simon_C Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 been doing some research lately. trying to figure out that balance point between compatibility, performance, and affordability. im looking for a m-ATX board to start with as the basis of my configuration. i found the Intel DG35EC board to be nicely compatible according to what i could find online. I also ran into the Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2l. a less expensive board than the intel, but it seems to be just as compatible. since these both are LGA775 i was thinking of going with a Core 2 Quad, unless someone recommends something different in the 150$ price range. graphics card will probably be a 9800 as that seems to be whats recommended around here. bear in mind, im still doing some research here. if anyone has any suggestion, advice, or ideas, feel free to share. i need to go do some more searching now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_C Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 doing some more research, i have decided on a EVGA 9800GTX+ graphics card and a Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L mainboard. still trying to decide whether or not i really want a Core 2 Quad vs a Core 2 Duo. what do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 doing some more research, i have decided on a EVGA 9800GTX+ graphics card and a Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L mainboard. still trying to decide whether or not i really want a Core 2 Quad vs a Core 2 Duo. what do you think? What are you going to be using the Hackintosh for? I have a system with a G41M-ES2L- there's no real advantage over the G31M-ES2L that I can tell, other than it uses a slight amount less energy, and it can possibly take 8GB of RAM- though with only two slots that's very impractical. The audio is a bit harder to hack than the G31M as well. Quad vs. Duo depends on your needs. Personally, I think the E6300 dual core Pentium is the best deal around lately for an average Hackintosh. It's cheap, and performs as well and in some cases a little better than the entry C2D. (VT support for one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_C Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 well i went with the g41 because it has a pcie x16 2.0 slot over the 1.0 in the g31. this is going to be my main power rig. it will also be my gaming rig (hooray dual booting) albeit a fairly standard one. i need a real desktop replacement for my macbook, and i want something that will last me a while. so far what i have come up with is this: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWi...Number=14673208 think a 500w psu will be enough? i already have one and its a Fortron, so it is extremely good. also, i forget to mention, its all going in one of these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirloui Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 500W should be enough. Good luck with the build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 well i went with the g41 because it has a pcie x16 2.0 slot over the 1.0 in the g31. Ahh cool. Personally I've never been able to tell any difference between PCIe 1.1 and 2.0, but then, I'm not a PC gamer. 500W PSU should be plenty. List looks good- if I were you though, I'd seriously consider the Q9550 over the now OOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD Q6600. For $20 more the Q9550 is a steal- 12MB L2 /1333fsb vs. dual 4MB/1066fsb on the Q6600= it stomps it. Just my 2 cents, but $20 is a small price to pay for a lot more future-proofing IMHO. Good luck with the case mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon_C Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 thanks for the processor recommendation zaap, ill check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Zaap is right, as usual. The Q9550 is a beast. I've bought one recently. I used to have an E7200 with a nice OC @ 4GHz, but there's a huge difference, maybe due to the 12MB of memory Vs. 3. I've starded encoding a few DVDs in H.264, and it's very impressive to finish the job in 30 minutes. Plus, the Q9550's price's dropped dramatically and the OC's great too, though you'll need a really big heatsink to reach the 4GHz threshold without breaking the thermometer or your ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj95 Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 I'm getting the same mb and cpu and with antec ea650 Did it all work out for you ? did u get audio working ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Don't buy an Antec Earthwatts: it's an old fashion PSU without the 8-pin EPS cable that will help your motherboard to support a Quad. It might not boot at all. Everything is working on my rig, except auto sleep. But sleep is tricky to get on 10.5.8. Don't update unless you know how to patch DSDT or don't need this feature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirloui Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Don't buy an Antec Earthwatts: it's an old fashion PSU without the 8-pin EPS cable that will help your motherboard to support a Quad. It might not boot at all. An Earthwatts works fine, I have a simple 380W one, and it has never had a problem with my Q6600 and 9800GT + 2-3HDs and things. However, it only has a 90mm fan, while the corsairCX400 (and many others) have 120mm ones that are more silent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 You don't have an EP45-UD3P. I've read several issues about Earthwatts and Gigabyte P45 MBs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 True, but remember the OP is using a GA-G41M-ES2L. It only has a 4 pin connector, but it supports quad core CPUs fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj95 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Don't buy an Antec Earthwatts: it's an old fashion PSU without the 8-pin EPS cable that will help your motherboard to support a Quad. It might not boot at all. Everything is working on my rig, except auto sleep. But sleep is tricky to get on 10.5.8. Don't update unless you know how to patch DSDT or don't need this feature. it was directed at OP... op , any news? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Sorry, I don't know what you mean with "OP". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Original Poster- IE: simon_C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomCom Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Okay! To me, op. stands for opus, and I was pretty sure he didn't mean that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillax Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Hey guys, so just to double check.. if I but the GA-G41M-ES2L, it'll work with hackintosh? Will LAN and audio work out of the box? Thanks, Joey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Hey guys, so just to double check.. if I but the GA-G41M-ES2L, it'll work with hackintosh? Yup. Will LAN and audio work out of the box? Nope. Both require hacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj95 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Yup. Nope. Both require hacks. by "hacks" you mean kexts ? a regular hackintosh distro should have them right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaap Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Yes, kexts. I installed using a retail DVD and boot-132, so I'm no longer up on the latest 'distro' install methods. I can just tell you that I ran into some trouble initially with the G41 board. After the initial install, I ran into the "setup loop" where because the onboard network isn't compatible OOB; you can't get past the setup as it loops back to the start screen. Luckily, this is easily bypassed by using the "Graphic Mode"="640x480x32" flag at boot. (BTW This trick is good to know for anyone who runs into this problem with a Hackintosh). The onboard audio is ALC888B - the 'b' being relevant. I used the same kext that enables audio on the GA-EP45-UD3P board to get it working, so if a distro doesn't have the right kext, try that one. Or better yet, just use a decent USB audio adapter- this one actually sounds better/cleaner than most onboard audio anyway. As for the network, it's Realtek 8111DL. There is a kext floating around that works. Personally, I never tried that hard to hack it, and just installed a compatible PCI Gigabit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj95 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 well i just want to say that i installed leopard 10.5.6 on ga-g41-es2l q9550 4gb 800 9600 gt without any hack , everything works ( audio , video, lan) i installed the following kexts: realtek r1000 for lan azilia for audio and efi string for 9600 gt installing osx86 couldn't be any easier . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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