Build a Perfect Mac for less than $250 |
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Build a Perfect Mac for less than $250 |
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MrFlooD
InsanelyMac Protégé
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 Jul 2 2008, 04:53 PM Post #1
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I have compiled this tutorial so anyone can have a perfect Mac for under $250.
Step 1: Hardware The only crucial component is the Motherboard. Feel free to mix and match other components to your liking. $69.99 (TigerDirect.com) Intel D945GCLF Motherboard/Includes 1.6Ghz Intel Atom CPU - Onboard Sound, Video, Lan, USB, SATA, IDE, Sleep, Reboot, Shutdown all work out of the box. $39.99 (NewEgg.com) Coolermaster Elite 340 Black MATX $29.99 (TigerDirect.com) Ultra LS350 Lifetime Series 350W Power Supply $20.99 (NewEgg.com) Corsair 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz Memory $39.99 (NewEgg.com) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 80GB Hard Drive $23.99 (NewEgg.com) Lite-On DH-20A4P-04 SuperAllwrite OEM DVD Burner Grand Total: $224.94 + Shipping Step 2: Software 1) Kalaway 10.5.2 Install DVD - Use the OSX disk utility to partition and format the drive. Be sure to format as MBR - Close Disk Utility and select the newly partitioned drive to install on. - Select Customize and go to Patches. Now select Time Machine Fix - Start instillation and relax - When instillation is finished, resolution will be locked at 1024x768. We will fix this in a later step. 2) Kalaway 10.5.3 Combo Update **No Longer Needed - See Bellow to upgrade straight to 10.5.5 - First install the 10.5.3 update included in the package. DO NOT RESTART when finished - Second install the 10.5.3 Kernel update included in the package. leave everything defult, which means both boxes unchecked. You can now safely restart 3) Apple Software Update 10.5.4 **No Longer Needed - See Bellow to upgrade straight to 10.5.5 - You can now use the built in apple software update to bump up to Leopard 10.5.4. You can also install any other updates listed. This step assumes you followed my instructions and are still using the vanilla Kernel. 4) Apple Software Update 10.5.5 - Using Biketown Method - Visit http://mysticus.titanous.com/update.html and download the Pre/Post Installer Patches and Combo Update 10.5.5 directly from Apple - Run Biketowns Pre-Installer Patch. Close when done. - Run the official 10.5.5 Combo update you downloaded from Apple. When Finished DO NOT RESTART. Force Quit installer (Click Apple on top left and select "Force Quit") - Run Biketowns Post-Installer Patch **This can take a long time, do not worry it is normal** - Restart the Computer - After the first restart the PC will hang at the grey apple screen. This is normal. Let this run for 30 seconds and manually restart again. OSX should now boot. 5) Graphics Fix - I would like to thank "Charles vdg" for posting this fix in the InsanelyMac forums. Download the GMA 950 Kext package bellow and install the two included .Kext files. You can use Kexthelper if you are not comfortable installing manually. Link to GMA 950 Kext Package http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=29965 Link to KextHelper http://www.cheetha.net/Kext_Helper/Software.html - After a quick restart you should now have full resolution and graphic support. Step 3: Miscellaneous This section is for small fixes that may or may not affect you. 1) Networking Problem: Losing Network after waking up from sleep mode Fix: Change network setting to DHCP Manual and assign a manual IP address. This should resolve the problem 2) Audio Problem: Microphone input does not work Fix: No fix currently 3) Restart Problem: After upgrading to Leopard 10.5.4, the computer hangs when restarting Fix: No fix currently I hope this tutorial is able to help anyone looking to build an affordable Mac. Please feel free to contribute with new found problems or solutions. Cheers, |
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MrFlooD Build a Perfect Mac for less than $250 Jul 2 2008, 04:53 PM
maclinux Nice little tutorial, but unless I'm blind, it... Jul 2 2008, 06:05 PM
MrFlooD QUOTE (maclinux @ Jul 2 2008, 06:05 PM) N... Jul 2 2008, 06:22 PM Dammacx Hmmm, this might be a good build for a newby like ... Jul 2 2008, 09:16 PM hashholly Does the 950 package fix the fixed resolution AND ... Jul 2 2008, 09:52 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (hashholly @ Jul 2 2008, 09:52 PM) ... Jul 2 2008, 10:35 PM orakle Great tutorial. You might want to add a note about... Jul 3 2008, 04:02 AM MrFlooD QUOTE (orakle @ Jul 3 2008, 04:02 AM) Gre... Jul 3 2008, 10:59 AM MrFlooD orakle When you installed the Kernel update did yo... Jul 3 2008, 12:07 PM orakle QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 3 2008, 06:59 AM) Ma... Jul 3 2008, 12:20 PM thefinalprophecy Is your hard drive plugged into the SATA port or t... Jul 3 2008, 04:36 AM orakle QUOTE (thefinalprophecy @ Jul 3 2008, 12... Jul 3 2008, 04:48 AM Hellzone_Bringer of pain Great Find for that price. Might as well use a med... Jul 3 2008, 04:53 AM bibendum I've put together a similar list - $202.9... Jul 3 2008, 05:04 AM MrFlooD I am new to the OSX86 scene, so I am unsure if the... Jul 3 2008, 12:31 PM orakle Thanks for your help! Everything works now. Po... Jul 4 2008, 03:34 AM completing Wow.. the price is tempting.
I can't believe ... Jul 4 2008, 04:36 AM biasx31 amazing! Everything working fine except mic in... Jul 4 2008, 12:47 PM sklarsky sounds like a great machine...two questions. 1) do... Jul 4 2008, 02:41 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (sklarsky @ Jul 4 2008, 02:41 PM) s... Jul 4 2008, 04:43 PM Cave Man QUOTE (sklarsky @ Jul 4 2008, 02:41 PM) 2... Jul 5 2008, 02:24 AM biasx31 60w should do the job. at least in windows 720p wo... Jul 4 2008, 03:42 PM AK2007 QUOTE (biasx31 @ Jul 4 2008, 03:42 PM) 60... Jul 8 2008, 09:36 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (AK2007 @ Jul 8 2008, 09:36 PM) Tha... Jul 8 2008, 10:11 PM lh99 QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 8 2008, 06:11 PM) Do... Jul 8 2008, 10:59 PM AK2007 QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 8 2008, 10:11 PM) Do... Jul 8 2008, 11:47 PM lh99 QUOTE (AK2007 @ Jul 8 2008, 07:47 PM) Goo... Jul 9 2008, 01:33 AM macboots all i can say is wow. this is really something gre... Jul 4 2008, 05:41 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (macboots @ Jul 4 2008, 05:41 PM) a... Jul 4 2008, 05:58 PM macboots QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 4 2008, 02:58 PM) I ... Jul 4 2008, 06:38 PM xSNOWCAT Wow i was building my computer and now i'll do... Jul 4 2008, 06:52 PM NickF123 Doesn't that dvd burner only have generic driv... Jul 4 2008, 08:08 PM MrFlooD The Atom has hyper threading so is able to handle ... Jul 4 2008, 08:43 PM xSNOWCAT QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 4 2008, 04:43 PM) Th... Jul 4 2008, 09:04 PM anibalin Great thread I think cheap ass components should b... Jul 4 2008, 09:19 PM macboots did somebody say youtube video? haha not relly tho... Jul 4 2008, 10:06 PM defn Is there a similar mother board with a bit more sp... Jul 4 2008, 10:47 PM macboots hey guys what about firewire? the mobo doesn't... Jul 5 2008, 01:30 AM MrFlooD Alright, so light room has been installed and test... Jul 5 2008, 03:25 PM Cave Man QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 5 2008, 03:25 PM) I ... Jul 5 2008, 04:33 PM macboots great news that lightroom runs fine. guess its a b... Jul 5 2008, 04:46 PM Cave Man QUOTE (macboots @ Jul 5 2008, 04:46 PM) g... Jul 5 2008, 05:35 PM lh99 Thanks for putting together this guide! I just... Jul 5 2008, 11:32 PM lh99 QUOTE (lh99 @ Jul 5 2008, 07:32 PM) I am ... Jul 9 2008, 02:13 AM urig-herb I've got the system running perfectly. Everyth... Jul 6 2008, 02:20 AM MrFlooD QUOTE (urig-herb @ Jul 6 2008, 02:20... Jul 6 2008, 02:42 AM urig-herb type "uname -a" in the terminal to get k... Jul 6 2008, 03:18 AM clockworx Does sleep work? I guess I could worry about Speed... Jul 6 2008, 03:00 PM maccompaq Mr Flood, please tell me the best place to get Kal... Jul 6 2008, 03:28 PM MrFlooD Time Machine was on all last night and zero proble... Jul 6 2008, 04:42 PM urig-herb QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 6 2008, 06:42 PM) Up... Jul 7 2008, 12:30 AM MrFlooD QUOTE (urig-herb @ Jul 7 2008, 12:30... Jul 7 2008, 01:42 AM clockworx QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 7 2008, 01:42 AM) Gl... Jul 7 2008, 12:14 PM DigitalNinja So I bought this system with 1 GB ram. SATA 250gb... Jul 7 2008, 07:36 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (DigitalNinja @ Jul 7 2008, 07:36 P... Jul 7 2008, 07:55 PM DigitalNinja Hmm... Does anyone have an idea of what the error ... Jul 7 2008, 08:32 PM MrFlooD Sweet! installed the patch and now it works pe... Jul 7 2008, 10:48 PM AK2007 QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 7 2008, 10:48 PM) Sw... Jul 11 2008, 02:23 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (AK2007 @ Jul 11 2008, 02:23 PM) Yo... Jul 11 2008, 05:35 PM DigitalNinja I'm using a HDD that already had stuff on it. ... Jul 7 2008, 10:53 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (DigitalNinja @ Jul 7 2008, 10:53 P... Jul 8 2008, 01:56 AM vbetts Here's a question though, how does the Atom pl... Jul 8 2008, 02:21 AM MrFlooD QUOTE (vbetts @ Jul 8 2008, 02:21 AM) Her... Jul 8 2008, 12:14 PM AK2007 Where do you guys see the "TimeMachineFix_ion... Jul 8 2008, 05:09 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (AK2007 @ Jul 8 2008, 05:09 PM) Whe... Jul 8 2008, 05:13 PM AK2007 QUOTE (MrFlooD @ Jul 8 2008, 05:13 PM) Sc... Jul 8 2008, 08:11 PM 2twisty I just built this machine yesterday for a new Haci... Jul 8 2008, 08:03 PM SUBnet192 QUOTE (2twisty @ Jul 8 2008, 04:03 PM) I ... Jul 9 2008, 02:51 AM 2twisty I had the same problem. It seems to happen when a... Jul 8 2008, 08:14 PM MrFlooD Thanks for the update guys.
I have updated the Tu... Jul 8 2008, 08:46 PM 2twisty Have any of you tried using VMWare or Parallels wi... Jul 9 2008, 04:39 AM AK2007 QUOTE (2twisty @ Jul 9 2008, 04:39 AM) Ha... Jul 9 2008, 12:03 PM Honda Boy I have GPT and Chameleon EFI both working great. I... Jul 9 2008, 05:22 AM 2twisty We tried a fresh install, also. It just hammers t... Jul 9 2008, 12:25 PM AK2007 QUOTE (2twisty @ Jul 9 2008, 12:25 PM) We... Jul 9 2008, 12:47 PM 2twisty We're running 2GB, too.
The only difference i... Jul 9 2008, 12:54 PM danielmramos This all sounds like a really cool build. It sort... Jul 9 2008, 02:23 PM bibendum QUOTE (danielmramos @ Jul 9 2008, 02:23 P... Jul 10 2008, 01:25 AM MrFlooD I have updated the tutorial with the Time Machine ... Jul 9 2008, 10:51 PM urgonah8me GUys I reallly want to try this! But I want to... Jul 9 2008, 11:11 PM lh99 QUOTE (urgonah8me @ Jul 9 2008, 07:11 PM)... Jul 9 2008, 11:24 PM urgonah8me QUOTE (lh99 @ Jul 10 2008, 12:24 AM) You... Jul 10 2008, 07:57 AM MrFlooD QUOTE (urgonah8me @ Jul 9 2008, 11:11 PM)... Jul 9 2008, 11:31 PM kens97sto171 Hey all, Just wanted to update on my $250 Hac... Jul 10 2008, 06:50 AM clockworx QUOTE (kens97sto171 @ Jul 10 2008, 06:50 ... Jul 10 2008, 12:28 PM 2twisty NOTE: We installed VMWare Fusion 2.0 Beta, which ... Jul 10 2008, 02:02 PM rspam Hi,
I just installed Leopard according to your de... Jul 10 2008, 03:52 PM MrFlooD QUOTE (rspam @ Jul 10 2008, 03:52 PM) Hi,... Jul 10 2008, 05:12 PM calais86 Has anyone who's put together one of these not... Jul 11 2008, 01:31 AM AK2007 QUOTE (calais86 @ Jul 11 2008, 01:31 AM) ... Jul 11 2008, 01:04 PM calais86 QUOTE (AK2007 @ Jul 11 2008, 09:04 AM) Wh... Jul 12 2008, 02:06 AM 2twisty http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=6... Jul 11 2008, 05:19 PM toxicdrift did any of you guys manage the onboard audio 2 wor... Jul 11 2008, 05:58 PM AK2007 QUOTE (toxicdrift @ Jul 11 2008, 05:58 PM... Jul 11 2008, 07:54 PM maccompaq I have tried twice to burn the Kalyway 10.5.2 ISO ... Jul 11 2008, 07:16 PM shootingfreak101 I'm thinking of doing a similar build. Do any ... Jul 11 2008, 08:12 PM maccompaq I just happened to remember, I have Roxio Easy Med... Jul 12 2008, 12:45 AM MrFlooD QUOTE (maccompaq @ Jul 12 2008, 12:45 AM)... Jul 12 2008, 01:07 AM kens97sto171 Well, I got Parallels to work, but the Netflix Ins... Jul 12 2008, 12:49 AM shootingfreak101 I am going to do a very similar build.Mr. Flood, D... Jul 12 2008, 01:44 AM   |
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