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Why choose Mac Mini over Hackintosh?
- Thread starter RustyMacVet
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I built a hackintosh about 14 months ago and it has been usable as a server for files and iTunes. However, it never stays running for more than 3 days at a time. I haven't been able to figure out the compatibility issue as everything seems to work perfectly for the first 3 days its been running.
Finally, I got fed up with the unreliable hackintosh and am switching to a Mini. I thought I was building a more powerful machine for less money at the time, but in the end it was a bigger headache and will end up costing me more money as selling the hackintosh will be difficult to recoup the initial cost. I'm hoping that the mini will be everything I want it to be, and with the experience of my Macbook Pros, I don't have any doubt that it will be.
Finally, I got fed up with the unreliable hackintosh and am switching to a Mini. I thought I was building a more powerful machine for less money at the time, but in the end it was a bigger headache and will end up costing me more money as selling the hackintosh will be difficult to recoup the initial cost. I'm hoping that the mini will be everything I want it to be, and with the experience of my Macbook Pros, I don't have any doubt that it will be.
Didn't this happen when they started using mainstream hardware (Intel, Nvidia, AMD, etc)? The problems I've seen on the mini's on video performance are typically the exact same problems you see on Windows which goes to show you AMD's drivers just blow for everyone.
I was facing the same choice last year, I opted for a mac mini because it was just easier, I have built lots of PC's over time and I would have had no issue with this or with the sourcing of specific parts but I wanted the full mac experience that involved airport, sleep and wake, wireless keyboard and mouse and to buy a mac mini was just simpler.
End Result:If you fancy yourself a small project go the hackintosh route, if you want to save a lot of hassle and time buy a mac mini.
End Result:If you fancy yourself a small project go the hackintosh route, if you want to save a lot of hassle and time buy a mac mini.
the key word is drivers. I feel even apple has rushed it osx schedule.
I also agree that since they used outside video Like AMD and Nvidia there have been many issues of software conflict. I have just as much luck running windows 7 as I do lion. Which means most of the time stuff works. I still prefer mac software for ease of use but lion is a step down from snow.
I now have been playing with mountain and it seems like the software update option that pops up when you click the upper left apple now pulls up app updates from the app store. the problem with that is app updates from the app store are not always free. So for now i am back to lion.
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Compare how well both work after installing a OSX update(example: 10.7->10.7.2). The hackintosh will probably have something broken and you will have to google around to fix it. Also, expect kernel panics. A hackintosh machine is best for a testing the OS before you buy kind of thing.
For those who haven't built a recent Sandy Bridge hackintosh... you'd think so. You'd be surprised to find that you can honestly really just "build a Mac" now. No kernal panics... no drivers... no messing with kexts... no missing audio or bluetooth or wifi... just working as a new mac would after proper install (using multibeast etc.). Internally modern PCs and Macs are VERY similar and it's fairly easy to just build a PC using components that different stock Macs use and fool the OS into thinking the PC is a full fledged MacPro.
I couldn't disagree more.
Multibeast is a great tool and setting up a hackintosh has been a very rewarding experience, but by no means would I ever tell anyone that it's easy and that everything works, because neither is true.
OP should try making a hackintosh first on an old PC before committing. Or at least visit OSx86 or other hackintosh forums to see all the issues people are facing getting OS X on their machines.
To each his own.
I guess it honestly depends on what experience you have. If you've never built a PC or a early hackintosh you could say its difficult. However, many Sandy builds will have everything (with proper planning and parts) up and running with relative ease! Installing OS X on an old PC or using older PC components is a whole different ball game then sourcing solid, confirmed to work parts. Spending some time on the many forums (tonymacX86 being the most trusted IMO) will allow you to gain the knowledge to put together a great machine that requires minimal maintenance and tinkering.http://www.tonymacx86.com/golden-builds/
Check out the golden builds (confirmed working set ups) on TonyMac
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Again though, hackintoshs are alternatives to Mac Pros when you don't necessarily need 8+ cores (but need more power than say a Mini). They are not alternatives to Mac Mini's. The Mac Mini is cheap enough and competitive enough with even the base Sandy Bridge Hackintosh that to me it isn't worth it.
I agree in fact depending on your home/computer area using a mac mini and a pc is a doable setup. My mini with windows 7 and lion via fusion plays well with the pc build. The days of mac in one corner and pc in another are dying. In fact I think down the road now that steve is gone mac and microsoft will end up being partners.
Simple question, simple answer: Mac is cool, Hackintosh is not.
To be honest, it was a Hackintosh (too) that pulled me over to Mac OS completely. After tasting the fake thing for a week or so I just wanted the real thing. Now. Immediately. And it solved the hassle to keep it up to date. Just let Mac OS do its thing. On the Fakeintosh I sweat blood and water with every update. Will it work? Will it blow? Will men with blue t-shirts haunt and kill me?
Besides - its just an incredible little beautiful thing.
And I loved the WTF expression on the faces of my friends when they found out. But - I have to admit that I still have a PC (solely for gaming). Yet.
To be honest, it was a Hackintosh (too) that pulled me over to Mac OS completely. After tasting the fake thing for a week or so I just wanted the real thing. Now. Immediately. And it solved the hassle to keep it up to date. Just let Mac OS do its thing. On the Fakeintosh I sweat blood and water with every update. Will it work? Will it blow? Will men with blue t-shirts haunt and kill me?
Besides - its just an incredible little beautiful thing.
And I loved the WTF expression on the faces of my friends when they found out. But - I have to admit that I still have a PC (solely for gaming). Yet.Let me just add that cowboom sells the i5 2.3 for $399 on their daily deals about once a month. 30 day paid returns. These are customer returns and slightly used but with much if not all of the applecare left.
When I buy from cowboom I often buy two and keep the best one since they pay for the return.
I got the i5 2.5 for $499 but its pretty hard to come by on cowboom at that price. Deals start at 10pm PT/1am ET.
(This assumes you live in the States)
When I buy from cowboom I often buy two and keep the best one since they pay for the return.
I got the i5 2.5 for $499 but its pretty hard to come by on cowboom at that price. Deals start at 10pm PT/1am ET.
(This assumes you live in the States)
Didn't see too many mentions about the efficiency of a mini. At idle, it draws less power than any small-form Windows oriented unit I could find. And you'd be in the same spot if you were running a hackintosh....an efficient power supply in a small form factor is going to limit your options. And as someone did a build break-out earlier, why give yourself potential headaches, just to save $150? My time and frustration tolerance make $599 (or less) seem like a bargain.
I still use my minis they have windows 7 and lion use vm fusion. I built a killer diy pc with no hackintosh it is the system hub in my home but the minis get a lot of use and can freely share with the windows pc. Better then a hackintosh all legal very powerful and since it just runs windows 7 it pretty much just works.
What is happening in the computer world more then ever is fusion of software. I have had mac only from 1998 to 2011 no windows , but lion pushed a bit towards windows. vmware fusion and bootcamp got better and windows 7 is pretty good.
Like it or now blending systems will become more common in the next decade. Forget the pc vs apple battles . Have a few of each.
What is happening in the computer world more then ever is fusion of software. I have had mac only from 1998 to 2011 no windows , but lion pushed a bit towards windows. vmware fusion and bootcamp got better and windows 7 is pretty good.
Like it or now blending systems will become more common in the next decade. Forget the pc vs apple battles . Have a few of each.
I realize this thread is a few months old, but I found it an interesting read and thought I could contribute.
Having built my own Hackintosh about a month ago, I can vouch for the headaches that accompany building your own Mac. It took me two or three days just to figure out how to get audio working (I was trying to use non-TonyMacX86 methods). I should also mention that part of this project was me forcing myself to learn more about how computers work, and I definitely learned a lot.
Despite the initial setup headaches and a couple of minor problems that I don't care about, I love how this machine works. It's the fastest machine I have ever used, and I source and configure a variety of computers as part of my job (maybe 30 or 40 Mac and PCs).
I've got an internal blu-ray drive and now I'm ripping my DVD and Blu-Ray collection to internal hard drive storage which I can stream via iTunes to Apple TV. There is not an ideal Mac today that can do this. MacBooks, iMacs, Mac minis all require external hard drives and blu-ray drives. And don't get me started on the Mac Pro. Although I love the Mac Pro, it immediately costs $1,000+ more than what I paid and I'd be getting outdated hardware to boot. Not to mention upgrading the optical drive to Blu-Ray.
If and when you outgrow the Mac mini, there is little choice. The Hackintosh, for me, was the perfect alternative. I'll still recommend a real Mac for various reasons, but it really depends on the user and what they want.
Having built my own Hackintosh about a month ago, I can vouch for the headaches that accompany building your own Mac. It took me two or three days just to figure out how to get audio working (I was trying to use non-TonyMacX86 methods). I should also mention that part of this project was me forcing myself to learn more about how computers work, and I definitely learned a lot.
Despite the initial setup headaches and a couple of minor problems that I don't care about, I love how this machine works. It's the fastest machine I have ever used, and I source and configure a variety of computers as part of my job (maybe 30 or 40 Mac and PCs).
I've got an internal blu-ray drive and now I'm ripping my DVD and Blu-Ray collection to internal hard drive storage which I can stream via iTunes to Apple TV. There is not an ideal Mac today that can do this. MacBooks, iMacs, Mac minis all require external hard drives and blu-ray drives. And don't get me started on the Mac Pro. Although I love the Mac Pro, it immediately costs $1,000+ more than what I paid and I'd be getting outdated hardware to boot. Not to mention upgrading the optical drive to Blu-Ray.
If and when you outgrow the Mac mini, there is little choice. The Hackintosh, for me, was the perfect alternative. I'll still recommend a real Mac for various reasons, but it really depends on the user and what they want.
Built two in 2009... great machines.. silent fast....
95% worked at first turn on...
No end of niggles after that. Every time apple came out with a new gadget (Pad, phone etc)... fiddle... research.. fiddle... Mirrored monitors never worked right... all the cool air display and ipad specialty apps I wanted for pro audio... sometimes... Then wanted my Ethernet controller to work... Nope... I gave up... got a MacPro and had zero issues... (and I am a seasoned electrical engineer!)...
Horses for courses... build it if you like But at the mini price point... you got to be crazy! To replace a Mac Pro.. maybe... but price out what a 12 core would cost to build and then decide!
95% worked at first turn on...
No end of niggles after that. Every time apple came out with a new gadget (Pad, phone etc)... fiddle... research.. fiddle... Mirrored monitors never worked right... all the cool air display and ipad specialty apps I wanted for pro audio... sometimes... Then wanted my Ethernet controller to work... Nope... I gave up... got a MacPro and had zero issues... (and I am a seasoned electrical engineer!)...
Horses for courses... build it if you like
But at the mini price point... you got to be crazy! To replace a Mac Pro.. maybe... but price out what a 12 core would cost to build and then decide!The kernel panics argument is bllsht. I uses a hackintosh 3 years every day as professional production machine, and never had a kernel panic. Just stay away from fancy videocards that need flashing and stuff.
oh, now i read your first post and see TV: using a mini as media center is blasphemy. Dont! get a 50$ mediaplayer for that.
oh, now i read your first post and see TV: using a mini as media center is blasphemy. Dont! get a 50$ mediaplayer for that.
Apple's desktops are inherently limited in terms of upgradability options that, for desktops, are stupid to be without. For that reason, Hackintoshes make more sense. Not only that, but in terms of the sheer power you get per dollar is substantially better on a Hackintosh than it is on any Apple branded Mac desktop, and yes, I include the new Mac minis and iMacs in there too.
However, they do require that you do your homework, research what hardware will work, how to install your system-specific drivers and/or patches as well as the operating system itself. This is, by no means, hard, but it is certainly much more work than sticking in a thumb drive, booting from it, and running the installer or booting from Internet Recovery and doing the same (albeit over an internet connection instead of a locally attached disk). But it is nowhere near as difficult as most people on this site, let alone this thread, would lead you to believe.
Still though, if you can't commit to doing that, or if you don't want to be bothered doing any of that, yes, buy either an iMac or a Mac mini.
Get real, no one has ever been arrested for building and running a hackintosh.
Really, I used an iMac throughout college, and were it not for the lack of expandability, I'd probably still be using one today. That said, given the lack of expansion, I'd much more readily recommend a non-retina MacBook Pro as you can at least upgrade the hard drive on those when the time inevitably comes.
HAHA! you rather have full warranty coverage by Apple? so if the thing breaks down for some reason you want to actually wait 2 ****ing weeks (or longer) on your Mac Mini when it gets repaired?
I agree a Mac Mini is a better choice in most cases because it's competitively priced and it saves time building your own but don't expect much from Apple's ''warranty'' because it's not that great. Apple is a commercial institution so it wants your money and it will do anything to keep it's money in it's own pocket. it's not some holy place with perfect amazing service.
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so true.
well, reading your budget is 3000, I would definitely say: get a Mac Pro!
this will be the best investment in the long run.
if you buy a Macbook Pro or iMac you WILL want to sell it everytime a new one comes out. Apple just has a way of making your previous generation Mac feel really OLD everytime a new one comes out. if you do that every year (or every 2 years) you will loose a lot more money.
if you invest in a Mac Pro now, that's just going to be a solid investment that's going to last you for at least 5 years. especially if you get a medium to maxed out version. with 6 or 12 cores. in 3 years time a 12 core Mac Pro will still be quite fast or at least as fast as the current generation iMacs. + you can keep expending it or buy a new beautiful screen.
simple example:
maybe there will be 4K iMacs and screens next year. if you get an iMac now, you will regret it, but if you already have a Mac Pro, you can simply go out and buy a 4K screen
which will be half the investment.maybe get a new video card for it aswell & voila your up to date again.