Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R iX58 Socket 1366 7.1 Channel Audio ATX £132.13 or Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4 iP55 Socket 1156 8 channel audio ATX £138.97 (Depending on CPU) CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz Socket 1366 D0 stepping 8MB Cache £194.99 or £149.99 Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz RAM: Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory CL9(9-9-9-24) for i7 motherboards £93.93 Graphics Card: EVGA 896-P3-1170-AR GEFORCE GTX275 896MB £182.00 HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB Hard Drive SATAII £55.76 x2 PSU: Be Quiet 650W Dark Power Pro Modular PSU £100.27 Heatsink: ZEROtherm Nirvana NV-120 Quiet CPU Cooler with 120mm fan £32.99 This is my first build so I'd like to know if I've got everything I need and it'll all work together. I think that all the parts are hackintosh compatible in general, but that is something I can check on properly when I have a complete specced up. There are a few things I'm concerned about, for one on the difference between the i5 and the i7 and whether its worth the extra. I'v heard something about new Radeon cards hitting soon. While I think there are compatibility issues in a hackintosh with Radeon, there's a chance the GTX could go down, right? Also, I'm thinking of doing a dual 295 setup in 18 months-2years or so to give the system a bit of life. Would it be worth buying a bigger PSU to deal with that now or will my current one take the strain? And if that is my intention, would it be better to buy a lower spec card for now? Also, there is no case currently listed but I'm holding out to read reviews of the new RV02 and more particularly the FT02. I'll have a DVD drive too, but I want to have a proper look on CD Freaks. The last time I looked the SH-S203 was the best but... meh. It takes a bit of time to see what they rate right now over there. Other than that with this being my first build I'm not sure of any little extras I need. Cables etc.?
all that power and the best u can do is put OSX on it, u shame me man, get windows 7 and enjoy it, u dont have to worry about compatibility issues or anything like that, and with all that power it will be super quick at playing games, or any apps u run. also get core i7 it is the best.
Well I intend to run Windows 7 on 1 of the drives as I much prefer the video encoding and burning apps available on windows. Not to mention a bit of Street Fighter 4 and a few other games would be nice. But yeah, mostly OSX. It should FLY on that kind of system. If of course it all works together.
+1 i agree all that power and its just going to be a waste just get windows 7 and let you pc run freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
GTX295 in 18 months to 2 years?!?! You'll be lucky to find one in your local landfill by then! CPU + mobo - go with the i7 920 1366. Graphics card - there is a risk that your card will not be compatible. Try to do some research on the web to see what people with Hackintoshes are using. I know for a fact that you can order the Mac Pro with a HD4870 and GTX285, so those might be safer bets.
That setup should work brilliantly with OSX. I used a guide from someone who installed OSX on their Gigabyte EX58-UD3R for my UD5: http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=172097
One more thing (ignoring OSX compatibility for now) I could also put in Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Intel P55 Motherboard LGA1156 £83.43 with a BX80605I7860 - Intel Core i7 860, S 1156, Lynnfield, Quad Core, 2.80GHz, DMI 2.5 GT/s, 8MB Cache, 95W, Retail £215.25. So that'd be all on the new Lynnfield boards plus I'd save £30-40. Good idea? And what are people thought on the graphics card? Should I be waiting a few weeks?
if you are going Lynnfield, you'll need to change the 6GB RAM to either 4GB or 8GB. Lynnfield is 2 channels, not 3 channels. only GT200 graphics card officially supported is gtx285. for gtx275 or 260, you'll need to match the EFI.
In that case I'll stick with the 920 then. So the last things to be sorted; Can I drop the heatsink (seemed to imply it came with a stock Intel one)? Should I up the PSU, and if so what to?
No, that PSU is fine. I wouldn't drop the heatsink as you'll need to order the retail version instead (the OEM version doesn't come with a HSF), which costs £25 more. You can get a much better aftermarket heatsink than the stock Intel one for £25.
Seems that the GTX275 isn't available for that price any more. That actually caused me to look around a bit and now I think I'd prefer an ATI :/ Overclockers have the Asus ATI Radeon HD 4890 1024MB GDDR5 for £158.99. I'm not sure I see it going THAT much lower than this for a while even with the 5xxx series out so unless there's a good reason for me to wait for a 5xxx series card (if any are going to be <£200 anyway) then I'll pull the trigger on the 4890 if its a good choice for the rest of the system? Or there's the slightly cheaper 1GB XFX HD 4890 for £135.70. Any reason not to go with this XFX version?
If you want a Hackintosh, going with ATI may cause you a lot of difficulties with drivers (have a look on that forums I linked to).... although for Windows it'll be a great card.
