If you're planning to buy shiny new hardware components to build an Intel HackMac, this article might be of interest for you.

If you have an AMD machine like most InfiniteMac members, you have probably already been thinking about your next computer upgrade. AMD works, but unfortunately there are several problems that are critical, such as the dual core / mouse movement bug, which forces several X2 AMD users to disable their second core. But no matter if you have already gained experience or if you're completely new to OSx86, just read this small guide. At the end you'll know which components work fine.

An Intel HackMac Kit is a great choice for everybody who's open-minded for new knowledge and enthusiastic about Mac OS X Leopard on PC. The only requirements are basic and easy-to-learn skills regarding OSx86. For instance, if there's a mac update available, then you should know exactly what to do, or at least where you can search for help to make it work.

Chipset & Motherboard

The best choice for your future Hackintosh is Socket 775, Intel's latest desktop CPU socket.

Nowadays, one knows which motherboards work nice for OSx86 use. We are in love with a series of motherboards built by Gigabyte. The Gigabyte GA-P35 motherboard variants with the Intel® P35 express chipset are our favourite ones. They are an excellent choice for fast and very reliable HackMacs. There are several different variants on the market, the cheaper ones don't include as much features as the more expensive variants. For example, most low cost models don't include Firewire. If you want your new system to have support for the widest range of features, then we gladly recommend the flagship of the GA-P35 series, the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4. It supports Intel® Core™ 2 multi-core and 45nm processors and even DDR2 1066* memory for outstanding system performance. This indicates that it's a great choice for a future system. It also supports great graphics performance with a dual PCI-E x16 interface. Further, it has integrated SATA 3Gb/s with RAID function and features high speed Gigabit Ethernet and IEEE1394.

The Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 works almost out out of the box with all the latest OSx86 releases out there. The only part that needs patching is the Audio, which is very easy to do.

The following variants of the GA-P35 and GA-EP35 series work very well. Make sure that you choose according to your requirements! If you aren't sure, GA-P35-DS4 is the greatest choice.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3

Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3

Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L

Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P

Processor

A great choice are Intel's latest desktop processors, Intel Core 2 Duo and Intel Core 2 Quad. They are very powerful, fast and reliable, just what we require for our new machine. Ask yourself how much performance you need. If you don't need maximum performance, you'll be fine with an Intel Core 2 Duo. Actually you can do almost everything, as long as you're not a power user. If you need extreme performance or if you just want your new system to be safe for the future, pick an Intel Core 2 Quad Processor.

They are screamers.

Intel Core 2 Duo

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66 GHz

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz

Intel Core 2 Quad

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40 GHz

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.50 GHz

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66 GHz

Graphics Card

No matter if you require top notch graphic performance or just a simple solution to provide Quartz Extreme & Core Image, many NVidia and ATI graphic cards work fine. The best solutions for OSx86 are currently provided by NVidia.

Some 512 MB variants don't seem to work without flashing the cards BIOS, please read the OSx86Project HCL before buying!

The following graphic cards are highly recommended.

GeForce 8800 GTX

GeForce 8800 GTS

GeForce 8600 GT

GeForce 7600 GT

GeForce 7300 GT

You can find the best deals to buy your graphic card at NewEgg and Buy.com, if you are located in the United States. If you are from Germany, you'll find the best deals at Amazon.de.

RAM

There is no specific RAM vendor that you have to choose, but make sure that it's DDR2 RAM.

I personally recommend Crucial. Maybe you'd like to consider a Crucial Ballistix 4GB DDR2 Kit, or a Crucial Ballistix 2GB DDR2 Kit. It's top notch RAM that'll work fine with the Gigabyte motherboard.

Case & Power Supply

Choose your favourite vendor for your case and power supply, but don't buy cheap ones. Case and Power are the most important things to keep your hardware cool and reliable, so make sure that you invest accordingly.

Addendum

Have fun with assembling and using your new machine. Please don't hesitate to add a comment with your new hardware specifications. We love to see new HackMacs and their happy users!

Finally, don't forget to buy your copy of Mac OS X Leopard, if you haven't done so yet! It's a nice and adorable box, I highly recommend it. And don't forget that it's a great piece of computer history. You will be glad to be able to look at it, when you have it in your cupboard after several years.

All thanks fly out to Apple for their incredible Mac OS X operating system. It helps us to enjoy our work every day and we truly love it at heart.

if i buy all this hardware does that mean i will be able to install a Retail version of OS X and it will work?

sorry i know this is an old post, but im looking at renewing my computer and i want to be able to install a retail version of OS X to get it running as smoothly as possible.

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iMac ::: Mac OS X 10.6.1 ::: Intel Core2Duo 2.93GHz ::: NVIDIA Geforce GT 120 256MB ::: 4GB DDR3 RAM

Milanca Project ::: Mac OS X 10.6.1 Retail ::: Vanilla Kernel ::: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2.4GHz ::: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB ::: 4GB DDR2 RAM ::: GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R

None of this "Guarantees" anything. This thread doesn't mean it will work natively by using this specific hardware... simply that the hardware will support OS X.

In other words: "Methods are available to ensure it will work."

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so is there a list of hardware which i can install which will ensure a native install of OS X?

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iMac ::: Mac OS X 10.6.1 ::: Intel Core2Duo 2.93GHz ::: NVIDIA Geforce GT 120 256MB ::: 4GB DDR3 RAM

Milanca Project ::: Mac OS X 10.6.1 Retail ::: Vanilla Kernel ::: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2.4GHz ::: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB ::: 4GB DDR2 RAM ::: GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R

are you asking for a mac without the mac cost... hey man, thats hackintosh for ya. The OS is designed around certain hardware and mimicking it isn't going to give you perfect results so there IS limited hardware that will do what you are asking...

But then you're getting awfully close to Pystar (except you're hopefully not going to sell it)... research how they did it. Its out there on the web.

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Nice article, but why have I never, ever had AMD X2 problems, whether I used the voodoo kernel or the ToH kernel that came with Kalyway?
*suspects either I got off lucky or the problem is overstated, as some Intels are having the same problem with timings*

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Custom Hackintosh...AMD Athlon X2 5000+ (2.6 GHz) on GA-MA78GM-S2H...Linksys WMP300n Wireless...ALC889a sound...ATI HD 3650 PCIe...1 GB DDR2 RAM...320GB Western Digital SATA + 200GB Seagate IDE HDD...Rosewill DVD-RW IDE...Running Kalyway upgraded to 10.5.7...All Fully Functional

ok, so i have done some research and looked at the psystar website and even emailed them but they will not disclose the chipsets they use and searching the net i cant find out what comes default with either the iMac or the Mac Pro, so i have decided to go with the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 but it sounds like the P35 range has been discontiuned and everywhere i go to all have the P45's but no P35's. so does anyone know if the P45 sets will work just as well? or what the next best chipset i can get for a HackMac could be?

Cheers

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iMac ::: Mac OS X 10.6.1 ::: Intel Core2Duo 2.93GHz ::: NVIDIA Geforce GT 120 256MB ::: 4GB DDR3 RAM

Milanca Project ::: Mac OS X 10.6.1 Retail ::: Vanilla Kernel ::: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2.4GHz ::: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB ::: 4GB DDR2 RAM ::: GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R