Hackintosh

[asamin]

I got a request from a friend to build him a computer with some annoying restrictions I'm VERY not used to.

 

I've never built a hackintosh, and honestly am not really looking forward to it much after past experiences with the Mac operating system. So here we are.

 

I don't need to worry about peripherals as he has them already but I now have $450 to build a hackintosh. How on earth do I pull this off?

[techguru]

I got a request from a friend to build him a computer with some annoying restrictions I'm VERY not used to.

 

I've never built a hackintosh, and honestly am not really looking forward to it much after past experiences with the Mac operating system. So here we are.

 

I don't need to worry about peripherals as he has them already but I now have $450 to build a hackintosh. How on earth do I pull this off?

buy compatible hardware

[LokiFire]

Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel 

[asamin]

Ok.... those are a bit less helpful then I was hoping. I was more looking for a motherboard idea or how to pick out ram. I'm assuming I'll have to go i3. May try to go a few generations back to save some money.

[arout77]

Needs to be Intel, in case you missed the above post

 

Also, with your budget, "I've heard" a good idea for you may be to grab a used Ivy Bridge CPU (3570k is a good choice) and a z77 chipset, and install OS X version 10.8, 10.9 or 10.10 on it. "I've heard" those versions of OS X run great on that platform.

 

As long as the GPU is fairly modern ( GTX 600+ ), and an Nvidia card, you'll have no issues there. 

 

Just keep in mind that if you make it to the GUI install screen, you CAN run a hackintosh on that sysem, so if you have any issues during or after install, try different BIOS settings or boot arguments. You'll just need to do your homework on that end, should the need arise...

[arout77]

Ok.... those are a bit less helpful then I was hoping. I was more looking for a motherboard idea or how to pick out ram. I'm assuming I'll have to go i3. May try to go a few generations back to save some money.

Asrock Extreme4 Z77 if you go with my above recommendations. Can confirm it works near flawlessly. Only issues were getting sleep to work properly, but who cares about that...

[PCgamer324]

Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel Needs to be intel 

 

no....

 

 

need to compatible motherboard; AMD works fine if you have all compatible components. Thing is there are less compatible AMD parts then there are Intel parts

[PCgamer324]

Ok.... those are a bit less helpful then I was hoping. I was more looking for a motherboard idea or how to pick out ram. I'm assuming I'll have to go i3. May try to go a few generations back to save some money.

tonymacx86 is your friend

[LokiFire]

no....

 

 

need to compatible motherboard; AMD works fine if you have all compatible components. Thing is there are less compatible AMD parts then there are Intel parts

MAC OS is not compatible with AMD full stop, hacked kernals will get the job done but it's far more work.

[PCgamer324]

MAC OS is not compatible with AMD full stop, hacked kernals will get the job done but it's far more work.

 

if kernel hacking is an issue for you then I think building a hackintosh is the approach for OP

[arout77]

if kernel hacking is an issue for you then I think building a hackintosh is the approach for OP

Building a hackintosh is no longer some kind of tech achievement -- at least not since OS X moved to Intel chips. Why make things harder than they need to be? Just grab an Intel cpu and an Nvidia card, and save the OP from many hours of pain

[PCgamer324]

Building a hackintosh is no longer some kind of tech achievement -- at least not since OS X moved to Intel chips. Why make things harder than they need to be? Just grab an Intel cpu and an Nvidia card, and save the OP from many hours of pain

 

true, but the end user maintenance / "weird issue diagnostics"  are not for the average user.  You're dealing with an OS that by design doesn't want to work with your hardware; I have run into many issues during my various Hackintosh projects

[arout77]

true, but the end user maintenance / "weird issue diagnostics"  are not for the average user.  You're dealing with an OS that by design doesn't want to work with your hardware; I have run into many issues during my various Hackintosh projects

I hear that; I've cursed many a times during my hackintosh days

 

But over the years, we've taken much of the trial and error out of it. It's all about minimizing those weird issues...the setup I recommended for him is one of quite a few that will work nearly flawlessly; and also happens to fall within his budget even if he bought the CPU/mobo/RAM all brand new.

[techguru]

Ok.... those are a bit less helpful then I was hoping. I was more looking for a motherboard idea or how to pick out ram. I'm assuming I'll have to go i3. May try to go a few generations back to save some money.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/building-customac-buyers-guide-january-2016.html

[DunePilot]

TonymacX86, intel platform, nvidia gpu, and my personal recommendation.... two hard-drives or SSD, install OSX on one and windows on the other while only one drive is hooked up at a time. The info and help you will need you should direct to their forums.

[asamin]

Awesome thank you guys! I'm running to a used pc parts store nearby either today or tomorrow to check what they have. I forgot to mention (as it is pretty important) he is going to be using this workstation for Logic Pro. So the ram and some cpu power for the instruments is nice. I've seen larger songs crash low end macbooks before so I'm trying to avoid that eventuality.

[arout77]

Awesome thank you guys! I'm running to a used pc parts store nearby either today or tomorrow to check what they have. I forgot to mention (as it is pretty important) he is going to be using this workstation for Logic Pro. So the ram and some cpu power for the instruments is nice. I've seen larger songs crash low end macbooks before so I'm trying to avoid that eventuality.

The 3570k I mentioned previously will handle that just fine. But if you can make it work without sacrificing RAM, try to grab a 3770k if possible (and if you go the 1155 socket route)