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rMBP vs HomeBrew Computer HELP!

R

renosausage

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 22, 2012
158
0
Hello everyone!

I have owned a rMBP for 6 months now and I am absolutely amazed at it's performance and efficiency.

Before purchasing this laptop, I was very interested in building a Hackintosh.

I am still interested in building one for several reasons.

Number 1, I do not need to carry my computer around with me.
Number 2, I need the ability to upgrade (Using AutoCad Software)
Number 3, I also need the ability to expand my Storage Capacity.

Here is what I need from you guys.

First off, Can I build a Hackintosh with the same specs as my rMBP for less cash?

My rMBP Specs: 2.7 GHz 16 GB Ram 512 SSD

Secondly, is there any external displays available that could give me a high resolution similar to the rMBP?

Thank You for your help.

By the way, The total price of the Hackintosh would have to include the price of a display.
 
Trubbles said:
Desktop? Probably

Laptop? Doubtful, once you factor in $1000+ for a monitor.
Click to expand...

You're right, I guess the most expensive part of the build would be a monitor.

Is there any monitors capable of producing a high resolution like the rMBP?
 
there are no HIDPI monitors yet, no.

as for building a desktop faster than the rmbp? quite easily and super cheap in comparison.
 
I have a hackintosh. I built it 2 years ago without monitor(had my own). Priced out to about $2k CAD. My specs are

6core 3.2ghz i7 Hyperthreads to 12 1st gen i7
12gb ram
120ssd boot drive
1tb 7200 hd
1gb AMD 5860 (cheaped out here would of went nvidia had there been more support for it back then)
dvd drive, case, fans


Now you could build a system with similar specs but newer version for cheaper than that now that prices on things have dropped.

You can get a mb that supports thunderbolt and drop for a thunderbolt display. It gives you a 2560 x 1440 resolution which is great. Should be the closest you are going to get to retina without retina.

I also have the retina and while i like working on it on the go i usually hit up the desktop at home.
 
I went the hackintosh route for giggles and it was a fun experience. I wouldn't recommend doing that for your primary machine. I think a Mac is better suited since you don't have to worry about updates or upgrades.

I like what the rMBP has to offer and I don't play games or use software where a high powered desktop running OSX would make sense
 
joshualee90 said:
I have a hackintosh. I built it 2 years ago without monitor(had my own). Priced out to about $2k CAD. My specs are

6core 3.2ghz i7 Hyperthreads to 12 1st gen i7
12gb ram
120ssd boot drive
1tb 7200 hd
1gb AMD 5860 (cheaped out here would of went nvidia had there been more support for it back then)
dvd drive, case, fans


Now you could build a system with similar specs but newer version for cheaper than that now that prices on things have dropped.

You can get a mb that supports thunderbolt and drop for a thunderbolt display. It gives you a 2560 x 1440 resolution which is great. Should be the closest you are going to get to retina without retina.

I also have the retina and while i like working on it on the go i usually hit up the desktop at home.
Click to expand...

Yes!, I could get this MotherBoard http://www.gigabyte.com/microsite/306/images/thunderbolt.html

It supports ThunderBolt which would allow me to connect it to an Apple Thunderbolt Display.

The Display is $949 from Amazon
The Motherboard is $184 from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Inte...59663948&sr=8-2&keywords=gigabyte+thunderbolt

So that puts me at $1133 so far
 
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Wait a second...

What would be the difference in using thunderbolt from the Mother Board and using Thunder bolt from the Graphics Card.

Is their a graphics card that support ThunderBolt OutPut?

----------
xShane said:
Are we allowed to assist members in breaking Apple's EULA?
Click to expand...

In today's economy.... YES!
 
renosausage said:
Is there any monitors capable of producing a high resolution like the rMBP?
Click to expand...

stevelam said:
there are no HIDPI monitors yet, no.
Click to expand...

Trubbles said:
Not quire, but Apple's display comes close.
Click to expand...

corvus32 said:
No because what OS and software would support such a monitor if there was?
Click to expand...

Actually, there is. It exceeds that resolution, even, and it's cheaper than Apple's Thunderbolt Display.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-T221-95...0734?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item2ec575da2e

Quite hard to find on the market, though, since it's 2001 tech. And you have to make sure you get a graphics adapter that supports dual-link DVI.
 
duervo said:
I'd just go here, get these components (the first motherboard in the list is one with dual TB), and be done with it:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/325-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-january-2013.html#custo_pro
Click to expand...

Wow that is Cheap!!!

----------
Giuly said:
Get a rMBP, and then decide whether to return it and build a hackintosh or to keep and use it.
Click to expand...

I've got one actually. I've had it for about 6 months. I love it but the reason I posted this thread was to see if you could build a Hackintosh with the same specs and decent display for less than the rMBP.
 
Yup tony mac a great resource that site helped me build my computer. $1133 is more than enough to get a great list of components. The reason my build cost so much at the time was the processor knocked me back about $600 and the 120gb ssd was about $200 at the time. A quad core is about $250 and a 250gb ssd is about $200, a good graphics card is about $200-300,16 gb ram is about $100, maybe another 1tb 7200 for storage $60, Case power supply and dvd drive should take you to a complete total of $1100

No graphics card with thunderbolt yet.
 
I was playing with the though of building a Hackintosh to replace my old iMac. However, I gave up the idea after calculating that the cost of the parts wouldn't be significantly less than the actual iMac (I have included a decent aluminium case and a 1440p IPS monitor in my build). I used to own a Hackintosh back in 2008, but I was never able to get everything to work as well as I wanted. They can be rather nice solutions if you are on a tight budget and are ready to compromise.

There are currently no real alternatives to the rMBP as far as laptops go.
 
renosausage said:
Yes!, I could get this MotherBoard http://www.gigabyte.com/microsite/306/images/thunderbolt.html

It supports ThunderBolt which would allow me to connect it to an Apple Thunderbolt Display.

The Display is $949 from Amazon
The Motherboard is $184 from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-Inte...59663948&sr=8-2&keywords=gigabyte+thunderbolt

So that puts me at $1133 so far
Click to expand...

I have a Hack running on a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP5 motherboard. Extremely easy to set up if you use the guides on TonyMacx86. I'd caution against the UP4 as some of the USB ports are controlled by a VIA chip which does not work in OS X, so half of your ports will not work if you go for that board.

The UP5 is a bit more pricey but worth it, everything except the bundled WiFi/Bluetooth card works flawlessly.

Also keep in mind that the Thunderbolt ports can only output video from the integrated graphics, which if you need more power for Autocad may not be the best route to go down. You could get the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H which is similar to the UP5 minus the Thunderbolt ports and cheaper, get something like the Asus PB287Q which is the same resolution as the Thunderbolt display and use a graphics card to power it.
 
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I've done the hackintosh thing several times over the past few years. The last time was over the summer with hardware from tonymac's site. Once the coolness factor wore off, I booted into Windows and haven't booted into OSX since. That PC's now only used for gaming. A MacBook Pro is used for everything else.

Hacks are fun and all but they will always be just a hobby and never a real replacement for a Mac. They're also not nearly as trivial and easy to setup as some hackintosh fans would lead you to believe. Getting it to boot into the OSX installer and install/boot OSX? Really easy. Getting every little bell and whistle working (dual monitors, sleep, etc)... you could spend days pulling your hair out and reading tonymac only to have it break when the next OSX update comes out.
 
mslide said:
I've done the hackintosh thing several times over the past few years. The last time was over the summer with hardware from tonymac's site. Once the coolness factor wore off, I booted into Windows and haven't booted into OSX since. That PC's now only used for gaming. A MacBook Pro is used for everything else.

Hacks are fun and all but they will always be just a hobby and never a real replacement for a Mac. They're also not nearly as trivial and easy to setup as some hackintosh fans would lead you to believe. Getting it to boot into the OSX installer and install/boot OSX? Really easy. Getting every little bell and whistle working (dual monitors, sleep, etc)... you could spend days pulling your hair out and reading tonymac only to have it break when the next OSX update comes out.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize that, so you're saying every time you upgrade your Hackintosh, you could possibly have problems to fix?
 
renosausage said:
I didn't realize that, so you're saying every time you upgrade your Hackintosh, you could possibly have problems to fix?
Click to expand...

Of course. If you upgrade to hardware with no drivers known to work, you may be getting into a lot of headaches trying to make things work.

Does you desktop really need to run OS X? Because honestly, AutoCAD for mac sucks compared to the PC version and is much less feature packed.
 
renosausage said:
I didn't realize that, so you're saying every time you upgrade your Hackintosh, you could possibly have problems to fix?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't depend on a hacked solution if it has to work. If you get it to work properly with everything you need, you'd need a backup just like that. That way if an update breaks something, you can always revert. There is always the chance of bugs. If you encounter them, you have to figure out if it's on the OSX end or due to an incompatibility in your configuration. The next question is why the rMBP? Why not a different mac?
 
renosausage said:
I didn't realize that, so you're saying every time you upgrade your Hackintosh, you could possibly have problems to fix?
Click to expand...
He's exaggerating a bit, but yes, a hackintosh will give you more problems than a genuine Mac.

Never had any big issues with mine though. The only problem I have when OS updates roll around is one I'd have if I had a Mac Pro, and that's because of my GPU.

Otherwise, it should be very easy to build a hackintosh that exceeds your rMBP for less money.
 
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