For your eyes I present my documented journey as I build a Hackintosh from scratch… that’s right, you can build your own computer and not buy one from Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc. Not only will I be building my own computer but one that will run Mac OS X… as we go on you will see why this is such a feat.
 

What is a Hackintosh?

For years I have wanted to build a Hackintosh. If you don’t know what this is, let me explain. The Hackintosh Project, more refered to as ‘OSx86’ (a portmanteau of OS X and x86) is a collaborative “hacking” project to run the Mac OS X computer operating system on non-Apple personal computers. A computer other than a Macintosh that has been configured to run the Macintosh operating system is known as a “Hackintosh” a portmanteau of the word “hack” and the name of Apple’s main brand of computers, Macintosh.
Basically, Apple has a terrific operating system known as Mac OS X… the unfortunate fact is you must buy an Apple computer (a MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini or a MacPro) and these are definitely not cheap… I present to you my build that I plan on working on very soon.
 

The Original 2010 Hardware

  • Case/Chassis – SilverStone KL03 (Silver)
  • PSU – Tagan SmartRock 1100W*
  • CPU – Intel Core i7, 930 (2.80 Ghz)
  • Motherboard – Gigabyte EX58-UD5
  • Hard Drive #1 – Seagate 320Gb (For Mac)*
  • Hard Drive #2 – Seagate 320Gb (For Windows)*
  • Hard Drive #3 – Seagate 500Gb (For Storage)*
  • Memory – Corsair “Dominator” 6Gb Kit (3 x 3Gb)
  • GPU – ATI Radeon HD 4890 (XFX Branded)
  • Optical Drive – Samsung SH-S223C DVD/CD Combo/Writer/Reader
  • Monitor – ViewSonic VX2433WM 24″
  • Keyboard – Razer Lycosa Gaming
  • Mouse – Pat Says Now “Japanese Koi”*
  • Bluetooth – Bluetooth Dongle*

* Denotes parts which were already owned, these do not affect the final budget.
 

The Budget

$2000 was allocated to this project with an estimation of $1800 for bottom line result (not taking shipping into consideration). The Sub-Total ended up at $1820, with shipping/freight/insurance/hiden costs/etc the final tally came to $1920.81 which still didn’t break the budget.
 

The Procedure

Updating…
 

The 2014 Refresh

  • Case/Chassis – Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Cube
  • PSU – Cougar CMX850 850W
  • CPU – Intel Core i7, 930 (2.80 Ghz)
  • Motherboard – Gigabyte EX58-UD5
  • Hard Drive #1 – Samsung 840 Pro 256GB (For Mac)*
  • Hard Drive #2 – Samsung 840 Evo 128GB (For Windows)*
  • Hard Drive #3 – Seagate Barracuda 3Tb (For Storage)*
  • Memory – Corsair “Dominator” 6Gb Kit (3 x 3Gb)
  • GPU – Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 OC 2GB
  • Optical Drive – N/A
  • Monitor – Apple Cinema Display 24″
  • Keyboard – IBM Model M (1989)
  • Mouse – Logitech Trackball
  • Bluetooth – Bluetooth Dongle*

 

The Current Status

Still Alive! Running Mavericks.