Sage Words of Advice on my First Hackintosh

[userjrd]

Greetings Everyone!

I have been interested in building a quiet Hackintosh for photo/video editing, gaming, and basically any other kinds of editing I get into. I've been piecing together components for quite some time and reading up on all kinds of geeky benchmarks and I am pretty happy with the build. That said, I know very little and have never physically built a computer before. Here are the components I am looking at: (by the way, I have a $1800 maximum budget, but if I can shave the price down a little I wouldn't mind at all)

CPU: Intel i7 4790K ~($340)
GPU: XFX R9 280X ~($230)
Display: Asus PA238QR ~($210)
Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 ~($140)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB ~($130)
SSD: Samsung 850 PRO 128 GB ~($111)
PSU: Corsair RM750 ~($110)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 ~($110)
MOBO: MSI Z97S SLI Krait ~($99)
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB ~($55)
Bluray: LG Black 12X BD-ROM ~($50)
WiFi: TP LINK N900 ~($40)​

I appreciate all constructive criticism and sage advice that you have to offer. Thanks!

 

[YWO]

You should check the buyers' guide (linked in the navigation bar near the top); I'm not sure if all of your parts would work for a build running the latest versions of MacOS (e.g., AMD-based graphics card).

 

[trs96]

Greetings Everyone!

I have been interested in building a quiet Hackintosh for photo/video editing, gaming, and basically any other kinds of editing I get into. I've been piecing together components for quite some time and reading up on all kinds of geeky benchmarks and I am pretty happy with the build. That said, I know very little and have never physically built a computer before. Here are the components I am looking at: (by the way, I have a $1800 maximum budget, but if I can shave the price down a little I wouldn't mind at all)

CPU: Intel i7 4790K ~($340)
GPU: XFX R9 280X ~($230)
Display: Asus PA238QR ~($210)
Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 ~($140)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB ~($130)
SSD: Samsung 850 PRO 128 GB ~($111)
PSU: Corsair RM750 ~($110)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 ~($110)
MOBO: MSI Z97S SLI Krait~($99)
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB ~($55)
Bluray: LG Black 12X BD-ROM ~($50)
WiFi: TP LINK N900 ~($40)​

I appreciate all constructive criticism and sage advice that you have to offer. Thanks!

You can use an R9 280X. Would be preferable though to go with either the Gigabyte or Sapphire
versions of that GPU. Haven't seen a lot of success with the XFX models in the forums.

 

[userjrd]

You should check the buyers' guide (linked in the navigation bar near the top); I'm not sure if all of your parts would work for a build running the latest versions of MacOS (e.g., AMD-based graphics card).

Almost all the parts on there, besides the AMD GPU are directly from the buyer's guide.

You can use an R9 280X. Would be preferable though to go with either the Gigabyte or Sapphire
versions of that GPU. Haven't seen a lot of success with the XFX models in the forums.

How does the version of the card affect the OS X support? I thought that the only real difference between cards was different coolers and perhaps some minor overclocking.

 

[trs96]

Almost all the parts on there, besides the AMD GPU are directly from the buyer's guide.

How does the version of the card affect the OS X support? I thought that the only real difference between cards was different coolers and perhaps some minor overclocking.

Graphics cards have a bios that can be more or less compatible with OS X. Each is different, much
in the same way they are for motherboards from various companies. Some have had to flash that
to an older version to get the XFX to work. It doesn't appear to be an OOB install experience like
the Sapphire or GA cards would be. I've never bought an XFX branded AMD card for those reasons.

So if you want to get that brand just do your research first so you know what to do if it does't work for you. http://www.tonymacx86.com/graphics/...xfx-radeon-dd-r9-280x-yosemite-z77x-ud5h.html

 

[userjrd]

What about the Asus R9 280x? I've found a few threads that have had success with it. Why I ask is that the Asus card has the quietest cooler which is important in the computer I'm building.

 

[thomas126]

How to crontol the kraken watercooler in osx?

 

[chedda7]

How to crontol the kraken watercooler in osx?

Taken from an NZXT rep on ******:

What you need to do it this.

1. connect the 3 pin coming from the Kraken to the CPU_FAN header so it powers the krakens pump.
2. Connect each fan to one of the system fan headers. This will provide you the best performance and flexibility for controlling the fans.
3. As for the USB header, do not install it, unless you want the LED light on.

Also, you can create a boot partition in linux for windows to use CAM to change the LED light and the Kraken if you wanted to.

Its a limitation of the software that prevents us from going to linux at this time.