My primary use for this is general computing and some dev work since it's been easier to do dev work on a Mac than Windows. I'm an occasional gamer so having Windows dual boot is just great. My current macbook pro is still able to do all of this but I'm looking for something more powerful. I would need to turn off a bunch of settings to play games as the macbook pro graphic card isn't as great.
I want to get into photo and video editing but haven't had time, so eventually the build will be used for that too.
The truth is picking parts for the build is hard and I probably don't know what I want lol. I chose the 13900k because it's the more powerful one. I most likely won't be overtaxing the 13900K. I have considered 13700k. It's a difference of $160 or $260 (for the 13600K). Still debating...
What is a matching cooler for the 13900k?
would this work?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09Y1LVCYH/?tag=tonymacx86com-20 (DeepCool Liquid Cooler LS720)
What is a good alternative to the RGB ram that I listed? I notice G.Skill RAMs are expensive and most are out of stock. A typical pair of 32GB, can be between $160-250.
Would this work? TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert Overclocking 10L DDR5 64GB Kit (2 x 32GB) -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPHSL93T/?tag=tonymacx86com-20 ($170)
Do you recommend an EVGA upgrade to 1000W if I go with 13900k?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0997XYF3R/?tag=tonymacx86com-20 (+$40 from the 850W model)
Agreed. The lower tier Mac Studio costs $1950 at Costco and feels too basic while the higher tier costs $3800 at Costco but these 2 are still using M1. I would expect an upgrade to M2 or better when they announce it next month?
What Mac/hack, if any, do you use now?
How much RAM do you need? With DDR5 we have 32 GB and 64 GB kits, but we also have non-binary kits as well… 48 GB/96 GB. I have a 48 GB kit. DDR5 RAM prices have come way way down. A 64 GB kit is now approx $270. In the early days of DDR5, that same kit (which didn’t yet exist at 6400 MT/sec speeds) would’ve cost at least $800 or more.
Regarding GPU, what resolutions do you plan to game at? You probably could get by with a 6800XT at 1440p or less. But given the prices of RDNA2, a 6900/6950XT are good deals too.
If possible, I suggest to at least consider waiting until after the wwdc keynote on June 5 to pull the trigger. Wait to see what, if any new hardware apple releases and what, if any changes apple makes to macOS that may or may not be compatible with our intel hardware.
I assume our hacks will continue to be compatible with macOS 14, but one relevant historical point is what happened when the first Big Sur beta first came out. Apple made significant changes to the file system under the hood (including cryptographically sealed snapshots) to the point where opencore needed significant modifications to be able to boot macOS. That Took several weeks. Also VirtualSMC broke for a period of time, and we had to revert to using FakeSMC.
What if apple does this again? or worse, ties the boot loader or DSMOS.kext on intel to load only if the T2 chip is available? Hacks don’t have a t2. Of course in that case you could continue to just use Monterey or Ventura.
Do you really want to troubleshoot a hack if/when things go awry? If you don’t mind the challenge then proceed. But you could always build a windows box and get an apple silicon Mac, and use a kvm switch to switch your usb peripherals/monitors between both devices. M1 Max macs are experiencing significant sales these days. Best Buy just had a sale for $800 off an M1 Max 16” laptop 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD.
Also, on the horizon on PC is meteor lake later this year (we don’t yet know for certain if it is coming to desktop or will be laptop only), and arrow lake probably next year, along with zen 5. Meteor lake is adding a neural engine accelerator (VPU in intel’s parlance). Perhaps this is something that may or may not interest you.
I agree with the commenter before who asked key questions like what is the purpose of this hack, what are the noise/case size considerations, what apps you plan to use (some apps from the App Store are ARM only and don’t work on x86), would an apple silicon Mac suffice, what resolution is/are your monitor(s). Once we know the clear intent and purpose along with some details, then we can give good advice.
Doesn’t make sense to overspend if you don’t need to.
Good luck!
