Hi everyone, I'm new to the forums. I've been trolling around a bit and i'm interested in building a Hackintosh.
How does it look? Any suggestions are welcome.
MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...82E16813128078R
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819116072
Video: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814131066
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231122
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811147099

Thanks!

Board does not leave a lot of upgradeability. Processor is under powered, but it should work. Video card is modest, but a good value. What is your budget and what do you intend to use this machine for?

Thanks for the input. This machine would basically be a HTPC. I chose that board due to the fact that it allows for overclocking the processor. Im looking to keep it sub $400. This will be my first osx86 build so im just looking for it to be fairly simple.

This should be a better $400 build.
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.as...hreadid=2214922

I would update some parts in that list to reflect new price fluctuation.
GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400
Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800
ZOTAC ZT-73TEG4P-FSL GeForce 7300GT 256MB
HITACHI Deskstar T7K500 320GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Rosewill R103A Black SGCC Steel ATX Mid Tower
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA

Total = ~ $381 (newegg USD, without shipping)

Will it be an HTPC that's out in the open, where it can be seen, and more importantly, HEARD? If so, then stick with mATX, get a decent HTPC case, and spend some time/money/research on quiet hardware that reduces system noise- IE: good quality, quiet 120mm fans, and a case that will accomodate them, fanless video card, fanless chipset cooler on mobo, rubberized fan and drive mounts, a high quality and QUIET PSU (which that case definitely doesn't have), etc.

Cheaping out on a HTPC that's out in the open will drive you nuts and not impress anyone if it's got horrible fan noise, so believe me, it's worth the extra effort to avoid something that sounds like a 747 taking off sitting in your viewing room.

IF on the other hand, you're going to locate it in an AV cabinet, hall closet, or another room, etc. where it's out of sight and earshot of where you'll be watching it, then get whatever rig with a full ATX mobo, cheap-ass case, and don't sweat the details other than making sure everything is Mac-compatible and as powerful as you want.

By the way, your basic choice of parts is mostly fine- I'd say move up to a better video card range though, and stick with fanless.

An HTPC doesn't need the most bleeding edge comp possible. I have several older Athlon based HTPCs of FAR lesser stats than your list, that all handle HD video at 1080p just fine. (One running Plex Media Center for OSX- which rocks!) That system would certainly handle DVD, BluRay and Tivo-function with HD video.



Since a highly visable HTPC is always a tradeoff between performance/heat/noise- you may not want to focus on overclocking unless, once again, you're sure you can cool the PC without it sounding like a 747. Choice of case is crucial: cheap-o cases can have poor airflow and then be really loud with hot, overclocked parts stuffed inside. They generally don't make good visable HTPCs.

Ok I have updated my cart per your suggestions. Originally I wanted it in the living room, but it could also go in a closet or in the bedroom.



This plus some sata cables and a dvd RW comes out to about 550 after shipping and taxes (yes i live in tennessee).
Any better?