gabe_ Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I am currently in the market for a new primary computer. I have set aside a budget of about $1500 (including monitor, keyboard, mouse) and I want to run OSX. I've owned 6 Macs, dating back to the G3 era. I mention this only to show that I am not someone who is on the verge of switching. I enjoy researching, tinkering, and getting the most bang for my buck, but not when these things get in the way of getting actual work done. If I were to carefully assemble a machine using PC EFI, and well-tested hardware, how realistic am I in thinking that I could spend more time enjoying this computer, than I would spend chasing down bugs? I've done done a lot of reading on the forums, and I've come up with many mixed feelings. None of the threads I have stumbled upon have covered my exact thought process, or situation, so I truly hope I'm not beating a dead horse. I look forward to hearing your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synaesthesia Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 If I were to carefully assemble a machine using PC EFI, and well-tested hardware, how realistic am I in thinking that I could spend more time enjoying this computer, than I would spend chasing down bugs?Once you get it running, it works perfectly. As in, you can run any application, 100% stable, fast, everything. It works much better than Windows on my PC. Everyone here will agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
authors Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I built two quad core hackintoshes and use them daily for many things. From photoshop to dreamweaver and the basic busines stuff and e-mail. Only have had a few minor problems and nothing in comparison to my Vista Ultimate (64-bit) machine. It depends on what you use a computer for in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomparis Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I'm out on the road daily with my laptop hackintosh, and it works perfectly, to the envy of many I meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8ender Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 I use my Hackintosh day in and out as my primary desktop. It initially started as something neat to play around with since I also have a Macbook and like OSX but I found myself booting into Windows less and less. Now I really only reboot to play a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thespottedelf Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 i don't have a hackintosh (yet) but my understanding is if you have the right hardware it can be exactly like a "real" mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabe_ Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 Thanks for your insight. It's greatly appreciated. Allow me to clarify a bit: I'm not worried so much about the install, but I am worried about updates. I have no problem waiting to hear the community's feedback before going from 10.5.x to 10.5.y, but I don't want to accidentally break my system by upgrading iTunes, or by installing an Apple Security Update, or whatever. Also, am I safe in assuming that I will have no issues with 3rd party apps, so long as they are compiled for x86? With PC EFI, vanilla kernel, and well supported hardware, can I expect a pretty smooth ride, post install? This PC will play many roles. It will essentially be the center of my digital world. Office apps, web development, juke box, minor photo/video editing, a bit of file serving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synaesthesia Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Security updates, and application updates have worked fine for me thus far. Also every 3rd party app has worked... The only thing that doesn't work exactly like a Mac is sleep/standby. Many people get it working though, especially with EFI + Core 2 Duo's. With my Pentium 4, I've just gotten used not have sleep working... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danyel Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Once you get it running, it works perfectly. As in, you can run any application, 100% stable, fast, everything. It works much better than Windows on my PC. Everyone here will agree. I definitely agree with you there. I use my OSx86 PC (that I built using specs from OSx86 Project's Hardware Wiki over 1 1/2 years ago) as my primary PC at home. Everything works perfectly, and I leave the machine on 24/7 as my own Personal Server. Mac OS X (even on hacked PC) is rock solid so far. --danyel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrey Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Here's my detailed account of Hackintosh usage over the past two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thespottedelf Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 love that thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate256 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 i built my system for around 1500 with out monitor and keyboard and it is 100% stable! i do HDV editing in FCS all he time and it is amazingly fast. rips a DVD is 20 min. I love it and it was way cheaper than the Mac Pro version! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckeroo Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Here's my detailed account of Hackintosh usage over the past two years. That was a fun read Andrey, nice work. The issue that I'm worried about is pretty similar to Gabe, in that I have been using macs since the early '80s (had the good ones and the bad ones), and now I'm building my first Hackintosh (first computer ever, actually). Reading this thread you hear pretty much great things about osx86, but then reading Andrey's thread, it's like everyone is going from osx86 to apple hardware. A bit unnerving as I'm about $1100 deep in this project.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabe_ Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 That was a fun read Andrey, nice work.The issue that I'm worried about is pretty similar to Gabe, in that I have been using macs since the early '80s (had the good ones and the bad ones), and now I'm building my first Hackintosh (first computer ever, actually). Reading this thread you hear pretty much great things about osx86, but then reading Andrey's thread, it's like everyone is going from osx86 to apple hardware. A bit unnerving as I'm about $1100 deep in this project.... From what I gather, if you use the resources available here, and on the wiki, you can set yourself up for a solid OSX86 experience. In sifting through the forum, I've found that most of the negative experiences people have had with OSX86 have been from folks who have been trying to make it run on whatever old hardware they had lying around. I THINK that if you build a system with the intent of being a Hackintosh, and have the patience to do the reading, and research, you will be fine. I believe there will be a certain amount of hobbyist "sweat equity" that will go into running and maintaining any Hackintosh... but you probably wouldn't be here if you saw that as a con. All of that being said, I am an extreme noob. All of my thoughts are based on a mere 3 days of research... so anything in this post should be taken with a grain of salt. Thanks for the feedback guys. Andrey - great thread. At this point I'm about 97% sold on building a Hackintosh. I'm currently researching hardware, so I can find out how much it will cost to build my (budget) dream machine, and then compare that with the pricing on a real deal Mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.SubZero Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I'm not personally a big fan of using a 'violates the terms of service' operating system for my daily activities, OS X or otherwise. As for OS X being more finicky on old hardware, my laptop is a cutting edge beast with a Penryn 2.5Ghz processor and a GeForce 8800M GTX. Still, much of the hardware either doesn't work or doesn't work right. Camera? No. Sound? 2 speakers only. Fingerprint reader? Expresscard slot? Flash card reader? What? Sleep of course doesn't work, Speedstep is a memory, and there's no fan control at all, the fans churn at 50% and never go lower, only higher. The number pad is stuck in numbers mode because on a Mac the number pad has no other function. My screen is stuck at 59hz, which is kind of annoying. At least the 10.5.2 kext/nvInject package got the 8800M GTX working at all. Oh yeah, I'm stuck on 10.5.1, since if I try to upgrade to 10.5.2 I lose my keyboard entirely. I still stuck an Apple sticker on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~pcwiz Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 S.SubZero, If you are using a PS/2 keyboard, then the ps2nub fix fixes it in 10.5.2. I don't know about USB though. Anyway, my new experience with OSx86 after I built a machine specifically for it, has been very smooth. Infact I run my entire 10.5.2 install from a 250 gig external hard drive and it works great. Portable too, go to any compatible system, plug the hard drive in, adjust a few kexts, and bam OS X boots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panik Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 My hacks are my also my primary systems and I find they outperform other operating systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onemanstrash Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I too was woried about taking the plunge. So i bought a cheap pc on craigslist for 100 bux. I then ran Tiger 10.4.8 JaS DVD. It ran great! THere were a few things that didn't work on it but enough did so i was hooked and decided to take the plunge and build a true hackintosh from scratch, not for windows...just Mac..er Hack. I did as much reading as I could take and finally went with the Asus P5W DH Deluxe. And I am so glad I did. I had a G4 Digital Audio workstation with Dual PPC 1.6 by GigaDesigns. I am using it right now as my internet machine. I still use mac as my main internet, colloquy, email machine, but i use my hackintosh as my workhorse. It far out performs any mac I have. I even have a macbook and it is great but i just love my hackintosh so much more. It has forced me to learn so much and I get to do all the things I would on a mac. So if you have the time get a Hackintosh. If you have the money get a Mac. I spent about 500 building my hackintosh: onemanstrash_: Model Name: Mac P5W DH Deluxe CPU: Intel Core 2 CPU 6300 @ 1.87GHz [sSE3/PAE/XD/EST/VMX/EM64T/DualCore] L2 Cache: 2MB FSB: 1064MHz RAM Usage: 937.0MB/2.0GB Disk Usage: 491.51GB/1.19TB Display: GeForce 7600GT [256 MB/QE/CI] 1280x1024@75Hz and 1280x1024@75Hz [stock] Audio: Apple HDA OS: Mac OS X 10.5.2 The only time I spend dicking around with it is for System updates. Security updates, software updates..these are no problem. Even 10.5.1 was a breeze. But 10.5.2 was a bit more tricky. So if you need help it's all available. Good luck and hope you go for the Hackintosh, it's so much more fun then a computer that simply works lol. XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabe_ Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 As an update... I did end up buying a Hackintosh. GA-P35-DS4 with E6750. I'm currently running Kalyway 10.5.2, and everything seems to be working great. This weekend I'm going to try my hand at installing from a retail DVD. For the money I spent, (around $1300) I could have easily picked up an iMac, but on paper, this machine absolutely trounces any comparably priced iMac. So far I'm happy. I hope it lasts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.SubZero Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 My hacks are my also my primary systems and I find they outperform other operating systems. I've seen this claim before. I'm ignorant, so forgive me: Outperforms doing what? It's hard to take an app for one platform and directly compare it to the same app on another platform because there just ain't that many apps that are multi-platform. I guess you could test like OpenOffice since that's for a few platforms, but I don't know any benchmarking tools for it. I tried one game, Rise of Nations, which is out for for PC and Mac. The PC version runs fluidly and without issue in XP64. The Mac version seems to struggle a bit on OS X. This is on the exact same system, just swapping the hard drive. This system has a Penryn processor and an 8800M GTX video chipset, it should have no problem with a game like RoN which isn't very demanding in any way. "Outperforms other operating systems" is an extremely broad term. I find OS X is better at some things, but not everything. I think the perceived speed of a task is going to depend as much on the user's familiarity and comfort with the interface more than the underlying code of the OS. The user not knowing how to do something in one OS will make that task take longer than it would on another where they may know how to do it. So the user becomes part of the equation. I could say <XP is faster> <because when *I* do something I can do it faster in XP.> Note the brackets. Most favoritism uses the first set only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wahwahman89 Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Well my rig 1 (signature) outperforms on OS X than on Windows for ANY app, ANYTIME. Windows is now wiped off and said goodbye to. Don't even need it for gaming. I mean, for God's sake, XP x64 starts up quicker in VMWare than natively, what the hell! If I REALLY need a Win32 based app, I use VM or Crossover for it. I would STRONGLY recommend you pick up the same machine as me, or a DS4 motherboard for OS X. Cheap, chearful, and outperforms the Mac Pros in XBench and GeekBench. Especially with anything upwards of a Q6600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tadone Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I just recently switched to DS4 and Q600 (@3.2 stable), before I had it run on my AMD machine and I have to say that I use it for everything except gaming. I found myself staying up late just to try now software on my "mac". Also I think that most of the software that is available on both pc and mac runs better on mac and by better I mean that certain software loads faster or just plainly has better user experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOL_fan Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I rebuilt my system with OSx86-friendly hardware a couple of months ago, and it's been running like a dream ever since. I have all my photos, music and documents on it, and I can't remember the last time I used Windows. The Mac Pro is the only Apple machine that's faster than mine; and the Mac Pro sucks down the electricity and uses slow ECC RAM. I'm extremely happy with my current setup, and I don't see myself switching until Apple releases a viable midrange desktop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whalid Posted April 2, 2008 Share Posted April 2, 2008 I've seen this claim before. I'm ignorant, so forgive me: Outperforms doing what? It's hard to take an app for one platform and directly compare it to the same app on another platform because there just ain't that many apps that are multi-platform. I guess you could test like OpenOffice since that's for a few platforms, but I don't know any benchmarking tools for it. I tried one game, Rise of Nations, which is out for for PC and Mac. The PC version runs fluidly and without issue in XP64. The Mac version seems to struggle a bit on OS X. This is on the exact same system, just swapping the hard drive. This system has a Penryn processor and an 8800M GTX video chipset, it should have no problem with a game like RoN which isn't very demanding in any way. "Outperforms other operating systems" is an extremely broad term. I find OS X is better at some things, but not everything. I think the perceived speed of a task is going to depend as much on the user's familiarity and comfort with the interface more than the underlying code of the OS. The user not knowing how to do something in one OS will make that task take longer than it would on another where they may know how to do it. So the user becomes part of the equation. I could say <XP is faster> <because when *I* do something I can do it faster in XP.> Note the brackets. Most favoritism uses the first set only. Well, let me say my 2 cents: I have a dual boot hacintosh, MBR with Leo 10.5.2 and Windows Xp Sp2 (in 2 separate HDS). Last night I installed my 2 main applications: Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign CS3 on both OSs. I also installed Geekbench on both. The funny results for geekbench: My rig running Xp Sp2: Run1 XP 2448 Run2 XP 2446 Run3 XP 2356 Average: 2416 My rig running Leopard: Run1 Hack 2810 Run2 Hack 2767 Run3 Hack 2820 Average: 2799 You can check my results here So Leopard outperforms XP on my machine. Period. Well, lets talk about my work: i usually apply a lot of complex and heavy filters in photohop. I dont have the numbers with me now (I am at work), but i tested both operational system like this: - Open an image - file size 278 mega - Run script 'prepare for pre-print' - Gaussian Blur + crop 25p + convert to CMYK. - Save tiff version Results: Hack: 9% faster then XP on average. I have tried different combinations of filters and safes. Hack always win... Do I use my hack for work? HELL YEAH! cheers from the south Whalid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danerd100 Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 If you really want to be safe, you could go with a mac mini. Not the most powerful machine, but it will get the job done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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