Possible to build an i7 Hackintosh for $800 bucks?

[Squirtin Burton]

Hi,

 

I would like to build a hackintosh to use with Pro Tools. I have been using Pro Tools on a Quadcore PC for years, and I am tired of instability of it.

 

I have a budget of $800 bucks. Is it possible to build an i7 Hackintosh with this budget? I've spent the last few days looking for the right parts but honestly, there's so much info out there, it's a bit overwhelming.

 

If anyone that has been using Pro Tools on a hackintosh can recommend me parts for a rock-solid system (within my budget), I would greatly appreciate it.

 

 

Thanks.

[HappyHackintosh]

Hi,

 

I would like to build a hackintosh to use with Pro Tools. I have been using Pro Tools on a Quadcore PC for years, and I am tired of instability of it.

 

I have a budget of $800 bucks. Is it possible to build an i7 Hackintosh with this budget? I've spent the last few days looking for the right parts but honestly, there's so much info out there, it's a bit overwhelming.

 

If anyone that has been using Pro Tools on a hackintosh can recommend me parts for a rock-solid system (within my budget), I would greatly appreciate it.

 

 

Thanks.

The i7 will cost about $275 minimum in the US. That doesn't leave you very much for quality other components. If you consider using less expensive i5 it becomes doable. My recommendation before you buy anything. Check the forums of companies you are considering for motherboards and memory. Try to understand if there are incompatibilities with CPU you want and the MB and the memory too. Of course check the memory manufacturers' forums too. I have been surprised of how many incompatibilities exist among RAM, MB and the exact CPU. Make sure you look at version info. You'll find lots of indications of POSSIBLE issues on the forums. That will suggest to you specific questions to ask about is such and such 100% OK with such & such.

 

I'm sure you have seen many posts that emphasize - get a appropriate size and quality PSU. Again the specific component & brand forums will help. Often folks overstate problems. If ProTools isn't as graphics intensive at gaming, you can get an inexpensive video card that will be very easy to use in a OSX86 build. There again look not only at the general card such as GeForce 220xxx [just a rough example] look at who made the card. I have read posts that indicate differences among vendors for the same basic video card. Hope this helps. It is based on my mistakes. I'm just learning about these issues.

[dothacker]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleD...st=Combo.514101

 

You will need a videocard since the Sabertooth mobo has no onboard video. If you have a card already laying around, then you're set. or find a card for $58 or less ... mind you, the price ($741.99) does not include tax so, you'll probably have more luck with an i5.

[screamin]

I can understand why you said i7. Audio processing can be quite CPU-heavy, although it could be also IO-heavy depending on the number of tracks in your projects, so you shouldn't overlook that part too. However, for most of my (modest) projects my Core2Duo (1.8) and old Seagate Baracuda work just fine (never exceeded 8-track). I'm talking windows here, though. Never tried to work on OS X yet. Mostly because my E-MU 0404 (PCI) still can't record under OS X. Playback does work though, thanks to that great man Eugene Gavrilov and his kX project.