The Hackintosh Thread

[mosslack]

I regularly check my signature links on the various forums I am on and found this morning that 3 of the links in my sig here no longer work. I went into edit the links and found that Anandtech now considers the word "weebly" to be a censored word. When did this happen?

EDIT: I have solved the problem by using a URL shortener (Bitly). I tried Google's shortener first but apparently goo is a forbidden word also.

 

[SubCarrier]

I'm trying to get ML and Win7 install on the drive (SSD) but am failing bad. Any recommend link to a dual boot setup with ML and Win7 in uefi?

 

[Zaap]

Anyone check out TonyMac's new recommended Haswell builds yet?

http://www.tonymacx86.com/384-building-customac-buyer-s-guide-september-2013.html

Once again it's an exciting new era in Hackintoshland. A new generation of CPUs/boards and soon a new OS to go with them. More power than ever that's more affordable than ever for anyone not afraid of rolling their own.

I'm just starting to do some research into upgrading my signature system.

Definitely I'm going with a 4770K CPU.

The motherboard I'll have to base on Mavricks compatibility, but so far I'm liking the looks of:

GA-Z87X-OC

or

GA-Z87X-UD5H


Cost will be around $500, but I could offset that by selling my current CPU and motherboard (ebay still around $300 used) so basically a brand new Haswell l7 Mac in the neighborhood of $200.

 

[vailr]

4670K Processor and Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H combo deal: $409.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...398&CatId=8740
The main difference between the i5-4670K & the i7-4770K is: the more expensive CPU adds hyperthreading, which (unless I'm wrong) OSX can't take advantage of anyway.

 

[Zaap]

^ Not a bad bundle.

4770K:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-4770K+@+3.50GHz&id=1919

4670K:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-4670K+@+3.40GHz&id=1921

I've heard different opinions about OSX and hyper-threading. OSX definitely sees all the logical CPU cores, but I guess there's some debate over how well it uses them.


For my money though, the 4770k outbenches the 4670K well within $100 worth.

And once again, Microcenter has the 4770K for a great price. $279. http://www.microcenter.com/product/413248/Core_i7_4770K_35GHz_Socket_LGA_1150_Boxed_Processor#

If it weren't out of stock here in my local store I'd hop in the car and go get one right now.

 

[Phobic9]

I'm thinking about converting my Ivy Bridge ITX setup to hackintosh tonight, but is it even worth it to jump to Haswell?

Edit: Nope. Answered my own question. Most likely I'll wait until Broadwell for my next upgrades.

 

[Kaido]

I'm thinking about converting my Ivy Bridge ITX setup to hackintosh tonight, but is it even worth it to jump to Haswell?

Edit: Nope. Answered my own question. Most likely I'll wait until Broadwell for my next upgrades.

Yeah unless you really need the small % of extra juice, it's better to wait a couple generations for a bigger boost.

Also, the new HD5000 (etc.) graphics are supported via boot flags:

http://www.tonymacx86.com/378-new-intel-hd-graphics-boot-flags-chimera.html

 

[Zaap]

Mavericks install instructions for any supported Intel-based PC is up on Tonymacx86.

http://www.tonymacx86.com/374-unibeast-install-os-x-mavericks-any-supported-intel-based-pc.html

Instructions look pretty bone-simple, maybe the easiest yet. Certainly the cheapest upgrade ever- free for anyone who bought any OSX since Snow Leopard. (Nicely done, Apple!)

I can't wait to update my sig system as well as my rMBP, but I just can't right now, I'm right in the middle of a huge editing gig. But as soon as that's off my plate, I'm all over it.

I hope people will report their experiences running Mavericks on their Hacks.

 

[Subyman]

I'm wondering if we will finally get power-saving functionality for 2011 based builds. That would be huge.

 

[mosslack]

I hope people will report their experiences running Mavericks on their Hacks.

After a few false starts, I have Mavericks up and running on my GA-P35-DS3L. I used myHack with the /Extra folder from the Lion partition I had on that system.

I have ethernet/internet working, but so far I have been unable to get sound working. Video worked fine with Graphics Enabler set to Yes on my 8400GS.

BTW, I used MultiBeast (v5.5.2) as that is what I had available. Not sure if there is a newer version which might work better for sound. I hope so. TMX86 seems to be down at the moment.

 

[Zaap]

Thanks for the Mavericks update, mosslack! Glad you got/are getting it working. I'll probably update all my Hacks/real Macs this weekend.

TMX86 seems to be down at the moment.

I think TM must be getting hammered pretty good. There's probably a LOT more Hackintosh owners worldwide than many of the Mac-faithful would like to admit. And now it's: 'Free new version of OSX' and pretty much one site on the internet with everything most Hack owners need to install it.

 

[Kaido]

Thanks for the Mavericks update, mosslack! Glad you got/are getting it working. I'll probably update all my Hacks/real Macs this weekend.



I think TM must be getting hammered pretty good. There's probably a LOT more Hackintosh owners worldwide than many of the Mac-faithful would like to admit. And now it's: 'Free new version of OSX' and pretty much one site on the internet with everything most Hack owners need to install it.

Oh, it's huge in the film community. Especially for people who have stuff like (expensive) RED Rocket transcoding cards and stuff - who wants to spend the additional money on a (slow) card enclosure for a card that they already own, just because they upgrade to the Mac Pro Trash Can edition?

This raises an interesting question of legality as well, now that Mavericks is free. At least before you could buy your own copy for your own purposes haha.

 

[mosslack]

Thanks for the Mavericks update, mosslack! Glad you got/are getting it working. I'll probably update all my Hacks/real Macs this weekend.

Yeah, since last night I now have my main MSI P55-GD-80 system running Mavericks also. I lost 2 of my displays, but I was headed in that direction anyway. I meant to try a backup partition first on that system, but somehow ended up updating my main partition. Would have been a disaster if it would have messed up, but thankfully it didn't.

think TM must be getting hammered pretty good. There's probably a LOT more Hackintosh owners worldwide than many of the Mac-faithful would like to admit. And now it's: 'Free new version of OSX' and pretty much one site on the internet with everything most Hack owners need to install it.

Gotta admit I like the new MultiBeast much better than the old version. The new interface is very functional and clean.

 

[mosslack]

Oh, it's huge in the film community. Especially for people who have stuff like (expensive) RED Rocket transcoding cards and stuff - who wants to spend the additional money on a (slow) card enclosure for a card that they already own, just because they upgrade to the Mac Pro Trash Can edition?

This raises an interesting question of legality as well, now that Mavericks is free. At least before you could buy your own copy for your own purposes haha.

At least now we can't be accused of stealing it. (Even though most people bought a copy of the previous versions) But I suppose that still doesn't address the EULA.

 

[Zaap]

This raises an interesting question of legality as well, now that Mavericks is free. At least before you could buy your own copy for your own purposes haha.

I guess it's still contingent on having bought a legal copy of Snow, Lion or Mt. Lion. (Personally, I bought all 3).

My guess is Apple is going for more marketshare. In the long run, that'll make them far more money than being stingy in the short term. Personally, I don't think Apple gives a rat about Hackintoshes- it's really just more Mac users, more people who buy Mac software, more people that will buy iPads, iPhones, ATVs and all the other stuff. Desktop hardware sales haven't been Apple's driving force for some time now anyway. And they know that most people are too squeamish to even attempt a Hackintosh- a lot of people still believe computers are powered by some sort of magic.

Yeah, since last night I now have my main MSI P55-GD-80 system running Mavericks also. I lost 2 of my displays, but I was headed in that direction anyway. I meant to try a backup partition first on that system, but somehow ended up updating my main partition. Would have been a disaster if it would have messed up, but thankfully it didn't.

Gotta admit I like the new MultiBeast much better than the old version. The new interface is very functional and clean.

So everything is working on the P55-GD-80?

I do like the look of the new streamlined Multibeast as well.

My main concern updating my sig system is if I'll have problems with my ATI 6870. I might just bite the bullet and buy a decent nVidia card since I'm planning a full Haswell upgrade soon anyway. Never again ATI! (This time, I swear it!)

 

[mosslack]

So everything is working on the P55-GD-80?

I do like the look of the new streamlined Multibeast as well.

My main concern updating my sig system is if I'll have problems with my ATI 6870. I might just bite the bullet and buy a decent nVidia card since I'm planning a full Haswell upgrade soon anyway. Never again ATI! (This time, I swear it!)

No, my advice is NOT to upgrade. For me the new OS is sluggish at best. Each time I reboot I have to rearrange my displays, my apps don't stay put either. A lot of jerkiness in video and my system has just plain froze up several times since I upgraded. I would like to think it has something to do with the multi-video cards on this system but I noticed a lot of the same characteristics on the DS3L as far as it not being as smooth.

One of the worst things I noticed was when I compose an email in Mail, the window loses it's focus sometimes and it doesn't respond right away when I click to get the focus back. It's almost like there is a hidden process that is stealing CPU time! Weird. It's happened in other apps besides Mail also.

Maybe they will fix some of this in the next update, I hope so. In the meantime, I plan to reinstall Lion on the MSI. It may not be the latest/greatest, but at least it worked and was predictable.

 

[Zaap]

Aww man, sorry to hear Mavericks is causing problems, mosslack.

I'm still going to give it a try- my failsafe is I never overwrite my current working install. My sig system has 4 SSD's and 3 hard drives- plenty of places to install a new OS!

Currently, I've got Lion and 2 installs of Mountain Lion running. I'm pretty much done with Lion (haven't booted back into even once since ML) so I'm going to sacrifice that big cat to Mavericks.

Just installed it on my rMBP and so far I don't really notice much difference, but then I've only just started to mess with it. (Did a clean install which I always do.)

...Okay, so far I'm not digging the way color labels now look compared to how they used to really stand out. I have a system of color-coding the progression of my workflow and this is going to really force me to change it. Little dot is barely noticeable. Ugh. Color-labeling files was one of the best feature OSX had over Windows and other OS's- I can't believe they dicked with it this much. Tags would have been a nice add-on, but not a replacement for labeling.

I guess I have to see what else is changed radically before I do my main sig system.

 

[mosslack]

Aww man, sorry to hear Mavericks is causing problems, mosslack.

I'm still going to give it a try- my failsafe is I never overwrite my current working install. My sig system has 4 SSD's and 3 hard drives- plenty of places to install a new OS!

Currently, I've got Lion and 2 installs of Mountain Lion running. I'm pretty much done with Lion (haven't booted back into even once since ML) so I'm going to sacrifice that big cat to Mavericks.

Just installed it on my rMBP and so far I don't really notice much difference, but then I've only just started to mess with it. (Did a clean install which I always do.)

...Okay, so far I'm not digging the way color labels now look compared to how they used to really stand out. I have a system of color-coding the progression of my workflow and this is going to really force me to change it. Little dot is barely noticeable. Ugh. Color-labeling files was one of the best feature OSX had over Windows and other OS's- I can't believe they dicked with it this much. Tags would have been a nice add-on, but not a replacement for labeling.

I guess I have to see what else is changed radically before I do my main sig system.

Yeah, it's definitely worth a look see, I was mainly just cautioning about doing an upgrade on a working system. I didn't plan to do that, I had a fresh new clean partition on my MSI ready for a test of Mavericks, but as soon as I saw the time factor for the install, I knew something was wrong. I've been doing this a long time and I could swear I chose the new clean partition for the install, guess I was wrong or Mavericks decided to do it's own thing.

In the end, it's my fault as I usually completely remove a hard drive which is my current main system drive and replace it was a blank drive. One of the advantages of using those slide-in hard drive docks which I have on all my systems. Maybe I just became too confident in my abilities and got careless.

The real trick will be to get Lion installed back onto this system. I'm not looking forward to it at all.

 

[Kaido]

At least now we can't be accused of stealing it. (Even though most people bought a copy of the previous versions) But I suppose that still doesn't address the EULA.

Yeah, but they can now tie the legalities down to a couple things:

1. Free Mavericks = only with new Macs. Since you can't buy the OS now and since a Hackintosh is not Apple-branded hardware, per the EULA there is no ground to stand on.

2. They now control the A to Z of hardware; in particular, this is bad for the video card system. While I'd imagine they'll continue using a generic base driver (i.e. Intel, Nvidia, AMD), they could, in theory, sow up the driver system to lock in only what they support in the future. Not that it wouldn't be hackable, but the Mac Pro was the last truly expandable system; now it's a garbage can with single-bay video cards. The 6GB Quadro 6000 is a 2-bay piece of hardware, so upgrades will be very limited going forward because of the size & power limitations.

Not that this will stop creative people from circumventing the systems they may or may not put in place, but it definitely opens up some interesting new possibilities for Apple legally & technically. And I get the feeling that, at some point, they are going to make the transition to ARM-style chips that they can build in-house. For now, Intel is keeping up with ULV CPU's, multi-core desktop processors, etc., but Apple keeps getting smaller & smaller (Mac Pro trash can, thin iMac, tiny Mac Mini). I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple offer their own version of the NUC, either.

Even if the hardware was less expensive, I still think I'd have a hard time letting go of my DIY bug. I'm sitting here working on my wife's iMac with an i7 Ivy Bridge, SSD boot drive, a bunch of 2TB & 4TB drives, built-in card reader, great GPU that I can switch out in the future, DVD burner with Lightscribe, yada yada yada, all in a nice, compact little Antec VSK3000 case. Hard to want to go to a Mac Pro, pay thousands, not be able to upgrade as easily, and have to go external for the data drives, optical drive, and card reader.

 

[mosslack]

I'm presently upgrading my mid-2010 Mac mini to Mavericks. Why you ask? To get a crack at the iLife upgrade which is supposed to happen with Mavericks. So far I have been unable to to get the iWork upgrade as the Apps store says I used a different Apple ID to purchase them ('09 version). The email address I used back then was no longer usable, so in keeping with Apple's policy I came up with a new Apple ID based on a Gmail address which I figured would be around a lot longer.

My attempt to contact the App store support was met with a 2 hour wait for an email to go through, I finally gave up on that. Oh Apple, you promise the world and deliver nothing!

 

[MotionMan]

the Apps store says I used a different Apple ID to purchase them ('09 version).

Did you?

MotionMan

 

[Zaap]

I'm presently upgrading my mid-2010 Mac mini to Mavericks. Why you ask? To get a crack at the iLife upgrade which is supposed to happen with Mavericks. So far I have been unable to to get the iWork upgrade as the Apps store says I used a different Apple ID to purchase them ('09 version). The email address I used back then was no longer usable, so in keeping with Apple's policy I came up with a new Apple ID based on a Gmail address which I figured would be around a lot longer.

My attempt to contact the App store support was met with a 2 hour wait for an email to go through, I finally gave up on that. Oh Apple, you promise the world and deliver nothing!

That's weird. Apple's even allowing trial and pirated copies to be updated.

http://www.tuaw.com/2013/10/24/illegal-trial-and-disc-versions-of-iwork-and-ilife-are-updatin/

Why would their be some nitpicky issue over a copy purchased with a different Apple ID?

 

[Ichinisan]

That's weird. Apple's even allowing trial and pirated copies to be updated.

http://www.tuaw.com/2013/10/24/illegal-trial-and-disc-versions-of-iwork-and-ilife-are-updatin/

Why would their be some nitpicky issue over a copy purchased with a different Apple ID?

I get that when I tell iTunes to download all app updates (in Windows). There are a handful of free apps that were automatically copied to my system and they trigger the prompt every time.

 

[mosslack]

Did you?

MotionMan

Yes, I explained that if you read all my post. For the record, I did as I said and on the Mac mini, I was allowed to download the updates. To be fair, I'm not sure if it was a case of they just got around to making them free as they said they would or b/c I was using an actual Mac to download them.

No matter, they don't work anyway. The message says:

Keynote cannot be opened because of a problem.

Check with the developer to make sure Keynote works with this version of OS X. You may need to reinstall the application. Be sure to install any available updates for the application and OS X.

This is of course all taking place on the very same Mac mini, which had just been updated to Mavericks. BTW, all three iWork apps say the same thing when I try to open them. Very strange.

 

[MotionMan]

Yes, I explained that.

Sorry, it sounded like there was a dispute as to that fact ("the Apps store says I used a different Apple ID to purchase them ('09 version).")

So the problem is that your original AppleID is tied to a dead e-mail address and Apple won't help you change the address?

How would they know that you (current, new e-mail address) are "you" (old, dead e-mail address)?

MotionMan