First post from my Hackintosh!

[Mini 9]

I wonder how much will bring on eBay once you decide to upgrade?

[mikebw]

I used the iBoot install method- http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/04/i...-x-on.html

The Lifehacker instructions are quite specific to the hardware they used. They actually had to do a couple extra steps that were not necessary in my case. The MultiBeast app contained all the LAN/audio/video enablers that I needed, so no manual addition / modification of kexts or plist files.

The iBoot / MultiBeast instructions are pretty good, but there will always be some unanswered questions for the first-time installer, as with my NCQ hard drive issue. Also it was not immediately clear if I would be able to use my old PATA optical drive for the install, or after, however it worked perfectly fine. I am also using a second PATA hard drive for my music still. The case is pretty cool in that you can mount a hard drive underneath the power supply, assuming it is not a full -ATX sized board; mine is micro-ATX.

Only things I miss at the moment from the G5 is the front-panel firewire port, but I should be able to find a 5.25" insert to add that later, maybe with USB3 when the need arises.

[sekker]

Looks great, thanks for the post!

If I needed more processor power, I'd go this route (again).

[mikebw]

Trouble wrote:
Oh man... If I can get a i7 Mac for @ $700, I may need to build it. Other than your list, is there a site that has directions and a "known good" parts list?

The same place I got my instructions from has a list of 3 models - http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/06/b...te-pc.html

It's from the summer so some of the parts may have changed, but in general ANY Gigabyte 55 series motherboard will be very good, along with ANY Intel i Series processor. Just get some good RAM, a decent power supply and some drives of your choosing.

You can really spend a lot on stuff if you think you need it. In my case a 530w PS would be probably the most I ever need, and it so happens that my normal operating load I projected would be about half of 530w which is the peak of the operating efficiency for this power supply. Check out the 80 Plus ratings website for good info on specific models. They have graphs of the power draw / efficiency relationship.

[wowzer]

Welcome to the club...my hackintosh has been rock steady for over a year. Just becareful with OS updates and you should be okay.

I just wish that Apple would put together a mid tower for those of us who want their own LCD's and internal hard drives.

[Wailer]

If anyone built a stable hackintosh but needs more processing power, let me know. I currently use a 2.4ghz C2D macbook and a 2.0ghz C2D imac and would like to upgrade a bit. A mac mini or i3 imac would be a nice upgrade for me, but it's too pricey. I don't need an i7 even though that seems like the best bang-for-the-buck if one is to build one today. I can provide a sata & DVD drive and can do my own 10.6 install if it's straightforward

So If it has little quirks, that's fine. I don't need wireless or bluetooth, but I'd like reasonable stability, gigabit ethernet and sleep and shutdown to work. If it's a quiet, low power consuming machine with decent ram that'd be ideal. It doesn't have to be upgradeable as I don't mind sitting at 10.6.x for a few years.

[M A V I C]

Mini 9 wrote:
I wonder how much will bring on eBay once you decide to upgrade?

Well, keep in mind this is a custom built PC and not a Mac. That means when someone wants to upgrade they can just spend a reasonable price on individual components. Want a faster processor? Buy one. Want a motherboard with USB3 and SATA 6Gb? Buy one.

My next upgrades will be more RAM and an upgraded video card. After that, possible a processor.

Even if I wanted to make a more drastic upgrade, I'd keep the PSU, optical drive, case, SSD...

[Trouble]

mikebw wrote:
[quote=Trouble]
Oh man... If I can get a i7 Mac for @ $700, I may need to build it. Other than your list, is there a site that has directions and a "known good" parts list?

The same place I got my instructions from has a list of 3 models - http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/06/b...te-pc.html

It's from the summer so some of the parts may have changed, but in general ANY Gigabyte 55 series motherboard will be very good, along with ANY Intel i Series processor. Just get some good RAM, a decent power supply and some drives of your choosing.

You can really spend a lot on stuff if you think you need it. In my case a 530w PS would be probably the most I ever need, and it so happens that my normal operating load I projected would be about half of 530w which is the peak of the operating efficiency for this power supply. Check out the 80 Plus ratings website for good info on specific models. They have graphs of the power draw / efficiency relationship.
I just may sell my mac mini server and build one of these. I just got an i7 laptop and I'd love having an i7 mac. Selling the mini server on eBay will just about cover the $700.

[mikebw]

Keep in mind there is really nothing as compact as your mini out there. PC cases come in many sizes, but the bigger the easier it will be to work with and cheaper it can be to load up.

[Dick Moore]

My Frakkintosh has been so good, I'm afraid to mess with it. I'd like a bit more CPU than the 2.67GHz C2D I'm running now (maybe to a C2Q?), but if you really press me, I'm completely unable to tell you why (horsepower lust?) -- the C2D just does everything promptly, and when I'm running a powerful spectrum analyzer app on the XP side, it really flies. Just gotta love hackintoshes.

BTW, I'm really glad to know that the TonyMac install works with the P55 boards. If and when I do upgrade, I suppose it will be to an i7.