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CustoMac Budget ATX or Mac Mini?

Mac Mini ($799) or CustoMac Budget ATX

  • Mac Mini

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • CustoMac Budget ATX

    Votes: 11 100.0%
  • Need more info / not sure / other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    11
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Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
24
Motherboard
H87-D3H
CPU
i5-4670k
Graphics
XFX 7770 DD Edition ---> Intel HD 4600 --> Asus 970
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
Is it worth it to make the CustoMac Budget ATX (or similar build) instead of simply buying a $800 Mac Mini?

I'd like an i5-3570K, 8GB of RAM, and 120GB of SSD combined with 500GB of HDD.

To me, it seems like the savings is no more than $100.

Thoughts?


edit: I also own a 5670, would that be better to use than integrated graphics 4000?

Edit2: I want to also note that I care more about budget than size. I don't really need a small sized computer.
 
Is it worth it to make the CustoMac Budget ATX (or similar build) instead of simply buying a $800 Mac Mini?

I'd like an i5-3570K, 8GB of RAM, and 120GB of SSD combined with 500GB of HDD.

To me, it seems like the savings is no more than $100.

Thoughts?
Since you posted on a hackintosh forum, I would expect almost everyone to say CustoMac. Their are several reasons why people would choose a hackintosh...
1. An SSD is several times faster then the mac minis slow 5400rpm hard drive
2. A hackintosh is user upgradable.
3. An i5-3570k is a desktop processor while the mac minis is a laptop processor, so it would be slower.
4. You can put more Ram in a hackintosh compared to the mini
5. Easier to dual boot windows.
6. Can put in discrete graphics card that would be much faster then the mac minis HD4000.
7.A hackintosh if funner to mess with, and you can pick your own parts.

Thats about all I can think off
 
Custo mac vs a Mac mini ?

Custo macs are far superior to mac mini's end of story lol
As for the 5670 I'm not too sure whether that's supported in OS X I would do your homework on that first , The HD4000 is no slouch BTW I'm currently using it granted I doesn't play games but it plays all my movies , Music , and whatever else even at the same time .
 
Custo mac vs a Mac mini ?

Custo macs are far superior to mac mini's end of story lol
As for the 5670 I'm not too sure whether that's supported in OS X I would do your homework on that first , The HD4000 is no slouch BTW I'm currently using it granted I doesn't play games but it plays all my movies , Music , and whatever else even at the same time .
I read that all 5xxx series GPUs are supported.

What's your build?
 
Since you posted on a hackintosh forum, I would expect almost everyone to say CustoMac. Their are several reasons why people would choose a hackintosh...
1. An SSD is several times faster then the mac minis slow 5400rpm hard drive
2. A hackintosh is user upgradable.
3. An i5-3570k is a desktop processor while the mac minis is a laptop processor, so it would be slower.
4. You can put more Ram in a hackintosh compared to the mini
5. Easier to dual boot windows.
6. Can put in discrete graphics card that would be much faster then the mac minis HD4000.
7.A hackintosh if funner to mess with, and you can pick your own parts.

Thats about all I can think off

Okay, thanks for the information.
I'm really just wondering if it was worth the time to get those features.
...and I have a few questions:

1. The Mac Mini has a Fusion Drive. How does it compare?
6. How does a 5670 compare to HD 4000?
7. But does everything work.. aka I don't want to just be fixing and solving the problems all day.
 
Okay, thanks for the information.
I'm really just wondering if it was worth the time to get those features.
...and I have a few questions:

1. The Mac Mini has a Fusion Drive. How does it compare?
6. How does a 5670 compare to HD 4000?
7. But does everything work.. aka I don't want to just be fixing and solving the problems all day.
1. It costs $250, For that price you can buy a really big SSD and get even better performance. But in terms of fusion drive performance it should be very similar to your SSD HDD combo, although the mac mini still has a slow HDD.

6. Take a look at this website: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4000
Looks like slightly more then twice as fast.

7. If you buy compatible parts of the buyers guide, it will basically "just work" out of the box. For the first day or two you may have to fix a couple problems, but after that it's basically care free. However, every now and then you may need to do check this website before installing apple system updates.
 
1. It costs $250, For that price you can buy a really big SSD and get even better performance. But in terms of fusion drive performance it should be very similar to your SSD HDD combo, although the mac mini still has a slow HDD.

6. Take a look at this website: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4000
Looks like slightly more then twice as fast.

7. If you buy compatible parts of the buyers guide, it will basically "just work" out of the box. For the first day or two you may have to fix a couple problems, but after that it's basically care free. However, every now and then you may need to do check this website before installing apple system updates.

@7 If Mac updates are like Windows updates that sounds like a nightmare. How often do you get OSX updates? Windows has one like very week. And is it usually necessary to update?

Also, I haven't found posts that state how the suggested builds work. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong section, but it seems like everyone is just making their own.
 
I'd build my own machine too for all the reasons already given. (in fact, I already did.)

But to be fair to Apple, nothing you can build will ever be as cute / compact as a Mac Mini, and the Mac Mini will probably be worth something in 5 years time, whereas your own creation will be worth approx $0.
 
No, you don't get millions of updates every week. I haven't seen any disruptive system updates since building my machine in Autumn last year. There was an Aluminium Keyboard update last week which I installed. It had zero impact on my life, the stability of my machine, or the wellbeing of my Aluminium keyboard. So I have no idea what that was supposed to accomplish. But generally things like that are totally harmless.

There's usually a big fanfare around proper system updates, which come maybe twice a year (I'm guessing) And if things break, someone will know about it before you do, hopefully, so you can delay updating. Updates don't install themselves without asking as they do in Windows- you have to give the machine permission to bother with updates which you can ignore if you want.
 
Current Thoughts:

I'm pretty sure I'd like:
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
GPU: Previously purchased 5670 (don't think it will affect the PSU much, will it?)
RAM: 8GB 1600Mhz DDR3 (same one as suggested)
PSU: Corsair 600 Watt (as suggested)

Not so sure about:
Motherboard: GA-Z77-DS3H (is this any good?)
Case: can I use the Corsair Obsidian Series Black 550D or a similar quiet case?... or should i just use the Corsair Carbide 300R?
Storage: I think 64GB of SSD would be fine, but the suggested it at least 120GB. I would only need 500GB of 7200rpm for other storage.
CPU cooler: Do I seriously need that expesnive of a CPU cooler? (the suggested is a Corsair H60 Liquid Cooler)
WiFi Card - I'm fine with the suggested one, but would a card or a USB dongle be better? I also want bluetooth for Apple's Wireless Accessories.

What do you think?
 
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