Looking for go ahead with new i7 build

[Doc_Tor]

My old G5 Duel 2Ghz is finally too slow for most things I need to do so its time for an upgrade. I could either sink 3.5k into a new Power Mac or 1.5k into a equally as fast hackintosh! I love mac but not as much as I love not spending 3.5k!

 

So my build is as follows, really just after any thoughts or suggestions on how it could be improved and how easy it will be run OSX 10.6.3 on this set-up. I will mainily be using it for video editing and Adobe CS3 Apps.

CPU: i7 930

MOBO: Asus P6T Deluxe V2

Or should I go Asus P6X58D-Premium or Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5 (looking now both have USB3)

GPU: asus en9800gt 1g ddr3

RAM: Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D 6GB (3x 2GB) PC-12800 (1600MHz) DDR3 Triple Kit

HDD: Western Digital 1TB SATA3 64M(WD1002FAEX)

POWER: Corsair TX-750 750W ATX Power

CASE: Coolermaster Centurion RC-590-KKN1 590 Case Black (NO PSU)

 

Got a couple of spare HDD to throw in and while the case is not exactly "stylish" it seems to be great for the price.

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts! I'm excited!

[Mackilroy]

Gigabyte has much better support among the hackintosh community. Not that the Asus board doesn't work (though honestly I don't know if it does or not), but most people go for Gigabyte. I've got the EX58-UD5, the X58A should be fine IIRC.

 

It will be very easy to install 10.6.3, that's what I'm running right now. Just make sure to have a backup of your drive so if you screw something up you can roll back to that and be okay.

[Doc_Tor]

Gigabyte has much better support among the hackintosh community. Not that the Asus board doesn't work (though honestly I don't know if it does or not), but most people go for Gigabyte. I've got the EX58-UD5, the X58A should be fine IIRC.

 

It will be very easy to install 10.6.3, that's what I'm running right now. Just make sure to have a backup of your drive so if you screw something up you can roll back to that and be okay.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Couple of questions. I can not see a massive difference between the UD3R and the UD5 except for larger heat sinks and the additional LAN port oh and a few extra power cycles so not sure if its worth the extra. Would the UD3R be just as good a choice in terms of ease getting a Hackintosh up and running?

 

Also did you manage to get Firewire(FW) working? I run Pro Tools and it requires a FW connection to the Digi 002 mixer so its a bit of a must plus require FW for the HD camera.

 

Thanks for your help - Its funny you can read and read but still there are questions!

[Mackilroy]

Yes, there are a lot of people with UD3 motherboards.

 

I haven't tried Firewire – I don't have any FW devices. Sorry.

[Doc_Tor]

Alright, I am leaning towards a UD3R but if anyone has any experience with running firewire that would be great!

 

Also any thoughts on the video card? Should I be spending more? I have read many mixed reports with some saying this card is enough and other not. Open to any suggestions.

[Doc_Tor]

Just to let you all know I have gone with the UD3R and the rest of the set-up as listed above going to start the build today and will let you know how it goes!

[Mackilroy]

How'd it all work out for you?

[Polixxid]

I am also looking to put together a new RIG using the UD3 please let me know what your experiences were with the install.

[Dlauth]

I am in the same boat. Im looking for a setup that will be relatively easy on me, im new to the hackintosh world. It seems this board will be an easy install.

[SpyderWeiss]

We are all in this boat together! This is what I've assembled on Newegg.com. Any recommendations on changing anything? Also, I currently have the ASUS EAH4870 already, I tried flashing it to work with my current 1,1 2.66Ghz 2006 Mac Pro, but it doesn't want to allow me to flash So I've decided to sell the pro and just build a Hackintosh. I was curious if anyone knew any Mac Pro 2.66 2006 comparison benchmarks to a machine similar to this. I'm curious how much performance increase I will get. I've tried googling around, but I can't find anything comparing the 2.

 

I should mention that I'll be using Windows for gaming purposes, and the Mac for running everything else including an EyeTV device.

 

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920

OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3X1600R2LV6GK

ASUS EAH4870/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Antec CP-1000 1000W Continuous ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

LG Black 10X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk SATA Model WH10LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM

 

I already have several hard drives from my Mac Pro I'll be saving, and I have extra dvd burners lying around, but I like the Blu-Ray idea. I know Blu-ray playing isn't supported yet on the mac (as far as I am aware), but I want it for the PC side of things. I could drop it though, it would save $95.

 

I'm considering asking Newegg if I can swap the ASUS card for the XFX model they currently have listed as I have read XFX seems to play nicer. Any thoughts on that? Newegg also has a XFX 4890 (out of stock right now, says it will be back in late this week), is the performance difference that big between the two? Enough to justify an extra $60?

 

Total cost with shipping: $1,141.57

 

I appreciate any advice.

 

Thanks!

[Mackilroy]

I wouldn't bother swapping the 4870 for a 4890. It's a good card, but if you already have the 4870 it isn't worth upgrading. If you compare the 2.66 GHz Mac Pro (which is what I had) to the 2.66 GHz Core i7, in Geekbench it's just under twice as fast. This is mostly evident in video editing or other processor-intensive apps, but the user experience also subjectively feels much smoother and programs launch faster and work more quickly.

[SpyderWeiss]

I wouldn't bother swapping the 4870 for a 4890. It's a good card, but if you already have the 4870 it isn't worth upgrading. If you compare the 2.66 GHz Mac Pro (which is what I had) to the 2.66 GHz Core i7, in Geekbench it's just under twice as fast. This is mostly evident in video editing or other processor-intensive apps, but the user experience also subjectively feels much smoother and programs launch faster and work more quickly.

 

Thanks Mackilroy! Newegg actually made an exception and is accepting my card back, so I'm going to hunt down a 4890 on Ebay. Are you the same Mackilroy on the tonymacx86 boards? If so, I noticed in your profile you were running a 4890, any issues you've had with it? What exact model do you have? Thanks again!

[Mackilroy]

Oh really? Cool. Yep, that's me. The only issue I had was figuring out how to get it to work with 10.6.3 – it was pretty easy in the end, though. The card I have is an HIS HD 4890 that I purchased from Newegg. You can't buy it any more – it's been out of stock for months.

[SpyderWeiss]

Oh really? Cool. Yep, that's me. The only issue I had was figuring out how to get it to work with 10.6.3 – it was pretty easy in the end, though. The card I have is an HIS HD 4890 that I purchased from Newegg. You can't buy it any more – it's been out of stock for months.

 

Thanks for the reply. So I've been reading about compatibility, and it seems NVIDIA has better support as far as hackintosh's go. So I have a new set of specs:

 

Antec TruePower New TP-750 Blue 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE ...

 

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

 

GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

Patriot Viper 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PVT36G1600ELK

 

Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8MB LGA1366 CPU, Retail

 

Without the video card this comes to a total of $839.97. My Mac Pro I'm trading in should sell for around $1200-1300 on ebay, so that leaves me with about 360-460 for a video card. Is the GTX 295 worth the performance bump? Or am I best off with a 285? I've found both on ebay, the 285 goes for $200-$300 on eBay, the $295 is $400-500. I will be doing a lot of gaming on the Windows side of things, I have a 24" LG monitor. I like running games at 1980x1080 with everything on.

[Mackilroy]

NVIDIA is easier to get working, but not that much easier. Your hardware looks pretty good, though honestly I don't know about the GTX 295 being worth more or less - might as well just Google some benchmarks with it and whatever other card you're considering. My framerates are very good, but I'm only running at 1680x1050.

[Sammy99]

Sorry to hijack this thread, I too am looking for a 'go ahead'. My first attempt hackintosh to rival a mid spec iMac i7 – All suggestions welcomed as I've reached a stumbling block. I aim to use it for video editing and Adobe's latest Apps.

 

 

CPU: i7 930 2.8GHz 8MB Cache

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 or EX58A-UD3R

GPU: Gigabyte GTS 250 1Gb or ATI Radeon 4890 (Are there better compatible cards?)

RAM: Corsair 8GB (4x2GB) PC-12800 (1600MHz) DDR3

HDD: Seagate XT 2TB 7200rpm 6GB/s 64M

POWER: Corsair HX-850 ATX

 

 

 

I'm hoping the careful selection of parts yields me a simple install using a retail OSX 10.6.3 disc? Out of the box is what I'm aiming for. Hope to get it as good as a real Mac with hassle-free updates.

 

 

 

 

Sammy

[Mackilroy]

I have the i7-930, EX58-UD5 and an HD 4890, running 10.6.3 and Windows 7. So you're good to go there. The RAM, hard drive and PSU are okay - don't generally have to be real picky there. I will warn you though that a lot of people apparently have problems getting ATI cards to work with their hackintoshes. I didn't, but only because I used an NVIDIA card for the install (4890 was in another machine at the time) and only swapped to the ATI card later on.

 

'Better' compatible cards? Depends. Do you mean 'easier to install with' or 'faster'? The HD 4890 is the fastest ATI card currently available, while I believe either the GTX 285 or 295 is the best NVIDIA card you can use (though I've not tried either, and most of the GTX cards I've seen on hacks are 260s). If 'easier' the GTS 250 is generally pretty easy to get working, from what I've read, and so is the 9800 GT.

 

If you want to use the 4890, before you upgrade to 10.6.3 go here and download the two software packages that are mentioned next to the 4890 section. It's worked so far for an HIS card and a Sapphire one (apparently disabled his DisplayPort - I don't have that problem as all I have are DVI ports), so it should work for other models too.

 

With your hardware I highly recommend Kakewalk - it's a very easy install method that works quite smoothly. I will warn you to go into the BIOS and make sure you can use USB keyboards before beginning the install process, but that's very easy to do and it was the only issue I had with installing OS X.

 

Good luck!

 

EDIT: I forgot to address a few things. Updating process has been simple so far. The only ones you really need to watch for are OS updates. Also, I'd swap to 6 GB of RAM at the outset, X58 motherboards run in triple-channel, not dual-channel.

[TomCom]

Sorry to hijack this thread, I too am looking for a 'go ahead'. My first attempt hackintosh to rival a mid spec iMac i7 – All suggestions welcomed as I've reached a stumbling block. I aim to use it for video editing and Adobe's latest Apps.

 

 

CPU: i7 930 2.8GHz 8MB Cache

MOBO: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 or EX58A-UD3R

GPU: Gigabyte GTS 250 1Gb or ATI Radeon 4890 (Are there better compatible cards?)

RAM: Corsair 8GB (4x2GB) PC-12800 (1600MHz) DDR3

HDD: Seagate XT 2TB 7200rpm 6GB/s 64M

POWER: Corsair HX-850 ATX

 

A GTS 250 is the most compatible GFX card you'll ever get.

Be careful: you need a triple channel memory kit (meaning 3x1GB or 3x2GB). Dual Channel kits don't use the same voltage.

A 850W PSU is overkill. The HX650 would be more than enough, or the 750W if you care about 80+ Silver and 140mm fan.