khan_merrick Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum, but I do have hackintosh experience (typing this right now on my Dell Mini 10v with 10.6.1). I'm currently looking for a replacement for my beat up Santa Rosa MacBook Pro. A great machine, but that thing has eaten the dirt quite literally a few too many times. I'm a full-time student and a working photographer, so a multimedia computer is a must. After a fair amount of lurking from forum to forum I narrowed it down between an HP HDX18t and a Sony AW 390. I'm pretty set on the AW as I really like sony's styling, and it's a bit cheaper with a student discount. However, before I make the leap, I need to be sure about the Aw's compatibility with Mac OSX. I've searched around the forum and seen a fair amount of posts about the Sony FW, which seems to run very well, but nothing about the AW. My specs on this machine would likely be: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9900 (3.06GHz) NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT GPU 512MB dedicated video RAM1 8GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 4GBx2) 640GB (320GBx2) Hard Drive (7200rpm) Blu-ray Disc playback 18.4" widescreen display with XBRITE-FullHD LCD technology (1920x1080) WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth technology Digital TV Tuner 2 Year Express Ship Service Plan with Accidental Damage from Handling Protection In searching the OSX86 project homepage it seems that most of this hardware, if not all of it, should work. Does anyone here have any experience hackintoshing a Sony Aw? Hear about anyone doing it successfully? Have any guides? Any help would be much appreciated for me being a new member! Thanks! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyckyj Posted September 19, 2009 Share Posted September 19, 2009 It might work... Or it might not. A lot of times with laptops there are problems with getting all of a CPUs cores working even though the laptop looks to be fully compatible. If you need it to be gauranteed to work with osx I'd go for the hp (if you search there is a couple topics on them) otherwise you could go for the Sony and see if you can get it working. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/#findComment-1273257 Share on other sites More sharing options...
khan_merrick Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 Yeah, that is a good point. However, if I were getting the HP it would have the same processor, so wouldn't I run into the same problems? I think I'm most worried about the graphics with Sony VAIOs. Is it a confirmed issue that graphics on VAIOs don't yet run 100%? Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/#findComment-1273458 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyckyj Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 The 9600m gt should work fine on any make/model... But the processor issue more has to do with the bios of that particular laptop and you really can't tell if it will work until you try it. Dells and hps usually have no problems but there are some others that do. For the hp I'd start reading here: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=135562 . Also if you find any dells that you like Id definetly consider it because they seam to work the best and have the most support on these forums. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/#findComment-1274118 Share on other sites More sharing options...
khan_merrick Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 Thanks for the tips. I've looked at the Dell line, and I really like the Studio XPS 16, however, this <a href="http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=163666">topic</a> seems to imply that there are many issues with the process on that specific model. The Dell HDX18t seems to be the best bet right now, but I intend to keep looking for Sony solutions as time goes on. Thanks! Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/#findComment-1274643 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Rasmussen Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 I'm likewise a Newbie, but with no Hackintosh experience, frustrated that Apple has yet to support blu -ay (in spite of being an original member of the Blu-Ray Consortium.) Sony Viaos have an peerless rep for longevity and hassle free operation according to my PC-based amigos, but I'd jump into a snake pit with mice pinned to me before suffering Vista, so I'm looking eagerly and hopefully forward to good news on this thread! One concern I have, in wanting to burn blu-ray, is whether OS-X_ will recognize/work with the internal BD burner or output signal through the HDMI port. Anyone successfully MAC-ing out an AW390 and sharing their experience will likely be eligable for Sainthood... and the thanks of us media pros Apple seems to have forgotten since the iPod and iPhone took the stage. Chris ~ Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/#findComment-1276927 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ermal Koci Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Well let me tell you first that installing OS X on a SONY vaio vgn-aw31m has been a pain in the ... and still not working! Main problems are: 1. Internal screen not working (slowly losing hope that it never will) 2. Graphic card needs a mixture of kexts and EFI strings to work properly (wrong mixture will give you just a nice light blue screen, of course on external monitor) 3. Ethernet card not working and best of all, impossible to find model number. (I'm hoping it's Marvell Yukon 88E8036) or something close to it. Sony please tell us what's inside our PC-s, promise we won't tell anyone. So to even start the procedure you need. 1. Nerves of steel, stainless possibly. 2. good knowledge of terminal commands. 3. A secondary external monitor 4. A secondary computer, preferably a Mac, with internet connection (when you enter safe mode, it won't mount your USB stick if it's Windows formatted) Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/#findComment-1621180 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackilroy Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 This topic is a year and a half old. Doubt the OP will ever reply again. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/#findComment-1621910 Share on other sites More sharing options...
unhot Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Well, I have a Sony Vaio VGN-AW230J and have the internal monitor functional running retail Snow Leopard, not at the native resolution, but it works. I rewrote the Chameleon bootloader a bit for my own purposes, but you can use the tonymac method to get easily up and running. The wireless and networking are still out of the question atm, If you are ok with that then go that route. I usually dl whatever programs / kexts I need on Win 7 / Linux partitions on the same machine and copy them over. Not having internet right there is good to get some work done if thats your thing ... Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/187470-sony-vaio-aw-390-thoughts/#findComment-1663474 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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