Hackintosh? More like crap-intosh.

[Macpropro80]

Ok So I keep hearing people say Mac pros are way over priced, you can build one for way cheaper then just install osx. Well, I had a PC sitting around, and some spare change so I decided to build one. I didn't have much money so i bought parts equal to, but not as nice, as the parts used in the 2006 mac pro. (ebay ftw). So I put the computer together, pop in the OSX disk (kalyway 10.5.2) When I try to boot up I get an error, google it, turns out my dvd drive isn't supported. I put the installer on a usb drive and boot it up. I install leopard and restart. After booting up, I find 1) I don't have sound, both input or output, no ethernet, and my graphic card doesn't work with it.

To make a long story short, for the time I spent working on this computer to get it to even boot and the money I spent on parts, I would rather just get a job at mcdonalds and buy a mac mini.

 

[uberamd]

Hackintosh systems can be a total PITA. I pointed this out before, and Talest said they are only a pain if you know nothing about computers. I think he has no idea what he is talking about (being as I know quite a bit, its my job after all). Hackintosh supported hardware is a crapshoot, at best. I have had issues with my hard drive controller not working (Compaq V2000 laptop), to wireless not working (Dell E1505), to graphics not working (Dell GX270, and GX260), etc. Yes, you can tailor the parts you buy for a hackintosh system, but to me it takes away from the Apple experience, and is not worth the time.

And since time is money, and I value both, I don't want to tinker around getting a system working and would rather spend some more money and get a system I KNOW will work.

 

[h0e0h]

I installed Kallaway 10.5.2 on an MSI Wind and didn't get audio, Ethernet, or anything else that you mentioned) but after updating to 10.5.3 and running the driver list from paulswinddriverutility (google it) I got everything going. Granted this was tailored to the MSI Wind but now I'm running 10.5.4 flawlessly. Had to download the drivers for the RealTek wireless card and have to connect through their software and not the Airport utility, but everything is working fine except the built-in web cam.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Hackintosh systems can be a total PITA. I pointed this out before, and Talest said they are only a pain if you know nothing about computers. I think he has no idea what he is talking about (being as I know quite a bit, its my job after all).

Hey, now. I'll explain.

The field of Hackintoshing is like jailbreaking/unlocking the iPhone. As time has gone on, it has become easier and easier.

It's a piece of cake to do a Hackintosh if you know where to get the proper drivers, and a wide range of hardware works in the machines.

Someone who uses their computer for the Internet and virtually nothing more (knowing virtually nothing more) would have trouble with building their own computer and running an OS such as OS X on it, but if you know what you're doing, it is not difficult at all to whip together hardware configurations that work.

But yes, they are never as stable as a proper computer. You get choice, though, and that's the point. Even if you make a mid-range one, you'll have the opportunity for six or even eight internal hard drives; something no Mac offers.

iTunes media server machine is the first thing that comes to mind.

 

[Tesselator]

Yeah, so far in this thread the naysayers naysay and then immediately disqualify themselves. It's kinda funny.

I think it's like anything else. If you know how it's easy. If you take the time to find out how FIRST you'll know what to expect AND it will be easy. But if you fly by the seat of your pants and just try stuff off the cuff then just like trying to reinvent the wheel, you're going to run into frustrations and difficulties.

 

[uberamd]

It's a piece of cake to do a Hackintosh if you know where to get the proper drivers, and a wide range of hardware works in the machines.

...but if you know what you're doing, it is not difficult at all to whip together hardware configurations that work.

Yeah I agree with you 100%, you can buy hardware tailored to a Hackintosh build. However in my book I never wanted to buy hardware for test purposes like that. I wanted to be able to use the existing stuff I had (SSE3/4 CPU Intel of course) and get a functional system for, $0. Same with my laptop. However I was forced to use a USB Wifi dongle on my Dell, and my Compaq wouldn't work at all due to the hard drive controller.

iTunes media server machine is the first thing that comes to mind.

That does sound sweet.

I did my first Hackintosh system back in 2005/2006 and it worked like a moderately-functional charm on a Dell GX270 with a NVIDIA graphics card. The resolution was stuck at 1024x768, but beyond that it worked. Then that NVIDIA project cropped up (I forget what it was called, macvidia or something like that? Long time ago) and that solved the issue, so one more hack later for the ethernet and I had a functional system. It was sweet, and its what turned me to buy real Apple products.

This gets me to my gripe about Hackintosh systems (and clone makers in general). If Mac Clones start to catch on, and your "mom and dad" customer go buy one and the OS is buggy and breaks, who will they blame. Apple likely. And not only that, they will get turned off to Apple products all together because they will assume OS X is a buggy crashfest (which it isn't). This is why I don't like Hackintosh systems, they can quickly make an Apple product like OS X go from looking great, to working like crap and thus Apple loses a potential customer. Mom and dad won't want to know what a Hackintosh is. They will think they are getting a "Mac" for a discount, thats all.

 

[kalex]

Just like anything else if your hardware is not supported it ain't going to work. Before trying installing, google and go to few of the osx86 sites around. I tried it about 2 years ago and had everything running on my Dell PC. All drivers were working without any issues. was it easy, not really but doable. A lot of people put a lot of effort into this project and it is a lot easier than it was before. If you have a computer that has non supported parts then you have to write your own driver for them. Thats why you do your research, get components that work and then it will be very easy.

In my case, this project actually pushed me to switch to Apple and I found a person who was willing to trade my dell for Mac Pro. I did that and never looked back. I would note that I would never bought a Mac Pro for the price it was selling at the time and would probably kept my hackintosh.

 

[uberamd]

Just like anything else if your hardware is not supported it ain't going to work. Before trying installing, google and go to few of the osx86 sites around. I tried it about 2 years ago and had everything running on my Dell PC. All drivers were working without any issues. was it easy, not really but doable. A lot of people put a lot of effort into this project and it is a lot easier than it was before. If you have a computer that has non supported parts then you have to write your own driver for them. Thats why you do your research, get components that work and then it will be very easy.

In my case, this project actually pushed me to switch to Apple and I found a person who was willing to trade my dell for Mac Pro. I did that and never looked back. I would note that I would never bought a Mac Pro for the price it was selling at the time and would probably kept my hackintosh.

Thats just it. It's going from a project with a nice dev-group making a free solution to a way for clone makers to profit off of their efforts by setting up shop. I don't agree with that.

 

[Volante]

I have MSI Wind running 10.5.7 and it almost fires up web pages as fast as my bloated Mac Pro.

 

[kalex]

Thats just it. It's going from a project with a nice dev-group making a free solution to a way for clone makers to profit off of their efforts by setting up shop. I don't agree with that.

Same here. I don't think they will last though. If they get too profitable I'm sure Apple will shut them down in a heartbeat. as longs as nobody is profiting from it, apple tends to look the other way. I'm also sure that once people get a taste of OSX most people end up buying Apple product in the long run.

 

[Tesselator]

If they get too profitable I'm sure Apple will shut them down in a heartbeat.

Or license them as Apple did in the past.

Besides, if "they" sold tested and acceptable hardware only, and then put up an anonymous site that walked their customers through the install process (including to buy OS X from Apple and where to get the various drivers) then there's nothing Apple could do about it.


EDIT: And I love what Windy-Woo said just below too! Right on Windy-Woo!



.

 

[windywoo]

Hackintoshes are about the challenge and novelty. Also about freedom of technology. Some of us are less inclined to use a computer the way a big company expects us to.

 

[TheStrudel]

Hackintoshes are about the challenge and novelty. Also about freedom of technology. Some of us are less inclined to use a computer the way a big company expects us to.

Which is why the OS X86 project is cool. Psystar profiting from them, much less so.

 

[JNB]

Hackintoshes are about the challenge and novelty. Also about freedom of technology. Some of us are less inclined to use a computer the way a big company expects us to.

That one word says it all. As far as how it's used, well, all the hardware and software are made by big companies, and you're using them exactly as designed. Unless of course, you're rewriting the kernel or altering the PCB traces.

I've been building my own computers since the '70's (breadboarding my own circuits in some cases--what fun), and I wouldn't waste my time on a Hackintosh, for any other reason than sheer boredom and a little bit of fun. My time and my needs are quite honestly far too valuable to spend on a bastardized mix of components and OS that would be, as a whole, entirely unsupported.

While I have no issue with the concept, nor with anyone that chooses to spend their own resources on one, I think it should be noted that it's not something for someone that would rely on it as their sole machine, assuming they have a realistic uptime and support requirement.

It should go without saying that a fair competence with assembly and troubleshooting is an absolute minimal entry point; this should never be one's first (or second, or third, for that matter) attempt at building a functioning PC.

 

[lixuelai]

Hackintosh is only a crapshoot if you are buying a complete system. If you are assembling from parts all you need to do is follow one of the bazillion guides online and buy the exact parts supported.

 

[windywoo]

Running OSX on non-standard hardware is not how it was intended, and all the better for it. Why do you consider Apple's choice of components any less bastardised than your own?

 

[aibo]

The extra $$$ saved doesn't mean anything, if it removes the peace of mind -- any software update could (and will likely) brick your system. It's for that reason I wouldn't want a hackintosh to be my work computer, or even home computer for that matter. I guess it's a cool hobby thing if troubleshooting and installing patches is your idea of fun.

 

[uberamd]

The extra $$$ saved doesn't mean anything, if it removes the peace of mind -- any software update could (and will likely) brick your system. It's for that reason I wouldn't want a hackintosh to be my work computer, or even home computer for that matter. I guess it's a cool hobby thing if troubleshooting and installing patches is your idea of fun.

Exactly. With school, I no longer have the time or patience to deal with an unreliable system. In steps my Mac line (Pro, Air, Mini). Reliable, and hassle free.

 

[hefeglass]

just because you dont know what you're doing..doesnt mean hackintosh's suck.
i have a gateway laptop that has been running 10.5.6 for several months..i dont even run vista on it anymore..its not even installed.
i also have this desktop I am typing this on...its a Core i7, 920 nehalem...built it myself..and it also has 10.5.6 installed on another drive and it runs great..full video acceleration for my ati hd4850 sound card works...everything.
everything works on the laptop as well.
it took time for me to get it all working right...but it can be done..
for ALOT cheaper than any mac pro..

here are some xbench results for ya (this is my core i7):
http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc2=350361

geekbench was 12,000 something..ill try to find a link

these scores blow a REAL similarly speced mac pro out of the water..i also paid less than a quarter to build mine

 

[aibo]

just because you dont know what you're doing..doesnt mean hackintosh's suck.
i have a gateway laptop that has been running 10.5.6 for several months..i dont even run vista on it anymore..its not even installed.
i also have this desktop I am typing this on...its a Core i7, 920 nehalem...built it myself..and it also has 10.5.6 installed on another drive and it runs great..full video acceleration for my ati hd4850 sound card works...everything.
everything works on the laptop as well.
it took time for me to get it all working right...but it can be done..
for ALOT cheaper than any mac pro..

here are some xbench results for ya (this is my core i7):
http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc2=350361

geekbench was 12,000 something..ill try to find a link

these scores blow a REAL similarly speced mac pro out of the water..i also paid less than a quarter to build mine

I'm sure tons of people on this forum "know what they're doing," but would rather be using their computers instead of trying to troubleshoot as software updates become available. Yes, yours works now -- but it's only a matter of time until a software update breaks it. The draw of using a mac in the first place is the whole "it just works" thing. If you remove "it just works" and replace that with troubleshooting, installing drivers and patches, what's the point? We bought real macs to avoid that stuff.

 

[MacUser2525]

I'm sure tons of people on this forum "know what they're doing," but would rather be using their computers instead of trying to troubleshoot as software updates become available. Yes, yours works now -- but it's only a matter of time until a software update breaks it. The draw of using a mac in the first place is the whole "it just works" thing. If you remove "it just works" and replace that with troubleshooting, installing drivers and patches, what's the point? We bought real macs to avoid that stuff.

And yet I read on here every day such and such upgrade broke my machine with people having to do the same ...

 

[aibo]

And yet I read on here every day such and such upgrade broke my machine with people having to do the same ...

Well obviously if you're reading a troubleshooting forum you're going to read lots posts about problems -- which believe it or not isn't the norm for anyone (except those using a hackintosh). and the hackintosh users have to deal with those tiny problems you're reading about too on top of their already very delicate, one-little-update-will-hose-my-whole machine compatibility status.

if your time isn't valuable, then that may be a viable choice. for 95% of us I'd say it's not.

 

[MacUser2525]

Well obviously if you're reading a troubleshooting forum you're going to read lots posts about problems -- which believe it or not isn't the norm for anyone (except those using a hackintosh). and the hackintosh users have to deal with those tiny problems you're reading about too on top of their already very delicate, one-little-update-will-hose-my-whole machine compatibility status.

if your time isn't valuable, then that may be a viable choice. for 95% of us I'd say it's not.

The very fact that you need a trouble shooting forum for something that "just works" is an oxymoron. Running a Hackintosh is just like running any other operating system you need to have good backups and you always test out new changes on a non-production/work machine before applying to your install that is important for your day to day use. The amount of time doing this as you put it for me consists of cloning my install to an external drive applying the combo update checking the minimal (4 or 5 patched .kext mainly for cosmetic reasons) changes I have needed to make to OS X to see if they still work then doing the same to my main install, its 20-30 minutes tops every couple of months.

 

[aibo]

The very fact that you need a trouble shooting forum for something that "just works" is an oxymoron. Running a Hackintosh is just like running any other operating system you need to have good backups and you always test out new changes on a non-production/work machine before applying to your install that is important for your day to day use. The amount of time doing this as you put it for me consists of cloning my install to an external drive applying the combo update checking the minimal (4 or 5 patched .kext mainly for cosmetic reasons) changes I have needed to make to OS X to see if they still work then doing the same to my main install, its 20-30 minutes tops every couple of months.

"Just works" means that I was out of the box and running in a couple minutes. The guy 5 posts above bragging about how well his hackintosh works admitted it took alot of time to set up. "Just works" means I'm able to install software updates without thinking twice or having to source patched .kexts from warez sites.

The difference is that for a real mac user (I mean user of a real, Apple branded mac), a troubleshooting forum is where to go in the rare instance something doesn't work correctly. For you, it's where you go to even get the thing running at all.

 

[Sun Baked]

Might have had better luck rotating the instructions for building the hackingtosh 180° -- might have been trying to read them upside down.