Octocore Xeon Hackintosh

[screamertje]

Hi guys,

 

I am looking for a video-editing system. I already have a Macbook Pro but need

something stronger and faster, especially working with HD 3D titles and stuff.

I did some research and came up with the following parts. Do you think these will work

and is it a good combination. Thoughts, advice, ... are welcome!

 

- Antec P190 case

- 2 x Intel Xeon E5420 (Bsel mod?)

- Tyan Tempest i5000XT

- MSI 8800GT OC

- 8 GB Kingston Ram

- WD Raptor 150 GB

- 2x WD Digital Caviar SE16 500GB

- Sweex Firewire Card

- LG dvd-writer

[Synaesthesia]

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=77290

[Purple Puppy]

Some dual-processor motherboards are bigger than ATX size... might want to check the compatibility with the case.

 

I don't know a lot of people who tried OSx86 with octocore hackintoshes, but seeing what you have, it should work pretty well enough. Are you getting ECC RAM? Those are an order of magnitude more expensive...

[render^]

I'm also trying to build an 8-core xeon, but which socket and motherboard to use?

I'm not sure if I should go with Nehalem or the newer 1156 socket Lynnfields.

Anyone has any input or help? Will installing a regular version of OSX 10.6 work?

 

I'm new to this forum, and I'm not sure where to begin asking. I'm also a new convert to macs, I love computers. I'm trying to build a protein modeling workstation but with Snow Leopard as its os.

 

I also need a powerful graphics card capable of multiple monitors and stereo imaging (Zalman monitor). I like the new ATI 5000 family series, and I see that ATI HD 4870 are natively supported in OSX 10.6. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks

[Evildemon989]

I'm also trying to build an 8-core xeon, but which socket and motherboard to use?

I'm not sure if I should go with Nehalem or the newer 1156 socket Lynnfields.

Anyone has any input or help? Will installing a regular version of OSX 10.6 work?

 

I'm new to this forum, and I'm not sure where to begin asking. I'm also relatively new to macs, but I love computers. I'm trying to build a protein modeling workstation but with Snow Leopard as its os.

 

Thanks

Honestly, I would not recommend a dual socketed motherboard. If you are looking for a powerful hackintosh, I would recommend a Gigabyte X58 motherboard with a Core i7 920. Then get a watercooling setup and overclock to about 4 GHz.

[render^]

Honestly, I would not recommend a dual socketed motherboard. If you are looking for a powerful hackintosh, I would recommend a Gigabyte X58 motherboard with a Core i7 920. Then get a watercooling setup and overclock to about 4 GHz.

I need someone who has experience with this. I am going to use raytracing and other processor intensive jobs, and a single cpu won't cut it. I need at least a couple of xeon procs.

Thanks

[marliwahoo]

You might be surprised by how fast the single core OC'd 920s are. I would check some xbench & geekbench test results. I'm not sure, but I'll bet that they test faster than the 8 core dual processor mac pros.

[render^]

I've seen the benchmarks in Sandra Sisoftware, and dual xeons are twice as powerful as the 920

dual Xeon 5520 @ 2.26 GHz : 9568

i7 920 @ 2.67 GHz non-OC : 5592

 

Well, no surprise there. The Xeon is nothing but two server i7s put together. Thus twice the processing power.

You can see the benchmarks at http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html and http://www.cpubenchmark.net/multi_cpu.html

[vladthebad]

haven't done 10.6 yet on my dual xeon rig... but 10.5.7 runs great, stable, powerful....... its downright beefy.

 

Supermicro X8DTH-6F board,

pair of xeon E5520's

12GB of 6 channel ECC DDR3 1333

 

(Not working yet: 82576 NIC's.... or the onboard 6Gb/s SAS2....)

 

The models that use the LSI 1068e SAS controller should work fine.... (my drives are on a supermicro AOC-USAS-L8i card with a 1068e on it)

 

An example of a board with 82574L nic's... and the working sas:

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherb...500/X8DAL-3.cfm

The X8DAL-i is same board, without the SAS controller....

 

Another option is the X8DTL-3 (with SAS.... or X8DTL-i for the non SAS version)

 

 

 

 

And the reason why the overclocked i7 920's geekbench higher, is because more than half of your geekbench score is based on single threaded performance... for those tests, it doesn't matter if you had 1 core or 1000 cores.

 

FURTHERMORE.. since BOTH memory sections of geekbench are single threaded.... and are not optimized for NUMA..... that also counts against the dual socket rigs on the benchmarks....

[Swhay]

I would highly recommend using The Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 and just over clock the CPU. This board using the right files will work PERFECTLY. Building a hackintosh will not get any simpler than this board.

 

 

Use these two guides and it will be running with minimal effort with EVERYTHING working.

 

 

Kakewalk: Minimal effort install (EP45, EX58, P55, G41)

 

GA-EX58 and GA-X58A DSDT native power management modifications, lower CPU temperatures, turbo plus one clock ratio, sleep, etcetera

a

 

 

Here is an image of my build with this board, with Geekbench score (Please note that the CPU has been overclocked to 3.33 GHz).

[Evildemon989]

I've seen the benchmarks in Sandra Sisoftware, and dual xeons are twice as powerful as the 920

dual Xeon 5520 @ 2.26 GHz : 9568

i7 920 @ 2.67 GHz non-OC : 5592

 

Well, no surprise there. The Xeon is nothing but two server i7s put together. Thus twice the processing power.

You can see the benchmarks at http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html and http://www.cpubenchmark.net/multi_cpu.html

Yes, a 8 core at 2.26GHz will outpace a quad at 2.7Ghz. I'm not surprised. But, put that 8 core 2.26Ghz rig against a 4GHz i7-920. I think you'll be very surprised.

[trwoolley]

I would highly recommend using The Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 and just over clock the CPU. This board using the right files will work PERFECTLY. Building a hackintosh will not get any simpler than this board.

 

Use these two guides and it will be running with minimal effort with EVERYTHING working.

 

- Swhay -

 

Thank you so much for this! My Kakewalk 1.8.1 (Asere bootloader v.1.1.8) installation is now further perfected by your (dOOd) Extra folder. I changed nothing in your folder except added my unique SMUUID and changed the memory data in smbios.plist to match my memory sticks. I have not overclocked, but my temperature came down at least 5°C on all cores and my Geekbench scores went up about 12%. Otherwise Snow Leopard runs just as smoothly as before but perhaps a bit faster as revealed in Geekbench since I am certain that the first core is now speedstepping above 2.66GHz while other cores are less active. All devices function as expected, audio, ethernet, etc. I no longer get the removable orange HDD icons - a plus!

 

I would now like to overclock my Intel i7 920 2.66 GHz as you have done to 3.32 GHz. Could you point me to a simple guide, or maybe walk me through the steps. We have identical boards and CPUs, so it should be a "calkwalk" as well!

 

Thanks again!

 

My Geekbench image:

 

[Swhay]

I would highly recommend using The Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 and just over clock the CPU. This board using the right files will work PERFECTLY. Building a hackintosh will not get any simpler than this board.

 

Use these two guides and it will be running with minimal effort with EVERYTHING working.

 

 

- Swhay -

 

Thank you so much for this! My Kakewalk 1.8.1 (Asere bootloader v.1.1.8) installation is now further perfected by your (dOOd) Extra folder. I changed nothing in your folder except added my unique SMUUID and changed the memory data in smbios.plist to match my memory sticks. I have not overclocked, but my temperature came down at least 5�C on all cores and my Geekbench scores went up about 12%. Otherwise Snow Leopard runs just as smoothly as before but perhaps a bit faster as revealed in Geekbench since I am certain that the first core is now speedstepping above 2.66GHz while other cores are less active. All devices function as expected, audio, ethernet, etc. I no longer get the removable orange HDD icons - a plus!

 

I would now like to overclock my Intel i7 920 2.66 GHz as you have done to 3.32 GHz. Could you point me to a simple guide, or maybe walk me through the steps. We have identical boards and CPUs, so it should be a "calkwalk" as well!

 

Thanks again!

 

My Geekbench image:

 

 

Your welcome. Sometimes finding the right info is challenging.

 

Here is the info I used to over clock to 3.33 GHz (it shows up in OS X as 3.32, I think it's the boot loader or SMBIOS plist causing that).

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overcl...-i7,2268-3.html

 

Core_i7_920_Over_clock.tiff

[trwoolley]

Your welcome. Sometimes finding the right info is challenging.

 

Here is the info I used to over clock to 3.33 GHz (it shows up in OS X as 3.32, I think it's the boot loader or SMBIOS plist causing that).

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overcl...-i7,2268-3.html

 

Core_i7_920_Over_clock.tiff

 

Hah! Finding the right info is sometimes nigh impossible!

 

Your Tom's Hardware link seems broken or incomplete - Safari says host does not exist.

 

Again, Thanks a bunch

[Swhay]

Hah! Finding the right info is sometimes nigh impossible!

 

Your Tom's Hardware link seems broken or incomplete - Safari says host does not exist.

 

Again, Thanks a bunch

 

 

Here is that link again, if you still can't get to it, just use the attached image in my original post. That's all I used to over clock anyway.

 

Tom's Hardware - i7 920 Over clock guide

[trwoolley]

Here is that link again, if you still can't get to it, just use the attached image in my original post. That's all I used to over clock anyway.

 

Tom's Hardware - i7 920 Over clock guide

 

No problem - I found the link last night since I often peruse Tom's Hardware. The name alone makes this tomcat grin!

 

I have already overclocked at both 150MHz and 166MHz. I settled for the Core i7 @ 3.00GHz (150MHz) since I'm not a gamer and I don't like the extra heat involved with just the stock Intel heatsink/fan. Perhaps later I'll get a better CPU cooling system.

 

My 4-core average temperatures as reported by iStat Menus at idle are as follows (in Celsius Degrees):

 

Stock Intel core i7 920 @ 2.67GHZ > 38-41

Overclocked i7 920 @ 3.00GHz > 42-46

Overclocked i7 920 @ 3.33GHz > 48-52

 

What kind of temperature increase did you experience? I am not concerned particularly, but I hope I did not do something foolish!

 

Below is a Geekbench comparison image of all three BCLK frequency overclocks:

 

[Swhay]

No problem - I found the link last night since I often peruse Tom's Hardware. The name alone makes this tomcat grin!

 

I have already overclocked at both 150MHz and 166MHz. I settled for the Core i7 @ 3.00GHz (150MHz) since I'm not a gamer and I don't like the extra heat involved with just the stock Intel heatsink/fan. Perhaps later I'll get a better CPU cooling system.

 

My 4-core average temperatures as reported by iStat Menus at idle are as follows (in Celsius Degrees):

 

Stock Intel core i7 920 @ 2.67GHZ > 38-41

Overclocked i7 920 @ 3.00GHz > 42-46

Overclocked i7 920 @ 3.33GHz > 48-52

 

What kind of temperature increase did you experience? I am not concerned particularly, but I hope I did not do something foolish!

 

Below is a Geekbench comparison image of all three BCLK frequency overclocks:

 

 

 

With the stock cooler, I was running about the same at 2.66 GHz at 3.33 GHz, i was running around 63 C and at load running around 80 - 100 C. I bought a aftermarket cooler after doing some research, I ended up buying this one...

 

Titan Fenrir

 

Here is the review for it...

 

Legit Reviews

 

I am now running at idle around 48 - 50 C at 3.33Ghz and at load around 60 - 70 C which is much better.

 

If you get a decent after market CPU cooler, you can easily run at 3.33 Ghz without any problems. I saw somewhere (maybe youtube) that a Xeon Mac Pro was running around 43 - 50 C at idle and 66 to 80 C at load.

[trwoolley]

With the stock cooler, I was running about the same at 2.66 GHz at 3.33 GHz, i was running around 63 C and at load running around 80 - 100 C. I bought a aftermarket cooler after doing some research, I ended up buying this one...

 

Titan Fenrir

 

Here is the review for it...

 

Legit Reviews

 

I am now running at idle around 48 - 50 C at 3.33Ghz and at load around 60 - 70 C which is much better.

 

If you get a decent after market CPU cooler, you can easily run at 3.33 Ghz without any problems. I saw somewhere (maybe youtube) that a Xeon Mac Pro was running around 43 - 50 C at idle and 66 to 80 C at load.

 

Thanks for the Titan Fenrir CPU Cooler information. This will be the "icing" on the Kake(walk) that I will try soon.

 

It amazes me that I have been able to build a machine that equals or surpasses the performance of the current quad-core Mac Pro for less than half the cost! Investing in this cooler does make sense to me!

 

Without helpful, friendly guides like yourself I could never have accomplished this little miracle. I am so grateful for your advice and direction.

[Swhay]

the one thing to watch for any tower style aftermarket cooler is, the hight of the unit. I should have measured more precisely, for the one I got barely fits. It's a good thing the case I got was inexpensive (so the metal is fairly thin) cause the side of the case bulges slightly due to the cooler.

 

Good luck.

[trwoolley]

the one thing to watch for any tower style aftermarket cooler is, the hight of the unit. I should have measured more precisely, for the one I got barely fits. It's a good thing the case I got was inexpensive (so the metal is fairly thin) cause the side of the case bulges slightly due to the cooler.

 

Good luck.

 

Yes, I see that it is 156mm (6.14") high off the CPU. Does that height jive with your measurements? And which way does the fan face - down towards Northbridge heatsink and the Graphics card, right towards the SDRAM slots, or up towards the case top? At load is the fan extremely loud, and is the fan speed adjustable?

 

BTW - have you upgraded EX58-UD5 BIOS to F11 yet? If so, what differences do you notice?

 

Thanks again

[Swhay]

Yes, I see that it is 156mm (6.14") high off the CPU. Does that height jive with your measurements? And which way does the fan face - down towards Northbridge heatsink and the Graphics card, right towards the SDRAM slots, or up towards the case top? At load is the fan extremely loud, and is the fan speed adjustable?

 

BTW - have you upgraded EX58-UD5 BIOS to F11 yet? If so, what differences do you notice?

 

Thanks again

 

Yes, that is the correct measurement. the fan can only be put on one side of the cooler, but the cooler can face any of 4 directions. I suppose it will depend on what your case is like. I have mine facing towards the back of the case cause i have a fan opening there to vent the hot air. The fan noise is bearable at load, it does get louder as the temps rise, at idle I can barely hear the fan. The fan speed will adjust depending on demand. Although I think you can adjust the fan speed in the BIOS or maybe adjustable via software (not sure what's available for the Mac).

 

I have not updated to BIOS version F11, I did update to F10 when I first got the board. I don't plan on updating unless there is a good reason to. So far everything works as it should so I will leave well enough alone. If a Apple update comes along that requires me to update to F11 due to some change (I don't think it will) then I will consider it then.

[trwoolley]

Yes, that is the correct measurement. the fan can only be put on one side of the cooler, but the cooler can face any of 4 directions. I suppose it will depend on what your case is like. I have mine facing towards the back of the case cause i have a fan opening there to vent the hot air. The fan noise is bearable at load, it does get louder as the temps rise, at idle I can barely hear the fan. The fan speed will adjust depending on demand. Although I think you can adjust the fan speed in the BIOS or maybe adjustable via software (not sure what's available for the Mac).

 

I have not updated to BIOS version F11, I did update to F10 when I first got the board. I don't plan on updating unless there is a good reason to. So far everything works as it should so I will leave well enough alone. If a Apple update comes along that requires me to update to F11 due to some change (I don't think it will) then I will consider it then.

 

Thanks for this information. I've measured from my motherboard out to the side panel about 6.75", so I think it will fit. My panel is also thin aluminum and bends a bit like yours.

 

Good price from Heatsink Factory:

 

http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/titan-fenri...ttc-nk85tz.html

 

or this flashy limited edition?

 

http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/titan-limit...cpu-cooler.html

 

I've also read a lot of varying reviews. Nonetheless I'll be ordering soon.

[trwoolley]

- Swhay -

 

I did upgrade yesterday to BIOS F11 from F9. I didn't see a reason to upgrade to F10 since F11 became available. No problems. Everything still works perfectly! I have not yet decided on a CPU cooler.

[Swhay]

- Swhay -

 

I did upgrade yesterday to BIOS F11 from F9. I didn't see a reason to upgrade to F10 since F11 became available. No problems. Everything still works perfectly! I have not yet decided on a CPU cooler.

 

 

Great, glad to hear that. I'm still on F10, F11 was not available when I did mine a month or so ago. I have not had any issues with F10, so I doubt I will upgrade it. If it isn't broke... don't fix it

[Butcher1969]

haven't done 10.6 yet on my dual xeon rig... but 10.5.7 runs great, stable, powerful....... its downright beefy.

 

Supermicro X8DTH-6F board,

pair of xeon E5520's

12GB of 6 channel ECC DDR3 1333

 

(Not working yet: 82576 NIC's.... or the onboard 6Gb/s SAS2....)

 

The models that use the LSI 1068e SAS controller should work fine.... (my drives are on a supermicro AOC-USAS-L8i card with a 1068e on it)

 

An example of a board with 82574L nic's... and the working sas:

http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherb...500/X8DAL-3.cfm

The X8DAL-i is same board, without the SAS controller....

 

Another option is the X8DTL-3 (with SAS.... or X8DTL-i for the non SAS version)

 

Hi Vlad,

I just got myself 2x W5580 and an X8DAE (supermicro)

can you Send me your DSDT file over?

Should save me some time. I wil letyou know how I get along with 10.6.2

Thx