Need advice on this hackintosh/gaming rig

kksharma1618

Commendable
Oct 3, 2016
2
0
1,510
Hey guys,

I am building a new custom pc and needed some advice.

Goals
=====
1) Main goal is to use it as a hackintosh

I am a professional software developer and currently I develop apps (ios, nodejs etc) on a macbook air 13 inch, which works out just fine, but I do feel a slight sluggishness while I am using a lot of apps at the same time.

This hackintosh will only be used for coding purposes, and occasionaly recording of video tutorials (so I should be able to use camtasia and its video editor).

2) Secondary goal is to use it as a gaming machine

I occasionaly (few hours a week) play video games on PS4. I would like to replace that ps4 by this build. I am constantly blown away even by ps4 graphics, so I think I don't need a very high end gaming experience. Also, I don't need VR gaming support.

3) To test apps in different os
Multi boot. Windows/Several linuxes/Hackintosh. All linux can go in an internal sata harddrive. Windows and mac will each have a dedicated ssd.

Current parts list
==================
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/XJc8QV

And "IOGEAR Bluetooth 4.0 USB Micro Adapter (GBU521)" for bluetooth adapter (coudn't find in pcpartpicker).

Questions
=========
1) I am pretty sure that I will not overclock that i7 6700k. I just added it in place of i7 6700 because there wasn't much difference in cost. If I choose 6700 instead of 6700k will I be able to drop that crosair h60 cooler entirely? If yes then I can get i7 6700 and drop the cooler.

2) I am certain that I will never use dual graphic cards in sli. Is gigabyte gaming 5 an overkill in this situation? I feel like that I can save some money on motherboard.

3) Is 650w psu an overkill if I dont intend to overlock or do sli?

4) Is cooler master pro5 an overkill?

5) I copied above list almost exactly from "CustoMac Pro" in https://www.tonymacx86.com/buyersguide/september/2016
All those components are supposed to work well together for hackintosh.

I just increased graphic card to asus strix gtx 960 and changed case to cooler master pro5.
pcpartpicker also says that above part list has no conflicts. Are there any conflicts in my build that I missed?

6) I currently own dell s2340l 23 inch 60hz monitor. I am thinking of adding another monitor for a dual monitor setup (used for non gaming purposes).

With gtx 960 I don't think I will need 144 hz monitor (its unlikely it will reach that many fps on high settings). Should I buy a samsung curved 60hz 27inch monitor or go with a bigger 144 hz flat monitor? I intent to use this new monitor for gaming. And dual monitor setup for other things. Is 144hz monitor good for non gaming purposes too?

7) I currently use apple magic trackpad and keyboard. Which I intent to use for non gaming use. Please suggest a good enough gaming mouse/keyboard (not into competitive shooters). Logitech G100s Wired Gaming Combo looked fine to me.

8) I already have playstation gold headset which I am planning to keep (usb).

I feel like that I can reduce cost by adjusting my motherboard, psu watts, and cpu case. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
How about this setup (color theme: white).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer i32 CPU Cooler ($31.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR ARCTIC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($172.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Dell Small Business)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Dell Small Business)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar...

Aeacus

Titan
Ambassador
How about this setup (color theme: white).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer i32 CPU Cooler ($31.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B150M MORTAR ARCTIC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($172.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Dell Small Business)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Dell Small Business)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB 6GT OC Video Card ($257.12 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($66.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($37.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1162.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-10-06 16:13 EDT-0400

Little description too.

CPU
Since you won't be doing any OC (overclocking) and video rendering that requires multi-core performance, i put in a good single-core performer.

CPU cooler
Put in Arctic Freezer i32 for quiet operation. Cooling unit comes with one 120mm fan in push configuration that can be easely upgraded to push-pull configuration with another 120mm fan.

MoBo
Since there isn't any OC in the picture, i put in a B-series MoBo with 4 RAM slots and a nice white theme.

RAM
Added 4x 8GB RAM in total of 32GB to support your applications design.

Storage
Left it as you picked it. Nothing wrong there.

GPU
Switched GTX 970 out for a better performer and cheaper GPU, GTX 1060 6GB. Also with a white theme.
Here's a comparison: http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB-vs-Nvidia-GTX-970/3639vs2577

Case
Since case is mostly a personal choise, it's hard to pick the correct one. Still, i picked a cheaper case that fits well with the white theme this build has.

PSU
650W is too much if you don't OC or use SLI/CF. So i put in a 520W unit from Seasonic.

About Monitors, curved one gives better gaming experience than the flat one. But you have to sit exactly in the middle of the screen for the best image.
Refresh rate of 144Hz is needed in FPS games. Other games do well with 60Hz. Also the color accuracy is better in 60Hz monitors than in 144Hz monitors.

As far as keyboards go, i don't know enough about them to suggest you one. I'm using the old-school PS/2 keyboard and i find it much better performer than the USB keyboards.

Same goes with mouse. Not enough knowledge about them. Though i'm using Gigabyte M6880X Gaming Mouse (USB, wired, laser) which has 3-Stage adjustable DPI button along with forward and backward buttons at my thumb. Still, at times, i do miss my PS/2 optical mouse.
info: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4936#ov
 
Solution

kksharma1618

Commendable
Oct 3, 2016
2
0
1,510


Hey, Thanks a lot for this. Everything looks good. And that case is beautiful. I will check how well that mobo/cpu will work in a hackintosh system.