Hackintosh project...
I decided a month or so ago to build a Hackintosh to replace my current iMac, which is having some intermittent freezing issues. I suspect the motherboard is going, and replacing will cost around a grand. :( ...Hence the decision to invest in a new machine.
What's a Hackintosh you ask?
"Hackintosh" is the term for a computer made with a specific set of off the shelf components that are compatible with Mac OS X, with a little hacking. This allows a person to build their own Mac desktop, which was not previously possible (and is frowned upon by Apple; party-poopers). Previously, a home built computer could only run some version of Windows (yuck), or a Linux variant. Not the case anymore! Now you can build your own Mac desktop, save a ton of money, and run the best OS out there (in my opinion, of course).
Here's a great post from the folks at lifehacker.com outlining one build and explaining more about the project:
http://lifehacker.com/5351485/how-to-build-a-hackintosh-with-snow-leopard-start-to-finish
The fine folks over at www.tonymacx86.blogspot.com, and http://lnx2mac.blogspot.com have been working to streamline the process with software tools, hardware recommendations, and instructions on how to get it all working. I used the build recommendations here, to build a box comparable with Apple's high end Mac Pro desktop. Here's my final build list (as I did make some small changes):
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=15394066
The main difference I made was adding a 64 GB Solid state drive to run my OS and Applications on. This significantly increases boot speed as well as application launches, and makes the computer just "feel faster". I also added two monitors (because I am coming from an iMac, so I don't have any). Unfortunately, they didn't pivot to portrait like I thought they did, so I'll be returning those for 2 that do...
If you're interested in giving this a try, here's the post with all the installation info. My build went exactly as described, and was pretty straightforward. If you're comfortable building a PC, this should be no different. As soon as I get the right monitors, I'll be cooking on a super fast machine for less than half of what Apple is charging for it.
WIN!
What's a Hackintosh you ask?
"Hackintosh" is the term for a computer made with a specific set of off the shelf components that are compatible with Mac OS X, with a little hacking. This allows a person to build their own Mac desktop, which was not previously possible (and is frowned upon by Apple; party-poopers). Previously, a home built computer could only run some version of Windows (yuck), or a Linux variant. Not the case anymore! Now you can build your own Mac desktop, save a ton of money, and run the best OS out there (in my opinion, of course).
Here's a great post from the folks at lifehacker.com outlining one build and explaining more about the project:
http://lifehacker.com/5351485/how-to-build-a-hackintosh-with-snow-leopard-start-to-finish
The fine folks over at www.tonymacx86.blogspot.com, and http://lnx2mac.blogspot.com have been working to streamline the process with software tools, hardware recommendations, and instructions on how to get it all working. I used the build recommendations here, to build a box comparable with Apple's high end Mac Pro desktop. Here's my final build list (as I did make some small changes):
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=15394066
The main difference I made was adding a 64 GB Solid state drive to run my OS and Applications on. This significantly increases boot speed as well as application launches, and makes the computer just "feel faster". I also added two monitors (because I am coming from an iMac, so I don't have any). Unfortunately, they didn't pivot to portrait like I thought they did, so I'll be returning those for 2 that do...
If you're interested in giving this a try, here's the post with all the installation info. My build went exactly as described, and was pretty straightforward. If you're comfortable building a PC, this should be no different. As soon as I get the right monitors, I'll be cooking on a super fast machine for less than half of what Apple is charging for it.
WIN!
Comments
which I have and love, even though I haven't been able to use my build much (thanks Gigabyte!)
Any reason you went with an 850W PSU? Unless you plan on replacing your ATI graphics card with an NVIDIA Tesla GPU, that's kind of overkill IMO. Everything else looks good though. Let me know how you like the Kingston SSD. I went with a 40GB Intel.
I went with two samsung monitors (which should be here tomorrow), but thanks for the rec!
Once I have the monitors, I'll really be able to test the SSD (and everything else).
Makes sense to me. This is definitely a future-proof machine. Check out those monitors though. They've got landscape and portrait mode. Plus they swivel and slide up and down.