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need stable Hackintosh platform (Gigabyte G31 mb?)


chimpanzee
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I have old PowerPC desktop Mac (no longer supported by Snow Leopard), & want an Intel based box to run Snow Leopard. I don't want to pay for an overprice Mac Pro (or a diluted Mac Mini). So, I am looking at a *reliable* Hackintosh platform.

 

Can someone recommend a stable solution (so I can run OS X in a professional production evironment)? I've heard of Gigabyte boards as being good choices:

 

- Gigabyte G31

"Build a Cheap Hackintosh - MOBO/CPU/VIDEO for $124 shipped! Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L and Pentium E5200 Dual-Core RETAIL combo ($106 FS), PNY 8500GT Video Card"

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.ph...0&t=1506699

 

Any others?

 

NOTE: I need Firewire (which the above G31 doesn't have), so I can use iMovie to import movies.

 

I have a Acer desktop M1100 (Athlon x2, uses ACER motherboard F690GVM) which I got 1 year ago, but I understand AMD is not preferable vs Intel.

 

Is the idea of a stable Hackintosh platform to be used as a professional solution, out of the question? See below:

 

Bill,

I wouldn't trust the Hackintosh clone I have with any of my professional work. I'm just using it for email and basic stuff. Nothing beats the integration of a Macintosh running Mac software. I should know, I own 4 real Macintoshes for my photography business. However, I was stuck with a very much hated Vista laptop, so now it is much more digestible as a mac. You are right about it being interesting to take the challenge and succeed getting it to run very stable on the Acer expire. There is just something about being told you can't do something and then proving that you can that makes this an interesting challenge for some.

 

BillCarr wrote:

For tinkerers who like to open the innards of their boxes and make

machines from scratch, and spend countless hours researching drives,

motherboards, BIOSes and video cards, homebuilt units may be fun,

granted. And what you save in some hardware costs is made up in the

time spent tinkering. But I'd rather get a machine that runs Mac and

Windows, works great, has few problems, no malware issues on the Mac

side, and is quite comparable in price feature-for-feature. Not the

rock-bottom cheapest, but overall for me the best compromise with the

best flexibility.

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I've not tried SL but Leopard is working a treat on my G31M-ESL2. Just be careful which Firewire card you pick. I had to install an older FW kext to get round an audio glitch problem I was having with a LaCie FW400 VIA based card. I've seen advice that a Texas Instruments chipset would've been a better choice for pro audio but I can't confirm or deny that.

 

At the moment I use my Hack for audio production and it is a revelation. Although a large amount of homework is required (took me 5 days to research and tinker to perfection and I'm an experienced PC tech - albeit a Mac virgin) and it's never going to be as easy as owning an Apple, if you're on a budget or love tinkering it's well worth looking into.

 

I'd highly recommend the "leopard soup" guide (10.5.6) written by this forum's Weaksauce12 as this explains the concept well and has plenty of background info to boot. Also get some of the pcwiz tools like UInstaller and kexthelper. They'll saved me a lot of time and f**king about in console!

 

Make sure you've got a SATA cdrom as well. It's just easier.

 

Good luck with SL and let us know how you get on.

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I have old PowerPC desktop Mac (no longer supported by Snow Leopard), & want an Intel based box to run Snow Leopard. I don't want to pay for an overprice Mac Pro (or a diluted Mac Mini). So, I am looking at a *reliable* Hackintosh platform.

 

Can someone recommend a stable solution (so I can run OS X in a professional production evironment)? I've heard of Gigabyte boards as being good choices:

 

- Gigabyte G31

"Build a Cheap Hackintosh - MOBO/CPU/VIDEO for $124 shipped! Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L and Pentium E5200 Dual-Core RETAIL combo ($106 FS), PNY 8500GT Video Card"

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.ph...0&t=1506699

 

Any others?

 

NOTE: I need Firewire (which the above G31 doesn't have), so I can use iMovie to import movies.

 

I have a Acer desktop M1100 (Athlon x2, uses ACER motherboard F690GVM) which I got 1 year ago, but I understand AMD is not preferable vs Intel.

 

Is the idea of a stable Hackintosh platform to be used as a professional solution, out of the question? See below:

 

 

I also run this board (see my specs below). It runs 10.5.8 great, no issues, I have a Syba firewire 400 which I don't use very much but it does work O.O.B (Out of Box). I have run Snow Leopard on it, but not for any long periods of time, I am just testing out SL now. Waiting for the retail release. I know everyone says that 10a432 is the GM, but I feel the best thing to do is just wait it out a little bit and see what gets released. I don't feel that SL is so much faster that I have to jump right on it and use it right away when 10.5.8 runs so good on this board.

 

If you do decide to go with this board, PM me and I will send you the kexts I am using that enable everything to work (sound, sleep etc).

 

I think this board is one of the best you can get for compatibility with OS X. I had no problem doing a retail install on this board. Just make sure you use SATA for the interface for HD, and CD/DVD drive.

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My recommendation for professional use would be buy a mac pro. But if you do build a system Time Machine can be your best friend. Gigabyte boards are great because you can find a lot of guides and support online. Also, if you buy a gigabyte MB with built in firewire, the firewire works with no modification.

 

I know Mac Pro is expensive. But not comparatively. Many sites have done comparisons and found that another computer like a dell with the same EXACT hardware specifications costs about $1,000 more than a mac pro.

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My recommendation for professional use would be buy a mac pro. But if you do build a system Time Machine can be your best friend. Gigabyte boards are great because you can find a lot of guides and support online. Also, if you buy a gigabyte MB with built in firewire, the firewire works with no modification.

 

I know Mac Pro is expensive. But not comparatively. Many sites have done comparisons and found that another computer like a dell with the same EXACT hardware specifications costs about $1,000 more than a mac pro.

 

The Gigabyte P35 (now discontinued) is the board described in the Leopard soup guide by Weaksauce12. However, there are some P35's available on Ebay.

 

Maybe I should go for a recent mobo?

 

What do you think about the Gigabyte P45? (it has Firewire, the P35 didn't have it).

 

"Retail install on Gigabyte P45-UD3LR"

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...p;mode=threaded

 

"Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R?,"

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

 

"SATA vs. AHCI Install. Gigabyte P45-UD3R., I can get AHCI mode working but I want SATA!!!!!"

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=175112

 

Can someone give me a recommendation, on which P45 mobo? DS3R, UD3R, UD3lR, etc. The UD3R is $105 at Newegg.

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If you are going to get a P45, i would suggest go for the Intel i7 platform which would be the Gigabyte x58 series. It's pricier than a P45, but it'll have more benefit in the long run. Even the the lowest derivative i7, which is the 920, is faster than any Intel Core Duo. It's the closest you get to a MacPro performance but at a considerably lesser price.

 

In any case, good luck.

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If you are going to get a P45, i would suggest go for the Intel i7 platform which would be the Gigabyte x58 series. It's pricier than a P45, but it'll have more benefit in the long run. Even the the lowest derivative i7, which is the 920, is faster than any Intel Core Duo. It's the closest you get to a MacPro performance but at a considerably lesser price.

 

In any case, good luck.

 

Newegg has the i7 920 for sale at $270:

 

http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Aug-0...lextreme.com#IT

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx..._-L0-_-19115202

 

& GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128375

 

Doesn't have onboard video, so I need a video card. I don't need anything fancy (for gaming), any recommendations?

[ see above link for video boards on sale at Newegg: MSI GeForce 9600 GT, Asus GeForce 9400 GT, Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 ]

 

Could this system have potential as a killer PC gaming machine? (so, I could make it dual boot PC + Hackintosh?)

 

Sorry for the newbie questions, this will be my 1st build.

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Yeah you can use your hack for pro/100% stable work. Just make your gear as compatible as possible (Intel CPU & Chipset, bypass onboard audio and go for USB audio, recent Nvidia 9x or higher card). And everything has to be SATA rather than IDE.

 

See my sig for a 100% stable reference rig.

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I agree with longtom. i have used a EP35-DS3P and the EP45-DS3L and the ep45-ds3l was much easier and works much better/more stable. Less problems with sleep and USB.

 

as far as using an i7, yes it is newer technology but from what I have read, hacking is a lot more work with the x38/x48/x58 chipsets. Which most i7 boards are.

 

hackintoshes are a lot of fun, and with a little work/knowledge can run fairly stable (a lot more stable than a windows machine). But i am still saving my money for a Mac Pro (Maybe next year).

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  • 7 months later...

Can my PC run Leopard :

Gigabyte G31MXS2

4 GB DDR 2 RAM 667 MHz

Intel Core2Duo E6750 @2.66GHz

Zotac 9400 GT GPU

500 GB X 2 Seagate Barracuda HDD

Samsung DVD-RW drive

 

I am using iATKOS v7..... If my PC can run OS X leopard Iwould like to have detailed info.

 

Thanks :hysterical:

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