imrazor Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 (edited) I'm considering getting a cheap Dell for use in a Hackintosh project. Why use a Dell, you wonder? Why I have a $250 gift certificate to Dell plus an employer discount on Dells. So I'm pretty committed to a Dell box. Based on my limited research on my topic the E520 appears to be my best bet, with price factored in. Here are the specs: Intel G965 Express Chipset Pentium D 805 (2.66GHzx2, 533FSB) 1GB Dual Channel DDR2@533Mhz SDRAM 250GB SATA @ 7200 RPM Intel X3000 Graphics Integrated audio (no chipset specified) Integrated network (no chipset specified) I'm shooting for cheap but functional, with enough HD space for dual-booting. I don't believe the X3000 graphics are supported, but I intend to drop in a Nvidia 6600GT anyway (I'm assuming this thing will have enough juice for a 6600GT @ 305 watts.) Audio may also be a problem, but I can solve that with a Creative Xmod (it works fine on my current Hackintosh.) Networking has me worried, though. All input welcome... Edited March 8, 2007 by imrazor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shaun Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 OS X has a LOT of issues with 965-based systems. You may want to look for something that uses 975. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imrazor Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 All the Dell models with an Intel CPU are based on the 965 chipset. Now they do sell e521's with nForce 430 chipsets. Would an nForce 430 actually be a better choice than a 965 system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user2 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 I'm considering getting a cheap Dell for use in a Hackintosh project. Why use a Dell, you wonder? Why I have a $250 gift certificate to Dell plus an employer discount on Dells. So I'm pretty committed to a Dell box. Based on my limited research on my topic the E520 appears to be my best bet, with price factored in. Here are the specs: Intel G965 Express Chipset Pentium D 805 (2.66GHzx2, 533FSB) 1GB Dual Channel DDR2@533Mhz SDRAM 250GB SATA @ 7200 RPM Intel X3000 Graphics Integrated audio (no chipset specified) Integrated network (no chipset specified) I'm shooting for cheap but functional, with enough HD space for dual-booting. I don't believe the X3000 graphics are supported, but I intend to drop in a Nvidia 6600GT anyway (I'm assuming this thing will have enough juice for a 6600GT @ 305 watts.) Audio may also be a problem, but I can solve that with a Creative Xmod (it works fine on my current Hackintosh.) Networking has me worried, though. All input welcome... GX620. Everything works with just a little tweaking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpc2593 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 (edited) I have a Dell 5150, and everything is working great. Specs - 1.5GB RAM Intel PD 820 1 80GB HD w/ Windows XP Installed 1 80GB HD w/ Mac OSX 10.4.6 Installed ATI X300 Radeon PCI-E w/ QE Enabled Edited March 9, 2007 by kpc2593 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denied Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 ^^ what they said. I got an E520 almost identical specs to the one you're looking at, figured with the GMA graphics I could hack the rest of it together. My ancient Dimension 8200 is still my preferred OS-X machine because that E520 has so many issues, now I just use it to run SUSE and will prob ebay it. Installation is a pain, I don't think any of the hardware works out of the box, you have to piece everything together. It gets there but takes a long time, take another look at some of the more compatible systems others are posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imrazor Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share Posted March 11, 2007 GX620. Everything works with just a little tweaking Hmm, the GX620 looks like it's a business machine. Can a mere mortal like me get one? Plus it looks like even a stripped down model runs around $800, and I'm trying to keep it cheap... Denied, I'll take your advice and skip the E520, but I may have some penny pinching to do to save up for a GX620. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey2420 Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Hmm, the GX620 looks like it's a business machine. Can a mere mortal like me get one? Plus it looks like even a stripped down model runs around $800, and I'm trying to keep it cheap... Denied, I'll take your advice and skip the E520, but I may have some penny pinching to do to save up for a GX620. I picked up a Inspiron 530 in Feb when there was a good sale and it works amazingly well. It has a Foxconn G33 MB and I got it for $399 CDN. Kalyway installed no problem and all I had to do was patch the audio and buy a video card because the GMA3100 is not supported. Works great as of now with 10.5.2. Edit: Just realized I replied to a 2007 post. I thought that said 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opeeum Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 I picked up a Inspiron 530 in Feb when there was a good sale and it works amazingly well. It has a Foxconn G33 MB and I got it for $399 CDN. Kalyway installed no problem and all I had to do was patch the audio and buy a video card because the GMA3100 is not supported. Works great as of now with 10.5.2. Edit: Just realized I replied to a 2007 post. I thought that said 2008. hahaha lol, i was about to reply too, but saw ur edit first =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtom Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I picked up a Inspiron 530 in Feb when there was a good sale and it works amazingly well. It has a Foxconn G33 MB and I got it for $399 CDN. Kalyway installed no problem and all I had to do was patch the audio and buy a video card because the GMA3100 is not supported. Works great as of now with 10.5.2. Edit: Just realized I replied to a 2007 post. I thought that said 2008. What about his one? Dell 530 with E8200 2x2,66 and 2600Xt graphics card? How do i know which chipset is used? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazubu Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 DELL is certainly not the best brand to choose for OSX86, on most cases 2nd CPU core isn't supported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtom Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 DELL is certainly not the best brand to choose for OSX86, on most cases 2nd CPU core isn't supported. Ok, Thanks! Looking for the Gigabyte P35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey2420 Posted April 30, 2008 Share Posted April 30, 2008 DELL is certainly not the best brand to choose for OSX86, on most cases 2nd CPU core isn't supported. Both CPU cores are recognized on my Dell. I can't vouch for other ones but mine works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaporATX Posted May 1, 2008 Share Posted May 1, 2008 Isn't "Best Dell" kinda an oxymoron? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldielocks Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I have a Dell 5150, and everything is working great. Specs - 1.5GB RAM Intel PD 820 1 80GB HD w/ Windows XP Installed 1 80GB HD w/ Mac OSX 10.4.6 Installed ATI X300 Radeon PCI-E w/ QE Enabled I am sorry but this is a bit off topic, how did you get the ATI x300 Radeon to work with QE / CI i have been trying to do this for weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blkhockeypro19 Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I have an e520 with a "p965/g965" chipset. The only kexts I need to boot a retail DVD/install are dsmos, IOATA, CPUDisabler and SMBIOSEnabler...so basically you have the 3 100% necesary kext and ONE kext that is specific to our system. I dont see where people are getting all these things about problems with the 965...it works perfectly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busterhimself Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Hey, i was given an e520 with a celeron D cpu. I recently upgraded from 512mb of ram to 4 gigs. I would like to install osX but before doing so i would like to upgrade the cpu to a core2duo or quad core, add a beefy video card, and beefy power supply. Would I be able to make these upgrades? I do recall reading somewhere that dell have their own types of power supplies that differ from normal ones. is that correct? I would greatly appreciate any help or points in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMCentral Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 E520 with a small amount of tweaking with the iPC disk = Holy Mac. I'm posting this from my Fakintosh. All cores working, ram too, 1650x1050 (No QE yet but after this reboot it will ), internet, no sound (Haven't installed the 9227 drivers yet.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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