Hackintosh vs iMac in India

[newtoimac]

I have saved enough money to buy myself a new mac desktop. My usage will primarily be home entertainment (movies, music, light gaming, browsing etc.). Computer components are considerably more expensive in India making the value proposition for a hackintosh harder to estimate.

Option 1: The hackintosh build with the prices in India:

Component	Particular	Price in INR
Processor	Intel Core i5-3570K	14,200
Motherboard	GA-Z77X-UP5-TH	19,250
Graphics Card	Zotak GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB	20,600
SSD	OCZ Vertyx 120 SSD	7,500
Hard Disk	Seagate Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 2TB HDD	5,650
RAM	2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz DDR3	6,900
Cabinet	Phantom	5,800
Power	Corsair GS800	6,400
Wifi	TP-Link (TL-WDN4800)	3,000
O/S	Mac OS X Mountain Lion	1,100
Keyboard	Apple Wireless Keyboard	3,650
Trackpad	Apple Wireless Trackpad	3,900
27" Display	Dell Ultrasharp 2713HM	48,500

This works out to US$ 2,665 approx.

For iMac, Build-to-order option is not available in India. So no fusion drive or SSD or swapping mouse out for trackpad.

Option 2: The 27" iMac with quad-core i5 2.9GHz/8GB/1TB/GeForce GTX 660M 512MB is available for US$ 2,150. Adding the Apple Trackpad and Belkin AV360 convertor (needed for TV / DVD input) price works out to US$ 2,420.

Option 3: The 27" iMac with quad-core i5 3.2GHz/8GB/1TB/GeForce GTX 675MX 1GB is available for US$ 2,350. Adding the Apple Trackpad and Belkin AV360 convertor price works out to US$ 2,630.

Additions to Option 1:

1. Do I need to buy a Bluetooth USB adapter as well or does the motherboard’s adapter work?
2. Other necessary components I have not accounted for in the pricing? (I just remembered one: Webcam)
3. Alternate components for the build to enhance value-for-money

Additions to Option 2 & 3:

1. Should I install additional RAM (16GB) now / year or so later? (US$ 90)
2. Should I get the Thunderbolt external SSD now / year or so later? (US$ 260)

Which of the three options should I pick? I would like the assessment to be based on value-for-money, performance, future-proofing, upgradability, ease-of-use, footprint / size and the required additional components.

I would appreciate the forum's help in making my decision.

 

[Thunderpants]

Personally I would ditch the Dell monitor...getting something a little less wonderful would half the costs. I'd also save a few $$s with the processor -- unless you're sure you'll get round to overclocking that thing. (I have the 3770K and I have to admit I might as well have saved 40 Euros by getting the 3770.)

I don't think the motherboard comes with Bluetooth but that's not expensive -- 15 Euros or so.

I wouldn't get the new iMac... impossible to fix or upgrade anything. I love my 2009 iMac and i love the screen, but it is frustrating not to be able to open it up and upgrade everything.

 

[StickyS]

I have saved enough money to buy myself a new mac desktop. My usage will primarily be home entertainment (movies, music, light gaming, browsing etc.). Computer components are considerably more expensive in India making the value proposition for a hackintosh harder to estimate.

Option 1: The hackintosh build with the prices in India:

Component	Particular	Price in INR
Processor	Intel Core i5-3570K	14,200
Motherboard	GA-Z77X-UP5-TH	19,250
Graphics Card	Zotak GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB	20,600
SSD	OCZ Vertyx 120 SSD	7,500
Hard Disk	Seagate Barracuda SATA 6Gb/s 2TB HDD	5,650
RAM	2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz DDR3	6,900
Cabinet	Phantom	5,800
Power	Corsair GS800	6,400
Wifi	TP-Link (TL-WDN4800)	3,000
O/S	Mac OS X Mountain Lion	1,100
Keyboard	Apple Wireless Keyboard	3,650
Trackpad	Apple Wireless Trackpad	3,900
27" Display	Dell Ultrasharp 2713HM	48,500

This works out to US$ 2,665 approx.

For iMac, Build-to-order option is not available in India. So no fusion drive or SSD or swapping mouse out for trackpad.

Option 2: The 27" iMac with quad-core i5 2.9GHz/8GB/1TB/GeForce GTX 660M 512MB is available for US$ 2,150. Adding the Apple Trackpad and Belkin AV360 convertor (needed for TV / DVD input) price works out to US$ 2,420.

Option 3: The 27" iMac with quad-core i5 3.2GHz/8GB/1TB/GeForce GTX 675MX 1GB is available for US$ 2,350. Adding the Apple Trackpad and Belkin AV360 convertor price works out to US$ 2,630.

Additions to Option 1:

1. Do I need to buy a Bluetooth USB adapter as well or does the motherboard’s adapter work?
2. Other necessary components I have not accounted for in the pricing? (I just remembered one: Webcam)
3. Alternate components for the build to enhance value-for-money

Additions to Option 2 & 3:

1. Should I install additional RAM (16GB) now / year or so later? (US$ 90)
2. Should I get the Thunderbolt external SSD now / year or so later? (US$ 260)

Which of the three options should I pick? I would like the assessment to be based on value-for-money, performance, future-proofing, upgradability, ease-of-use, footprint / size and the required additional components.

I would appreciate the forum's help in making my decision.

I definetly recommend getting the 3770k for easy overclocking and HYPERTHREADING. Also, 800W is wayyy more than enough. 650W should be enough for you.

 

[bobrakov]

I would go the Hackintosh route. It gives you the chance to upgrade components over time as prices fall and capabilities improve, without having to purchase a whole new system.

Off topic - Why so expensive in India? You are, after all, closer to the source (China). Is it related to duty/import fees? What is to stop you from buying the components on ebay/amazon and importing?

 

[newtoimac]

I am not going to be over-clocking the processor. The price difference is US$ 30 between 3570K and 3570. Should I get the 3570 instead?

The screen is very important to me. I love the clarity and real estate the IPS panels offer. Dell Ultrasharp comes with a 3-yr warranty and zero dead pixel return policy. Is there any other IPS panel that is similar to iMac / Ultrasharp?

24” Dell Ultrasharp is priced US$ 300 lower. Should I pick that instead?

Do I need to buy a Bluetooth USB adapter for my config or does the motherboard’s adapter work with OS X?

Is a graphics card needed? Should I drop the graphics card for now and pick one up later, probably when someone I know travels to the US?

Zotak GeForce GTX 660 2GB graphics card is US$ 85 cheaper than Zotak GeForce GTX 660 2GB Ti. Should I pick that instead?

On the cost, import charges and duties are quite high in India. Ebay.com charges a 30-40% markup to deliver in India; Amazon does not even ship electronics to India.

 

[Thunderpants]

"I am not going to be over-clocking the processor. The price difference is US$ 30 between 3570K and 3570. Should I get the 3570 instead?"

Definitely. The "K" just means the processor has been unlocked, and can easily be overclocked. If you won't overclock, there is no sense in spending extra on the "K". Out of the box, both run at the same speed.

You can add a graphics card later. The 3570 processor has built-in graphics capability which is sufficient for most things. Unless you're gaming the chances are you won't miss a "real" graphic card. Just beware, connecting the monitor via the VGA port on that motherboard is problematic (I forget why) -- though you probably won't be doing that with such a nice monitor. Just use the HDMI or DVI ports instead.

I have the 660 graphics card... I don't really like it to be honest. It was 200 Euros. I have the feeling I should have got a 650 instead.

As for bluetooth, you will have to find an adapter. They are cheap. The only question is which one is most compatible... I don't have one so I can't say, but others have talked about it.... http://www.tonymacx86.com/general-help/61842-bluetooth-dongle-best-mountain-lion.html

You're right about the screen. it is a big expenditure, but if you are looking at it for hours a day you do not want to wreck your eyes with a fuzzy piece of crap ... I bought a super-cheap Samsung monitor (130 Euros) as I had nothing else lying around and I was (and still am) shocked by how awful it is. I should have returned it. Viewing angles are dreadful, everything is fuzzy. I would have thought nobody makes monitors this bad nowadays... funnily enough I bought an even cheaper monitor as a christmas present for a nephew and compared to the Samsung it's fantastic.

Anyway, get the monitor you think you need. I'm not qualified to give advice there. Just don't get the Samsung S24B150! Unless you want to see how crap crap gets.

Amazon.com doesn't ship to Europe either. But Amazon.co.uk does, for six pounds shipping charge. It's worth trying the other Amazon sites to see if any of them will ship to India. (I don't know how many countries have Amazon. But the european countries ship to eachother. I bought a Roman Polanski DVD box set from Amazon France which I couldn't find in Germany for some reason. And I got my UP5 motherboard from Amazon UK, where they sold it for 60 Euros cheaper than here.)

 

[newtoimac]

Thanks for your input.

Think I will pick the non-K option and install the graphics card later. I will save about US$ 100 that way.

I will get the IOGear Bluetooth Adapter GBU521 Bluetooth 4.0 as the 'Wake from Sleep' option works.

On the software and compatibility side, this is my first hackintosh. I have assembled windows PCs before. I will use the tonymac's guide (http://www.tonymacx86.com/61-unibeast-install-os-x-mountain-lion-any-supported-intel-based-pc.html). Some Noob questions:

1. How hard is the process?
2. How do I deal with Multibeast updates? Do I reinstall it or apply a patch?
3. With regards to OS X 10.8 updates, is the process straight forward? Is it as below or am I missing any steps:
1. Download and install combo version
2. Don't restart
3. Run Multibeast and re-install any overwritten kexts

 

[kaku]

i want 2 build a hackintosh.......can any 1 help me......in india.....my budget it 50000 RS......plssss tell me which hardware 2 buy

 

[Going Bald]

I am not going to be over-clocking the processor. The price difference is US$ 30 between 3570K and 3570. Should I get the 3570 instead?

The screen is very important to me. I love the clarity and real estate the IPS panels offer. Dell Ultrasharp comes with a 3-yr warranty and zero dead pixel return policy. Is there any other IPS panel that is similar to iMac / Ultrasharp?

24” Dell Ultrasharp is priced US$ 300 lower. Should I pick that instead?

Do I need to buy a Bluetooth USB adapter for my config or does the motherboard’s adapter work with OS X?

Is a graphics card needed? Should I drop the graphics card for now and pick one up later, probably when someone I know travels to the US?

Zotak GeForce GTX 660 2GB graphics card is US$ 85 cheaper than Zotak GeForce GTX 660 2GB Ti. Should I pick that instead?

On the cost, import charges and duties are quite high in India. Ebay.com charges a 30-40% markup to deliver in India; Amazon does not even ship electronics to India.

If you do not intend to OC then definitely go for the less expensive CPU. Is there some reason you are going top line Z77 board? Just for Thunderbolt Port maybe? Otherwise, same much $$$ by going with a mATX board and an i3 3225. It has HD4000 and will do just fine for light gaming and streaming video. The MSI H77MA-G43 is a great little board coupled with the i3. I am currently working on a build using these parts and so far it does great. Started out with a standard dual boot with Win8 on a separate drive and now experimenting with UEFI Win8 install booting with Clover.
If you go this route you can afford whatever display you want.