Considering a hackintosh and selling my mini

[grubworth]

I was waiting for a mini and went with hackintosh. I was waiting for a new mac mini and it never and is yet to come, I've had my hackintosh for 3 months now and it has been totally worth it, I was worried a mac mini would come out but if it did I'll most likely just keep the hackintosh. it works flawlessly and gives me faster and more options than a mac mini and it was cheaper. I don't know what apples hardware or OS will be like in the future but if hackintosh is available; I much prefer it having control over my hardware rather than having restrictions and being pushed over to new expensive technology which is yet to fully take off at an affordable rate.

if you don't mind building your own computer and doing plenty of research to go through the easy process on tonymac then installation will be smooth and quick. Don't get complicated with your build, stick with motherboards everyone knows that work. stick with Intels HD4600 GPU on the CPU, even for gaming it is decent. I have not got a separate gpu, dont't think i need one for my needs so I cannot comment on what that may be like setting up. but again get one everyone knows works within the hackintosh community and it should be fine with plenty help on the forums to match apples service .

One think about coming away from apples hardware personally was their design, which i appreciate and is what really attracts me to buying their hardware. I chose a r4 Fractal case which looks just as elegant and neat sat on my floor. it also allows me to add 12 drives if i wish. You can get some really nice looking cases. lian-li also do some very nice aluminium cases.

Yeh, it was worth it.

 

[asiga]

Don't get complicated with your build, stick with motherboards everyone knows that work. stick with Intels HD4600 GPU on the CPU, even for gaming it is decent.

You mean you did a Hackintosh for getting an integrated GPU? It's nonsense, no matter what CPU you chose, you've plenty of Macs with integrated GPUs these days. Macbooks, iMacs, Minis... all of them have an integrated GPU in some configuration.

If you talk about discrete GPUs, that's another story, of course.

 

[phositadc]

You mean you did a Hackintosh for getting an integrated GPU? It's nonsense, no matter what CPU you chose, you've plenty of Macs with integrated GPUs these days. Macbooks, iMacs, Minis... all of them have an integrated GPU in some configuration.

If you talk about discrete GPUs, that's another story, of course.

He didn't get it specifically for integrated GPU. He is saying that using the igpu is easier than installing a dgpu for purposes of hackintosh setup.

 

[grubworth]

The intergrated gpu suits me just fine and works great, just like it does on all other macs. I was just saying I cannot comment on using dgpu as I dont need it as of yet. Maybe when more 4k screens come out and it moves over to hackintosh.

 

[wwohl]

Im considering building a Hackintosh to replace my current mac mini (which Im completely happy with btw). Only because I wanna say that I did it, I want the extra performance at a reasonable price and because I can dammit. Okay theres other reasons that are more rational, but you get the idea.

My recommendation is to go to tonymac86.com and pick a build that someone has done recently and replicate it. Many users have tried and tested equipment working together and have no drawbacks. There is tons of support there and if you find a frequent user of the site with a build you like, he/she is likely to help you with getting your twin hack setup right.

You should spend at least a month just researching. Thats what Im doing now. Then ill slowly piece it together over the remainder of the year. Plan to start it after xmas.

My plan right now: i7 4770K, 16gb ram, dual boot win/osx on SSDs with internal HDD storage, full size graphics card, water cooled processor.

Its a $1200 build, but it should last me a while. Regardless, don't try to re-invent the wheel. Just follow someones lead who messes with Hackintosh's constantly.

Bill

 

[paulrbeers]

The intergrated gpu suits me just fine and works great, just like it does on all other macs. I was just saying I cannot comment on using dgpu as I dont need it as of yet. Maybe when more 4k screens come out and it moves over to hackintosh.

But why would you build a hackintosh and use an iGPU (especially the HD4600)?!?!

I mean yes you can do it and it will be SOMEWHAT cheaper, but not dramatically compared to a mid-mini and yes it is faster, but not considerably faster (especially when the 2.6ghz Mini scores around 13000 on Geekbench)....

I built a Hack, but it is running dual dGPU's, watercooling, etc. etc....

Frankly the HD4600 isn't that much better than the HD4000 and Haswell CPU's are only a few percentage points faster than Ivy Bridge. This is my main reason I believe Apple hasn't up graded the Mini because anything they would put into the Mini (and keep the price the same) would be a marginal increase in overall power (i.e. a few percentage points faster CPU and maybe 20% faster GPU).

So you saved a few hundred bucks, gave up a warranty (sure each part has its own warranty, but it is on you to figure out what goes wrong), running a hack of an OS (which means with every update you need to cross your fingers)....

Let's also not forget, there is no way your Hack looks nearly as aesthetically pleasing as the Mini (this is subjective of course).

Even the guys over at Tony Mac will tell you there isn't much of an advantage running a Mac Mini Hackintosh.

 

[wwohl]

I think its hard to justify a mini mackintosh.. Although, you can build one that performs better for a little cheaper. But its far from easy, and you're saving only a few bucks

Ideally, I think the mid size case (mATX) are perfect. Build a workhorse of a machine thats expandable and upgradeable... But you've definitely gotta be willing to tinker some

Mine will likely be going into one of these cases. You can see this one has dGPU, water cooling and can fit up to 6 drives

 

[foobarbazqux]

Mine will likely be going into one of these cases.

What case is that?

edit: nevermind. I found it. It's a BitFenix Prodigy case.

 

[grubworth]

But why would you build a hackintosh and use an iGPU (especially the HD4600)?!?!

I mean yes you can do it and it will be SOMEWHAT cheaper, but not dramatically compared to a mid-mini and yes it is faster, but not considerably faster (especially when the 2.6ghz Mini scores around 13000 on Geekbench)....

I built a Hack, but it is running dual dGPU's, watercooling, etc. etc....

Frankly the HD4600 isn't that much better than the HD4000 and Haswell CPU's are only a few percentage points faster than Ivy Bridge. This is my main reason I believe Apple hasn't up graded the Mini because anything they would put into the Mini (and keep the price the same) would be a marginal increase in overall power (i.e. a few percentage points faster CPU and maybe 20% faster GPU).

So you saved a few hundred bucks, gave up a warranty (sure each part has its own warranty, but it is on you to figure out what goes wrong), running a hack of an OS (which means with every update you need to cross your fingers)....

Let's also not forget, there is no way your Hack looks nearly as aesthetically pleasing as the Mini (this is subjective of course).

Even the guys over at Tony Mac will tell you there isn't much of an advantage running a Mac Mini Hackintosh.

I did not build it just for the hd4600, even the hd4000 would do me fine. I was just saying how graphics is not a major concern of mine, but its good to have a option later down the road if i want to update it a dedicated gpu. I was waiting around for a mac mini that is yet to come, i built a hackintosh to suite my needs, it was cheaper, it is fast, I am happy. I was sharing my experience helping to OP out.

 

[iMacFarlane]

I did not build it just for the hd4600, even the hd4000 would do me fine. I was just saying how graphics is not a major concern of mine, but its good to have a option later down the road if i want to update it a dedicated gpu. I was waiting around for a mac mini that is yet to come, i built a hackintosh to suite my needs, it was cheaper, it is fast, I am happy. I was sharing my experience helping to OP out.

It's the upgrade path that really has me steering away from the Mac for my next computer. Am I married to OS X? Sort of, as an iOS XCode hobbyist, but I don't plan on getting rid of my MBP, I just need a bigger, better, faster computer to enhance my digital life. It seems like Apple isn't interested in providing reasonably priced, upgradable computers. I'm in no hurry to purchase, but if a small-ish "steam box" mini form computer shows up with modern graphics and upgrade options, I'll probably pull the trigger on it.