My first Hackintosh build review

[mortiferous]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and the Hackintosh scene. I am looking to build my first Hackintosh system to run OS X Lion 10.7.2 and will be primarily used for photo editing (Lightroom and Photoshop CS5). I also need some suggestions about bluetooth adapters and Firewire cards.

Here is what I am thinking.

Case: NZXT Phantom Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811146068

Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Pro (Rev. 3.1) or Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
**Which one should I go with?**
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131771
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128498

Processor: Intel Core i7-2600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115070

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820233197

Graphics: Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD6870 1GB
http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-Radeon-D ... cx86com-20

Optical: Sony Optiarc AD-7280S-0B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827118067

Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835608018

Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850
**Is this overkill? Should I go with the AX650 instead?**
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139015

Storage: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227706

All feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Domokun]

Go for the Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H, as it is available in the DSDT database. Also, the 650W PSU would be more than sufficient for that particular build.

 

[FZ1]

Go for the Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H, as it is available in the DSDT database. Also, the 650W PSU would be more than sufficient for that particular build.

True dat...I'm running a very similar config on a PCP&C 500W PSU. The Corsair PSU's are nice and 650W is plenty unless you plan on adding a second vid card in the future

 

[FZ1]

FWIW, at idle my system is pulling 85W at the wall (Killawatt measured) and at load the most I've seen it 187W so a quality 500W PSU is plenty.

 

[jester969]

FWIW, at idle my system is pulling 85W at the wall (Killawatt measured) and at load the most I've seen it 187W so a quality 500W PSU is plenty.

Yeah, I have heard that at most the power drawn is around 230 at full load. Yeah, bigger does not always mean better.


I believe there was a thread in this same section debating about lower and higer wattage PSU's if I could find it. A very informative read.

 

[Domokun]

FWIW, at idle my system is pulling 85W at the wall (Killawatt measured) and at load the most I've seen it 187W so a quality 500W PSU is plenty.

Don't use a mains power meter as gospel, as some of them are notoriously inaccurate. However, I agree with you. Many people overestimate the PSU required for their computer. However, I feel that when overclocking (which I assume the original poster is going to be doing considering an Intel Core i7 2600K and Z68 motherboard are included in the build), it's always best to overestimate than underestimate.