Sandy Bridge Era Build (1st time Hackintosh)

[wwusa83]

All,

Looking at putting a machine together based on an Asus P8-H61-M LE CSM R2.0 motherboard. This is a budget build and it is based on spare parts I have laying around my house. Assembly won't be a problem. I've got some questions about picking a processor.

#1. Will OSX recognize any socket 1155 processor? What I mean is does apple write the OS to only recognize processors that have been used in their machines and nothing else? Does this apply to graphics cards as well?

#2. I've read that Intel integrated graphics HD 2000 may have compatibility problems with OSX. Should I get a discrete graphics card or should I get an Ivy Bridge Era chip with HD 3000.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[nobodynose]

#1. Will OSX recognize any socket 1155 processor? What I mean is does apple write the OS to only recognize processors that have been used in their machines and nothing else? Does this apply to graphics cards as well?

The processor will work fine, Mac OS X supports most mainstream processors, provided they meet the minimum OS requirements (this is why Atom processors will NOT work, for example).

#2. I've read that Intel integrated graphics HD 2000 may have compatibility problems with OSX. Should I get a discrete graphics card or should I get an Ivy Bridge Era chip with HD 3000.

HD 2000 doesn't work well at all - you need either HD 3000 or above or a discrete graphics card. I would go for a graphics card, perhaps something like an Nvidia GT 720 or 730 (Kepler-based, doesn't require any non-Apple drivers), won't break the bank.

 

[wwusa83]

The processor will work fine, Mac OS X supports most mainstream processors, provided they meet the minimum OS requirements (this is why Atom processors will NOT work, for example).


HD 2000 doesn't work well at all - you need either HD 3000 or above or a discrete graphics card. I would go for a graphics card, perhaps something like an Nvidia GT 720 or 730 (Kepler-based, doesn't require any non-Apple drivers), won't break the bank.

Thank you for the quick reply. What would be the best processor if I don't want to use a discrete graphics card?

 

[nobodynose]

Thank you for the quick reply. What would be the best processor if I don't want to use a discrete graphics card?

I hate to tell you, but you'll have a hard time finding any Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge processors now, let alone one with HD 3000 (Sandy) or HD 4000 (Ivy) graphics. You're probably better off with a graphics card.

 

[VioletDragon]

You can pick up a core i5 2500k with HD3000 second hand pretty cheap now. Core i7 2600k & 2700k are still pricey its just finding a clean second hand motherboard which is in perfect good working order. The i3 Sandy Bridge CPUs with HD 3000 are non existent second hand can't find them no where. You can still buy new Core i5 3570k, Core i7 3770 and 3770k which has HD 4000 from amazon. You can find 1155 Series 7 motherboards new online but they are pricey.

 

[wwusa83]

You can pick up a core i5 2500k with HD3000 second hand pretty cheap now. Core i7 2600k & 2700k are still pricey its just finding a clean second hand motherboard which is in perfect good working order. The i3 Sandy Bridge CPUs with HD 3000 are non existent second hand can't find them no where. You can still buy new Core i5 3570k, Core i7 3770 and 3770k which has HD 4000 from amazon. You can find 1155 Series 7 motherboards new online but they are pricey.

Thank you for the reply. The build is taking shape. Here are my specs:

Motherboard: Asus P8-H61-M LE CSM R2.0
Processor: Intel Celeron G550
Memory: 8GB Corsair CMS 1333mhz
GPU: EVGA GeForce GT 720
OS: OSX--El Capitan
Optical: Some random drive.
Hard drive: Another random mechanical drive.

I set up my unibeast offsite so I won't have access to a mac for install. When setting up my usb drive I did not choose to inject graphics drivers. Was this the correct choice?

 

[Going Bald]

Thank you for the reply. The build is taking shape. Here are my specs:

Motherboard: Asus P8-H61-M LE CSM R2.0
Processor: Intel Celeron G550
Memory: 8GB Corsair CMS 1333mhz
GPU: EVGA GeForce GT 720
OS: OSX--El Capitan
Optical: Some random drive.
Hard drive: Another random mechanical drive.

I set up my unibeast offsite so I won't have access to a mac for install. When setting up my usb drive I did not choose to inject graphics drivers. Was this the correct choice?

If you want to run El Capitan you can forget the Celeron CPU - forget a Pentium CPU, too. You are going to need a Core i CPU, whether it be an i3, i5 or i7.

 

[VioletDragon]

Thank you for the reply. The build is taking shape. Here are my specs:

Motherboard: Asus P8-H61-M LE CSM R2.0
Processor: Intel Celeron G550
Memory: 8GB Corsair CMS 1333mhz
GPU: EVGA GeForce GT 720
OS: OSX--El Capitan
Optical: Some random drive.
Hard drive: Another random mechanical drive.

I set up my unibeast offsite so I won't have access to a mac for install. When setting up my usb drive I did not choose to inject graphics drivers. Was this the correct choice?

H61 chipset is Sandy Bridge. You could pick up a i5 2500K which has HD 3000 which will work fine but highly recommend having at least 8GB because it is known that HD3000 has graphical artefacts and UI freezes. My H61N build with a core i5 2500k which has HD 3000 works perfectly fine never see artefacts also never see artefacts on my 4530s neither. A GT720 is known to have problems. Have a look on Amazon, eBay for a nice second hand i5 2500k. Celeron will not work in OS X anyway.

 

[wwusa83]

All,

Looking at putting a machine together based on an Asus P8-H61-M LE CSM R2.0 motherboard. This is a budget build and it is based on spare parts I have laying around my house. Assembly won't be a problem. I've got some questions about picking a processor.

#1. Will OSX recognize any socket 1155 processor? What I mean is does apple write the OS to only recognize processors that have been used in their machines and nothing else? Does this apply to graphics cards as well?

#2. I've read that Intel integrated graphics HD 2000 may have compatibility problems with OSX. Should I get a discrete graphics card or should I get an Ivy Bridge Era chip with HD 3000.

Thank you all for your help.

The processor will work fine, Mac OS X supports most mainstream processors, provided they meet the minimum OS requirements (this is why Atom processors will NOT work, for example).


HD 2000 doesn't work well at all - you need either HD 3000 or above or a discrete graphics card. I would go for a graphics card, perhaps something like an Nvidia GT 720 or 730 (Kepler-based, doesn't require any non-Apple drivers), won't break the bank.

Ok so celeron G550 won't work? I thought the GT 720 wouldn't be a problem?

 

[VioletDragon]

Ok so celeron G550 won't work? I thought the GT 720 wouldn't be a problem?

No. The celeron G550 will not work no Mac has that CPU OS X doesn't even support that CPU. The GT610 has problems so I'm guessing the 720 will also you can try the GPU of you want.