Retina good enough for logic? Or Hackintosh?

[Lallo]

Hello! I'm right now working with a Early 2011 13" macbook pro and it has been a pain to work with the last year.
I don't use so heavy plugins and only a few per channel, but still I can only play a few seconds before the "Cpu overload" error comes up.
This is making it hard to finish my tracks and I'm tired of it. I was determined to buy a new Macbook Pro when they would be released this year.

However, Apple discontinued the "non retina" 15" macbook pro and my only option now is a mega expensive laptop which cannot be upgraded at all... That SSD drive won't hold all my samples 🙁

So I was wondering, is it worth it to get a hackintosh , save money and get an even better system (probably)?

I can save at least 600 euro and get an upgradeable computer.

OR will the Macbook Pro be good enough? I'm a bit scared that I will throw away all my saved money on something that still will give me CPU overloads. Of course I will probably use more and "heavier" plugins if I get a new computer... But if I pay 1800 euro for a computer I expect no problems AT ALL, will I be satisfied? Anyone who owns a Retina from 2012 or something that can tell by experience?

If I get a hackintosh, does anybode have a good advice on how to keep my laptop and desktop "synced" with the projects? I would like to work with ideas "on the go" and in school but "finish them" at home.

Any advice regarding all this?

 

[Totti]

Have you had any experience with the OSX86 project before you begin to ask questions? I would never begin to keep anything i wasn't prepared to lose on it unless I had redundancy measures in the event an update will kill your system. And it will.

Having said that, running a Hack Pro is pretty special and now that it's running 10.9 pretty good, can hardly argue.

 

[Lallo]

Have you had any experience with the OSX86 project before you begin to ask questions? I would never begin to keep anything i wasn't prepared to lose on it unless I had redundancy measures in the event an update will kill your system. And it will.

Having said that, running a Hack Pro is pretty special and now that it's running 10.9 pretty good, can hardly argue.

I have no earlier experience with hackintosh, but I've built my own computer before and with the help of friends and guides I'm sure I can get it running .
It will probably take 2-3 days to get it fixed but I'm probably willing to spend that time, as long as it's stable after that.
And I don't need the newest updates and such... Right now I'm still on Snow Leopard with my macbook pro.

 

[sabbyp]

A 1tb ssd won't hold all your samples?

my sample libraries and large plugin libraries (symphobia, omnisphere etc) only take up max 150gig, plus video stuff - more than enough.

 

[Lallo]

A 1tb ssd won't hold all your samples?

my sample libraries and large plugin libraries (symphobia, omnisphere etc) only take up max 150gig, plus video stuff - more than enough.

The "cheap" Retina comes with a 256gb ssd and the more expensive with a 500gb.

I can agree that 500gb might be enough, but I'm not sure. And it's 2400 Euro for that laptop...

 

[bigeasy_uk]

Building a hackintosh is pretty straight forward, you just have to choose the right hardware. There are guides on osx86project.org and tonymac giving advice, the most important part is the motherboard.

I built mine inside a G5 case for added authenticity:




Edit: For some reason the preview picture is upside down, when you click on it the pic is the right way up!

 

[Lallo]

Building a hackintosh is pretty straight forward, you just have to choose the right hardware. There are guides on osx86project.org and tonymac giving advice, the most important part is the motherboard.

I built mine inside a G5 case for added authenticity:

View attachment 445664


Edit: For some reason the preview picture is upside down, when you click on it the pic is the right way up!

I've been checking out tonymac and also have a friend who recently built a hackintosh for the same purpose as me. It runs fine.

Is your mac stable? Is there any features you miss out on when you build a hackintosh? I heard you have to get usb wifi and bluetooth , but that's no big deal for me.

 

[bigeasy_uk]

Is your mac stable? Is there any features you miss out on when you build a hackintosh? I heard you have to get usb wifi and bluetooth , but that's no big deal for me.

It's stable, and fast. It's got a quad i5 3570k overclocked to 4.2 ghz, 16gb ram, 670gtx graphics card and an ssd boot drive.

I run windows on it mainly (with a mac theme) as it's my gaming rig, but I just like messing with computers.

I've got a pcie wifi card installed which is picked up as an airport device, but I don't use bluetooth as I prefer wired mice and keyboards for gaming.

 

[Lallo]

It's stable, and fast. It's got a quad i5 3570k overclocked to 4.2 ghz, 16gb ram, 670gtx graphics card and an ssd boot drive.

I run windows on it mainly (with a mac theme) as it's my gaming rig, but I just like messing with computers.

I've got a pcie wifi card installed which is picked up as an airport device, but I don't use bluetooth as I prefer wired mice and keyboards for gaming.

How stable is it on osx and how long did it take to set up? Anything that doesnt work as intended?

 

[Totti]

Mine is ultra stable. The only thing 10.9 broke is my bluetooth functionality whereby its not working 100%, but unplugging it and plugging in dongle returns it to full functionality (This was working prior to 10.9 but they have changed the kexts)

Don't expect just because you like to tinker that you can read a guide and master it. I have been on the scene for 4-5 years and still encounter road blocks. It's all about patience, and the ability to persist and get things done for yourself. because nobody on the scene will help you.

Having said that, tony's installs will get you off the ground in no time. Unibeast+multibeast will now solve 99% of your problems.

 

[Tanax]

The "cheap" Retina comes with a 256gb ssd and the more expensive with a 500gb.

I can agree that 500gb might be enough, but I'm not sure. And it's 2400 Euro for that laptop...

Why do you want your samples on your internal drive?
Get an external SSD for your samples instead.

1. Cheaper
2. Upgradeable
3. No Apple Tax

 

[brdeveloper]

Building a hackintosh is pretty straight forward, you just have to choose the right hardware. There are guides on osx86project.org and tonymac giving advice, the most important part is the motherboard.

I built mine inside a G5 case for added authenticity:

View attachment 445664


Edit: For some reason the preview picture is upside down, when you click on it the pic is the right way up!

I'd like building a hackintosh inside a Mac LCII, but didn't make any research about its feasibility. Maybe using an external power supply, I could install a rack motherboard inside it with a Xeon E3 or E5...

 

[bigeasy_uk]

How stable is it on osx and how long did it take to set up? Anything that doesnt work as intended?

It's rock stable and everything works as it should that I have tried. It didn't take long to set up, a day at most. The bit that took the longest was sorting the case out (but so worth the effort!).

 

[jondunford]

Building a hackintosh is pretty straight forward, you just have to choose the right hardware. There are guides on osx86project.org and tonymac giving advice, the most important part is the motherboard.

I built mine inside a G5 case for added authenticity:

View attachment 445664


Edit: For some reason the preview picture is upside down, when you click on it the pic is the right way up!

WOW

what is that screen? it looks like a macbook air screen

 

[bigeasy_uk]

WOW

what is that screen? it looks like a macbook air screen

It's an Apple Cinema HD Display 23", only cost me £50.