Making a Hackintosh

[problemobo]

Hello Gigabyte people.
I recently brought some pc components with the aim of creating a hackintosh that also is capable of triple booting 3 Operating systems.
My reason for doing this is because I like to use each OS for different things.
Some software is only available on one operating system, such as Apple Logic Pro, which is only available on Mac.

Anyway, I thought I would explain the process to you guys, for anyone out there who is interested or who may be interested in doing something similar themselves. I will include my blunders as well, so that those out there can learn by my mistakes and not have to waste their money and time as I have.

Anyway.
To start with, I recommend that you take a trip over to the www.tonymacx86.com/ website forum, BEFORE BUYING. as his brilliant website explains what components are most compatible with OS X (as some components will work out of the box, where many others will take a lot of work and much stress to get your mac going).

On this site you will also find loads of great advice and help on how to make your hackintosh work.
The same people also supply you the tools required to accomplish the job, which I personally think is really really good of them.

Anyway. I will return and post some more info soon.

[absic]

Hi there,

I look forward to your updates and hope the build goes well. Good luck! 

[problemobo]

Hello. and thanks for the message. I have returned with some information. 

I have just completed my Hackintosh successfully and thought I would return to let people know how I got on.

Now. before buying the components for my Hackintosh, I did not discover the tonymacx86.com websites or forum so the components I brought were based on another Hackintosh web page and some of the advice I received could have been more detailed.

In hindsight, i wish I had referred to the tonymac86.com wiki page for details on most suitable and supported hardware and taken the advise of the experience experts.

Still. my computer now works and runs OS X! 

The components I brought were as follows:

Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3.0 motherboard (Gigabyte motherboards are probably the most supported, however, check the tonymacx86.com and wiki page for best advice on compatibility).

Crucial Ram 1 x 4GB DDR3 1333 1.5v (crucial good ram compatible with motherboard, no problems).

Intel i3 550 CPU (important, buy Intel i series as these are used in the real mac's).

Coolmaster 650w PSU

Asus Nvidia 8400GS Graphic Card (replacing the xfx Radeon 5750 single slot. More info later)
The Asus Nvidia  8400GS graphics card is the most compatible graphics card for straight out of the box compatibility.
The card may not be the fastest and may not offer the best quality or most comprehensive features, however, it works without having to tinker or adjust anything with the OS software. It is also £23.
If you want a mac simply for music creation applications i.e. logic pro etc. Then this cheap graphics card could be your answer.
If you want a mac for other applications such as 3d and blu ray etc and to run high res hd multiple monitors, then, perhaps look for a more powerful graphics cards. AMD/ATI and Nvidia both make cards that are aimed at the Mac platform, not to mention 3rd parties that manufacture their own versions. Please check the hardware compatibility list BEFORE buying, as the graphics card is probably the most difficult component to get working.
http://www.asus.com/Product.aspx?P_ID=K2Nl1bq6hj0Hzouc

Bitfenix Survivor Core PC enclosure

Zalman Flex Heatsink (replacing the heatsink/fan that came with the CPU). Not required although worth considering if putting together a hackintosh for recording music or to be used as a Media center (silent). Obviously, only really useful if matched with silent PSU (nesteq for example) and silent graphics card.

[absic]

Hi again,

Congratulations on the successful Hackintosh build, I'm really pleased you got it all working.

Thanks for the links too, I have found them interesting and informative. Not sure if I really need to go down this route myself but I have to say I find it rather tempting. I actually started building PC's as I wanted to set up a home recording studio but couldn't afford a Mac at that time.

What Sound Card are you using as I would have thought that particular component, especially if you are using this build for Audio Recording, would be as important as the GPU? 

[problemobo]

Now, when I first put the components together, I used OCZ ram which was BAD.

The Bad ram caused the motherboard to fail constantly, and as I had not experienced BAD ram before I rather stupidly took the PC apart
and damaged the 1156 socket in the process.

This motherboard, I sent back to Gigabyte RMA department who very kindly repaired for free. (which I am very grateful for).
While I waited for the motherboard to be sent back I brought another motherboard, the exact same model.

I then spent several days trying to get the board to work again after fitting it together again.
Eventually, I researched the various forums including this one, and diagnosed that the OCZ RAM was bad.
So, I sent the RAM back to the retailer who refunded my money.

I then brought some crucial RAM to replace the bad OCZ RAM.
The Crucial RAM is perfect. 

Once the new RAM arrived, I then went to www.tonymacx86.com and researched the process of putting together the Hackintosh.
Basically, the first step after you have built a PC and verified it is working using Windows or Ubuntu,
the next stage is to try and install Mac OS X.

Before you can do this, you will need a bootloader application which allows your PC to boot up and install Mac OS X discs and Hard Drives.

There are several on the market however the one that the www.tonymacx86.com site recommends is a boot loader app called iboot.
This application can be downloaded and used for free from the www.tonymacx86.com forum.

Once downloaded, burn this program onto a CD/DVD. Once burnt you can then use it as your initial boot up disk.
However, prior to installing OS X you have to change several settings in the BIOS in order to make the mother board work best with the components installed and the Mac OS X operating system.

For a guide on what settings to choose, check out the tonymacx86.com forum.
I will post a link later.

Now you have changed your BIOS settings, also make sure that you have set the primary boot device as your optical drive, which should show up in the list of boot drives. Then restart.

iboot should then boot up into its menu, and an apple should appear in the middle of your screen along with icons for any hd's attached.

Now, instead of booting up one of the attached HD's. eject the iboot boot up disk. and swap it for a genuine copy of the Apple Mac OS X 10.6.3 installation DVD. Once the disk is in the drive, wait for a couple of seconds and press F6 or press the downward arrow on the arrow keys to instruct the PC to search for optical drives.

This search process should make the OS X installation disk appear.

Once the Apple Installation disk appears, select it using the arrow keys, and press return.
The PC should now start the OS X installation Process.
Eventually a language selection screen will appear and you can choose the language that you want for your Operating System.

You will then be taken to the initial installation menu screen but before installing OS X onto a hard drive, choose startup disk application from the menu at the top. This application will allow you to format and partition your hard drive so that it will be most suitable for use with the rest of your configuration.

Use the Disk Utility to check the health of your hard disk and to format  and partition it.

Once your hard disk has been formatted HFS+ and has been partitioned with GUID partition table, then follow the installation process as you normally would when installing OS X or Windows on a PC. First choosing the right hard disk to install onto and then just follow the prompts making sure that your Ethernet cable is plugged in and all the core components are plugged in as well.

Eventually you will end up with a hard drive with OS X installed on it. However, this PC will not boot with OS X with out using the iboot boot loader. There fore, in order to get this working in the same manner a normal Mac works you will need to download a little more software and files that will make adjustments to your OS that will make it work with the hardware installed.

Prior to doing this. Update your Apple Software. This can be done by selecting "Software Update" from the apple menu in the top left hand corner.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1338

[problemobo]

Hi again,

Congratulations on the successful Hackintosh build, I'm really pleased you got it all working.

Thanks for the links too, I have found them interesting and informative. Not sure if I really need to go down this route myself but I have to say I find it rather tempting. I actually started building PC's as I wanted to set up a home recording studio but couldn't afford a Mac at that time.

What Sound Card are you using as I would have thought that particular component, especially if you are using this build for Audio Recording, would be as important as the GPU? 

No problem, i was just running through my build. to help anyone else out of there who may be considering the same.
I have used mac's for over 15 years for music but due to unforseen unfortunate events have found myself in poor finacial difficulties, so have been forced to put together a cheap hackintosh to run mac os x only music software that i prefer to the other apps on the market.
I have worked out that you could build a fairly decent Hackintosh for £350 all in. Running an i3 and 4GB RAM, which should be good for most home recordings.

I presently am only using a basic M-Audio USB Fastrack Audio interface. This interface costs about £50, is supported by Windows/Ubuntu/OS X.
And also is one of the only cheap hardware companies that can also be used with Protools.

This is important to me, as I use Protool for mixing and audio editing along the side of Logic Pro which I use for composition.
The M-Audio card is very simple and has only 2 inputs and 2 outputs, which doesn't sound that great, however as I am using only software to make music with, with the exception of recording the occasional vocal and guitar track, and am not using cheap poor quality mixing consoles or effects, I do not need anything more.

However, if you require more inputs because you want to record a band or you need more out puts because you want to playback multiple tracks through a mixing console so that you can add hardware effects / signal processors or you want to combine your recorded material with live or midi sync analogue hardware such as synthesizers then perhaps a audio interface with more outputs would be a better choice.

Generally, the M-Audio audio cards aimed at the home studio market are pretty good quality for the money,
however, if you want higher quality hardware, the protools audio hardware interfaces are probably what I would go for.

[problemobo]

If you let me know more information about your objectives within your home studio.
I would be happy to give advice as to what to buy or how to configure your existing equipment.
Just post up your requirements and I will reply.
 

[problemobo]

Now, when I first put the components together, I used OCZ ram which was BAD.

The Bad ram caused the motherboard to fail constantly, and as I had not experienced BAD ram before I rather stupidly took the PC apart
and damaged the 1156 socket in the process.

This motherboard, I sent back to Gigabyte RMA department who very kindly repaired for free. (which I am very grateful for).
While I waited for the motherboard to be sent back I brought another motherboard, the exact same model.

I then spent several days trying to get the board to work again after fitting it together again.
Eventually, I researched the various forums including this one, and diagnosed that the OCZ RAM was bad.
So, I sent the RAM back to the retailer who refunded my money.

I then brought some crucial RAM to replace the bad OCZ RAM.
The Crucial RAM is perfect. 

Once the new RAM arrived, I then went to www.tonymacx86.com and researched the process of putting together the Hackintosh.
Basically, the first step after you have built a PC and verified it is working using Windows or Ubuntu,
the next stage is to try and install Mac OS X.

Before you can do this, you will need a bootloader application which allows your PC to boot up and install Mac OS X discs and Hard Drives.

There are several on the market however the one that the www.tonymacx86.com site recommends is a boot loader app called iboot.
This application can be downloaded and used for free from the www.tonymacx86.com forum.

Once downloaded, burn this program onto a CD/DVD. Once burnt you can then use it as your initial boot up disk.
However, prior to installing OS X you have to change several settings in the BIOS in order to make the mother board work best with the components installed and the Mac OS X operating system.

For a guide on what settings to choose, check out the tonymacx86.com forum.
I will post a link later.

Now you have changed your BIOS settings, also make sure that you have set the primary boot device as your optical drive, which should show up in the list of boot drives. Then restart.

iboot should then boot up into its menu, and an apple should appear in the middle of your screen along with icons for any hd's attached.

Now, instead of booting up one of the attached HD's. eject the iboot boot up disk. and swap it for a genuine copy of the Apple Mac OS X 10.6.3 installation DVD. Once the disk is in the drive, wait for a couple of seconds and press F6 or press the downward arrow on the arrow keys to instruct the PC to search for optical drives.

This search process should make the OS X installation disk appear.

Once the Apple Installation disk appears, select it using the arrow keys, and press return.
The PC should now start the OS X installation Process.
Eventually a language selection screen will appear and you can choose the language that you want for your Operating System.

You will then be taken to the initial installation menu screen but before installing OS X onto a hard drive, choose startup disk application from the menu at the top. This application will allow you to format and partition your hard drive so that it will be most suitable for use with the rest of your configuration.

Use the Disk Utility to check the health of your hard disk and to format  and partition it.

Once your hard disk has been formatted HFS+ and has been partitioned with GUID partition table, then follow the installation process as you normally would when installing OS X or Windows on a PC. First choosing the right hard disk to install onto and then just follow the prompts making sure that your Ethernet cable is plugged in and all the core components are plugged in as well.

Eventually you will end up with a hard drive with OS X installed on it. However, this PC will not boot with OS X with out using the iboot boot loader. There fore, in order to get this working in the same manner a normal Mac works you will need to download a little more software and files that will make adjustments to your OS that will make it work with the hardware installed.

Prior to doing this. Update your Apple Software. This can be done by selecting "Software Update" from the apple menu in the top left hand corner.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1338

Continued.....

Once the Apple system software update has completed, you now need to download a specialist Hackintosh application called "MultiBeast" which has been designed specifically to alter important aspects of the operating system - OS X's - architecture so that it works with your made for PC hard ware.

This application can be found again at the www.tonymacx86.com/ forum website under the downloads.
Now, the configuration of this application is a little technical and will vary according to your own hardware configuration.

As well as working out the specific settings for your system, you will also need a DSDT.aml file in order to set up your motherboard so that it works as it intended to with OS X.

The specific DSDT file for a number of Gigabyte motherboards can be found in the www.tonymacx86.com/ DSDT database. or the corresponding forum thread. Personally, I was able to download an updated version for my motherboard from the thread found in the forum.

Now. At this point, I can not explain which settings to use or I can not help you if you are stuck. So, if you are at this stage, I recommend that you now refer to the tonymacx86 forum for further details.

Once you have installed the above software with the right settings for your configuration your PC should now boot up into OS X without the need of a bootloader CD to escort OS X to his required destination.

And you should be finished with a nice new Hackintosh. Yippee!!! 
Last note. Just remember to choose your hardware carefully. Gigabyte seem to be leading the way with most supported Motherboards.
As for Graphics Cards. Before BUYING. Check the tonymacx86.com wiki page to see which Graphic Cards are compatible and what needs to be done to the OS in order to get them to work properly.
You could also choose one of several MADE FOR MAC Nvidia or AMD/ATI cards, however, you probably will pay extra because they have been designed to work on the Mac Platform.

Now, if your main aim is to build a mac for running Logic Pro music software, and do not have experience in programming and do not really want to get too involved in the process, then do what I have done and buy an ASUS Nvidia GeForce 8400GS. As although your not going to get the same performance or quality as perhaps a £300 or £400 Graphics card, your Mac will work with a lot less hassle than when having to set up a more advanced card and the 8400GS costs £20 or so. So bargain, even if you buy one to get you up and running and you then buy another MADE FOR MAC graphics card at a later date.

Lastly, just like to add, I have just installed Logic Pro and Protools on my new Mac and am up and running and am now preparing the Mac for some Serious Audio Subsultives
 

[absic]

If you let me know more information about your objectives within your home studio.
I would be happy to give advice as to what to buy or how to configure your existing equipment.
Just post up your requirements and I will reply.
 

Hi Problemobo,

I actually have quite a nice Project Studio set-up based around the M-Audio Delta 1010 which is connected via a Bheringer 16 track mixing desk. Like you, I couldn't afford a Mac when I first embarked down this path and am now PC based, originally because of financial constraints but now it is by choice. I use Steinberg's Cubase as my main recording interface and have found the set up I now have to be very solid and easily upgradeable.

But, your post about building a Hackintosh has interested me and also piqued my inquisitive nature. Hopefully it will prove really useful to others who are looking at getting a Mac but can't afford it.

I for one, thank you for your efforts, they are much appreciated.

[problemobo]

Hi Absic,
No problem mate, happy to help. You sound like you have a half decent set up.
I had a Behringer desk for a short time but didn't get on with it because I felt that it wasn't very robustly constructed.
Still, they are a cheap solution and cant be knocked for that much.

Just a few tips.
When recording guitars directly into the computer, use a DI box if your mixing desk does not have any built in (not that common but some have these days, as well as some audio interfaces).

DI box's are required in order to match the electrical current of your audio interface with the pickups and electrics in the guitars.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun02/articles/diboxes.asp
They start at about £30.
You wont believe the difference a good DI box will make to the recording. If you have one, experiment by recording a guitar or Bass guitar without a DI box and then with. Its sounds like two different guitars.

Also. When recording, it may be worth considering plugging directly into the audio card, as cheaper mixers (most of that are found in the home studio market) introduce artifacts and noise which in effect raise the noise floor of the recording which result in a very noisy recording. This additional unwanted noise is very hard to get rid off once recorded and its better not to record it at all.

Personally, even though I have used a number of high end mixing consoles, as I do not have the cash to afford these high quality consoles and because I am recording only 1 instrument at a time, I generally plug directly into the audio card with out using the cheap Yamaha desk I have in storage.

These days it is possible to record even vocal tracks in this way, with Reverb added. As the latency of the audio card and the dsp of the software or any built in dsp card allows for the reverb and other effects to be added in real time.

So, unless you really need to EQ an instrument or add effects to an instrument using the desk and not through Cubase,
try and bypass the mixer all together.
Now, if you want the luxury of being able to re-patch your inputs directly into the audio card, then perhaps consider looking at high quality patch bays as these will allow you to re-patch the inputs directly into the inputs of your audio interface without having to mess around too much with the computer inputs etc.

I would also recommend to you to look at buying a decent preamp if you are recording vocals, as although most budget mixing desks have phantom power and mic preamps built in, again, many will introduce unwanted artifacts or noise. A good preamp, like a good quality mic will also add artifacts, however, ones that will enhance the recording and not hinder.

http://www.focusrite.com/uk/products/mic_pres/isa_one
http://www.tlaudio.co.uk/docs/products/5050.shtml
http://www.presonus.com/products/Detail.aspx?ProductId=16

This is actually one bit of equipment that most pro engineers claim that is the secret to success in making a good recording.
That and a good microphone.

As for budget Microphones, Rode do a large selection of usable microphones that start at about £100.
http://rodemic.com/microphones.php

http://www.neumann.com/?lang=en&id=current_microphones&cid=tlm103_description
Still, if you do win the pool or lottery and want to splash a bit of cash. Neumann make some of the best microphones on the market with many of them becoming industry standards. Such as the U 87 which you may recognize from music videos or studio documentaries.



 

[problemobo]

Hi Problemobo,

I actually have quite a nice Project Studio set-up based around the M-Audio Delta 1010 which is connected via a Bheringer 16 track mixing desk. Like you, I couldn't afford a Mac when I first embarked down this path and am now PC based, originally because of financial constraints but now it is by choice. I use Steinberg's Cubase as my main recording interface and have found the set up I now have to be very solid and easily upgradeable.

But, your post about building a Hackintosh has interested me and also piqued my inquisitive nature. Hopefully it will prove really useful to others who are looking at getting a Mac but can't afford it.
[/quote]

Hey, just out of interest, what spec is your PC?
As if you are using a Gigabyte Motherboard, your present PC may very well be adaptable.
You may even wish to make a dual boot or triple boot. So that you can boot up Windows and Ubuntu (or another Linux derivative).
If your motherboard is compatible, all you will probably have to do is buy the cheap Asus 8400GS Graphics card and buy a copy of OS X for £26 and you should be able to adapt.

Otherwise. I recently priced up the following Mac which I posted on the tonymacx86.com forum:
Its a build for approximately £300. inc Vat. buying from Dabs.com
Prices may vary and if you are willing to shop around you will be able to get a better deal at some other retailers.

Anyway, here is the Hackintosh build:

Gagabyte GA-H55M-S2 Motherboard.
£58.22 including Vat
£46.57 excluding Vat

Asus GeForce 8400GS 512MB PCI-Express 2.0 x16 DVI Low Pro
£23.98 including Vat
£19.18

Intel Core i3-530 2.93Ghz 4MB DDR3 LGA1156 (you can use slower CPU's if you want).
£95.26 including Vat
£76.20 excluding Vat

Best Value S001 Micro ATX Desktop / Tower Combo 450W Case comes with PSU
£31.42 including Vat
£25.13 excluding Vat

Western Digital 500GB Caviar Blue SATA-300 7200rpm 16MB
£31.99 inc vat
£25.52 excluding Vat

Sony 24x DVD-RW SATA Black Bare Internal Drive
£12.49 inc vat
£9.99 excluding Vat

Plus Apple Mac OS X 10.6.6 Snow leopard. direct from Apple.com (install on up to 5 computers).
£26.00

Crucial RAM to match motherboard. Matching sets?
4GB £30
8GB £70

[problemobo]

O.K. Just to recap. These are the steps needed to make a cheap hackintosh the easy way.

Step 1> Research components BEFORE BUYING identifying the most supported and least hassle components.
See www.tonymacx86.com/ wiki page for advice.

Step 2> Buy components. (including Asus Geforce 8400GS Graphics Card).

Step 3> Fit all components together as a normal PC.

Step 4> Download iboot application from www.tonymacx86.com/ and burn to CD.

Step 5> Adjust settings on Motherboards BIOS to suit your OS X installation.
Find these again at the www.tonymacx86.com/ forum website.

Step 6> Set BIOS to boot from CD / DVD & reboot with iboot inserted in the CD drive.

Step 7> When iboot boot screen appears, eject iboot CD/DVD and swap leopard for it, wait a couple of seconds and press F5.

Step 8> When OS X installation CD appears use arrow keys to navigate to it and press enter to enter installation procedure.

Step 9> When language selection menu appears, choose your favorite language and press next.

Step 10> Before installing OS X, using the presented menu. Choose Disk Utility from the top menu and prepare your Hard Disk by formating and partitioning it accordingly. Choosing HFS plus (journaled) as format of choice and in the partition editor, choose GUID for your boot table.

Step 11> Return to installation menu and install, following the instructions, ideally with your Internet cables plugged in during installation so that OS X will automatically configure your Internet connection.

Step 12> Once finished, OS X will reboot. Reboot using iboot. When you get to the desktop and everything looks fine, now update OS X using Software Update menu item on the Apple menu (top left hand corner). This may take an hour for all software updates to complete.
OS X will also likely want to restart at the end of this process but will give you the option NOT to reboot.

Step 13> Now, before rebooting. Go to www.tonymacx86.com/ forum and download his "multibeast" application along with the DSDT file appropriate for your Motherboard.

Step 14> Research the correct settings for your configuration. The most likely cause of boot failure here is incompatible Graphics Card. Therefore I recommend that you buy the Asus Graphics Card mentioned above as this card is the only one that is completely trouble free plug in and go. (in other words, if you want a no trouble installation. Dont be an Anus buy an Asus! ).

Step 15> With the DSDT.aml file on the OS X desktop, install MultiBeast using the settings that you researched.

Step 16> Reboot into BIOS and change the Primary Boot device to your Mac OS X hard disk.

Step 17> Reboot. and Fin. Yipee!!!

 

[Dark Mantis]

You forgot one major component.....watercooling!

Very nice and interesting post though. Not that I have ever hankered after a Mac but I do understand that they are good for somethings......just can't remember what!!!

[Badbonji]

They were good for work, but I think the only reason for that is because no one could install any games! (Now that is changing with steam)   

I don't think there is much benefit to going with a Mac now, you can build a far more powerful PC for the same price as a Mac (Which is probably one of the reasons why Hackintosh even exists).

[problemobo]

You forgot one major component.....watercooling!

Very nice and interesting post though. Not that I have ever hankered after a Mac but I do understand that they are good for somethings......just can't remember what!!!

I think these days the difference between Mac and PC is fairly minimal, however, there are still some applications that are only ported to Mac, such as Logic Pro, which was discontinued for the PC several years a go.
And as Logic Pro / studio has a big loyal following, they have at least this portion of the market.

Mac OS X also has a good reputation for being more stable than PC. Perhaps this is due to the fact they are less used for gaming than other platforms.

Mac OS also used to handle graphic processing in a totally different manner to that of Windows, so was the natural choice for graphic designers and art workers, as mac's made light work of many of the graphic design tasks that would normally take far longer if using a PC.

Haven owned several mac's over the past 15 years or so, I would say that they are generally built to a very high standard and are generally very stylish.
However, they are very expensive and I would now agree, now that Apple use the same architecture that standard PC's use, it is a wiser idea to build your own hackintosh for a fraction of the price.

Especially now that there are loads of PC enclosures which are as stylish if not more stylish than the ones that Apple use.

NZXT
Moneual
Zalman
Thermaltake

http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/crafted_series/phantom
http://www.moneual.eu/
http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=370
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1319&ID=1426
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?C=1328&ID=1434