Jump to content
8 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

All,

I would like to build a new system that could be a new Mac Pro equiv with about 4 GB of memory at the least. However with all the different options around, I was wondering if someone could post a very detailed list of components to get to build this system. I have seen some good wish lists at newegg of some with specifics, but was looking to see if anyone has any better lists and what flavor of x86 Osx worked and to get the best bang for the buck from a hardware prespective. I am definitely looking to dive in soon. Please let me know.

Check the wiki HCL's - a list of compatible hardware here at wiki.osx86project.org

 

Get yourself a quad-core intel CPU with a nice motherboard, for which you can choose between many many P35 and X38 motherboards which all work great.

 

Then get yourself a graphics card of your choice, on the list. There are many great cards working, including nVidia. 8800GT, 8800GTS, 9800GTX and ATI 3870.

 

I recommend this setup, you still get LOTS of computing power for way less than a Mac Pro.

It depends on how much you are willing to spend. If you need as many cores as possible and as much ram as possible while at the same time having a powerful graphics card... this is what I suggest (Prices from directcanada.com; prices in the US may vary):

 

2 x Quad Core Intel Xeon E5420 2.5GHz (8 cores total) --> $730

Supermicro MBD-X7DWA-N E-ATX --> $521

8 x 2GB DDR2 800 ECC FB-DIMMs (16 GB total) --> $625

Geforce 8800GT --> $151

2 x 750 GB Samsung Spinpoint F1 (1.5TB total) --> $232

Supermicro CS CSE-733TQ-465B case + PSU --> $248

BenQ G2400W 24" monitor --> $340

Logitech Cordless Desktop LX710 --> $61

Pioneer DVR-212D DVD burner --> $25

 

around $3000 in the end.

 

Or you could get something cheaper like Synaesthesia suggested. Also, because of the lack of people running OSx86 on dual-processor motherboards, there is no guarantee that the above system would work with Mac OS X but it sure will run fast on, say, Windows.

Geforce 8800GT --> $151

$50 more and you can step up to a 9800GTX.

 

I wouldn't go for the higher end 8 core system, only because you would probably never need all 8 cores, I would atleast go with a quad core though, seeing the Q6600 is only $199.

Occasionally at work I use a dual Xeon MacPro, and for anything other than a few tasks like capturing multiple streams of HD, or serious 3D rendering, it doesn't do anything else noticeably faster than my homebuilt $900 Hackintosh. (My main work machine is an original single Xeon MacPro, and my homebuilt machine kicks its ass).

 

The dual Xeon MacPros are seriously overrated. It's not that they aren't great machines- they are, but just that the overwhelming majority of real-world user tasks, even production tasks, won't begin to tax the thing to even a fraction of it's full potential- so one has to wonder about the cost/performance ratio in terms of real world use. At the end of the day, most all these things are asked to do is manipulate pixels on a screen on command, and there's a point at which the limitation becomes how fast the user can tell the machine to manipulate pixels, not how fast the machine can perceivably do so. I certainly wouldn't want to emulate building in all that overkill hardware myself.

  • 3 months later...
×
×
  • Create New...