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I never updated the post about my Hackintosh desktop that I built in February 2008.

My motherboard is a DFI LanParty DK-T2RS. I have a Q6600 OC’d to 3.0 GHz with stock fan and an nVidia 8800 GT. I’ve used Kalyway until recently. My buddy boogi told me about the BOOT-132 method. I recently used a retail copy of Mac OS X Leopard to install 10.5.4 on my system using the BOOT-132 method. I used Apple Software Update to upgrade to 10.5.5 flawlessly. The instructions are pretty idiot-proof. Since I already knew the kexts I needed to get everything working, it was a breeze to edit the INITRD.img file with my kexts. But before I set that up, I used the generic iso to boot to the retail copy of Leopard.

I followed this tutorial to integrate EFI strings for my graphics card so I wouldn’t have the need to use NVinject or NVkush and Taruga’s patch for my sound card.

After I got everything running, I used Time Machine to restore my boot drive from the Kalyway install I had been using, including all of my applications. The only application that didn’t work was Toast, so i trashed it and the preferences and reinstalled. After a reboot, Toast was working fine again.

This is definitely not for someone that wants to plug in the computer and run Mac OS X. But if you know a little about computers, and don’t mine taking the time to follow some instructions, it’s easier than ever to install an unmodified version of Mac OS X onto your computer. However, the EFi-X could change all of that.

I’ve been going Hackintosh-crazy for a while. I’m still waiting for my EFi-X to come in, but in the meantime, I had a spare Seagate Momentus laptop hard drive lying around. I decided to remove the hard drive in my Lenovo which was running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and replace it with the spare hard drive and try to install OS X. If it didn’t work, I could just pop in my Windows XP hard drive and be back where I started, minus the time wasted trying to install OS X. Well, I got it working WITH the tablet functionality (thanks to TabletMagic), so I now have a pretty sweet Mac tablet. I think it’s better than the ModBook because the ModBook is a slate, rather than a convertible, tablet meaning that it has no keyboard. Granted, this isn’t an Apple-sanctioned solution… Well, it’s a good thing I bought the Leopard family pack a while back since Mac OS X 10.5, since I’ve probably used the number of licenses given for both my Macintoshes and Hackintoshes.

I already have the X6 Ultrabase to dock my x60t to. I just ordered the SATA adaptor for the Ultrabay. That way I’ll be able to have my XP HD in one and my Mac HD in the other. Theoretically, I should be able to boot to either one as long as the x60t is docked. I just have to figure out which one I want as my “primary” OS, as that is the one that I’ll keep in the laptop and can use without the Ultrabase, and the “secondary” OS in the Ultrabase when I’m docked. The adaptor should be coming in on Tuesday at the latest so I’ll keep you posted.

Installation:
I went with the tried and true Kalyway 10.5.1. It installed flawlessly with the Vanilla kernel/ACPI, and GUID bootloader. Haven’t gone up to 10.5.5 yet. Wanted to get everything working first and make a backup so I could have a baseline to start from in case everything gets massively effed.

What’s working:
Tablet functions (using TabletMagic) - I can ink anywhere
CD/DVD burning/playback
Graphics - Full Quartz Extreme/Core Image support.
Sound (headphones and speaker) - Used diabolik’s fix on InsanelyMac.
Ethernet
FireWire 400
USB 

What’s not:
Microphone
Wireless (I have the Intel 3945ABG, which doesn’t work. The models with the Atheros WiFi card work (and are on eBay for about $40), but it’s not a dealbreaker. 
SpeedStep 

Untested:
VGA Out
SD Card slot
PC Card bay 

Quick thoughts:
Awesome! I don’t know why I didn’t think about Macifying my tablet. It was painless and with the Ultrabase, I have a hassle-free dual-booting solution. Apple, hurry up and release a real Mac tablet!

My Popcorn Hour A-110 order made the cutoff for the September 27 shipment from China. I’ll hopefully receive it sometime during the first week of October. I picked up a Seagate Momentus 7200.3 250GB 2.5″ drive to put into the Popcorn Hour. I went with the 2.5″ for hopefully lower temps in the box and something a little more quiet, though the 7200rpm speed may offset any advantages gained by going for the smaller 2.5″ form factor. It looks like the pre-orders have caught up with the real orders, as the September 29 shipment was including orders made up until last night. So if you want one and order it today, it will probably ship out in one of the first October shipments.

I placed my order for the EFi-X on September 17, and according to the website, all orders placed on or before September 19 will be shipped “within the next seven to ten business days.” The only thing is I don’t know when that message was posted. Either way, I’ll probably be receiving that sometime in mid-October. Currently, orders are being accepted, but with a 3-4 week wait.

I also gave in and picked up a Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB drive from Newegg, which arrived yesterday. It’s currently out of stock, but I will add this to the beast that is my Hackintosh. I haven’t had time to add it in yet, but I will try to do so tonight or this weekend. 

In non-tech orders, I just received my George Foreman GRP90WGR Next Grilleration (yes, I’m serious, that’s what it’s called) from Amazon. I ordered it last Friday when it was on sale for $99.99. At the time of the post, the price was $114.99. I originally tried to buy it in-store at Bed, Bath, and Beyond with one of those never-expiring awesome 20% off coupons, but apparently they only carry the little baby George Foreman Grill. Cooked some beef tenderloin on it last night. Tasty. The great thing about this grill is that it is 1) huge and 2) has removable plates for things that I will never use (waffles). I saw some omelet plates on Amazon that turn the Next Grilleration into the GT Express 101 (you know that informercial with the creepy old lady and guy where everything you make looks like an omelet).

next grilleration. what a beast!

boo gt express

Regardless of the cheesy copy (With EFI-X^TM you will be able to enter a new computing dimension), I am so excited about the possibilities of EFi-X. EFi-X allows you to build a PC and run Mac OS X without any modifications. The supported list of motherboards is small at the moment (limited to Gigabyte mobos), but I’m sure it will grow in time. EFi-X promises the ability to install from a retail Leopard DVD, firmware updates within Mac OS X as well as the ability to install Mac OS X software updates via, well, Software Update.

Every time I run a Mac OS X updater, I fear for my Hackintosh’s well-being. It’s upgraded fine so far and I have my SuperDuper bootable image + Time Machine backup in case things go awry, but it would be nice to be able to update my software like I do on my real Macs.

I’m not sure who the target market is (people that know enough to install Mac OS X on a PC don’t need EFi-X, and people that want a Mac that know nothing of the Hackintosh world will probably buy a real Mac.) I could see enthusiasts building these hassle-free Hackintoshes for their non-technical family/friends or. Whatever the case may be, I decided to be a guinea pig and pick up the EFi-X v2. I’ll let you know when I receive it and will try it on my current Hackintosh (my mobo is not supported) as well as a supported Gigabyte mobo and let you know how it goes.

I’ll leave you with this nugget from the EFi-X US website.

It costs a lot to us, and it costs a lot to you.

EFi-X is selling for $155 +$5 shipping.

I originally posted this on my other blog in February, 2008, but figured it was interesting enough to repost here. The original entry follows:

After some careful consideration (and the fact that I’m getting very tired of my desktop), I have decided to enter morally ambiguous territory and build a Hackintosh. What’s a Hackintosh?

Running a patched version of OS X on a generic off-the-shelf PC.

I started out reading Adam Pash’s Lifehacker guide on how to build a Hackintosh for around $800 (referenced below). It seemed easy enough. When his second guide appeared which relies on Kalyway’s 10.5.1 installation, I was convinced that this was the way to go for me.

I can hear you now: “But if you love Apple so much, you should just buy a Mac desktop!”

True, but I don’t want or need the small form factor that a Mac Mini provides, given what it sacrifices (processor, hard drive, video card, basically everything). And I can definitely do without the octo-core Mac Pros that start at $2799. Even if you knock out one of those quad-core processors, it only drops $500. So the middle option is the iMac, which is a great computer (I bought one for my sister), but I don’t need the all-in-one approach.

I’m basically filling in a missing product line: the headless intermediate Mac desktop. Not overkill like the Mac Pro, but not the underpowered (for my purposes) Mac Mini, either. i want a Mac Pro, Jr.

I recently sold one of my MacBooks and picked up a MacBook Air, which is a great secondary computer. But I’m missing the extra power that a more full-fledged Mac would provide.

OK, here is where it gets a little dicey. Given the current state of OSx86, your Hackintosh experience relies mostly on two things: motherboard and video card. Based on the research, it seems you’re in the clear with most nVidia cards 7300GT and higher. For motherboards, a lot of people use the Intel BadAxe 2 or the Asus P5W. Given the advice that I read on the Anandtech forums from Kaido, I settled on a DFI motherboard.

Here are the parts that I purchased:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz (Q6600, G0 SLACR)
Memory: 4GB (2 x 2GB) Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 SDRAM
Hard Drive: 150GB Western Digital Raptor X 10,000rpm
Video Card: nVidia 8800GT 512MB
DVD: 20x DVD Burner
(Motherboard: DFI LanParty DK T2RS, Case: Antec Sonata III)

Price: < $1,100.00

Add-in Mac OS X 10.5 for ~$35 (I already paid $171.99 for a family pack with five users to use with my other Macs) and iLife '08 $16 ($79.99 for a family pack). If you add those costs to the Mac Pro Jr. (which you should!), you're still talking about <$1150.00 for a powerful Mac with the great software that is normally included with a Macintosh.

Hopefully, in the near future, I want to overclock the quad to 3 GHz+. But I'll be happy if everything just works tomorrow.

As of right now, all of my parts have arrived except for the motherboard, which should be arriving tomorrow. I'll try to document the installation process step-by-step for anyone interested.

Resources:
InsanelyMac Forums
Build a Hackintosh Mac for under $800 (Lifehacker)
How To: Install OS X on your Hackintosh PC, no hacking required (Lifehacker)
My experience with Hackintosh (Anandtech Forums)