[Success]GA B85N Phoenix Wifi - i3 4150 - GTX 660 ti - Yosemite

Components

Apple Mac OS X version 10.10 Yosemite
https://www.apple.com/osx/

Gigabyte GA B85N Phoenix Wifi Revision 2.0
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KRUX0PU/

Intel Core i3 4150
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2LIF2S/

Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2048MB GDDR5 PCIe 30 x16 Video Card (Refurbished)
http://www.microcenter.com/product/...MB_GDDR5_PCIe_30_x16_Video_Card_(Refurbished)

Bit Phoenix Prodigy Mini itx Midnight Black
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RJQ0LE/

Broadcom Wireless 802 11/a/g/n Internet WLAN Adapter Card for Laptops & Netbooks
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OB0FPI


Already Owned

Crucial Ballistix Sport (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model BLS2KIT4G3D1339DS1S00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148543

Samsung 840 Series MZ-7TD120BW 2.5 120 GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147188


Comments

Originally I tried this board with an EVGA GTX 650 and I couldn't get a solid build because I just put the bios in optimized defaults and disabled virtualization without thinking about the internal graphics at all. Total n00b move. This guide was done with a 660 Ti but I'm sure the 650 will work just as well because both cards are 6xx Kepler and I did a successful boot without flags into the install drive with the 650 but didn't do a full install.

Yes you read that right. The graphics card is an Nvidia branded reference card from back when Nvidia sold their own cards exclusively at Best Buy. Back then it was a total rip off but I got this one for $130 refurbished and so far it's been great. The refurb part does concern me though. Actually so does the Nvidia branded reference card part. I'm afraid is going to crap out on me after the retailer's return policy is up.

The graphics card and wireless card work OOB. Only thing I really needed to install kexts for was the audio and Ethernet. I haven't looked into hdmi audio at all because I only use computer speakers.

The power supply which I didn't list makes a really irritating high pitched noise and is non modular. I hate it. It's on my list of things to replace. Its a Thermaltake but I'm too lazy to open the case up right now and look at the model number.

I wish the wireless card that came with the motherboard worked because it's wireless AC and bluetooth in one chip but it's made by Intel so from what I've read there will never be support for it.

Overall this was a really easy build. Once I got the bios settings right I didn't need any boot flags throughout the install. After setting everything to optimized defaults and turning off virtualization, make sure the internal graphics are off and the PCI-e slot has boot priority. I tried installing Yosemite the day it was officially released and totally overlooked the internal graphics. I had to use -v to boot the installer and SSD. Even after everything was installed, shutting down and booting didn't work very well. Sometimes the fans would keep running after shut down, or when booting I'd get kernel panics and black screens. I used the ALC898 kext from MB 6.1.0 and haven't had any issues with popping or loss of audio after sleep.

This is just cosmetic stuff, but I don't like how the boot process looks at all. The white apple screen is in the proper resolution but it doesn't fit the screen, there's a black border around it. Going from the load screen to the log in screen looks rough. The display goes black for a couple seconds and when it returns to the log in screen, the load bar from the white apple screen lingers for a couple seconds in the lower left corner of the screen before fading out. The log in to the desktop is choppy as well. There's no fade in at all. But shut down, sleep, and reboot are all very consistent. At least it does the same thing every time.

Only other thing I want to mention is that I had a couple hiccups throughout the install process. The first time I rebooted from installing OSX into set up I got a white screen. I tried again and this time the screen was white but had the mouse and eventually transitioned into set up. Once I was in and installing my MB settings, I got a freeze the second time around when I went to install the audio from 6.1.0. Again, reboot and no issues. Haven't had any freezing since.



I didn't include a screen shot for the 6.1.0 MultiBeast, but it should only be the audio driver and nothing else.

Benchmarks








Update:

Forgot to mention the issue with my keyboard. Sometimes the media keys work for iTunes and sometimes they don't. No idea why. Here's my keyboard: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B8CU8U

Solved: http://capitalmacservice.com/itunes-keyboard-media-keys-stop-working/

Update 2:

Found a solution for the black border problem.
http://www.tonymacx86.com/graphics/131055-hdmi-dvi-black-border-fix-2014-a.html

Nice work hacamac! I've got the same board with a G3240 and 650 (Only runs Mountain Lion for now :/) hopefully my wallet stretches to an i5/i7 soon

How can you install Broadcom Wireless 802 11/a/g/n Internet WLAN Adapter Card for Laptops & Netbooks on your Gigabyte GA B85N Phoenix Wifi Revision 2.0 mother board?
What is interface for the wireless card.
Thanks

Rev1.0 can

rev2.0 networkcard is intel Ethernet Connection I217-V