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Need an incredibly stable mini itx build.


Tjj226_Angel

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I am helping a friend of my moms with his iMac. 

 

To make a very long a frustrating story short, he needs a new computer. 

 

Normally I would not bother the community over such a PC build, but I am not sure if what I want to do with this computer is even possible. 

 

1st thing we need this computer to do is dual boot linux mint and NOT windows. (See how I avoided EULA laws right there?). 

 

OSSuck is the main reason I am insecure about this build. 

 

2nd: Maximum data security and reliability. This guy has well over 30,000 pictures, and keeping them safe is the main objective of the build. Here is where I start to get a bit iffy on certain things. I would like to have a raid 1 array in the build. 

 

The idea would be to have a SSD that is formatted in Mac extended journal for the OS and then a raid 1 array that is formatted in FAT32 for the data. 

 

I do not know if such an idea would work on OSSuck. I have no VERY little experience with OSSuck when it comes to partitioning and very drive formats. 

 

3: This person has also just purchased an ipod touch. I would like it if the raid 1 array can be accessed over the wifi network so that he could view his pictures and listen to music directly from the PC's storage. 

 

I know how to make that work on windows and linux, but not OSSuck. 

 

------------------------------------

 

As for the actual hardware of the build, I will be using a lot of parts that I have lying around my house. 

 

The things that will be purchased are a motherboard, CPU, GPU, and case. Everything else I already have. 

 

For the CPU, I would like to use a Xeon 1240 v3. The reason being is that microcenter has this cpu for a great deal, and the CPU will last forever, so why not. 

 

I am really struggling with the motherboard. If at all possible, I would like to use a mini itx motherboard, but it is not crucial. We just need a super reliable motherboard and I would like to keep it around 150 bucks or less. 

 

As for the case, again, I would like it to be mini itx, but it is not crucial. What I really need it to have is at least 2 3.5 inch bays and for it to look professional. 

 

I think the power supply I will use is the corsair 430 watt PSU. We barely need any power at all, and quite frankly it is just a nice and simple PSU that will last for several years. 

 

Of course I am always open to suggestions. 

 

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas. 

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hold on

are you trying to make a hackintosh?

 

you cannot just stick any PC parts in a hackintosh

they must have been manufactured by an OEM maker sometime in the past

 

 

IDK how the mods would feel about breaking apple's EULA, but yes. 

 

And yes I know. 

 

I am looking at the intel xeon 1240 v3 which is supported. 

 

An asus H97I mobo. 

 

Crucial ram. 

 

Samsung evo hard drive 

 

and a nvidia graphics card. 

 

All of which are supported by tony mac X86. 

 

What I can not find any information about is how OSX works in conjunction with raid, and with home server software. 

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If you're worried about data integrity the last thing you should be thinking about is a desktop computer with a RAID mirror...

 

 

Offline backups, remote storage, or at the very least something not in the local machine.

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If you're worried about data integrity the last thing you should be thinking about is a desktop computer with a RAID mirror...

 

 

Offline backups, remote storage, or at the very least something not in the local machine.

 

 

Not to worry, I already have that setup. I put all of his pictures on DVDs and then I made a clone of his hard drive to a external drive. Right now we have 3 bit for bit clones of his pictures. So his pictures are WELL archived. But since he still uses his pictures on a day to day basis, I still need to be worried about his physical data on his internal hard drive. 

 

Let me make this a bit more clear. This is an elderly gentleman who is retired and does not want to have to worry about anything. In his words.... "I do not want to have another computer problem ever again".

 

You and I both know that is pretty much impossible to make a computer bullet proof. 

 

I feel kind of bad saying this, but I do not need to build a computer that is bullet proof. I just need to build a computer that can outlive him. 

 

This is a person who is quite frankly smart enough to build this computer himself, but he has some issues with his hands and he physically can not screw around with his computer if it were to have some sort of catastrophic failure. 

 

Here is what I should be asking you guys. What can I / should I build that would read word documents, email, view pictures, and play youtube videos for the next 5 years without fail. 

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It seems that he really wants OSX, why not just buy another mac? As far as I have seen there is no "bulletproof" hackintosh.

 

 

There is a good chance we might be doing that too. 

 

Unfortunately the 1100 price tag, is really stretching it according to him. 

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I Know I wouldn't trust a hackintosh not to lose or corrupt data, or last 5 years without software problems.

 

I agree 100%

 

You try convincing a 70+ year old man that he should either spend the money and buy a new mac or to find a new OS. 

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If I were to back up his data to a online/offsite place, who would you guys recommend? It is about 50GB of pictures. 

 

I know linux drop box and google drives are both some decent options, but that is about where my familiarity with online backups. 

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