Never Say Never Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I've been looking to do this for quite awhile and now the time is dawning Anyways, I'm a noob to the hackintosh scene (but not to technical stuff) so I'm just trying to sort out what is the best build with the easiest setup. I'm looking to build this on the cheap (around $500 USD if possible), but I still want a relatively good system. For around $500 or so I'd like to be able to pick out a motherboard, processor, RAM, Hard Drive, DVDRW drive, WiFi card, Video Card and Case. I already have a nice flat screen monitor, mouse + keyboard, so that doesn't need to be included in the price. Also, as a side note, I've built a couple PCs before, and have a decent working knowledge of this kind of stuff BUT, I haven't built or really kept up with what the best technology is over the past few years, so I'm a little behind on certain things (like say, which Intel processor is the best for the buck these days). Just from looking around it looks like Gigabyte motherboards seem to be the most compatible with OSX...is this correct? I'm looking to do a Vanilla install from a retail OSX 10.5.6 disc I bought. Ok, so help me compile a list of the most compatible (but still relatively inexpensive): Motherboard: Processor: RAM: Video Card: WiFi Card: HD: [Does it matter or will any SATA drive work?] DVDRW: [Does it matter or will any SATA drive work?] Also, what is the best guide for installing a Vanilla install for the above system? Several of the guides I've seen require you to already have an up and running OSX install to complete for some reason. I've thought about getting the eFix because it's supposedly allows for a seamless install, but some of the posts I've seen around here seem to strongly discourage that (plus its expensive). Is it possible to do a relatively seamless installation on your own? I don't mind messing around a little bit in terminal, etc (so long as there is a good step by step guide), but I'd like something that's relatively easy to set up. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Motherboard: G31M-ES2L (cheap µATX) and EP45-UD3P (no so cheap ATX) with Weaksauce Guide (follow the link in my signature) Processor: any LGA775. E7x00 and Q8x00 are good values, E8x00 too expensive compared to 45nm Quads. RAM: 4GB G.Skill (get 1066MHz if you want to overclock a 1333MHz CPU (E8x00, Q8x00, Q9xx0) Video Card: Nvidia cards are easier to install. 9600GT is versatile and efficient if you're not a hardcore gamer. WiFi Card: make your choice: http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.ph...10.5.6#Wireless HD: any, but Western Digital and Seagate are twice as reliable as other brands. DVDRW: any Sata You welcome! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1196595 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never Say Never Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 Motherboard: G31M-ES2L (cheap µATX) and EP45-UD3P (no so cheap ATX) with Weaksauce Guide (follow the link in my signature) Awesome...Thanks for the quick reply I actually was just found/read through the Weaksauce Guide about 10 minutes ago, and it definitely looks complete & easy to follow. Although, it's specifically tailored for the EP45-UD3P. Is it possible to use that guide for the G31M-ES2L or is there a similar guide that explains how to install OSX using G31M-ES2L. Also, what are the differences/advantages of the EP45-UD3P vs the G31M-ES2L (for osx and/or in general)? haha sorry I know that probably sounds like such a noob question, but I've been out of the game a little while. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1196607 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Weaksauce's ES2L guide is here. It's an extremely easy board to set up, even easier than the UD3P. You simply can't go wrong with it. EP45-UD3P Advantages: full ATX, 16GB of RAM (8GB realistic) faster FSB and RAM, PCIe 2.0, sturdier construction (IE: solid capacitors, copper PCB, chipset heatsinks), newer chipset, more slots, more SATA ports, eSATA, Firewire, dual LAN Disadvantages: costs more, ATX size case only. GA31-ES2L Advantages: microATX,- can fit in smaller cases, cheap, working S-PDIF header, easy to set up. Disadvantages: older chipset, limit of 4GB RAM, non-solid capacitors, no Firewire, not as many I/O options, PCIe 1.1 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1196640 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never Say Never Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Thanks! Do you guys have any suggestions for a good case? I'm looking for something that looks sleek, probably black, but that is well priced ($70 or less, preferable)...any ideas? I'll most likely be using the GA-EP45-UD3P motherboard. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1196953 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 My fave cases: Gigabyte Triton 180- $62 beautiful case, excellent features, looks fantastic inside and out, forward-facing/removable hard drive bay. Antec Three Hundred- $55 Looks great outside, inside is blah but functional. Rosewill R6426-P- $35 One of my favorites- built with dozens of these. Looks great, decent features, not as sturdy as the others, but cheap. Sunbeam Silent Storm- $55 Surprisingly good looking case. Forward-facing/removable drive bay, tool-less, awesome internal fan layout. Sunbeam Freezing-Storm- $60 Similar to above. Keep or toss the 450W PSU. I built with one of these for a friend in May of 2008 with a Gigabyte P35 board, Quad Q6600, 8600GT, etc and it's still going strong with the original '{censored}' PSU, so go figure. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1196981 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 The Gigabyte looks like really cheap stuff. :/ No cable management, a fan duct that'll prevent to install any good heatsink. I don't like the Sunbeams either: not deep enough and the cable mess will barely let the air flow… The Three Hundred is a cheap gaming rig for people in search of high airflow. Trouble is only one is provided, but maybe it's a good idea 'cause Antec's fans are noisy {censored}. But you can buy these and be very happy: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;x=0&y=0 I just know Rosewill through newegg since it's not sold in Europe, but it looks surprisingly good for the price. Be aware though that thin steel won't stop vibrating. Around 70$, there are far better cases like the NZXT Hush, which is good looking and very silent: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....amp;x=0&y=0 But if you consider buying hot components like a Quad and an high-end video card one day, you should consider a case with at least 3 120mm fan, like the 300 or better stuff like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811112154 I've bought a Silverstone case last year. It's not bad at all but it's tight inside and I should have add a few euros for a Lian Li/Lancool (same company, but Lian Li sell aluminum cases, and Lancool steel ones). Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197071 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 TomCom, for once, we're in disagreement! The Gigabyte case is very high quality. I was surprised by it myself when I first built with it. The photos don't quite do it justice. First of all, it's solid steel- even the front is brushed aluminum, not plastic, and shock mounted. That's very hard to find in this price range. The included fans are actually whisper quiet- it's one of those cases than when I first turned the system on I thought something went wrong because I didn't hear anything. There are nice touches that photos don't show, such as the fans being rubber-mounted so there's no vibration noises- there's even rubber grommets that you can see that allow one to route cables outside the case if ever needed. Cable management? That's up to the user. You can easily route the wiring neat as a pin- there's plenty of space. Also, the side fan duct is both adjustable, and removable. If you're using a stock HSF with the UD3P, the duct actually works beautifully with it as it sits right over it and keeps all the CPU heat completely out of the case at large. Use a larger HSF? Then simply remove it. Because the drive bay is removable, you can route SATA cables right under it and it's a straight shot over to the board connectors- taking drives in and out is a breeze because they're mounted with tool-less rails. Sorry but I gotta defend the Gigabyte case of all of them, cause I found it very impressive for this price range. But hey, I urge a potential buyer not just to take my word for it, but also read the user reviews pros and cons of any of these cases and decide for themselves. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197347 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never Say Never Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Great suggestions guys thanks! I'll hopefully be putting one of these things together in the next month. Just a quick question though...are all these cases still good to use if I end up going with the Gigabyte G31M-ES2L motherboard? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197357 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Yeah, micro-ATX boards fit in ATX cases no problem. Plus if you ever want to upgrade the mobo, you can go with a full sized ATX board later on, whereas if you get a smaller mATX case, you can only use mATX boards. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197396 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never Say Never Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 What do you guys think of these cases (they seem to have good reviews on Newegg): MicroATX Apevia X-QBOII $60 Rosewill R363 Black $50 Full ATX Rosewill TU-155 Black $50 LOGISYS Area 51 Black Steel $37 I actually like the LOGISYS Area 51 case, looks cool, price is really low, comes with a PSU and has good reviews. Is this a good brand/case though? Also, I know a lot of people seem to complain about stock PSU, but are they really that bad? I'm not going to be doing anything too intense on this machine and according to the PSU Calculator my system will supposedly only need 380W max. Will the stock PSU be good for just basic stuff or are they really {censored}? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197439 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Never Say Never, mostly it's a matter of personal choice. The Logisys case gets good reviews, and it's really cheap in price, so I say give it a shot. The one thing I notice is that some reviewers report the PSU as loud. I've used this Logisys PSU before. (My review is from 5/08). The system I built with it (Q6600) was for a small company as a streaming server that's been running 24/7 ever since. Literally, it's never been turned off, it's running right now. So I can vouch for the brand from personal experience- even a {censored}-rated PSU from them has worked fine for me. (Note: I'm not recommending this particular PSU though- the price has gone way up since I used one and now it's not worth it). It's an easy guess that that system uses this $14 PSU. The 12V rail is weak- I wouldn't trust it with the UD3P at all. The ES2L would probably be okay. You'd definitely need a SATA/molex adapter. I wouldn't use it with ANY PCIe graphic card beyond the most basic. If you really like that case, personally I'd recommend yanking that PSU (yeah, I would classify it as actual {censored}!) and using something more reliable. Best case- it'll work okay for you, be noisier than it should be, then die quietly at some point in the future. Worst case: it'll die sooner rather than later, and take down some of your expensive hardware with it. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197519 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 37$ is not even the price for a decent power supply, so don't hope anything but {censored} for a case and a PSU. Buy a 5$ case in a garage sale if you like, but a PSU has to be reliable or you could end up frying your rig or even burning down your home, and I'm not kidding 'cause these things happen. Take a Corsair CX400 (about 40$) and you won't be disappointed nor will you have to change it in the next few years. Or at least read carefully buyers reviews from newegg, especially the low ratings, to learn what people complain about. I was on a budget last year too when I bought my hackintosh, but the cheap Antec Earthatts 380 I ordered has no EPS cable and I had to buy another one recently. Plus, µATX cases and no-name PSUs usually come with small whinning fans (80mm @ 1500-2000RPM) you'll complain about unless you're already deaf. @ Zaap: I'm trusting you 100% if you say Gigabyte's case is sturdy, but cable management is not up to the user: if there're no holes for cables and enough space between the motherboard tray and the case panel, you won't do anything good without heavy modding. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197535 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never Say Never Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 haha alright, well point taken about the power supply. Are there any cases with decent build in PSU? How about the PSU that comes with the Rosewill TU-155 above? Or will I have to buy a new PSU no matter what case I purchase? Edit: Also, just a quick question about the CPU. I was planning on getting the Core 2 Duo 2.8Ghz but after doing some reading I discovered that the Pentium Dual Core E6300 2.8Ghz is essentially the same thing (according to some people anyways). The price difference is huge and when I look at the technical specs they appear to be essentially the same with one exception. The Core 2 Due has a 3MB L2 cache and the Dual Core as a 2MB L2 cache. Otherwise they both have 1066MHz FSB and both use the Wolfdale Core. What do you guys think? I'm thinking if worse comes to worse I can always upgrade it later, in another year or two, since the motherboard supports up to Core 2 Duo Extreme I believe. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197562 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 @ Zaap: I'm trusting you 100% if you say Gigabyte's case is sturdy, but cable management is not up to the user: if there're no holes for cables and enough space between the motherboard tray and the case panel, you won't do anything good without heavy modding. I'm curious what advantage of cabling you'd consider the NZXT case to have over the Gigabyte? With either case, the user is going to have to route the front panel cables and PSU cables themselves. In the product photos they always appear to be a rat's nest, because they just leave the cables hanging loose. The Gigabyte case has cable clamps, and room to route most of the front panel cables under the mobo-tray. (There actually are holes to bring the cables up through.) Even the rear fan cable is tied off neatly. The forward-facing drive tray in the Gigabyte means hard drive SATA cables will never be in the line of airflow. With standard drive bays, no matter how neat the cables, they're in the airflow. haha alright, well point taken about the power supply. Are there any cases with decent build in PSU? How about the PSU that comes with the Rosewill TU-155 above? Or will I have to buy a new PSU no matter what case I purchase? I recommend buying a separate well-rated PSU. Unless you can identify the actual PSU used in the system, and then read its vital stats and how it rates. Read the customer reviews, and the specs tab. I see way too many "bad PSU" reviews to trust the PSU in that case. (Rosewill actually does make great PSUs, but that doesn't seem to be one of them.) It also pushes less than 30A on the 12V rails, which for me is a no-go. Look at it this way- you're trusting a PSU to pump electricity through your expensive computer components in voltages that could destroy those components if the power isn't consistent or stable. Why cheap out or toss the dice on a PSU? Better to pay a bit more for a good PSU you can trust, than a lot more later in replacing fried parts. Edit: Also, just a quick question about the CPU. I was planning on getting the Core 2 Duo 2.8Ghz but after doing some reading I discovered that the Pentium Dual Core E6300 2.8Ghz is essentially the same thing (according to some people anyways). The price difference is huge and when I look at the technical specs they appear to be essentially the same with one exception. The Core 2 Due has a 3MB L2 cache and the Dual Core as a 2MB L2 cache. Otherwise they both have 1066MHz FSB and both use the Wolfdale Core. What do you guys think? I'm thinking if worse comes to worse I can always upgrade it later, in another year or two, since the motherboard supports up to Core 2 Duo Extreme I believe. It's the same chip, minus some L2 cache. If you know about CPU fabing, there's no way it'd be economical for Intel to have an entire separate process for creating each chip by product name. So what they actually do is fab similar chips (Celeron, Pentium, C2D) in the same process, then add on/lock/unlock certain features based on the product line and price. Bottom line, the E7400 is overpriced just to get 1MB more of L2 cache and a product name. Meanwhile, the E6300 is a steal. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197566 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Touché about Gigabyte Vs. NZXT. I hadn't noticed cable clamps, but you can do the same as long as you find free screw holes to use. It's just I thought Never Say Never was seeking a silent case, but I must have gotten confused with someone else. I'm so ashamed. The E6300 should do fine, but you may have to update the bios 'cause it's a fairly new chip. The cheapest good PSUs I found were these, for 50$: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817151061 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139008 Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1197679 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Never Say Never Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 Alright...thanks for all your recommendations! Just got everything ordered, so I should be putting everything together next weekend hopefully Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/174267-building-my-first-hackintosh-need-advice/#findComment-1198808 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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