Hackintosh?

That board seems to have pretty rave reviews from the Hackintosh community, which is why I started checking it out. Looks fairly future proof, but yeah, it might be a better idea to hold out a bit longer and see what Mavericks h/ware requirements are. Can't imagine it being too different from ML though. I never thought I'd get sucked in to trying this until I get it right, haha !

I'm actually missing my mountain lion setup, ill dabble again when Mavericks comes out.
 
Doesn't Mavericks have almost the same hardware requirements as ML? I remember reading so. The developer preview 1 seems to have the same.

Some news: I managed to get QE/CI working but I don't know why its working, I did a fresh install then used the same kext so I'm stumped... So complicated:confused:
 
Doesn't Mavericks have almost the same hardware requirements as ML? I remember reading so. The developer preview 1 seems to have the same.

Some news: I managed to get QE/CI working but I don't know why its working, I did a fresh install then used the same kext so I'm stumped... So complicated

Actually now that you mention it guy at work had preview 2 running on his mac book air 2012 model.
 
Didn't come right with my existing desktop. Can't find any info relating to my board. Been meaning to get a new desktop pc anyway, so I'll just make life easy and buy Hackintosh compatible hardware from the onset. Essentially, I'll just need a new board, ram and CPU.

Been looking at this - http://www.takealot.com/computers/c...1155-z77-express-chipset-motherboard,12795904

Any other board options you guys think I should look at ? I will be running Windows x64 as well on another HDD.
That board uses a VIA VT2021 audio codec which is not really supported. The board everyone raves about is the DS3H model with a Realtek ALC887 chipset. That model is not available in SA - we get the D3H with the VIA audio chipset instead. There is a third party VoodoHDA kext that could be used to get VIA audio working, but to be honest, it's not all that good and not worth the effort. Sound will never be right and you would have to play with prefpanes, midi setup and jump through hoops to get it sounding reasonable, but never perfect. Not to mention that it has to be removed before any update to OS X or the system will get a kernel panic. (OS X version of BSOD). With an ALC chipset, the AppleHDA kext just needs patching, meaning your audio will be perfect as it will be using Apple codecs instead of a 3rd party coder's iteration of it. (there are already patched AppleHDA kexts for most ALC codecs available if you look for them.)

The B75MD3P is a decent general all-rounder with no issues at all. Go have a look on TonyMac's site. Even though I don't support his ethics (stealing other peoples work and branding it as his own), his forum has a Build section where people swap methods and advice on specific motherboards and hardware. That is a very good starting point. The trickiest part of any 'hack' build, is finding the right hardware. After that, the rest is a piece of cake. If you do not take that part seriously, then hackintoshing will always be an effort and more hassle than worth.

Things to look for are:
Audio: Stick to a board with a Realtek ALC codec ALCxxx
LAN: Try and stick with Realtek LAN although a few Atheros chipsets are supported too - with more hassle, but workable. Always check first.

If you stick with Gigabyte, those are the only compatibility issues you will have. Make sure the board you buy has the correct model number. A prime example is the Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H as opposed to the popular Gigabyte GA-Z77-DS3H. They seem similar, but have different chipsets. Even the board revision number may change the chipset specs. Check the specs on Gigabyte's web site and make sure you know what you are buying.

Graphics card: I have had more issues with NVidia cards than AMD. But some believe visa versa. My old 6850 works (and always has) natively without the need for any patches or fixes. Plug n Play basically. But there are AMD boards which are a nightmare too. Once again... Research the model card before you buy. I can tell you now though, no Fermi based Nvidia cards are recommended at all. They are responsible for what the community calls the Fermi Freeze. There are very few that work. That is because Apple decided to give Fermi a miss. Most Kepler cards are supported oob.

If you want a cost effective wireless network solution, the TP-Link WDN4800 Pci-E x1 card is one of only 3 models seen by OS X natively as an Apple Airport Express card since it has the exact same chipset Apple use in their Apple rebranded cards. Best of all, they go for R375 if you shop around. Half of what an Apple branded half mini pci-e card would cost, but same hardware onboard nonetheless.
 
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Thanks for the informative post. I've got a nVidia GS8400. I'm not too fussed about the Audio. I've got an M-Audio Delta 2496 sound card that I intend using, which is supported in OS X 10.6 and above, so I reckon I'll be ok with that. Your advice will come in very handy when I seriously get down to picking up my new components. Nice 1 !
 
So I installed Mountain Lion on vmware workstation 10 on my Dell Inpsiron 7720.
Downloaded Mavericks
Setup bootable USB
Created a new Virtual machine
Installed Mavericks
All went well
Only thing I cannot get working is iMessage?

I have tried the fixes but dont think they work in a virtual machine?

I suspect that under "About this Mac" I need to see hardware specs like at the moment it says Mac and thats it!
 
Nice site for kexts and premade boot files for your hardware.

http://www.osxlatitude.com/edp/compatibility/

What components are in the 7720?

I have an N5010 which I am trying to install 10.8.2 onto - battling with most essential components - at this stage WiFi and Audio are my biggest "needs". Hoping that maybe we have similar hardware then I can grab some from that model.
 
What components are in the 7720?

I have an N5010 which I am trying to install 10.8.2 onto - battling with most essential components - at this stage WiFi and Audio are my biggest "needs". Hoping that maybe we have similar hardware then I can grab some from that model.

Dont think they have managed to ever get wifi working, sound maybe try Voodoo drivers from multibeast.


I have so far in my spare time managed to get everything working except wireless and HD graphics, the HD graphics issue I'll have sorted by today.
The drivers from that site didnt help me much, I used this instead.......

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/286552-guidedell-inspirion-17r-se-7720-installation-guide/
 
Issue with Grpahics is its detecting the Nvidia card and not intel hd 4000

Boot time to desktop is 7seconds.
 
I have found the myhack - create installer then reopen myhack and remove problematic kexts helps you at least get osx installed.
 
Awesome, thanks for the tips - I will check them out.

I have luckily been able to get the system installed (albeit still using bootloader on install DVD).

I actually used multibeast yesterday to try to get audio working - no dice. It actually installed the digital audio on HDMI and the regular old audio. But no dice on actually getting sound.

My video is a funny one - total opposite of you. It's trying to load intel HD instead of ATI. I have graphics at least, just the resolution is crappy.

This has become my new hobby, so I will hack at it till it works :)
 
Awesome, thanks for the tips - I will check them out.

I have luckily been able to get the system installed (albeit still using bootloader on install DVD).

I actually used multibeast yesterday to try to get audio working - no dice. It actually installed the digital audio on HDMI and the regular old audio. But no dice on actually getting sound.

My video is a funny one - total opposite of you. It's trying to load intel HD instead of ATI. I have graphics at least, just the resolution is crappy.

This has become my new hobby, so I will hack at it till it works


Nope I'm starting from scratch again and re-installing, replaced and added too many files (kexts) so think I have messed up some things.
 
My Hackintosh dreams are dead - there is NO way to get Intel HD4000 to kick on my Dell 7720 SE as it is the 3D version with optimus so the Nvidia card kicks in no matter what.
 
I'm typing this post from my fresh Snow Leopard Hackintosh install :D

I never got around to buying any new components, but since the weather was k@k in durbs this past weekend, I decided to give my old desktop another run at getting it sorted. Happily, it turned out all I needed was to use the right boot flags in the right order, and presto, I'm up and running.

Retail copy of Snow Leopard, iBoot CD and MultiBeast for Snow Leopard was all I needed. Quite chuffed now :)
I have an MSI G31M3 motherboard, with Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS 512mb Graphics Card, Intel Core 2 Quad 2.5Ghz.

I followed this dude's instructions, and it worked out brilliantly, specifically the boot flags before and after install, as well as the MultiBeast selections.

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

Only thing I can't get working yet is dual monitors via the GeForce 8400.
 
And now I've got dual displays working as well. Happy as a pig in $h!t !
 
I'm typing this post from my fresh Snow Leopard Hackintosh install :D

I never got around to buying any new components, but since the weather was k@k in durbs this past weekend, I decided to give my old desktop another run at getting it sorted. Happily, it turned out all I needed was to use the right boot flags in the right order, and presto, I'm up and running.

Retail copy of Snow Leopard, iBoot CD and MultiBeast for Snow Leopard was all I needed. Quite chuffed now :)
I have an MSI G31M3 motherboard, with Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS 512mb Graphics Card, Intel Core 2 Quad 2.5Ghz.

I followed this dude's instructions, and it worked out brilliantly, specifically the boot flags before and after install, as well as the MultiBeast selections.

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

Only thing I can't get working yet is dual monitors via the GeForce 8400.

If you have the right hardware it was a pleasure to mackintosh, wrong hardware man alive was that crazy frustrating.

I only dealt with laptops at the end and the wifi was always an issue.
 
I was always under the impression that I had the wrong board, and yes, it was frustrating as hell, but luckily I decided to give it another go. Result !
 
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