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Faced with a dilemma, Mac Mini or Hackintosh?
- Thread starter Orange Furball
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Mini isn't powerful enough.
I'm ordering my hackintosh parts tonight. I'll post a final list in a bit. 1 hour and 30 minutes until some sales end!
I'm ordering my hackintosh parts tonight. I'll post a final list in a bit. 1 hour and 30 minutes until some sales end!
Sounds like you are on a tight budget and interested in higher performance - doesn't sound like mac is a good fit, it's a premium product for people that don't want to have to mess with anything. GL with the hackintosh though, maybe you are in a position where the sweat equity is a worthwhile payback (no job I think you said)
Nope no job. I just need a solid machine for video editing and web browsing and light gaming. But I use iLife for movie editing and prefer Mac OS X over anything. However I like the desktop form factor better, and the iMac isn't my style, Mac mini is too underpowered, and the Mac Pro is untouchable with my budget
I need expandability without loosing OS X functionality.
Is that Geforce GT 640 card really worth $110 extra cost, over an Ivy Bridge's on-CPU Intel HD 4000 video?
Preferred motherboard/chipset/CPU combo choice: Gigabyte + Intel Z77 chipset + Ivy Bridge CPU.
Therefore: better Hackintosh support from: tonymacx86.com & kakewalk.se.
Note: the Intel i3-3225 (Ivy Bridge) CPU with on board HD 4000 video is now available for ~$145:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3734681
Preferred motherboard/chipset/CPU combo choice: Gigabyte + Intel Z77 chipset + Ivy Bridge CPU.
Therefore: better Hackintosh support from: tonymacx86.com & kakewalk.se.
Note: the Intel i3-3225 (Ivy Bridge) CPU with on board HD 4000 video is now available for ~$145:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3734681
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Too late now I guess!
I think the combination I chose was ok. It's a huge increase over my current setup, and should do fine for at least a half a year, then I will upgrade the graphics, ram, and possibly a new power supply.
It's called hackingtosh for a reason. the diffrent variations of PC hardware make it difficult to get reliable drivers made. the hactinosh homebrew sceen is for the most adept computer user. anyone who asks a noob orientated forum like macrumors to see if it's a good idea or not should just not do it.
even if you did do it. hackintosh is only for nerds to feel good and pat themselves on the back, then realise they can't use it as intended. They still need a real mac. I know from experience. you only can pat you own back for so long.
Hmm. My Lenovo Z560 has been running 10.6 for over a year now, no problems. Admittedly I haven't upgraded it but other than the occasional kernel panic caused by the network driver at startup it's been a lot more stable than posts such as yours would have me believe...
PS I didn't do it for the nerdage, I can't afford a Mac and I found that the Z560 is particularly suitable - I didn't buy it with the intention of instaling OS X.
Well, you could still call Newegg and have them revoke the shipment before it even gets to your delivery address. Might be out the shipping cost only. Then re-do the order without the GT640 video card, and replace the motherboard & CPU with what was suggested in my previous post.
Savings: ~$140 (less any "revoked shipment" fees.
No?
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S***. Didn't see this until today.
The parts came today
I just bought a 1TB hard drive for OS X, I'll use the 64GB SSD as a boot drive and the 250GB for a Windows hard drive. The case should be here Friday
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Its installing!!!
Worked perfectly (or should I say purrfectly, get it Mountain Lion?)
Anyway, its working so I'm thrilled
Worked perfectly (or should I say purrfectly, get it Mountain Lion?)
Anyway, its working so I'm thrilled
To use Mac OS X
Linux can't do what I need, so Mac OS X is what I'm choosing. It may seem useless to you, but to me it is a good idea. I don't mine tinkering and I already know what I did wrong, so I'll fix it tomorrow. If it doesnt work I'll troubleshoot more. Its not very difficult at all. And a few bucks to you is not the same as a few bucks to me. I don't have a job, don't get money, and I use Mac OS X. My laptop slowed down, and I decided to get a new computer. Due to the fact that I had a MacBook, and that i have been down the hackintosh road before, I decided to build a computer that can run both Mac OS X and Windows for gaming. I did what I could. I sold my laptop for the best offer I got and I took it. It was enough to double my CPU specs, double my RAM, more than quadruple my storage, improve my graphics, and have the ability to upgrade and expand easily in the future. Plus the computer runs Mac OS X. To me this was a no brainer. Total price is about $50 more than a base mini. Almost $500 less than the base iMac, and over $1000 less than the Mac Pro. Most people my age can't afford to spend an extra $500 on something they can make and run the same stuff on it. It only takes a little tinkering. A lot less work then getting a job and saving up. Its nor as easy as buying an official Mac, but it sure seems like a good option to me. You think what you want. I'll continue to save money on the same hardware that you spend thousands on.
Thanks.
Its actually not hard if you do the customac builds from customac.com. im just trying to dual boot which is making me have trouble (I forgot my boot loader)
Just keep doing what you are doing - you'll get it. Sorry if that sounds almighty of me - it's not meant to and I have never built a Hackintosh but I wouldn't listen to anyone telling you to give in and just do something else, keep building the machine that you want to build. Good luck getting over those kernel panics.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I just have to get the right mix of drives, RAM, and kexts. Its trial and error I guess
She's alive! And built!
Around 6 hours of building, 30 minutes of prepping the USB, and 20 minutes of installation of OS X.
$756 total! Looks good, runs good, and after 7 hours of I saved a ton...
I configured this iMac just to get close to what I have. Its $2199. I saved almost $1500 by doing this myself.
I configured this with a 2.7GHz processor, a 1TB hard drive and 256GB SSD (because I have an SSD boot drive + the 250GB drive, close enough to me)
that's a savings of ~$200 an hour. I don't see how people don't do this. Its to good to pass up for me. And the only downside is waiting a week for an update (which is no big deal honestly)
Full System Specs
If anyone has any questions just ask!
Around 6 hours of building, 30 minutes of prepping the USB, and 20 minutes of installation of OS X.
$756 total! Looks good, runs good, and after 7 hours of I saved a ton...
I configured this iMac just to get close to what I have. Its $2199. I saved almost $1500 by doing this myself.
I configured this with a 2.7GHz processor, a 1TB hard drive and 256GB SSD (because I have an SSD boot drive + the 250GB drive, close enough to me)
that's a savings of ~$200 an hour. I don't see how people don't do this. Its to good to pass up for me. And the only downside is waiting a week for an update (which is no big deal honestly)
Full System Specs
If anyone has any questions just ask!
thanks!
It runs very well! Nice and fast! I don't use sleep, but Ethernet worked out of the box and the sound was fixed with multibeast!
The Zalman Z11
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I'm getting an error while booting from Chimera 1.11.1. Its during the time when the OS is loading. I don't remember the last thing that comes up in verbose mode. I'll check tomorrow.
EDIT: I remember now. It was
it just hangs there for a while. And nothing happens. I have to use the Unibeast drive to boot to the OS. just a minor nuisance, but a nuisance nonetheless!
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Not cool if sleep doesn't work -- shutting down every time you walk away from the computer is no good, and keeping it powered 24/7 is no good either.