble FireWire is 300 bucks on reverb.com right now it us to be thousands and its AD/DA converters are outstanding. If you are on a budget, get a FireWire card in your rig. Its much more of a stable connection than USB and you won't have any other traffic in your FireWire line. I have thunderbolt three on a macbook pro and I am extremely irritated by it it on a regular basis. If I don't sit it on top of a block of liquid nitrogen it sometimes can't even run serato without skipping audio and I'm 99% sure this is due to the thunderbolt bus because when I unplug it the internal soundcard works fine. This could also be because osx has become more bloated than it used to be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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