Hackintosh and your old Mac

[srk9026]

No prob, I appreciated the off-topic levity. ( Had to go look at Crab Rave again, I haven't seen it in ages... )

Back to topic: one of the reasons I'm making a Hackintosh is so I can cram enough RAM into it to run Parallels for a few WinDOS apps I need. My current 2012 Mini just can't cut it, the poor old thing. How ironic, that I'm getting a PC to turn it into a Mac so I can run a WinDOS emulator on it.

I'm also looking at KVM switches; my desk is too small for two monitors et'c.

• ... My Mac Mini G4 was in use until the end of 2021!
But I guess your Mac is not that old...

I had a Mini G4 for years, replaced it with the 2012 Mini. One thing I really didn't like about the Minis ( and other Apples ) is the inability to easily swap out RAM, add or replace internal drives, PCI cards et'c ad nauseam. I suppose that's a motivator for a lot of people to build Hackintoshes.

 

[Nodarkthings]

I suppose that's a motivator for a lot of people to build Hackintoshes.

Absolutely! In my case, it was when I had to pay a fortune to an Apple certified repair shop (there was no Apple Store 200 km around here at that time) for changing a faulty NVidia GC in a 2008 iMac that I could easily have changed myself if it was a pc... I was lucky to find a buyer at a good price for that iMac once fixed, then I swore I'd never buy a Mac again, if I could.

 

[phunguss]

I think it is always good to have a real mac, just in case. I have had a ton of Apple computers pass through my hands before I finally started to save/collect them.

Real Macs:

2011 iMac12,2
2011 Mac Mini
3x 2006 Mac Mini
2005 Mac Pro 3,1
G4 Flat Panel 17"
G4 Cube
G3 iMac Strawberry


Real Macs in wrong case:

MacBook 11,2 in 1/2 height floppy (optical slot load - see pic)
Macbook 4,1 in HP Thin Client
Macintosh Classic II in homebrew clear case


Hackintoshes:

4x G4 Cubes -in progress
Apple ][ Floppy (optical slot load - see pic)
Macintosh Classic II color
HP EliteBook 8470p
HP ProBook 640G2 -in progress
2006 MacPro Tower -in progress
Imac G5 -in progress
G4 Flat Panel 15" -in progress
2006 Mac Mini


Miniature Hackintoshes:

2011 MacPro Jr. Tower - Mini-ITX
2013 MacPro Mini (trashcan) NUC -see pic
G4 Flat Panel Mini NUC - see pic
G4 Cube Mini NUC -dev
iMac G3 Mini NUC - see pic
iMac G5 Mini NUC -dev

and many more motherboards and components that don't have a designated case yet... I also have an Apple ][c and Apple ][e

From left to right:
G4 Flat Panel Mini NUC, 2013 MacPro Mini NUC, (top to bottom): iMac G3 Mini NUC, Apple ][ Floppy (mini-STX), MacBook 11,2 in 1/2 height floppy case

 

[craighazan]

I updated my G5 case over the years with different hardware, not only is it a great platform to build in, but also Apples most iconic case, IMO!. I'm also a fan of the 2012 Mac mini case, I used two to build my own cube, and a G3 iMac. I also own a M1 Air which I use most of the time, the G5 though is still my favorite Mac.

 

[wstrohm]

4 working Hacks (below), one working 2.7 GHz dual-CPU Early 2005 PPC G5 (liquid-cooled), and one 2013 MacBook Air (now working after an e-Bay logic board replacement). That last is used for FaceTime with relatives... it's the only computer in house with a camera. I mostly use the computer at left.

 

[frontgear]

I have 2 Mac laptops: a late-2014 MacBookAir and a 2021 MacBook Pro 16" (M1 Pro).

My Hackintoshes are:

• Gigabyte Z270 with i7-7700K (retired and turned into a Windows Server 2022 home server)
• Asus Z590 with i7-11700K (this now belongs to my son)
• Asus Z690 with i7-12700K

I use the MBP 16" when I travel but at home, I use mostly the Asus Z690.

 

[1Revenger1]

I've got my MacbookPro9,2 which I've been reversing the trackpad on somewhat. Been using it so that my M4700 can eventually get apple gestures using VoodooInput in 10.7-10.10. The 9,2 has been surprisingly capable though, I just wish the screen was a bit better. 1280x800 is hard to use! The 9,2 has been upgraded with an SSD and 16GB of ram.

The order in which I got these devices is a bit backwards though...I started by hackintoshing my M4700 and Lenovo first!