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Help Choosing GPUs & CPU For New Build


xJPN
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Hello all,

 

[If this post is in the wrong place I will gladly remove!]

 

I've decided that it's about the time that I start a new Hackintosh build. My last build, Project Ageha, has served me well and to a certain extent continues to do so, but things have changed quite a bit and it can't keep up with my needs as of late.

 

For my new build, I am shooting for a bit of a different setup compared to a traditional Hackintosh rig. What I am essentially wanting to do is build a Linux machine and will subsequently use virtual machines for macOS and Windows. The idea is simple enough I suppose, but I know alot of things have changed in the Hackintoshing space since my last build, so I am trying to bring myself back up to speed. Red Hat and Arch Linux are my flavors of choice, just fyi.

 

My desire for this new build is that it would be my "work hard, play hard" machine. Part of my job requires that I create very demanding and advanced graphical renders of structures, sometimes quite large in volume. That said, time-frame is a big deal for me. The sooner I can complete one job the better, so I can move on to the next one. Also, on the side, I do some mid to high end hobbyist video editing with Premiere Pro and After Effects. I usually work with 4k60fps footage, and don't really see myself going above that for some time. Again, speedy render times are appreciated for this as well.

 

I almost exclusively use macOS for the things I've listed above. Which would, of course, leave Windows for my "play hard". Gaming and other entertainment will be the primary function of the Windows VM.

 

Now, for my ideal build to become a successful reality, I believe, hinges almost completely on the capabilities of two very important components. The CPU and the GPU. After doing only a surface amount of research, I have found that NVIDIA is effectively no longer a player in the game for macOS. Can't say that I'm surprised, writing was on the wall long ago imo. As further research detailed, however, I found that there is a way to use two different GPUs to accommodate macOS's restrictions. Enabling me to have my cake and eat it too, so to speak.

 

I know that was a rather lengthy discourse to get to my question, but I wanted to lay some groundwork first so you know where my headspace is. So now, here's where I need some advice.

 

Firstly, if I am not mistaken, for a build such as the one I'm shooting for, a beefy CPU is surely not only recommended but probably required. Since I want to run VMs, I was thinking the more cores the better, which caused my mind to automatically go to AMD's Threadripper. I saw that this was an overall not recommended idea, though technically possible. Not sure if there are any Xeons on the level of Threadrippers out there yet, but furthermore I am not sure that going with either of those options is recommended.

 

So given what I've planned to use this new computer for, which CPU would be recommended?

 

GPUs on the hand, I believe I have narrowed it down. For macOS I am between one of the following four cards.

 

All seem to be right up the alley of what I'm looking for to do my work. And, if I'm not mistaken, they are all compatible with macOS. So, happy days there. I'm just not sure which I should pull the trigger on. Biggest areas of interest that they all differ are Compute Units(CUs), VRAM amount, VRAM type/speed, memory bandwidth, and memory interface. Not sure if I should just go balls-to-the-wall and get the Radeon Pro VII, which dominates in all said areas of interest. The word "overkill" comes to mind though. I don't think that there will ever be a time that I will make use of all of the 6 displays it is capable of outputting to though, 3 or 4 max.

 

For Windows. I'm almost certainly going to use an RTX 3090, mostly because it is closely on hand (lucky me). Only reason I wouldn't is because of it causing some issue for the rest of my build.

 

On a final note, I would like to know if it would be possible to run both macOS and Windows at the same time, given the proper hardware was in use. Not sure if I'd ever do this, but I was just curious. Extreme example: gaming while waiting for a render to finish. Again I know this is probably a far shot but just wanted to know.

 

If you read all of this, thanks for bearing with my long-windedness. Hopefully it all made sense. Hopeful to hear your advice!

 

-xJPN

 

TL;DR

 

I am wanting to build a Hackintosh running Linux, macOS and Windows. Linux being the base of the machine, macOS and Windows will run in separate virtual machines. My job requires that I create demanding and advanced graphical renders, sometime large scale. I also do mid to high end video editing using Adobe software. I do all of this work in macOS. I use windows to game and for other entertainment.

 

Please help me chose a suitable CPU and GPU for this build. Not sure what CPU to choose. My GPU prospects are:

macOS:

Windows:

  • RTX 3090 (plan to use it since I have it unless it causes problems with the build)

Thanks for your time.

Edited by xJPN
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  • 3 weeks later...

There are two paths since the CPU is upgrade-able. One is to find the most powerful processor you can afford. The other is what I did, starting with an i5 with slightly more processing than any of my games or apps required at that time, then swapped in a low-watt i7 a few years later. I think the difference in price after selling the i5 was about $40. The upgrade allowed me to run the system for three more years with a GPU upgrade.

 

I've built or helped build seven hackintoshes, but none with AMD. It's only been with OpenCore that I've heard using AMD CPUs doesn't require serious troubleshooting. A lot more for the dollar, and what I will always use for Windows builds, but for a hack I will stick with Intel just to avoid the potential for an extra layer of headaches.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just wanted to add to the ops gpu recommendation thread that I too am looking to buy an AMD Gpu and having a lot of difficulty of finding one with reasonable pricing. 

 

See a lot of HD5XXX HD6 + 7XXX  types available. Will they do the job?

 

Thanks

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4 hours ago, davidm71 said:

Just wanted to add to the ops gpu recommendation thread that I too am looking to buy an AMD Gpu and having a lot of difficulty of finding one with reasonable pricing. 

 

See a lot of HD5XXX HD6 + 7XXX  types available. Will they do the job?

 

Thanks

The price does matter?

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On 4/16/2021 at 4:42 PM, Hervé said:

@davidm71 wisdom dictates to stay away from old Radeon HD 5000 and 6000 Series if you want to run anything past High Sierra... Those are at least 10years old! Don't hesitate to refer to Dortania's GPU buyers guide for details of supported/unsupported graphics cards but do not get anything older than the 7000 Series.

 

R7/R9 Series are available for a lot less than 100€/$, entry-level RX series from around 100€/$ so do shop around for models of each series. 

Yeah but because of pandemic prices are crazy high. Anyhow finally figured out how to run off the iGpu and want to pull the 5700 XT into another machine and keep my hackintosh operating off of the iGpu for now if it’s capable. Think the 5500 XT be a good choice. Price does matter.


Also how easy is it to change graphic cards with OS X? Know the routine in Windows just not sure how it’s done with OSX and Opencore.

 

Thanks

 

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