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Mac Pro-ish Build - Specs Included

3

3o5

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 31, 2009
10
0
Alright so I have been going over a bunch of stuff as far as hardware is concerned and what I want to do is be able to build a mac pro like rig but the one thing that im not sure about is the whole OSX compatible thing by doing this as I were need to probably look into the osx86 stuff, but i think this motherboard/cpu is still too new to get any info on compatibility but here are the specs of what I have put together

SPECS:

ASUS Z8PE-D12X(ASMB4-IKVM) Dual LGA 1366

Intel Xeon E5520 Nehalem 2.26GHz LGA 1366 x2

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm CPU Cooler x2

XIGMATEK ACK-I7361 CPU Cooler Brackets x2 - Instead of the Push pins that come with the cooler

Crucial 6GB kit (2GBx3), 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600

EVGA 01G-P3-1281-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB

SILVERSTONE TJ07-BW Full Tower

PC Power & Cooling 1000W PSU - I already have this PSU

Western Digital - 150GB VelociRaptor / 3 1TB HDDs

Logitech Wired Keyboard & Mouse

Total Amount: $2772.94 Shipped
....

Now with these specs IMO this kills the Mac Pro hardware wise - and its actually cheaper than the 8 core - so my only problem/hickup would be the whole OSX compatibility issue - also what do you guys think? is it worth it?
 
As you say, the board is too new to know how compatible it may be. Does the 285 work with OSx86? I assumed most people went with cards Apple offer for better support. You also need a case that fits the form factor of that board, which is SSI EEB 3.61. The case you chose is an ATX case.

Your processor choice doesn't support 1333MHz memory either.
 
The trickiest part would probably be getting the GTX285 to work in OS X. I don't think there's a .kext for it.

More likely, you'd be limited to using a 8800GT, 3870, 4870, GT120, etc (there's already drivers for these, but you would have to flash a PC card with an EFI ROM).

As far as everything else goes, I don't see why anything else wouldn't work.
 
Umbongo said:
As you say, the board is too new to know how compatible it may be. Does the 285 work with OSx86? I assumed most people went with cards Apple offer for better support. You also need a case that fits the form factor of that board, which is SSI EEB 3.61. The case you chose is an ATX case.

Your processor choice doesn't support 1333MHz memory either.
Click to expand...

ahh 1066MHz is what i need the X55** cpus use 1333MHz
 
Using OSX on Non-Apple Hardware

Just curious. Does the Apple software license allow us to use the operating system on non-Apple hardware?
 
The 1200 is not the case to use with an E-ATX board.

Find another case, such as the Cooler Master HAF 932, for example.
 
the motherboard says Triple Channel - so would the 1066MHz have to be triple channel? i cant find triple channel 1066 server ram - does it have to be server ram?


also i will change the case im going to get - i will be getting the Silverstone TJ07

alanlindsay said:
C'mon, you may as well go for the 8x2.66. Then you'll get 1333DDR3 & 6.4GT/s
Click to expand...

tbh it wouldnt be worth buying the mac pro - imo the specs are just not great - you get a crappy GFX card 120=9500, and you dont get ability to play with things and change your hardware, if i cant get osx to work ill just wait and use Win7 and wait for progression on the osx86 later on

UPDATE:

http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=4EA68A2BA5CA7304

i think that memory would work. Yes?
 
3o5 said:
the motherboard says Triple Channel - so would the 1066MHz have to be triple channel? i cant find triple channel 1066 server ram - does it have to be server ram?


also i will change the case im going to get - i will be getting the Silverstone TJ07
Click to expand...

Memory isn't triple channel, installing it in threes makes it work in triple channel. You can probably use any DDR3 memory on that board, but you will probably be best off with unbuffered 1066MHz ECC like you linked to.

The case is a great choice.
 
yea i get what your saying about the triple chan, yea i like that case a lot and it supports that motherboard type which is so awesome - ive seen some great builds with that case
 
cmaier said:
Nope.
Click to expand...

Where does it say "nope." I read it and didn't see anything about that. It says the purpose is Machine X - whatever, but I didn't see anything about non-apple HW not being allowed.

I think if they put that I can sue them. I believe that's actually illegal on their part.
 
Tesselator said:
Where does it say "nope." I read it and didn't see anything about that. It says the purpose is Machine X - whatever, but I didn't see anything about non-apple HW not being allowed.

I think if they put that I can sue them. I believe that's actually illegal on their part.
Click to expand...

As an attorney I'm curious - why do you think that's illegal?

Here's the section:

2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions.
A. This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time.
 
3o5 said:
Alright so I have been going over a bunch of stuff as far as hardware is concerned and what I want to do is be able to build a mac pro like rig but the one thing that im not sure about is the whole OSX compatible thing by doing this as I were need to probably look into the osx86 stuff, but i think this motherboard/cpu is still too new to get any info on compatibility but here are the specs of what I have put together

SPECS:

ASUS Z8PE-D12X(ASMB4-IKVM) Dual LGA 1366

Intel Xeon E5520 Nehalem 2.26GHz LGA 1366 x2

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm CPU Cooler x2

XIGMATEK ACK-I7361 CPU Cooler Brackets x2 - Instead of the Push pins that come with the cooler

Crucial 6GB kit (2GBx3), 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600

EVGA 01G-P3-1281-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB

SILVERSTONE TJ07-BW Full Tower

PC Power & Cooling 1000W PSU - I already have this PSU

Western Digital - 150GB VelociRaptor / 3 1TB HDDs

Logitech Wired Keyboard & Mouse

Total Amount: $2772.94 Shipped
....

Now with these specs IMO this kills the Mac Pro hardware wise - and its actually cheaper than the 8 core - so my only problem/hickup would be the whole OSX compatibility issue - also what do you guys think? is it worth it?
Click to expand...
The basics aren't bad, but some good advice has been given about specifics, such as the case (board size) and memory frequency. ;)

Either drop back to 1066MHz memory, or swap the CPU's for the X5550 (lowest clock that supports 1333MHz). There's plenty of cases, just find one that has the ability to fit an E-ATX board. An SSI EEB board would fit, as they're both 12"x13". :)
Umbongo said:
As you say, the board is too new to know how compatible it may be. Does the 285 work with OSx86? I assumed most people went with cards Apple offer for better support. You also need a case that fits the form factor of that board, which is SSI EEB 3.61. The case you chose is an ATX case.

Your processor choice doesn't support 1333MHz memory either.
Click to expand...
AFAIK, no kext's exist for the 285, though it would work, albeit with limited performance compared to what it's capable of.

If the OP wishes to use OS X as the primary OS, it may be wiser to go with the HD4870.
 
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