Is there an off the shelf PC that will run OS X?

[DJFriar]

I've read a lot of buying guides and such and they all revolve around building your own, but are there any PC models sold by Best Buy or WalMart or Fry's, etc that are compatible out of the box? Or at least with minor fudging (adding a sound card, or network card required, but otherwise it is fine).

 

[pastrychef]

The HP Elite 8300 is very easy to get going and can be found at pretty low prices but they are a few generations old now.

I'm quite confident that most current generation Intel based systems such as the Dell Inspiron and XPS series can be hackintoshed as well but you will probably get more bang for your buck with a built system. Also, if you are interested in overclocking, built systems offer much more flexibility in their BIOS.

[Guide] HP 6300 Pro / Elite 8300 - macOS Sierra - I5-3470 - Gigabyte GTX 1050 | tonymacx86.com

 

[mamcx]

I also wonder if will work to buy from a "boutique pc" seller like:

https://www.originpc.com/
https://www.maingear.com/

 

[trs96]

I also wonder if will work to buy from a "boutique pc" seller like:

https://www.originpc.com/
https://www.maingear.com/

You could have them build you an Intel Kaby Lake system with your choices of hardware and then instal macOS yourself. That is easy to do. The HP pre-builts are easy to hackintosh. They are more for a secondary CustoMac system or for those with no previous hackintosh experience that don't want to invest a lot of money to try out macOS. A custom built PC with new hardware will give you the longest usable life and all the latest features. More appropriate if you will use it for professional work that requires the best specs. For general home use the 6300/8300 models get the job done quite well. You can even game on them at 1080p.

I looked at what a Maingear system would cost. To build and ship one to me with an I5-7500, a GTX 1060 and 16 GB of ram, all installed on an Asus Z270 motherboard. Total shipped cost would be around $1300 for this system. You can purchase the same or similar components and build it yourself for much less. That's what most will do.