First time hackintosh for Architecture, little confused.

[willisjame]

Hey guys im looking at building my first hackintosh desktop computer mainly for heavy Photoshop and image rendering with programs such as Indigo render and podium etc.
I’m wondering if you could recommend me some hardware for this build, I kind of want it to work well as possible with very little glitches and be stable as it will have an occasional 24-48 render running on it.

Uses
Photoshop, Illustrator etc.
3d renderers such as Podium, indigo and v-ray
No Gaming.
Other Architecture applications such as AUTOCAD

Components Considering

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB INTEL Z77 IVY BRIDGE SLI+CROSSFIRE PCI-E3.0

CPU: INTEL CORE I5 3570K IVY BRIDGE 3.40GHZ 6MB 77W LGA1155

RAM: I will be getting just a cheap 4gb stick and then in a month or so upgrading to around 16gb

Graphics Card: Not sure what’s best here, I’m on a bit of a budget.

PSU: Not to sure what ill need but probably a Coolermaster 550w of some description.

Already have
Several HDDs (May upgrade to a SSD at a later time)
ASUS DVD reader/writer
Cooler master silencio 550 Case

Does all of this sound all right, I would be very happy to get a cheaper motherboard it possible. I’m not sure how well ivy bridge processor will work so would I be better going with a sandy bridge? Although motherboards for them are already difficult to find.

What do you recommend because I am a complete noob at this and there are so many different discussions/recommendations that I have got quite confused at what to go for.
Cheers

 

[ed-min]

Well imho Photoshop and AUTOCAD have the same workflow on Windows and on OS X so just to build a Hackintosh for that is overkill since a Windows mashine will do the same.

But anyway if you do want to do it here is what I would change:

PSU: Your 550 Watt is overkill. A good 400 Watt PSU will power the bigest GPU and CPU. With good I do not mean Cooler Master etc.. a good manu. is Enermax, be Quiet! or Seasonic.

GPU: If you can find a used GTX 285 (EVGA) that would be enough for your needs. should be a good price if you look at ebay etc.

RAM: take a look at the gigabyte website and check for rams there. They should have a list that tells you if they work or not.

SSD: Crucial m4 oder Samsung 830. Size: 128+ GB.

Mobo: Do you want to overclock? If no take a look at the H-Series of motherboards.

Edit:

take a look at this:

http://tonymacx86.blogspot.de/search/label/CustoMac

 

[willisjame]

Well i have had a Macbook Pro for over a year and i have all of the applications that i need on mac (i have all the photoshop licences etc.) which is why i have decided to build a hackintosh over a Windows OS, i have also grown to love OSX.

I am not purchasing a SSD yet but if all goes well with the build then i shall at a later date (ie in a few month or two).

I do not plan to overclock but i have heard/read that the GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB is quite a solid motherboard for hackintosh with few glitches under both sandy bridge and ivy bridge, is this correct? I obviously want the system to be as stable as possable so dont really want to jump into things too quickly.

Cheers

 

[Gordo74]

There are cheaper motherboards that would fit your needs well. The "-WB" does not work because of the wifi/bluetooth not being compatible. The normal UD5H works though... but i don't think you need it.

Here is the build I would go..

Mobo: GA-H77-DS3H (Fully compatible, DSDT Free system - which means less hassle setting up and updating)
CPU: i7 3770k (which you will utilize with all those processor-heavy Apps)
GPU: Nividia 550Ti (Because you are using Adobe programs which use CUDA and 3D modelling programs which use OpenCL, you want a dedicated graphics card to speed up that processing as well and the 550Ti is a great bang for the buck when it comes to this)
RAM: I would personally get matched pairs of whatever you're going to get, as running RAM in dual channel mode is MUCH faster than single channel, which you'll only get with one stick. That being said, ALL of your apps are EXTREMELY memory dependent. I would START with 2x 8GB sticks (Any DDR3 1.5v RAM will work) to give you 16GB total and you can add more later if necessary
SSD: 128GB Boot drive - Samsung 830, Crucial M4 are generally the most reliable and fastest. 128GB will give you the room to add all of your frequently used Apps on your SSD and everything will open super fast.
PSU: A good ~500w power supply will work. Stick with the good manufacturers such as Corsair/Antec/Seasonic.

Everything else is personal preference. Any HDD will work as a storage drive, case is personal preference.

 

[Mcfool123]

With work flow like that you'll want a hyper thread quad core so either the 3770(k) or go to the sandy bridge 2700k. Keep the z board because over clocking the system will help a ton and isnt hard to do. As for power supply 500 and up will be good but you didn't show a gpu so can't say for sure. If you go with something like a 6870 full draw on CPU and gpu woulyld be about 300 watts for sandy and a but less for ivy. Your work flow definetly calls for the hyper threading so I wouldn't skip on that I almost did and am glad I didn't for video editing. As for everything else it looks good but the ram will definetly hold you back and if you could I would say to get 16 right from the go. Also remember if you are going to get a ssd later for a boot drive you'll have to reinstall osx and it may not work 100% requiring a fresh install and fresh install of all the programs. Just something to remember so you don't get super upset if you have to do it

 

[willisjame]

Cheers for the tips guys. How much faster is the i7 3770k over the i7 3770 because there is a decent price jump between the two and just making sure it’s worth it?
In terms of the motherboard I cant find the GA-H77-DS3H in any online stores in New Zealand; it may be that stores where I live do not stock it? They do however have the GA-H77-D3H is that the same thing?
This is the site that has the motherboards available in my country, http://www.ascent.co.nz/category.aspx?majorcatID=37, so anything there i would be able to get hold of (Prices are in NZ$).

For RAM I will want to get at least 16gb in the future but as I don’t need to use these programs for about a month (just started 4 week holiday) I was thinking of doing that later?
Or would it be best to buy everything at the same time including 16gb RAM, graphics card and SSD and set it up at one time?

Cheers

 

[Say Heading]

Or would it be best to buy everything at the same time including 16gb RAM, graphics card and SSD and set it up at one time?

Depends on how experienced you are in mounting computers.
It can be quite tricky to access the RAM slots once you installed the CPU cooler - depending on your personal solution.

 

[Coupz]

Just take the build what Gordo listed above and a good CPU cooler like Hyper 212+ or H80/H100 or a Noctua (which means you need Low-Profile-RAM-sticks) and you are good to go

Reason for the 3770K is, that you can easily overclock it. The 3770, you can't overclock it (without big knowledge) and it is not worth to overclock this CPU.

 

[willisjame]

Just take the build what Gordo listed above and a good CPU cooler like Hyper 212+ or H80/H100 or a Noctua (which means you need Low-Profile-RAM-sticks) and you are good to go

Reason for the 3770K is, that you can easily overclock it. The 3770, you can't overclock it (without big knowledge) and it is not worth to overclock this CPU.

Cheers, is that the only difference? I’m not planning to overclock, although it is good to keep in mind if I do choose the 3770K.

I think I’ve got my build pretty much sorted apart from motherboard.
I cant seem to find the GA-H77-DS3H listed on any online sites in my country and everywhere that stocks the UD5H only has the wireless/Bluetooth version, but I have sent a bunch of emails to see it they have them just not listed.

Are these my only two options at this stage for the new ivy bridge processors?
This is the largest online supplier for NZ so anything on this site I should be able to get, http://www.ascent.co.nz/category.aspx?majorcatID=37

The Z77 Boards they have are: Z77-D3H, Z77M-D3H, Z77MX-D3H, Z77X-D3H, Z77X-UD3H and Z77X-UD5H-WB.
If I am unable to find a DS3H or a UD5H would any of these be equally compatible?

Cheers for all the help so far Guys/Girls, I really appreciate it.

 

[Gordo74]

The Z77 Boards they have are: Z77-D3H, Z77M-D3H, Z77MX-D3H, Z77X-D3H, Z77X-UD3H and Z77X-UD5H-WB.
If I am unable to find a DS3H or a UD5H would any of these be equally compatible?

The only one out of that list which is compatible is the UD5H-WB, and simply don't use the Wifi/Bluetooth card... but you're wasting $40 by doing it that way... but none of the other ones listed have Realtek audio (a MUST for good audio on a hackintosh).