Help me build my Hackintosh please!

[PepeLapiu]

Ok, boyz and gurlz, I've built two machines so far but it was always for Windoze so it was pretty easy but now I want to get OSX86 in there and get familiar with that. Both my former machines were pretty extreme so I plan on building yet an other good performer but I don't know nothing about OSX86 support hardware and the such. Can you point me to what hardware would be adequate for a Hackintosh?

 

Here are my requirements:

 

Video card : I want a good PCI-e video card, at least 256MB and HDTV (I think that means I can plug my TV on it, no?). I can spend around 3-400$ on the card.

 

Mobo : I want SATA, but I am not sure if I can have that or not in a Hackintosh?!?

I want at least 6 USB ports with two up front.

One PCI-e slot, maybe two for future expansion.

At least 3 PCI slots.

I wish they wouldn't make mobos with integrated sound but looks like I have no choice in that regard, they all have that nowadays.

 

Sound card : A good 24bit sound card with 5.1 or 7.1 and preferably a PCI card over a USB one, if at all possible. I have the Audigy ZS but I understand that wouldn't work for OSX ... right?

 

CPU : two cores if possible and I can spare about 3-400$ for that, I prefer socket 939 since I already have the 2GB of RAM sticks for that but I don't know if socket 939 is practical in a Hackintosh. Any other socket/processor and I need to buy more RAM sticks for that. It's my understanding that an Intel dual core is about 30% faster than an AMD dual core so having to switch to Intel wouldn't be a terrible thing.

 

Tuner card : I don't know if it would be possible to have a tuner card with OSX but if anyone knows how it can be done, please let me know.

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated here .... thanx!

 

And by the way, is it true I can't have a working mic with OSX86?

 

PepeLapiu in Calgary, Canada

[bottleNeckKiller]

Supported OSX86 hardwares are here

[PepeLapiu]

I only hoped it would be that easy.

I though so long as pick from the HCL list, I'm fine but look here on my last thread.

Turns out it's not as easy as just picking items from a list

[bottleNeckKiller]

Best mainboard: Asus P5W HD Deluxe

Best CPU: any Intel Core 2 Duo (Conreo)

 

Hope this helps

[PepeLapiu]

Thanx you, I will try those two items you suggested.

They are pricey but I hope they can perform.

 

Turns out I can get both the CPU and mobo at my local computer store for less than the average on-line-store prices.

[zedzed]

Now the big crapshoot is which videocard to get.

[PepeLapiu]

ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E w/ VIVO, Dual DVI

 

or

 

ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon X800XL 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E

 

What do you think?

[bottleNeckKiller]

Graphic card is more complex if you need widescreen.

Do you have widescreen?

[PepeLapiu]

No I don't have widescreen, (as a matter of fact there is no screen at all on my door )

But widescreen might be a nice option in the future if I get a front projector but I believe those would reformat the screen ratio .... not sure here.

 

However, I started to add things up and I am starting to get a bit out of my budget:

 

Mobo: P5W DH Deluxe 270$

CPU: Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 400$

Memory: 2x 1GB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM 300$

HD: 2x Seagate 200GB Barracuda 7200.9 SATA II 160$

CPU cooler: Zalman CNPS9500 LED Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler 80$

VGA cooler: Zalman VF700-Cu LED Ultra Quiet Video Card Cooler 45$

RAM cooler: EVERCOOL Neon Crab Memory Cooler 20$

 

So far we already have 1300$ of stuff not including the 300$ I already spent for the PSU and the case.

On top of that, there is still a vid card to buy .... it's starting to get a bit out of budget here. A little rich for me. Maybe I should buy a cheap vid card until I can get a better one in the future.

Maybe I can also drop the CPU and VGA coolers and run the stock fans/heatsinks until I start to OC my machine later on.

 

Edit: And oops, I didn't factor in the sound card and the tuner card which I really need .... that's an other 300$ right there, we are now over 2,000$ for this system.

 

So anyway, I now run the Athlon 64 +3000 ...... how much faster do you think the Duo E6600 would be? Will I see a definate and appreciative difference when booting up and rendering 3D graphics?

[BlackCH]

you might want to check this mother: Intel D945GTPLR

if is not to late.

 

Personally I wont spend 2000$ In buliding a machine that probably wont work 100%

You can do it for less....

 

 

Check This:

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?sho...mp;hl=$199

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=169325

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?s=&...ost&p=86454

[trav1085]

For me, I have my $500 Dell Dimension 1100 with a dvd burner running x86 very well. I never once thought it was to slow. Screensavers are a little slow but I think that's no just me.

 

My programs run great too and such. Animations are fast.

 

You don't need a super fast machine to run x86, but it has to be compatable. I think that getting more complex hardware and such is less compatable that a lower end system, such as video cards that are specificly optimized and created for PCs, unlike my intel video which is like a giraffe, it goes both ways.

[PepeLapiu]

Graphic card is more complex if you need widescreen.

Do you have widescreen?

I don't need widescreen in the foreseable future.

However what features would I need to look for on a vid card in order to get widescreen on the OSx ?

And if widescreen is not supported, what happens to the image? The two sides get cut out and you end up with a black strip on each side of the screen?

 

By the way, if I plug a projector on my machine (which I might in the future), the projector is usually equiped to deal with just about any resolutions and screen ratios.

If the projector has 4:3 as native ration and you feed it widescreen stuff, it just adds black bars at the top and botton. If the projector has widescreen as native ration and you feed it 4:3 stuff, it adds a black bar on each side.