Advice on realiable build

[molestrangler]

Hi,

I've been considering replacing my real MacPro (2.6GHz circa 2006) with something a little faster.  After all these years of faithful service my MacPro is getting to be a little slow for what I need, so looking into building my own is a viable proposition.

But I do have a few prerequisites;

1) Must have two PCIe slots, the Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 looked like a good motherboard. But have no idea if it would make for a reliable OSx86 motherboard.

I’ve seen references to other Z68 mini-ATX motherboard but this one seems to allow a x16 video card and a x8 card to operate at full speed, others seen to throttle the second are to x4 and my RAID card is capable of x8.

I have two large RAID 5 sets running off a RocketRAID 2722 RAID card (We do a lot of Aperture & FCE and Java), I assume if there are working OS X drivers it will just work?

2) Must be near silent, no need for a speed-monster so a i7-2700K will outperform my MacPro without overclocking. I have a spare Corsair Hydro H80 lying around that should do the trick with some Noctua PWM fans.

3) My MacPro has a ATI Radeon HD 3870 with 512mb RAM, I don’t need a monster video card (no double slot cards) so was looking at a Zotac GTS 450 as it has no need for a fan. I would welcome any AMD fanless video card options, the Sapphire HD 6670 "Ultimate Edition" also looked like a good option. But not sure if

BTW: This is not used for gaming, it’s a workhorse!

I don’t want to have to tinker with the machine to keep it operational from one day to the next, my MacPro has been reliable for the last 6 years, always switched on, power cycling only for updates and cleaning. No issues with OS X updates or apps, this is a must for a OSx86 replacement.

But from reading many posts about OSx86 machines most seem to resort too fiddling with their machines to keep running. From minor application issues to not being able to boot, like ‘Won’t boot after upgrade’.

I want a build that once up and running will perform and be reliable, ignoring the hardware, but from an OS X point of view.

Is there a build that is reliable?

Any suggestions? Or do I have to stump up the cash for the new MacPro when it arrives, ah! maybe in the summer, whenever.

TIA

 

[Mate94]

Hi,

I've been considering replacing my real MacPro (2.6GHz circa 2006) with something a little faster.  After all these years of faithful service my MacPro is getting to be a little slow for what I need, so looking into building my own is a viable proposition.

But I do have a few prerequisites;

1) Must have two PCIe slots, the Gigabyte GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 looked like a good motherboard. But have no idea if it would make for a reliable OSx86 motherboard.

I’ve seen references to other Z68 mini-ATX motherboard but this one seems to allow a x16 video card and a x8 card to operate at full speed, others seen to throttle the second are to x4 and my RAID card is capable of x8.

I have two large RAID 5 sets running off a RocketRAID 2722 RAID card (We do a lot of Aperture & FCE and Java), I assume if there are working OS X drivers it will just work?

2) Must be near silent, no need for a speed-monster so a i7-2700K will outperform my MacPro without overclocking. I have a spare Corsair Hydro H80 lying around that should do the trick with some Noctua PWM fans.

3) My MacPro has a ATI Radeon HD 3870 with 512mb RAM, I don’t need a monster video card (no double slot cards) so was looking at a Zotac GTS 450 as it has no need for a fan. I would welcome any AMD fanless video card options, the Sapphire HD 6670 "Ultimate Edition" also looked like a good option. But not sure if

BTW: This is not used for gaming, it’s a workhorse!

I don’t want to have to tinker with the machine to keep it operational from one day to the next, my MacPro has been reliable for the last 6 years, always switched on, power cycling only for updates and cleaning. No issues with OS X updates or apps, this is a must for a OSx86 replacement.

But from reading many posts about OSx86 machines most seem to resort too fiddling with their machines to keep running. From minor application issues to not being able to boot, like ‘Won’t boot after upgrade’.

I want a build that once up and running will perform and be reliable, ignoring the hardware, but from an OS X point of view.

Is there a build that is reliable?

Any suggestions? Or do I have to stump up the cash for the new MacPro when it arrives, ah! maybe in the summer, whenever.

TIA

1. Gigabyte-GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3, as other option.
2. I don't know a lot about RAID, they're tricky to get working. http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=274828
3. HD3000 is more than enough.
4.

No issues with OS X updates or apps, this is a must for a OSx86 replacement.

This is impossible. Hackintoshes are reliable but not as Macs. When an version update come out exp. you have always run MB installing the Audio again.

 

[Vendetta]

There are definitely reliable builds. My build has been extremely reliable, even with updates.

Of course, there are unreliable builds as well. However, I would say the trick to doing it right is to do your homework. Find and choose hardware that is both popular and easy to configure. If you pick obscure hardware so that you can save $10, then don't be surprised if you have problems. I'm not implying this is you, it's just an example.

Pick hardware that is in the recommended builds. Going through the user builds section for a bit, it should become clear which boards and GPUs are doing well, and which are not. The biggest hangups are likely going to be with the motherboard and the GPU, so choose wisely. On this same note, look at the users that are posting their success with said hardware as well. Are the active? Do they seem friendly? In most instances, you can tell pretty clearly who would be willing to give you a good amount of help should you need it, and chances are that if they have the same hardware as you, they'll probably be able to help you out. Most people are friendly around here, but some are more so and have more knowledge. It's useful to tap into that knowledge.

The other trick is to not go updating stuff willy-nilly. If an update is released, await the official word to see if there is anything you need to be wary of. Let other users update first and report their success (or failure). Realistically, how often do critical updates get released that you need that very same day? For the most part, you'll usually need to run Multibeast one time when you update in order to roll back audio. This is pretty painless and isn't much hassle at all. Now, major updates can sometimes be a different story, but those don't always go entirely smoothly on 'real' Macs either.

If you do it right, and you put the time in, you'll be quite satisfied with your decision. It may take a few minutes of research and some time putting the system together, but it'll save you a good bit of cash, and the upside is that you'll be able to replace any part that may happen to go bad. Lots of advantages, but building a Hackintosh isn't ALWAYS a first try sorta thing (although sometimes it is).

 

[molestrangler]

Thanks for the time spent posting.

Looks like I will have to do lots of research before deciding. Create a plan of action and changes for the hardware chosen.

It looks like there is some risk on creating a machine, but I kinda expected that. So the more research the better.

 

[Blackstar]

Well, I can tell you after being in a similar boat for quite a while, I took the plunge and joined the Hackintosh club. And I can tell you from my first build (specs in my signature) I started in July of 2010 has been running near flawlessly. I have lost no functionality compared to any Macintosh I have used over the years (which are extensive since 1984) and have gained so much knowledge, experience and flexibility in my computing experience.

The real trick is having an idea where to go or what to do when and if something goes wrong. If something starts to go bad, or stop working as it should or begins behaving incorrectly, you're entirely on your own for support and troubleshooting.

Now, if you're the type of person that is comfortable doing things yourself and can research or troubleshoot potential software and hardware issues, then I'd say you'll be fine with a little research and experience under your belt.

If you're the sort of person who is quick on the phone to Apple support or just drops off your computer with Geniuses at the Apple store when you have a hiccup, then you might want to reconsider.

In essence, nothing will be 100% perfect. But if you choose your hardware wisely and you're willing to learn a few new tricks, you can get very, very close.

Good luck!

 

[jester969]

Well, I can tell you after being in a similar boat for quite a while, I took the plunge and joined the Hackintosh club. And I can tell you from my first build (specs in my signature) I started in July of 2010 has been running near flawlessly. I have lost no functionality compared to any Macintosh I have used over the years (which are extensive since 1984) and have gained so much knowledge, experience and flexibility in my computing experience.

The real trick is having an idea where to go or what to do when and if something goes wrong. If something starts to go bad, or stop working as it should or begins behaving incorrectly, you're entirely on your own for support and troubleshooting.

Now, if you're the type of person that is comfortable doing things yourself and can research or troubleshoot potential software and hardware issues, then I'd say you'll be fine with a little research and experience under your belt.

If you're the sort of person who is quick on the phone to Apple support or just drops off your computer with Geniuses at the Apple store when you have a hiccup, then you might want to reconsider.

In essence, nothing will be 100% perfect. But if you choose your hardware wisely and you're willing to learn a few new tricks, you can get very, very close.

Good luck!

+1 If OP cannot fix issues himself he is better off buying a mac from Apple. If you cannot put in time to research a issue and be able to fix it you will be in some serious downtime. Just the other day I was mucking around the boot theme and messed up the video card input, looked in /Extra could not find boot plist file. Did not panic, re-run MB for 64bit boot screen, reboot, boot plist is back but still shoddy resolution, re-applied my old boot plist strings and walah I have back normal video. Decisions, decisions!

 

[Blackstar]

+1 If OP cannot fix issues himself he is better off buying a mac from Apple. If you cannot put in time to research a issue and be able to fix it you will be in some serious downtime. Just the other day I was mucking around the boot theme and messed up the video card input, looked in /Extra could not find boot plist file. Did not panic, re-run MB for 64bit boot screen, reboot, boot plist is back but still shoddy resolution, re-applied my old boot plist strings and walah I have back normal video. Decisions, decisions!

Hehe. In these types of situations, I've found a fully bootable back up to be a lifesaver. Carbon Copy Cloner is your friend.

 

[jester969]

+1 If OP cannot fix issues himself he is better off buying a mac from Apple. If you cannot put in time to research a issue and be able to fix it you will be in some serious downtime. Just the other day I was mucking around the boot theme and messed up the video card input, looked in /Extra could not find boot plist file. Did not panic, re-run MB for 64bit boot screen, reboot, boot plist is back but still shoddy resolution, re-applied my old boot plist strings and walah I have back normal video. Decisions, decisions!

Hehe. In these types of situations, I've found a fully bootable back up to be a lifesaver. Carbon Copy Cloner is your friend.

These HDD prices are no joke. I am here playing russian roulette with my data.