Advice Needed - First Hackintosh Build: Mainly 4k Photo Editing

[Daanvk]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here in the hackintosh community and I would love to get some advice/thoughts on my first hackintosh build.

I am building a hackintosh for my dad because he is getting tired of selling and buying a new iMac every time it gets outdated. But he doesn't like to take on the challenge of building a hackintosh by himself. Therefore I have jumped into the wonderful world of custoMac's for him.

The main use for the hackintosh will be photo editing and desktop work on a 4k monitor. Maybe some video work on the side.
It has to be fast at rendering photo's and regular desktop work.
It also has to be "future proof" (not too overboard, just so it's ready for heavier applications in the future).
And it will be running macOS Sierra (later macOS High Sierra).

Here is the parts list so far:

CPU: Intel - Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-H170-D3HP ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB G1 Gaming Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define C Window
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link - TL-WN725N USB 2.0 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter
Bluethooth Adapter: Trust Bluetooth 4.0 USB adapter
Monitor: LG - 27UD68-P 27.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor
Operating System: macOS Sierra

Let me know what you think, and if this system will work as a hackintosh.
Feedback will be much appreciated

 

[aztlan78]

Hello,
build looks good. I would suggest making a Wifi/BT card yourself. You can buy a BCM94360CD and then buying PCIe adapter for it. You can find them on Ebay. Nothings wrong with what you have chosen though.

If you want future proof you can go with the Kaby Lake CPU and Motherboard. They natively supported in Sierra 10.12.6.

 

[Ghotix]

It's a nice thing your doing for your dad.

I second what aztlan says, especially the part about using a Z270 board with Kaby Lake. When you consider how late Apple always is at upgrading hardware, and the fact that they are already on Kaby Lake, you'd be doing the opposite of future proofing by going with a Skylake build.

Aside from that, I would reconsider the GTX 1060. Not because it isn't good, because it's fantastic. I built my current photo editing machine with the 1060 and it was great, until I started to get my sleep issues figured out. See this thread. I returned it and got a used GTX 770, works perfectly so far. However, I don't do video work, only photos. I think the 1060 issues could be fixed soon, but I gave up after a month of waiting for an update. As long as your dad doesn't mind running the fix, it will work alright. See post #61 in that thread, that's how I did it and it worked very well. I just wasn't willing to do it forever if the glitch was never fixed. I got the 770 for $100, so I saved money and my machine runs better. No complaints here!

 

[Daanvk]

I would suggest making a Wifi/BT card yourself. You can buy a BCM94360CD and then buying PCIe adapter for it. You can find them on Ebay.

The Wi-Fi adapter is not for main use of the hackintosh, it is connected via an ethernet cable which will connect it to our network. Wi-Fi is only for things such as syncing iTunes to other devices and minor things like that. And as a backup for the ethernet cable.
Bluetooth will only be used for the Apple keyboard.
Will a USB adapter also work reasonably well for my use? Or is a build-in Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card a better choice? Because a USB adapter is cheaper and I can buy it in my local store instead of having it being shipped from China.

especially the part about using a Z270 board with Kaby Lake

I have changed the build to include:
- Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2GHz Quad-Core Processor
- MSI Z270-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

As long as your dad doesn't mind running the fix, it will work alright.

My dad doesn't mind running the fix for the time being. And as far as I can tell, when High Sierra comes out or sooner it will probably be fixed. And as I mentioned before, he would like to purchase all the parts from local stores because he can easily go there to return parts, get support, ect. So I think I will be sticking with the GTX 1060.

 

[aztlan78]

Will a USB adapter also work reasonably well for my use? Or is a build-in Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card a better choice? Because a USB adapter is cheaper and I can buy it in my local store instead of having it being shipped from China.

It should be no problem with it. It should work. Reason why I suggested it is because it is 100% compatible since it is an Apple card.