Hackintosh for my mum?

[jon101247]

Hi,Wonder if I could get some advice from you guys? My mum needs a new computer to replace her mac mini, however, she's getting slightly annoyed about having to spend so much money for a system, that on paper at least, is so underpowered when compared with a desktop PC for around the same price. So, I suggested building her a Hackintosh system. Now, Ive never actually used one although from what I hear they have come a long way in the past couple of years and are now much more stable. So, bearing in mind that I live 100 miles away and wouldn't be able to offer much technical support, do you think this would be a wise move? I assume that as long as no system updates dates are done, it would run pretty much like a mac.

 

[beelzebubba]

So your mother is not technically literate, you've never built a Hackintosh and you don't live nearby. What could possibly go wrong? Is she really concerned about the price delta of a PC and a Mini? Or are you? If it's a concern buy her a Windows box and be done with it. If she prefers Mac OS there is a premium for using the hardware and software integration. A critical mistake I've seen many new Hackintosh users make is that they think of the hack as a cheap way to get a Mac. In some builds the cash outlay might be less expensive but that usually happens toward the mid and high end. First and foremost, even with all in one tools like the Beasts you still need to do some tinkering to get things just right. And even then that's no guarantee that it's going to run as stable as a real Mac. Though many do once they get the configs right. Once your time and learning curve are factored into the equation I think you'll find that buying an i5 PC to be not that much less expensive than an entry level Mac Mini. If she just wants a computer to use, I see it as a bad move. However, if you and her want to explore how operating systems interact with hardware give it a go.

 

[Adrian B]

Hi,Wonder if I could get some advice from you guys? My mum needs a new computer to replace her mac mini, however, she's getting slightly annoyed about having to spend so much money for a system, that on paper at least, is so underpowered when compared with a desktop PC for around the same price.

If it comes down to cost and cost alone, buy the PC - if she has been using a Mac for a while, she is going to hate it though.

So, I suggested building her a Hackintosh system. Now, Ive never actually used one although from what I hear they have come a long way in the past couple of years and are now much more stable. So, bearing in mind that I live 100 miles away and wouldn't be able to offer much technical support, do you think this would be a wise move? I assume that as long as no system updates dates are done, it would run pretty much like a mac.

Yes they can be pretty good - however like any computer, even a real Mac sometimes you can run into problems, how would your mum handle a computer not booting? If having local service is something she would value then seriously consider it.


Adrian B