Software/Hardware Compatibility on Editing System

[scottbastedo]

I am going to be building a hackintosh or buying and iMac in a few weeks, and I need some advice.

I will be using:

• Premiere Pro (mostly)
• FCP X (when desired by clients and prepping for teaching editing)
• After Effects (infrequently)
• Photoshop (frequently)
• AVID (rarely)
• MAYA (looking to learn)

My main concern is compatibility with software, I have the patience to build a system, but not to figure out what isn't work with my production software once in a stable OS X environment. Also I would prefer Thunderbolt, but I can live without it.

Once stable with the OS, how much work has to go into fixing other software issues?

With a student discount, I can get the following iMac ($2,878 with tax and shipping):

• 27" iMac
• 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz
• 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2X8GB)
• 256GB Flash Storage
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4GB
• 3 year AppleCare

I would add another 16GB of ram at a later date. I would also either use 56 GB as a Win 8.1 OS drive or figure out an external solution.

Here was my planned hackintosh build ($2,562):

• 27-Inch LED-Lit IPS Professional Graphics Monitor (ASUS PA279Q)
• EVGA GTX770 4GB
• Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core
• Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H Z87
• Corsair Vengeance 32GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1866 MHz
• Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III (OS 10.9.1)
• Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III (Win 8.1)
• Corsair Graphite Series Black 600T Mid-Tower Computer Case
• EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750G 80PLUS Gold Certified
• ARCTIC MX-4 Carbon-Based Thermal Compound
• Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i

 

[scorza]

Also I would prefer Thunderbolt, but I can live without it.

I'm on this fence right now too. TB and future-proofing comes with a steep premium right now...it just hurts to pay for a 4-way SLI mobo if Mac OS X doesn't even support 2-way SLI.

I would also either use 56 GB as a Win 8.1 OS drive or figure out an external solution.

Pretty sure Boot Camp doesn't permit an external boot drive for Windows. (I'm a first-time builder so any correction to this is welcome)

 

[scorza]

I'm also mulling over the ASUS PA279Q---are you looking at an external solution to work in 10-bit color?