New in the game, aiming high...

[MrUnderhill]

Hello, you all.

I am considering a hackintosh for myself, but I really do not know too much about hardware and such. Though I certainly am able to find it all if I know what to look for...
Hence I need some advice and recommendations on what to look for. I will be using the machine for picture rendering, graphic design and other normal uses. (And probably some GuildWars2 gaming). My old MacBook is really struggeling at times, so I will need a new machine sooner or later. I have read the CustoMac tables (and found them very helpful!), but as a newbie I could need some more specific directions. I would be really happy for some budget recommendations of what I will need.
This is what I have found until now:

Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V, Socket-1155
Intel Core i7-950 Processor
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 8GB CL9
Samsung SSD 830 Series 128GB 2.5" OEM
Corsair CX 430W PSU

I really have no idea of what most of this means, but I foresee this as a very educational journey.
PS. I will use Mountain Lion.

Thanks!

 

[samisnake]

as you are new to pc hardware, i would first suggest reading into hardware, understanding the basics etc.

watch youtube vids on building your own system. there are many professional looking videos out there that describe in easy to understand language what each part is and how it fits together.

the basic thing to remember about pc building a pc is that it is a lot like doing a jigsaw. the parts will only fit one way (generally speaking).
eg. a cpu will only fit in the cpu 'slot', and itll only fit in a particular way due to notches on the cpu.
same with ram/memory, and so on.

cpus come in socket fitments.
so a socket 1155 cpu will only fit in a socket 1155 motherboard.
at the moment you have listed a socket 1155 motherboard, but have chosen a socket 1366 cpu.
it wont work, or even fit physically together.

so if you went with an i3, i5 or i7 socket 1155 cpu, itd all work.

then there are caveats of using osx, such as if you want to use the onboard graphics of the cpu/mobo (which im assuming you do, as you do not have a graphics card listed), you need to get a cpu with either hd3000 or hd4000 onboard graphics.
sticking with ivy bridge cpus (cpus beginning with 3xxx, eg 3570) youll want a cpu such as an i3 3225, or a i5 3570k, or i7 3770 etc.

as you are playing games, you might want to get a graphics card.
this will allow you to play more intensive games (im not sure how demanding guildwars is, so something to research).

other than those points, the board is fine, the ram and ssd are fine. the cx430 will do, its not a great psu (corsair are asshats for replacing the much better cx400 with the cx430), but its more than enough for the majority of systems.

 

[MrUnderhill]

Thanks alot for your reply, samisnake

I have now done some more research and replaced some of the components I had at first. As you can see I have added a graphics card, changed the motherboard, chosen a compitable cpu and changed the psu. This is what I have until now:

Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
Intel Core i5-3570 Processor
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 650 2GB GDDR5
Samsung SSD 830 Series 128GB 2.5" OEM
Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 8GB CL9
Corsair CX 500W PSU

So, how does this look?

 

[Landru]

Don't forget to look at the "Golden Builds" section. Those posts have all the details of a set of components known to work together.

I followed just such a guide to select components and had no complaints from the OS. This Hackintosh is my fist Mac build, but there are about 10 other builds in my past, way back to a trusty 80286-based dinosaur.