Selling my iMac and going the Hackintosh route?

[GermanyChris]

Hello All,

Like many of you, I waited very long and patiently for Apple to refresh their long over-due iMac lineup. I ordered one as soon as they were available and while I must say that I enjoy using the machine, I'm just a little underwhelmed by its performance. The iMac is in and of itself a great machine, but I find the lack of expandability and customization a big drawback of the machine. I prefer to dual boot, and I game in Bootcamp. While the 650M performs respectively in some titles, it also chokes on many others. In addition, the slow performance of Windows on the 5400 rpm drive is also annoying. I consider myself an avid gamer, however, I won't be able to enjoy the latest titles because the GPU is a huge bottleneck. I've been contemplating building myself a Hackintosh and I have a monster build in mind, that would demolish anything one would throw at it (Dual boot SSDs, thunderbolt motherboard, GTX 770 graphics, etc.). I really enjoy the simplicity of Apple products and I love it how the stuff just works, but I also enjoy being a power user and I'm not afraid to tinker with hardware/software. Maybe I should wait and see if Apple possibly refreshes the Mac Pro, and what that refresh will bring, but I know it'll be over-priced and will cost me a huge premium, compared to a similarly configured Hackintosh but at a more reasonable price point. I'll probably sell my iMac, build a Hack, and then I'll probably pick up a refreshed MBA because I enjoyed owning one of those and found them to be amazing products.

Good Job, Hackintoshing is quite fun!

I have used a Hackintosh for over a year and I am was glad to get a 'real' Mac instead. And from what I read, they are not much stabler now. Plus, after doing some calculations I realised that a Hackintosh which would match the specs of the top-tier iMac is not that much cheaper.

I've never had problems with mine.

The current iMac is significantly faster than the Mac Pro (as long as we are talking about the single-CPU systems). The nice thing about Hakintosh is that they give you more flexibility and room for compromise (e.g. cheaper case, display etc.). Of course, Apple's SSD prices are outrageous as well. And you can also get a much better GPU on a desktop (but it will cost you as well). basically, if you want to build a desktop more or less equivalent to the 27" iMac with the 680MX (including a 27" IPS display, wireless mouse/keyboard combo, a 660Ti GPU and a well-designed aluminium case) you will get rather close to the iMac's cost...

The reason why I abandoned my Hakintosh was because of the little things. Small problems with sound, sleep, USB, weird performance glitches etc., fear of updates - nothing serious, but it got really annoying. I was hacking and recompiling my DSDT every day and at some point I just said 'screw that, I am getting an iMac'

Classify significantly, and what metric you're using. Which single processor?

 

[uniq]

Just curious as to why you are doing this? And why a mini lol? Although I admit, I was thinking about picking up a mini and using it as my "real" mac/media server.

I built my hackintosh with gaming in mind. Then realised I'm not much of a gamer any more and it was complete overkill for what I actually used it for.

When they work and mine was pretty damn stable with full WiFi, internet, sound, sleep, Bluetooth etc. But point updates become a lottery. At best you only need to re-enable sound at worse your system is hosed. Carbon Copy Cloner is your Hackintosh's best friend.

In the end I just wanted a stable working real Mac

 

[MagicThief83]

The build is on the way! I look forward to a machine that can run OSX and provide kick-ass gaming. It's really not that difficult to setup and maintain, it only requires a few hours of time.

 

[uniq]

it only requires a few hours of time.

Famous last words Enjoy it, it's a learning curve.

 

[MagicThief83]

Famous last words Enjoy it, it's a learning curve.

I will lol! Thank you! There's always a learning curve, but therein lies the challenge.

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I can say my hackintosh is every bit as, if not more, stable than my 15" MBP. Updates not a problem either, cant remember the last time I had to do anything apart from run the combo updater and/or software update and thats it. I dont think twice about it - just like my real mac.

The trick is simply choosing the right hardware - hardware that is inherently hassle free in osx. Some gigabyte boards like the UD5H mentioned above, and kepler based graphics cards (like the gtx6xx and gtx770) also mentioned above make life easy.

Go for it and enjoy amazing OSX performance, along with gaming (under windows) the way it should be.

Great way to put it!

----------

Good Job, Hackintoshing is quite fun!



I've never had problems with mine.



Classify significantly, and what metric you're using. Which single processor?

Your positivity is much appreciated! People make it seem like putting a hackintosh together and maintaining it, is such a daunting task, and it's really not.

 

[TType85]

I had a hackintosh with a i5-2500K and it worked decently well. I ended up turning it back in to a regular windows PC because at the time it was a bit of a pain to keep updated.

I was going to go the hackintosh route again but decided against it since I am going to be making a living with this computer (iOS/mobile development along with my normal development work). I ended up getting a refurbished 2012 iMac 27" with a 1TB fusion drive, 2GB 680MX and the i7 3770 for $2199. To build this configuration in a hackintosh I would have to spend as much if not more.

Nice Case $100
TB Motherboard $200
8 GB Ram $70
i7 3770 CPU $289
GTX 660 Ti Video Card $300
128 GB SSD $150
1TB HDD $70
Wireless Card $35
Web Cam $50
A+ QHD Monitor $850
Good Wireless KB/Mouse $100
= $2214

The only real advantage to the hackintosh is the upgradability and the monitor is separate so you can reuse it.

Unless you are a avid gamer (I am not, I play a few MMO's at most) the setup I got should last at least 3 years.

I should be able to get a decent amount out of selling it in 3 years. 2010 iMac's are still over $1000.

My sister in-law just sold here 5 year old macbook for $400! I have a dell laptop with better specs that you can buy all day for $150.

 

[paduck]

I built my first Hackintosh in late-2008 as a desktop to replace a G5 iMac because there was something of a crease in the iMac performance line at the time. I've subsequently built two more - one a netbook (Dell Mini9) which I don't use any more; and a HackServer, which pushes my iTunes library, does backup and runs my home automation system. So that's the basis of my opinions below.

So, I've enjoyed the Hackintosh experience. I got a pretty powerful Macintosh for a discount price and I've enjoyed being able to add some capabilities to the mini-tower box. In particular, I like the storage flexibility which is quite hard to get on a basic iMac (I find external devices to be inelegant).

The server has been a particularly big win. I have a video server, Time Machine backup, file services. Perception Automation's Indigo home automation system, and EyeTV all running. Works pretty good. I have had some trouble with REALLY large data transfers. And it all fits nicely in a server/network rack and looks cool. I control it with MacOS's share screen capability. All-in-all, pretty cool.

Here's what I don't like - stability isn't always there. Sometimes I get strange error messages. This is pretty infrequent, but it is annoying. More importantly, it is a hassle every time there is a software upgrade. Like an entire afternoon hassle. Sometimes more. That's all a little bit enjoyable, but it is also a pain.

I don't regret the experience one bit. I'll probably keep the server going into the future. It seems stable enough. When the desktop reaches it's end-of-life, I am going back to the iMac line. I'll probably invest in the Fusion Drive (I spent weeks trying to make my own Fusion Drive on the Hackintosh and failed) because I do like having lots of storage space and speed. The reliability of the Apple solution at this point in time is going to do it for me. The Hackintosh, at 4 1/2 years old right now is holding up pretty good. The video card is anemic, but I'm not really using it for anything that pushes it (my teenager wants COD Black Ops though).

I think my decision at the time made some sense because of where the iMac was then. But I don't think it will going forward. I've saved a good bit of money on the front-end, but clearly invested it and more in time managing the computer since then. If the premise of the Mac is "it just works" then you're walking away from that selling point with a Hackintosh.

 

[martinm0]

I think you'll find the "investment" proposition favors real Macs. Macs lose much less value than any custom PC or OEM PC for that matter.

I don't disagree with you. The point I was trying to make is that a PC/Hackintosh allows you the flexibility to upgrade components as needed, allowing you to make the most out of the hardware you already have. If I bought an iMac with an i5 CPU and want to move to an i7, there's no way to just switch that out for a few hundred and move along - you'll have to sell it and buy the i7 model.

Admittedly, I'd prefer the iMac (or new Mac Pro). Everything just working is really nice. But, I'm ok with the Hackintosh and money I've put into it. Its faster than any iMac out there and cost me roughly $1500 to build (with an ACD and Gigabyte HD7950). Not to mention I was able to reuse my Lian Li case, PSU, BD ROM and spare SSDs. (And how many iMacs can fit 9 HDDs in its case...? lol)

 

[MagicThief83]

The new Mac Pro is damn sexy but it'll probably be ridiculously expensive...sticking with the hackintosh/MBA combo for now. I'm expecting the new Mac Pro to retail starting at at least $2500-3000.

 

[MeatRocket]

I was going to go the Hackintosh route myself. I've built one in the past and have even maintained a VirtualBox image of Mac OSX. The problem I'm faced with now is time. I'm getting as long in the tooth as OSX & don't have the time to futz about with compatibility issues and such.

I've been eyeing an iMac i7 with 3TB Fusion drive, 16GB RAM (upgrade that on my own) and a 680MX GPU. All told, it'd cost me $2574 with my student discount, plus another $125 for 16GB RAM from NewEgg (putting total RAM at 24GB). So, $2700. That does seem steep. Until I factored in the cheapest 27" IPS display on NewEgg was $615, a 1TB 700RPM drive is $90, a 128GB ssd is $125, a comparable video card is $400, processor $289, RAM $200, power supply $130+-, case $100+-, LEGAL copy of OSX $19....You get the drift.

Once you factor in the quality of the components, the price is roughly a wash. Not to mention that youre genuine Apple is warrantied from one place, not several vendors. The peace of mind that I don't have to mess with it - priceless.

Granted, I'm a systems engineer and support MS & Cisco products for a living and don't believe in overpaying for hardware. But the quality of the hardware used by Apple is often overlooked by us PC types who often buy the highest quality chipsets on the lowest quality vendor's boards (Sapphire video cards anyone?). When I build a Windows PC, I build one that'll bring a tear of envy to your eye. But if I want a Mac, I'll just go buy one from the folks who actually know how to build them.

The only difference between you & I is our place in the market right now. You want to fiddle & I want rock-solid reliability with little overhead and resale ability.

 

[MagicThief83]

IWhen I build a Windows PC, I build one that'll bring a tear of envy to your eye. But if I want a Mac, I'll just go buy one from the folks who actually know how to build them.

The only difference between you & I is our place in the market right now. You want to fiddle & I want rock-solid reliability with little overhead and resale ability.

Well said, the build quality of Macs are unparalleled and cannot be reproduced no matter how high end PC parts one manages to slap together...but they can come close #

 

[MeatRocket]

Well said, the build quality of Macs are unparalleled and cannot be reproduced no matter how high end PC parts one manages to slap together...but they can come close ��

In any case, you go have yourself a great time with that! If I was a bit younger & had more time, I'd be there with you arguing to spend "just a little bit more" on that SLI configuration or RAID 0 SSD. That's how my rigs always end up costing more than planned. After all, it's "just a little bit more".

 

[Arfdog]

(And how many iMacs can fit 9 HDDs in its case...? lol)

Not many..... PCs at all! lol! Go external!

 

[MagicThief83]

In any case, you go have yourself a great time with that! If I was a bit younger & had more time, I'd be there with you arguing to spend "just a little bit more" on that SLI configuration or RAID 0 SSD. That's how my rigs always end up costing more than planned. After all, it's "just a little bit more".

RAID 0 SSD and SLI while would make great touches, that "little bit more" would definitely be overkill lol; actually I could RAID 0 my two SSD drives that I've ordered for my build, but I'd rather not because I plan on dual-booting and want to install each OS to a drive.

 

[garnerx]

How did this work out for you?

Edit: Recently had the first 'issue' with mine. My wife was using it on her own login, it asked her if she wanted to update iTunes, but she didn't realise that when she clicked 'update' she was also agreeing to about 10 previous updates that I'd ignored, including 10.8.4.

Result was one non-booting Mac. I couldn't recover it, so I had to download the OS again on my MBP, do a clean install, restore everything else from Time Machine and change a few things in the BIOS to get it dual booting like before.

You live, you learn. Also, it's now on 10.8.4 and working fine. Now that I've done an OS update once, I'd have no qualms about updating to 10.9 whenever that comes out.

 

[MagicThief83]

How did this work out for you?

Edit: Recently had the first 'issue' with mine. My wife was using it on her own login, it asked her if she wanted to update iTunes, but she didn't realise that when she clicked 'update' she was also agreeing to about 10 previous updates that I'd ignored, including 10.8.4.

Result was one non-booting Mac. I couldn't recover it, so I had to download the OS again on my MBP, do a clean install, restore everything else from Time Machine and change a few things in the BIOS to get it dual booting like before.

You live, you learn. Also, it's now on 10.8.4 and working fine. Now that I've done an OS update once, I'd have no qualms about updating to 10.9 whenever that comes out.

My Hack is amazing! I have no remorse about going down this route. I actually have a MBA now as real Mac just in case the hack goes awry, which is usually not the case when properly configured. I have an i5 3.4 GHz quad core (turbo boost to 3.8 GHz), 8 GB RAM, GeForce 770 GTX GPU with 2 GB VRAM, 2 120GB SSDS (dual boot Mac OSX 10.8.4 and W7), and 2TB 7200 HD partitioned for use with both OSes. I also installed a custom CPU air cooler. Everything runs beautifully and without a hitch. I was going to wait for the new Mac Pro but I didn't and I'm glad I didn't because a comparable system from Apple would've cost close to double of what I paid, and to be honest, building and maintaining the system is all that difficult. It required research and I mulled over the idea for a year before deciding to pull the trigger and I regret not doing it sooner. While I love the new iMac, I just needed a system with more power and my Hackintosh excellently fits the bill. On a side note, based on research, never update via a system update, always update via a combo update and research the update for compatibility before updating. So yeah, my system is going well! Runs cool and quietly, very minimal clutter and cable management is excellent. I'm actually going to install another fan and front panel fan controller.

----------

I forgot to mention, my Hack also has dual thunderbolt ports and works great with my 2TB external thunderbolt drive.

 

[TennisandMusic]

I had a hackintosh with a i5-2500K and it worked decently well. I ended up turning it back in to a regular windows PC because at the time it was a bit of a pain to keep updated.

I was going to go the hackintosh route again but decided against it since I am going to be making a living with this computer (iOS/mobile development along with my normal development work). I ended up getting a refurbished 2012 iMac 27" with a 1TB fusion drive, 2GB 680MX and the i7 3770 for $2199. To build this configuration in a hackintosh I would have to spend as much if not more.

Nice Case $100
TB Motherboard $200
8 GB Ram $70
i7 3770 CPU $289
GTX 660 Ti Video Card $300
128 GB SSD $150
1TB HDD $70
Wireless Card $35
Web Cam $50
A+ QHD Monitor $850
Good Wireless KB/Mouse $100
= $2214

The only real advantage to the hackintosh is the upgradability and the monitor is separate so you can reuse it.

Unless you are a avid gamer (I am not, I play a few MMO's at most) the setup I got should last at least 3 years.

I should be able to get a decent amount out of selling it in 3 years. 2010 iMac's are still over $1000.

My sister in-law just sold here 5 year old macbook for $400! I have a dell laptop with better specs that you can buy all day for $150.

You can get an "A+" WQHD monitor from Monoprice for under 400 dollars. If you want a bunch of hookups they are about 450.

They use the exact same LG panels that current iMacs use. Your list is basically way off, you compared an essentially "used" iMac to new PC parts, that are higher than they really are anyway.

Apples are more expensive period. They make a 40% margin on their stuff, and no one else does. I don't get this constant need to say "but Apple stuff is the same price!" among Apple fans. It's just not true. Just buy Apple stuff because you want it, you don't have to try and justify the price.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...11401&cs_id=1130704&p_id=10509&seq=1&format=2

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...11307&cs_id=1130703&p_id=10489&seq=1&format=2

Well said, the build quality of Macs are unparalleled and cannot be reproduced no matter how high end PC parts one manages to slap together...but they can come close ��

More misinformation. Parts used for builds are, generally speaker, higher quality than ANY OEM made computers, including Apple. Builders know what they are doing, so the companies that are putting out boards have to compete via quality on the high end. When you start getting into PCB layer quality, and types of Caps, MOSFETs etc., used on the boards...you know you are dealing with customers who know their stuff.

Open up any Apple and all you see is a pretty average quality board. Apple's are about very basic parts in fancy cases with high margins. Any well done "slapped together" PC (by the way, have you seen how amazing these builds can be?) would likely outlast any Mac Pro they sell.

 

[phrehdd]

Keep your iMac for what it does for you in OSX and build a gaming machine to sit along side of it. If you shop smart, you can probably use can probably build an mATX system that will be exactly what you want and load the MS operating system on it. A nice gaming set up with mATX would include

video card of your choice
SSD drives and regular drives
8- ?? gigs of RAM
on board or better (card) audio
quality power supply

There is not much to a gaming machine other than the horsepower you seek from cpu and gpu. There are PC cases that emulate typical stereo/avr equipment and that would let you put it near a TV (if you game on your TV) and not look like a computer. If you only do gaming on a PC monitor then your options are even greater for cases.

While a hackentosh sounds fun, there are too many issues and more so as updates from Apple come along and thus, a separate machine might be a better choice.

 

[garnerx]

That's great, I'm really pleased it's all going well! As far as I'm concerned, a Hackintosh is the best Mac you can buy.

Obviously, if you're not prepared to fiddle with it at least a tiny bit, it's not for you, but I wouldn't swap mine for any genuine Mac at all. I know now how to keep it working with OS upgrades, so there isn't a single reason to ever buy another iMac or Mac Pro, at least for me.

 

[Nuke61]

It sounds like compatible parts are easier to find now. A few years back I built a Hackintosh, but got tired of having to research whether this update or that update would break it. I also liked the minimal desk space of the iMac, so I'm one of the people who actually switched to a Apple hardware because of trying a Hackintosh and loving the experience of the iLife suite. But I've also never been much of a gamer. I still love that anyone who does their research can have the best of both worlds with a custom built Hack.

 

[MagicThief83]

More misinformation. Parts used for builds are, generally speaker, higher quality than ANY OEM made computers, including Apple. Builders know what they are doing, so the companies that are putting out boards have to compete via quality on the high end. When you start getting into PCB layer quality, and types of Caps, MOSFETs etc., used on the boards...you know you are dealing with customers who know their stuff.

Open up any Apple and all you see is a pretty average quality board. Apple's are about very basic parts in fancy cases with high margins. Any well done "slapped together" PC (by the way, have you seen how amazing these builds can be?) would likely outlast any Mac Pro they sell.

Wasn't trying to misinform, just stating my opinion on the aesthetics of Apple products/computers. I have an amazing PC/Hack build and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's beautiful and bests any Mac I have seen thus far. Maybe I should have specified my reference to design, as opposed to internal components. I agree, all apple seeds are the same, irregardless of what the apple looks like on the outside (pun intended). Apple is infamous for widening their price margins, as they try to cut corners wherever they can, as they attempt to woo "potential customers" with the design of their products.

----------

That's great, I'm really pleased it's all going well! As far as I'm concerned, a Hackintosh is the best Mac you can buy.

Obviously, if you're not prepared to fiddle with it at least a tiny bit, it's not for you, but I wouldn't swap mine for any genuine Mac at all. I know now how to keep it working with OS upgrades, so there isn't a single reason to ever buy another iMac or Mac Pro, at least for me.

People tend to over exaggerate the amount of "fiddling" required with Hackintoshes and are overly dramatic; me and you know, it really isn't all that bad. I can understand having a Mac laptop, but for a desktop, Hackintosh all the way!

It sounds like compatible parts are easier to find now. A few years back I built a Hackintosh, but got tired of having to research whether this update or that update would break it. I also liked the minimal desk space of the iMac, so I'm one of the people who actually switched to a Apple hardware because of trying a Hackintosh and loving the experience of the iLife suite. But I've also never been much of a gamer. I still love that anyone who does their research can have the best of both worlds with a custom built Hack.

Compatible parts are a dime a dozen nowadays! Research and assembly wasn't difficult at all.

 

[Muldert]

My first Mac was a Hackintosh. I was amazed by the fact that it was possible at all. But in the end (now running an iMac late 2012, 21") I just prefere simplicity and safe updates. When I had more time it was better, video-editing was a blaze.

Besides, when my warranty runs out on this thing I'm going to break the bastard open and install two SSD and a killer processor. Unfortunately no GPU upgrades, but I'm not much of a gamer anyway.

I hope you enjoy your hackintosh days! It was alot of fun, and alot of OSX experience, I gained from it.

Also, I just prefer the Mac because I live in a clean and shared appartement now. In the days I was a student and had wires and HDD's lying everywhere Hackintosh was the way to go. But a clean minimalistic design is better for my aura now lol.

 

[maflynn]

I created a hackintosh, it was fun to build but not fun to maintain.

There always seemed to be small incompatibilities that you had to be careful of. The biggest issue was upgrading the OS (not just point releases). I found that it was just better to keep it on Snow Leopard then go through the head aches of trying to get Lion to run (never mind Mountain Lion).

The hackintosh is my kids computer right now and that is scheduled for decommissioning For Christmas I'll be buying an iMac for my kids.

 

[Irishman]

Hello All,

Like many of you, I waited very long and patiently for Apple to refresh their long over-due iMac lineup. I ordered one as soon as they were available and while I must say that I enjoy using the machine, I'm just a little underwhelmed by its performance. The iMac is in and of itself a great machine, but I find the lack of expandability and customization a big drawback of the machine. I prefer to dual boot, and I game in Bootcamp. While the 650M performs respectively in some titles, it also chokes on many others. In addition, the slow performance of Windows on the 5400 rpm drive is also annoying. I consider myself an avid gamer, however, I won't be able to enjoy the latest titles because the GPU is a huge bottleneck. I've been contemplating building myself a Hackintosh and I have a monster build in mind, that would demolish anything one would throw at it (Dual boot SSDs, thunderbolt motherboard, GTX 770 graphics, etc.). I really enjoy the simplicity of Apple products and I love it how the stuff just works, but I also enjoy being a power user and I'm not afraid to tinker with hardware/software. Maybe I should wait and see if Apple possibly refreshes the Mac Pro, and what that refresh will bring, but I know it'll be over-priced and will cost me a huge premium, compared to a similarly configured Hackintosh but at a more reasonable price point. I'll probably sell my iMac, build a Hack, and then I'll probably pick up a refreshed MBA because I enjoyed owning one of those and found them to be amazing products.

Why would you buy a Machine that's only had unexpandeable/replaceable graphics since Day One, if expandability is crucially important to you?!?!?!

I don't understand. Did you think you'd be the first to crack that nut and be able to install your own choice of card into it?!?

 

[MagicThief83]

?!?!?!?!

Why would you buy a Machine that's only had unexpandeable/replaceable graphics since Day One, if expandability is crucially important to you?!?!?!

One, your melodrama is unnecessary!?!?!?! Two, I've only started using Apple products about a year ago and never had any experience with building a PC, so prior to researching Hackintoshing/PC building, I thought getting an iMac would be best since it's a "desktop" and a clean all in one. However, I found myself missing the performance of true desktop and after the new Mac Pro reveal, I decided that building a Hackintosh would be best for me. I mean, surely you've vacillated between several decisions before, did you think you're the first person to not backtrack on a decision you've made before?!?!

I don't understand.

Clearly!

Did you think you'd be the first to crack that nut and be able to install your own choice of card into it?!?

Your post makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Who said anything about installing a GPU into an iMac?