Thread: i7-3770 (Ivy Bridge) + GA-Z77-DS3H

After spending weeks of frustration trying to get my AMD system to run OS X, I decided to save up and purchase an Intel Ivy Bridge processor and motherboard instead, since Intel processors are much more compatible with OS X. I spent about two days getting this system to work, but when it worked, oh, it was so satisfying. I'm loving OS X!

Edit: Updated for Mountain Lion.

• Operating System: Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8
• Kernel: mach_kernel
• Processor: Intel i7-3770 3.4GHz
• Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77-DS3H
• Video Card: MSI Nvidia GTX 460 768MB
• Memory: 4GB (2x2GB) Patriot 'Sector 5' G Series DDR3 1600MHz
• Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme 700W
• Hard Disks: WD Caviar Blue 500GB & Hitachi Deskstar 500GB
• Monitor: HP LA2405wg
• Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
• Mouse: Razer DeathAdder
• Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow
• Headphones: JVC HA-RX900
• Webcam: Logitech C510

Installation:

• Created a bootable OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 USB drive installer using UniBeast.
• In BIOS: Set SATA mode to AHCI. Set xHCI mode to Disabled.
• Booted to the USB drive with PCIRootUID=0 and installed OS X. Note that I had to plug the USB drive into a hub, otherwise I would get IOUSBFamily error messages and eventually would get "still waiting for root device".
• Booted to the volume I installed OS X on.
• Installed MultiBeast with the following options:
  
  • AppleHDA Rollback
  • ALC887/888b
  • ALC888b/887 v100302 Current
  • FakeSMC
  • maolj's AtherosL1cEthernet
  • Chimera
  • MacPro 3,1 smbios.plist
  • Chameleon RC5 Default skin
• Set boot flags to GraphicsEnabler=Yes UseKernelCache=Yes GenerateCStates=Yes GeneratePStates=Yes PCIRootUID=0 -v

Photos:


My desktop. I made the wallpaper for the wallpaper contest!


Cable management? What's that? I just plug everything in
and hope none of the cords hit a fan.

well your miles away from any fans so should be fine. cool

Looks great! Huge case and lots of room for air flow, nice job. I don't think my rig will ever be able to load Lion though it seems my mobo is not supported very well. I am in the process of putting another one together.

intel cpu will BE a easyer install for lion.
ive never bought a amd cpu so i dont know them thanks for the comment

Originally Posted by baldyman

intel cpu will BE a easyer install for lion.
ive never bought a amd cpu so i dont know them thanks for the comment

But then that defeats the entire challenge of installing OSX on unsupported hardware. It can be done on AMD I have seen it and they run just fine. I am going to build a Intel box anyway, but I am still going to try to put together a Lion hack on AMD.

That's the spirit!

Originally Posted by noname

That's the spirit!

If we run out of challenges, then there is no use in trying...thats the way I see it and that is the way I live.

Hi, great to find this post. I have just worked out that the motherboard I have is not comparable with the processor so this seems the combination I will go for. I take it it is still running smoothy? What is the MB like for overclocking?

Ben

PS this will be my first hackingtosh build.
PPS I agree, cable management is not enough fun to bother with.

Hi, i have almost the exact same setup as you, i have your mono, but I have an i5-3570K (Ivy Bridge as well) and the second I try to boot into my installer, the PC shuts down and reboots... If you could provide me with any help that'd be great!

Originally Posted by pablobtown

Hi, i have almost the exact same setup as you, i have your mono, but I have an i5-3570K (Ivy Bridge as well) and the second I try to boot into my installer, the PC shuts down and reboots... If you could provide me with any help that'd be great!

Hey! The problem is that you're not using the modified Ivy Bridge kernel to boot the installer.

A guide on using BridgeHelper with UniBeast to install Lion is here.