Hackintosh - Salvage your HD PCI cards - You Can Do It Too!

[studiojimi]

Originally Posted by dmazurek

He means calling Avid for support I think. Any issue you have can immediately blamed on your computer.

that's the main one

but applecare is handy as well and my used box still has 18month of tech on it

in a couple of years i'll see where we are...as i just made my move and i believe it was a solid one and a safe one and you guys know how long i held fast to 7.4

happy now in PT10 8core HD6 TDM plugs galore...clien
st won't know the difference from my G5 in 7.4 which is so ironic

the upgrade curve is what it is.

[jeremyroberts]

Originally Posted by TornadoTed

I have gone ahead and ordered the same parts as in your machine today. I appreciate so much that you have shared this info as my head has been swimming with possible options for months. I have been curious about a Hackintosh but scared off even though I have built several PC's in the past before I got my current Mac. The new multi-beast plus your full parts list really has simplified things so much.

I have a 2006 Mac Pro with HD4 PCIx in a 4 slot Magma chassis which works ok but I do run out of native power. The one option I didn't want to dive into was HDX, the transition over the next 2-3 years looks messy to me and I wanted no part of it. Plugins going/not going to AAX, Pro Tools going to 64Bit etc. Besides that I use 3 interfaces for 48 i/o so I would have needed to go HDX2 because they only have 2 ports per card. That would add another £4k to the cost which is just too much.

I had set my mind on getting a 2nd hand Mac (2009 model) and going to 10.2 and staying there. That still wasn't that cheap a solution, especially as a stop gap. By building a Hackintosh I can get rid of my Magma as HD4 would fit on the Motherboard, by the time I sell that and my Mac I may nearly break even. I will get a more powerful machine and a simpler set up (no Magma), a perfect stop gap machine for 2-3 years until everything settles down and there will be decent 2nd hand deals of HDX on eBay etc.

Ted,

If you sell your 2006 mac ad the magma, you will still be cashflow positive after this build. By a considerable amount! You probably can add 2 large SSDs and more storage too. And still have cash in your pocket. Granted, this box is not a new 12-core -- it's a 3.4ghz 4-core i7, so it's more powerful than a 2009 4-core, but not as powerful as a new macpro. But that's not why we are talking about this build, is it?

Please know that I have not prsonally tested an HD4, but others have. I had issues in the slot order of the core card -- but others have not. I put my core card into slot 4, then accel in the lower slots.This may have to do with core and accel card rev versions.

I am warning you, the Zalman cooler is a freakling pain in the ass to install, but runs almost silent. I ignored other's warnings on this, and I paid the price in install stress. But in the end, it's fantastic.

Feel free to ask any questions, any time.
Don't forget that there are many hackintosh threads -- and make certain you visit TonyMacx86.com -- the real experts are over there. And they accept donations.

[Alécio Costa]

More and more people are building these hack machines in Brazil too. MAc Pro is f!!!! expensive here in Brazil.

I will probably get a new machine next year ( get rid of my MAC PRO 2007 and a G4) and these hackintoshes seem to be a very good and economical solution. But a question remains: isn´t this against law, some kind of reverse engineering?

[AREED]

For myself, there was really no risk. This computer to me is like ProTools 10 ( A Transition). I really just needed to get out of the old G5 and into something current without breaking the bank. New HD cards or Mac/Magma just seemed like investing in old tech, and HDX is not really ready yet.

This way got me from PT8 to PT10 with my old PCI cards and a screaming fast intel based computer running OSX for well under 2K.

Lets face it, by the time all the dust settles with HDX,AAX,MacPros and ProTools 11. We will all need new computers.

So treat it for what it is = a smart way to transition to the next generation.

[jeremyroberts]

Originally Posted by AREED

So treat it for what it is = a smart way to transition to the next generation.

Yes!!! Bingo.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by Alécio Costa

But a question remains: isn´t this against law, some kind of reverse engineering?

no way Steve Jobs said it was ok in 2008 he loved innovation right - but really it shouldn't be any kind of issue bc u bought the software ??? It's urs

[CME]

Originally Posted by YYR123

no way Steve Jobs said it was ok in 2008 he loved innovation right - but really it shouldn't be any kind of issue bc u bought the software ??? It's urs

Well just because Steve said so didn't keep them from suing/shutting down every company that has ever tried to sell hackintoshes.

That said the legality is a bit of a wormhole. As long as you paid for the OS there's not much that can be done. There's the Eula and other things that say you're not suppose to. But that has very little legal power. However as soon as you try to make money doing it look out. Apple, and their lawyers, will be there ASAP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[specialkm]

Sounds like a similar journey. 6 months of stable operation and the only problem encountered due to a bad hard drive. Pretty much like building a PC for those that have undertaken that before. Likelyhood of needing a few attempts at the initial OS install is pretty high, but once configured you're golden. Using tried and true component combination recommendations is really the key to success.

For those of you concerned about support issues, I actually had a non music software related issue resolved with the Mac tech support accessing my hack via online remote access. There wasn't a single concern or question raised as they went searching through all my files and configurations. To them, they were on a Mac pro and they resolved the issue as they normally would on any Mac.

I'm hanging with my hack until they gravitate to a Thunderbolt or perhaps non card based dsp solution. Any Avid purchases before that I think is going to have limited shelf life.

To the OP.... I'm running OS 10.6.8. What are the chances of me upgrading to Lion without having to wipe the system drive and reinstalling everything?

[jeremyroberts]

Originally Posted by specialkm

I'm running OS 10.6.8. What are the chances of me upgrading to Lion without having to wipe the system drive and reinstalling everything?

LOL!
I wouldn't dream of doing that -- but you have very little to lose -- work on an image! Please let us know if it works.

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by CME

Well just because Steve said so didn't keep them from suing/shutting down every company that has ever tried to sell hackintoshes.
Tapatalk

Yeah but everyone here is talking about building hacks and not reselling hacks - which I would consider illegal - ur making money off apple's software