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Building custom Hackintosh: hardware recommendations

Racher

By Racher,
in OSx86 10.4 (Tiger)

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Aufgedyng
Aufgedyng
Posted
Posted

Thank you very much for the guide Nargot, i'm going to dedicate this weekend to this project ;)

 

I agree with other posters that it would be great to own a real stationary mac, I have a Macbook Pro but I have not dared to mess with the settings on it to much since its my first year as a mac user.

 

Building a Hackintosh is a really good way to learn more about OSX.

 

Thanks again Nargot, hopefully I'll post a success story later.

 

 

its pretty straight forward (after i worked it out)

note: make sure you have the JAS 10.4.8 patched with the 1st ppf (i think its called JAS10.4.8v1) and your ide dvd drive will work, i cant verify this will work with other versions.

 

option 1

if you want windows and os X it is easiest to have two hdd.

linux is not easy to get working on this chipset.

 

make sure the ide jumper settings are correct, see below

 

what i used

ide (SLAVE)- DVD rom for osx and windows

ide (MASTER) - hdd for windows

sata (orange) - hdd for osx

 

this is all off the top of my head (i think i've posted it before thought so search for my posts, there are not many here)

 

1st - install mobo, cpu, ram

if you are dual booting install two hdd (its just easier in the long run if things go pear shaped)

u will probably need an ide drive and setup bios to IDE only (sata wont work out of the box)

make sure the HDD you want to install windows on is set to master on the IDE chain

 

BIOS - under integrated peripherals

ACHI - disabled

JMicron - IDE

 

install XP first

install XP SP2

install all the gigabyte ich8 drivers

shutdown

 

plug in a sata drive into the ORANGE sata port for osx

enter bios - set achi to enabled (thats the ich8 for the sata drive)

boot into the JAS 10.4.8 v1 (you need the ppf1 patched disc for best compatability)

format the SATA drive with disk utility

install osx - select custom install - select intel specific patch. dont install anything else.

reboot

osx will probably now boot

 

 

i cant remember exactly how to boot back into windows but it is basicly as follows

 

to boot back into windows you will need to disable the achi ports in bios again to force windows to boot

boot into windows

install Acronis director suite

install bootloader

reboot

enter bios enable achi

boot into windows, open acronis bootloader and detect the osx partition (it will be called "unknown operating system")

 

you should now be able to dual boot

 

option 2 OSX only

plug dvd drive into ide

plug hdd into sata (orange port)

BIOS

enable the ACHI (ich8 ports)

set everything else as enabled install osx as previously described

 

final bits

install natit/titan after OSX installation as required for your graphics card

install the ALC888 audio drivers (do a search)

line in audio doesnt work and i havn't tried to fix it yet

 

 

 

forgive the instructions if there is an error. The gist is, it is an easy motherboard to install osx onto with the JAS 10.4.8v1 DVD. It is very stable and i can help further if needed.

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boo50
boo50
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Posted (edited)

and again and again

 

anyone can told me the main part in any computer ?

i think it's the MOBO !!

 

what you are want to build ?? - hackintosh ?? - so you have no choice with mobo

for what getting not natively supported 965 chipset ?? also as not 100% compatible GigaByte mobo??

 

take INTEL BAD AXE !

 

OC'ing much better than gigabyte. and 100% compatible with OSX (975 chipset with ich7, network, usb, FW, as i know sound too - but i doesn't test it - i have external soundcard).

 

i just recommend anyone who need HACKINTOSH to go with INTEL mobo.

D975XBX[2] or D945GCL. no more mobos at the moment for perfect C2D hackintosh.

Edited by boo50
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Aufgedyng
Aufgedyng
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Hey Nargot,

 

I have just put my components together and tried 10.4.8, after installing

 

Network does not work, did you use any special drivers?

 

Should i install the Titan on the install DVD or download another Titan release for my 7900GS?

 

Thanks!

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nargot
nargot
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install natit. install it by command line. chown/chmod it delete the extentions prefs. i'll just find my notes...

 

install natit

drop the natit extention into /System/Library/Extensions/

open terminal

 

sudo -s

chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/Natit.kext

chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/Extensions/Natit.kext

Exit Terminal

From /System/Library/ delete Extensions.kextcache and Extensions.mkext

Restart the computer.

 

My network worked without modification.

 

Here is my info

AppleYukon:

 

Version: 1.0.7

Last Modified: 9/08/06 12:42 PM

Get Info String: Apple Yukon Ethernet 1.0.7b3, Copyright 2006 Apple Computer Inc, and Marvell

Location: /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleYukon.kext

kext Version: 1.0.7b3

Load Address: 0x3b0ac000

Valid: Yes

Authentic: Yes

Dependencies: Satisfied

Integrity: Correct

 

what you are want to build ?? - hackintosh ?? - so you have no choice with mobo

for what getting not natively supported 965 chipset ?? also as not 100% compatible GigaByte mobo??

 

OC'ing much better than gigabyte. and 100% compatible with OSX (975 chipset with ich7, network, usb, FW, as i know sound too - but i doesn't test it - i have external soundcard).

 

i just recommend anyone who need HACKINTOSH to go with INTEL mobo.

D975XBX[2] or D945GCL. no more mobos at the moment for perfect C2D hackintosh.

 

 

everything on DQ6 except audio in works, i use a usb soundcard also...

I havn't OC'd any othere mobo before but, OC'ing is a piece of cake on this board , i can get my measly little e6300 1.83 ghz to 3.15 ghz without any trouble.

no mobo will be perfect, the intel mobos u listed don't use EFI ... so nothing except for a real mac mobo will work 100%. Making a hackintosh is a hobby so using and making hardware away from the intel 945/975 specification work is more of an achievement.

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Zulu.Walker
Zulu.Walker
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Posted (edited)

I consider my rig to be somewhat close to perfect, I have everything working except the last two SATA controllers on the mobo. Check my sig, I even have 5.1/7.1 multichannel sound coming off the board. I load my WinXP SP2 partition on another drive in Parallels without any problems or corruption, I use Apple Pro Apps, and I'm having a blast gaming (even with the small amount of titles available). I don't have Front Row (VLC does the 5.1), I autoupdate with Apple, and I load from BIOS to desktop in under 25seconds. I've worked with a PowerMac G4 before, and this feels much faster than that. I just do two things after post-install: modify the AppleYukon.kext and install SkippyRetard's ALC883 audio driver for multichannel audio with working line-in/mic. Overall, I haven't even thought about booting back into Windows unless I have to work with Avid (which is why I still have my PCI-RAID even if it's not working in OSX).

 

And the funny thing is... no one can even recommend my mobo, they say it's the most incompatible with all the i9xx chipsets... but I'm living proof that everything works :) And I am having a BLAST... it's all thanks to the helpful people of this forum! :)

Edited by Zulu.Walker
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nargot
nargot
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Posted
I consider my rig to be somewhat close to perfect, I have everything working except the last two SATA controllers on the mobo. Check my sig, I even have 5.1/7.1 multichannel sound coming off the board. I load my WinXP SP2 partition on another drive in Parallels without any problems or corruption, I use Apple Pro Apps, and I'm having a blast gaming (even with the small amount of titles available). I don't have Front Row (VLC does the 5.1), I autoupdate with Apple, and I load from BIOS to desktop in under 25seconds. I've worked with a PowerMac G4 before, and this feels much faster than that. I just do two things after post-install: modify the AppleYukon.kext and install SkippyRetard's ALC883 audio driver for multichannel audio with working line-in/mic. Overall, I haven't even thought about booting back into Windows unless I have to work with Avid (which is why I still have my PCI-RAID even if it's not working in OSX).

 

And the funny thing is... no one can even recommend my mobo, they say it's the most incompatible with all the i9xx chipsets... but I'm living proof that everything works :) And I am having a BLAST... it's all thanks to the helpful people of this forum! :unsure:

 

congrats, you have got a great system running. I only boot into windows for specific games and overclocking stability testing. I also offer my thanks to the people involved in making our systems run so 'perfectly'

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Aufgedyng
Aufgedyng
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Installed Natit manually

 

After restart i get a black screen with a dialog telling me that i need to restart my computer, restarting just gives me the same error.

 

Are there component variations on Gigabit DQ6 boards since you got almost everything working after the installation?

 

 

install natit. install it by command line. chown/chmod it delete the extentions prefs. i'll just find my notes...

 

install natit

drop the natit extention into /System/Library/Extensions/

open terminal

 

sudo -s

chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/Natit.kext

chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/Extensions/Natit.kext

Exit Terminal

From /System/Library/ delete Extensions.kextcache and Extensions.mkext

Restart the computer.

 

My network worked without modification.

 

Here is my info

AppleYukon:

 

Version: 1.0.7

Last Modified: 9/08/06 12:42 PM

Get Info String: Apple Yukon Ethernet 1.0.7b3, Copyright 2006 Apple Computer Inc, and Marvell

Location: /System/Library/Extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleYukon.kext

kext Version: 1.0.7b3

Load Address: 0x3b0ac000

Valid: Yes

Authentic: Yes

Dependencies: Satisfied

Integrity: Correct

 

 

 

 

everything on DQ6 except audio in works, i use a usb soundcard also...

I havn't OC'd any othere mobo before but, OC'ing is a piece of cake on this board , i can get my measly little e6300 1.83 ghz to 3.15 ghz without any trouble.

no mobo will be perfect, the intel mobos u listed don't use EFI ... so nothing except for a real mac mobo will work 100%. Making a hackintosh is a hobby so using and making hardware away from the intel 945/975 specification work is more of an achievement.

Edited by Aufgedyng
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Aufgedyng
Aufgedyng
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Ok I have rev 2.0 so that could be the problem. I'm going to give it a couple of more ttries before i throw it away.

 

I'm so close now :( got both Networking and audio up and running, thank you all for the great posts.

 

Still nothing but hard crashes when i try to get my 7900GS up and running.

Edited by Aufgedyng
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nargot
nargot
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that sucks that the 7900GS isn't working... the only problem i encountered with my board was with an ATi X1600 Pro, it would boot then artifacts would appear on the screen and lead to a system crash.

 

The last thing to try is http://www.s155158671.websitehome.co.uk/do...adsaqua-ma.html it is a modified natit kext for 7900GS. It is also used on a GA-965P-DQ6 mobo

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Aufgedyng
Aufgedyng
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The problem with my 7900GS is that it's 512Mb not supported yet, got a new 256MB today that i'll try later today.

 

that sucks that the 7900GS isn't working... the only problem i encountered with my board was with an ATi X1600 Pro, it would boot then artifacts would appear on the screen and lead to a system crash.

 

The last thing to try is http://www.s155158671.websitehome.co.uk/do...adsaqua-ma.html it is a modified natit kext for 7900GS. It is also used on a GA-965P-DQ6 mobo

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nargot
nargot
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for comparison

@ stock 1.86 ghz speed and 5-5-5-16 ram timings: xbench = 128, geekbench = 225, SuperPi 1M = 29 sec

@ overclocked 2.97 ghz and 4-4-4-12 ram timings: xbench is 174, geekbench is 309, SuperPi 1M = 19 sec

 

So a 142 is good :)

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nargot
nargot
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my overclock wont go to fsb450 anymore, its stuck at fsb425 and i think its the F9 bios that is limiting it. However, it could also be my ram ,i havn't read any good or bad reviews against it yet. Before you overclock it run prime95 and monitor your cpu and case temps with easy tune and core temp monitor. then compare them to the temps after the overclock. I'd like to know how yours goes.

 

my ide and load temps only go up by ~5°C to ~40 for the case and ~50°C for the cpu cores after overclocking in a room with an ambient temperature >28°C so i'm pretty happy with that.

 

 

i just unplugged all my usb cables from the mobo and rebooted at fsb450, but wouldn't POST much past that.

Edited by nargot
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Tommy
Tommy
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Posted

I'm planning on getting MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC 512MB GDDR3, do you think it will work?

did you get your 7900GS 512MB to work?

if you do, what kext do you use?

 

Thanks for any info

 

The problem with my 7900GS is that it's 512Mb not supported yet, got a new 256MB today that i'll try later today.
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nargot
nargot
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AFAIK 512mb 7900GS cards dont work, search the forum and you will get a better answer

 

 

I'm planning on getting MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC 512MB GDDR3, do you think it will work?

did you get your 7900GS 512MB to work?

if you do, what kext do you use?

 

Thanks for any info

 

 

If it fits in your case also make sure you have good intake and exhaust fans installed and lots of room for the cool air to move in and hot air to exhaust out of the case and it the cooler will work more efficiently. What ram do you have?

 

Waiting for my CPU fan, i hope it fits it's a monster

 

SCYTHE INFINITY 1000 HEATPIPE

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Aufgedyng
Aufgedyng
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My first attempt just gave me 154 in xbench at 2.94 Ghz FSB@300MHz i'm a bit worried about the core temp gets as high as 61 C when using prime95.

 

I use Crucial memory@4-4-4-12.

 

Do you know of any working temp monitor tools for OSX? Tried a few but they don't seem to be accurate.

 

Going to try some more and see what happens. Thanks for all advices :)

Edited by Aufgedyng
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