adamvansanten Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Ok, here's the deal. I want a MacPro, but I can't afford one . So I though I'd build myself one. The problem is, I can't figure out which motherboard to use... Just to clear things up, I don't want a Hackintosh, I want to build an exact replica of a real MacPro so I can just insert the official OSX cd and install it with no workarounds etc... So far I've picked the following hardware: Intel Core 2 Quad 2,4ghz 4x1gb fb-dimm ddr2-533 Nvidia Geforce 7600GT These components should be 100% compatible, as you can select them on the Apple site when you're configuring your MacPro. What I don't know yet is which motherboard, which harddisk type/brand (I want 2x500gb, preferably in raid0, which is possible on a Mac Pro as far as I know) and which DVD Burner to use... If anybody knows the exact motherboard type (and the other hardware too) the MacPro uses and if it's for resale anywhere in the world (don't mind paying a few euro's shipping), it would be of great value to me... Hope people can help me build this sub$1000 MacPro (when the Intel prices drop on July 22nd, $250 for a quad core Intel processor, I like! ) Hope to hear from people soon! EDIT: Ok, I just found out that Apple uses FB-DIMM memory, which is a little more expensive, 2x1GB for 134 euro's... changed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coda Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Official OSX-intel disk will only boot on an official Apple motherboard! You cannot just buy a motherboard of the shelf and expect it to work. Did you not read about the TPM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearcat Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 I don't think you can, here's why: First, the motherboard in the Mac Pro is an Intel S5000 chipset board, with socket 771. Second, these boards take FB-DIMM memory, and Xeon processors, NOT the desktop 775 processors. Third, Apple uses EFI, NOT Bios on their own variation of this motherboard. Forth, the nvidia card for a PC is not exactly the same as the nvidia card for the Mac Pro, there are Bios and EFI differences. Fifth, When the components first came out, I priced them all out, and came to the same money or slightly higher then a Mac Pro, why? I can't buy in the volumes that Apple buys. Prices have dropped since then, so it may be possible to get it a little cheaper. But all in all, you might be able to build it a little cheaper, but not by much, and you still would have a machine the can't use the regular OSX disks, you would still need the hacked disks to run on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamvansanten Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 Ok, so basically what I want is (close to) impossible? Well, guess I'm gonna build myself a kickass new pc then and just buy a secondhand mac mini with a KVM switch to go along with it... Was worth a try though! Thanks for the quick reactions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-aKy- Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 simply get components that are working without any modification / only slightly modifications, check the hcl on the wiki. grab one of the patched os x verions then you have your custom built mac pro but i guess as you want to use only high-end components inside this won't be cheap so you can also go and buy a real mac instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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