Hackintosh 10.5.5 Retail Rig - Starting at $305

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Kaido

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Originally posted by: mosslack
It's a no go with the EVGA 8400 gs as well on my UD3P, so hopefully the 7200 gs will work okay. I'll find out tomorrow evening after work. I need to find a way around this work thing, it keeps getting in the way of my fun time! :D

Is the EVGA the new one? I picked up a 7200GS and will be testing it on my Media Center Hack tomorrow, I'll report back then!
 

Zaap

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Originally posted by: Kaido

Do you have any thoughts on the Norco RPC-470? I've been reading a lot of good things about it and it has more internal storage than the ARK for only $5 more. I'm building myself a new desk and have decided to use a rackmount case to transfer my Hackintosh into, as well as a rackmount UPS. Nice and clean :D

I looked at the same case. It should work great- (I love the dual front fans compared to 1 on other cases) but one thing made me keep looking: it's massive! Make sure your desk is really deep enough- the case is 25.5" deep, plus you need to contend with at least another 2" of clearance for rear panel wiring and airflow. To be safe- your desk should be 30" deep to have that case flush with the front rack and not backed into a wall- unless you're using angled cabinets that allow for a lot of rear clearance like professional workstations often have. IE: like this.

Even at 23.6" the ARC 4U 600 hangs out the back of the cabinet. The 4U 500 model to me is the perfect length at 19" deep.

Also I'm not crazy about the Norco's inflexible riser layout. It will take an ATX or eATX board just fine, but absolutely not a mATX. I like that the ARC cases allow for tons of different motherboard riser layouts. Shouldn't matter though if you're sticking with ATX.

Also do you have any recommended rack hardware? I only know what I've researched online - my list is basically as follows:

-4U Rackmount case for the computer
-Rackmount UPS
-Rack posts, cut to fit my desk cage
-Sliding rails for the equipment
-Square cage nuts, for easy access to the rackmount equipment

Anything I'm missing?
Just a bag of rackmount screws and washers and you should be all set.

Maybe a couple shelves and/or sliding drawers for external drives and such.

If you don't want any ugly gaps where you have no equipment, don't forget to get blank panels for the unit space you want to fill. You might want a couple that are vented fan-mount units for additional cooling. It's not in the photo I posted, but I filled in the lower space with a 4Unit and a 2U blank panel for a completed look- plus the blanks strengthen the cabinet.

You can probably find tons of 19" rackmount gear on ebay or your local craigslist. Here in the entertainment capital of the universe used rack equipment is practically falling out of the sky.

One of the things I really want to do when I eventually get around to rackmounting my systems is some serious cable management. Depending on how you set up your desk, you can mount powerstrips vertically at the rear of the cabinet, and run really short power cables over to them- then only one normal length power cable needs to run to the UPS. Also, I want to rack mount my ethernet switches, router, etc and run all the wiring to a patchbay.

If you can, please post pics when you get your desk setup. It'll be awesome to see how it turns out.


 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
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Originally posted by: Zaap
I looked at the same case. It should work great- (I love the dual front fans compared to 1 on other cases) but one thing made me keep looking: it's massive! Make sure your desk is really deep enough- the case is 25.5" deep, plus you need to contend with at least another 2" of clearance for rear panel wiring and airflow. To be safe- your desk should be 30" deep to have that case flush with the front rack and not backed into a wall- unless you're using angled cabinets that allow for a lot of rear clearance like professional workstations often have. IE: like this.

Even at 23.6" the ARC 4U 600 hangs out the back of the cabinet. The 4U 500 model to me is the perfect length at 19" deep.

Yeah, I'm not too worried about the size. I actually bought a door for my table, right from Home Depot :D I was going to get the 30" model, but I think I ended up going with the 26" model instead. What I figure is, I don't want the back of the desk flush with the wall because then I can't easily route cables for the monitor and peripherals through the back to the rackmount case, so I'll have the desk forward a few inches, then build the stands a few inches deeper to accomodate that extra spacing. That way the legs will be flush with the wall, but I'll have a gap for easy wiring.

Home Depot has some really awesome prices for doors, only $25 - $30 a pop. Perfectly flat with no holes for a doorknob. Staples wanted like $200+ for a smaller table that didn't have any of the features I wanted, so I decided to roll my own! The door is smooth enough to write on paper too! My biggest gripe is that I only have room for my computer on my current desk, no room to do homework or reading/writing on it, so I wanted a really big desk for that.

I also wanted to have built-in filing cabinets and a built-in shelf for my computer components, so the left side will be the filing cabinet and the right side will just be a mini rack for the equipment. So, nothing too fancy, but very functional given the price and it will meet my needs perfectly! :)

Also I'm not crazy about the Norco's inflexible riser layout. It will take an ATX or eATX board just fine, but absolutely not a mATX. I like that the ARC cases allow for tons of different motherboard riser layouts. Shouldn't matter though if you're sticking with ATX.

That's what I thought too, but their homepage for the 470 says that MicroATX is supported:

http://www.norcotek.com/RPC-470.php

Also looking at the case from the rear, it looks to me like the middle of the case can take five 80mm fans, not four:

http://www.norcotek.com/produc...ges/flyer/rpc470_6.jpg

See the blank one on the left? So two 120mm front fans, five 80mm middle fans, and two 80mm rear fans. That's some serious airflow! :shocked:

Also I can throw a mini PSU for backup in there in the future when I get some bucks to upgrade to a crazy Core i7 system :D

If you don't want any ugly gaps where you have no equipment, don't forget to get blank panels for the unit space you want to fill. You might want a couple that are vented fan-mount units for additional cooling. It's not in the photo I posted, but I filled in the lower space with a 4Unit and a 2U blank panel for a completed look- plus the blanks strengthen the cabinet.

You can probably find tons of 19" rackmount gear on ebay or your local craigslist. Here in the entertainment capital of the universe used rack equipment is practically falling out of the sky.

One of the things I really want to do when I eventually get around to rackmounting my systems is some serious cable management. Depending on how you set up your desk, you can mount powerstrips vertically at the rear of the cabinet, and run really short power cables over to them- then only one normal length power cable needs to run to the UPS. Also, I want to rack mount my ethernet switches, router, etc and run all the wiring to a patchbay.

Ooh, didn't know they sold blanks! I was wondering how I was going to attack the ugly factor :D Do the units with built-in fans have a standard power cable?

I am planning on picking up a rackmount UPS as well. I found one from Cyberpower (yeah, I know) for a fabulous price here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16842102006

Less than 1/2 the price of traditional rackmount UPS setups with better specs and 5-star ratings from 60 users. That's pretty crazy...CyberPower seems like they're starting to become a big player! Eventually I want to move to either a Core i7 rig or a dual-Nehalem setup, so this seems like a really good investment, then I can just toss in my current UPS to replace the dying one on my network :D

My eventual goal is:

1. Customized desk with rackmount equipment
2. Convert the home theater to rackmount (gaming PC, Plex HTPC, throw the gaming consoles into Norco 470's with custom cooling setups and mods and whatnot, rackmount UPS's)
3. Convert the network to rackmount (PFsense router, FreeNAS file server, rackmount Gigabit switch, etc.)

I've had my eye on this rig for the file server case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811152124

24 Hot Swap bays with dual 900w power supplies...nice 40TB RAID 6 server with 24 x 2TB drives! I'm still mulling over how to approach the NAS...I love FreeNAS, but ZFS support isn't coming for a long time, and WHS has pooling, so expansion as budget allows is cake, but I'm not real keen on using a Windows product for my home file server ;) I also really like the Norco RPC-4020 4U 20-bay rig for under $300:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811219021

Or even getting some 5-bay Hot Swap trays and just rolling my own, that'd be some cost savings over the super-expensive Supermicro 24-bay unit, but more work because of the fabrication involved. Ho-hum.

Also how do you feel about rackmounted keyboard, mouse, and monitor? I was thinking for my network rack (PFsense + FreeNAS), I could do one of these slide-out 1U keyboard/touchpads:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811997303

Then flush-mount an old VGA LCD above it and use a KVM to switch between it as needed. Although a simple sliding shelf would be much more cost-effective, plus in the 2 or 3 years I've been running FreeNAS I don't think I've EVER had to plug in a monitor and keyboard to do anything to it after I set it up initially. :heart: FreeNAS :D

If you can, please post pics when you get your desk setup. It'll be awesome to see how it turns out.

Will do! :)
 

mosslack

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Originally posted by: Kaido
Originally posted by: mosslack
It's a no go with the EVGA 8400 gs as well on my UD3P, so hopefully the 7200 gs will work okay. I'll find out tomorrow evening after work. I need to find a way around this work thing, it keeps getting in the way of my fun time! :D

Is the EVGA the new one? I picked up a 7200GS and will be testing it on my Media Center Hack tomorrow, I'll report back then!

Yeah, the EVGA is the new one, plus I also bought an extra 7200 GS just in case. It's about as basic as you can get for video so it should work. It has worked fine with 2 of the other Hacks I have with that card, one being the DS3L. I do like the EVGA better than the Gigabyte 8400 GS, more outputs and it has a fan on it. I may do some experiments with my other Hacks to see if one or more of those might work with the 8400 GS.

Also, what are the card know to work with 10.5.7 and the UD3P? If the 7200 GS doesn't work I will need a new one. I really don't care to spend a lot of money on anything fancy, just something that works. :thumbsup:
 

mosslack

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Wow! You guys are going whole hog on these server projects, makes my plain little rack server pale in comparison. BTW, here is where I got my mine, just a good basic rack, nothing fancy. You do get a free shelf with the purchase, plus I bought 2 more besides to hold all my stuff. I got the vented kind. Also the rack comes with all the mounting screws which was nice.

http://cableorganizer.com/vmp/...economy-open-rack.html

This place has a lot of what you guys are looking for and the prices are pretty good and shipping is quick too.
 

Zaap

Diamond Member
Jun 12, 2008
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Originally posted by: Kaido
That's what I thought too, but their homepage for the 470 says that MicroATX is supported:

http://www.norcotek.com/RPC-470.php
Hmm... I recall once I found that a 9.6 x 9.6 server micro ATX board had slightly different riser layout than a smaller desktop mATX- but maybe that's changed. In the reviews of the case, user sean says "the standoffs don't line up correctly for a mini-ATX board"

I assume he means microATX, not mini ITX- though I can't imagine anyone being nutty enough to use that gargantuan case with a mini ITX board!


See the blank one on the left? So two 120mm front fans, five 80mm middle fans, and two 80mm rear fans. That's some serious airflow! :shocked:
Just make sure you get high quality fans, or it could sound like a 747 taking off!

Ooh, didn't know they sold blanks! I was wondering how I was going to attack the ugly factor :D Do the units with built-in fans have a standard power cable?
Yeah, blanks are pretty cheap- about $6- $10 for a 4U blank. I've gotten everything cheap by buying it used. The fan units I've seen are either a 1U box with four up or down facing fans, or a 2U to 4U high forward facing units like this.
The better ones have fan speed controllers, temp sensors and displays, etc. And yes, generally powered with a standard cable. (Cheaper ones have an external power-brick).
 

mosslack

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Speaking of a 747 taking off, the HP Proliant DL320 sounds just like that when it kicks in. I successfully booted it with the USB DVD burner and have tried the iDeneb 1.4 and Kalyway 10.5.0 DVD's with no luck on either so far. The Kalyway seems to get a little further than the iDeneb, but eventually stops well before any desktop appears. The iDeneb has a gray Apple screen with the spinning clock, but it spins forever with no disk activity. Have not tried a verbose yet to see what is going on there. Still trying to locate my iAtKOS DVD so until I do I'm pretty much stuck. I may try to download the Clark Connect Linux and see how well that works and just forget about OS X.
 

Zaap

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The trials and tribulations of Hackintoshing, eh Mosslack? I had high hopes for a friend's older laptop I'm reinstalling for her today. It gets as far as installing OSX, but nothing I've tried will allow it to boot once installed to the drive- it just gets to a certain point and restarts itself. I wouldn't have even expected it to work, except it's a Compaq that's nearly identical to my wife's that does work great. Ahh well. Guess I'll just put Windows on it as requested!
 

mosslack

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Originally posted by: Zaap
The trials and tribulations of Hackintoshing, eh Mosslack? I had high hopes for a friend's older laptop I'm reinstalling for her today. It gets as far as installing OSX, but nothing I've tried will allow it to boot once installed to the drive- it just gets to a certain point and restarts itself. I wouldn't have even expected it to work, except it's a Compaq that's nearly identical to my wife's that does work great. Ahh well. Guess I'll just put Windows on it as requested!

No doubt, well I did try the iAtKOS with basically the same results. Seems to be some dependencies with the kernel as near as I can tell about what it stopping it. I tried CPUS=1 as that has worked for others, but no luck. I am currently typing this with the server though, I found a PCLOS 2009.1 Live CD and it booted right up, so Linux is probably the way to go with it. I will be downloading Clark Connect and see what it's all about. I may dabble a bit with another HD once I get a reliable system up and running. I was surprised it booted from my USB DVD burner, but it works great! My friend offered me a copy of Win2000 Server, but I turned him down. If I have to run a MS product on this thing it will be headed for the junk pile for sure! :laugh:
 

Zaap

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Nice! I really like PCLinuxOS. That might actually work fine for you, if you want and need a GUI. Or maybe Ubuntu Server.

Clarkconnect is fantastic, but it's more like FreeNAS: no real GUI of it's own, a web-based interface (and/or via command line via SSH). No frills- but fast and bulletproof for serving up files, FTP, print, mail, web serving, etc.

I've never been much of a fan of MS server OSes either, but I have to say, I have a friend who has a Windows Home Server box, and it's pretty impressive. Haven't ever tried to set up one for myself though.
 

mosslack

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I've done CLI Linux before, but it's been awhile. I've used Ubuntu, but not the server version. I may check it out. I really prefer the GUI as I'm just getting too old to remember all of those commands. I may download Clark Connect and check it out though, I was just on the website reading about it. I'll do something, even if it's wrong! Thanks for all your help and suggestions.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Originally posted by: Zaap
Originally posted by: Kaido
That's what I thought too, but their homepage for the 470 says that MicroATX is supported:

http://www.norcotek.com/RPC-470.php
Hmm... I recall once I found that a 9.6 x 9.6 server micro ATX board had slightly different riser layout than a smaller desktop mATX- but maybe that's changed. In the reviews of the case, user sean says "the standoffs don't line up correctly for a mini-ATX board"

I assume he means microATX, not mini ITX- though I can't imagine anyone being nutty enough to use that gargantuan case with a mini ITX board!

Ooh, that's a good thing to know! Insider information ftl haha.

I did originally want a rackmount case that could fit a Mini-ITX board inside...a dual-core Atom 330 is perfect for my PFsense rig, but the rackmount cases that actually support Mini-ITX board are all like $175!!! Ridiculous! I suppose a mod project is in order, but boy I am feeling lazy, I just want something plug-and-play lol.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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Originally posted by: Zaap
Nice! I really like PCLinuxOS. That might actually work fine for you, if you want and need a GUI. Or maybe Ubuntu Server.

Clarkconnect is fantastic, but it's more like FreeNAS: no real GUI of it's own, a web-based interface (and/or via command line via SSH). No frills- but fast and bulletproof for serving up files, FTP, print, mail, web serving, etc.

I've never been much of a fan of MS server OSes either, but I have to say, I have a friend who has a Windows Home Server box, and it's pretty impressive. Haven't ever tried to set up one for myself though.

Bulletproof is right - I haven't touched my FreeNAS server since I installed it, absolutely unbelievable. Uptime would be in YEARS if I didn't have a wimpy UPS on it, lol.

For me, all I really need/want is a basic file server - a place to throw file backups and project archives on, to store digital copies of my software and product/user manuals, and to keep my media, as well as a temp drive for transferring things between computers. Combined with the awesome Software RAID 5 that FreeNAS has, it's just be a treat to own & operate!

I like some concepts of WHS, like pooling (come on with ZFS already, FreeNAS!) and the HP's special Mac features (iTunes streaming & Time Machine backup), but really I'm okay with just a basic AFP/SMB/FTP combo server - now that I've converted over to Hackintoshes, all of my rigs have built-in Time Machine backups, all of my OS's and software is stored on the NAS, and I archive projects on the NAS (protected by RAID 5) as well. Then I stream movies to my Plex rig. Couldn't be happier with how things are working out :D

Edit: I talked to Ockie, a network storage guru over on Hardforum, the other day and he said he definitely recommends WHS. Apparently since PP1 it's been absolutely fabulous. If you're not familiar with his work, then get a fresh pair of underwear before clicking this link:

http://www.hardforum.com/showp...1033721267&postcount=4

:D
 

Zaap

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Mosslack- I've only ever had to touch the command line when adding a new hard drive to my cc-box- otherwise the web 'GUI' setup controls everything. It's pretty much like operating a router via web-interface. (Ditto FreeNAS).

Kaido- my experience with my cc-based NAS is pretty much exactly the same. Running a streaming server directly off the NAS for my PS3 and iTunes is actually the only thing I'd love to be able to setup. (It's possible with clarkconnect, but the level of CLI dicking-around to get that sort of thing to work makes my head spin.)

Wow... that OcKie setup is incredible! Even more impressive than that amazing rackmount setup... is the cable-management! I don't think I could ever get my cabling that neat if my life depended on it!
 

mosslack

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Yeah, I've done those before and they aren't too bad, as long as they are not too hard to setup. I have Ubuntu server downloaded and burned to a CD now, so I may play around with it first and see how well it performs. I've also been looking at the 2u cases on NewEgg and found one I wouldn't mind trying with one of my micro ATX mobos using onboard video. Don't really need high resolutions on a server anyway as the ol' Dell LCD monitor I have on it now will only go as high as 1024x768. I just enjoy messing around with this stuff as that is what I do best. :D
 

mosslack

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Well, I tried Ubuntu server, but it's CLI. So next I tried Clarkconnect, but could not figure out how to get the web admin going. Then I read some about FreeNAS and it said it was easy to get the web admin going so I gave that a shot. I currently have it setup with just a small 100 Gb test HD and it's currently serving up a playlist of MP3's using Audion. Video playback was jerky, but I figure I need to tweak some settings to smooth that out. At least it is working and that is a good start! Will take some time to get exactly how to set it up using the web admin down pat, but it does look to be the easiest if I can't use OS X. I still have not given up on that totally, but I want to get my PCI-X SATA controller card in and use FreeNAS and the server with the actual drives I plan to use before deciding if I want to go in another direction.

@ Kaido: I'm using UFS and I'm trying to figure out the best way to transfer my files from the MOSJ formatted HD to the new UFS drive. Didn't Disk Utility used to be able to format a HD as UFS?
 

mosslack

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Okay, now I've gotten Clarkconnect up and running, but it isn't near as user friendly as FreeNAS. I suppose I'm just spoiled by OS X, but neither one seemed to be very easy to setup and configure. So unless something better comes along or once my Sata controller card arrives and I get things going with it, I may be looking for a 2 or 4u rackmount case for a Hack server.

:cool:
 

Zaap

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Just curious- what problems are you having with the setup? Mainly all you should need to really worry about is setting up a user account, and a flex-share or two. FreeNAS should be similar.

Also, if you're able, I'd be really curious if you could do a speed comparison. Transfer 1GB of files to your NAS using different server OS's, and note down the time. I hope things have changed, but when I last tried that little test, CC spanked FreeNAS so badly it's been off my radar ever since. Maybe things have changed radically since I last installed it.
 

mosslack

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Originally posted by: Zaap
Just curious- what problems are you having with the setup? Mainly all you should need to really worry about is setting up a user account, and a flex-share or two. FreeNAS should be similar.

Also, if you're able, I'd be really curious if you could do a speed comparison. Transfer 1GB of files to your NAS using different server OS's, and note down the time. I hope things have changed, but when I last tried that little test, CC spanked FreeNAS so badly it's been off my radar ever since. Maybe things have changed radically since I last installed it.

I think it mainly had to do with how much more difficult it was to setup. My second attempt I was determined to at least get the web admin working, which I did. I had already setup my account and logged into that. I think overall FreeNAS is just easier to use. I had no problems getting the web admin setup and functional and had a share setup pretty quickly. After all I went through getting CC setup I was too tired to try to setup a share. May try that today as it is still loaded on my server. I may try your test, but a good indication for me is how well it streams videos as they were very jerky using FreeNAS.
 

mosslack

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Originally posted by: Kaido
Mosslack - installed the 256mb fanless Gigabyte 7200GS, works great in my ES2L with 10.5.7! Confirmed that it can stream 1080p and that it can use an HDMI adapter - it's the new King of cheap cards for digital TV's! For $24.99, you can't go wrong :D

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814125095

Yeah it's been a very good card for me as I have it on several Hacks now. I suppose I will have to use it on the UD3P as both of the 8400 GS cards I tried yielded the same negative results. The ES2L is one of the systems I have a 7200 GS installed on and the update to 10.5.7 was pretty smooth. :thumbsup:
 

Zaap

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@Kaido:

You have an ATI HD 2600XT working with one of your hacks, right?

What did you use to set it up? It's not listed in any list of EFI strings that I can find. Someone gave me one and I'd like to see if I can get it working with OSX.
 
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