Hackintosh 101: Part 1 - Choosing the parts
By The Backpackr on Tuesday, 26 of August, 2008 at 11:12 am
Apple & Intel inside
As part of my exposure to the world of Macs, I decided to try a project that is fairly publicized on the Internet - to build a Hackintosh. This is essentially building a computer system with regular PC parts that you can pick up from your local computer store, but installing the Mac operating system on it.
This effectively provides you with a full functioning Mac that could even be more powerful than their native Macs, and most importantly… AT A LOWER COST! (I paid less than USD600 for this Core 2 Quad machine - not including the monitor)
Stay tuned for the next part of this series that details the operating system software installation process.
Summary of computer components used
- ASUS P5K Pro motherboard
- Core 2 Quad 2.4 GHz (Q6600)
- NVIDIA GeForce 8500GT graphics card
- 2x 2GB DDR2-800MHz Kingston RAM
- Pioneer SATA DVD-ROM
- 250GB SATA hard drive
- A regular casing with a good power supply
Music credit: Sunset (Ken Verheecke), Farranos no Frevo (Camerata Brasileira)
you should give away the hackintosh once you are done. Create a contest, get everybody link you. I’ll link you and you will select me as the winner.
thanks
Jon, I think you’re revealing the secret too fast. You should be more discreet next time. Paul, the music was for contrast, though quite different in feel.
Asus p5k boleh!
Now who says an apple cannot live in a pc? buahahaha
Hi Paul, thanks for your comment - I’ll try to be more discerning when I select music in future. I do however like the pieces that some of these Creative Commons fellas churn out.
Jon: Give away the hackintosh? Are you nuts? How am I gonna edit my segments? My wife won’t let me near her Macbook Pro… 
[...] and are just raring to try your hand at installing the Mac OS. This tutorial follows on from Part 1 - Choosing the parts - do watch it first if you haven’t assembled your [...]
Is your Audio working and do you have problems with Update 10.5.6? Looks great by the way!
Thanx
Hello..awesome tutorial
I have a Gateway GT5628 that I’m considering converting, do you see any problems with any of the specs?
Processor Intel® Core™2 Quad Q6600 quad core processor with VT
* Each core operates at 2.40 GHz
* 2 × 4MB L2 cache
* 1066 MHz front side bus
Chipset Intel G33
# Memory Installed: 3072 MB DDR2, 667 MHz, (PC2-5300) dual channel memory (two 1024 MB and two 512 MB modules)
# Expandable to: 8 GB (4 DDR2 DIMM slots)
Hard Drive 500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA II hard drive
Support for up to two hard drives
Optical Drive DVD ±RW, 18X multi-format dual layer drive (up to 8.5 GB)
* Write max: 18X DVD±R, 8X DVD+R DL, 8X DVD-R DL, 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, 12X DVD-RAM, 48X CD-R, 32X CD-RW
* Read max: 16X DVD-ROM, 48X CD-ROM
* Supports Labelflash™ on disc printing (req. Labelflash media)
Media Card Reader 15-in-1 high speed digital media manager supporting the following:
* Compact Flash (CF) I, II
* IBM Microdrive™ (MD)
* SmartMedia Card (SMC)
* Memory Stick™ (MS)
* Memory Stick Duo (MS Duo)
* Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO)
* Memory Stick PRO Duo (MS PRO Duo)
* Secure Digital™ (SD)
* Mini Secure Digital (MiniSD)
* Multi Media Card (MMC)
* RS Multi Media Card (RS-MMC) (need adapter)
* Multi Media Plus Card (MMC Plus)
* Multi Media Mobile Card (MMC Mobile)
* xD-Picture Card (xD)
Video NVIDIA® GeForce® 8500GT
* 256 MB onboard video memory
* DirectX® 10, Blu-ray™ /HD DVD™ capable
* Ports:
o VGA
o DVI-I with HDCP
o S-Video
Audio Integrated 8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
Network Support Integrated Intel 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN
Modem 56K ITU V.92 ready Fax/Modem
Power Supply 400 watt
# Add-in Card Slots One PCI Express ×16 (graphics interface)
# Two PCI Express ×1
# One PCI conventional
# External Connectors One PS/2 keyboard port
# One PS/2 mouse port
# One VGA monitor port
# Eight USB ports (six rear, two front)
# Two IEEE 1394a port (one rear, one front)
# One RJ-45 Ethernet LAN port
# Seven audio jacks (five rear, two front)
# One S/PDIF optical audio port
Drive Bays Five total:
* Two external 5.25-inch
* One external 3.5-inch (with a docking bay for optional Gateway 2.5-inch removable USB hard drive)
* Two internal 3.5-inch (hard drive)
Physical Dimensions
(H × W × D) 15.6 × 7.2 × 16.1 inches
Weight (Unpackaged) Minimum 23.4 lbs. (varies with configuration)
lose the music next time (except for that last fast forwarded bit)