Spec me please :)

[SBouzyk]

Hi guys I'm in the market for speccing a computer

- I really want something that can dual boot Mac OS Mountain Lion (and maybe the next generation OS) and Windows 8. So i need a motherboard that can do that WITHOUT lag (I HATE LAG)

-I would like this to be in a BitFenix Prodigy or something of the same size. Or something that looks like a Mac Pro

-My budget is £750

- This PC/Mac would be for general use i.e my school studies, however I want this to be future proof (Haswell processors etc...)

Cheers!

 

[melvis]

Or something that looks like a Mac Pro

ive got a black cylindrical rubbish bin you can have if you want it to look like that

if you want to run mountain lion id suggest to avoid haswell for now as the hackintosh drivers dont seem to be available yet, (and likely wont be untill a little while after mavericks comes out) so take a look at ivy CPU's id say

 

[oceaness]

ive got a black cylindrical rubbish bin you can have if you want it to look like that

Rofl.

Unfortunately I don't believe we are supposed to discuss the running of Mac on non-Apple hardware on these forums.

However, melvis is right, Haswell is not a good choice at the moment and probably wont be for a while.

With that in mind this is what I'd build.
You didn't mention gaming so I haven't included a graphics card.
This will also only be capable of a minor overclock as the board doesn't have any manual voltage control.
The fans are to replace the stock H80 ones because they are loud.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £103.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £69.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £53.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £14.98 (£29.96)
Total : £758.88 (includes shipping : £11.75).



If you have no intention of overclocking or aren't fussed because the above wont over clock very far then you could do it slightly cheaper.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.20GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £155.99
1 x Gigabyte H77N-WIFI Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £89.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £69.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £53.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £14.98 (£29.96)
Total : £720.88 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 

[SBouzyk]

Rofl.

Unfortunately I don't believe we are supposed to discuss the running of Mac on non-Apple hardware on these forums.

However, melvis is right, Haswell is not a good choice at the moment and probably wont be for a while.

With that in mind this is what I'd build.
You didn't mention gaming so I haven't included a graphics card.
This will also only be capable of a minor overclock as the board doesn't have any manual voltage control.
The fans are to replace the stock H80 ones because they are loud.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £103.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £69.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £53.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £14.98 (£29.96)
Total : £758.88 (includes shipping : £11.75).



If you have no intention of overclocking or aren't fussed because the above wont over clock very far then you could do it slightly cheaper.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.20GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £155.99
1 x Gigabyte H77N-WIFI Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £89.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00403) £79.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £69.95
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £53.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £39.95
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £19.99
2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £14.98 (£29.96)
Total : £720.88 (includes shipping : £11.75).

Thanks for the help! I'm not too fussed about having the latest processor. Is it possible to be able to change from IVY Bridge to Haswell with these boards when I want? Also is there room and can I put a graphics card in if I need to?

Cheers

 

[oceaness]

No that's not an upgrade route, different pin outs. 1155 for Ivy 1150 for Haswell.

You'd have to swap both the motherboard and processor to upgrade. Everything else will be absolutely fine though.

And yes the Prodigy has a lot of room for a graphics card, it's large for an ITX case.

I have the top build with more memory and an old Vertex 3 SSD, running at 4.1GHz using turbo boost at the moment with the H80, just need to get myself some of the Scythe Gentle Typhoons to replace the stock fans with Also need to get a case for mine, I'm torn between the FT03-Mini, Sugo SG05 and the Node 304 in White.

Also have you considered there are a few options with the prodigy case. There are also colourful ones as well but I think the simple black and white ones look smarter. Also 2 new Phenom's available for pre-order which is the same as the prodigy inside but without the handles on the top and bottom.

Prodigy



Phenom