[OSx86] So I want to build a Core i7 Hackintosh


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Hey guys, I need some help designing my first hackintosh smile.gif

I figured I'd go for a Core i7 system and this guide looks fairly concrete:

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=149505

(The first method)

So far I have the following bits and I need advice as to whether they're going to work properly or not smile.gif

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail

?205.99

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard

?203.99

Samsung EcoGreen F2 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache - OEM

?58.99 (x2)

Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATA II 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM

?39.90

Pioneer DVR-217FBK 22x DVD?RW SATA Dual Layer LabelFlash ReWriter (Black) - OEM

?17.99

Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory CL9(9-9-9-24) for i7 motherboards

?78.95-->

Well, I need some opinionGraphics cardard (thinking NvCasease (I was thinking maybe an Antec Power Supply

Cooling fansans

I was thinking 1TB for OS X, 1TB for Time Machine and 500GB for WiCan I use Time Machine using an internal disk?sk?

Also, will the 5.1 optical out on the mobo work? If not can you suggest an audio card which will work with OS X and 5.1 optical output?

I need confirmation that the above parts are going to work with the guide I posted smile.gif

Cheers!!

-Rich-

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Time machine should be useable on an internal disk, as far as I know.

You might also want to have a look at http://www.efi-x.com/ , the tiny piece of hardware they provide lets you install the complete Vanilla OSX so you won't have to do any hacking to get it all to work!

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Well the guide seems to say that I can just use a vanilla install anyway :)

And Aussie_Floyd_Fan that database seems to be terribly out of date :/

-Rich-

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Can I use Time Machine using an internal disk?

Yep. I use Time Machine in my Hackintosh using another internal disk with the same size. Works great :cool:

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Yep. I use Time Machine in my Hackintosh using another internal disk with the same size. Works great :cool:

Awesome, that clears that up then :)

-Rich-

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Time machine should be useable on an internal disk, as far as I know.

You might also want to have a look at http://www.efi-x.com/ , the tiny piece of hardware they provide lets you install the complete Vanilla OSX so you won't have to do any hacking to get it all to work!

(Y)

If I decide to build another Hack1ntosh - I will use that - Last time there were glitches and bugs (as expected) - and supposedly that little BIOS plug makes everything a piece of cake --- a little pricey unless you HAVE to run OS-X

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Well the guide seems to say that I can just use a vanilla install anyway :)

And Aussie_Floyd_Fan that database seems to be terribly out of date :/

-Rich-

The database is out of date. Use the wiki instead.

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If you want a painless Hackintosh then e-fix is probably a good idea. But that takes all the fun out of putting one together.

Plus the efi-x isn't exactly cheap.

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Time machine should be useable on an internal disk, as far as I know.

You might also want to have a look at http://www.efi-x.com/ , the tiny piece of hardware they provide lets you install the complete Vanilla OSX so you won't have to do any hacking to get it all to work!

(Y)

I have Efi-X .. it's the easiest way to make your PC completely compatible with legal OSX copy and it will work just like it would on a Mac..HOWEVER

You have to check EFI-X hardware compatibility list. You have to pick motherboards that will work with the chip. Usually it's not a big problem they only support Gigabyte boards though so if you don't like them that might be a problem but with their list and if you use their recommneded parts you will get a great PC, you plug in EFI-X into your motherboard USB and when you boot you will be presented with a nice screen that allows you to install legal OSX copy and it will work just like a Mac with all updates coming in from Apple without problems. With software solutions there's always problem with updates (some work) but if you get a new major update for OSX you will not be able to use it. No such problems with EFIX

Plus the efi-x isn't exactly cheap.

But it's reusable and worth it. You get it once, EFIX releases firmware updates often and they are expanding the hardware compatibility as much as they can to support more parts.

It's definitely worth it. Plus it runs legal versions and non-hacked ones which I appreciate. I don't like hacked/patched versions to be honest.

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But it's reusable and worth it. You get it once, EFIX releases firmware updates often and they are expanding the hardware compatibility as much as they can to support more parts.

It's definitely worth it. Plus it runs legal versions and non-hacked ones which I appreciate. I don't like hacked/patched versions to be honest.

Best thing is that you can just update without worrying about anything!

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Best thing is that you can just update without worrying about anything!

Exactly! As I said, hacked OSX versions get screwed as soon as major OSX update 10.xx comes out and if you update by mistake you get unbootable machine until the patch is released.

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Hey buddy why don't you wait till snow leo comes out??upgrading hackintosh will be a big pain in the ***.And don't forget you would have to change your partition table into GUID.Play with 10.5.7 for a little while but dont get used to it. good luck!

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THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS !!

IT WASN'T OBVIOUS TO THE GUYS POSTING BEFORE ME ABOUT THE NEED FOR EFI-X.

You don't need EFI-X to do a vanilla install nor do you need it to maintain an updated Hackintosh environment. All of this can be done using BOOT-132 or Chameleon.

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^^ LMAO @ above posts

Well, IMHO EFI-X is absolutely not worth the extremely high price tag ($239 here in the US, are you &@*#$!% kidding me?). As I said before, the Hackintosh scene is advancing at such rapid pace that now you don't need to do a lot of things you had to do before, like editing system files, kexts, etc. This last update I didn't have to do A THING . Used Software Update without breaking anything.

Edit. I simply use EFI codes specific to my devices and I'm set. As far as I know, EFI-X does just that.

Edited by Pharos
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Well clearly no one read the guide, you can install a legal copy with some extra kexts using the gigabyte board I selected, I just need to know if the audio will work and what high-end nvidia graphics cards I can use :p

-Rich-

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Well clearly no one read the guide, you can install a legal copy with some extra kexts using the gigabyte board I selected, I just need to know if the audio will work and what high-end nvidia graphics cards I can use :p

-Rich-

The kexts will break if Apple does a major update though. Like I said, use the wiki instead of the database, the wiki has the components including information on audio, etc.

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I had a look, as far as I can tell the motherboard I chose is the right way to go as it works perfectly with the i7 920 with a retail copy of OS X :)

I just need to know what graphics card really, I can choose a case/power supply myself :)

-Rich-

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Video cards you can use:

Some 7 Series NVIDIA

Some 8 Series NVIDIA (8800GT, 8800GTS, 8800GTX all supported)

Some 200 Series NVIDIA (GTX250, GTX260, GTX275, GTX280, GTX285, GTX295 all supported)

Some ATi Cards are also supported such as the HD4870 (highly recommended!)

I mentioned the GeForce cards here specifically as I have researched those in trying to build my own Hackintosh but from what I've seen most ATi cards work as-well now the HD4870 especially as the Mac Pro has it as a build to order option.

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If it was me I would buy the GTX275 as it is almost the same performance as the GTX280 but at a significantly lower entry price. It will beat most cards on the market. If you wanna go ATi you can easily use a HD4870 which is also no slouch but I personally prefer NVIDIA for high-end systems and AMD/ATi for Media Centres / low cost builds.

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