Vitinhoo! Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Hi guys, ripventura here. I hope you can help me with my case... A couple of years ago (5 - 7) I used to have a PC and love to use my hackintosh. The problem at that time was that the hardware requirements were a pain in the ***, and was pretty common to have some parts like audio / wifi cards not working properly... I got tired of the hacking thing and bought a MacBook White, and now I have this: iMac 21.5" Mid 2011, i5 Quad-core 2.5GHz, AMD 6750M 512MB, 12GB RAM DDR3 It's a pretty good build for common tasks, even dealing with some video editing (the 12GB RAM works like charm) and some "XCoding" (I'm an iOS developer). The thing is that I really want to build a hardcore gaming beast, and for that I must sell my iMac. On the other hand, I CAN'T abandon Mac OSX (1: Because it's not even comparable to windows 2: I need it for work). Here's the PC I'm about to buy: i7 3770 3.4GHz, AMD 7870 2GB (or G-Force GTX 660-Ti 2GB), 8GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance, Mother Board MSI H61MU-B35. My question is: Is it a good choice to dump a really good iMac, and start depending on hacks to use Mac OSX (but with the hardware 5x better)? Thanks in advance! ---------------------------------------------------- EDIT: What about this build? i7 3770 3.4GHz, G-Force GTX 660 2GB, 8GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance, Mother Board GibaByte GA-Z77X-UD5H Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
theconnactic Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 The 660 Ti - which is basically the same silicon as the 670 - is easier to setup with Mountain Lion, at least until Apple release a machine equipped with a 7xxx AMD GPU. I'd use a Gigabyte UEFI motherboard: they're the easiest ones to use with OSX. I'd also get one with Thunderbolt ports, because Thunderbolt is the future - the Z77-UP5-TH, for instance, has two Thunderbolt ports. If it fits in your budget, why not 16GB of RAM? The resultant machine will make your current iMac appear to be in slow motion. To your question: if you don't care about Apple's EULA and just wants raw performance, keep in mind that current Gigabyte UEFI and Ivy Bridge hardware kind of just work with the current iterations of OSX: in the future, you might as well have to resort to a repertoire of hacks once more. But then again, Apple use to drop support for some of their macs after a while, and yours is new, but not current, so... All the best! Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1911733 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitinhoo! Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 The problem is that I live in Brazil and the parts here are kind of expensive... But I'll change my AMD for the 660, and will try to find that motherboard! Thanks! Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1911735 Share on other sites More sharing options...
theconnactic Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 I understand, and i was about to suggest you to also buy a SSD for your hack, when i realized it could be too expensive for your wallet. But then again, Macs use to keep their value even after a couple of years of usage, so i you sell yours for a good price, perhaps you can buy all the parts needed for a beast of a machine. All the best! 1 Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1911736 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vitinhoo! Posted May 1, 2013 Author Share Posted May 1, 2013 The 660 Ti - which is basically the same silicon as the 670 - is easier to setup with Mountain Lion, at least until Apple release a machine equipped with a 7xxx AMD GPU. I'd use a Gigabyte UEFI motherboard: they're the easiest ones to use with OSX. I'd also get one with Thunderbolt ports, because Thunderbolt is the future - the Z77-UD5-TH, for instance, has two Thunderbolt ports. If it fits in your budget, why not 16GB of RAM? The resultant machine will make your current iMac appear to be in slow motion. To your question: if you don't care about Apple's EULA and just wants raw performance, keep in mind that current Gigabyte UEFI and Ivy Bridge hardware kind of just work with the current iterations of OSX: in the future, you might as well have to resort to a repertoire of hacks once more. But then again, Apple use to drop support for some of their macs after a while, and yours is new, but not current, so... All the best! What about this build? i7 3770 3.4GHz, G-Force GTX 660 2GB, 8GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance, Mother Board GibaByte GA-Z77X-UD5H 1 Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1911895 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Dev Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Gigabyte motherboards are no easier then any others. The build you posted looks good. I would go with 16 GB of ram. Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1913057 Share on other sites More sharing options...
theconnactic Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Really? For the basic installation (not counting fine tuning things like sleep etc) they seem to be indeed easier - based on empirical knowledge from the systems i installed: i don't know really why should they less troublesome to set up. From my experience they are. Vitinho, i'd get the 660 Ti. And i really really think you should grab the Z77-UP5-TH if you can stand the price tag. When you buy your parts, check out the site of the guy who posted right above me, www.rampagedev.wordpress.com: there you'll find some of the best guides around. All the best! Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1913061 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Dev Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 No more difficult. I think you have been drinking the cool aid from another site to much... No difference and there has never been any difference only hype and lies to end users.... Of my soapbox. As for the Z77-UP5-TH with dual thunderbolt they are alone in the market with this feature. Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1913077 Share on other sites More sharing options...
theconnactic Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 No, my friend: unfortunately is my personal experience, not a Voldemort charm I never had a single headache with a 7 series Gigabyte motherboard (except for my own, and this only because i use a lot of less common configurations and some deprecated PCI cards). It might as well being coincidence or perhaps i'm lucky, but i can't help it: i'll recommend hardware based first in my personal experience and second in reliable reading (such as your articles). Yeah, i really think he'll lose if he doesn't get the UP5-TH. My next upgrade will be also a thunderbolt motherboard (Quo, perhaps?). All the best! Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1913080 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rampage Dev Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Quo for sure. Also with haswell coming out on June 3rd... Quote Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/288263-switch-a-2011-imac-for-a-hackintosh/#findComment-1913084 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.