New iMac or Hackintosh?

[vernstein]

I'm currently looking at upgrading to either a new iMac (27" when released) or build a Hackintosh with a similar spec. I've looked into the details I'd like to go for and to be honest it's better than the new iMac's for around the same price. What I'd like is some advice on which would be best to go for. The Hackintosh I'm looking would have a i7 3770k processor, whereas the iMac only has an i5 3.2GHz. I know there'll be a difference in performance, but would it that noticeable? I mainly use my desktop for Adobe apps, web and the occasional game on a Windows partition. Not sure if there would be a massive performance difference getting a Hackintosh? The main thing which is putting me off is the fact it doesn't look like an Apple. I guess the screen could be an Apple Display, but this would add more to the price.

Any help would be great, thanks!

 

[EddyMac]

I just built a Hackintosh to replace my wife's 3 year old iMac. The problem with the iMac is it's pretty much non-upgradeable. Her 650 GB hard drive was pretty much full. Her build is based on the GA-Z77N-WIFI with a Core i5 3570K CPU, 16 GB of RAM, a 256 GB SSD for boot drive and apps and a 2 TB hard drive. Try building something equivalent to that on the Apple Store and see the $$$ signs rack up. I got her a Dell 24" IPS UltraSharp monitor because she was used to the 24" iMac. It Geekbenches at almost 3 times faster than her old iMac.

 

[vernstein]

Thanks EddyMac. The upgradability is a big draw for me, plus I think Apple will pile on the cash for Fusion Drive, SSD and processor changes. So the baseline price will increase significantly. I don't mind the look of the Dell monitors; I'm not that keen on the "PC" look of some out there, but the 27 inchers seem nice. I'll need to see one in person first to make up my mind on that I guess. The geekbench sounds great for that build, have you had any issues with the OS. Panics or incompatibility problems? Just lining up the pro's and con's at the moment...

 

[EddyMac]

Everything has been extremely smooth on this build--much more so than a year ago when I built mine. The only remaining slight problem is the bluetooth. I bought the TonyMac recommended Targus bluetooth dongle but it has severe mouse lag with my wife's Magic Mouse. I'm using an Iogear one I had on hand in the meantime and it works better than the Targus, but still with some lag. I've ordered one by Rocketfish which is supposed to be the one to get, so I'm hoping that will fix the lag issue when it gets here.

This is the case I used and it looks really nice:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046Y7PCW/

It's cheaper on Newegg, but the Amazon pic is truer to what you'll get.

 

[vernstein]

It's crazy how such a little thing as a bluetooth adapter can effect the experience like that. Hope the new one fixes the issues you're having. That case looks similar to what I've in mind, I like the Fractal Design cases actually, the sleek finishes are really cool. With regards to the bluetooth lag, is that in Mac OS X and Windows?

 

[EddyMac]

This is not dual boot, so don't know about Windows. I'm guessing just OS X.

I was very interested in one of the Fractal Design cases, but it didn't allow for an optical drive, which is still a MUST for my wife.

 

[vernstein]

Yeah, its a shame the iMac's don't have that anymore. Seems like they're trying to kill them off. You've been a great help on this, thanks. Let me know if the new adapter works.

 

[DamsfromFrance]

For the display I've seen korean monitor on eBay.com with this spec :
27', ips, Led, 2560x1440, LG A- display for....300$ with delivery
(and 400$ with perfect display)
the look isn't very Mac friendly, but for half the price
I think I Will buy one when I'll be ready to begin my hackintosh

Edit : the screen displays are the same as LG models Apple use for the 27' thunderbolt

 

[vernstein]

Yeah, I've seen those types of specs on eBay. The actual screens are used on quite a few monitors, I read somewhere about the guarantees on dead pixels being a little awkward. I think as they're not a household name, its a bit of a risk. If you've got the cash and it fits with your setup, it could be worth a try.

 

[EddyMac]

This is the monitor I got for my wife: http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2412M-LED-Monitor/dp/B005JN9310

Also, the Rocketfish bluetooth adapter came today. I plugged it into the front USB port with high hopes, which were immediately dashed. It was worse than the IOGear.

I then shut down the computer and plugged the dongle into one of the back USB 3 ports and booted. Worse yet.

As a last ditch effort, I plugged it into one of the two USB ports on the left side of the above-mentioned Dell monitor (effectively a powered hub). Voila!!! It worked. Actually, it acted really funny at first like it somehow had to disconnect and then re-connect the mouse or something. But after that was done, it's worked 100% fine.

My wife has been working on the computer a little this evening and I asked her how the mouse was doing and she said "Great...just like it did on my old iMac."

I'm tempted to go back and try one of the other dongles, but I think I'm going to resist that temptation for a while. I'm just going to enjoy what works.

Hope this helps.