Hackintosh

Post by **FZ1** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 2:41 pm

I recently got an HD vid cam and want to do a fair amount HD video editing. I much prefer Apple's video editing software but my MacBook pro lacks the horsepower to do the heavy lifting. A Mac Pro costs ~ $2500-$8000 and although I love Apple products, that's a bit absurd. So, I'm going to use "pc" parts running mac OS X Lion from info gathered here.

My planned build:
Intel i7 2600k
Zalman CNPS9900 MAX Cooler
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 mobo
G.Skill 16GB Ripjaws F3-8500CL7Q-16GBRL
PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III PPCMK3S500 500W
XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870
LG 12X BD-ROM 12X Super Multi Blue Rewriter WH12LS38
Corsair Carbide 500R (white)

All of this will be a little under $1000 after buying Lion, Apple KB and a few minor things and I haven't decided what SSD to use. Compared to the Mac Pro cost of $5,274.00

(configured to match the above or equivalent), I'd say I'm coming out ahead, plus the fact that I can OC it which AFAIK you can't do on a Mac Pro.

EDIT - pics:

Sttm · Post by **Sttm** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:16 pm

I thought Final Cut Pro took a huge nosedive in quality with the last release, or are you using something else. Otherwise looks good. Though with Jobs passed on I wonder how long till they just start selling OSX for any x86-64 machine.

Post by **FZ1** » Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:58 pm

People complained about FCP X mostly because projects from older versions wouldn't import. There's also a few high-end features missing (I.e. multicam support) but it's not stuff I would use anyway. On the upside, it's now 64 bit and is $700 cheaper than the previous version.

KnightRid · Post by **KnightRid** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 6:38 am

I have been trying to make this point for years with Apple people. Apple is outrageously overpriced.

I played with Mac in a VM environment but never went ahead and built a complete hackintosh as either a dual boot or a stand alone OS. I will be curious how it works out for you.

Most of my video work I can do with Pinnacle Studio and Wirecast so I have never even bothered looking at an Apple (until I make a full length video production of Nate's life in 3D and ANIMATED! LOL).

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:08 am

That's going to be a beast!

I ran OSX for a while, but it was back when it was still in development; OSx86project.org had just started.
I was missing kext for wifi and some other stuff.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out as im interested in dual booting with linux at some stage; ive always been interested in how osx works under the hood. (it's bsd afterall)

Major_A · Post by **Major_A** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 10:34 am

Earlier this year I built a Hackintosh out of old hardware I had laying around. Everything I used down to the exact motherboard was in the recommended list. I got it installed without any issues. But I couldn't get any of my WiFi adapters to work, even the OSX certified ones. Since I couldn't connect wirelessly I abandoned the project. Good luck getting it all to work. I have very little patience and the whole ordeal (installing OSX, updating software, etc...) was wearing it very thin.

Post by **FZ1** » Sun Dec 18, 2011 10:46 am

Major_A wrote:Earlier this year I built a Hackintosh out of old hardware I had laying around. Everything I used down to the exact motherboard was in the recommended list. I got it installed without any issues. But I couldn't get any of my WiFi adapters to work, even the OSX certified ones. Since I couldn't connect wirelessly I abandoned the project. Good luck getting it all to work. I have very little patience and the whole ordeal (installing OSX, updating software, etc...) was wearing it very thin.

I don't want to muck around either...that's why I was very deliberate on the parts used. From what I've read, a lot of the wi-fi issues have been solved but either way, I don't much care because it will be in the room with my router so being wired is not an issue and I won't be doing anything that requires online access other than maybe software updates, etc. This will be purely for video editing.

xdunaticx · Post by **xdunaticx** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 2:20 am

This has been a on-going dream of mine, but I just don't have the time or energy to do something like this. I'm curious to see how it runs on the heavy load stuff, should be awesome!

Post by **FZ1** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 12:11 pm

Got everything built out the other night using the parts in the OP. With a minor issue (ID10T error) I was able to get OS X Lion installed and booted up no problem. Installed the drivers with multibeast and everything seems ok. I did have 2 kernel panic events prior to the multibeast installs but hopefully the drivers took care of that. I haven't had time to even turn it on since. I still need to test that all components fully work properly (i.e. - ethernet, USB ports, DVD drive, audio, etc, etc.). I'll out up some pics maybe later today depending on how early I can scoot from work today.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 3:05 pm

Can't wait

I'm looking into building an actual pc again. (currently run an eeepc or rig in my sig)
While I'm going to run Arch Linux (I love it); I would like to run OSX on another drive.
If this works well, I'll be replicating most of your hardware / setup.

I might even overclock it

Post by **FZ1** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 4:17 pm

DVD player works (haven't tried blu ray yet), Audio works, ethernet works....looks like all is a go!

kenc51 wrote: I might even overclock it

I'll do that eventually once I'm sure all is stable.

Major_A · Post by **Major_A** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 5:58 pm

Looks better than the custom Lian Li a Mac Pro comes in. Glad you got it working with minimal frustration. You have previous Mac user experiences, I went in feet first. Probably why I also got so aggravated. Since then I've been playing with Snow Leopard in a VM and I wish I didn't scrap it.

Post by **FZ1** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 3:21 pm

Updates...got some decals to finish off the case...

Based on the guide HERE, I built a working wi-fi card. I couldn't find the exact parts referenced in the guide (it's a bit dated) so I improvised a bit and the parts I bought work perfectly.The links are to the exact pieces I bought on ebay. Cost me all of $30 (prices for these have changed...I paid $21 & $9 respectively...I'm sure they can be found for less from others).

I had to reboot once after the install to get it functioning properly. Otherwise, I did no other OS or kext/software mods.

Broadcom BCM94322MC 802.11n dual band a/b/g PCI Express

Mini PCI-E to PCI-E Wireless Adapter w/ 3 Antenna WiFi

I didn't get fancy with the cables but I had a leftover decal I got for free when I got my hackintosh decals so I put it to good use

Major_A · Post by **Major_A** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 8:41 pm

Inspired by your build I decided to piece together a computer again. Went and got Unibeast only to realize I need an OSX environment to create the bootable drive. Now I have to remember where I put that virtual machine I had of Snow Leopard...

Post by **FZ1** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 8:44 am

Yeah, it made things easier since I have a MBP here. Do you have parts already or are you getting new ones?

Major_A · Post by **Major_A** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 8:48 am

Just throwing together old parts. I'm wanting to play with the software where the hardware isn't crippled (i.e. a virtual machine).

vbironchef · Post by **vbironchef** » Mon Jan 09, 2012 11:53 am

Very impressed with your build! Would not be surprised if Dell or another PC maker gives you a call to patent it.

You can build my next rig anytime.

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