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First Hackintosh Build (Sub 3K Budget)

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    #2
    indough
    Registered Users Posts: 2,857 ✭✭✭indough


    if it were me i would use this resource, as all of these parts should be pretty much guaranteed to work in an osx build:

    http://www.tonymacx86.com/437-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-july-2014.html

    they have a golden builds section on there too if that's any use to you

    http://www.tonymacx86.com/golden-builds/

    edit: actually just noticed those parts seem to be on there, i hadn't seen them use anything but gigabyte boards before, sorry


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    #3
    IrishMetalhead
    Registered Users Posts: 1,185 ✭✭✭IrishMetalhead


    Yea was looking on that site before, they seem a bit biased towards Gigabyte boards but I'm glad I picked one that's compatible as it was one of the things I wasn't sure of.
    Now all I need to know is how to obtain a copy of Mavericks and how to install and srt up the damn thing.

    Suppose it's always good to lean new things


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    #4
    ..Brian..
    Registered Users Posts: 1,259 ✭✭✭..Brian..


    Have you looked at http://www.dabs4work.ie/?


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    #5
    uncle_sam_ie
    Registered Users Posts: 3,191 ✭✭✭uncle_sam_ie


    I wouldn't do it. The main thing- even though it's fairly easy to build a Hackintosh, simple updates or hardware upgrades can break the OS and overall it can be buggy even if you got the right parts for the build. As such, this requires a logical type of person who can taken the time to figure out problems. If he needs you to research how to build it then he's going be coming back to you time and again to research how to fix things gone wrong in the OS.
    I'd just build a Windows PC. It would be less hassle in the end. I came from years with OSX to windows and it's not as bad as you think.
    Also, if he wants to game he's going to be limited on GPU's he can use.


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    #6
    Serephucus
    Registered Users Posts: 7,179 ✭✭✭Serephucus


    I'm with Sam on this. I've looked into it for a friend in a similar position before (a non-techie), and we both concluded that it just wasn't worth the effort. You need to do quite a bit of tinkering with it to get it set up initially, and that's even when you've selected optimal parts. Then there's the updates. Don't get me started on the amount of threads I've read, and the horror stories.

    If he needs OSX, that's another matter, but if not, I just wouldn't bother with it.

    Also, a lot of the parts you've picked really aren't good value at all. 2133MHz RAM won't do anything for you, and 840 Pros are horrendous value. If you come back to us on the OSX question, we can go from there.


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    #7
    IrishMetalhead
    Registered Users Posts: 1,185 ✭✭✭IrishMetalhead


    Well it is a case that he need's OSX unfortunately as it is the industry standard and that's all his employer allows him to use hence why a Hackintosh is even an option and why he had a Mac Pro to begin with.
    I'm sure once I get use to it initially I should be fine tinkering around with it since I'm used to messing around with various Linux distributions plus he doesn't mind having to pay me to sort it out every time there's something wrong with it but he's fairly savvy himself but lacks the confidence to build of spec it himself.
    Also I didn't select 840 Pros I selected 850 Pros since the performance on them is completely insane.
    I know the system is complete overkill but he had the budget and the idea is that he won't need to swap out parts for years to come also saying being limited by GPUs isn't going to be much of a problem running a 780 Ti


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    #8
    TheBandicoot
    Closed Accounts Posts: 879 ✭✭✭TheBandicoot


    If he has that budget, he should just get the new Mac Pro or something. Don't bother with a Hackintosh, seriously.


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    #9
    IrishMetalhead
    Registered Users Posts: 1,185 ✭✭✭IrishMetalhead


    An entry level mac pro is €100 over his budget plus he won't be able to game on it since it'll have a Xeon and dual FirePro 300s so even even if he does dual boot it with Windows gaming on it will be a struggle.


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    #10
    indough
    Registered Users Posts: 2,857 ✭✭✭indough


    hackintoshes are a lot more stable now than they used to be, once you have the right compatible parts you won't have to worry about kexts, etc. in a lot of cases you don't need to do much tinkering at all and the system will update fine. and you can always just not update until the next big release.

    its easy enough to install now using unibeast so long as you have another mac around for downloading mavericks from the app store (i think it's even free?) , and in order to copy the install files onto usb stick using disk utility. if i remember right it's just a case of restoring the mavericks dmg image to the usb stick within that program.

    you've probably already seen this but ill throw the link up anyway:

    http://www.tonymacx86.com/374-unibeast-install-os-x-mavericks-any-supported-intel-based-pc.html

    edit: some of the newer amd cards are also compatible OOB, with more models being added in the new releases. They may represent better value for money, but the compatibility would of course depend on the programs being used. certain models of the 290x for example are now compatible, i'm not sure if the 290 is just yet but i think i read it may be with the 10.10 release


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    #11
    IrishMetalhead
    Registered Users Posts: 1,185 ✭✭✭IrishMetalhead


    Well that's grand since he's going to put his old Mac Pro away as a back up.
    I think a NVIDIA card would be better from him since the CUDA cores will help a lot more with his Photoshop work so that's why I chose a 780ti over a 290x plus the card should last him a number of years,
    Cheers for the info indough you've been a huge help to me.


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    #12
    bassey
    Registered Users Posts: 936 ✭✭✭bassey




    Could be helpful


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    #13
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,167 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    Could the hw passthrough be done for a VM to give proper support? A beast windows machine with OSX auto booting in a vm and windows there if he wanted to game too.


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    #14
    savemejebus
    Registered Users Posts: 4,532 ✭✭✭savemejebus


    If this is a work machine and your mate is serious about his job then he's much better off getting the Mac Pro. Especially if he's not the one that will be expected to keep it up and running, and if it's only €100 over budget and he's ruling it out then his priorities are messed up.

    Also for your own sanity, providing support for a mate for a work machine is a thankless task.


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    #15
    indough
    Registered Users Posts: 2,857 ✭✭✭indough


    savemejebus wrote: »
    If this is a work machine and your mate is serious about his job then he's much better off getting the Mac Pro. Especially if he's not the one that will be expected to keep it up and running, and if it's only €100 over budget and he's ruling it out then his priorities are messed up.

    Also for your own sanity, providing support for a mate for a work machine is a thankless task.

    this build has much better specs than the base mac pro model, and he wants to dual boot windows properly for gaming


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    #16
    savemejebus
    Registered Users Posts: 4,532 ✭✭✭savemejebus


    indough wrote: »
    this build has much better specs than the base mac pro model, and he wants to dual boot windows properly for gaming

    I'm sorry but in my opinion this is a case of specs not being the trump card. If someone wants a machine that is running OSX to earn their livelihood then there is a high probability that they want it to run OSX because it just works for them and they don't have to tweak.

    If specs are what matters then why not build a high performance windows machine and migrate to windows totally, that way you won't have too much arsing around and can play games if you wish but really, if it's your work machine it should be for work, not gaming.

    And don't discount the hell that is being tech support for mates, that can often lead to not being mates any more, especially if work machines are involved or the specs were your idea.

    All just my opinion though.


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    #17
    frozenfrozen
    Registered Users Posts: 7,882 ✭✭✭frozenfrozen


    indough wrote: »
    this build has much better specs than the base mac pro model, and he wants to dual boot windows properly for gaming

    I don't actually think it does. The cinebench scores for my exact hardware on hackintosh are 8.x when I get 13 in windows. And it's a constant task of keeping everything bug free when you need to update etc. Ok the above builds are going to be better for gaming, but if your friend is serious about needing osx then the mac pro is the only way to go.

    Pros about the mac pro, it's tiny, makes next to no noise, looks great, has thunderbolt, instant setup and works perfectly out of the box, has ECC registered ram, support from apple if anything goes wrong.

    Upsides of the hackintosh, cheaper for better performance in windows, pretty much the same performance in mac although less when you consider the downtime of and bother of maintaining hackintosh

    cons of mac pro, have to give apple money, seems like you're getting shafted for the parts when they can be got cheaper if you build it yourself, bad for gaming when you boot into windows

    cons of hackintosh, you having to constantly help your friend who isn't building this himself, potentially not gaining any performance over the mac pro base model while in osx, no thunderbolt unless you pay out the arse for a mobo that has it, having to spend lots of money on sound proofing and cooling the much bigger case (benchmarks go out the window for pro use if you can't have the pc in the room while recording audio, or monitoring sound because you've got a vacuum cleaner of a machine beside you).



    The mac pro lineup has actually always been -okay- value as compared to home building because of the whole it just works memento, which is really so much more important than shaving seconds off here and there for render times etc. But the current trash can models are what I would spend my money on if I needed a pc for professional design/editing/audio engineering/anything except gaming or CAD.


    If he's spending 3k on the pc how much is he spending on a colour accurate monitor, monitoring speakers, sound interface, and all the other peripherals that would need to go alongside a pro workstation. If it's just a case of wanting to have osx to do a bit of photoshop on the side and game the rest of the time, first off 3k is too high to spend, and secondly that kind of budget would be better spread across getting proper perihperals and a mid-high end PC running windows and windows only.

    Hackintosh is a hobby not an option for a genuine end user who just wants to have a mac. You'd be signing yourself up for penance for the next few years until he's got his 3k worth out of the hackintosh

    tl;dr the above reads back a little harsh but it's not meant to be. Hackintosh is not easy to upkeep for an enduser, and the mac pro trash cans are actually good value for money in a pro multimedia workstation kind of way


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    #18
    colm_c
    Registered Users Posts: 2,031 ✭✭✭colm_c


    I'm also surprised a 1 year old Mac Pro is having trouble with CS6.

    We've got CS6 running on a number of machines (iMacs / MBPs) here which are up to 3 years old with no problems.

    You do have to max out the RAM and add in an SSD as CS6 + MacOS are RAM hungry. Those Mac Pro's can take up to 32GB of RAM, pair that with an SSD and it will be a totally different machine.

    Also agreed with the other posters, a Mac Pro is the way to go if you want to upgrade for an OSX machine for everyday use, Hackintosh is fine for an enthusiast or tinkering with.


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    #19
    IrishMetalhead
    Registered Users Posts: 1,185 ✭✭✭IrishMetalhead


    Guys I get your concerns but this is for a mate so it's his decision and that decision has already been made.
    He really wants a good gaming rig because since the disaster of the new consoles he's fully switched to PC gaming but his gen one APU laptop isn't cutting it, also as I mention before he's firly tech savvy since and well experienced in the likes of DOS, Windows, OSX and various Linux distributions from previous jobs so he'll be fine but just hasn't got the confidence to build ore make sure the components are 100% compatible so it's basically the hardware side of things that has him stumped, but he will be helping me out with the installs.
    Also IT is my job anyway so I don't mind helping it out if he ever needs it as long as he throws me a few bob my way but I'll say he'll be grand.

    I'm grateful for the advice and I don't want to sound rude but since this Isn't my own personal build saying weather or not it should be done isn't what I was asking on this thread, I was asking for help since this is my first hackintosh build.

    BTW did more research on the parts and everything seems to be a go except I decided to downgrade the RAM to 1866MHz kit with good CAS and upgraded the GPU to a Titan Black since it works off the bat where as a 780ti requires further messing around.


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    #20
    IrishMetalhead
    Registered Users Posts: 1,185 ✭✭✭IrishMetalhead


    colm_c wrote: »
    I'm also surprised a 1 year old Mac Pro is having trouble with CS6.

    We've got CS6 running on a number of machines (iMacs / MBPs) here which are up to 3 years old with no problems.

    You do have to max out the RAM and add in an SSD as CS6 + MacOS are RAM hungry. Those Mac Pro's can take up to 32GB of RAM, pair that with an SSD and it will be a totally different machine.

    Also agreed with the other posters, a Mac Pro is the way to go if you want to upgrade for an OSX machine for everyday use, Hackintosh is fine for an enthusiast or tinkering with.

    year was a mistype I was meant to say years since he bought back in 2006 or so, sorry


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    #21
    colm_c
    Registered Users Posts: 2,031 ✭✭✭colm_c


    IrishMetalhead wrote: »
    year was a mistype I was meant to say years since he bought back in 2006 or so, sorry

    That makes more sense so.


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