It will drive me there, I'll just run OSX in virtual, for the stuff my expensive software.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mac Pro vs. Hackintosh
- Thread starter adddictedtomac
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It will drive me there, I'll just run OSX in virtual, for the stuff my expensive software.
IMO best case for hackintosh: Silverstone FT-02
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163202
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163202
I wouldn't call OS X iOSifiedApple seems to be taking a much more distinct route between mobile and desktop operating systems as compared to Windows 8. While that certainly might change in the future, especially as iOS becomes more robust, it's much further off than what Microsoft has already attempted.
Speaking for myself, I have both Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion on my hackintosh and I prefer the latter.
Do other Hackintosh owners in this thread depend on their machines as their main OS X machine, or do you have a "real" mac as backup?
I've totally switched to my Hack and it's a bit unnerving as I'm still learning to trust it! Obviously I'm not going to update it without backing up first with CCC, and it feels reliable enough running 10.8.2.
I've totally switched to my Hack and it's a bit unnerving as I'm still learning to trust it! Obviously I'm not going to update it without backing up first with CCC, and it feels reliable enough running 10.8.2.
Do other Hackintosh owners in this thread depend on their machines as their main OS X machine, or do you have a "real" mac as backup?
I've totally switched to my Hack and it's a bit unnerving as I'm still learning to trust it! Obviously I'm not going to update it without backing up first with CCC, and it feels reliable enough running 10.8.2.
I've been using a hac since July... and it's had fewer hardware issues than my recent Macs.
Do other Hackintosh owners in this thread depend on their machines as their main OS X machine, or do you have a "real" mac as backup?
I've totally switched to my Hack and it's a bit unnerving as I'm still learning to trust it! Obviously I'm not going to update it without backing up first with CCC, and it feels reliable enough running 10.8.2.
I have a MacBook Pro, so it's kind of a backup.
I've switched to my hack fulltime for the last month and a half, no issues current uptime for my hack is 24 days, no reboots, kernel panics or issues at all. If you pick the right hardware from a site like Tonymacx86, its rock solid stable. I still have my Mac Pro 3,1 kicking around but its no longer my main machine.
My hacks have always been and will always be just a hobby and something I play with. For real work, I always have my MBP. I'd never rely on a Hackintosh for real work. I also tend to always boot into Windows for gaming.
If I could only own a single, non-Apple, computer and I wanted it to run OSX, I'd also install Windows on it as a backup. Just to be extra cautious, I'd install it on a separate physical hard drive, which is what I tend to do with my hackintoshes. For OSX side of things, I'd of course make use of CCC for backups and whatnot.
Hackintoshes have come a long way, but they're still not bomb proof... even if you pick hardware listed on tonymac's site. There's a reason why the word "hack" is in the name.
I think I take the middle ground, in that I tend to use cloud storage (drop box) for current projects but am working pretty much exclusively on the hackintosh with them. My view is that if something goes South, I've got the Mac Pro and the MBP to fall back on and I can get to my project files without any hassles. I guess I'm hoping for the best but planning for the worst
The thing is that the hackintosh is just so much quicker than the 3,1 machine. It used to be noisier but I've sorted that problem out now so there's no reason to stick with the "real" mac. I used to buy into the whole design aesthetic with Macs and they are beautifully made. But Apple just don't offer a machine I'd want to buy at the moment and a good hack build meets my needs.
It has windows installed as well, but I rarely boot into it except for gaming.
The thing is that the hackintosh is just so much quicker than the 3,1 machine. It used to be noisier but I've sorted that problem out now so there's no reason to stick with the "real" mac. I used to buy into the whole design aesthetic with Macs and they are beautifully made. But Apple just don't offer a machine I'd want to buy at the moment and a good hack build meets my needs.
It has windows installed as well, but I rarely boot into it except for gaming.
I bought a 1st gen Mac Pro in 2006, and it's served me mostly well in the time since. But:
- The ATI video card it shipped with was notoriously buggy
- enough so that Apple replaced them with nVidia cards for free 2 years down the road
- this nVidia card also failed and was replaced on my dime, and these were not standard video cards and were incompatible with PCs *and* with later Mac Pros.
- It cannot run in 64-bit kernel mode (because no 64-bit EFI, IIRC)
- Memory is still ludicrously expensive years later so it's not worth it to add more RAM. Maxing out at 32gb would cost $600 via Crucial
- It cannot run Mountain Lion
- It was not fun dragging my Mac Pro into the Apple Store at my mall
So it is time to move on. A modern Mac Mini is now more powerful than this former powerhouse. Thinking about building a Hackintosh, and the Mac Pro I want is the price of a used car...
Last edited:
I bought a 1st gen Mac Pro in 2006, and it's served me mostly well in the time since. But:
- The ATI video card it shipped with was notoriously buggy
- enough so that Apple replaced them with nVidia cards for free 2 years down the road
- this nVidia card also failed and was replaced on my dime, and these were not standard video cards and were incompatible with PCs *and* with later Mac Pros.
- It cannot run in 64-bit kernel mode (because no 64-bit EFI, IIRC)
- Memory is still ludicrously expensive years later so it's not worth it to add more RAM. Maxing out at 32gb would cost $600 via Crucial
- It cannot run Mountain Lion
- It was not fun dragging my Mac Pro into the Apple Store at my mall
So it is time to move on. A modern Mac Mini is now more powerful than this former powerhouse. Thinking about building a Hackintosh, and the Mac Pro I want is the price of a used car...
Build a $1,200 Hackintosh and have this guy help you with your custom DSDT file to get your system up and running:
http://rampagedev.wordpress.com/premium-technical-support/
Then use Mac OS X 10.8.2 (if you don't have it you can buy it from the Apple App Store) and be done with it already. You'll have a SCREAMIN' FAST MACHINE and won't have to invest $7,500 for an OVER-GLORIFIED PC... called a MacPro.
By the way, all of this stuff I just shared with you is OLD HAT anyway and even production companies are now using hackintoshes and have been for a few years now.
When you're done with your PC/MacPro build, you can post it on MacMod of the Month (here):
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/forum/295-macmod-of-the-month/
Then you can GO to that same APPLE STORE and go on one of their "MacPro" machines and SHOW OFF YOUR BUILD and how much money you saved !!!
PS - PM me if you need some guidance and help. I've been through ALL THE HEADACHES and now I have 3 SOLID systems (from cheap to expensive) that Rampage and I have configured. I hope I can be of some help. Later...
These are actually mistakes here if I may be so bold as to offer correction.
- You can get it to boot 64 bit EFI with a simple hack... have a search for the steps.
- Memory for this machine is not that expensive. The heat sinks on the "Apple Aproved" memory hasn't been actually needed since the 1GB and 2GB DIMMs hit the shelves way back when. 32GB for the MP1,1 is between $270 and $320. For the 800MHz stuff needed in the next MP version up add $30 to those prices. $600 is a stupid price that Mac venders charge stupid people who don't know and don't want to find out, what kind of RAM their systems can use. I know that sucks but that's the long and short of it.
- Once the video card is up to snuff and (8800GT and above ASAIK) and the system is booting the 64bit kernel Mountain Lion installs just fine.
Not sure what you mean here. I didn't see anyone asking for this information - just stating facts incorrectly. All this is available just by spending 30min. on a google search:
"inexpensive MacPro1,1 memory"
"what DIMM work in MacPro1,1?"
"What kind or memory will the MacPro1,1 accept?"
"How to install mountain lion on the MacPro1,1"
And there's a few thousand threads just here alone on "What Video cards for MacPro1,1?"
I guess if you're not aggressive in your google searches it could take as long as 2 hours. <shrug> As you find them save the pages as PDF or print to printer and walk through the steps to accomplish whatever it is you're trying to do. If it's a RAM purchase just buy it, install it, and run 8 instances of Rember for about 12 hours (right away) to make sure it ain't busted. Return it if it is and try again with another auction.
Last edited:
Thanks for the tips, Tesselator. I'll check it out and maybe there's some life left in the old girl afterall.
But my recollection is that the Geekbench score was somewhere around 6000 (half as powerful as a i7 mini), and memory for $300, and then add a video card if it doesn't like my 8800GT, I don't know if it's a fight worth fighting.
Also having to use hacks to install 64-bit EFI and reflashing PC video cards are leading into Hackintosh territory anyway...
EDIT: Hard to find a deal on the RAM but I did find a place at about $300
But my recollection is that the Geekbench score was somewhere around 6000 (half as powerful as a i7 mini), and memory for $300, and then add a video card if it doesn't like my 8800GT, I don't know if it's a fight worth fighting.
Also having to use hacks to install 64-bit EFI and reflashing PC video cards are leading into Hackintosh territory anyway...
EDIT: Hard to find a deal on the RAM but I did find a place at about $300
Last edited:
Yeah, all true. You have to weigh your options. That's understandable - and recommended.
My geekbench scores on a MP1,1 (now 2,1), OS X 10.7.5, with 8-core 2.66MHz, 32GB RAM, and the 8800GT varies between 10500 and 11200 but I honestly think Geekbench isn't useful for anything other than posting numbers to forums like this one. The less synthetic benchmarks like CineBench if you're doing CG, the Photoshop, PTGui, and Gimp ones if you're photo and 2D editing, some of the OS X GUI tests if you're developing, and so on can be useful however.
I guess as my machine sits now I can get between $750 and $1k for it on the auction sites.
Is there life still left in it? I think that depends on how competitive your field is and in what environment you're using it in.
For some examples where it's plenty - still better than an iMac, MM, or any of the notebooks:
- A freelance modeler who uses Modo and Z-Brush (or similar) primarily.
- Almost any CG studio production artist - as they have off-line rendering farms that do all the heavy lifting (see below).
- Musicians and composers of all but the most complex arrangements (ie hundreds of tracks).
- Developers working on non shrink-wrap products (custom code),
- Mobile (iOS, Android, etc.) developers,
- Video editors (cuts, transitions, titles, lite fx, etc.)
- Lightweight compositors (up to 1080p 3 to 5 layers +FX),
- 2D matte artists (up to 4k film production projects - and beyond),
- Page layout artists (unlimited project sizes),
- Illustrators (nearly unlimited),
- CAD operators (up to medium sized apartment building),
- HTPC and Entertainment users
- Web page artists (up to small/medium corporate pages)
- etc.
Occupational stations where the person will want more (and probably as much as they can get!) or something other than a Mac at all:
- Solid model rapid prototyping,
- Hardware designers using circuit emulation and/or ICE for LSI/VLSI projects,
- CG studio production artists - specifically animators working on very large complex scenes. (Even though this is usually done in manageably sized layers, the more resources the artist can throw at it the less will need to be done in comp. )
- Musicians and composers working with a large number of streams or many interpreted streams (such as over 32 tracks of Midi + FX + recordings),
- Developers working on shrink-wrap products will want access to the newest systems (not necessarily because of horsepower tho).
- CAM (Computer aided manufacturing) developers... Line-CAD simulations and so forth,
- Web designers working with large databases (corporate and larger)
- And perhaps where the machine is part of a group used as the off-line rendering farm mentioned above (though these days those are often small cabinet blade server racks)
- etc.
Some areas where the new MM, iMac, or rMBP might be as fast, faster, or feel snappier than an MP1,1 2.66x4 or x8:
- Web surfing,
- Photo browsing (in OS X, small library iPhoto, etc.)
- iTunes operation,
- Youtube playback,
- Text editing,
- Lite Page Layout (up to multi-page brochure),
- Simple scoring (4 track)
- Wave Editing (C&P only)
- Simple Photoshop editing (C&P, Crops, Rotations),
- 3D Modeling (WireFrame only)
- etc.
And so on like that. Of course this list isn't exhaustive but it gives you some idea. And of course if someone is using the Workstation as a personal desktop PC there's just no telling. Some such folks might think the newest fastest 12-core is needed just to rip their movie titles or see their web surfing pepped up a little. These people are weird (in a good way) so there's just no telling when it comes to that sorta thing. For them they have to weigh their wallet against their expectations and desires. I guess most of those people would be tickled pink with the performance of a tricked out MP1,1 - but I say that considering users internet-wide as probably many folks reading this thread in this forum are spoiled.
I also understand your hesitancy concerning the 64bit kernel boot loader arrangement. I think a lot of these kinds of concerns boil down to one's personally preferred ratio of convenience and budget. In my current opinion I think for a single machine user the jump still isn't big enough to justify the expenditure. The fastest $7K 12-core MP is only a little over twice the speed of the MP1,1. At the same time however I guess I could be considered a bit of a hypocrite - as I have many of the machines mentioned as well as workstation hardware from non-Apple vendors.
.
Last edited:
From everything I've read about Hackintosh computers, they are just as reliable as a Mac Pro.
If you choose your components wisely, you will have little to no problems with a Hackintosh. A Hackintosh is not more likely to experience a hardware failure than a Mac Pro.
From a desktop standpoint I always build them and I have never had a hardware failure. If I did have a hardware failure, I can go to Newegg or Amazon and get a replacement part easy.
As far as the ECC vs. Non-ECC, it's a non-factor. Since most Mac Pros are high power workstations and not servers, ECC RAM is not going to factor in. ECC RAM is actually SLOWER than non-ECC.
You can use the SAME Xeon processor that the Mac Pro uses, many have built a socket 2011 Hackintosh.
As far as legality, it's not software piracy as some say, people BUY Mountain Lion and install it, albeit on non Apple hardware. At worst they are in violation of the TOS, not thieves.
If you choose your components wisely, you will have little to no problems with a Hackintosh. A Hackintosh is not more likely to experience a hardware failure than a Mac Pro.
From a desktop standpoint I always build them and I have never had a hardware failure. If I did have a hardware failure, I can go to Newegg or Amazon and get a replacement part easy.
As far as the ECC vs. Non-ECC, it's a non-factor. Since most Mac Pros are high power workstations and not servers, ECC RAM is not going to factor in. ECC RAM is actually SLOWER than non-ECC.
You can use the SAME Xeon processor that the Mac Pro uses, many have built a socket 2011 Hackintosh.
As far as legality, it's not software piracy as some say, people BUY Mountain Lion and install it, albeit on non Apple hardware. At worst they are in violation of the TOS, not thieves.
You sure?
Maybe you'd like to see some actual pics of it?
Pretty much silent thanks to watercooling, looks - well choose for yourself, but I definately like it. Resale value? Why would I need to sell it? I'm just gonna upgrade part for part if I need more power somewhere.
Power? Runs circles around your iMac in while costing half as much.
You've ever seen a geniue Apple like this?
Here's another one for whoever that poster was:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/287857-new-macmod-2013-build-lemon-lime-twist/
It also has (close to) matching performance speed behind it. Check out the GB score. All this for less than a 1/4 of the price tag - OUCH !!!
Personally the Deskintosh and Lemon Lime Twist are really the best ways to go (and others like them) if you want better performance AND custom looks. Too bad for zarf2007 as I don't think it matters since he more than likely won't see this post because he hasn't posted in months. Also, from the looks of it Apple isn't going to focus on the new Mac Pros (as our global fiscal situation keeps getting worse), but rather tablet technology since things are going more mobile and it's more affordable. Personally, I prefer performance and speed.BTW, what's your GB score on that Table Hack? You know, I'm really glad the guys at InsanelyMac are getting more and more creative in their builds. Makes MacMod of the Month more interesting and fun. Nice build !!!
Attachments
Last edited:
Cool build PunkNugget! What was the sticker price after all the options?
Yeah, things are changing so fast lately that a persons opinion can quickly go from probable to proven wrong really easy.
Yeah, things are changing so fast lately that a persons opinion can quickly go from probable to proven wrong really easy.
High powered workstation and "doesn't need ECC RAM" doesn't necessarily follow, just FYI.
Yeah, ECC actually is a factor. By not using ECC you will in fact get corrupt data and code. ECC isn't perfect either but it's WAY better than without. By not using ECC you're essentially saying: Please give me some file corruption, thank you! And how much you get depends on a whole bunch of factors: Geographic location, system heat, climate, solar and galactic activity, and so on.
Semantically, for me, ECC is also part of the "Workstation" spec. and definition.