I look at this thread and wonder how many people have ACTUALLY used a hackintosh to make music with. All of this talk that the drivers are not good is false. I use an RME babyface and it sounds great. I also have been using a hackintosh to do music with since 2011. Logic works fine pro tools works fine, everything works the same as a mac. Like i said I've been using mine for years no problems.
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Mac Pro Build For a Music Producer; Hackintosh?
- Thread starter HelpMcgee
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I look at this thread and see a different issue. Could you get a hackintosh to work with your DAW? Sure, with enough futzing around it surely can be done. Now can you get it to work stably and consistently enough for professional work is another question altogether.
All things considered, as a music producer, you will have clients coming in to our studio and paying you by the hour to work on their projects. Now unless you are providing bargain basement prices for your services, you owe it to your clients to have top notch tools.
All things considered, computer hardware is always the cheapest part of such a project. If you want to use a Mac platform for you work, do so. If you think that a Windows platform is more cost effective, than that is fine. But to bill hourly for work done on a homebrew system that may be unstable is just being penny wise, pound foolish.
I have done session work on a number of projects in studios that were typically top notch. If I was the customer and I saw that they were using a home-brew system as the DAW, I would look elsewhere.
All things considered, as a music producer, you will have clients coming in to our studio and paying you by the hour to work on their projects. Now unless you are providing bargain basement prices for your services, you owe it to your clients to have top notch tools.
All things considered, computer hardware is always the cheapest part of such a project. If you want to use a Mac platform for you work, do so. If you think that a Windows platform is more cost effective, than that is fine. But to bill hourly for work done on a homebrew system that may be unstable is just being penny wise, pound foolish.
I have done session work on a number of projects in studios that were typically top notch. If I was the customer and I saw that they were using a home-brew system as the DAW, I would look elsewhere.
Stability in Hackintosh isn't with applications, it's with the OS.
Once you get the OS installed a Hackintosh is just as stable as a legit Macintosh.
A good stable hack isn't very difficult to actually get created today but there is a pretty big learning curve even for a traditional PC builder.
I would point out the cost savings between a hack and a real mac is insane.
I paid about $2200 total for a 6-core i7-5820k OC'd to 4.4GHz, GTX 980, 1440p monitor build that geek benches around 25,000. A comparable Mac Pro would cost over 4,000 before even factoring in accessories like monitor or mechanic keyboard.
DO NOT TRY A HACKINTOSH FOR AUDIO WORK. I tried as well and after about 5 motherboards over 3 years I got a Mac Pro 2012. The problem with hacks and audio is buffer issues with CPU throttling and power saving working correctly in os x, they just never do. I would have it working okay but if I ever needed to record on a low buffer setting I would get constant issues. Firewire ports, even with TI chipsets don't work as well either. Once I got a real Mac Pro, instantly no issues. Of course this is my experience, but I feel like audio is very specific and it needs a lot of things to run correctly.
Get a 2009 Mac Pro and upgrade to a 6 core 3.33ghz with 4,1 to 5,1 firmware, it will cost about $800 and will run great. I just did this for a Pro Tools rig, cost $720, runs great, plenty of power.
Get a 2009 Mac Pro and upgrade to a 6 core 3.33ghz with 4,1 to 5,1 firmware, it will cost about $800 and will run great. I just did this for a Pro Tools rig, cost $720, runs great, plenty of power.
Believe me, I sware I've seen (and doing part of it) all,..from making simple beats to record orchestra..using Pro Tools, Logic, etc.....with both 'real Mac' and 'good/proper' hackintosh.
It's the same.
If you want to compare a 'many thousand dollar mac pro or imac', it's not fair to use a '$500 hackintosh' machine as comparison object.
About $1500 - $2,000 or more, then you'll know.
If you only wamt to make it more dramatic in the dollar number:
for someone who only want to make a simple beat with OS X, they don't even need $500,...even a $200 or less hackintosh of used laptop might do them good.
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TRUE & SAME AS ME since 2009
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#can you get it to work stably and consistently enough for professional work ---- Yes,..easily
#computer hardware is always the cheapest part of such a project --- Not true, more if real mac pro
#penny wise, pound foolish. --- not fool at all, it's SMART (and easier than you thought..and as stable as the real mac)
#I saw that they were using a home-brew system as the DAW... ---- One doesn't have to see the CPU a studio has, more if they work as they should,..like my experience for years.
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TRUE, but I don't think that the learning curve is that big. I even think that -with the right tools and hardware choice and little common sense- install hackintosh is far easier than install MS Windows on the same system.
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Never happen to me and my musician/producer/engineer friends... (My friends run a PROFESSIONAL studio (ProTools and Logic) with Hackintoshes,..JUST FINE... until now.
YMMV
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I don't use TonyMac tools and I hate it -no matter how you see their hip website & publication, theirs are crap for me).. but it's another topic.
I prefer other tool like myHack for example, (or simple 'retail method' (which may seems intimidating for beginner, while actually not -also another topic),..and as long as you:
#choose the right hardware (like the system I mention on my previous few post above in this thread for example),
#read carefully the manual how to,
#optionally googling, download and install for some minor additional kext carefully,
#use some 'common sense',
it is THAT easy.
Even easier than installing Microsoft Windows on the same PC, I repeat.
Buy a used 2009 off eBay for around $900 or if you can wait to find a deal they do get under $800 at times. Then buy two x5690 chips to upgrade it to a 12 core 3.46.
Then buy an Apple SSUBX SSD blade, or xp951 m.2 and with a matching PCI card to Get 1500m read and write speeds. Then upgrade your gpu to a gpu of your choice and your should be all set unless you need anything special. All this should be achievable for less than 2k and maybe 2.5k with a good gpu setup.
I'd Avoid buying upgraded ones on eBay and save the money and do it yourself. I tried the hackintosh route 5 years ago and it worked for my needs but I kept loosing my audio and video. I'm sure things have gotten better by how, I'd hope. That hackintosh is what made me switch to my 2009 Mac Pro lol.
Another thing to remember, the Mac pros will keep value especially once upgraded. As it is 2009s go for $800+ and there from 2009! That's 6 years old! I can't say much about the hackintosh since I don't know that market.
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No match, Far away, for new Hackintosh at the same $$$$.
I never lose any audio and video at all with Hackintosh since 2009. At All. Nor any of my friends 'serious pro-grade music/video dedicated' hackintosh machines.
YMMV.
I don't know what you're smoking..(and your nick name is linux something????)...
But I'd repeat:
IF you follow what i typed in this thread above carefully;
It IS THAT Easy.
I won't reply again to your misinformation nonsense statement after this.
You've got religion and are happy with your hackintosh and that's fine but they are not always that easy. Most of the time you're correct but not all the time.
-ugh I reply again...but it's ok, in the good spirit of giving clear information to people -
Dear Linux,
What I wrote is based on my experience, and it's not few. I've been build hundred times of various hackintosh and to that exactly the same spec I mention above alone, I've been build them for about three or five,...ALL without any trouble and were THAT easy. Two of them are still running as main DAWs in my friends studio now.
So what's your point, my friend?
I can understand if you said that your opinion based on your/somebody else's experience, which might be different than me, for example using other combinations of hardware/peripherals and tools/methods,..(more that you ever mentioned TonyCrap -err I mean TonyMac- Tools above)...no wonder.
But...did you read that I wrote: "IF YOU FOLLOW WHAT I TYPED CAREFULLY....bla bla bla"...???
(for exact:it is on post #13 of this thread...I wrote:
Because if someone does,..IT IS easy. I've proven it many times..(in that very case alone, same specs & tools,.. at least three times)...
If not (follow exactly what I wrote), and there are million possibilities of hardware combinations out there, of course no one can say anything. Like what you said.
so?
I think you miss the poin here.
Out and over.
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I'm not missing any point. What BIOS revision is your board on? What if the next changes something like gigabytes changes did in the z68 era where two BIOS revisions needed a dsdt for a couple of their mud range boards. How about Asus who did a mid stream audio change without changing the model , or on the Saber tooth that had a flash that made it work then magically stopped and no one could figure out why. Even if I follow your HW exactly it still may not work or be easy. I really don't like big broad statements especially when it comes to hackintosh and some of the more esoteric Linux distros.
What you don't like is out of my point. (FYI only, actually I also don't like 'distros', never use them, and never encourage people to use it..I prefer 'retail method', or at least for beginners, the 'myhack' tools I mentioned is a good start, and it's not 'distros' for the sake of it. Although seems that the guys at myhack stopped their tools development at Mavericks as I know today)...
Nor other type of motherboard than what I typed.
While I understand about what you said about Motherboard's BIOS Revision etc..
Gigabyte Motherboard BIOS Revisions (I really think esp for the type I mention) never matter so much, for hackintoshing, in this case, esp if we refers to what I typed at that post #13.
And don't you forget that at that my very post (or one other), I also wrote that:
"Anyway, I know that hackintoshing may not for everyone"
If you ever read that.
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I recently sold my iMac after building an equivalent spec Hackintosh for nearly half the price (z97a-UD7-TH, 4790K cpu, 128GB SSD, 2x1TB 7200 SATA drives, 16GB Ram, nVidia GTX960, 4K Dell monitor). It's designed solely for music production and runs Mbox3 with Pro Tools and Studio One. There's a way of installing OS X on PCs now available called Clover which transforms the experience. My machine works perfectly - sleep, iMessage etc. I future proof myself by keeping images of my installation. Unlike the iMac, I have extra drive storage options, PCI slots, lots of USB 2/3 slots, powerful graphics, no heat worries, and no fan noise intrusion. The key is to source the proven components and then install via Clover.
FYI the iMac is made out of mobile laptop components which are always more expensive. The iMac is an all in one, it's made to be compact and only need 1 cord. It's not for the people who want to do upgrades on their computer. An iMac is not meant to be compared to desktops like the one you built; a proper comparison is to a Mac Pro since that is also an upgradable desktop.
You always pay a premium for space saving products, whether it's computers or anything else in life.
The only mobile component is the GPU it uses desktop everything else. If you want an expandable desktop a hackintosh is the only way to go.
While not a 'space saving products' or 'mobile component' or etc like you'd illustrate the iMac,.. the Mac Pro also has premium price tag.
Overkill? Depends on whether you are "just" mixing audio, or if you are composing music. For music, depending on genre, you could need to stream thousands of samples off SSD's realtime. I even have the need for two PC slaves in addition to my Mac Pro, because of the huge RAM + CPU + streaming requirements of doing orchestral music.
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You can also purchase an iMac (or indeed any Mac) with full 3 year warranty that is the best in the market. It's literally impossible to buy the same level of support for a pre-built Windows machine & certainly not for a home brew computer whether it's a Hackintosh or not.
* Until you have to change or update anything to do with the OS, at which point it isn't "just as stable as a legit Macintosh".
Does one have to update though?
Many software application programs things are often not certified on newer OS X versions, and sometimes it takes a while until such certifications comes. Media Composer and ProTools, Avid of course, comes to mind.
I have quite well on 10.8.3 until Yosemite for my new Hack, which is currently on 10.10.2 and whatever Monday shows might be the next update.
Anyway, for a computer at home, a Hackintosh can be quite fine, even for working at home, but never at an office, though I have to admit my Hacks have run more stable than many Mac Pros I had to use, or anything Intel Mac. Hmm, that wine is getttttttt