nofilmschool » hackintosh

Dude, You Gettin' a Dell? Former Apple Editors Choose 'Yes, Bro' over Mac Pro for Performance

Dave Kendricken — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:18:26 +0000

Something weird is going on. We know the Mac Pro hasn’t had a substantial upgrade in some time. We know that something is looming over the horizon, but we don’t know what, exactly. We also know that Apple will probably over-charge us for it (or it wouldn’t quite feel right for anybody). And while it may not be fair to fault a machine that’s still quite hefty and robust for losing to brand new ones in spec tests and benchmark performance — just what are we waiting for here? Should we even be waiting for it at all? How much incentive to hold out for Apple remains when you can build your own Mac Pro, build your own specialized editing PC — or, for instance, as a recent StudioDaily feature shows many video editors are doing — switch to powerhouse Dell solutions? (more…)

Build a Mountain Lion Hackintosh w/ Thunderbolt That's Faster Than a Mac Pro -- for Half the Price

Ryan Koo — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:34:48 +0000

Apple OS X Mountain Lion came out this summer and it supports the latest Intel Ivy Bridge processors — which means it’s time to update our guide to building a Mac out of high-performance, inexpensive PC components. It also happens that you can get a PC motherboard with Thunderbolt ports that work in OS X — and you can’t even get a Thunderbolt Mac Pro! Our old machine (the Hackintosh I built in October 2010) is still running great, but this new machine is much faster than a Mac Pro and is still less than half the price — with the latest nVidia graphics cards also getting native support for great video/3D/pro performance. With Apple CEO Tim Cook noting there’s something new in the works for later next year (2013), it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting a new Mac Pro anytime soon (and when it does come out it’ll likely be much more expensive than this machine) — so here’s a step-by-step guide to building the latest, greatest (fake) Mac money can buy.

Link: How to Build a Hacktinosh (Mountain Lion Update)

The Latest OS X Lion Hackintosh Recommendations for Video Editors

Ryan Koo — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:45:24 +0000

One of the reasons I haven’t updated my How to Build a Hackintosh guide (which, I should note, is even more popular now than the DSLR Cinematography Guide — probably because most people have the PDF of the Guide and don’t need to visit the latter as often) is that my machine has been working perfectly and so I haven’t feel the need to constantly search for new components. However, I recently upgraded my machine to OS X Lion (it’s working great), and so I also updated the guide to reflect an easy way to do it, courtesy Unibeast from Tonymac: (more…)

How to Build a Hackintosh with OS X Lion Natively (no Snow Leopard Required)

Ryan Koo — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 16:39:48 +0000

Since OS X Lion was released, if you wanted to build a Hackintosh (and I would like to think the tutorial on this site is the most comprehensive how-to out there), you had to get your hands on a copy of Snow Leopard, install that, and then upgrade to Lion. There were often complications along the way, to the point where I refrained from upgrading to Lion. Thanks to tonymacx86, however, hackintoshers can now grab Lion from the Mac App Store and install it natively from a USB drive. Here’s the blurb: (more…)

How to Upgrade a Hackintosh to Mac OS X Lion (Apparently)

Ryan Koo — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:34:43 +0000

Because it doesn’t necessarily make sense for filmmakers to upgrade to OS X Lion just yet, I haven’t done any testing of this myself. But if anyone running a hackintosh is itching to get their hands on OS X Lion, by partitioning your disk and following these instructions, you should be able to transition to Apple’s latest. If and when you do, please report back with your results. Here’s how: (more…)

Update: How to Build a Hackintosh with the Latest Intel Sandy Bridge Processors

Ryan Koo — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:58:02 +0000

The NoFilmSchool Hackintosh was faster than the Mac Pro at half the price. And now it’s even faster… and cheaper. Intel Sandy Bridge processors are the latest silicon from Intel, but are unavailable on the Mac Pro. Apple’s pro machine is not only prohibitively expensive, but seldom receives updates, making it the unfortunate combination of overpriced and outdated. With Sandy Bridge processors now running successfully in OS 10.6.8, it’s time for the latest Hackintosh update. I’ve revised the guide to include the latest processor, motherboard, and GPU options, so if you were thinking about building a machine, here’s how. Also, this machine should work on OS X Lion just fine. (more…)

How to Build a Hackintosh That’s Faster than a Mac Pro for Half the Price - Updated

Ryan Koo — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:33:12 +0000

Thanks to you guys, I’ve updated the How to Build a Hackintosh guide. It now includes the latest hardware recommendations, including the latest nVidia Fermi cards, and should work perfectly with OS X 10.6.6. There are a few other updates to the guide as well — thanks again for your help. All in all, the machine is now even faster and cheaper than it was when I first wrote the tutorial six months ago. If you were thinking about building such a machine, now’s the time! Here are shortcuts to the full equipment lists on Amazon: (more…)

Looking for Help to Update the Hackintosh Guide

Ryan Koo — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:23:10 +0000

Since publishing the in-depth How to Build a Hackintosh guide, lots of readers — I don’t know how many, but it seems like hundreds — have successfully built their own version of the machine that’s faster than a Mac Pro and half the price. However, it’s been several months since I wrote the original guide, and some of the currently-available computer hardware has changed. So I’d like to ask readers who have built their own hackintosh a couple of questions, in order to update the guide and ensure it’s still the best advice out there: (more…)

nVidia Releases Mac Drivers for GTX 400 Series

Ryan Koo — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 19:32:52 +0000

Apple users who edit with Adobe Premiere Pro will be interested to know that nVidia has released Mac drivers for their latest graphics cards, which should give Mac users some decent Adobe editing options. Specifically, this pertains to hackintoshers, as it seems the nVidia GTX 285 graphics card that I originally recommended has been discontinued. (more…)

Nvidia Announces High End GPU for the Mac Pro (and Hackintosh)

Ryan Koo — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:38:24 +0000

One problem Mac Pro owners face is a lack of available nVidia graphics cards for creative professionals, which is important because of Adobe’s utilization of nVidia cards for Premiere Pro and other CS5 apps. Today, however, nVidia announced that their Quadro 4000 — a serious GPU based on their latest “Fermi” generation of chipsets, designed for 3D rendering and other professional uses — will be coming to the Mac Pro. This is a card for high-end post-production (not just in Adobe apps), and it’s great that it’s coming to the Mac Pro. However, while it’s a good thing for Mac Pro owners, it’s even better for Hackintosh builders. Here’s why: (more…)

How to Build a Video Editing Hackintosh That's Faster than a Mac Pro for Half the Price

Ryan Koo — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:18:00 +0000

After months of building and testing, my comprehensive step-by-step guide for How to Build a Hackintosh is here. I wrote this guide specifically for video editors and other digital creators, and because video editors are some of the most demanding computer users, I believe this NoFilmSchool Hackintosh is the best machine from a price, performance, and reliability standpoint. There are some other hackintosh guides out there, but I’ve tested this build on real-world HD video projects. I reordered and replaced components to ensure it was the best there is. I could tell you more, but this image should say it all. Here is a price/performance comparison with the latest Mac Pro from Apple: (more…)

Coming Next Week: How to Build a Video Editing Hackintosh

Ryan Koo — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:30:00 +0000

A couple of months ago I said I was going to build a Mac Pro out of PC components, the goal being to make a faster machine that cost a thousand dollars less. I researched and bought the components, built the machine, installed OS X, tweaked it, ordered new components, and tweaked it further. Then I gave it a trial-by-fire recently while editing a trailer for my project 3rd Rail (we’re still figuring out what to do with the trailer, while we meet with producers and financiers). And it’s been a total success; I never could’ve edited the After Effects-heavy project on my laptop, and the Hackintosh handled it with aplomb. It’s seriously fast – and it hasn’t crashed once. I’m happy to report the machine has lived up to my stated goals at the time: (more…)

Coming Soon: The NoFilmSchool Hac Pro

Ryan Koo — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:08:42 +0000

When I priced out the components of the new Mac Pro, I realized Apple’s pro line is not a good value proposition. When the same new Mac Pros left off an nVidia graphics card as an option, I took it as a slight to Adobe. When I asked you guys if you’d like me to build a hackintosh in an attempt to have the best of both worlds, you said yes. So I’ve done the research, priced out the components, and drawn my conclusions. Here’s what I think is possible for a video editing-optimized hackintosh: compared to the $2,500 Mac Pro base model that will ship this month, I believe the Hac Pro can have a faster processor, four times as much RAM, a Blu-Ray burner, USB 3.0 connectivity¹, more storage space, and an nVidia graphics card that accelerates Adobe CS5. The kicker? This Hac Pro will cost $1,000 less.

Why is the Mac Pro so Expensive?

Ryan Koo — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:43:57 +0000

With the announcement of new Mac Pros, I thought back to the last time I used such a machine, during my years at MTV. At one point I found myself picking up the machine to move it; surprised at the heft, I remember wondering to myself, “what do they build these cases out of?!?” Platinum, apparently: that’d be the only way to justify the price. Why do I say this? Because, after yesterday’s announcement, I turned to Apple’s tech specs page and priced out the exact components used in the base-level Mac Pro. The results might surprise you.