Questions about making a HACKintosh

[guiscard]

I have built two machines recently. Both have performed perfectly stable. I have been running multiple overnight renders without issue. In fact, two days ago my mac pro kept on crashing doing one specific task in motion. I got so pissed that I said "let's give it a try" and migrated to a hackintosh. The issue didn't happen.

I have built using guides from insanely mac as well as this blog.
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/


I have used both an MXO 2 mini with max and a blackmagic intensity pro without issue. I also have been using pro tools le with an mbox 2. The only program that won't install is neoscene. It says "program only works with intel mac" when you try and install. Pretty interesting, I think.

This.

I also run a hackintosh system, dual booting with windows 7. It works fine, runs stable as any real Mac (I do tech support for an office running all macs in my day job) and cost me much less.

Mine is based on a Gigabyte ep45 ud3r motherboard, perhaps a bit old by now, but there was lots of information on setting it up when I got mine.

Easy, cheap, fun, and you save lots of dosh.

(Edit: Fair enough, took out the fanboy remark).

 

[Stephen Mick]

Right. Working professionals providing sound advice equals "fanboy."

I don't care about cheap. Neither do my clients.
My idea of fun has nothing to do with building a computer. I'd rather be fly-fishing.

To the OP…

Shane, McGee and David S. have offered valuable advice. Choosing to use it doesn't make you a "fanboy."

 

[David Saraceno]

Ignore the fanboys IMO.

Many who have offered advice here would edit with a broom if it worked reliably.

If you are serious about professional editing with FCS, then stick with Apple hardware.

That is a professional opinion based on experience.

Hard to understand the quoted comment above.

 

[OldCorpse]

You have an iMac and $1500? If you can sell your iMac for even $1000, you got $2500. The new quad 27" iMacs are sweet, and the i7 will set you back some $2200. I'm buying the i7 one in two weeks. These i7's bench as well or better than the older MPs right now. You can expand the RAM to 16GB down the road.

Why buy the i7? Because it is actually cheap! How so? The screen. It's a very high quality IPS panel that would cost you at least $1200 to buy separately (not that you'd find it anywhere). So you are paying very little for the rest of the computer. It's a killer deal. Here's a thought provoking analysis:

The more I think and learn about the curious pricing of the 27” iMac, the more bizarre and incredible it seems.

It has a resolution of 2560x1440, which no other monitor in the industry seems to have (that I can find). 30” LCDs are the same width but 1600 tall. Shrinking 2560-wide into a screen that’s 3” smaller diagonally yields an impressive pixel density, especially given the panel’s still-immense size.

It has an IPS panel. IPS is the best and most expensive LCD type, giving the best viewing angle and the least color- and brightness-shifting as the angle increases in any direction. Nearly every panel on the market, including every laptop panel, is the cheap TN type. (TN panels wash out as soon as you move your head slightly, especially vertically, which is why it’s so hard to find a good viewing angle for your laptop lid while watching a dark movie.) Other 27” TN panels exist (only at the lower 1920x1080 resolution), but I can’t find any other 27” IPS panels.

It’s also LED-backlit.

So it’s a very high-specced, brand new panel that’s apparently not being mass-produced yet (since no other monitors for sale are using it). That must be expensive. How much of the base 27” iMac’s $1700 retail cost does this represent?

The closest existing panel for comparison, spec-wise, is the 30” IPS panel that Apple uses in their Cinema Display. It has the ultra-high resolution and size, but doesn’t compete with the 27” iMac’s panel for brightness, contrast, power efficiency, or color range. It’s overpriced by today’s standards at $1800, but not by much — Dell’s original 30” monitor with the same panel is $1200, and a newer version with better specs (although still not as good as the new iMac’s) is $1700.

A standalone monitor with the new iMac’s panel would be perfectly reasonably priced at about $1500. From Dell. Apple’s only charging $200 more than that for theirs, and there’s an entire high-end computer stuck to the back of it.

When they mentioned on last week’s quarterly earnings call that they expected lower profit margins for a new product, I don’t think anyone expected a change of this magnitude. How are they making anything — or even not losing money — with the base-model 27” iMac?

My guess: a massively successful negotiation with the panel’s manufacturer (most likely LG) to get not only an incredible price on these panels, but also apparent exclusivity for a while. It’s a hell of an accomplishment, and presumably a hell of an effort, for a computer that isn’t Apple’s most-selling model (or even product line). That raises a more interesting question: Why?

Until we know why the panel is so cheap, I bet we’re going to see a lot of Mac Pro owners buying 27” monitors for $1700 and trying to figure out what to do with the free computer stuck to the back. For new-computer shopping, a lot of people are going to abandon whichever laptop or Mac Pro they were considering and get this instead.

That helps answer the “why” question: Maybe Apple wants to push more buyers away from today’s default system-type choice — laptops — and show them why they should consider getting a fast, spacious desktop instead. And, for the time being, it’s a desktop with absolutely no equivalent in the PC world.

Really, why not go for the 27" i7 iMac? You're practically there already financially, and it would make a great rig for FCP!

 

[boulder]

Lol. Hackintoshes built correctly are as stable as any other computer. Actually if you have any Apple branded device (with Apple logo) hooked to your computer (I have the Apple aluminum keyboard) you are not in violation of anything. I understand being on a budget and I say if you have reasonable computer skills go for it. I'm building one right now and have edited on a friends who has had no trouble at all.

 

[David Saraceno]

Actually if you have any Apple branded device (with Apple logo) hooked to your computer (I have the Apple aluminum keyboard) you are not in violation of anything.

Your conclusion is based on wishful thinking, not on the law or the EULA.

The isn't the best advice to give unless you are an intellectual property attorney. You might want to temper it by "in my opinion."

If you are attorney, I apologize.

 

[dougspice]

I don't recommend this with Pro apps, because Software Update CAN cause a Hackintosh to have problems... and with the Pro apps Software Update is often necessary.

That said, I have been seeing a lot of sensible articles lately comparing the MacPro with the iMac, generally concluding that the iMac is far and away the better buy for most users.

But in any case there are going to be new product announcements and possibly pricing tomorrow, so I'd hold off until the dust has settled a bit.

 

[boulder]

Well there is some legal wrangling as to what constitutes a computer...is it the cpu, the cpu and keyboard and monitor? if I have a Mac can I not use other keyboards and still be a Mac? If I put in another video card is it not a Mac? My computer is Apple branded...my keyboard proves it. I doubt Apple is going to pursu this case...I DID buy the OS. It is basically a non-issue and the point is pretty moot.

As for my Hackintosh, I am building an awesome system that should be far faster than any Mac for half the price. If it fails I WILL be honest and post my problems here but I don't expect any. I have been building systems for years and know Macs pretty well. Logic will tell you that if you have the correct parts there is nothing Apple is doing to the hardware to make it magically Apple...it is the same hardware operating with the same voltages and configurations of any other system. People posting here may have run into systems not properly built, there is some hardware/drivers that don't play as well and if you don't research you are being a fool.