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Hackintosh gaming rig?
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torifile
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Location: Durham, NC
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2009-08-09, 20:46

I've posted this over at Ars but I thought I'd throw it up here, too. I'm looking to build a hackintosh that can game. Any ideas? I'd like to keep cost below $1000 if possible. Ideally, I'd be able to replace my iMac which gets primary duty for media serving and photo editing in the house. I want to be able to play modern FPS's at as close to max res as possible. TIA.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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ThunderPoit
Making sawdust
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2009-08-09, 21:02

its a little hit&miss on finding a vid card that will work smoothly on a hackintosh, and even then, any drivers you find won't necessarily be optimized for it. that said, look at wiki.osx86project.org, they have some nice up to date lists of compatible hardware.
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Banana
is the next Chiquita
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
 
2009-08-09, 21:12

Why not just get a PC? You already have iMac so I would think you get less of a gain and much more hassle in building a Hackintosh than a gaming PC...
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-08-09, 21:17

Here are a few systems that you can build up:
Quote:
Originally Posted by icchansan
Here some combos for new users, you can feel free to change everything you want, but the mobo...

You can check the HCL for better video, audio, wireless and everything you need add in the system.

http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

The processor doesnt matter, so you can always change it too ;P

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3, GA-P35C-DS3R, GA-X48-DS4, Asus P5Q Deluxe
Processor: Core 2 Quad Q9550
Video: nVidia 8800GT 512 mb
Memory: 4GB RAM DDR2
Hard Drive: 500GB 7200 rpm + 300 GB 10000 rpm
Power Supply 750/1000w
DVDRW Serial ATA

Mother Board:Intel DG31PR
Processor:Intel® Xeon® CPU X3220 @ 2.40GHz
Bus frequency:1.06 GHz
Memory: 4GB RAM DDR2
Video:Nvidia 8800GT 512 Mb
Hard Drive: WD 500 GB 7200rpm + 500 GB 7200rpm
Power Supply 1000w
DVDRW Serial ATA

And super cheap one

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G31M-ESL2
Processor: Core 2 Duo E2200
Video: Nvidia 7300 GS, 8600 GT
Memory: 2GB RAM DDR2
Hard Drive: 1x300GB 7200 rpm
Power Supply 350/450w
DVDRW Serial ATA

New one

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 or MSI x58 Platinum or ASUS P6T Deluxe
Processor: Intel Core i7 920
Video: 9800 GTX
Hard Drive: 500GB 7200 rpm + 500 GB 7200 rpm
Memory: 6GB RAM DDR3
Power Supply 750/1000w
DVDRW Serial ATA

Hope it help
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torifile
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2009-08-09, 21:17

Quote:
Originally Posted by Banana View Post
Why not just get a PC? You already have iMac so I would think you get less of a gain and much more hassle in building a Hackintosh than a gaming PC...
I'm working on reducing the number of "things" I've got, so having a machine able to do double duty would be ideal. And I just don't have the space for another computer in my office. And part of it is the challenge.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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torifile
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2009-08-09, 21:25

So it seems like the keys to getting a hackintosh working in theory is to have a motherboard, processor and video card compatible? Would that Asus motherboard + the Core 2 Quad + a Radeon 4870 vid card work?

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2009-08-09, 22:30

Looking over the specs I've seen you should be fine. iatkos v7 10.5.7 is pretty much set to handle with ease most of the configurations I listed above. Seems the Gigabyte is favored in the hackintosh community though.

Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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ThunderPoit
Making sawdust
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2009-08-09, 22:35

Quote:
Originally Posted by turtle2472 View Post
Looking over the specs I've seen you should be fine. iatkos v7 10.5.7 is pretty much set to handle with ease most of the configurations I listed above. Seems the Gigabyte is favored in the hackintosh community though.
ewww, tainted install disks!
Vanilla 10.5 installs ftw!
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torifile
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2009-08-09, 22:47

Quote:
Originally Posted by ThunderPoit View Post
ewww, tainted install disks!
Vanilla 10.5 installs ftw!
Would that P5Q mobo work with a vanilla install? Sorry for the elementary questions but it's a lot to digest!
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torifile
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2009-08-10, 09:35

Freakin' A talk about good timing. MS is doing their cashback thing (via bing.com this time) and zipzoomfly is getting 20% back. With the stuff I was looking at getting, I'm going to be getting $160 in cashback.

How's this list look:
  • ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo Intel P45 Core 2 Quad/Core 2 Extreme/Core 2 Duo/Dual-Core Celeron Socket 775 1600 MHz PC2-9600 (DDR2-1200) ATX Motherboard Retail $126.99
  • INTEL BX80569Q9550 Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83 GHz 1333 MHz Socket 775 2 x 6MB Desktop Processor Retail $219.99
  • Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Mid Tower Case Retail $107.95
  • CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX TX 750W Power Supply Retail $109.59
  • OCZ OCZ3M13334GK 4GB PC3-10666 (DDR3-1333) DDR3-SODIMM Memory Retail $59.90
  • GIGABYTE GV-R487D5-1GD Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express x16 (2.0v) Video Card Retail $169.99
  • SAMSUNG SH-S223L 22X SATA DVD Burner Black Drive Bulk $36.99
All that gets 20% cashback. What do you think?

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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Luca
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Join Date: May 2004
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2009-08-10, 11:51

That looks like a great setup except you are buying DDR3 for use with a DDR2 motherboard. Get DDR2 instead. It doesn't have to be DDR2-1333 to match the processor (in fact, DDR2-1333 doesn't even exist). Just get DDR2-800 or maybe 1066 if you really want, but it doesn't matter that much. Slightly higher RAM speed doesn't help much, if at all.
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torifile
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2009-08-10, 12:41

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca View Post
That looks like a great setup except you are buying DDR3 for use with a DDR2 motherboard. Get DDR2 instead. It doesn't have to be DDR2-1333 to match the processor (in fact, DDR2-1333 doesn't even exist). Just get DDR2-800 or maybe 1066 if you really want, but it doesn't matter that much. Slightly higher RAM speed doesn't help much, if at all.
Thanks for the feedback, Luca. I just placed the order but didn't change the RAM to DDR2. Is that a problem? Of all the things out there, I find RAM to be among the most confusing. It ended up being $10 more expensive but I already had it in my cart and I just hit "order". Oh well. If it doesn't negatively affect performance, I'm just going to leave it as is.

My total price after the 20% bing cashback will be $670 less $55 $70 in rebates so it'll be $615 $600 all told. I've got an HD already, a 1TB SATA Western Digital Black (or Green, I can't remember). That should work, right? I've got Leopard retail and Windows 7. So I'm all set to go. All I need now is a monitor. I'm totally geeking out!

edit: missed a rebate. So it's $600 shipped for that set up. I hope I can get it working! I've never built a computer before so it'll be interesting.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.

Last edited by torifile : 2009-08-10 at 12:56.
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Luca
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2009-08-10, 13:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by torifile View Post
Thanks for the feedback, Luca. I just placed the order but didn't change the RAM to DDR2. Is that a problem?
Yes. DDR3 will not work in that motherboard. When I was saying that RAM speed isn't that important, I meant DDR2-800 vs. 1066 or other speeds isn't important, but DDR2 and DDR3 are two different things and are not cross-compatible. Any given motherboard will only be able to use one or the other.
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torifile
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2009-08-10, 15:07

Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca View Post
Yes. DDR3 will not work in that motherboard. When I was saying that RAM speed isn't that important, I meant DDR2-800 vs. 1066 or other speeds isn't important, but DDR2 and DDR3 are two different things and are not cross-compatible. Any given motherboard will only be able to use one or the other.
Crap. Zipzoomfly just jacked up all their prices after my post so I'll have to return it later. I'll order some DDR2 now. I told you RAM is confusing!

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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Dorian Gray
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Location: Paris, France
 
2009-08-10, 15:58

Torifile, you may not always buy the right thing, but I am constantly in awe of your purchasing skills. Have you ever paid list price for something in your life? You're like the American Dream distilled into a skinny bearded cheapskate.
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torifile
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2009-08-10, 16:47

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dorian Gray View Post
Torifile, you may not always buy the right thing, but I am constantly in awe of your purchasing skills. Have you ever paid list price for something in your life? You're like the American Dream distilled into a skinny bearded cheapskate.
MSRP? NEVER! (Except on Apple gear. ) I'm Egyptian. Bargain hunting is in my blood.
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Partial
Stallion
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Milwaukee
 
2009-08-10, 19:40

Wait for Core i7. Then, get a cheap one and overclock it. Always get the cheap stuff and overclock it. Do some googling for the mobos that have the best Hackintosh support.

Check slickdeals.net then to buy the components. You can build a very solid system for 600 max. Probably 500.

...and calling/e-mailing/texting ex-girlfriends on the off-chance they'll invite you over for some "old time's sake" no-strings couch gymnastics...
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Luca
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Location: Minnesota
 
2009-08-10, 20:19

Quote:
Originally Posted by Partial View Post
Wait for Core i7. Then, get a cheap one and overclock it. Always get the cheap stuff and overclock it. Do some googling for the mobos that have the best Hackintosh support.

Check slickdeals.net then to buy the components. You can build a very solid system for 600 max. Probably 500.
Uh, why would he need to "wait" for Core i7? i7 has been out for many months now, and it's actually hitting a price point where it costs about the same as a Core 2 Quad. The only major advantage of the Core 2 is that it's easier to hack OS X onto it.

However, as cool as i7 is, it doesn't really give you that big of an advantage for gaming. Its main strength is hyperthreading on all four cores, giving you the ability to run 8 threads at once. Now, a lot of games are single- or dual-threaded, and it has taken a lot of convincing to get gamers to even move up to quads from duals (just as it took at long time to convince them that dual-core was worth it over a faster single core). i7 is amazing for encoding or just about any other CPU-intensive task, but gaming isn't actually that CPU-intensive. It relies much more heavily on the GPU.

Really, if you wanted to squeeze the maximum level of gaming performance per dollar, you could go for the E8400 (3.0 GHz dual core) and get as powerful a graphics card as possible (either a Radeon 4890, GTX 275, or Radeon 4850X2 2GB) with the money you save. But a quad will be a little more balanced and will probably serve you better long-term.

Also, Partial, didn't you notice the part where he's getting cashback deals on his gear? I think tori found some pretty good deals once you factor that in. ZipZoomFly is pretty competitive anyway.
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Partial
Stallion
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Milwaukee
 
2009-08-10, 20:23

I didn't read the posts, but from what I'm reading the bing cashback stuff on SD isn't as good as advertised. If it were me, I'd follow my advice Though I didn't know the Core i7's were out yet. However, I'd wait for a cheap one. OS X will run like a champion on one.

...and calling/e-mailing/texting ex-girlfriends on the off-chance they'll invite you over for some "old time's sake" no-strings couch gymnastics...
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torifile
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2009-08-10, 20:24

As I said, I got all that for $600 shipped. ZZF jacked up all their prices after I bought:
  • 10010533 ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo Intel P45 Core 2 Quad/Core 2 Extreme/Core 2 Duo/Dual-Core Celeron Socket 775 1600 MHz PC2-9600 (DDR2-1200) ATX Motherboard Retail $126.99 ($139.99) 10% increase
  • 10007855 INTEL BX80569Q9550 Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83 GHz 1333 MHz Socket 775 2 x 6MB Desktop Processor Retail $219.99 ($245.99) 12% increase
  • 140146 Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Mid Tower Case Retail $107.95 ($107.95) 0%
  • 10007112 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX TX 750W Power Supply Retail $109.59 ($ 115.99) 5% increase
  • 10008950 OCZ OCZ3M13334GK 4GB PC3-10666 (DDR3-1333) DDR3-SODIMM Memory Retail $59.90 ($59.90) 0%
  • 10010380 GIGABYTE GV-R487D5-1GD Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express x16 (2.0v) Video Card Retail $169.99($182.99) 13.5% increase
  • 10010714 SAMSUNG SH-S223L 22X SATA DVD Burner Black Drive Bulk $36.99 ($38.99) 5% increase
New prices are in bold. Old prices were from my order this morning at 10:20 EDT. Ridiculous. Bad form, ZipZoomFly. Bad form. I managed to get in before the jacked up prices and I got my 20% cashback email already so I'm fine but I'm probably never going to shop there again.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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torifile
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2009-08-10, 20:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by Partial View Post
I didn't read the posts, but from what I'm reading the bing cashback stuff on SD isn't as good as advertised.
Some of it isn't but I already got my email from bing with my cashback amounts and all of them (they do it on a per item basis) are 20% back.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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Luca
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2009-08-10, 21:06

NewEgg still has the Q9550 for $220 w/ free shipping, for the moment: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115041

I've seen NewEgg jack up their prices before. I've even seen them charge more for a slower processor than for a faster one in the same series. Their official explanation has always been that they have an automated price-updating system that occasionally glitches out or gives unexpected results. Whatever.

Either way, you already ordered your stuff, and 20% cashback sounds like a great deal.

Partial: Regarding the i7, here's the deal. The only i7 CPU that has ever been reasonably priced, the i7 920, is $280. That in itself is high but it's not too bad for the bleeding edge. The real high expense comes in when you buy a motherboard. Whereas a solid Core 2 motherboard will only set you back by $120-$150, a good Core i7 motherboard is $200+. Also, when the i7 first came out late last year, DDR3 was really expensive, and it was triple-channel so you had to buy three modules at a time instead of two. Nowadays it costs basically the same as DDR2, but the motherboards are still expensive.

The end result is that an i7 system will cost a good $100-$200 more than a Core 2 Quad, and while that may be worth it for many uses, for gaming it's not. And maybe tori just wanted to save a bit of dough.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
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2009-08-11, 00:00

This is where I'm glad I got the i7 then. Most of my work is encoding video and audio. Then next up is photo handling. Sounds like I have the best of all worlds with my coming i7 system!

How to hack it so I can run Mac OS X on it.

tori, let us know how yours works out.

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torifile
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2009-08-11, 03:25

Anyone ever hear of the the EFI-X? Macintouch did a pretty lengthy review of it and they seemed to really like it. According to their compatibility chart, it doesn't work with many mobos but it does work with the processor I bought. I'm a little weary of trying it out for a couple of reasons but if it does make things as easy as it claims to, WOW.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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bassplayinMacFiend
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2009-08-11, 07:12

Quote:
Originally Posted by torifile View Post
Anyone ever hear of the the EFI-X? Macintouch did a pretty lengthy review of it and they seemed to really like it. According to their compatibility chart, it doesn't work with many mobos but it does work with the processor I bought. I'm a little weary of trying it out for a couple of reasons but if it does make things as easy as it claims to, WOW.
I'd wait and see if it works with Snow Leopard before buying one myself.
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Luca
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2009-08-11, 09:14

Quote:
Originally Posted by bassplayinMacFiend View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by torifile View Post
Anyone ever hear of the the EFI-X? Macintouch did a pretty lengthy review of it and they seemed to really like it. According to their compatibility chart, it doesn't work with many mobos but it does work with the processor I bought. I'm a little weary of trying it out for a couple of reasons but if it does make things as easy as it claims to, WOW.
I'd wait and see if it works with Snow Leopard before buying one myself.
Yeah, my brother and I were considering building a PC for our mom using an EFI-X to help. We're hoping it would streamline things enough so that she'd be able to use it just like a regular Mac and she wouldn't need to have us drive out there just to apply system updates. Adds a little to the cost but it seems like it's worth it in our situation. We're also waiting a bit (have to sell a few old computer parts to help fund the purchase, and we also want to make sure EFI-X is Snow Leopard compatible).

Unfortunately, it seems really hard to get a sense of how easy or difficult it is to set up and maintain a Hackintosh. Some people here say it's a headache and a half. Others claim it's extremely easy. I think the only way to find out is to do it. The good thing is you won't risk bricking your hardware just from attempting to install OSx86, so you may as well try. If you really can't figure it out, then maybe it's time to RMA the motherboard and get an EFI-X compatible one instead.
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torifile
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2009-08-13, 13:33

Zipzoomfly sucks. I placed my order on Monday and it took them til today to tell me that they were out of stock on my motherboard. I canceled the order and decided that dealing with them and having to wait for them to ship cross-country just wasn't worth it so I went to back to newegg.

I also made a few alterations to my original order to make it more Hackintosh friendly. I got the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS4P mobo because it seems to work pretty well for a Hackintosh. I also changed my case from the Antec to a Lian Li which seems less flashy and had a removable mobo tray making it easier to use. I'll let you all know how it goes!

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torifile
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2009-08-18, 01:30

I got my stuff today and after a couple of frustrating hours with beeps and video not working, I used my head and realized my PSU has 2 PCIe power connections I could use rather than the clearly defective ones that came with the card. In the process, my nicely organized cables are a mess but I'll fix that later.

Windows 7 64 bit is starting installation now. I'll make sure the computer works properly before trying to hackintosh it.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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torifile
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2009-08-18, 14:47

The Windows side of things works perfectly. This computer is screaming fast! I'm working on getting OS X installed. I'm able to boot to the installation disc but I get stuck at the very beginning with an SPOD. Trying a new Boot132 disc to see if that helps.

Edit: success! I'm at the language selection screen.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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torifile
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2009-08-18, 21:03

If anyone cares, I've got OS X running! I'm updating to 10.5.8 right now. This computer is fast even with the ATI card not supported yet. I'm working on that. If the computer runs Aperture, I'm going to seriously consider getting rid of my iMac for this computer.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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