punkmaiden Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Hi there. My dad and I are looking at building a Hackintosh, with the following specs Relevant motherboard; 1 TB HDD; 128/256MB Graphics Card; 3GHz Core 2 Quad Intel Processor 4GB RAM Multi Card reader. Apple OSX10.5.latest, or even 10.6 And DVD/CD drive My Dad, not being the most adventurous person when it comes to technology, decided that he'd have someone else build it. Fair enough, I thought. The 'builder' quoted £480 for the build, inc. his labour. So we decided to go ahead. However he rang us up a couple of days later, and said that another 'part' was needed, and it being my dad who answer the phone, he can't remember exactly what he said. Anyway, apparently it would have to be imported from the US and would cost an extra £200. It was needed, apparently, because the OSX would crash consistently without it. My question is, does anyone know what this 'part' could be, or even if it exists? I must admit that I'm a little sceptical... As far as I know (arguably I have been a PC-ite my entire life, and it's only in the last couple of months I've realised that Apple really is the way to go) only the parts above (and of course, the Tower and PSU, and all the bits above have to work nicely together etc) are needed, and that there isn't an extra 'toggle' that should be included. We're in England, if that has any relevance, considering the builder said that the part would need to be exported. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank-you in advance, Emma Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Baron Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Welcome to the forum. You don't need an extra part, you just need to make sure the parts you use are compatible with os x. The PC guy might be thinking you need http://www.efi-x.com/ . You don't, it's a rip off. Once you get the PC, start with installing Leopard. Alot of people who have been around OSX86 for a while are having problems with Snow Leopard, you'll learn some important things by starting with 10.5 Hope this helps, good luck! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1252616 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAX711 Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Wow, where to start Judging by your spec list, you really have no clue what your getting into. There's no such thing as "4GB of Quad Core Intel RAM", and motherboards aren't rated in GHz (except maybe the Front Side Bus speed) and none of them are 3 GHz. I think maybe you are looking for a 3 GHz Quad Core processor (made by Intel) and 4 GB of RAM? Based on that, I would guess that your mystery "builder" has detected your lack of knowledge on the subject and is trying to rip you off. There are no "special" parts needed to make a hackintosh work, just software. Some parts are more compatible with OSX than others. Check out people signatures, go to newegg.com and look up the parts, it will give you an idea of what it should cost. Good luck with your project. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1252632 Share on other sites More sharing options...
punkmaiden Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 Wow, where to start Judging by your spec list, you really have no clue what your getting into. There's no such thing as "4GB of Quad Core Intel RAM", and motherboards aren't rated in GHz (except maybe the Front Side Bus speed) and none of them are 3 GHz. I think maybe you are looking for a 3 GHz Quad Core processor (made by Intel) and 4 GB of RAM? Based on that, I would guess that your mystery "builder" has detected your lack of knowledge on the subject and is trying to rip you off. There are no "special" parts needed to make a hackintosh work, just software. Some parts are more compatible with OSX than others. Check out people signatures, go to newegg.com and look up the parts, it will give you an idea of what it should cost. Good luck with your project. Thanks for your advice. I guessed that he was attempting to rip us off. Seemed like a nice enough bloke. Sorry for the odd spec.. that's what you get if you attempt to multitask. It's all been edited now. Welcome to the forum. You don't need an extra part, you just need to make sure the parts you use are compatible with os x. The PC guy might be thinking you need http://www.efi-x.com/ . You don't, it's a rip off. Once you get the PC, start with installing Leopard. Alot of people who have been around OSX86 for a while are having problems with Snow Leopard, you'll learn some important things by starting with 10.5 Hope this helps, good luck! Sounds about right. Just talking it over with my Dad and he reckoned he mentioned the USB part of it, which completely confused him at the time. I never claimed to be a complete expert at all of this, however from reading other people's posts and websites on the net, it didn't seem to 'pop-up' anywhere. Thank-you very much for you kind advice, greatly appreciated Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1252664 Share on other sites More sharing options...
richtig Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 psystar.com still sells pre-built OSX boxes. Don't know if they ship outside the U.S. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1252716 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ascendedmaster Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Hey punkmaiden! Buy a Mac mini, it just works & runs Windows too. Why sweat all the details of running OS X86 on unsupported hardware if you have a £480 budget. A Hackintosh is great, but can be challenging to get up and running. I've had success, which is rewarding, but there are also many hours of troubleshooting & frustrating failures involved. If you are new to OS X it really is worth buying the Apple hardware to run it, plus you get first class customer support and fanastic residuals when you sell & upgrade. Good luck! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1252913 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dukebound85 Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 op: you dont seem too knowledgable about how to build a hackintosh It is more work than you think and not for the faint of heart just get a mini Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1253148 Share on other sites More sharing options...
FKA Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 op: you dont seem too knowledgable about how to build a hackintosh It is more work than you think and not for the faint of heart just get a mini Hi punkmaiden Most of the people on this forum knew nothing about building a hack when they first started. It's a hard learing curve and involves A LOT of reading but if it's what you want to do then go for it. I'd suggest starting with a distro install like kalyway (google kalyway.) You'll learn a lot from that and it's not too difficult to get running. If you just want to use your Hack day to day and not spent half your time fixing it then get an install working (like kalyway.) and don't install any apple updates. Good luck D. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1253164 Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlucian Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 i think the "the necessary component" is this...EFIX... http://www.orange-systems.co.uk/page0/page3/page3.html and you don't need to import it Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1253188 Share on other sites More sharing options...
starobrno1 Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 If this guy´s ripping you of I can´t say maby he not just experienced enough in putting together a pc that works with osx so he´s "safing" with the efix module. If this is extra part really is the efix! If it is well living in England you have a company selling it "at home" if I´m not wrong and also in Switzerland (closer to home). I´d say you don´t need it though just ask here and people probably gladly will help you with a "buying list" . Apple recently released Snow Leopard and things still seem to be a bit unclear on how to best go about getting it to run on PC hardware the easy way. Lots of good guides around here but no easy one I´m afraid. Not if you´re completely new at this anyway. Lots of good guides for the good old Leopard though some of them pretty easy too. I´ve been using LTLs guide (it´s in sticky threads) works really good. So if you go for Leopard it´s "pretty" easy. About hardware: I guess Gigabyte motherboards are very popular seems to work pretty ok for this. at the moment I have the GA EP45-DS3 and in the past I have had good succes with the GA P35-DS3R and a few other too. Also there´s two really cool little motherboards (Mini itx) from Intel (really cheap to) tha has an onboard CPU (Atom, lots of the new mini netbooks have them) + video and network so no need to buy that. One has a one core cpu version and the other a two core. All you need for this one is a case, memory, a powersupply unit, a harddrive and a DVD burner (and ofcourse a display, a keyboard and a mouse). This mobo me personally I have only used with a modified osx Kalyway 10.5.1 (that you´d have to find on the internet I´m afraid), but it runs really good with it. It might work with the retail osx Leo to but can´t say for sure but it probably does. I have one of these myself use it as a "mediacenter computer" with my flatscreen 42 inch TV, I have also built one for my mother. My moms have both Kalys osx and win xp installed (on seperate harddrives). This mobo is really small so with the right case (there´s a few good looking ones around too if you search) it makes a really cool little computer. Anyway it´s the cheapest way I know of anyway to try out osx if you go for new gear. I´m in sweden but here´s links in english. http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/moth...2D-overview.htm http://www.itx-warehouse.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=1019 This is the case I bought for my moms computer, a backside with this case is you only can use a slim internal dvd drive. You can use an external usb dvd drive though. The good thing is it comes with a Power supply unit so no need to buy that. I modified the internal dvd space to fit the extra win xp harddrive in there and bought an external dvd for her. This mobo runs Win XP really fast beats my old Asus mobo with a P4 3 Ghz cpu and with kalys osx 10.5.1 well you´d think it was made for it. As allways just about anything can go wrong trying to install osx on pc hardware, this should work though but I will not promise it does. Good luck if you or your dad want just pm me if you have questions regarding the D945GCLF2 mobo and I´ll try to help the best I can. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1253265 Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdtran1025 Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 To Punkmaiden, Build a cheap hack= US$400.00. Buy a Mac mini=US$600.00. Pros: hack=from 10 to hundreds hours of work depending on skill level and choice of components which is based on experience and knowledge (we are looping here). But in the end, the reward is worth it if you are into this kind of thing. Mini= instant gratification, sleek machine with all the capabilities of a real Mac, not to mention easy upgrade to newer packages. There is no con in this endeavor. Anything you try and fail is another thing you learn. Good luck with your decision. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1253374 Share on other sites More sharing options...
punkmaiden Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 Thanks everyone for the advice. Very much appreciated . I know I've got a long way to go, and this forum seems like a very good place to start! Thanks again, Emma Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1273046 Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoarthing Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 . . another vote for a Mac mini. Checkout the refurb store [at Apple UK] & if you're a student there are good deals. Seriously, don't muck about with this stuff unless you're a geek or closely acquainted with one. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/184312-is-another-component-needed-on-hackintosh-build/#findComment-1273079 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts