Pro Audio Hackintosh Build

[Fire and Glass]

Below is the system im currently running with XP, and because its windows, its giving me a ton of problems. I have a macbook and would like to just have mac's all around. That being said, i cant afford a mac pro so here i am! After hours of research im still unclear as to what would be best. Heres what Ive got now:

 

MOTHERBOARD: Intel DG33TL

PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400

VIDEO CARD: Nvidia GEForce 7300

DVD/CD DRIVE: Pioneer DVR-113NP

PRIMARY SATA HARD DRIVE: Seagate ST3160812AS

SECONDARY INTERNAL SATA: WDC3200AAKS

2 MONITORS: 22" LG, 22" Westinghouse

MEMORY: 4GB DDR2

 

WHAT I NEED:

If I could keep any of my hardware that would be great but im finding ill have to find a more compatible motherboard and video card. Graphics power isnt very important to me but i would like to run Dual DVI for my 2 monitors. Im really having trouble finding a good graphics card that is compatible with a Hackintosh build. Im running a Pro Tools 8 LE system and what i currently have (as far as power and specs) is more than enough, I just need better hardware for a Hackintosh. If anybody can recommended what i should keep/replace it would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks everyone

[Soulman Studio]

Below is the system im currently running with XP, and because its windows, its giving me a ton of problems. I have a macbook and would like to just have mac's all around. That being said, i cant afford a mac pro so here i am! After hours of research im still unclear as to what would be best. Heres what Ive got now:

 

MOTHERBOARD: Intel DG33TL

PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400

VIDEO CARD: Nvidia GEForce 7300

DVD/CD DRIVE: Pioneer DVR-113NP

PRIMARY SATA HARD DRIVE: Seagate ST3160812AS

SECONDARY INTERNAL SATA: WDC3200AAKS

2 MONITORS: 22" LG, 22" Westinghouse

MEMORY: 4GB DDR2

 

WHAT I NEED:

If I could keep any of my hardware that would be great but im finding ill have to find a more compatible motherboard and video card. Graphics power isnt very important to me but i would like to run Dual DVI for my 2 monitors. Im really having trouble finding a good graphics card that is compatible with a Hackintosh build. Im running a Pro Tools 8 LE system and what i currently have (as far as power and specs) is more than enough, I just need better hardware for a Hackintosh. If anybody can recommended what i should keep/replace it would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks everyone

 

Hey guy, the intel board you have is extremely buggy for XP....nevermind running pro tools! I may be talking out of my rear, but Im in the same boat as you and currently working on two separate rigs to get comfortable with the "hack" setup! Im running an old Dell Optiplex 620 that I picked up at a garage sale with 3.4gh duo proc and 4 gigs ddr2. Im using the built in intel video and it seems to run leopard like a dream. ...still working on getting the internal sound to work. Im running a M audio firewire sound card with Cubase 5. I STILL havent licked the sound issue yet....rig seems to freeze up during driver install. My other rig, an asus p5 board, I just got up, but havent tried to install anything yet, but I have a firewire yamaha board I plan to install. Im running a ATI x550, but I dont think I have the correct driver installed, but both my acer 22" monitors seem to be working ok....just seems some of the animation isnt quite right.....more fiddling to do. Next week, Im going to work on getting Sleopard up and running, "if I can find a working distro" then Ill try pro tools. You shouldnt have major issues with your Pro tools rig as long as it is "stable"! ...have you tried running the "hack" on the intel board? ...if its stable, you ve got nothing to loose, but Id suggest ditching that intel board and just get one of the many boards that these forums have deemed "stable" and start from there! Ill get back with my findings next week! ....and any help or suggestions would be great! Dj

[Zaap]

The Intel DG33TL shows up on the 10.6.0 HCL with a link to a Snow Leopard guide.

 

I know that people managed to get Leopard running on that board fine- I think the main problem is the onboard LAN isn't supported, so it probably needs a PCI LAN card. (Assuming no working driver has been developed since SL). If your setup depends on having the PCI slot in use for other things, this could be a deal-killer right off.

 

I don't know about that exact board, but I had great results with the Intel DG31PR. The first one I set up made for a 100% fully working Hackintosh that the person I built it for is still rocking today, nearly 2 years later, with no problems. In my experience, Intel boards are VERY stable, just not cutting edge fast and feature-loaded like other makes.

 

And by the way, as 'crazy' as it may seem, I have encountered boards that were more-stable and speedier running OSX than Windows- especially ANY version of Windows prior to 7. So you absolutely should NOT write off the possibility of a stable OSX based on Windows performance- OSX (set up correctly) is pretty damn stable on just about anything that it can run on, whereas Windows is... err, Windows.

 

At any rate, you should definitely give it a shot. If by some chance you can't get it working, you could always switch to a well-supported Gigabyte motherboard like the G31M-ES2L or G41M-ES2L.

 

Everything else you own should work fine (provided the DVD drive is SATA- you may have trouble using the IDE channel with OSX on that board).

 

Your 7300 (GT, GS, or LE?) should work fine as far as being OSX/Hackintosh compatible. I've used tons of 7300GT cards in Hackintosh builds for others. I don't think dual DVI out will work with that card though. Definitely one DVI and one VGA monitor will work. (I've run that setup on a 7300GT)

[nobbynator]

Awesome info thanks guys.

 

I've currently got Hackintosh 10.5.8 (iDeneb lite) running on my Toshiba a-200 laptop with Pro-tools 8 and Logic 9 running a treat (with an Mbox mini) but have been thinking about going the whole hog and making a desktop to go with my DIGI 002 rack, anybody had any experience of fire wire (audio or otherwise) on Hackintosh? Seems to be a dodgy area from some posts.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

[tony890914]

my advice would be buy another 4gb ram and change you mobo to a gigabyte brand. preferably ep45ud3(P/R)

 

remember to check the hcl for compatible firewire card and external sound card/dac

 

according to this post( http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...;#entry1381580)

 

this one is supported http://www.digitus.info/pl/produkty/access...203&p=16092

cheers

[Fire and Glass]

this is all great information, thanks guys. One question is about firewire. Apparently people say the DG33TL board is compatible so wouldnt that mean the firewire port on it is compatible as well? I just didnt get why it was recommended to buy a separate card. im purchasing snow leopard tonight and im going to try it in the next couple of days. wish me luck!

[Zaap]

I think the firewire card suggestion was if you replace the motherboard with a Gigabyte board that doesn't have FW.

 

If that board has onboard FW, as long as the controller is OSX compatible it should work.

 

My only experience with FW audio on a Hackintosh is I use a Firewave FW surround sound system on my main hack (using onboard FW)- it's been working great for a year and a half.