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In the cart just wating to check out (How's my hardware)


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My Hackmini how's my hardware choices? I'm trying to build the most "stable" RIG I can and open for any suggestions to improve and any advice on my hardware selection before I buy anything.

 

HEC 6K28BB8F Black MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case $34.99

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $52.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model - Retail $119.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail $52.99

HITACHI Deskstar 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $59.99

APPLE Mac Box Set $149.99

NETGEAR GA311 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI Gigabit Adapter with Jumbo Frame support - Retail $21.99

SeaSonic S12 II SS-380GB 380W ATX12V V2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $62.99

 

I already have the following items from my current PC for this build:

 

BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOCE GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

LG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner w/ SecurDisc Tech

 

Total Approx: $555.00 + shipping

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Looks good. I'm posting from a near-identical machine (same board and CPU) I just built for someone, running 10.5.6 beautifully. Photoshop, Final Cut, Motion, VMware all running great on this thing.

 

Retail install works great.

 

Only things I'd change in your build:

The memory for the mobo maxes at DDR2 800, so you might want to change that. I'm using this G.SKILL RAM in this machine, and it's nearly $20 cheaper than what you picked.

 

Rather than your 500GB drive, consider the Samsung 640GB for the same price. (Using two in this machine, and I've ordered a total of 8 of these in the past week for other builds- its a great drive and a steal at the price).

 

Ethernet works great on this board OOB, so not sure if you really need the Ethernet card.

 

Your graphic card and DVD drive should work perfectly. Good luck with the build, you'll have a perfect Hackintosh!

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Seems Good but Everything should work great but maybe need a stronger power supply Not sure

 

Hmm, I was thinking about swapping my current one which is a little better. Thanks it was on my double check list. ;)

 

 

Looks good. I'm posting from a near-identical machine (same board and CPU) I just built for someone, running 10.5.6 beautifully. Photoshop, Final Cut, Motion, VMware all running great on this thing.

 

Retail install works great.

 

Only things I'd change in your build:

The memory for the mobo maxes at DDR2 800, so you might want to change that. I'm using this G.SKILL RAM in this machine, and it's nearly $20 cheaper than what you picked.

 

Rather than your 500GB drive, consider the Samsung 640GB for the same price. (Using two in this machine, and I've ordered a total of 8 of these in the past week for other builds- its a great drive and a steal at the price).

 

Ethernet works great on this board OOB, so not sure if you really need the Ethernet card.

 

Your graphic card and DVD drive should work perfectly. Good luck with the build, you'll have a perfect Hackintosh!

 

w00t thanks for the info. and input on my HW selection. I feel much better now knowing that someone has had success with a similiar build. I want to run ilife (although not sure now) and Lightroom2, and even Final cut Express on this RIG. So this is good stuff to read.

 

Also as you so kindly mentioned I'm going to take your advice and going to eliminate the NIC, upgrade the drive, and change the memory.

 

OK now off to break the news to my wife ;)

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According to the power supply calculators that I have found by googling "power supply calculator" you could probably run this system with a 330 W or less power supply depending on how many drives you add. I have the same board, E5200 proc, 8400GS graphics and two terabyte drives on a 330W supply. For the last 48 hours I have been maxing out both cores doing video conversion, and the power supply (SeaSonic S12 II 330W is running totally cold). Its only a few bucks difference, so no big deal, but a smaller power supply will save you money in the long run by using less power.

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Good call on the PSU. I thought about that one as well and figure for the price I'll get the 380W. I have a 550W and 430W already in my other PC's. BUT I'm afraid of the 330W being noisy… Did you find it noisy, or is it quiet? I'm planning on having this Mini tower on my desk and the 380W gets some not-so good reviews for being quiet. But I'm hoping you can give me your feedback about it. If it is in your case I'll certainly get it saving some more bucks.

 

 

I decided to change up a few things as well. I have a C2D 3.0GHZ (Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor) I will be using instead of my initial listed CPU. this is from my PC and going to get a Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor for $72.99 to pop into my PC to replace it.

 

Great stuff guys I really appreciate this. Going home to get my stuff in order and visit the Egg this evening.

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I bought the Seasonic as it was recommended by Silent PC Review. My rig is quiet, but not as quiet as I was hoping. The Seasonic is definitely the noisiest component. By comparison I have an iMac on my desk and this rig is quieter than that. At the moment I have not placed any of the parts in a case so once I build my case it should be quieter.

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Thank you all Parts on the way from the Egg... I'm feeling all tingly inside. ;) I opted for the Retail OSX Leopard pkg. only and not the bundle since I have the restore CD from my Macbook (black) I will use Pacifist to extract my iLife stuff, and I already own iWorks08 so if all goes well building I'll be running with my new toy by end of the week.

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Instead of using Pacifist you can use the restore disk if you have a way of hooking up your new drive to your MacBook.

 

See post #29 this is how I did my install on the same board as you are using. Even simpler might be to try using Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your existing setup, then install EFI.

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Instead of using Pacifist you can use the restore disk if you have a way of hooking up your new drive to your MacBook.

 

See post #29 this is how I did my install on the same board as you are using. Even simpler might be to try using Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your existing setup, then install EFI.

 

Hey noNix thanks for the suggestion & link I'm going to take a look now. Just been browsing around to gather some notes on boot loaders ( bootcamp, dual booting options) and stuff. And now going to follow your post. :thumbsup_anim:

 

/waves

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Geekboy,

Also try focusedfreedom's guide on the same page- I used very much the same procedure to install and it works perfectly, but I did one key part differently, and I think a little bit simpler.

 

In a nutshell:

 

1. download the modified kexts Boot 132 iso from this link.

 

2. Burn the image, then boot the PC with that, at the Darwin prompt replace the retail OSX disk. Install OSX.

 

Taking a cue from the auzigog UD3P install guide, I did most things from this point like that install:

 

3. Rather that some terminal stuff at this point, merely reboot from the Boot-132 again, only at the prompt continue, and type 80 or 81 for the hard drive, and boot right into the OSX install. Mine fired right up with no other screwing around needed.

 

4. Plug the Ethernet in (it works OOB) and run Software Update- install everything, including 10.5.6 update.

 

5. After the update finishes and installs, then force reboot the machine again. (You pretty much will need to force reboots until the 'kext' stage, otherwise you'll just see the little twirly icon spin forever.)

 

6. Boot again with Boot-132 CD, choose 80 or 81, but this time add the flag -v at the prompt. You'll see text- the machine will not completely boot this time- it's normal- and when you see the text 'Mach Reboot'- force a reboot again. (If you forget the -v at this stage, just after the 10.5.6 update, you'll simply see the Apple logo and twirly-icon forever, so just keep in mind it's normal, -you just can't see the Mach Reboot' message- and after waiting a little while, you can safely force a reboot.)

 

7. Boot again with Boot-132- now you should be running 10.5.6. Install anything else remaining in Software Update. (Word to the wise- it's been my experience that applying the full software update is superior when done pre kext 'hacking' stage.) Allow anything to install, then reboot.

 

8. Boot again. Now you can use the 'hack' method of your choice. (IE: the leopard install kit that focusedfreedom linked to -worked perfectly for me- or Universal Installer) Install Chameleon PC EFI v9. Also use EFIStudio or other EFI strings tool to enable the video card (exact model/RAM amount from drop down list), Ethernet fix, and sound.

 

8. Reboot, and now you should have a fully working, pristine install of 10.5.6. and full hardware accelerated video. Sleep, Restart, Shutdown should all work.

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Thanks guys I have 80% of my build complete. The board is tiny, but I like it. I have a few things to add tonight and I hope my GPU fits with my new passive heat spreader into the case.

 

Hey Nonix the Macbook thing how so? I can hook up my Macbook to my network. Forgive me… I'm having Geek-block. :unsure:

 

Zapp I'm printing these notes for this evenings festivities. I can't wait fire up my new baby and open the shrink wrap on my Leopard DVD and go to town. ;)

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Hey Nonix the Macbook thing how so? I can hook up my Macbook to my network. Forgive me… I'm having Geek-block. :P

 

I used a USB to SATA drive dock (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817153066), but any USB external enclosure with a SATA drive in it would work. The drive docks are great way of backing up your system. I have a couple of drives that I clone my main system to in rotation. You do back-up dont you ?

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Ah, OK gotcha now. I thought there was another method I may have missed. Sure :cough: :D I backup. Maybe not as often as I should but with this build I plan on cloning and backing up often. Thanks I let you know how the build goes.

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