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Mac Pro Hackintosh advice needed

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GA Z77-UP5 TH
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i73770K
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nVIDIA GTX680
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Good Day all,

In February I will be getting a loan to build out a new Production Music system (Running Logic Pro and Ableton Live) and am having some difficulty deciding upon the processor.

For those that don't know about music production, believe it or not, these days with Soft Synths (VSTs/AU) and Effects Plug-ins (Waves, etc.) you actually really do need a lot of processor power, the faster literally is the better.

I was thinking of a Dual Xeon solution but that is way out of my budget (given that I also need to get a dual core UAD card and their plug-ins).

So I was wondering, what do you guys recommend? I can afford an E5 2680 which I understand to be 8*2.7 (21.6 GHz total) (I am not sure what the "Turbo" is that they refer too as I haven't built a PC in a little while (life issues).

The other option is of course the i7 3970x 6*3.5 (21GHz total) which seems to be about the same GHZ total but $600 cheaper.

I am following the tonymac buying guide and will be sourcing my parts from that but I also wanted to add a few other pieces.

My goal is to have a System that boots OSX, Win 8 and Win 7 (for music backup from VSTs that aren't available for the Mac). (OSX on one SSD Win 7 & 8 on the other)

I also want to have a RAID array for data and I believe that Rocket RAID is a compatible controller for OSX (and Windows I assume). Is this correct.

Also, is it possible to get the 4GB GTX680 or is it advisable to only get the 2GB version (from the tonymac buying guide). I would prefer to be the most compatible with the least amount of fiddling necessary.

I did want to add that I am running Lion on my Toshiba Qosmio so I have some experience with Hackintosh-ing, enough to know I'd rather have the most compatible parts for the least number of headaches.

Thank you very much in advance for your help.
 
Welcome,

Alright, you are going to have to make a decision because there is a large break between complete functionality and raw processing power.

Any Dual processor hackintosh is going to have issues, at least that I have seen. And any LGA 2011 socket processor is going to have issues, as mentioned in the buyers guide by Tonymac himself. The most powerful processor, with complete functionality is the i7-3770K. By complete functionality I mean, sleep, power management, etc.
Now you are probably saying, "there is no way the i7 is going to be enough crunching power for my needs!" The thing that makes the i7-3770K model sooooo good is the "K." This means overclocking, so you could overclock to say, 4.5 Ghz (4x4.5 = 18Ghz). I know that it is less than 21Ghz but what you lose in GHz (3Ghz) you gain in functionality.
Be aware however, if sleep and the like are not important to you, then get a LGA 2011 hackintosh and gain the needed processing power.
To me, functionality is priority over bleeding edge power.

You decide. GLHF.
 
Ah crumbs...

Functionality is far more important to me as well. So what the situation looks like here is that even if I went for the fastest i7 I am going to lose the ability to sleep etc. I didn't realize that this was a CPU related function, though when I think about it, it makes sense.

Would a Xeon be a better choice for maximum CPU then?
 
So with a Xeon I would have full functionality, including sleep??
 
So with a Xeon I would have full functionality, including sleep??

No. The listed Xeons are part of the LGA 2011 socket type and therefore do not have power-managment as listed in the Customac description. See picture below.

Note: There might be some variation and type where a Xeon might have power-managment, but as far the recommended, they will not have this feature, plus. . . . they cost a fortune!
 

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Ah, I think I see the problem having read through the customac article more closely. No sleep for the Xeon and it's really only the LGA1155s that are working the best...

I won't lie, I am more than a bit disappointed that I can't get maximum CPU in a Hackintosh scenario.

Now I guess I need to re-examine my budget and see if an actual Mac Pro is a better option.

I know what you're saying about the overclocking but I had my fill of overclocking a while ago. System would be stable to a point, then you run one high end game or app that crashes, you spend hours troubleshooting and finally turn off OC to have it all work. This experience really had me calculate for stock with maybe a smidge of OC.

Sigh. I am completely bummed out by this new information.
 
For those that don't know about music production, believe it or not, these days with Soft Synths (VSTs/AU) and Effects Plug-ins (Waves, etc.) you actually really do need a lot of processor power, the faster literally is the better.

I was thinking of a Dual Xeon solution but that is way out of my budget (given that I also need to get a dual core UAD card and their plug-ins).

I use Logic and Ableton as well. No way you are ever going to need dual XEONs for a VST or any plug-in. Or even one XEON. I can understand that maybe you have had a slow computer, but I can't see what would require all that power.
 
Ah, I think I see the problem having read through the customac article more closely. No sleep for the Xeon and it's really only the LGA1155s that are working the best...

I won't lie, I am more than a bit disappointed that I can't get maximum CPU in a Hackintosh scenario.

Now I guess I need to re-examine my budget and see if an actual Mac Pro is a better option.

I know what you're saying about the overclocking but I had my fill of overclocking a while ago. System would be stable to a point, then you run one high end game or app that crashes, you spend hours troubleshooting and finally turn off OC to have it all work. This experience really had me calculate for stock with maybe a smidge of OC.

Sigh. I am completely bummed out by this new information.

I'm glad I could help. I hope that you find what you are looking for.

Hackintoshes would not exist if one could get an iMac for the same price as a CustoMac. The whole idea behind the Hackintosh is to create a system that runs OSX at a fraction of the price while meeting or exceeding the current Apple Computer-line specs. You are right, however that there is not a fully functional 12-core beast as of right now. Its not to say that it won't ever exist, simply there are not many people in this community that have that kind of money to spend on a system. And therefore the need for such support is null. The average system for a hackintosher is most likely in the $1000 range plus or minus $500. There are a few however who exceed the $2000 or even $2500 mark.
Also, many people find certain things about computers more important than others, some need/want monster CPU power, and others want/need obscene GPU power. Whatever your application is, it is without a doubt that a perfect system is one of balance. Take a look at the link below. Good systems for Priemere Pro, for example, need not only a good GPU, Good overclocked CPU, but also high capacity ram, and RAID SSD's.
http://ppbm5.com/DB-PPBM5.php

Its all up to you, if you have the bucks to get a 12-core Mac Pro, then by all means get it and enjoy!
 
Ah, I think I see the problem having read through the customac article more closely. No sleep for the Xeon and it's really only the LGA1155s that are working the best...

I won't lie, I am more than a bit disappointed that I can't get maximum CPU in a Hackintosh scenario.

For my line of work I do not need so much power (graphic design, DTP and pre-print prod), so I choose to make a hack with 1155 Xeon E3v2 + ECC ram.

Power is similar than high-end 27" iMac (quad-core 3.3/3.7 GHz), but with Xeon+ECC (MacPro) reliability.
I use sleep (no problem at all for sleep/wake) and speedstep (limited, 7 PStates including turbo), rig is rock-stable, no KP, crashes or any problem.

It is way cheaper than a genuine MacPro, performance is sufficient for my work but YMMV.

Depends also if you are in a hurry: MacPro should be revamped later this year, so new HackPros will be supported.
 
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