Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

So as soon as I graduate from school this year I'm going to rent a space and try to get my studio up and running. As of now I've been running Pro Tools on my Macbook Pro, which is a good laptop (i7, 2.7ghz, 8GB ram, etc.), but I want to build a dedicated studio computer that is only for Pro Tools and Adobe Premiere/Avid Media Composer. I do sound and film projects a lot so I want to build a high quality comp in terms of processing power and such that can handle my sessions.

I want to build a computer that will run OSX (commonly called a hackintosh), because that's what I've used for the past 5 or 6 years and it's what I'm used to. Everything from the keyboard shortcuts to the operating system itself and the feel, I just like the mac interface, though I recognize PC is more customizable and way cheaper. Which is why I want to build this in the first place, because the type of specs I want from Apple would cost like $4,000. And I'm looking more in the range of 2,000.

So anyway, my question is, does anybody have experience with this? Specifically with using hackintoshes with Pro Tools. Any issues with ilok's, plug-ins, latency issues, problems getting support from Avid etc. etc. I would just like to know all the risks going in and if you have any advice for me of what specs I need to have Pro Tools 10 (regular not HD) running at it's top performance I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

Maybe use the forum search function?

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

I guess my question is more specifically in reference to how far I need to go to get what specs to run regular Pro Tools 10 at it's max efficiency. All of the stuff I've found in the forums for Hackintoshes have been about HD systems.

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

Just stay aware that any hackintosh is not "stable" ... if you're willing to sacrifice stability for price and performance .. then a hackintosh is the way to go .. there's a tonymac website that explains how to install osx on a normal pc ... it's a good base to start from and pro tools 10 would run of course .. but remember again .. stability ?
Cheers

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

This is some b/s right there.

I've been running PT on different Mac Pros for ten years. Half a year ago I built two Hackintoshs, and there is no difference whatsoever in terms of stability.
The only difference there is is the incredible performance boost I got for less than half the money.

Look at my signature to view the gear I'm using with the Hackintosh. It's the fastest and most stable system I've worked with to date, and jumping off the Apple cliff towards the hackintosh has been one of the best decisions I made and I will never look back.

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

Hmm ... thanks for the compliment :)

Drivers for specific hardware is available ..can you share with us your PC specs MEADS ?

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

Didn't mean to insult you, but what you said about stability simply is not true, and sheds a wrong light on the matter. No hard feelings. ;)

Don't know what you mean with the drivers, though.

Specs are:

Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5
CPU: Intel Core i7 3930k (4 GHz)
RAM: 32GB DDR3 1600 MHz Corsair Vengeance LP
Graphics: NVidia GT640

Whole thing cost me 1500 Euros, sold my 4 year old MacPro for 1900 Euros. So I made money by getting a machine, that is about twice as fast. Nice, isn't it? :D

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

I mean where did you manage to get the drivers for your motherboard, graphic card, etc to run a stable OSX on your desktop ... the necessary software to install it on your pc ...

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

In order to get a Hackintosh up and running you have to do some tweaks of course. But there's a huge community, and tools/instructions are easy to find, and comprehensible.
The graphics card is even supported natively by OSX 10.8.2, no driver needed.

Re: Hackintosh with Pro Tools?
 

You need a specific mobo then .... not any intel board would work ...