CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

[WonkeyDonkey]

Article: CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

The Mac Mini does not have the latest processors and so is not really a great option right now. Having said that, I really do hope that Apple stick with the Mini and upgrade it.

PS Once set up properly (and running with Clover) I am actually loving tinkering with my Haswell NUC and have so far found it very reliable and a pleasure to use. Must admit I am now also intrigued by the new Pro Gigabyte brix….

I think part of the problem with the mini is the graphics. They did a lovely job on the mid 2011 model with its Radeon 6630M but since then have left it with the crappy built-in gfx of the cpu itself.

If they made a new model with discrete graphics I reckon they would sell a lot more.

Problem is I dont think they will do that because they would probably consider it to be eating into the revenue of the desktop models, even though that is unlikely.

If you consider the current model (HD4000) and Apples own thunderbolt monitor, it just doesnt cut the mustard.

 

[chuck666]

I would have thought the FoxConn nanoPC would have been on your list. They have plenty of ports.

 

[cacamaca]

Article: CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

I think part of the problem with the mini is the graphics. They did a lovely job on the mid 2011 model with its Radeon 6630M but since then have left it with the crappy built-in gfx of the cpu itself.

If they made a new model with discrete graphics I reckon they would sell a lot more.

Problem is I dont think they will do that because they would probably consider it to be eating into the revenue of the desktop models, even though that is unlikely.

If you consider the current model (HD4000) and Apples own thunderbolt monitor, it just doesnt cut the mustard.

Unless the micro PC has also discrete graphics, we should compare apples to Apple ;-) in that case, the Mac mini is the clear winner from cost and headache perspective, even if you go with a HD4000 vs a micro PC HD 5000.

 

[dman96]

Article: CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

Unless the micro PC has also discrete graphics, we should compare apples to Apple ;-) in that case, the Mac mini is the clear winner from cost and headache perspective, even if you go with a HD4000 vs a micro PC HD 5000.

This is not true. The Mac Mini is aging and only has Intel HD Graphics 4000 with a Dual Core i5 processor. If you buy the Intel NUC, you can get a Core i5 (only the U model though) with HD Graphics 5000. If you were to buy 8GB of RAM (Corsiar Vengeance) for the NUC, as well as a 256GB SSD right now with current sales on Amazon, it would cost you $652.98. A comparable Mac Mini is not available, but one with a rotating hard drive and 8GB of Apple RAM would cost you $700. If you were to get a 256GB Apple SSD, it would cost you $1100. All of this to eliminate the "Headache Factor". If you are on this forum, you should want to make a Hackintosh and have fun doing it. A comparable Apple Mac will always be more expensive than a Hackintosh.

 

[penskyc]

Article: CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

This is not true. The Mac Mini is aging and only has Intel HD Graphics 4000 with a Dual Core i5 processor. If you buy the Intel NUC, you can get a Core i5 (only the U model though) with HD Graphics 5000. If you were to buy 8GB of RAM (Corsiar Vengeance) for the NUC, as well as a 256GB SSD right now with current sales on Amazon, it would cost you $652.98. A comparable Mac Mini is not available, but one with a rotating hard drive and 8GB of Apple RAM would cost you $700. If you were to get a 256GB Apple SSD, it would cost you $1100. All of this to eliminate the "Headache Factor". If you are on this forum, you should want to make a Hackintosh and have fun doing it. A comparable Apple Mac will always be more expensive than a Hackintosh.

that U is a very big deal though, the difference between a desktop i5 and one meant for ultrabooks is a lot, so you cannot really compare the two, you should be comparing the gigabyte brix as they are using full desktop cpus

 

[damaja]

I wish we could find a solution to the itunes black screen with rented/bought movies. The only thing stopping me from buying something like this.

 

[Hackmodford]

Article: CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

I wish we could find a solution to the itunes black screen with rented/bought movies. The only thing stopping me from buying something like this.

I second that. It is the only problem I currently have with my Hackintosh. Also the problem is not strictly an iTunes problem but rather a HDCP issue. If you download Vudu to Go or any other service that needs HDCP you will have the same issue

 

[cacamaca]

Article: CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

This is not true. The Mac Mini is aging and only has Intel HD Graphics 4000 with a Dual Core i5 processor. If you buy the Intel NUC, you can get a Core i5 (only the U model though) with HD Graphics 5000. If you were to buy 8GB of RAM (Corsiar Vengeance) for the NUC, as well as a 256GB SSD right now with current sales on Amazon, it would cost you $652.98. A comparable Mac Mini is not available, but one with a rotating hard drive and 8GB of Apple RAM would cost you $700. If you were to get a 256GB Apple SSD, it would cost you $1100. All of this to eliminate the "Headache Factor". If you are on this forum, you should want to make a Hackintosh and have fun doing it. A comparable Apple Mac will always be more expensive than a Hackintosh.

I beg to differ. I have upgraded the Mini's memory to 16GB for $150 so the total price I paid on it is $650 CDN. I assume your cost is in US. Yes, the Mini would have a less powerful CPU but I don't think that the NUC comes with Bluetooth, infrared, thunderbolt, wi-fi. And you didn't understand my "Headache Factor" meaning. The real headache factor that doesn't apply to the mini are the updates. You don't have to worry that audio, video, etc may not work when an OS X update is released.

Me being on this forum makes perfect sense. You should've checked my signature, comments and articles I have released and see what CustoMacs I have built. I have been having a lot of fun building CustoMacs. My point here is that, while in most cases a hackintosh is definitely cheaper, more powerful and, most importantly, more upgradable than a real mac, I find it hard to justify the cost for a NUC compared to the Mini with the expectations that it would be used as an entry level mac. You would not want to use a NUC to build a powerhorse CustoMac.

 

[tonymacx86]

Article: CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

After a bit of testing and updating of BIOS, I found that there's a setting in the latest BRIX/BRIX PRO BIOS to allow GUID drives boot in Legacy mode, they operate DSDT-Free, and they've added an option in the Aptio Setup Utility to disable MSR lock. They now boot the native kernel.

Glad to notify of the following correction to the CustoMac Nano article Correction: Latest BRIX BIOS Updates fix legacy booting and kernel issues.

 

[vision33r]

Article: CustoMac Nano: Prebuilt Micro PC

I don't know how Intel and Gigabyte get away with selling just the CPU and a small mobo and case for over $500+ for an i5/i7 models when a laptop with the same processor is going for $500-600.