Building a Protools 8 Hd 2 compatible Leopard machine - Please review

[Noizyboy]

Hi there guys, I'm a newbie here. This is a great forum with a wealth of great info. I'm really glad I found it.

 

Well, I finally got tired of giving Apple and Digidesign $10,000 every two years to stay current. So I'm preparing to build my own machine that I can upgrade every two years for considerably less.

 

I read the hardware compatibility Wiki extensively and came up with the following list. Sorry if my questions are a littl redundant.......

 

I want to build a new machine to run protools 8 HD 2 with 2 PCI cards installed, one ilok with licenses, Leopard (or snow leopard), a Sata raid 1 configuration (System), and eventually a Sata Raid 1+0 for data. I also want to run dual DVI apple monitors from my single video card (Listed below).

 

As I said, I don't have to run Snow Leopard, although as I understand the processors will run faster with it. I don't think Protools is stable in Snow Leopard yet.....

 

Right now this whole setup already co-exsists on my G4 Dual 1.4 ghz, 1.5 gb ram, IDE Raid 1, so I want to build the new machine and test and tweak until it's stable.

 

Here's my wishlist;

 

 

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9650 - Retail

Model #:BX80569Q9650

Item #:N82E16819115130

 

$319.99 $319.99

 

ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Model #:P5Q Pro Turbo

Item #:N82E16813131377

 

$134.99 -$5.00 Instant $129.99

 

VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail

Model #:900244

Item #:N82E16814129113

 

$169.99 $169.99

 

 

hec X-Power Pro 600 600W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retail

Model #:X-Power Pro 600

Item #:N82E16817339025

 

$49.99 -$5.00 Instant $44.99

 

Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B LightScribe Support - OEM

Model #:AD-7241S-0B

Item #:N82E16827118032

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

 

$33.99 $33.99

 

 

COOLER MASTER GeminII S RR-CCH-PBU1-GP 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail

Model #:RR-CCH-PBU1-GP

Item #:N82E16835103046

 

$38.52 $38.52

 

 

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

Model #:F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK

Item #:N82E16820231166

Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy

 

$90.99 $181.98

 

 

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model #:WD3200AAJS

Item #:N82E16822136098

 

$47.99 $95.98

 

 

Update

 

NETGEAR WG111 v3 USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter - Retail

Model #:WG111

Item #:N82E16833150021

 

$39.99

 

How do you guys feel about this setup?

 

Can you recommend a good install and guide for this setup?

 

Thanks in advance for all your help!!!

 

I'm planning to order the parts later today! Wish me luck!!!!

 

 

 

Ant

[Zaap]

Right off the bat, I'd say look into an i7/DDR3 based machine, not socket 775/DDR2. Otherwise, you'll be looking at a full system 'upgrade' a lot sooner than you should reasonably expect, because you're buying tech that's already "on the way out" at purchase.

 

There are a number of threads here with i7 based setups that people have working.

 

If you do stick with socket 775, I'd highly recommend going with Gigabyte motherboards like the UD3P over the listed Asus.

[Noizyboy]

Right off the bat, I'd say look into an i7/DDR3 based machine, not socket 775/DDR2. Otherwise, you'll be looking at a full system 'upgrade' a lot sooner than you should reasonably expect, because you're buying tech that's already "on the way out" at purchase.

 

There are a number of threads here with i7 based setups that people have working.

 

If you do stick with socket 775, I'd highly recommend going with Gigabyte motherboards like the UD3P over the listed Asus.

 

Hey thanks for you reply......

 

I think my choices are a little dated because the WIKI hardware compatibility list may be a little old?

 

I just went through the list and found the most compatible components that were still in stock at newegg.com

 

Well, I actually just placed the order before you replied. If you think it's going to be a serious no go with the motherboard I listed, I'll cancel and get something else.

 

A big factor for me is finding a board that's compatible with two PCI slots next to each other.

[Noizyboy]

Right off the bat, I'd say look into an i7/DDR3 based machine, not socket 775/DDR2. Otherwise, you'll be looking at a full system 'upgrade' a lot sooner than you should reasonably expect, because you're buying tech that's already "on the way out" at purchase.

 

There are a number of threads here with i7 based setups that people have working.

 

If you do stick with socket 775, I'd highly recommend going with Gigabyte motherboards like the UD3P over the listed Asus.

 

 

So, I'm thinking about cancelling that earlier order. On hold right now. What do you think about this board;

 

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

With this CPU;

 

Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I7860 - Retail.

 

I'll also switch to DDR3 ram too.

[LogicalUser]

i5/i7 Lynnfield chips require a Socket 1156 motherboard (P55/P55M) and Dual channel DDR3

 

As opposed to the older (bloomfield?) i7s which were socket 1366 and triple channel DDR3, and required X58 motherboards

 

the EP45-UD3R is a socket 775 motherboard, it will only work for older Core 2 series chips

 

the hardware compatibility lists are definitely dated, I only ever use them for accessories & PCI cards tbh...

[Zaap]

So, I'm thinking about cancelling that earlier order. On hold right now. What do you think about this board;

 

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

With this CPU;

 

Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I7860 - Retail.

 

I'll also switch to DDR3 ram too.

 

As LogicalUser said, if you go with the UD3R board (a great board for Hackintosh) then stick with your original CPU and RAM choices; it won't work with either the i7 or DDR3.

 

That... or just switch to a compatible i7 based build (X58 mobo, i5 or i7 CPU and DDR3 RAM) from the ground up.

 

I still find the HCL lists useful, just not complete. It's always best to really scour these boards for current working builds before pulling the order trigger.

[Noizyboy]

As LogicalUser said, if you go with the UD3R board (a great board for Hackintosh) then stick with your original CPU and RAM choices; it won't work with either the i7 or DDR3.

 

That... or just switch to a compatible i7 based build (X58 mobo, i5 or i7 CPU and DDR3 RAM) from the ground up.

 

I still find the HCL lists useful, just not complete. It's always best to really scour these boards for current working builds before pulling the order trigger.

 

Hey thanks allot for the advice!

 

How about this new build?

 

 

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

Model #:BX80601920

Item #:N82E16819115202

 

$288.99 $288.99

 

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Model #:GA-EX58-UD3R

 

$198.99 -$10.00 Instant $188.99

 

 

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ - Retail

Model #:F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ

Item #:N82E16820231225

 

$149.99 $149.99

 

 

ASUS EN9600GT SILENT/2D/512MD3 GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail

Model #:EN9600GT SILENT/2D/5

Item #:N82E16814121324

 

$94.99 $94.99

 

 

Sunbeam AC9B-T Transparent Clear Acrylic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Model #:AC9B-T

Item #:N82E16811166033

 

$89.99 $89.99

 

 

Update

 

iStarUSA BPN-350SAS-RED 3x5.25" to 5x3.5" SATA/SAS Trayless Hot-Swap Backplane RAID Cage - OEM

Model #:BPN-350SAS-RED

Item #:N82E16816215083

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$99.99 $99.99

 

 

hec X-Power Pro 600 600W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retail

Model #:X-Power Pro 600

Item #:N82E16817339025

 

$49.99 -$5.00 Instant $44.99

 

 

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model #:WD3200AAJS

Item #:N82E16822136098

 

$47.99 $95.98

 

 

Update

 

Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B LightScribe Support - OEM

Model #:AD-7241S-0B

Item #:N82E16827118032

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$33.99 $33.99

 

 

Update

 

NETGEAR WG111 v3 USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter - Retail

Model #:WG111

Item #:N82E16833150021

 

$39.99 $39.99

 

 

EVERCOOL sidewinder STC-01 Cooling Grease - Retail

Model #:STC-01

Item #:N82E16835119060

 

$4.99

 

 

What do you guys think?

[LogicalUser]

cpu/mobo/ram look good

 

the video card should be compatible. not the most powerful card for the price, but I'm guessing silence beats power when working with audio.

 

beyond that, so long as you picked a compatible wireless card, its mostly just personal taste

I've never seen one of those clear acrylic block cases before IRL, hope you like it? lol

[Noizyboy]

cpu/mobo/ram look good

 

the video card should be compatible. not the most powerful card for the price, but I'm guessing silence beats power when working with audio.

 

beyond that, so long as you picked a compatible wireless card, its mostly just personal taste

I've never seen one of those clear acrylic block cases before IRL, hope you like it? lol

 

Actually, I don't care about noise, since I have a separate machine room at my studio, so I won't hear the CPU, no matter how loud it gets!

How about a video card that is great value, and super compatible, with dual DVI, for dual monitor support. Any suggestions?

 

Also, network cards. (actually I meant wireless networking, for internet access) I would prefer pcie, since I don't want to take up any of the pci slots. Or maybe usb? Any suggestions?

 

Won't it be possible to use the onboard Ethernet on the mobo? It's pretty important I get this to work, since I need the computer to be able to talk to my Control 24 protools control surface.

 

Once I get this info I'm going to make the order today.

 

Thanks so much for your help thus far. Life saver!

[Noizyboy]

Okay. Here's the final build. I changed the video card and usb wireless adapter, for two that I have read (via the forum) to work with SL and Leopard.

 

Put the order in just waiting for it all to arrive now.

 

I just wanted to check, do you think I'll be able to get the ethernet and audio working with this mobo, or will I have to order usb dongles or cards for this?

 

I've already downloaded a copy of iPC 10.5.6 to install Leopard. I'm going to test with this before I attempt to upgrade to SL.

 

I figure once I get the whole thing running, then I'll just make a clone of the HD, and put it aside, just incase any future updates break the install.

 

As for the transparent case.....LOL....I guess I just want to be able to admire the machines insides, besides....it has to sit next to my G5 tower, so it's got to look good! Haha!

 

i7 Protools Hd2 PCI rig hardware list.

 

1

Sunbeam AC9B-T Transparent Clear Acrylic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Item #: N82E16811166033

Standard Return Policy

$89.99

1

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Item #: N82E16813128375

Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

$198.99

$188.99

1

EVGA 512-P3-N944-LR GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Retail

Item #: N82E16814130389

VGA Standard Return Policy

$54.99

$49.99

1

iStarUSA BPN-350SAS-RED 3x5.25" to 5x3.5" SATA/SAS Trayless Hot-Swap Backplane RAID Cage - OEM

Item #: N82E16816215083

Standard Return Policy

$99.99

1

hec X-Power Pro 600 600W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retail

Item #: N82E16817339025

Standard Return Policy

$49.99

$44.99

1

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

Item #: N82E16819115202

CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

$288.99

1

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ - Retail

Item #: N82E16820231225

Memory Standard Return Policy

$149.99

2

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Item #: N82E16822136098

Standard Return Policy

$95.98

($47.99 ea)

1

Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B LightScribe Support - OEM

Item #: N82E16827118032

Standard Return Policy

$33.99

1

EDIMAX EW-7711UAn USB 2.0 Wireless nLITE 3dBi High Gain USB Adapter - Retail

Item #: N82E16833315086

Standard Return Policy

$34.99

$24.99

1

COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail

Item #: N82E16835103057

Standard Return Policy

$44.99

1

EVERCOOL sidewinder STC-01 Cooling Grease - Retail

Item #: N82E16835119060

Standard Return Policy

$4.99

 

Subtotal $1,117.87

[LogicalUser]

a quick google of the EX58-UD3R shows me a realtek 8111D for LAN (amazingly common) & a Realtek ALC888 for Audio (also very common). Both are the same as the new P55-UD3R, and the same audio as the older EP45-DS3L/UD3L/etc... I would say 80% of people here have a close variant of both chips on their board (ALC889a here)

 

achieving what real mac boards will do for audio is not hard, but real macs don't do analog 5.1/7.1 channel sound. If all you want is 2 channel analog sound, line in and digital in/out a la Mac Pro, not a problem, and is doable through a variety of methods.

 

Where the problem comes in is when people demand more than that just because the ports exist on the board.

 

100% functionality is from what i've seen impossible, by that i mean all ports on board active & working with a single config. the 6 analog jacks on back panel, digital in & out, front mic & headphone is just too many, everything i've read says there simply is not enough room in the config, something has to be disabled or remapped. With that said, it depends on what you need, and about 70-80% of the jacks active is possible

 

 

now, the ethernet. people have bitched about onboard realtek LAN for years. it pretty much works OOB, but only to a point. some people experience odd issues with bonjour networking with real macs on a local network, and for the longest time went with PCI or USB solutions to bypass the onboard. (lifehacker & many other guides go this route)

 

recently I've read a bunch about new bonjour fixes for snow leopard & gigabyte boards using the same or similar LAN that claim to fix the issue and provide 100% support, but I don't have any real macs on my network, so never bothered to test.

 

 

IMHO the ideal install at the moment is a vanilla SL 10.6.1/10.6.2 install with Chameleon & PC EFI 1.5 using graphicsenabler=yes for video, allowing the bootloader to do the LAN, and an edited DSDT file for audio. Very few kexts needed in /extras/, no changes to the actual OS install.

 

With that said, you can have OSX installed within an hour with that iPC disk, (complete with basic audio & ethernet) so it makes a good starting point.

[Noizyboy]

a quick google of the EX58-UD3R shows me a realtek 8111D for LAN (amazingly common) & a Realtek ALC888 for Audio (also very common). Both are the same as the new P55-UD3R, and the same audio as the older EP45-DS3L/UD3L/etc... I would say 80% of people here have a close variant of both chips on their board (ALC889a here)

 

achieving what real mac boards will do for audio is not hard, but real macs don't do analog 5.1/7.1 channel sound. If all you want is 2 channel analog sound, line in and digital in/out a la Mac Pro, not a problem, and is doable through a variety of methods.

 

Where the problem comes in is when people demand more than that just because the ports exist on the board.

 

100% functionality is from what i've seen impossible, by that i mean all ports on board active & working with a single config. the 6 analog jacks on back panel, digital in & out, front mic & headphone is just too many, everything i've read says there simply is not enough room in the config, something has to be disabled or remapped. With that said, it depends on what you need, and about 70-80% of the jacks active is possible

 

 

now, the ethernet. people have bitched about onboard realtek LAN for years. it pretty much works OOB, but only to a point. some people experience odd issues with bonjour networking with real macs on a local network, and for the longest time went with PCI or USB solutions to bypass the onboard. (lifehacker & many other guides go this route)

 

recently I've read a bunch about new bonjour fixes for snow leopard & gigabyte boards using the same or similar LAN that claim to fix the issue and provide 100% support, but I don't have any real macs on my network, so never bothered to test.

 

 

IMHO the ideal install at the moment is a vanilla SL 10.6.1/10.6.2 install with Chameleon & PC EFI 1.5 using graphicsenabler=yes for video, allowing the bootloader to do the LAN, and an edited DSDT file for audio. Very few kexts needed in /extras/, no changes to the actual OS install.

 

With that said, you can have OSX installed within an hour with that iPC disk, (complete with basic audio & ethernet) so it makes a good starting point.

 

Hey thanks for the sound advice! As I mentioned a very very big part of what I'm intending to use this setup for is Protools HD 2, so I really need to make my decision based on whichever setup will allow me to use primarily;

 

Ethernet Port (Needed for the Control 24 surface)

 

Both PCI slots (For the HD cards)

 

PCIe slot (For the graphics)

 

USB Ports (For ilok, keyboard, mouse, etc)

 

Stereo audio (to monitor system sounds)

 

As many of the boards SATA ports as possible (Hopefully 5, since I have a 5 drive trayless bay)

 

Rear eSata port (Incase I want to use external Sata)

 

Firewire Port (To interface with my legacy mac drives)

 

Everything else is secondary. I don't care about 7.1, or SPDIF outs, or audio in, since I have two $5,000 32 in and out protools A/D's that will handle the real audio. The onboard audio is really only so I can monitor the system sounds.

 

I won't need the ATA ports

 

I'm think I'm leaning towards going with the iPC 10.5.6 install, since Protools HD's compatibility with SL, even on a Mac running SL is pretty sketchy!

 

Leopard is rock solid with my existing setup;

 

Dual 1.4 ghz G4 PPC, 1.5 gigs of ram, 120 gb drive, Protools core PCI, 3 x Protools HD process PCI, Leopard 10.5.6 and Protools HD 8.0.1.

 

I'm going to sell the three PCI HD process cards and get 1 PCI HD Accel (three times the power so should be close to equivalent), so that I can have the same sort of DSP power with just the two PCI slots available.

 

What I have left over from the sale should pay for the bulk of this new system!

 

Then I'll start fooling around with remaining Pcie slots by installing a UAD quad or SSL card or both (if I'm brave enough).

 

Should hold me over for at least 3 years without another upgrade!

 

If all this works out (which I'm sure it will), I'm going to do it all over again with a dual i7 8 core machine to replace my ailing QUAD G5 Power Mac Logic Pro system!

[LogicalUser]

stereo analog audio will not be difficult at all, in fact should work OOB with a pre-packaged distro

 

as I said, onboard ethernet will work to about 95% OOB, the only caveats being some bonjour & real-mac networking quirks that are apparently solvable.

You should be able to get all the board's SATA active OOB, and the ESATA as well, at worst perhaps without OS-level hot-swap support

 

Firewire will work OOB, just do not try to use "Firewire Target Disk" mode with the machine under any circumstances. I've read at least four reports of people frying gigabyte motherboards by trying to use the onboard firewire with target disk mode (sparks, smoke, fire, etc....) Obviously there is some hardware or config difference that is causing the issue. It makes a lot of sense really, no other manufacturers offer a "boot your comp as an external drive" functionality via firewire, obviously they're using some non-standard aspect of the firewire spec to pull it off, and gigabyte's off the shelf parts will not comply.

[Zaap]

Firewire will work OOB, just do not try to use "Firewire Target Disk" mode with the machine under any circumstances. I've read at least four reports of people frying gigabyte motherboards by trying to use the onboard firewire with target disk mode (sparks, smoke, fire, etc....) Obviously there is some hardware or config difference that is causing the issue.

I second that.

 

I had a client blow up a hard drive and PSU using Target Disk mode to transfer files over from his old Mac. Luckily, the motherboard (a Gigabyte G31M-ES2L) and the FW PCI card itself were spared any harm. I assume that the PCI bus rather than built-in FW probably somehow saved both. Also luckily, Samsung replaced the blown hard drive with no questions asked.

 

FW Target Disk Mode is definitely one thing where I think a Hackintosh isn't equal to a real Mac.

[LogicalUser]

Interesting.... all of the disasters I read about were dealing with onboard firewire, its a shame that apparently PCI firewire is no better.

 

On the plus side, target disk mode isn't all that useful for someone with enough technical knowledge to be using a hackintosh anyways. I mean... I guess we'd use it for something if it worked, but somehow I cannot forsee it being a dealbreaker for anyone

[Noizyboy]

Interesting.... all of the disasters I read about were dealing with onboard firewire, its a shame that apparently PCI firewire is no better.

 

On the plus side, target disk mode isn't all that useful for someone with enough technical knowledge to be using a hackintosh anyways. I mean... I guess we'd use it for something if it worked, but somehow I cannot forsee it being a dealbreaker for anyone

 

 

Well, thinking about this, it makes allot of sense, since the firewire bus supplies on bus power for smaller firewire peripherals, so pluging two firewire busses into each other would certainly cause problems, since both would be supplying power. Kinda like plugin two computers into each other.

 

I guess apple has some sort of way to disable the local firewire's on bus power when in target disk mode......I guess, or they have someway of telling the local firewire to act as a fire wire > ATA bridge. this is essentially what it needs to do in order to show the internal drive as an external disk.

 

Either way, thanks allot for the warning! I will steer clear of target disk mode!!!

 

I use local networking to achieve the same thing, but it seems this won't work either.

 

How about over wi-fi? Does this still work?

[LogicalUser]

I would try using onboard ethernet networking before I'd go wi-fi, the bonjour issues with onboard are not that bad, some people report success, or are able to connect in only one direction (real mac can see hack, hack cant see real & vice versa)

 

that, or try to connect using a protocol other than apple's local networking? (local router-provided IP sharing perhaps)

 

Wi-fi should not have any issues other than slow speed so long as its a compatible card

[Noizyboy]

I would try using onboard ethernet networking before I'd go wi-fi, the bonjour issues with onboard are not that bad, some people report success, or are able to connect in only one direction (real mac can see hack, hack cant see real & vice versa)

 

that, or try to connect using a protocol other than apple's local networking? (local router-provided IP sharing perhaps)

 

Wi-fi should not have any issues other than slow speed so long as its a compatible card

 

 

Hey, so my parts arrive tomorrow, and so I just wanted to check. Is there a way to install Leopard vanilla with the EX58 UD3R mobo, i7 920 Bloomfield, and EVGA Geforce 9400 GT?

 

I want to maximize compatibility with the Protools HD PCI cards......Or does this matter?

 

Is the iPC iso using a vanilla kernel?

 

thanks!

[Zaap]

Personally, I would recommend doing a retail install. Snow Leo is only $30- may as well go legit. (Provided the hardware you went with has retail/10.6.x support).

 

It's been my experience that any PCI card that works in a MacPro, will work in a Hackintosh that's set up properly. (Yes, that would include vanilla kernel.)

 

I'm not up on i7 install methods having never Hackintoshed one myself (just 775-based builds so far) but you should be able to find a decent guide someone has posted using the same hardware.

 

Let us know how it goes.

[Noizyboy]

Personally, I would recommend doing a retail install. Snow Leo is only $30- may as well go legit. (Provided the hardware you went with has retail/10.6.x support).

 

It's been my experience that any PCI card that works in a MacPro, will work in a Hackintosh that's set up properly. (Yes, that would include vanilla kernel.)

 

I'm not up on i7 install methods having never Hackintoshed one myself (just 775-based builds so far) but you should be able to find a decent guide someone has posted using the same hardware.

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

 

Hey Zap, thanks for the advice. I actually already own every Mac OS since OS 8.6. I have retail versions of both Snow Leopard and Leopard. I would love to just use these with a little tweaking.

 

I'm going to have a look around and see if there are any threads on how to install Leopard retail. I have two drives, so I'll start with Leopard and then I'll try Snow Leopard.

 

 

thanks.......

[Noizyboy]

Hi there guys, I'm a newbie here. This is a great forum with a wealth of great info. I'm really glad I found it.

 

Well, I finally got tired of giving Apple and Digidesign $10,000 every two years to stay current. So I'm preparing to build my own machine that I can upgrade every two years for considerably less.

 

I read the hardware compatibility Wiki extensively and came up with the following list. Sorry if my questions are a littl redundant.......

 

I want to build a new machine to run protools 8 HD 2 with 2 PCI cards installed, one ilok with licenses, Leopard (or snow leopard), a Sata raid 1 configuration (System), and eventually a Sata Raid 1+0 for data. I also want to run dual DVI apple monitors from my single video card (Listed below).

 

As I said, I don't have to run Snow Leopard, although as I understand the processors will run faster with it. I don't think Protools is stable in Snow Leopard yet.....

 

Right now this whole setup already co-exsists on my G4 Dual 1.4 ghz, 1.5 gb ram, IDE Raid 1, so I want to build the new machine and test and tweak until it's stable.

 

Here's my wishlist;

 

 

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9650 - Retail

Model #:BX80569Q9650

Item #:N82E16819115130

 

$319.99 $319.99

 

ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Model #:P5Q Pro Turbo

Item #:N82E16813131377

 

$134.99 -$5.00 Instant $129.99

 

VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail

Model #:900244

Item #:N82E16814129113

 

$169.99 $169.99

 

 

hec X-Power Pro 600 600W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retail

Model #:X-Power Pro 600

Item #:N82E16817339025

 

$49.99 -$5.00 Instant $44.99

 

Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B LightScribe Support - OEM

Model #:AD-7241S-0B

Item #:N82E16827118032

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

 

$33.99 $33.99

 

 

COOLER MASTER GeminII S RR-CCH-PBU1-GP 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail

Model #:RR-CCH-PBU1-GP

Item #:N82E16835103046

 

$38.52 $38.52

 

 

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail

Model #:F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK

Item #:N82E16820231166

Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy

 

$90.99 $181.98

 

 

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model #:WD3200AAJS

Item #:N82E16822136098

 

$47.99 $95.98

 

 

Update

 

NETGEAR WG111 v3 USB 2.0 Wireless Adapter - Retail

Model #:WG111

Item #:N82E16833150021

 

$39.99

 

How do you guys feel about this setup?

 

Can you recommend a good install and guide for this setup?

 

Thanks in advance for all your help!!!

 

I'm planning to order the parts later today! Wish me luck!!!!

 

 

 

Ant

 

 

Personally, I would recommend doing a retail install. Snow Leo is only $30- may as well go legit. (Provided the hardware you went with has retail/10.6.x support).

 

It's been my experience that any PCI card that works in a MacPro, will work in a Hackintosh that's set up properly. (Yes, that would include vanilla kernel.)

 

I'm not up on i7 install methods having never Hackintoshed one myself (just 775-based builds so far) but you should be able to find a decent guide someone has posted using the same hardware.

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

 

Well, I just got through with building and testing the system. Took two days. I ended up using Empire EFI and Vanilla SL disk, with Kexts for audio and EFI string for Video.

 

The whole system works great!!!

 

Just a couple of small issues.

 

 

1. My usb ilok (used for authorizing plugins) keeps on asking me to re-authorize every time I start protools. I have hundreds of plugins so this is a huge inconvenience. It's almost as if the license are not being updated once I authorize.

 

2. Ethernet. I can not get protools to search for ethernet controllers using the onboard ethernet on this Mobo. Every time I do I get an error message! Usually you just hit scan and it find the controller connected to the ethernet port.

 

this controller costs like 10K, so it's kinda of important to get it going! LOL

 

3. I don't seem to be able to get the system to recognize the new sata drive I have plugged into port 1. The system is on port 0, and the DVD burner is on port 4. Both these work fine.

 

Aside from these it's a wonderful world!

 

 

I'm going to try and install to a different drive, using your suggestions for 10.6.1 (earlier in this thread later)

 

Any help would be much appreciated!

[tigeba]

I am using this and it works perfectly:

 

OSX 10.5.7

PT HD3 PCI

Gigabyte EP45-UD3R ( 1.1 with the newest R11 bios )

PNY GTS 250

Some quad core chip I had lying around.

 

I'm using a vanilla install with some kexts based on this thread

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=174385

 

Everything works correctly, iLok stuff, ethernet, onboard audio ( not that I really care .. )

 

I will probably try bumping up to Snow Leopard after they get a couple more compatible releases out the door.

 

Oh, if you want to get 3 cards going, you have to be willing to get your hands dirty a bit. I had to take the heatsink off the chipset and cut it down a bit with a hacksaw to make room for one of the cards, since they are so large. It is pretty tight but you can make it work.

 

Just thought I would add this in case anyone is considering it.

[Zaap]

Just a couple of small issues.

 

 

1. My usb ilok (used for authorizing plugins) keeps on asking me to re-authorize every time I start protools. I have hundreds of plugins so this is a huge inconvenience. It's almost as if the license are not being updated once I authorize.

 

2. Ethernet. I can not get protools to search for ethernet controllers using the onboard ethernet on this Mobo. Every time I do I get an error message! Usually you just hit scan and it find the controller connected to the ethernet port.

 

this controller costs like 10K, so it's kinda of important to get it going! LOL

Sounds to me like an smbios and/or DSDT issue. In your setup, did you set up a proper DSDT file? Ditto smbios?

 

I know that sometimes the lack of one or the other or both of these can cause odd little issues. When I first set my main system up, sleep and logmein wouldn't work until I put the right smbios file in place. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure it's what gives your machine a unique ID that allows things like hardware keys to work.

 

I wish I could tell you exactly how to set up either, but I'm no expert. I've always followed a guide that's provided or walked me through both. Check with others who have the same hardware you're using and if there's a prepatched smbios file and how to set up and patch a DSDT. All of this of course, assuming you haven't already.

 

 

 

I don't seem to be able to get the system to recognize the new sata drive I have plugged into port 1. The system is on port 0, and the DVD burner is on port 4. Both these work fine.

That's weird. First off, do you have orange hard drive icons, or the normal silver? Orange icons would indicate your drive controller isn't really set up properly and is seeing the hard drive(s) as external.

 

Are you using the same color of SATA connectors? Some boards have a few ports of a different color that usually indicate another controller, such as eSATA. I'd suggest just trying the other connectors until one works.

[Noizyboy]

Sounds to me like an smbios and/or DSDT issue. In your setup, did you set up a proper DSDT file? Ditto smbios?

 

I know that sometimes the lack of one or the other or both of these can cause odd little issues. When I first set my main system up, sleep and logmein wouldn't work until I put the right smbios file in place. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure it's what gives your machine a unique ID that allows things like hardware keys to work.

 

I wish I could tell you exactly how to set up either, but I'm no expert. I've always followed a guide that's provided or walked me through both. Check with others who have the same hardware you're using and if there's a prepatched smbios file and how to set up and patch a DSDT. All of this of course, assuming you haven't already.

 

 

 

 

That's weird. First off, do you have orange hard drive icons, or the normal silver? Orange icons would indicate your drive controller isn't really set up properly and is seeing the hard drive(s) as external.

 

Are you using the same color of SATA connectors? Some boards have a few ports of a different color that usually indicate another controller, such as eSATA. I'd suggest just trying the other connectors until one works.

 

 

Hey so, I thought I would start a thread to verify people's experiences with using Protools hardware with their Hackintoshes. In particular, regarding the PCI - PCIe cards.

 

There are a couple of threads out there which touch on this, but none more recent than 2007, and the info is pretty inconclusive.

 

Please post your motherboards, video cards, and processor combos and results.

 

If you are going to try these with 10.6 you should definitely use Protools HD 8.0.3pr, because nothing works before this version on any machine running Snow Leopard.

 

I have pretty extensive experience using Protools on Mac, so I for sure could help if you do run into any problems.

 

 

 

thanks......

 

Hey so, just to let you know that I have completed building my i7 2.66, GA EX58 UD3R, Protools HD 2 system, and everything is working flawlessly!

 

Details:

 

 

I installed using EX58 Mobo Patch script. I simply followed the great guide. See http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=185097

 

Here's my original thread with the build list. http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...00534&st=20

 

Now running OS X 10.6, PC EFI 10.3

 

Protools HD 8.0.3pr

Protools Core + Accel PCI

A wide variety of plugins (TDM & RTAS)

Dual monitors - video card is EVGA Geforce 9400 GT 512 (Dual DVI) - used OSX Tools to create custom EFI string

Control 24 control surface via on board ethernet

Core Audio

Internal Audio - via vodoo's kext

Internet via usb dongle

Firewire

USB

 

Thanks so much to Logical User and all the others that helped me get this going!

 

 

 

 

 

Hey so, just to let you know that I have completed building my i7 2.66, GA EX58 UD3R, Protools HD 2 system, and everything is working flawlessly!

 

Details:

 

 

I installed using EX58 Mobo Patch script. I simply followed the great guide. See http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=185097

 

Here's my original thread with the build list. http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...00534&st=20

 

Now running OS X 10.6, PC EFI 10.3

 

Protools HD 8.0.3pr

Protools Core + Accel PCI

A wide variety of plugins (TDM & RTAS)

Dual monitors - video card is EVGA Geforce 9400 GT 512 (Dual DVI) - used OSX Tools to create custom EFI string

Control 24 control surface via on board ethernet

Core Audio

Internal Audio - via vodoo's kext

Internet via usb dongle

Firewire

USB

 

Thanks so much to Logical User and all the others that helped me get this going!

 

Just a though, do you think I could use carbon copy cloner to back up this system, or is there a better solution?.....besides time machine. I want to archive the system rather than constantly backing up changes.

[LogicalUser]

carbon copy cloner should work great for an OSX install volume itself.

 

where I'm a little fuzzy regarding Carbon Copy Cloner and hackintoshes is when dealing with the volume containing chameleon, be it located on the EFI partition, on an external USB (flash) drive or on your OSX install volume itself.

 

If you used an install method that places chameleon on EFI or on your OSX install volume I'm unsure if CCC will successfuly back them up & restore a bootable bootloader.

 

I have yet to attempt restoring the image I made of my chameleon USB stick onto a fresh stick, thus far I've only used the image as a backup, and manually did the whole chameleon install magic part via terminal