Snow Leopard retail install on a good mATX MB ?

[dphuff]

I'm looking for an easy, retail install of SL on a good quality mATX form-factor MB (have a case I really like that won't hold a full sized ATX MB). Was looking at the Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2H as an example:

* socket LGA 775
* Northbridge Intel G41
* Southbridge Intel ICH7
* audio Realtek ALC888B
* LAN Realtek 8110SC

All seems pretty std (?) Any pointers towards install guides for recent mATX MB's or general suggestions for such would be greatly appreciated

 

[Kaido]

The Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L is a good board, but the newer ones are Rev2, which have a non-compatible network card, so you'll need a separate network card.

 

[dphuff]

Yes, the GA-G31M-ES2L does look good, and buying a NIC is no biggie. And further research shows that the PCIe slot in the G41M-ES2H is only x4, not x16. So maybe combine this MB with a Core 2 Duo E7600 ? (I'm guessing that a good place to begin is that looooong thread you started about a "Hackintosh....starting at $305"

BTW, what's recommended these days for a decent, but not fire-breathing (read "expensive") video card that would work well in the ES2L ? Looks like the nVidia's have less problems, but I wasn't sure if something in their 8-series or 9-series was at a good price/performance point. I see a lot of 8400, 9400, 9500, and 9600 nVidia cards out there right now.

 

[Zaap]

The G41M-ES2L is the G41-based board to go for, not the G41M-ES2H.

The L version features a fully-working 2.0 x16 slot. It also has the potential for 8GB of RAM, although that's diminished with only 2 slots.

The board is just as Hackintoshable as the G31. I set mine up with SL using the lifehacker guide- without even being specific to this board, it worked perfectly on the G41. I am using a USB audio adapter though- didn't try to hack the onboard audio. More and more, I find it's better just to use USB audio over dicking around with onboard.

 

[dphuff]

Zaap,

Cool, thanks! and this Lifehacker Snow Leopard guide worked w/o modification, eh ? That's sweet. Also, is this the same system that's in your .sig line ? If so, I assume the same Lifehacker guide also worked with the 8600GTS card you list instead of the 9800 GTX+ model Adam Pash used ?

BTW, I also intend to eventually dual-boot this machine with Windows 7. So if I could pick your brain on one, more topic - how do you handle the Mac OSX / Win7 dual-boot on your box ?

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: dphuff
Zaap,

Cool, thanks! and this Lifehacker Snow Leopard guide worked w/o modification, eh ? That's sweet. Also, is this the same system that's in your .sig line ? If so, I assume the same Lifehacker guide also worked with the 8600GTS card you list instead of the 9800 GTX+ model Adam Pash used ?

BTW, I also intend to eventually dual-boot this machine with Windows 7. So if I could pick your brain on one, more topic - how do you handle the Mac OSX / Win7 dual-boot on your box ?

I know you were asking him, but I know that the method that most prefer is to use multiple drives since that is easiest. However, on a single drive, you want to install Windows first, then partition the drive in Windows. Run the OS X installer to format that new partition HFS+, install OS X and then install Chameleon (a third party boot loader) so you can choose between the OSes.

It is the route I am going to take when I finally put Snow on my Hack.

 

[dphuff]

Hey, no problem. I'll take good advice wherever I can find it The "multiple drives" method involves choosing one or the other as the boot drive from the BIOS, yes ?

So here's what I've got on my list so far:

* Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L
* Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 (3.06 GHz)
* 4 GB of DDR2 800 RAM
* some sort of video card

So there's the rub. I'd like something that'd "just work" with a simple install guide (like Zaap mentioned above with the Lifehacker guide, even using this MB). Not too many nVidia 8600 cards left around that I can tell, but I found an evga 8600 GT (not GTS) with 256 MB on Newegg just now. I also see a lot of 8400 GS cards out there, as well as several models in their 9000-series (9400, 9500, 9600).

Any suggestions for a Hackintosh compatible card at a good price/performance point ?

 

[HappyJack96]

If I was choosing a "Beater" I'd go for the ES2H, but I guess it depends on what you need. I don't need PCI Express 2.0 x16. Too bad there is no PCIe x1, but I don't really need that either. What I DO need is for my board to be rid of legacy connectors I'll never use. Plus, I'd need the price to be $49.99 with FREE Shipping! Looks like both H & L do up to 8GB on two slots.

@Zaap: Does on-board Ethernet work? How about DVI video? Thank you for your reply!

Russell

 

[Zaap]

dphuff- yup, that's the guide. I didn't expect it to work, but it did. My 8600GTS required an EFI string.

The osx86 project wiki has a pretty goodlist of graphic cards that should work fine with Snow Leopard.

I always dual boot using two different hard drives, one for OSX, and another for Windows (and sometimes Linux on the same drive with Windows, as in my main system). I personally don't like messing with OSX on the same drive as Windows. I do however have several installs of OSX on the same drive- my original 10.5.8 install (I need to update my sig) is untouched.

Keep in mind the GA-G31M-ES2L is also a really good choice. I used to have one, but since gave it up for the G41 board. Both perform about the same as far as I can tell, so if there's a better guide and support for the G31M board (IE: if Kaido releases one) it could be the better choice.

HappyJack, yes the onboard ethernet works OOB. DVI via my 8600GTS video card, of course.

The ES2H is a bad choice for Hackintosh, "beater" or not. It's not designed to use a separate video card (IE, why the slot is only 4x not 16x) so you'd just be paying more for needless HDMI and DVI that isn't Hack-compatible. It's a great board for a Windows HTPC using the onboard video, but not for OSx86.

8GB of RAM would be great, but unfortunately it's hard to find 4GB sticks of DDR2 for a reasonable price. (Nearly $300 for 2x 4GB on Newegg for example!)

 

[smokozuna]

Originally posted by: Zaap
The G41M-ES2L is the G41-based board to go for, not the G41M-ES2H.

The L version features a fully-working 2.0 x16 slot. It also has the potential for 8GB of RAM, although that's diminished with only 2 slots.

The board is just as Hackintoshable as the G31. I set mine up with SL using the lifehacker guide- without even being specific to this board, it worked perfectly on the G41. I am using a USB audio adapter though- didn't try to hack the onboard audio. More and more, I find it's better just to use USB audio over dicking around with onboard.

Ahh, Zaap my good Man, I am so glad you posted this. It is exactly the information I was looking for. Thank You my friend, you are a true asset here and in the thread on SD. Using the Lifehacker guide how is this for compatibility?

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128388

Sound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16812186035

Ethernet
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833156139

Guide
http://lifehacker.com/5360150/...pc-no-hacking-required

 

[Zaap]

Nothing wrong with that setup, smokozuna. I'm using the same sound (works/sounds great driverless in any OS) and I have that exact same PCI card as well, in my main system and HTPC, but not the beater.

 

[timswim78]

Originally posted by: smokozuna

Originally posted by: Zaap
The G41M-ES2L is the G41-based board to go for, not the G41M-ES2H.

The L version features a fully-working 2.0 x16 slot. It also has the potential for 8GB of RAM, although that's diminished with only 2 slots.

The board is just as Hackintoshable as the G31. I set mine up with SL using the lifehacker guide- without even being specific to this board, it worked perfectly on the G41. I am using a USB audio adapter though- didn't try to hack the onboard audio. More and more, I find it's better just to use USB audio over dicking around with onboard.

Ahh, Zaap my good Man, I am so glad you posted this. It is exactly the information I was looking for. Thank You my friend, you are a true asset here and in the thread on SD. Using the Lifehacker guide how is this for compatibility?

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128388

Sound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16812186035

Ethernet
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16833156139

Guide
http://lifehacker.com/5360150/...pc-no-hacking-required

I think that I will attempt my first hackintosh with these pieces and 4GB of RAM. Now I just need to figure out an inexpensive video card and CPU (with virtualization).

 

[Zaap]

The cheapest CPU with VT support: E6300 for $83.

Don't be fooled by the Dual-Core Pentium name- it's virtually the same chip as the Core 2 Duo E7200 $120 minus 1MB of L2 Cache. (Which incidentally, doesn't have VT support).

I've used a bunch of these chips and they're pretty amazing bang for the buck.

To me the next bump-up that's truly worth the price relative to performance, is the Core2 Quad E8400 that goes for around $170- with 1333Mhz bus, 4MB L2 and VT.

As for video cards, look into nVidia 8600GT, 9400/9500GT or better. These days I'm not too up on low-end cards as I haven't built a Hack for anyone with less than a 8800GT/9800GT in quite some time.

 

[smokozuna]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Nothing wrong with that setup, smokozuna. I'm using the same sound (works/sounds great driverless in any OS) and I have that exact same PCI card as well, in my main system and HTPC, but not the beater.

Well, today is the big day. I am upgrading to Snow Leopard today. Zaap, you have been so helpful that if anything goes wrong, I want you to have my peripherals. lol

 

[smokozuna]

Zapp, I need some advice, my install went fine and my video card nvidia 7200 GS 512 ram worked without adding an efi string but when I open the Chess app SL asks me to hold the power button and restart. Is that something to be worried about?

 

[Zaap]

Happy to help if I can. Kaido, mosslack and a few others around here are the real fountains of hackintosh information though.

Sounds to me like your video card isn't really working correctly- IE: it needs efi strings applied. SL makes it harder than just a glance to tell if QE/CI are enabled, but the Chess app not working (in your case causing a kernel panic) is one of the indicators that it isn't. Another test is to try and open Front Row. (It won't run without QE/CI) or go to dashboard and add a new item and see if you get the ripple effect. No ripple, no QE/CI.

If that's the case, use a tool like OSx86Tools (reported used by a lot of people on the osx86project wiki 10.6.x) or EFIStudio to enable EFI strings for your 7200GS. Read the HCL to get a good idea of what to try, the rules are a little different in SL than they were in Leopard. Unfortunately I don't see the 7200GS listed, but I'm guessing it should work.

 

[smokozuna]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Happy to help if I can. Kaido, mosslack and a few others around here are the real fountains of hackintosh information though.

Sounds to me like your video card isn't really working correctly- IE: it needs efi strings applied. SL makes it harder than just a glance to tell if QE/CI are enabled, but the Chess app not working (in your case causing a kernel panic) is one of the indicators that it isn't. Another test is to try and open Front Row. (It won't run without QE/CI) or go to dashboard and add a new item and see if you get the ripple effect. No ripple, no QE/CI.

If that's the case, use a tool like OSx86Tools (reported used by a lot of people on the osx86project wiki 10.6.x) or EFIStudio to enable EFI strings for your 7200GS. Read the HCL to get a good idea of what to try, the rules are a little different in SL than they were in Leopard. Unfortunately I don't see the 7200GS listed, but I'm guessing it should work.

Thank you for the help Zapp. I added the EFI string but the problem remained. I have bigger problems though, I ran out of USB ports so decided to scrap this project and substitute the ES2L for the UD3P and upgrade my graphics card to a Nvidia 9400 or above. Hell I may even upgrade from my E6600 processor. Back to the drawing board.

 

[dwcal]

Originally posted by: Zaap
Nothing wrong with that setup, smokozuna. I'm using the same sound (works/sounds great driverless in any OS) and I have that exact same PCI card as well, in my main system and HTPC, but not the beater.

I'm trying to follow the Lifehacker guide with a G41M-ES2L too, but it won't boot the USB stick. In verbose boot it gets as far as AppleRTL8169Ethernet. In non-verbose the kernel panics.

I have the same setup as your beater except with E6300 and Geforce 7100GS. iPC 10.5.6 with NVInject works fine, but I really want to get retail Snow Leopard working. Am I missing something in the BIOS?

 

[smokozuna]

Are you using an add on ethernet card or built in? Some people have had problems with off brand USB sticks not booting. When I set mine up I used the Lifehacker Guide BIOS settings.

 

[dwcal]

I get the same problem if I disable or enable the onboard ethernet, just without the last line if I disable ethernet. The Lifehacker guide is actually for an EP45UD3P, so the BIOS screens don't exactly match.

EDIT: It's the video card. I pulled the 7100GS to use the Intel onboard video, and the USB stick boots. I could try a different NVIDIA card.

 

[smokozuna]

Wanted to update this thread, I used the parts I listed above with an Nvidia 7series graphics card. After the install it will KP once and a while in 10.6 because of this card. If you force 32 bit operation a 7 series card will work just fine. Then I updated to 10.6.2 with out a hitch. If you use an 8series card or higher 64 bit will work just fine.