Comparisons
By following this guide, you can build either of two machines (or some combination of the two):
- $900 Hackintosh (a third the price of the cheapest Mac Pro, and just as fast)
- $1,600 Hac Pro (double your RAM, double the storage space, faster processor, add a a Blu-ray burner, SSD hard drive, and quieter case with overclocking capability, and still save 40%)
I put together the latter; either way, you’re saving around a thousand bucks. While I could’ve tried to get the price even lower, we’re not trying to build the cheapest possible Mac — we’re trying to build a fast machine capable of handling the rigors of high-definition video post-production. Think about it this way: you could build the Hac Pro, which offers a lot of functionality the Mac Pro doesn’t (like CUDA-accelerated Adobe editing and a Blu-ray burner) and still have nearly enough money leftover to buy one of those nice new MacBook Airs — for less than the price of the lowest-end Mac Pro.
Let’s do an (ahem) Apples-to-Apples comparison, with the best option bolded:
| Mac Pro Mid 2010 | NoFilmSchool Hackintosh | NoFilmSchool Hac Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel i7 | 3.3GHz Quad-Core Intel i5 | 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel i7 |
| RAM | 3GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (Max 16GB) | 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM (Max 32GB) | 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM (Max 32GB) |
| Graphics | ATI Radeon HD 5770 w/ 1GB RAM | ATI Radeon HD 6850 w/ 1GB RAM | nVidia GTX w/ Adobe CUDA Acceleration or ATI (your choice) |
| Storage | 1TB SATA 7200RPM Hard Drive | 1TB SATA 7200RPM Hard Drive | 64GB SSD System Drive + 1TB SATA 7200RPM Hard Drive |
| Optical | 18X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW | 24X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW | 10X Dual Layer Blu-Ray BD-R/RE / 16X DVD+/-RW |
| Firewire | 4 Firewire 800 ports | No Firewire | 2 Firewire 400 ports (expandable) |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 2.1 | Bluetooth 2.1 | Bluetooth 2.1 |
| Wireless | AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g | AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g | AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g |
| eSATA | None | 1X rear eSATA ports built-in | 2X rear eSATA ports built-in |
| Price | $2,500 | $900 | $1,600 |
Of course, that last row is the most telling. So that’s the basic lineup: you can of course pick and choose components to make your own combination of the two Hackintoshes (Hackintai?), and you can build an even more powerful machine by choosing a faster processor, more RAM, a Firewire 800 card, RAID controller, etc (I’ll go over these options, too). The proof, however, is in the pudding, so let’s take a look at the performance results.
23 COMMENTS
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HackyApple on 05.10.11 @ 1:16PM
Tower?
PSU?
OSX Software?A few things missing from your components list that would increase the cost of your builds, unless you have included them. A breakdown of the price of each component and a place to buy them (newegg, amazon) would be nice too.
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legomaster6060 on 08.9.11 @ 1:10PM
I am making my own version called the iHac. It is the Hac Pro with 8 GB RAM and 24x sata dvd writer overall it costs 1272.60 on amazon + s&h and internet. So basically it costs $1300. please add a category for the iHac. Also a better name for the Hackintosh is the Hac Mini
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franzjaeger@ymail.com on 09.3.11 @ 8:38AM
Hey would it not be faster to get a couple of mac minis instead.. a server and a mid model would be less than 2 grand.. you would have a quad core, and a dual core.. three hard disks.. AMD radeon graphics, future compatibility, zero tech problems, warranty and all that..
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Umesh Patel on 10.12.11 @ 10:30AM
FIRST OF ALL THANKS A LOT. One of the great site for hakintosh maker…I want to make a Hakintosh…But before that i want to confirm some points..
1. I want to make a system that can edit DSLR file (5D MAK 2) with CS 5.5 (premier and some compositing with AE) and if possible i want to install LION and FCP Studio (Mac) later…..
Should i make system with “Intel i 7 3.x Ghz” (with Nvidia card for Premier support ) or a system with Intel 2600 k (I want to use Nvidia card instead of the Ati graphics card). What n vidia card should i use with SANDY BRIDGE SYSTEM.
I’m going to make both the system as i saw on your site…Tell me so that i order for it….
TONS OF THANKS FOR THE SITE…
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Sean Sonni on 10.16.11 @ 10:49AM
Koo,
For your Hac Pro, I had a couple of questions :
Is the 850 W power supply really required? I’d think a 500 W supply would more than suffice.Do you have any experience with the Radeon 5700 HD series? It’s more than adequate (I’m not actually video editting, just replacing an older tower where the majority of the parts are 5+ years old) and I have it lying around.
It’s a great guide though, I’m putting in my orders for the parts today.
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Hey great post here! Let me ask you a question though, is there a reason why you didnt try to build an 8-core or a 12-core? It seems that would be the best route for life of the system.
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I don’t think it’s possible or recommended to build a dual processor hackintosh.
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David on 11.27.11 @ 12:56PM
The Motherboard you are currently recommending with the 900$ hackintosh build has no firewire, and only ONE eSATA.
-You should correct that pls.
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Craig on 01.1.12 @ 6:11PM
@Serge and @David,
Please recheck the Listing on the motherboard and even LOOK at the images provided on Amazon, you an clearly see it states it has not ONE but TWO “IEEE 1394a port’s” or in Mac terms a FIREWIRE Ports.
And if you need more than TWO then yes Serge you can buy a card with them on. -
Spiiina on 01.25.12 @ 4:42PM
Is it a bad idea to use the motherboard from the hackintosh on the hack pro? I would go with the GTX460 and pretty much keep everything else the same as the hack pro. Forgive me for my ignorance but what is the more expensive board missing compared to the cheaper one? Or will it just not work with the other components?
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Spiiina on 01.25.12 @ 11:25PM
Thanks for the quick reply bro… But I feel like I’m missing something, would it be worth the long run investment? What is the main difference between the two causing them to be such a large price difference? It seems like the PCI ports differ a bit but I’m not sure if there is anything else?
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Spiiina on 01.26.12 @ 12:26AM
Dont think so… Amazon’s description of the cheaper board has two bullet points separating the regular PCI slots and the PCI Express. Here’s a little better format of the two rather than looking at amazon:
Hack Pro Expansion Slots:
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot running at x16 ,
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot running at x8
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 ,
- 2 x PCI Express x1 slots
- 2 x PCI slots, Support for 2-Way AMD CrossFireX/NVIDIA SLI technologyHack Slots:
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16.
- 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8.
- 3 x PCI Express x1 slots
- 2 x PCI slots. Support for ATI CrossFireX/NVIDIA SLI technologySeems that both have 7 and the only difference (at least PCI aspects) is the 1 PCI express x16 running at x4. I guess I’ll go with the cheaper one, it just makes me questions if the quality is better for one reason or another. What are your thoughts?
Again, thanks so much for the write up and answering my questions… I’ll be sure to use your wishlist and get you credit once I’m ready to take the plunge.
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Geert on 02.27.12 @ 8:56AM
Does it make any difference which ATI Radeon HD 6850 w/ 1GB RAM i use?
for example:
Club 3D Radeon HD 6850
or
MSI R6850 Cyclone 1GD5 Power Edition/OCThanks.
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Can any type of video card be used? Or is there some requirements these cards meet? Not really lookin into building a hac for hq video projects so was wondering if it was possible to use a lower end vid card on the regular hac and use the extra money to put in an ssd? Thanks for the guide!
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Blake on 03.9.12 @ 4:57PM
I am looking to buy the Hac Pro, but found that Amazon no longer sells the motherboard (Gigabyte Z68XP-UD5 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard GA-Z68XP-UD5), but they do sell a very similar one the (Gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard GA-Z68X-UD7-B3). If I were to buy the Gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard GA-Z68X-UD7-B3 over the one you listed, would it effect the computer in terms of runnig the Mac operating system or its other components?
Please Reply…
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Steve on 05.2.12 @ 8:21AM
Looks great!
It’s a definite possibility
Any chance of having thunderbolt?
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Very interesting article. I have built 4 hackintoshes. I have based all those builds on the Life Hacker Series. They are all running quite well. I use them for desk top publishing and don’t need the same power and storage you need. I am in the process of building one for my son who is going to use it for video editing. I was going to use the Asus P7P55DE-Pro and a better video card but I was so impressed with your guide that I am going to build your Hac-Pro which would be just what my son is looking for. Thank You for your excellent work.
Lewis