Is this a good price for a Hackintosh?

[OrangeSVTguy]

Just came across this and was wondering if this is a good price for $600 shipped. He will also include the hacked Leopard DVD if you need to reinstall the OS. I will list what the guy is selling.

Specs:
2.4ghz Intel Core2Quad Q6600
Massive copper heatsink
6GB DDR2 800 RAM
Zotac 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 (SLI ready)
Foxconn P9657AB-8EKRS2H motherboard
Rosewill Stallion Series RD400-2-SB 400w PSU
Seagate 500GB SATA HD
2X Maxtor 500GB Enterprise class drives
Rosewill R6AR6-BK case
Lite-on 20X DVD-RW Lightscribe drive
Samsung 20X DVD-RW drive
Linksys 802.11G PCI wireless card

 

[sporadicMotion]

For some reason, I just don't trust used handbuilt PC's. Really, I suspect you could get comparable parts (and a better mobo than a foxconn) for the same price range. I say don't bother, besides... it looks a little beat up and a PC that's beaten up on the outside has probably been beaten up on the inside too.

Anyhow, there's one opinion for ya

 

[Luftwaffles]

Not bad specs at all. But dear God, it looks like somebody cracked the faceplate in half and tried to glue it back together! Caveat Emptor.

If you don't mind cosmetics, then yes, that looks like a decent setup.

However, I wouldn't trust Hackintoshes at all. Driver support is very hit-and-miss (such is the nature of the beast), and a single update could screw up your entire system if you're not especially careful. Unless you need a powerhouse/workhorse for CS4/Final Cut/media programs, I think you're better off sticking with that nice Dual G5 you've got in your sig.

 

[Semiopaque]

If that's as a good a pic as that guy can take of it, I'm with the others, a bit suspect on this.

Still...would be interesting to see exactly what that 'massive copper heatsink' looks like...

 

[melchior]

i've been using and building hackintoshes since 2005. i think they're great as long as you are selective with hardware, which is fine if you are planning it from the beginning. that being said they can be finicky and you need to be careful about applying updates without testing.

i had a machine, similar to the one described for sale and then went overseas. my sister used it for her art, photoshop, illustrator, etc... and then she killed it. if i was at home, it would be fixed in minutes. but i have no plans to go home in the next year and so it's a dead weight because there's no one she can call to come around.

my advice is this, if you don't understand the unix underpinnings, i.e. you've never used a bootloader on linux, fiddled with gparted, don't know the difference between chmod -R 755 and chmod -r 775 or how to choose between kernels you'll find yourself in hot water most probably.

the hacked dvd or dongle isn't really a solution unless you have a certain level of technical expertise to back it up. otherwise you'll end up crying over lost data. that being said, if you want to learn and don't mind being frustrated occasionally, it's great fun.

check out http://www.hackint0sh.org

 

[dukebound85]

you can build your own with those specs for cheaper. way cheaper and not to mention, new

 

[dogbait]

Nice to see the OP not getting flamed for considering a hackintosh. Perhaps we Mac Pro/Power Mac guys are a more civilized bunch

Just built my first hackintosh from scratch and finding it (almost) as fun as ArchLinux!

 

[Cromulent]

Personally I wouldn't bother. The machine looks in bad condition and you can probably do well just getting some parts together yourself.

 

[OrangeSVTguy]

Thanks for everyone's input. Yeah the case IS hideous as I've came to love only the look of the G5/MPs case design. I was mainly referring to the hardware in general if that's too expensive or a good deal.

 

[Infrared]

The P.S.U. sounds a bit weedy. And I would object to anything
called "stallion" as a matter of principle. I mean, what's it gonna
do, start whinnying or something?

 

[sporadicMotion]

2.4ghz Intel Core2Quad Q6600
$180

Massive copper heatsink (ie no name base cooler)
$20

6GB DDR2 800 RAM
$75

Zotac 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 (SLI ready)
~$60 (Better can be had the same money)

Foxconn P9657AB-8EKRS2H motherboard
$55

Rosewill Stallion Series RD400-2-SB 400w PSU
$20

Seagate 500GB SATA HD
$90

2X Maxtor 500GB Enterprise class drives
$180

Rosewill R6AR6-BK case
$20

Lite-on 20X DVD-RW Lightscribe drive
$24

Samsung 20X DVD-RW drive
$25

Linksys 802.11G PCI wireless card
$30

about $780 in parts

so yeah... about $180 in savings but on used hardware in a machine that looks a little beat down. I wouldn't do it... lets say the CPU is a little wonky... well right there you'll have to get a new one and you're not ahead at all. The same can be said for any part... in this day and age, warranty is good and that's one thing you won't be getting. If it was 50% of the cost then I'd say go for it.