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Hackintosh Building
- Thread starter Washac
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DJenkins
macrumors 6502
The easiest place to start is tonymacx86.com but that site is very closed to hardware options and opinions - take a look at the site, it's as if it were catering to children. Insanelymac.com has a few very smart people on there who can help you as well.
My recommendation - go with a build someone has running 100% and copy it EXACTLY. Adding extra hardware can make things quite tricky if you're not used to tinkering around a lot.
Once you're up and running there's a massive thread here that you might want to read if you're inclined to squeeze every ounce of power from your machine.
Good luck!
Be very careful you stick to the approved and tested hardware. The limitations imposed by Tonymacx86 are there for a reason. I tried to build a Hack with Thunderbolt ports around a Gigabyte board which was removed from the golden builds list due to a change made in the spec which rendered it virtually crippled for OS X.
Don't take just one person's word for it either, I followed instructions on Insanelymac to install Nvidia's Web Drivers on my Hack and it killed my boot sequence, I had to make a clean install to repair it.
Trial and error is the standard research method, so look carefully at the errors others have made already to avoid repeating them.
Don't take just one person's word for it either, I followed instructions on Insanelymac to install Nvidia's Web Drivers on my Hack and it killed my boot sequence, I had to make a clean install to repair it.
Trial and error is the standard research method, so look carefully at the errors others have made already to avoid repeating them.
Yeah, I've been looking at the same thing.
I might add that taking a step back from the most cutting edge stuff can be helpful since you'll have more people working on it. Some people can put a lot of effort (and are very skilled at it) into getting a golden build done. Whether that's worth it you depends on your skill level and needs. Older hardware is a bit more stable, and you don't lose much since that stuff compares favorably even with the nMP.
BTW, the folks at InsanelyMac are rather shall we say cool on tonymacx86; read the rules of the forum before you blunder into talking about the tonymacx86 software on the other forum. 😉 I found the explanation for the process of installing a bit more understandable insofar as explaining the process itself on insanely mac. But both sites are helpful.
And there are also PC hardware sites that allow you to build a bill of materials with prices and specs and save the result; pcpartpicker for example. Quite helpful for shopping.
I might add that taking a step back from the most cutting edge stuff can be helpful since you'll have more people working on it. Some people can put a lot of effort (and are very skilled at it) into getting a golden build done. Whether that's worth it you depends on your skill level and needs. Older hardware is a bit more stable, and you don't lose much since that stuff compares favorably even with the nMP.
BTW, the folks at InsanelyMac are rather shall we say cool on tonymacx86; read the rules of the forum before you blunder into talking about the tonymacx86 software on the other forum. 😉 I found the explanation for the process of installing a bit more understandable insofar as explaining the process itself on insanely mac. But both sites are helpful.
And there are also PC hardware sites that allow you to build a bill of materials with prices and specs and save the result; pcpartpicker for example. Quite helpful for shopping.
Use www.tonymacx86.com, Google, and YouTube(often have video tutorials for building your Hackintosh). Make life easy on yourself and use tried and tested hardware combinations - which should also make it easier to get help if you do run into problems. I'm posting from a Hackintosh(also have a genuine Mac Pro) and love it. 🙂
Another very contented Hackintosh user here. The specs, price and closed / inability to upgrade internals on the New Mac Pro have pushed me further into the Hackintosh scene. My system is an i72600K overclocked to 4.5Ghz and I couldn't be happier. That said, I'd be first in the queue if only Apple would offer us something that could match my system on all the above criteria.
All the advice in this thread is solid. If you stick to tried and tested hardware, you can have a system that is stable, fast, upgradable and far better value for money.
All the advice in this thread is solid. If you stick to tried and tested hardware, you can have a system that is stable, fast, upgradable and far better value for money.
Been running a hack here since the early summer, quiet and extremely stable. No worries here, especially since the new Mac Pro is extremely expensive and non-user upgradeable/expandable. If they had opted for a more consumer-friendly version, I'd be all over. I get more bang for my buck with my Hackintosh.
I'll chime in on my Hackintosh experience as well. I'm on my second Hackintosh in 5 years or so, and while frustrating at times, the overall results still outpace all the headaches I've run into.
My most recent build is an Ivy Bridge 3.5 i7 with a Gigabyte Thunderbolt mobo (GA-Z77X-UP5 TH), integrated GPU + AMD HD7950. Under ML pretty much everything worked perfectly outside of sleep and a few other smaller items (no surround sound from Optical out or HMDI audio). However, dual monitors, both Thunderbolt ports, USB 3.0, etc all worked perfectly. System was rock solid and never had any major issues. Moving to Mavericks this week has been even more simple to install and setup, and I'm also able to finally Sleep and Hibernate (I do have to hit the power button on the case to get the screens to come up). From there, there are still some issues like iChat not working, Airplay being odd (I have the same issue on my rMBP, so I think it might be a Mavericks issue).
All in all, I'm quite happy with the build, cost and the ability to upgrade, not to mention I much more happy finally being able to use Sleep and Hibernate again. But, just note that these things are finicky and one change can break the whole system. I'd still prefer going actual mac, but pricing of the Mac Pro is just out of my league, and until the Mac Mini can handle the heat of the i7 quad chips better, I'll be using this as my main workhorse.
My most recent build is an Ivy Bridge 3.5 i7 with a Gigabyte Thunderbolt mobo (GA-Z77X-UP5 TH), integrated GPU + AMD HD7950. Under ML pretty much everything worked perfectly outside of sleep and a few other smaller items (no surround sound from Optical out or HMDI audio). However, dual monitors, both Thunderbolt ports, USB 3.0, etc all worked perfectly. System was rock solid and never had any major issues. Moving to Mavericks this week has been even more simple to install and setup, and I'm also able to finally Sleep and Hibernate (I do have to hit the power button on the case to get the screens to come up). From there, there are still some issues like iChat not working, Airplay being odd (I have the same issue on my rMBP, so I think it might be a Mavericks issue).
All in all, I'm quite happy with the build, cost and the ability to upgrade, not to mention I much more happy finally being able to use Sleep and Hibernate again. But, just note that these things are finicky and one change can break the whole system. I'd still prefer going actual mac, but pricing of the Mac Pro is just out of my league, and until the Mac Mini can handle the heat of the i7 quad chips better, I'll be using this as my main workhorse.
I would not be to fussed regarding the above issues to be honest.
Thanks for the input 🙂