The Hackintosh Guide, Part 3. Intel i7 Hackintosh Hardware.

Part 3 of my Hackintosh guide.

In this part we take a look at what hardware I used to
build a Custom PC with Intel i7 920 for my Hackintosh.

A computer that will perform just as good as the entry level Mac Pro (Quad Xeon 2.66GHz).

Partslist:

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5
Max 24GB RAM, 6 RAM-slots, 2xGigabit LAN, 10xSATA, 12xUSB2.0, 3xFW400.

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3
Max 16GB RAM, 4 RAM-slots, 1xGigabit LAN, 8xSATA, 10xUSB2.0, 2xFW400.

DVD-burner:
Sony Optiarc AD-7240S-0B
(But most DVD-burners will work just fine).

Memory:
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK.
(Most memory types will work just fine).
You can go for a slightly cheaper 1066MHz kit if you don't plan to overclock.

CPU:
Intel i7 920, 2.66 GHz.
Or the new i7 930, 2.8GHz. Only $10 more than the i7 920 on newegg.

Casing:
Whatever you like, as long as it is ATX-compatible.
For Europeans I would like to mention a brand new casing from Fractal.
Fractal Design Define R2.
I'm actually considering buying one, and use it instead of my Lian Li. :)

PSU:
Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W (12cm fan)
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro 600 (13,5cm fan, modular cabling).
Thermaltake TR2 TRX-650M 650W (14cm fan, modular cabling).

I'd recommend modular cabling, and the biggest fan.
Bigger fan = less noise.
And the Thermaltake is extremely cheap.

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"

But you choose what you want. Any type will work.

Videocard:
The Nvidia 9600's are almost extinct now.
9800's can still be found.
Gigabyte has a silent model (no fan).
GIGABYTE GV-N98TSL-1GI GeForce 9800 GT 1GB Silent Cell 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

The ATI Radeon HD4850 (mobility) in the 27" iMac is just a little bit more powerful than a 9800GT.
However, you can get newer cards, but please find out how well it plays with OSX.

[shymin]

sn0le, I wanted to let you know that I just spent the past two days doing some light to moderate work on starting up a new hackintosh build (my first). I think you have a VERY clear walk through, so I'm going to start with your method! Thanks so much for putting the time into these videos, and all the time you put into responding to your viewers...it looks like you're very committed to all the viewers comments and questions, so I really respect you for that! I wanted to let you know how much my

[rickphillipsjr]

You need to post an address where you can receive beers! You are deserving of many.

[rickphillipsjr]

Excellent ... now you must wait for me to finish my hackintosh build AND do my Norway/Sweden trip ... beers are definitely on me :-)

[FunWithOliver]

Thanks, I'll see what I can do from here!

[vsdagama]

Hey man,

First of all: Very nice videos :)
You speak english very well and I like your voice,
you sound interesting (and you are).

I'm not particularly building a hackintosh (maybe) but I am building my own computer soon.

I was wondering if you got your parts from newegg to europe (norway in your case) because I didn't know that was possible.
I have a problem finding good hardware stores in europe (I live in Belgium) to get my parts from. (cheap),
Do you know any?

[snle]

@kookiekareem:
Well, since things change quickly in a non-Apple computer world my model of motherboard is replaced by newer models.

The Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R is a good Hackintosh motherboard today.
Many other brands work as well, Asus, EVGA, Abit etc etc.
But they may vary on how easy/complicated an install is.
Gigabyte is widely considered as the easiest solution.

The OSx86 Wiki had a Hardware Compitability List (HCL) which can be a good reference when choosing motherboard for a Hackintosh.

[snle]

@EvidentIncredible:
All i7 9xx's are compatible with both the UD3R and the UD5.
The UD5 does support more RAM (16GB vs 24GB) and has some features that the UD3R doesn't have.
Like powerbutton/resetbutton on the motherboard, LED's to indicate voltages and temps etc.

If you plan to run 12GB's of RAM, the UD3R will be more expensive than the UD5.
Since 4GB RAM modules are still very expensive.

[snle]

@SpikezHackz:
The motherboard supports any PCI or PCI-express WLAN card as long as you have a driver for the OS you're running.
You can also use a USB WLAN adapter, but again, you need a driver for the OS you're running.

Newegg has multiple internal cards and USB WLAN adapters that are both Windows and OSX compatible.

[snle]

@TzvikaResh:
You're welcome.
Any 9800GT should be really easy to set up.
Just use the same method that I show in video #6 and use OSx86 Tools to create a EFI-string for the videocard.
There are other ways to do it, but I've only used OSx86 Tools for this.

[snle]

@andrewsinclair18:
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R would be a nice choice nowadays.
It has 6 RAM-slots, and supports up to 24GB of RAM like the GA-EX58-UD5.

For Windows-use it has 2 extra SATA-ports that supports SATA 6Gbps and 2 extra USB-ports that support USB3.0 (may be possible to use in OSX if any kexts are available).

The best part is that the motherboard is about $80 cheaper than the GA-EX58-UD5. :)

[snle]

@kookiekareem:
The USB3.0 may work as USB2.0 with kext or DSDT-patch.
Not sure about the eSATA ports. It may require spesific kexts or DSDT-patching as well.

You're welcome. :)

[snle]

@najnacisi:
i7 950 is a good choice. It is only a few dollars more than the i7 930.
i7 960 is twice as expensive, but not that much more powerful. So go with the i7 950.

12GB will be nice if you plan on videoediting or working with large images in Photoshop etc.
Either buy 3x4GB or 2 kits with 3x2GB. Go for quality RAM and not the cheapest kind you find.

[snle]

@EvidentIncredible:
I checked on newegg.
And 1x4GB RAM (1066MHz) was just as much as the 6GB Kit I used in my example. About $160

Other than the RAM thingy, the UD3R is alot more bang for the buck.
The extra features and the 2xLAN on the UD5 is not very crucial for most people.
I did it so I could go from 6GB to 12GB of RAM without having to change my RAM.
I will just have to add 6GB extra to the 6GB I already have.

[snle]

@ericohman:
Yeah, the EX58s are pretty old now, and replaced by newer models with SATA 6.0Gbps and USB 3.0.
OSX will work on most X58 motherboards.
The difference is what kind of LAN chipset and Sound chipset that is used on the motherboard.
If it's Realtek it should work. Some motherboards have Sound and/or LAN that isn't OSX-friendly.

Googling the Sabertooth doesn't give alot of good info.
The ones that have tried it has had problems.
But it may work, if you know what you're doing.

[snle]

@najnacisi:
The EX58 has been replaced by X58.
EX58 didn't have USB3.0 and SATA 6.0Gbps like the X58 has.
However, I doubt that there are kexts out there to use USB3.0 and SATA 6.0Gbps in OSX.
But I may be wrong.
When dualbooting you'd benefit from USB3.0 and SATA 6.0Gbps in Windows.

UD7 will work.
But if you want to save some money and spend it on better CPU or other things, you could consider the GA-X58-UD3R.
It supports the same CPU's and up to 24GB RAM, like UD5 and UD7.

[snle]

@EvidentIncredible:
It will detect your RAM without any problems.
Both Leopard and Snow Leopard run in a sort of "hybrid" mode.
It will run 32-bit apps in 32-bit, 64-bit apps in 64-bit and the kernel in 32-bit.
I think only the X-Serve (Apple servers) run the kernel in 64-bit mode by default.
Even true Mac owners run OSX in the same mode.
A bit confusing though, but thats how it is. :)

[snle]

@fred9099:
Thanks. I really hope so, lol.
This is probably the most expensive motherboard I've
ever bought.

But I wanted a motherboard that works well with OSX.
And I chose the UD5 instead of the UD3 (motherboard)
because of the 6 memoryslots instead of 4 (3 if you want to run triple channel memory).

[snle]

@bajer111:
Thanks. :)
You can't use any hardware. Some motherboards are not very compatible with OSX.
But, your hardware looks like it should be very compatible. :)

[TheVedicStudent]

@sn0le
Yea..I found someone who has done it and got it working nicely. I will post a guide once I get everything setup. He told me it was 10 times faster then Win7 lol..I cannot wait to try it..

[snle]

@shymin:
That is going to be a sweet rig. :)
Plenty of "ooomph" in that system.
And the price is very nice too.

I'd change the WD to a Seagate or a Samsung F3.
They are a bit faster than the WD's, at least a while back. (500GB & 1000GB versions).