Intel Core i7-12700K for $211 at Newegg or Amazon

[trs96]

Update 12/1/23 This sold out at the $211 price on Newegg. Amazon.com still has it or you can buy the KF version.

These normally sell for around $300 to $320 on most sites. If you want to build that last Hackintosh before Intel support ends this is a good choice.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FXNVDBJ/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

The i9-12900K gives you an extra 4 E-cores that don't really do much for the performance of your hackintosh macOS install. It also costs about $100 more.

Here's a comparison of the Apple M2 SoC vs. the i7-12700K

Biggest difference is in Multi-core performance and integrated graphics. If you run macOS though you won't be using the Intel iGPU. You'd use something like an RX 6600 or better which is much more powerful.

If you use Logic Pro for audio production, here's how many tracks the i7-12700K can handle. 110 more than the M2 Max Mac Studio. The M2 Mac mini 8GB/500GB, that sells for around $800, only 80 tracks.

 

[trs96]

Pair your new i7 CPU with this Z690 board and you've got a great foundation for a new build that can run macOS Sonoma, Windows 11 or most any flavor of Linux. If you already have DDR4 ram, get the D4 version of this board.

DDR5 version: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09RKTL5L3/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

DDR4 version: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09J1S2LDS/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Add a 32GB 5200 MHz DDR5 ram kit.

CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 5200 (PC5 41600) Desktop Memory Model CMK32GX5M2B5200C40 - Newegg.com

Buy CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 5200 (PC5 41600) Desktop Memory Model CMK32GX5M2B5200C40 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

 

[trs96]

Here's a detailed guide you can follow when using this CPU and mobo combo. Remember that Broadcom Wifi/BT cards lost native support in Sonoma so if you have one, install Ventura and wait for a better solution than the current OCLP root patching version most people use now. Here's everything that works when using a natively supported Broadcom card.

What Works?
• Shutdown, restart
• Sleep, wake
• AppleTV, Music, App Store, iCloud
• FaceTime, Messages
• Handoff, Continuity (Clipboard, Camera) , AirDrop, Universal Control, SMS
• Phone Unlock with Apple Watch
• WiFi (802.11ac) + Bluetooth
• Intel i225-V 2.5Gb Ethernet

ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-PLUS WiFi D4 | Alder Lake i7-12700K | AMD Radeon RX580

Hardware Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 CPU: Intel i7-12700K dGPU: XFX Radeon RX580 GTS Black Edition 8GB RAM: G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4 3600 NVMe (Main): SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB Gen4 NVMe M.2 NVMe (Storage): WD_Black SN750 1TB Gen3 NVMe M.2...

www.tonymacx86.com

This is CaseySJ's report on using the OCLP patching for Broadcom cards in Sonoma.

The OCLP patch may or may not work.

• On my Designare Z390 it does not work even though it installs
• On my Asus Z690 ProArt it does not install
• On my Asus Z690-i mini-ITX it installs and works
• On my Gigabyte B550 Vision D (Ryzen) it corrupted the system, but I was able to erase the disk and recover from a backup

 

[trs96]

Here's the complete 12th gen build cost when buying the DDR5 version from Amazon today. This assumes you already have an ATX case and PSU available to use. You get a 2TB NVMe, 32GB of ram along with the i7 CPU and Asus motherboard. That's 4x the RAM and storage of the current M2 Mac mini for about the same cost.

The mini gives you a paltry 8GB of RAM you can never upgrade and a 512GB NVMe SSD. The best part about the 12th gen hackintosh is the ease of upgrading and replacing parts when you choose to.

Cost of complete Asus DDR5 hackintosh $863 --- vs. $799 spent on a M2 Mac mini 512 GB / 8GB ram.

 

[trs96]

If you don't have a case or PSU here's what I'd suggest for good quality at a low price. $165 total.
That would bring your new build grand total to $883. Only $84 more than the under specced M2 Mac mini.

 

[TheSuitIsNotBlack]

This looks fantastic! Thanks for compiling this, very helpful

 

[TheSuitIsNotBlack]

Seems this motherboard doesn't support DDR4 RAM according to the manual. Kinda confusing...

 

[trs96]

Seems this motherboard doesn't support DDR4 RAM

That's right, some are DDR5 only. I've updated previous posts to reflect that. Post #4 has the complete DDR5 parts list from Amazon. When I built my first hackintosh back in 2011 you couldn't get anything close to this for that small amount of money. Progress is good.

The DDR4 versions of this board will have D4 in the header of the listing. For those that already have DDR4 RAM.
it makes sense to get this version.

 

[TheSuitIsNotBlack]

That's right, some are DDR5 only. I've updated previous posts to reflect that.

The DDR4 versions of this board will have D4 in the header of the listing. For those that already have DDR4 RAM.
it makes sense to get this version.
View attachment 575172

Yep, I'll have to order some DDR5 RAM then. More future-proof at least.