Anyone using a Hackintosh?

Keefy

I get by with a low-spec iMac for recording. I only ever record 1 or 2 sources at once, and I don't use many plugins (and almost never while I'm tracking).

But nothing lasts for ever, and when my current machine dies, I will be looking at just over £1k to replace it with similar. Having watched the video below, I realise that for about the same money I could have a much better spec'd Hackintosh.

Does anyone here use one, either for recording or generally? If so, did you do your own build, and was it 'golden'? Or did you buy it pre-configured/loaded?

Any problems encountered, e.g. with OS updates?

Hit me! (Ouch, not that hard...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU7U2kJsQv0

wave100

Do you have a reason to stick with Apple - ie do you use logic, garageband or final cut? if not then why not just get a PC? Windows 10 is pretty decent these days and most software is cross platform. I haven't built a Hackintosh personally but it seems like a bit of a lottery whether it will work without any issues. At least with a PC you would have a chance of getting tech support in the event of problems, not so much with the Hackintosh. I (personally) feel it is the sort of thing to do if you enjoy tinkering with computers rather than using them for productive work. I do quite enough of that kind of thing for my job, but if you fancy giving it a go then knock yourself out - I presume if all goes tits up with OS X you could slap a copy of windows on it.

WiresDreamDisasters

Follow the buyers guide here:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/

And their install tools, and it's very very simple.

I'm on my 4th. Kabylake i7 based machine that is thooper.

Keefy

I thought I might get a response along these lines!

Do you have a reason to stick with Apple?
Yes.
(1) I use SMUG Capo which is Apple only, and although other similar apps are available, I have several hundred Capo files which I don't want to ditch.
(2) I have my music room iMac and our general-use iMac set up for file sharing. It may well be possible to add a PC to such a set-up, but I suspect it may involve 'tinkering with computers rather than using them for productive work'!
(3) I like the ease with which I currently sync iTunes and iCal - see (2) above.
(4) Time Machine.

I haven't built a Hackintosh personally
In which case you may not be best placed to answer my questions!

I (personally) feel it is the sort of thing to do if you enjoy tinkering with computers
I get a lot of satisfaction from making and modding.

Keefy

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Follow the buyers guide here:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/

And their install tools, and it's very very simple.

I'm on my 4th. Kabylake i7 based machine that is thooper.

Thanks!

spark240

Interested to See how this works out....I’d like to upgrade my Mac mini sometime.

Keefy

spark240 said:

Interested to See how this works out....I’d like to upgrade my Mac mini sometime.

Don't hold your breath! I've registered with https://www.tonymacx86.com/ and need to spend some time lurking on the site. It will probably take me a while to work out the right questions to ask.

I went from Mac Mini to iMac some years ago, and found it a very worthwhile upgrade.

wave100

Keefy said:

I thought I might get a response along these lines!

Do you have a reason to stick with Apple?
Yes.
(1) I use SMUG Capo which is Apple only, and although other similar apps are available, I have several hundred Capo files which I don't want to ditch.
(2) I have my music room iMac and our general-use iMac set up for file sharing. It may well be possible to add a PC to such a set-up, but I suspect it may involve 'tinkering with computers rather than using them for productive work'!
(3) I like the ease with which I currently sync iTunes and iCal - see (2) above.
(4) Time Machine.

I haven't built a Hackintosh personally
In which case you may not be best placed to answer my questions!

I (personally) feel it is the sort of thing to do if you enjoy tinkering with computers
I get a lot of satisfaction from making and modding.

Fair enough - the questions had to be asked though! And although I haven't done it personally, I have read enough posts on the internet with users complaining that various aspects of OS X didn't work properly, particularly iMessage if I remember correctly. Good luck with it anyway, let us know how it works for you.

gibsongretschfan

Usually iMessage, airdrop, Bluetooth and wifi don't work 

However, if you are building a studio machine for a single purpose then none of that stuff is going to matter and there are very few draw backs

want a machine with 64gb ram, an Nvme.2 drive and a 9900k for less £1400?

of course you do!

Hell, you can boot camp to windows and throw a Radeon 570 in there for cheap and beat the kids at Fortnite while you're at it

Troglodyte

I've looked into building a Hackintosh previously (usually after going to the Apple website and going "How bloody much?"). However, I don't have time for futzing around fixing stuff and wondering if the next update is going to break it. So in the end I just pay the money and grumble. For me, the only situation where it might be worth it is when Apple doesn't make what you want.
Just to add, are you aware of Apple refurbs? Maybe they have what you want for less?
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/mac

Keefy

gibsongretschfan said:

Usually iMessage, airdrop, Bluetooth and wifi don't work 

...

No wifi? Eek!

Troglodyte said:

...
Just to add, are you aware of Apple refurbs? Maybe they have what you want for less?
https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/mac

Thanks, that's worth a look.

digitalscream

Keefy said:

(2) I have my music room iMac and our general-use iMac set up for file sharing. It may well be possible to add a PC to such a set-up, but I suspect it may involve 'tinkering with computers rather than using them for productive work'!

An awful lot less tinkering than the amount of research and care that needs to go into making and maintaining a Hackintosh

In fact, if you want to be a bit more energy-conscious, you might want to get a Raspberry Pi 4 (not a 3, because it only has 100Mbit/s networking) and set it up as a NAS - that way, you don't need to keep any of your Macs on all the time. That means you can add any kind of machine to the network and still be able to get at your files without any trouble at all.

WiresDreamDisasters

gibsongretschfan said:

Usually iMessage, airdrop, Bluetooth and wifi don't work 

They work fine if you configure the hardware correctly.

notanon

digitalscream said:

Keefy said:

(2) I have my music room iMac and our general-use iMac set up for file sharing. It may well be possible to add a PC to such a set-up, but I suspect it may involve 'tinkering with computers rather than using them for productive work'!

An awful lot less tinkering than the amount of research and care that needs to go into making and maintaining a Hackintosh

In fact, if you want to be a bit more energy-conscious, you might want to get a Raspberry Pi 4 (not a 3, because it only has 100Mbit/s networking) and set it up as a NAS - that way, you don't need to keep any of your Macs on all the time. That means you can add any kind of machine to the network and still be able to get at your files without any trouble at all.

^^^ @digitalscream obviously knows the score ;-)

Some problems you may encounter and solve within minutes. Specific configurations with a simple update from Apple could break all sorts of drivers etc which could result in research for minutes, days, weeks, . . . . months. You could be entering into hardware configs with no help from Apple so wait until some kind sole can figure it out. If hardware is your bag then that is possibly a welcome challenge for you and some people love solving the issues hence the Hackintosh projects.

Apple are renowned for 'it just works' and even they have screwed up despite having complete control over the hardware supplied so I personally would rather stay away from custom setups (too many hours spent trying distros, no longer interested)

As an example, in the past with Samsung (I think it was) I had an issue with replacing a hard drive on my iMac, Apple dictated there was an extra sensor to monitor the temperature to start up the fan. Replace your hard drive with a standard Samsung on an Apple iMac and the fan was constantly running. Fortunately somebody created an app http://exirion.net/ssdfanctrl/ I wouldn't want to have to write that kind of app just because I had changed a disk. Having experienced that issue I can say that without the app, it was a painful auditory experience to sit next to the iMac.

Things may be better now, so maybe this is now is all sorted and there is no plug and pray kind of issues - I wish you luck if you go down a Hackintosh route. Send feedback here, I for one am interested in current situation with Hackintosh. 

WiresDreamDisasters

Zero care and zero maintenance with a hackintosh if you build it right.

Keefy

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Zero care and zero maintenance with a hackintosh if you build it right.

This is why I mentioned the so-called 'golden builds'.

colourofsound

I've been running one with a modded bios on my motherboard so it boots just like an Apple Machine - impressive at first but ultimately hard to maintain. I'm going to move to the TonyMac method - with the right hardware it is solid and reliable. If you pick carefully, you can run one machine for many, many years - mine is coming on for nearly 8 (?!) years on now, still runs really nicely and barely craps out when I push it in Logic.

Unless you want the fancy looking box, its the way to go.

One proviso - it will be louder than an actual Mac, even with some fancy fans and heat sinks. If you're a stickler for ambient noise in your studio, look at Noctua fans and heat sinks, or a water-cooled method.

Keefy

colourofsound said:

I've been running one with a modded bios on my motherboard so it boots just like an Apple Machine - impressive at first but ultimately hard to maintain. I'm going to move to the TonyMac method - with the right hardware it is solid and reliable. If you pick carefully, you can run one machine for many, many years - mine is coming on for nearly 8 (?!) years on now, still runs really nicely and barely craps out when I push it in Logic.

Unless you want the fancy looking box, its the way to go.

One proviso - it will be louder than an actual Mac, even with some fancy fans and heat sinks. If you're a stickler for ambient noise in your studio, look at Noctua fans and heat sinks, or a water-cooled method.

I don't do much mic'ing up in my tiny room. I can always put the amp or vocal mic in the spare room next door. So not really an issue.