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So freakin tired of listening about the cost of Apple computers.
Do you understand that it costs to assemble a computer, to create the software, warranties etc etc.?????
If you cant afford to use a mac, no one is putting a gun to your head and tell you to do so.
Buy a freakin playstation, or whatever.

Yes, because I built a ~$6500 hackintosh because I thought the Mac Pro was too expensive :rolleyes:
 
First Hackintosh Build / EVGA SR-X Dual 6-Core

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzsH5z1PqRU

EVGA SR-2 DUAL XEON MOTHERBOARD
24 GB RAM
NVIDIA GTX 280 VIDEO CARD
NVIDIA GT 240 VIDEO CARD
DUAL XEON X5650'S @ 3.6 GHZ
LG BLU-RAY BURNER
96 GB RAM CAPACITY
OSX 10.6.5
26,000+ GEEKBENCH SCORE
18.32 CINEBENCH 11.5 CPU SCORE

HEAVILY MODDED 4U RACKMOUNT

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=275740

heres another one wich scored nearly 30k geekbench

Here are the final pics of THE HACKINBEAST !!! I actually have Mac OS X 10.7.2 up and running fine now and the X5650's are OC'd to 4.0GHz stable at 34C in a 74F room, with GeekBench (v2.2.6) scores of 29152!!! With some tweaking I know this can go higher. (Special Edit: New GB Score: 29,465!!!). This unit's total cost $3,350. A Top-of-a-Line (equivalent) Mac Pro Tower (with all the trimmings) would cost around $10,750. This HackinBeast is also 30% faster as you can OC this bad boy as with a Mac Pro Tower… you can't. Oh, by the way, for those that believe that PC's are cheaper, a BOXX Tech (PC equivalent tower) would cost around $10,600. So both Apple and BOXX Tech are about the same cost when you pay retail. Plus, half the fun (as all of you know) is building it.

Yeah the YouTube vid (above) you're talking about is Mike's machine. He was getting 26,000+ GB points on that. I should give him a shout to let him know this was posted here.

PunkNugget's HACKINBEAST actually reached over 34,000 on his GB test

Me I'm at 27,900+ (right now). I too was at 34,000+, but since my SR-2 mobo was a refurb it FF'd (failed) on me and this time around I just bought a new one. Essentially, I'm starting over. The good thing is I was under warranty and was able to replace everything and didn't lose any $$$.

Now the true Dual CPU Mac OS X record holder is Tutor with a GB score of - 40,100 !!!

He doesn't like to "toot his own horn," but I will for him, as he's been a tremendous help to me with my SR-2 setup. Hopefully we'll be able to get this machine up and running at the same GB scores. What still amazes me is that the next best Mac Pro out there can only do 24,000+ GB. Even with the new Mac Pros that just came out, they might be able to eek out maybe 28,000 or 30,000 GB. If they can do more we'll find out in time. In fact they should be reaching over 40,000+ by now for the prices that people still have to pay for them. Also, for voyagerd,

Yes, because I built a ~$6500 hackintosh because I thought the Mac Pro was too expensive :rolleyes:

My SR-2 setup was right around $3,500. Now you can get it for a less if you shop it right. Again, for a machine that can reach GB rendering scores of almost double what a Mac Pro can do for 1/3 the cost, that's amazing to me.

Even with the new PCIe SSDs out there reviewed and tested by Mike at Insanely Great Mac:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTT5tfylS3c&feature=relmfu

Even with his testing this thing was meant for Mac Pros, but performed even better on a Hackintosh. I can't help but laugh when I see stuff like this. Even the guys at OWC are impressed with how the Hackintoshes are performing over the MPs.
 
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Aww, I only got 30,519 on Geekbench. It looks like I need some liquid cooling…

I will have to run the benchmark again with the faster RAM I got. Maybe being on Lion now will help too.
 
haha this whole hackingtosh reminds me of the Early 80s as a Teenage boy (14) I was living in Hong Kong, and my First PC was a Apple II clone, obviously the clever Chinese didn't call them Apple II computers, Mine was called a Banana, I think it cost me £100 when the real thing was nearly 3k. Happy memory's.

heres a picture

Image

THIS IS TOO FUNNY !!! You ought to enter this pic here (at MacMod of the Month):

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showforum=295

and see if you can win June's MacMod of the Month !!! LOL !!! :D

It probably wouldn't even give you a GB score. Maybe even a negative. I love this unit... banana - THIS IS GREAT - LOL !!!!!! XD
 
Aww, I only got 30,519 on Geekbench. It looks like I need some liquid cooling…

I will have to run the benchmark again with the faster RAM I got. Maybe being on Lion now will help too.

No, what you need to do is get on here and LEARN HOW TO UNDERCLOCK !!!

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1333421/

That's the new Overclock. Underclocking (UC'ing) It's Faster, More Efficient, Runs Cooler, and just all around better than OC'ing and extends the life of your CPUs for years. Especially when it comes to using those high-end apps that you bought this SR-2 setup for anyway. Just be Tutor's student and learn how to master what he's teaching me and others how to do. Apple could honestly learn a thing or two from this man... :cool: I have paid this forward to couple of others that not only have built an SR-2 system for themselves as a result of posts like this, but have also turned people onto Tutor's way of thinking.

Mine is Liquid Cooled to the hilt and knowing what I know now I would have used 2 x Noctua NH-D14's or 2 x H80's and been done with it. I put in a lot of time and money into all Koolance Water Cooling system. It looks nice, but not necessary.

Currently my system is running at 20C currently and at 27900+ GB scores that's amazing. I hope Tutor will be helping me reach the same GB scores and same stable system. Just go to that link learn how to do this yourself and ask questions along the way (after you read everything from the beginning first).

I call it: Tutor's Way or at least that's what I think it should be called. He also has become a great friend to me as well... Hope this helps you and anyone else who has an SR-2 setup with X5680s or X5690s... Later... :cool:

Special Note:
I had someone once make a comment to me about how much I "praise" Tutor - LOL! I want to be clear about something before anyone may be thinking about possibly making a similar comment. For a person as busy as he is (as well as I am); to spend the amount of time that he has with me is non-deserved. Time is a gift, and he gives it freely; not for praise, but for the personal satisfaction of knowing that he's helped someone. For that, I am a loyal friend to him. That's why I'm doing my part in paying it forward to anyone that wants to learn how to make their system not just unique, but FLAT-OUT better... :cool:
 
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Aww, I only got 30,519 on Geekbench. It looks like I need some liquid cooling…

I will have to run the benchmark again with the faster RAM I got. Maybe being on Lion now will help too.

Just to let you know, Tutor has already helped me get to GBS of 32,702, but we're taking it slow as we want to really see what this system can do... I hope you try his method. Who knows, you might top everyone else on here... :)
 
Just to let you know, Tutor has already helped me get to GBS of 32,702, but we're taking it slow as we want to really see what this system can do... I hope you try his method. Who knows, you might top everyone else on here... :)

But that just gets you higher Geekbench scores somehow, not higher application performance. :p
 
But that just gets you higher Geekbench scores somehow, not higher application performance. :p

Not true. I've personally seen a trmendous performanxe boost when bringing in vids and rendering them over my MP. Using GB is a fantastic gauge. Remember I own both setups. And you really need to be careful who you're sticking your tounge out at. I'm trying to be helpful here. Like I said if you choose to have a students spirit in all of this you could have an even better system than even me or even Tutor. In fact that's what we look for. But again that's up to you... Later... :ccol:
 
Not true. I've personally seen a trmendous performanxe boost when bringing in vids and rendering them over my MP. Using GB is a fantastic gauge. Remember I own both setups. And you really need to be careful who you're sticking your tounge out at. I'm trying to be helpful here. Like I said if you choose to have a students spirit in all of this you could have an even better system than even me or even Tutor. In fact that's what we look for. But again that's up to you... Later... :ccol:

Can you explain how a lower clock frequency could increase computational speed?
 
Keep learning

Can you explain how a lower clock frequency could increase computational speed?

By turbo biasing. My turbo ratio is DDDDEE (13,13,13,13,14,14) for each 5680 instead of 1,1,1,1,2,2. SR2Mac's is EEEEFF (14,14,14,14,15,15) for each 5690 (his CPU's have an extra bin up their sleeves). Both do what Sandy Bridge E5s do, but like on steroids (Note mine has been doing it since late 2010 when my Geekbench2 scores plateaued at about 37,000 using overclocking using lots of Vcore and generating lots of heat). At idles my system runs at less than 2.5 GHz. I keep my Vcore within Spec VID. My system runs very cool and under render loads the temps stay mainly under 55 degrees C. To satisfy your concern about application performance, turbo biasing kicks in even when I run Cinebench in single core mode to yield a score of 1.5+. Running with only one CPU active, I get a Cinebench xCPU score of 12.1+. In multicore mode with both CPU's active, I get Cinebench scores of between 24.5 - 24.7. Since Cinema 4d is my main 3d program, underclocking and turbo biasing makes it render HD animation frames in 1-3 seconds each.

What enables turbo to kick in? Why - its cool cores, low voltages and low current consumption? These combined are necessary. Underclocking allows turbo to out-fire any cowboy, including Billy the Kidd. Turbo biasing makes those bullets go fast and far to reach their intended target just as Sean Connery's rifle did in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. These are some of the real life analogies [including martial arts philosophies and what aging bodies should learn - use your energy wisely, using it only when called for and only using so much as is needed] that helped me to formulate this tweaking technique. Life's parallels and the oneness of things can lead us to many discoveries. So never stop putting those wrinkles in your brains because those wrinkles bend space and, by doing so, cut the time to important discoveries.
 
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...since late 2010 when my Cinebench scores plateaued at about 37,000 using overclocking using lots of Vcore and generating lots of heat.

Hey Tutor, I think you meant to say GeekBench scores... but voyagerd, it's just like he said. Trust me, it took me time; in fact I still don't get everything, but I see the results, and the results are great. My current temps right now are actually 23 to 24C. To get that and the current GB scores 32,702 is really incredible, and I'm not even done yet. It's going to take me some time but I hope to even reach over Tutor's GB score. Just look at this chart and hover or cursor over the top blue dot and you'll see where he's at:

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geek...platform:"Mac+OS+X"+architecture:x86+bits:64+

But even if I don't I'm satisfied at the performance this machine gives me. Again, it's all about being a student. Live up to your avatar name and take the "voyage"...

Thanks again, Tutor. Now would you please allow me to send you a gift? ;)
 
Thank you for the detailed explanation Tutor. It is starting to make sense. Since it is using turbo, what would make this technique give you higher performance while running 100% load for an extended period of time(hours) as opposed to adjusting the base clock to achieve the same CPU frequency? Also, are you lowering the bclk or the CPU multiplier to underclock. Feel free to email or IM me so we don’t take this thread too far off topic

----------

Just look at this chart and hover or cursor over the top blue dot and you'll see where he's at:

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geek...platform:"Mac+OS+X"+architecture:x86+bits:64+

Yes, I know about his scores. I had the highest Geekbench score for awhile until he passed me. ;)
 
Thank you for the detailed explanation Tutor. It is starting to make sense. Since it is using turbo, what would make this technique give you higher performance while running 100% load for an extended period of time(hours) as opposed to adjusting the base clock to achieve the same CPU frequency? Also, are you lowering the bclk or the CPU multiplier to underclock. Feel free to email or IM me so we don’t take this thread too far off topic

----------



Yes, I know about his scores. I had the highest Geekbench score for awhile until he passed me. ;)

You ought to take it to his post where he helped me. I already provided it above. This way more people will be able learn from you as you're learning from him... :cool:
 
2 EVGA GTX 480 SCs

I have one too, but thought that the 580 would be better. I'm seeing otherwise. Maybe some adjustments need to be made as I'm not really seeing any real difference in performance. I was just wanting the extra GBs to handle two monitors. Should have bought another SC 480. I installed the 5XX Enabler Installer and for some reason I can't use my 6870 GPU anymore. Oh well, I'm sure there's another work around for this.
 
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Thank you for the detailed explanation Tutor. It is starting to make sense. Since it is using turbo, what would make this technique give you higher performance while running 100% load for an extended period of time(hours) as opposed to adjusting the base clock to achieve the same CPU frequency? Also, are you lowering the bclk or the CPU multiplier to underclock. Feel free to email or IM me so we don’t take this thread too far off topic

----------



Yes, I know about his scores. I had the highest Geekbench score for awhile until he passed me. ;)

Overclocking is akin to making a sprinter run like a sprinter over cross country distances. It promotes throttling, which kicks in because of the heat generated by all cores running at max or near max all of the time and it requires more Vcore to run all the cores at that high speed, thereby generating more heat leading to more throttling, needing more Vcore and a vicious cycle ensues.

To underclock, lower CPU Multi to 13 (12 sucks wind). Raise bclk for extra kick. Turbo allows some cores to cool a bit because not all cores participate at the exact same moment in time. Turbo will not kick in unless there is a load. Throttling rarely occurs because you have fewer than all cores working effectively at high speeds at any discreet moment in time. Fewer cores can operate at higher speeds than can all of them at once and continually. Now that the load calls for the uptick, new participating cooler cores pop in when needed, substituting for higher temperature cores, thereby allowing those higher temperature cores to cool. This cycle doesn't engender throttling, keeps overall temperatures lower and requires less Vcore. Have you noticed how a low core count chip can be clocked higher than a high core count chip. What I do takes advantage of this: Two cores can perform better at higher GHz, than can four, than can six, than can eight, etc.
 
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Tutor and everyone,

Thanks for the kind and informative replys. I will be re-reading them and the references as I try to "get smart" about building a hackintosh. I really would prefer to remain with the OS.

My primary concern is building a stout machine for image processing with Lightroom/Photoshop/etc

Tutor, I had been looking at the OWC PCIe SSD. They say it is bootable which is a big plus. There are some others that are in use in the Win world which seem to wok well there but are a big question mark on OS X. With a reasonably large PCIe SSD & a good supply of RAM I do not think a scratch disk would be necessary or desirable.

I expect to use rotating drives for data/home folder storage, perhaps a RAID 0 or 5 array. I had seen a reference to a nice 4 drive array (RAID 6?) that would keep working after the loss of one drive even during a rebuild.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the information and encouragement.

Cheers
 
(scratching my head)

Okay.

I observe a lot of cats here slamming the lack of a Mac Pro update. I have observed a lot of "told you so!"'s from the Hackintosh faction of the Mac community...and now I have viewed an entire thread of Speed Quest via Geekbench scores...

...but what about work and getting things done? The thing that the Mac Pro was and is created for?

I get that there are a faction of computer lovers that want the newest, the fastest and the "greatest," I believe I genuinely understand. It really would be nice to see new models with Thunderbolt and USB3...really, it would. It would be nice if a third-party vendor (if not Apple themselves) would develop a Thunderbolt PCI-E card that would work in the 2008-2012 models.

I still believe that the main reason that we do not see a new Mac Pro is because we do not yet have a 5120 x 2880 27"-32" monitor and accompanying GPU that can drive it ready for commercial purposes.

The purchase of Loewe Televisions, Ivy Bridge-class Xeons and the GPUs (from mid to high-end) capable of reliably driving such a "super-monitor" as well as 4K television will not be ready until...mid to late 2013.

So there you are.
 
(scratching my head)

Okay.

I observe a lot of cats here slamming the lack of a Mac Pro update. I have observed a lot of "told you so!"'s from the Hackintosh faction of the Mac community...and now I have viewed an entire thread of Speed Quest via Geekbench scores...

...but what about work and getting things done? The thing that the Mac Pro was and is created for?

I get that there are a faction of computer lovers that want the newest, the fastest and the "greatest," I believe I genuinely understand. It really would be nice to see new models with Thunderbolt and USB3...really, it would. It would be nice if a third-party vendor (if not Apple themselves) would develop a Thunderbolt PCI-E card that would work in the 2008-2012 models.

I still believe that the main reason that we do not see a new Mac Pro is because we do not yet have a 5120 x 2880 27"-32" monitor and accompanying GPU that can drive it ready for commercial purposes.

The purchase of Loewe Televisions, Ivy Bridge-class Xeons and the GPUs (from mid to high-end) capable of reliably driving such a "super-monitor" as well as 4K television will not be ready until...mid to late 2013.

So there you are.


That's the sime kind of thinking that helped explain why we didn't get a new 30" Display released ... it was going to be a year or two until LED backlit panels were available... just wait .. they'll be here.

And the the new 30" displays are available now? Nope.
 
Tutor and everyone,

Thanks for the kind and informative replys. I will be re-reading them and the references as I try to "get smart" about building a hackintosh. I really would prefer to remain with the OS.

My primary concern is building a stout machine for image processing with Lightroom/Photoshop/etc

Tutor, I had been looking at the OWC PCIe SSD. They say it is bootable which is a big plus. There are some others that are in use in the Win world which seem to wok well there but are a big question mark on OS X. With a reasonably large PCIe SSD & a good supply of RAM I do not think a scratch disk would be necessary or desirable.

I expect to use rotating drives for data/home folder storage, perhaps a RAID 0 or 5 array. I had seen a reference to a nice 4 drive array (RAID 6?) that would keep working after the loss of one drive even during a rebuild.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the information and encouragement.

Cheers

Hey RBR2,

Did you watch this vid?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTT5tfylS3c&feature=relmfu

You ought to, because (as I mentioned before) this was meant for Mac Pros, but as you can see in the vid the Hack Pros performed better. So yes, it works... Plus, if it doesn't (or you just don't like it) you have a FULL 30 Days to return it...

Also, here's something else that might cheer you up even more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TGRzajL_m0&feature=html5_3d

It looks like the SR-X is looking to a decent Mobo. Even with the E5 2687W's they're kickin' it. I'm impressed. I wonder what unlocked CPUs are going to be able to do when those (with the right mindset to take advantage of UC'ing), what they'll be able to do. I was thinking that they'll be able to only do 10%-17% better than an SR-2/X5690 setup. Maybe (with some decent tweaking) they'll be able to kick 25%-30%+ more in performance for the unlocked ones. But that's sometime down the road when the unlocked versions come out for the SR-X. I'm sure they're going to cost a pretty penny. The cheapest that I found for the E5 2687W is $1779... each. Ouch !!! That's gonna hurt. I can only imagine how much more the unlocked versions will be when they come out? More than likely around $2,200+ each for their top dogs. In the end will it be worth it? Time will tell, but that's a little too much for me...

That's the sime kind of thinking that helped explain why we didn't get a new 30" Display released ... it was going to be a year or two until LED backlit panels were available... just wait .. they'll be here.

And the the new 30" displays are available now? Nope.

Just pick up a Dell 30" or buy a used Apple 30" - They're just as good. I have one. In fact I want another one so I can use 2 of them.

(scratching my head)

Okay.

I observe a lot of cats here slamming the lack of a Mac Pro update. I have observed a lot of "told you so!"'s from the Hackintosh faction of the Mac community...and now I have viewed an entire thread of Speed Quest via Geekbench scores...

...but what about work and getting things done? The thing that the Mac Pro was and is created for?

...and on that note, time to get back to work...


PS - If anyone is interested in getting any one of these new OWC PCIe SSDs (as I too want the 240GB one), PM me as I know someone at OWC and can get a better price. This is just another way of me being able to pay it forward with all the help that I've received from guys like Tutor. Where I don't have a talent in his area of expertise when it comes to UC'ing, my main talent lies in being able to network like crazy and getting deals on products to help others. Just PM me to let me know... Later... :cool:
 
(scratching my head)

Okay.

I observe a lot of cats here slamming the lack of a Mac Pro update. I have observed a lot of "told you so!"'s from the Hackintosh faction of the Mac community...and now I have viewed an entire thread of Speed Quest via Geekbench scores...

...but what about work and getting things done? The thing that the Mac Pro was and is created for?

I get that there are a faction of computer lovers that want the newest, the fastest and the "greatest," I believe I genuinely understand. It really would be nice to see new models with Thunderbolt and USB3...really, it would. It would be nice if a third-party vendor (if not Apple themselves) would develop a Thunderbolt PCI-E card that would work in the 2008-2012 models.

I still believe that the main reason that we do not see a new Mac Pro is because we do not yet have a 5120 x 2880 27"-32" monitor and accompanying GPU that can drive it ready for commercial purposes.

The purchase of Loewe Televisions, Ivy Bridge-class Xeons and the GPUs (from mid to high-end) capable of reliably driving such a "super-monitor" as well as 4K television will not be ready until...mid to late 2013.

So there you are.

That would describe me but not so much tutor and SR2. I believe they are on the same generation processors that are in the current MP thats what makes what they did special the doubled the speed of the MP with the same gear.

From my experience the people in the mackintosh community are the "builders." I'm not passionate about my Hack like I am about my Mac's but I had a great time building it! My real hobby is cycling I've spent the last couple years building my Serotta Legend I finished it about the same time as I started my hack :) not that the hack is done I'm working on the camera trying to get it set up perfectly, about the time that's done I'll start the balcony stairs are you seeing a trend :D

I work with a outstanding painter and great graphic artist. He like to pick on me for the time I spent playing with this computer. He see's the computer as a function of his work he uses to create I see the computer as the end state the creation.

Apple has created an empire with computers that the user never has to interact with beyond the keyboard and mouse. It's worked wonders but gotten people doing cool things who wouldn't be if it weren't for the ease of interaction.

Most people are like my wife I love her death and she s a marketing guru but just doesn't care about things like this. Her requirement for her last computer was that it was white. Same thing with the car I even put the gas in it for her. She is Apples market.
 
Hey RBR2,


Just pick up a Dell 30" or buy a used Apple 30" - They're just as good. I have one. In fact I want another one so I can use 2 of them.

You're missing my point. I already did buy new displays (NEC) but I spent years waiting for Apple to update their 30" displays and it was always "next year" and the fanboys/apologists always had the same excuses why apple was going to release them LATER. I finally gave up and bought 3rd party as noted.

Now I'm hearing the same types of excuses about the mac pro - when it's obvious that both the 30" display AND the mac pro COULD have been updated if apple had desire to do so.

Both have been abandoned, and thus now I'm on to 3rd party computer as well as display. I'd still prefer mac OS but even that may be a thing of the past if it gets too much hassle.
 
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