n00b Core 2 Quad chipset question

[Bit Shoveler]

I would like to build a Core 2 Quad based system and keep the SW install as vanilla as possible. I will be running Photoshop and Lightroom pretty heavily so I'll need something better than Intel integrated graphics, but I won't need a pair of x16 slots. I'll be starting with a Q6600 and I'd like headroom for the better Socket 775 chips down the road.

 

What chipsets work best for this situation? Are there any I should avoid? Preferred mobo makers? TIA.

[Generic George]

I would like to build a Core 2 Quad based system and keep the SW install as vanilla as possible. I will be running Photoshop and Lightroom pretty heavily so I'll need something better than Intel integrated graphics, but I won't need a pair of x16 slots. I'll be starting with a Q6600 and I'd like headroom for the better Socket 775 chips down the road.

 

What chipsets work best for this situation? Are there any I should avoid? Preferred mobo makers? TIA.

 

Don't bother worrying about better 775 chips down the road, by the time you get around to upgrading in 6 mo or a year, you're going to be better off going with a Core i7 chip and board. Odds are also that you can get most of the performance increase you'd get out of a newer core 2 chip, by overclocking the one you buy.

 

This one seems to be reasonably popular Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R and many people seem to have had success with it, though like with any hackintosh project, YMMV.

 

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?showtopic=114739

 

I don't recommend going with a hackintosh if your livelihood depends on it, personally. You might want to look at EFI-X if it does. It is not cheap ($200), but if you stick with their suggested Hardware it can enable, almost trouble free hackintosh creation and let you use the Apple update mechanisim, which is not the case for many hackintosh methods.

[Bit Shoveler]

Thanks Generic George. I have been looking into the EFI-X route as well. I would like to keep that as a fallback option. The specific mobo you mentioned is on their HCL.

 

If my livelihood depended on it, I'd find a way to expense a Mac Pro. I can't. I'm a hobbyist in photography and Macs. I want the option to tweak (OC, undervolt, or both) but I'd like to keep the SW as vanilla as possible. I write code for a living, so it's not like the hacking would be over my head, I just prefer not to do it if I don't absolutely have to.

 

I forgot to mention I also do some home recording with the MOTU 8pre, so reliable FireWire is a must, but I can live with it on a PCI card.

[rockstarjoe]

Check out the GA-EP45-UD3R. I just ordered it, so I can't speak firsthand as it hasn't arrived, but people seem to be having good luck with it. I'm going to put a Q6600 in there as well.

 

And don't buy an EFIX... all the knowledge you need is right here on the forums! Good luck!

[Zaap]

First let me say, I DO use a Hackintosh for my livelihood. I have been since about March, 2008 and never regretted it. I've also built many Hacks for others that use them for their businesses and livelihood as well. I feel I would have been crazy to have blown so much on a MacPro, rather than the two systems I have that combined cost less, and have served me just as well if not better than the MacPro I have at work.

 

Just remember is it a Hackintosh, and don't fight with trying to pretend it's anything else. Stick with parts that are known to work, follow a guide from others already using the same parts, and don't get update crazy every time an system-number update comes out, and you should have no problems.

 

So much of the 'futzing' and hacking you read about people needing to do, is either from picking parts that aren't really compatible (for {censored} and giggles I guess) or often just recovering their previously working system from doing a hasty system update so that... so that what really? A number changes in About This Mac? If you're productive, and it ain't broke, don't try and "fix" it for some largely cosmetic bullcrap. In all the time I've used a Hack, I'm not sure which if any system-number update of Apple's really 'improved' my Hackintosh any. It's nice to say I'm using the 'latest' from Apple if I am, but has that every got anything done for me any better/faster? Not so far. I got my work done in 10.5.1 the same as I do now, Photoshop, Final Cut, everything else worked the same then as now.

 

That said, yes the EFI-X is supposed to eliminate any such issues with System Updates, but for my money, doing a good retail install, plus Boot-132/Grub-DFE is just about as good, for free. Spend the money you would have dropped on an EFI-X dongle on a decent video card- that'll serve you very well for Photoshop and Lightroom. (IE an 8800GT, 9800GT, 9800GTX or comparable top ATI card).

 

Anyhow, my recommendation is to get a Gigabyte EP45-based board. These work extremely well. I love the EP45-DQ6 that I have, but it's a fairly expensive board. (But awesome if you want tons of SATA ports and 4 Gigabit LAN) I just did a build for a friend with a EP45-UD3P, retail/Grub-DFE install updated to 10.5.6 and it works beautifully. The EP45-DS3R seems to work just as well. Mobo choice is a lot more crucial

 

I definitely recommend the retail install route, over the 'downloaded distro' method.

[Bit Shoveler]

Here's what I actually bought:

 

Core 2 Quad Q6600

Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R mobo

2x 2GB Crucial DDR2 1066MHz CL7 RAM

PNY Verto GeForce 9600GT 512MB video card

Corsair HX520W p/s

Antec 300 mid-tower case

Pioneer DVD-R drive

Leftover Seagate 200 GB SATA hard drive

 

I'm currently putting it through torture testing under Linux. Once I get to a stable undervolt and/or overclock, I'll install Mac OS X.

[vbetts]

P45 boards are great overclockers, even more if you have a q6600 with the G0 stepping.(Probably not though) As for i7, I would wait until Intel releases the i7's with the ddr2 memory controller. As for better quad cores down the line, Intel is suppose to release 65-watt quad cores pretty soon.

[Bit Shoveler]

Yep, the Q6600 is G0 stepping. I've got it running stable at 2.4 GHz and 1.0625V core. OC to follow.

[stefan1968]

I'm running a gigabyte ep-45 ds3l w q6600 oc to 3.0 Ghz.

System is running 10.5.6 retail absolutely perfectly.

I'm a professional video and sound editor and use the system for my work with NO PROBLEMS whatsoever.