The blog & portfolio of Matthew J. Rogers

Goodbye, iMac…Hello, Hackintosh

March 26, 2008

Hackintosh setup

Hello what?

As detailed in many places around the web (and to which an entire community is dedicated), a “hackintosh” is a computer built of off-the-shelf PC components that can, with just a little bit of tweaking, run the Mac OS X operating system. Ever since Apple made the switch to Intel processors a couple of years ago (and thus to a platform very similar architecturally to what every other computer vendor uses), this has been a growing community. Fed up with the iMac’s glossy screen and 4GB memory limitation (and partly because, as my wife repeatedly points out, I just always “have to have a project”), I finally jumped in myself.

I built myself a hackintosh, bought a Dell 24″ screen to be the primary display, installed the latest OS X Leopard (10.5.2), and now about 36 hours later I’m not missing the iMac one bit. I’ve been working on my web sites, editing RAW photos from my D40, watching movies, and basically doing everything I can possibly think of to stress-test it, and it’s been absolutely fantastic. For me, this fills a hole in Apple’s desktop lineup. The Mac mini is just too weak and can only run one monitor. The latest iMacs come with crappy-quality displays, at least for graphics work (they’re actually worse than the previous generation — something I didn’t know when I purchased the newer one because I just, you know, assumed that they wouldn’t actually downgrade something on a new model), and they’re limited to 4GB of RAM (I’m going to stick 8GB in my hackintosh eventually). Then from the iMac you jump up to the Mac Pro, which is very expensive and in reality is too much power for me. I don’t need a lot of CPU or GPU power — I just need lots of RAM and big, good-quality monitors. Basically, I’d be happy with a small Mac tower that fell somewhere in between the Mini and the Mac Pro.

For about $500-$600, this is what I bought (which, save for two cores, is very near a $2500 Mac Pro for most people’s purposes):

  • Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R motherboard (if you don’t need as many SATA ports, get the GA-P35-DS3L for ~$25 less)
  • Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33 GHz (these suckers are hugely overclockable — mine’s currently up to 2.8 GHz and hasn’t even gotten anywhere near hot); add about $150 and you can have yourself a quad-core 2.66Ghz
  • 4GB of RAM
  • 500GB SATA hard drive
  • Silent (fanless) Nvidia 7600GS PCI-E video card — bump up to an 8600GT for ~$40 if you care about gaming at all
  • Antec Sonata III whisper-quiet case and efficient 500W power supply
  • SATA DVD-RW drive

The install process for this particular hardware set, detailed in this thread, just requires a few extra package installations after the initial boot, and now everything works 100% just as on a real Mac. I’m really quite pleased. It was a fun project, and now I have a more powerful and more flexible machine than my iMac — and a bigger, far better monitor to boot.

I still love my MacBook Pro to death, and money being no object, yes a Mac Pro would be awesome. But I like getting my hands a little dirty, and this was very easy to do. Now of course as mentioned in every other post about building a hackintosh, it’s legally questionable — but I know many who have done this (including myself) buy a copy of OS X Leopard so then at least it’s somewhat morally justifiable (don’t steal OS X — it’s such a great piece of software, make sure Apple keeps developing it!).

If you have a hackintosh, have thought about building one, or have any questions about it, just post in the comments!

Gallery: Hackintosh build

28 comments ›
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28 comments

  • nan March 28th, 2008 at 1:33 am

    wow, this is cool stuff. I’m real interested in making my own. I know things about computers, but not an expert in any way, how would I get started on a project like this?

  • Matthew March 28th, 2008 at 8:33 am

    nan: Just start reading the InsanelyMac forums (http://insanelymac.com) and the OSx86 project Wiki (http://wiki.osx86project.org). I spent a couple months preparing for this, reading what works and what doesn’t on the forums, before deciding on which hardware to buy and what installation method to use. If you get a Gigabyte motherboard, and follow that installation tutorial I linked to, it should go pretty smoothly. But definitely spend some time on the forums so you’re familiar with the terms and possible issues that may arise. There’s TONS of helpful information on there.

  • mtt March 28th, 2008 at 12:59 pm

    i am now looking to build a hackintosh as i just dont have the funds for a mac pro and like the idea of a project, you mention using a quad core cpu. will a quad core cpu work with the motherboard you suggested?

  • Matthew March 28th, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    mtt: Yes, a quad core will work. That’s one of the reasons I picked the motherboard, because it’s reasonably futureproof. The Quad-core Q6600 is a very popular choice with this board.

  • mtt March 28th, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    Thanks for the swift reply, if i can gather enough info from you about this build i might just do it now. if you have got it working with these parts im sure i can. i also have a macbook pro so i can still get infor from the net if need be. i have drawn up a list of items (from uk suppliers) can you take a look? also which ram did you use.( speed interface ect)?
    Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R motherboard £68.74 inc vat ebuyer

    Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4GHz S775 £152.75 inc dabs
    4GB of RAM £60 dabs
    500GB SATA hard drive Samsung 500GB S300 16MB 7200RPM £55 dabs
    Gigabyte GeForce 8600GT 512MB DDR2 PCIE Dual DVI 570/800Mhz £68 dabs
    Antec Sonata III whisper-quiet case and efficient 500W power supplyANTEC MIDI CASE SONATA III 500 BLK/MI £69 dabs
    SATA DVD-RW driveamsung 20X DVD-RW OEM DRIVE BLACK £20 dabs

  • Matthew March 28th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Those parts look good to me. You can double-check the hardware compatibility lists on the OSx86 Wiki and ask around in the forums there if you have any doubts.

    I used G.Skill brand memory, it’s always been a great value and performs quite well. The stuff I bought is DDR2-800, which isn’t the absolute fastest this board will support but the 800 is widely available and far less expensive than 1066.

  • mtt March 28th, 2008 at 3:26 pm

    is 1066 ram must faster do you think? will it make a big difference on the overall speed of the machine?

  • Matthew March 28th, 2008 at 3:34 pm

    No, I really don’t think you’d notice much difference. DDR2-800 RAM is affordable and plenty fast.

  • Nick April 5th, 2008 at 6:53 pm

    I’ll stick to my Pro. a silent, bulletproof, beautiful machine, over priced, yep, i don’t disagree. and worth every penny, nickle, and dime i charged to the Visa to get here :)

    And i just want it on the record that I tried to warn you about those new iMac screens :p You can’t use laptop panels in a desktop then put a piece of glass over it and expect people to just be content with things.

  • solomonk April 8th, 2008 at 9:15 pm

    you are officially my hero im trying to open up a studio and the macs are just crazy i mean i think its because im the bargain kind of person im actually in the process of building a machine right know i got pissed of by macs so i decided to rival and build an amd based cpu with outrageous memory and video graphics
    my next project is definetly going to be building the hackintosh
    could you do me a favor and send me the link of where you got the step by step directions on how to go about this thanks keep up the great work love the site

  • martin April 9th, 2008 at 4:30 am

    hllo i have a question i have a quadcore 2 2.4
    320 internal external 500 4gb ram nvidia 256 7600 i think micro tower pretty sweet system i love it 32: lcd love my macbook pro but can i install the 10.4 software and how if so cuz i want to have my windows and duel boot maybe email me back web@website4everybody.com

  • dan May 1st, 2008 at 6:59 pm

    I’m interested in how this has been working for you after a month. Also, have you done much video editing with this machine?

  • Carl May 5th, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    this might be a dumb question, but it’s one i need to ask, i’m building an osx86 and need to know, do i just use windows mice or do i need a mac mouse?

  • Pascal May 9th, 2008 at 5:06 pm

    Hi,

    I’ve a hackintosh working quite well and based on a P35DS4 and a ATI HD2600XT.
    The only point is I see on certain fonts some “fog”. The font is not clean as on windows and sometimes very dirty!
    If someone have an idea…

    Sorry for my english…I’m french !

    Ps : Your system is very nice and look very PRO

  • Zack July 21st, 2008 at 4:24 am

    Nice!

    I’m a recent Hackintosh convert, and I’m never looking back! I built a Hack with the Gigabyte EP35-DS4, full vanilla install, and it simply rocks! It’s every bit as good as a ‘real’ Mac, without the crazy pricetag, and deal-breaker limitations.

    Currently I’m crusing on 4GB of DDR2 1066 and plan to upgrade to the full 8GB- something I sure couldn’t do with a Mac unless it cost 3x as much. Ditto: add all the hard drives I want, upgrade the graphics whenever I need, use dual large monitors without the MacPro price tag.

    I love Macs for laptops, but so long as Hackintosh is possible, I’ll never again buy a Mac desktop.

  • Hackintosh at 6 months | RogersMJ.com October 16th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    [...] the end of last March, I wrote about how I had ditched my iMac for a self-built Hackintosh. Given the huge cost savings and flexibility you get from a Hackintosh, I field a lot of questions [...]

  • Blake N. November 6th, 2008 at 6:04 pm

    Hi, i need help really bad… soo i go to school for video editing and we all use final cut pro on G5’s… I have always been a PC guy, but now im ready to switch to the “darkside” and i don’t have alot of money. So ive been looking into this for a while now but whenever i even mention the word hackintosh i get made fun of and warned. Do they work just like a real macks for what im going to be using it for? Final Cut Pro etc..
    Here is a list of parts i have comprised:

    Wish List:

    Intel BOXD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard

    BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOCE GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q9300

    Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Specific Memory Model KTH-XW667/4G

    Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

    Silverstone FP35B USB 2.0 Card Reader with extra silver front panel

    Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EACS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

    COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKA1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Real Power Pro 550W Power Supply

    LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-04

  • Matthew November 7th, 2008 at 9:39 am

    Blake, I *think* you’ll be OK with that but you really should head over to http://insanelymac.com forums, those guys are the experts. There’s lots of hardware compatibility issues that you’ll need to watch out for.

  • Blake N. November 7th, 2008 at 5:15 pm

    Ok Thanks for your help

  • Don Shaw November 29th, 2008 at 6:50 pm

    I am a plain basic Mac guy, maybe intermediate in 10 years now. I would like to learn how do it myself very simple instruction and no confusion complicated to build my own Mac computer with 8 or 16 GB RAM, around 3.4 GHz speed processor, 2 1 TB HD internal, 2 CD/DVD RW external, 8 USB 2.0 and 6 firewire 400 and 3 firewire 800 and audio on the back, 4 USB 2.0 and 3 firewire 400 and audio on the front, 2 DVI for 2 LCD monitors, 1000 watts power, larger fan, airport base wireless card, wireless bluetooth, build in top handle for carry, and other stuffs inside. Can you list these items with brand name do you recommend for me please? I have no idea the cost. I’m learning and I am hearing impaired handicapped. Thank you very much. Don Shaw

  • Boliver April 6th, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    I really like the furniture (table) you have. Where did you get that? Can you post a link?

    Also, I see what seems to be a fancy mouse pad… Is that a tablet/drawing board?

    thanks,!

  • Matthew April 6th, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    Boliver,

    I actually built that table myself. It’s just four white pine boards glued and screwed onto a frame built out of 1×1s. I stole the legs from an old Staples desk that was destined for the dumpster.

    The mouse pad is just an Allsop metal mousepad I picked up for $15 at Best Buy a long time ago. I’m actually going to replace it because it gets dirty very easily and it’s eating into the finish on my desk.

  • dAnThEmAn May 8th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    I HAVE BEEN DOING RESEARCH AND HAVE ALWAYS RUN INTO AN ISSUE WHETHER I DONT LIKE THE HARDWARE HAVE HEARD BAD THINGS AND WAS UNSURE ABOUT THE COMPATIBILITY OF MY PREFFERED HARDWARE… I SAW THE SETUP YOU USED IN THIS ARTICLE AND FELL IN LOVE THANKS FOR THE HELP… YOU DEFINITELY WERE THE LAST PIECE TO MY PUZZLE… THANK YOU

  • mike May 15th, 2009 at 9:29 am

    Love the setup, going to build a hackintosh, probably use the DS4. I need to upgrade my intel MAC, I need just a bit more power, and I don’t like the new IMAC monitors. BTW, how did you build the table? Do you have plans?

  • Matthew May 21st, 2009 at 8:57 am

    No I don’t have plans for the desk, it’s extremely simple, just some white pine boards with 1×2 strips as framing underneath. After awhile it wasn’t the most sturdy thing in the world, the legs need some sort of cross bracing.

  • Wolf July 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pm

    Hi I have a q6600 3gb ram 667 the 4850 hd ati radeon and a bad motherboard does the mobo have much compatability issues or can i just buy a sound and network cards and theyl work?

    My mobo is packard bell
    MCP73VT-PM
    pcie 1.0

    will my mobo stop me hackingtoshing?
    also will i need to flash my bios like you have to to install xp because i dont have a floppy drive so cant.

  • Darkc0de31337 March 4th, 2010 at 9:32 am

    well MCP73VT-PM will work well with Hackintosh…

    See This http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqQEmbGAPvQ

    this is mine…very smooth,Since i have the Hackintosh “eMachines” working properly, i sell my macbook pro 2.7GHz i dont need since the graphic was limited to 512mb.Bye-bye Macbook pro…………..

  • Eduardo June 17th, 2010 at 12:26 pm

    I´m on a i7 920 Hackintosh with Intel SSD and 6GB of RAM, but i´m selling it now to buy an new 27″ iMac quad core instead.

    I simply can´t settle with the OS, i want the big IPS-monitor and the awesome, slick design of Apple´s iMac.

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