“I recently built a computer; my first,” Kirk McElhearn writes for Kirkville. “It’s a Hackintosh mini, though it’s not quite as small as the Mac mini.”
“I’ve written about it at Macworld, but I left the details about the specific parts out of that article,” McElhearn writes. “Here’s a list of the parts I used for my computer, and the cost at the time I purchased them.”
My ‘Hackintosh mini’ parts list:
• Motherboard: I chose a Gigabyte H170N-WI-FI Motherboard, which cost $150 or £110. It offers USB 3 and USB-C, and has DVI and HDMI connecters.
• Processor: The Intel Intel Core i3 6100 Skylake Dual-Core 3.7 GHz Processor isn’t a high-powered choice, but for a simple computer, it’s more than enough. It cost $112 or £108.
Full parts list here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple’s confused, deer-in-the-headlights inaction contributed greatly to the rise of the Hackitosh.
SEE ALSO:
Hackintosh: Should you build one? – June 21, 2017
Is a $70 hackintosh any good? – May 19, 2017
Modern ‘Hackintoshes’ show that Apple should probably just build a Mac tower – May 1, 2017
It’s time for an official ‘Hackintosh’ – February 27, 2017
Building a Hackintosh: Part 3 – July 21, 2014
Building a Hackintosh: Part 2 – July 15, 2014
Building a Hackintosh – July 7, 2014
I keep hearing bad stories about driver issues after a system update.
If I buy the exact same hardware in a current Apple model, then how can this be an issue?
Because apply puts artificial barriers in your way to make you think their hardware is somehow different from everyone elses… often they will use their own firmware on something and the OS expects it, but you can get around that. tonymacx86 has all the answers you seek.
apfs will make things interesting though.. but you can still install and use HPF+ as of 10.13.
Ooooh! That sounds very melodramatic, MDN! But how many people are *actually* building and using hackintosh computers? I suspect that the prevalence of hackintosh computers as a percentage of total Mac users is quite low.
In my opinion, you also have an obligation to point out that people building hackintosh computers are breaking the law. Apple provides macOS for *free* subject to the EULA. If you are not running macOS on legitimate Apple hardware, then you are stealing it.
The assertion that Apple has not done a good job in updating its Mac offerings in recent years is true. Anyone with a brain recognizes that the Mac Pro and the Mac mini have been largely ignored since 2013 or so. But that is not an excuse for breaking the law.
Everybody breaks the law. You probably did on your way to or from work everyday by speeding or going to slow, so what?
Stealing has a specific definition. Violating copyright can get you in trouble, but it is not “stealing.” Stop buying into (or selling) propaganda.
You may agree with the law that says violating copyright is wrong, but stop lying about what it is called. I notice you didn’t say that violating copyright is murder. Why not?
Stealing is taking something away from someone else so that they no longer have it. Violating copyright does not do that, so it is not stealing. It may be a violation of the law, but it is not stealing.
Got it?
The Mac mini-type hackintosh described in this article cost $497 not including the 4TB HDD, which was repurposed from elsewhere. That is with an i3 processor. Fun exercise if that is your hobby, I suppose, but hardly an earth shattering improvement.
Also, as noted above, the macOS that runs this computer is stolen. In the past when Apple charged for OS updates, you could at least justify that you paid for the software. Now you can’t…
So is MDN promoting theft now? Linux is provided free of charge (not to mention also promotes freedom) to people who are interested in using it, and certain distros are miles above whatever garbage M$ sells. I know Android has given a bad name to Linux for many Apple fans, but Linux is still a great alternative to Windoze. Running a VM still involves using stolen software, but then again the same could be said for using video game emulators. Just buy a Mac, so you won’t have to deal with all these headaches.
This could all be so much better if Tim Cook who loves his iPad would just sign off on letting H-P market workstation grade desktops and let Apple keep the Laptop market to themselves.
Didn’t they do that back in the 1990s? I wonder how well that worked out for Apple…
Apple has lost interest in the Mac- that is obvious.
Apple could license H-P to produce workstation desktops only – keeping them out of the all in one and laptop markets. We would get the workstations we want and Apple would not have to spend time and money on it.
The EFI is what separates a Hackintosh from a Macintosh. The Z-2 Mini workstation can be BTO with a Xeon CPU and a 2 GB GPU with 4 DisplayPorts and 16 GB for about $1500 last time I checked. You can get them for far less with i3/i5/i7 CPUs and Intel Graphics is you wish.
The box opens and you can add or upgrade the memory, HD, Graphics Card and wireless card without tools. It looks fine and I would order one today.
Sorry, but I’m not convinced. If you do want those specs, then buy an HP computer. Don’t get me wrong, HP makes quality equipment, it’s just that M$ isn’t anywher near as good as Apple is. An HP setup with Linux or BSD is free (freedom/price) and legal, without pirating software for a Hackintosh. Doesn’t HP even have their own UNIX OS too? You can use any of those things without supporting M$ or stealing from Apple.
Just sent this Tweet to Tim Cook
@tim_cook Since the Mac mini is dead, let H-P sell the Z2 Mini with Mac OS. Xeon CPU & NVIDIA 2GB GPU for $1500 & the box opens w/o tools.
If you agree, join the party.
https://datamancer.com/blog/the-archbishop-pc-suite/
How would you like this for a Hackintosh? The specs for this obviously would have to be updated for a Mac OS as this setup is an it old, but the style is very interesting. I would definitely order one of these with Mac installed on it because it looks so different from “normal” computers.
Apple could end most of the “hackintosh” market by selling the following package for the Intel i7 Nuc computer:
– MacOS, iLife and iWorks and a custom Apple lid for $149.
Intel Nuc Specs:
7th Generation Intel Core i7-7567U
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650
Dual channel DDR4-2133 SODIMMs, 32GB maximum
Thunderbolt 3
M.2 22×42/80 (key M) slot for SATA3 or Pie X4 Gen3 NV Me or AHCI SSD
2.5″ SSD/HDD bay
7.1 surround sound
Dual array microphones
Micro SDXC slot
Display port 1.2 and HDMI 2 (4k 60 hertz)
802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.2
1 ghz ethernet
Apple isn’t abandoning the Mac. It just has a leadership team that is clueless about making continued improvements in a timely manner. Cook wants you to buy 3 or 4 small devices where he can skim off easy app profits rather than selling you one amazing laptop that crushes the performance of PCs. And obviously with his jet set lifestyle, Cook uses only iOS gadgets & has no clue what a modular desktop Mac could be without Ives absurd thickness/size aversions.
The culpa mea meeting about the Mac Pro was the only thing preventing more pro users from jumping to the PC. Maybe the iMac Pro will breathe some life back into the graphics market, but video production and engineering is already mostly all PC and not coming back until Apple gets a real Mac Pro with real gpus out.
The Mac Mini is a strange issue. Clueless product management there.
All I know is Apple has messed a lot of us up. We want to buy a real Mac, mini, Pro, etc. Alas, many of us cannot with what they now produce. For what we want and need.
Apple doesn’t care. They live in a bubble.