Buying advice for editing station...

[sillbilly]

Hi!

I´m looking to build my first Hackintosh.
I´ll mostly be using it for running Final Cut Pro and similar apps.
I´m a complete noob so I´d love some advice on what to get.
I´m looking to spend around 1000 - 1300.

Thanks!

 

[Stork]

Lots of room here for advice. See my signature block for recommend builds which use the 1st generation i3/i5/i7 motherboards/cpus. tonymacx86 will update those builds with the new Sandy Bridge components when Snow Leopard 10.6.8 is released which is real soon now.

I'd start by reading the User Builds forum section viewforum.php?f=54 and Installation Guides forum section viewforum.php?f=81 Then, look through the Sandy Bridge forum section viewforum.php?f=79 for guides and successful user builds. Here's several guide links of the tonymacx86 Moderators build guides:
tonymacx86's and MacMan signature blocks have their builds and guides: viewtopic.php?f=85&t=13949&p=138127#p138127 and viewtopic.php?f=85&t=21304&p=141612#p141612
Notshy's guide viewtopic.php?f=81&t=11465
Gordo's SB guide viewtopic.php?f=79&t=16323

The tonymacx86 Wiki can also be of help with looking for compatible components. The Wiki is located in the Resources drop down menu, top, right on this page.

The above should get you going. When you put your ideal system together, be sure to post it so we can head off any compatibility issues.

 

[kilaz]

Thanks Stork,
very usefull links.

I am ready to buy a new Sandy rig, so I still waiting for Tony's custom builds.
go go go

I am thinking on this mobos:

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 B3

I would like a good OverClocking and SLI/CF ready with 2xPcie@8x

What about Asus builds? Should they work like Gigabyte ones?

 

[sillbilly]

Thanks Stork! Very usefull!

Here´s what I was thinking of getting. Like I said before I´m a complete noob and some of this stuff is latin to me.... But here goes and feel free to give any advice:

Intel Core i7-870 Processor 2.93 GHz 8 MB Cache Socket LGA1156

Gigabyte Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2133 LGA 1156 Motherboards GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3

XFX ATI Radeon HD6870 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/2x Mini DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card HD687AZNFC

Corsair XMS3 4 GB Dual Channel DDR3 Core i3, i5, i7 Memory Kit CMX4GX3M2A1600C7 X 2

Samsung 1 TB Spinpoint 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5 inch Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive HD103SJ

Corsair CMPSU-650HX 650w HX Series 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply

Sony Nec Optiarc AD-7241S-0B 24X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW SATA Drive with LightScribe, Bulk (Black)

Any suggestions? Can I shave off the price or change something out for better performance? Also I was thinking about getting a SSD drive for the OS....

I´m going to the states on monday and am looking to buy it there (order through Amazon to my friends house). So I´ll get the case and monitor back home. (Iceland).

Thanks in advance!

 

[SMHI]

Sandy Bridge, socket 1155, is better performance for the money, I think.

Z68 is socket 1155.

Memory: Get 2x4GB instead of 4x2GB. Free memory slots for the future.

 

[sillbilly]

Thanks SMHI! So here´s what I got on my shopping list:

Intel Core i7-2600 Processor 3.4GHz 8 MB Cache Socket LGA1155

Gigabyte Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2133 LGA 1156 Motherboards GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3

XFX ATI Radeon HD6870 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/2x Mini DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card HD687AZNFC

Corsair XMS3 8 GB 1333 MHz PC3-10666 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit CMX8GX3M2A1333C9

Samsung 1 TB Spinpoint 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.5 inch Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive HD103SJ

Corsair CMPSU-650HX 650w HX Series 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply

Sony Nec Optiarc AD-7241S-0B 24X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW SATA Drive with LightScribe, Bulk (Black)

Any suggestions? Will there be any conflicts or problems? I´m still thinking about adding a SSD aswell...

Thanks so much.

 

[sillbilly]

I´m also thinking about firewire card. will anyone do or should I look for a specific one?