Modern Vespa

background: i've always been a Mac guy, even though i was originally a Commodore 64 type and i had a brief flirtation with Yellow Dog Linux on my Lombard Powerbook G3 prior to Mac OS X coming out. i've never built a computer, per se, but i did overclock my ancient Power Macintosh 6100/60 to 75 MHz and have installed PCI cards, hard drives, and junk like that. i'm not petrified of opening the case--rather, it's just that most of my recent computers have essentially been hermetically sealed, most prominently my current Mac mini.

rationale: my Mac mini is getting old. it's from the initial batch of computers that Apple put out after making the switch from IBM and their G5 series of chips to Intel. it has a Intel Core Duo (not Core 2 Duo) processor at 1.66 GHz. it has on-board graphics, which is to say that it has no 3-D acceleration. it won't run several programs that i'd like to run: RC airplane flight simulators and games in general; Microsoft Vista (under VMWare, Parallels, or as a complete dual boot setup); and Apple's own Aperture. also note that i already have a nice TFT panel (ie, no ghosting and wide field of view) 24" monitor that i bought last year after my previous, old 24" screen died.

proposition: i propose to build a hackintosh instead of buying an admittedly beautiful new iMac, which not only has the snazzy new Intel Core i5 and i7 chips inside but also has a big monitor built in that i don't need, not to mention a decidedly non-negligible pricetag. (what's a hackintosh? a pc-hardware computer that's coaxed to run Mac OS X semi-illicitly.) after much browsing and seeing who has tried what i've come up with the following tentative hardware list, with things to be purchased once the mess with the insurance company and the stolen scooter is resolved.

if you want to see the whole spreadsheet, prices and newegg.com links and all, it's on Google Docs: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=txde8u6BkjWqXLbEmBPyMPQ&output=html . otherwise below is the key info, with the kicker that this approach probably would be about $900 [ed: $700 as it currently stands] cheaper than an iMac setup (after eBaying my current hardware) with equivalent if not better specs on paper. whether i can actually get the whole thing running stably without pulling my hair out is an entirely separate matter...

list current as of 12/14:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=txde8u6BkjWqXLbEmBPyMPQ&output=html

Why not buy a Mac mini?

I normally do not have a problem with building up PC computers. They are cheaper and run just as good as name brand.

But When comparing that to buying an Apple, I would pay a bit more, get the Apple warranty. The Apple store does such a great job repairing the Apples and their Warranty is worth every penny.

Besides the Apple hardware is very good, and you do get the cool Apple look.

When my current Windows laptop dies I plan on getting a Mac Book Pro.

I have a G5 tower but I write Windows software for a living. The Intel Mac will allow me to run both operating systems for the best of both worlds.

Joe

A few comments:

1.- Why do you need a 750W PS? Your list of parts doesn't quite warrant such capacity, unless you're planning to add stuff later on. Then again, it is a micro-atx mobo, so it doesn't have much expandability.

2.- You're missing a decent CPU cooler, as the ones included are usually crap. Look at Zalman, Thermaltake(i've used the "flat" ones on an HTPC quiet box). This is only important if : a) quietness, and b) overclocking are part of your goals.

3.- You may want to check out an outfit here in Pasadena, California, which sells their own version of "hackintoshes" at a price similar to what you'll end up paying when done. It was showcased on the local news this week. I believe the place's name is Quo Computers (http://quocomputer.com/) Keep in mind that they've worked out the kinks and "guarantee" fully OS-X Leopard functionality.

4.- If you're still interested on doing this project, I see the missing OS X Leopard upgrade Disc ($29 from Apple), which I believe you'll need.

Finally, most of the documentation that I've read only shows "true and tried" work on Intel Core2 Duo systems. Could you point me to where you've got the I7 references?

I looked into this over the summer but running the Mac OS on a Dell mINI 9 or one of several other netbooks. WHile it looked like it was doable, there were several software hacks that had to be done and still not everything was going to worked properly because not all the drivers were going to work and there was a risk that updates would make it stop working. My motivation was to get asmaller machine than the Macbook air. Evaluating all the work and associated risk of the time I'd invest, I decided to purchase the air and forget the hackintosh since it was going to be more work than I wanted to do. Just my experience.
Best
Miguel

Is a Apple Factory refurb system an option for you


Refurbished iMac 24-inch 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

24-inch glossy widescreen display
4GB memory
1TB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 with 512MB memory
Built-in iSight camera

$1,349.00

+1 on Apple refurb stuff. I only buy refurb and it's (generally) excellent quality for MUCH cheaper. If you can get in right after a product gets updated, you'll see 40% discounts on "old" hardware.

2.8 GHz quad core Core i7 >> 2.66 GHz dual core Core 2 Duo
GeForce 9800 GTX+ > GeForce 9400M

plus i already have a mac mini. it's kind of a pain not being able to upgrade RAM and HDD oneself, and being limited to 2.5" HDDs isn't cool.

1) i wasn't sure how much PS i needed, and the 9800 GTX+ page said 450W+ minimum. since i'll be running 2 HDDs i figured why not get a slightly bigger one. this one will be understressed and is supposed to be efficient at partial loads anyway.

2) i'm not going to overclock at all and the case has two big fans.

3) thanks for the link. their price simply isn't competitive, tho: $1045 for a 2.66 Core 2 Duo... nope.

4) i have a Snow Leopard upgrade disc from when i upgraded my current Core Duo mac mini. if it doesn't work i'll pop on down to the apple store.

5) this guy is running a P55/i7 Snow Leopard setup, and was my inspiration: http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/

these concerns are valid, and especially so for Atom-based netbooks. however, the latest iMac revision uses a P55 setup with i5 and i7 processors so P55/i5/i7 hackintoshes actually can run the vanilla (ie unmodified) kernel and run software update like a "real" mac!

that's a nice machine, but the one that i specced out is a really nice machine. again i'm hoping to run an i7 setup, which is head and shoulders above Core 2 Duo, and i want a fastish (at least fast in 12 months ago terms) graphics card.

Ihave a Vespa. Everyone thinks it looks cool. Even the Apple guys!

It seems like you're buying a lot of machine for what... virtualizing vista and flight sims? You might be able to get a motherboard + processor combo for less, may sacrifice a couple mhz here and there but this setup is already way beyond the needs of anything you mentioned. 8Gb of RAM? I think it's unnecessary for most applications currently. Go for half and add the other half in a year when you *might* need it. It'll also be half the price. $200 for two 1TB HDs? I know people love storing movies, but that seems excessive. Get one 500gb for $50 now and replace it in 6 months with a 1tb for (likely) the same price.

Let's see... anti static mat? Useless. Just remember to ground yourself on the case before you touch anything. And don't install on shag carpet (duh).

Finally, you could ditch the one-time-use 16gb flash drive for the CD install method on the site you mention, tonymacx86.

i also edit photos and videos. most of my non-web browsing use is in Adobe Lightroom and my 5D MkII's raw files fill up disks at a good pace. one of the hard drives will be partitioned for Windows 7 and for use as a backup (time machine) drive for the "mac" hard drive.

good point on the flash drive. if i have 4 slots and can afford the RAM, however, i don't see why i shouldn't run 8 GB.

If you're doing photo editing in lightroom 8gb is probably a little more useful to you than the average joe. Lightroom 2 is 64-bit so it can actually address 8gb of RAM, which is better than some older 32-bit apps that can't see more than 4gb, regardless of how much is plugged in and recognized by the OS.

Let us know how the build goes...

list current as of 12/14:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=txde8u6BkjWqXLbEmBPyMPQ&output=html