My experience with Hackintosh

[rikadik]

Just perusing this thread and wondered, thinking of making my very own Hackintosh this summer...

What is the advantage of a "KR" Bad Axe 2 as opposed to your usual one?
What is choosing a video card like? Do most usually work? I'm after a Dual-DVI passively cooled nvidia 8 series card.
Do I have to worry about compatibility of other components? CD-drives, hard drives etc?

I just have no idea what I'm doing basically!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: rikadik
Just perusing this thread and wondered, thinking of making my very own Hackintosh this summer...

What is the advantage of a "KR" Bad Axe 2 as opposed to your usual one?
What is choosing a video card like? Do most usually work? I'm after a Dual-DVI passively cooled nvidia 8 series card.
Do I have to worry about compatibility of other components? CD-drives, hard drives etc?

I just have no idea what I'm doing basically!

Nothing, the non-KR model is just older. KR means support for Crossfire, which doesn't work on Macs anyway, so you don't lose or gain anything. It's just easier to find a KR new.

Most 7000-series Nvidia cards and G80-based 8800 cards work great. 10.5.2 has kexts (drivers) for G92 cards, so you'll start seeing a lot more 8800GT-type usage. I have a 7300GT, 7900GT, and 8800GTS and all work great. My 8800GTS is completely flawless, plus I can dual-boot and play Crysis whenever I want.

Nope, pretty much you just have to worry about the motherboard and the DVD drive. The Bad Axe 2 has 4 working SATA ports (the second Marvell controller is not supported under Leopard) and you'll need your own USB sound card since Audio is experimental (Volume Control only, no Mute/Mic). Any hard drive or DVD drive should work fine, just make sure to get a PSU powerful enough to run all of your hardware. Mac-compatible USB devices work fine of course, as does onboard Firewire.

I'm perfectly happy with mine. I'm experimenting with EFI 8.0 which adds GPT/GUID for resizable boot partitions, so if that ends up working I'll be even more pleased. Pretty much just find yourself a supported video card, follow the guide step-by-step, and you're in business

 

[rikadik]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: rikadik
Just perusing this thread and wondered, thinking of making my very own Hackintosh this summer...

What is the advantage of a "KR" Bad Axe 2 as opposed to your usual one?
What is choosing a video card like? Do most usually work? I'm after a Dual-DVI passively cooled nvidia 8 series card.
Do I have to worry about compatibility of other components? CD-drives, hard drives etc?

I just have no idea what I'm doing basically!

Nothing, the non-KR model is just older. KR means support for Crossfire, which doesn't work on Macs anyway, so you don't lose or gain anything. It's just easier to find a KR new.

Most 7000-series Nvidia cards and G80-based 8800 cards work great. 10.5.2 has kexts (drivers) for G92 cards, so you'll start seeing a lot more 8800GT-type usage. I have a 7300GT, 7900GT, and 8800GTS and all work great. My 8800GTS is completely flawless, plus I can dual-boot and play Crysis whenever I want.

Nope, pretty much you just have to worry about the motherboard and the DVD drive. The Bad Axe 2 has 4 working SATA ports (the second Marvell controller is not supported under Leopard) and you'll need your own USB sound card since Audio is experimental (Volume Control only, no Mute/Mic). Any hard drive or DVD drive should work fine, just make sure to get a PSU powerful enough to run all of your hardware. Mac-compatible USB devices work fine of course, as does onboard Firewire.

I'm perfectly happy with mine. I'm experimenting with EFI 8.0 which adds GPT/GUID for resizable boot partitions, so if that ends up working I'll be even more pleased. Pretty much just find yourself a supported video card, follow the guide step-by-step, and you're in business

That sounds absolutely awesome. I just wish I had the time and resources to do this now. I'm planning on building a Q6600 based rig for music production.

 

[jalaram]

How's the Mac mini replacement going? Do you have a full parts list yet?

 

[spikespiegal]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it the mainboard in the Mac Pro is nearly identical to the standard dual Xeon Intel motherboard anyways, aside from the obvious Apple BIOS.

T or F

 

[Keitero]

Kinda sort of. There is no BIOS on the new MacTels, only EFI. They are not based on ATX but Apple's own design (seems to stem from BTX or inverted ATX). But yeah..... same core logic and same processors.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: jalaram
How's the Mac mini replacement going? Do you have a full parts list yet?

Yah I was installing software last night and everything was running smoothly until I plugged in a USB keyboard to the front USB panel of the case. It froze up OS X and apparently fried all of my USB ports, front and rear. I've had this happen before, but not to this extent (a 2g Shuffle fried the front panel on a Sonata II but not the rear ports). Absolutely none of my USB ports work now. I'm taking a break because I'm too frustrated to finish troubleshooting it right now lol. It's that cheap Rosewill case with the 300w PSU, btw.

 

[umrigar]

Any chance this $700 Gateway will run either 10.4.x or 10.5.x OSX86?

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2mp29n

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: umrigar
Any chance this $700 Gateway will run either 10.4.x or 10.5.x OSX86?

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2mp29n

Possibly, although you'll have to dig up some specs for the motherboard to see if it's compatible!

Also, the Hackintosh Mac Mini clone is up and running smoothly

 

[umrigar]

more on the mini clone, plz.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: umrigar
more on the mini clone, plz.

All prices/parts from Newegg except for the motherboard:

Rosewill R804BK case with 300w power supply - $30
Gigabyte GA-945GCMX-S2 - $59 (XPCgear)
2.0ghz dual-core Allendale with Cooler - $89
A-Data VDQVE1A16K 2x1gb DDR2-800 kit - $41
80gb 7200rpm WD800JD SATA hard drive - $43
Lite-on LH-20A1L-05 DVD burner - $36

$298 plus shipping, half the price of the base Mac Mini. You can add Bluetooth for $30 (D-Link DBT-120). There are various Wifi adapters as well, but I use wired so I can't comment on that. This is actually equivalent to the $800 Mac Mini, but since there's no Bluetooth or Wifi added on (since not everyone needs those) we'll call it even. Also, the onboard GMA950 is VGA output, but you can add DVI via an Add2N card from eBay ($10 shipped). You can run dual monitors with this, but it will eat up the shared memory so I don't really recommend it.

I would suggest upgrading to the 160gb drive for $7 more and also getting a backup drive for Time Machine (320gb for $75). You can add a nice video card for $70 (256mb 7300GT, PNY model VCG7300GXPB) and an internal card reader for $13 (Sabrent CRW-UINB 3.5" internal). You can go crazy if you want and add a E6600, 8800GTS, 500 gig hard drives, etc. I've heard that the motherboard supports 4 gigs of ram unofficially as well. If you want this machine to play encoded 1080p files, you will need an E4500 processor ($125) at minimum.

So far everything works great. My config is 7300GT plus dual 500's. The only trouble I'm having is with my webcam, which has weird little graphical glitches. Video plays fine and incoming webcams play fine, so I'm not really sure what's up with that.

 

[fyleow]

..

 

[NamelessMC]

Of course, used prices on hardware can contribute to Hackintosh building.

My current project:
Cooler Master Centurion 534 Black with Blue LED fans (Yate Loon) + Sunbeam Rheobus Black fan controller $40 (New)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro $20 (New)
Intel Pentium E2180 $80 (New)
2GB G.Skill NQ Kit $45 (New)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 16mb 320gb $70 (Discount at work)
7600GT XFX 256mb PCI-E $60 (Buying off AT member)
Gigabyte P35-DS3R $100 (New buying off AT member)
Sata DVDRW $30 (New off egg)

I'm going to call it the iBlhack. Later I'll upgrade to Quad + 8800GT. I get the GT for $223 at work at discount but can't afford it yet and then I'll call it the iBlhack Pro?. (Black because the Centurion case is black, my keyboard is black and I have a Razer DeathAdder mouse and a black 22" Westinghouse LCD so it's going to look like a black Mac and the H because obviously it's a Hackintosh. Yeah I'm sooo creative with my names. =))

How well will this machine perform under Tiger? I'm going to OC the CPU to at least 3.0GHZ. I might go Leopard but I haven't found a great spot for Kalyway so I'm going to stick to Jas since it's the most established.

I plan on using:
Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Pro Tools, iMovie, iWork, internet use, music and DVD playback. Web publishing and video encoding.

 

[imported_wolfy]

Hi Kaido & Everyone,

Thanks for all this info...

This weekend I read DIY Hackintosh Tutorial on Macapper and was blown away by the idea. I'd heard of OSX86 before but thought it was for real hacker brains and never really considered it.

I'd really like to have a go at this but before I spend any cash I?d appreciate some feedback from you guys as to what I should expect?

I work at a printer but in my spare time I do freelance print design and use Adobe CS3 apps, I also like to dabble with a bit of photography and video. I currently use a Jan 2006 iMac with 2GB Ram. It runs OK with a few apps but slows when using all CS3 apps.

Would you recommend a Hackintosh setup for using these apps? Bearing in mind that it would be used for my freelance jobs which, although still important, are not being prepared in a ?critical? production environment.

If you think it would be reliable enough, would the spec in the macapper article suit my needs?

Thanks for any help or advice, I?ve been looking around insanelymac but often the threads are very specific or have so many people asking new questions there's rarely any answers.

wolfy/

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: fyleow
Does startup/shutdown actually work properly with that 945 board?

Yes. Everything but my webcam works properly, I just need to test a different video card to see if that's the problem.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: wolfy
Hi Kaido & Everyone,

Thanks for all this info...

This weekend I read DIY Hackintosh Tutorial on Macapper and was blown away by the idea. I'd heard of OSX86 before but thought it was for real hacker brains and never really considered it.

I'd really like to have a go at this but before I spend any cash I?d appreciate some feedback from you guys as to what I should expect?

I work at a printer but in my spare time I do freelance print design and use Adobe CS3 apps, I also like to dabble with a bit of photography and video. I currently use a Jan 2006 iMac with 2GB Ram. It runs OK with a few apps but slows when using all CS3 apps.

Would you recommend a Hackintosh setup for using these apps? Bearing in mind that it would be used for my freelance jobs which, although still important, are not being prepared in a ?critical? production environment.

If you think it would be reliable enough, would the spec in the macapper article suit my needs?

Thanks for any help or advice, I?ve been looking around insanelymac but often the threads are very specific or have so many people asking new questions there's rarely any answers.

wolfy/

Did he use a retail DVD of Leopard or did he have to hack it somehow?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: wolfy
Hi Kaido & Everyone,

Thanks for all this info...

This weekend I read DIY Hackintosh Tutorial on Macapper and was blown away by the idea. I'd heard of OSX86 before but thought it was for real hacker brains and never really considered it.

I'd really like to have a go at this but before I spend any cash I?d appreciate some feedback from you guys as to what I should expect?

I work at a printer but in my spare time I do freelance print design and use Adobe CS3 apps, I also like to dabble with a bit of photography and video. I currently use a Jan 2006 iMac with 2GB Ram. It runs OK with a few apps but slows when using all CS3 apps.

Would you recommend a Hackintosh setup for using these apps? Bearing in mind that it would be used for my freelance jobs which, although still important, are not being prepared in a ?critical? production environment.

If you think it would be reliable enough, would the spec in the macapper article suit my needs?

Thanks for any help or advice, I?ve been looking around insanelymac but often the threads are very specific or have so many people asking new questions there's rarely any answers.

wolfy/

With a few caveats:

1. You may need a patched version of CS3 since iirc it looks for hardware IDs and may get messed up looking at a Hackintosh. Hit or miss on this one.

2. You can't run more than 2 monitors (1 video card, two outputs).

3. You may or may not be able to install future Leopard updates (although currently the 10.5.2 pre-release is looking good!).

4. Things may not be perfect and you will most likely have to tinker...if you want a working-out-of-the-box solution, get a real Mac!

 

[NamelessMC]

I'm trying to decide between going with a Q6600 and a 7600GT or a dual-core Core 2 Duo/Pentium E and maybe an 8800GT.

I like playing Source games, World of Warcraft (Sometimes, not addicted), roms/emulators, I might pick up COD4 but I have a PS3 for that.

My main concern is Final Cut Pro/Publishing, iMovie, Photoshop (I will modify the ethernet ID for it to work).

 

[umrigar]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Rosewill R804BK case with 300w power supply - $30

Uh, dude... Mac MINI... small, compact, not a tower.

Rosewill R804BK is a tower enclosure... how is this a "mini" clone?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: umrigar

Originally posted by: Kaido

Rosewill R804BK case with 300w power supply - $30

Uh, dude... Mac MINI... small, compact, not a tower.

Rosewill R804BK is a tower enclosure... how is this a "mini" clone?

It's a hardware clone, not a physical enclosure clone. If you want a small case then get an Aopen MiniPC. I'm not trying to replicate the size, just the specs.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: NamelessMC
I'm trying to decide between going with a Q6600 and a 7600GT or a dual-core Core 2 Duo/Pentium E and maybe an 8800GT.

I like playing Source games, World of Warcraft (Sometimes, not addicted), roms/emulators, I might pick up COD4 but I have a PS3 for that.

My main concern is Final Cut Pro/Publishing, iMovie, Photoshop (I will modify the ethernet ID for it to work).

The GT series are just beginning to get support. If you want full support get something like a 320mb GTS. I'd definitely go with the Q6600 first simply to avoid upgrade costs later, even if it means going with a lesser video card right off the bat.

 

[kalster]

Originally posted by: umrigar

Originally posted by: Kaido

Rosewill R804BK case with 300w power supply - $30

Uh, dude... Mac MINI... small, compact, not a tower.

Rosewill R804BK is a tower enclosure... how is this a "mini" clone?

i was thinking of getting the D201GLY2 and trying osx on it, the latest board has the 1.2 celeron that support sse3 (and based on core arhitecture), and it has a pci slot for a low profile video card to support qe/ci), the only question i had was the chipset, certain sis chipsets (ssi661) are known to support osx, if i get around to doing this, i will report back, a mini-itx board running os x would be cool

 

[umrigar]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: umrigar

Originally posted by: Kaido

Rosewill R804BK case with 300w power supply - $30

Uh, dude... Mac MINI... small, compact, not a tower.

Rosewill R804BK is a tower enclosure... how is this a "mini" clone?

It's a hardware clone, not a physical enclosure clone. If you want a small case then get an Aopen MiniPC. I'm not trying to replicate the size, just the specs.

OK. But part of the mini's cost is the size of the components, and it's also part of its appeal.
Not to take away from the work you've done, either!

I think many Mac users would like to see a form factor closer to the size of the old G4 Cube with a standard size hard drive (or two), full size video card, and room for more RAM, but not a big honkin' tower.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: umrigar

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: umrigar

Originally posted by: Kaido

Rosewill R804BK case with 300w power supply - $30

Uh, dude... Mac MINI... small, compact, not a tower.

Rosewill R804BK is a tower enclosure... how is this a "mini" clone?

It's a hardware clone, not a physical enclosure clone. If you want a small case then get an Aopen MiniPC. I'm not trying to replicate the size, just the specs.

OK. But part of the mini's cost is the size of the components, and it's also part of its appeal.
Not to take away from the work you've done, either!

I think many Mac users would like to see a form factor closer to the size of the old G4 Cube with a standard size hard drive (or two), full size video card, and room for more RAM, but not a big honkin' tower.

Yeah, I'm just not too impressed with any of the current SFF cases, and I don't know how compatible Shuttles are with Hackintosh. Bottom line though, you can build a nicely-functioning Mac clone for a mere $350!

 

[oppie1]

has anyone gotten an Ati Radeon x600 pci working with iAtkos? i've spent the past week trying to get it work...i cant get the screen resolution off 1024 x 768

thanks