XYMer's Home away from Home

I am seeing a lot of upgraded 2010 Powermac towers on eBay lately, but for just a few hundred less I could build a Hackintosh that will run macOS High Sierra and beyond (for now). Obviously the strengths of a true Apple Powermac is that it will run and never (mostly) have issues, run up to 12 cores at 3.46GHz, and not require hacks/bodges to keep running reliably, whereas a Hackintosh will periodically require maintenance or inevitably be subject to the “random PC hardware failure syndrome” (I have experienced this a handful of times).

With the aforementioned PC hardware failure issue, I don’t honestly believe I can put my trust into data integrity for important stuff; I need a RELIABLE setup to get my work done and keep my data from errors/corruption/failure. Having recently worked a short-term contract wherein I was provided a 2013 Mac Pro “trash can” with dual FirePro D700 GPUs and six cores at 3.5GHz (was doing heavy Photoshop and Animate stuff), my insatiable lust for performance should be apparent. My current machine is a trustly MacPro 3,1 early 2008 eight-core 3.2GHz yet macOS 10.11.x is the latest OS it can run, so I feel the need to upgrade soon.

Thoughts? Tips? Suggestions? Recommendations? Self-help groups to join?

Thanks

-he who stacks pork

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Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women

We know 2010 and 2012 models are going to be supported by 10.14, however they will require a modern video card and not the one it comes with. So if you get a 2010/2012 be sure to include that in the budget. With tulpenmanie still in full swing on Bitcoin, GPUs are 150% to 200% where they were a couple years ago.

Depending on how brave you feel, 2009 to 2012 are the same motherboard, the difference is firmware and CPUs. If you flash a 2009 to a 2012 and install CPUs that are supported by the 2012, you'll have a 2012. I don't know if 2009 Mac Pro + 2012 CPUs < 2012 Mac Pro but it's something to consider.

My final note on the Mac Pro front is that the power supplies in the Mac Pros are still 6-9 years old and Mac owners being Mac owners, are routinely subjected to situations that no otherwise competent owner would put them through - plugging them straight into the wall, never blowing any dust out of them ever, kicking them over, yanking cables before unscrewing them, etc. This takes a toll on any system, magic Apple fairy dust be damned. A number of my systems were unplugged (from the wall, of course) and left sitting for 4-5 years by incompetent doofuses who felt they were too slow (which was due to trying to run After Effects, Final Cut Pro, and Premiere Pro on 3GB of RAM and a 5770, oh and of course never ever inspecting them for viruses and letting students run as administrators with zero restrictions on installing software - to say P2P clients and pirated software was rampant is an understatement) and even they've had 2 power supplies fail once they were refreshed and put back into service.

I attempted to use the Dictionary.app to find out what the word “tulpenmanie” meant but it did not know; I’m apparently not involved with that “coal mining” stuff so I assume I ought not be concerned.

In terms of GPUs, I bought a “low-mileage” Sapphire R9 290X 4GB card off of eBay a couple of days ago for $140 + plus shipping, all I need to do now is see if it works with one of the “slated-to-be-Hackintosh-ized” PCs laying around here; card was put through the ringer for two full days of RC5 crunching under Windoze 7 without any incidents (fans set to 100% of course). It is my understanding that this card ought to work with 10.13.x… we’ll see.

-he who stacks pork

_________________
Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women

Meanwhile, have been farting around with one of the slated-to-be-Hackintoshes most of the day today. In the middle of attempting to install High Sierra over an install of el Capitan. I am following the procedure outlined at tonymacx86.com, I hope it works; I hate wasting all day doing something that is pointless from the start.

-he who stacks pork

_________________
Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women

tulpenmanie is Dutch for tulip mania, which refers to the period when the price of tulip bulbs went up and up and up into insane territory and then, over the course of a few days, suddenly, completely, collapsed. Its the first (fairly well) documented case of a speculative bubble.

My general understanding of hackintoshes is that the less work you have to do to make them work the better off you are. This usually means buying specific hardware that is known to work. For example my main PC (a Haswell Z97 system) would be night and day easier to get running than my spare PC (Phenom II X6 790FX).

Yep stupid waste of time bullshit wasted another fucking day all for nothing. Stupid Hackintosh bullshit sucks ass.

-he who stacks pork

_________________
Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women

I am convinced the run-up in Mac Pro prices and resulting surge of listings is because the last of the Xserves in the wild are being replaced at this very moment as the end of security patches for El Capitan looms. My employer is in precisely that boat and we're replacing the Xserve with a Mac Pro with the sincerest hope the 2019 Mac Pro will be a solid alternative. Ask me about the bidding wars... or not. I had a chance to buy a nicely equipped eight-core Mac Pro (flashed 4,1) a few years ago for $700.

I'm also building-up a Mac Pro for myself to replace my 2011 iMac (which has intermittent screen problems and is soon to be orphaned by 10.14) and to re-use my 32" monitor that was surplussed when I bought a 27" iMac. The French hacker who patched NVMe boot support into the Mac Pro firmware is also an exciting development.

This upgrade is idiot proof as long as you don't need CPUs without a heat spreader.

1) What are the system specs?

2) What method were you using to attempt the install (Clover or Chameleon?)?

I have a fully bootable Sierra USB Installer that could put 10.12 on many systems. All I'd have to do is run with the DSDT = null boot arg from the Clover shell as the DSDT I have is tailored to my system and would likely crash the living shit out of your system otherwise. Sunnyvale isn't exactly the longest distance for me to drive as long as I can avoid the 880 > 101 interchange.

Best hardware for hackintosh:

Gigabyte Mobo <- With Clover can simply hotpatch clean DSDT or run w/o one as long as proper kexts are installed and BIOS is set up correctly.
≥800W PSU (headroom for GPU + system fans)
nVidia GPU (the best you can get - boot screen "support" not needed because this is a hackie which has no Apple boot screen)
Haswell/Devil's Canyon or later CPU (VT-d disabled on all CPUs >Haswell; CPU will depend on mobo, naturally)

Note: Anything older than Z87 is just not recommended for hackintoshing these days. Way too much hassle. And native NVRAM support is added with latest AptioMemoryFix in Clover.

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Official Mac Tech Support Forum Cookie™ (Mint Chocolate Chip)
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To top things off, I have come to the conclusion that PC power supplies (no matter how awesome they are marketed) are only designed to last two years; I have had two fail (two years old) in the past three months… the most recent casualty was Sunday evening. I was watching a movie and fell asleep, when I woke up at 3:00AM the computer was powered off. I did the natural thing and hit the power button, it flashed briefly, made a tiny sound, then powered off again. I repeated this a few times; I was afterall half asleep. In the morning I tried again, and the same thing happened. This happened to me three months ago with another PC/Hackintosh. This shit is getting old. I think I just need to save up and BUY A REAL APPLE POWERMAC and pay the extra duckets for an extended AppleCare warranty. I have not got the time to spend a 1/2 day babysitting a Hackintosh Mac OS install procedure, and daily making sure each “surviving” PC/Hackintosh still boots up. If I was rich and did not need to work then I could see where I could spend every day of my life fiddlefarting around with this crap, but it’s maddening, as the failures and subsequent babysitting episodes seem to ALWAYS LIKE CLOCKWORK occur after sundown when I am cranky like a crotchety old fukka after a full day of work at my normal job. I am only “made” of so much money to keep feeding toward this bullcrap. I have estimated that I have spent over $3,000.00 on Hackintosh garbage bullshit crap-ass components and instead could have just saved up for a proper Mac Pro that will run the latest OS (not 10.14, I mean 10.13) without these problems.

-he who stacks pork

_________________
Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women

I'd lay a ten spot that your PSU didn't die because it was bad, it likely died due to either a brownout from everyone hitting their AC yesterday and/or the power briefly going out and back on in rapid succession, which can fry almost any gear. I can virtually guarantee that a well built PSU such as EVGA's higher end lineup or Seasonic won't blow up on you like that, at least not without a lot of help from dirty power. Hell, I have a Thermaltake Tough Grand 1200W PSU that's still going strong five years later.

I'd seriously invest in a good line conditioner if I were you.

Also, I'm still around to actually help with the hackintoshing in person.

_________________
Official Mac Tech Support Forum Cookie™ (Mint Chocolate Chip)
Guaranteed tasty; Potentially volatile when dipped in WWIII Forum Syrup®
Caution: This cookie bites back.

I may have to consult your expertise. Like a complete dumbass I just plopped down $1,100.00 on parts to build up a current Hackintosh system. No idea why I felt compelled to spend so much money but hey man, those NewEgg email deals are enticing. Details to follow when the parts arrive. I am sincerely hoping to get a RELIABLE working dual-boot (Windoze 8 & macOS 10.13.x) system up and running with full sound/networking/wireless/etc. crap operational. I have only had success with TWO Hackintosh builds over the past two years (one I built for my son, which amazingly is still working; of course it only sees the life of day in macOS mode – and the other which had a powersupply die the other evening). I’d like to think I can actually get one running reliably for three or more years without an untimely SSD death or a random powersupply crapfailure.

-he who stacks pork

_________________
Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women

Typical 50/50 chance of facepalm with this Hackintosh bullshit. Today, the parts arrived. “No problem”, so I thought, seeing as I purchased the components from recommended parts on the tonymacx86 website. I created the 10.13.x USB installer several days ago. Today I CAREFULLY (PC components are fragile as shit, ya know, and they will fail if you cart too loud 500 miles away) built up the proposed Hackintosh, comprised of these components:

• Gigglebutt Z370P D3 RT
• MSI RX 580 8GB Radeon
• Corsair CX750M V2 750W powersupply
• Intel Core i7 8700 3.2GHz 12M CPU
• Corsair 2*8GB CMK16GX4M2B3000C15 (16GB RAM)
• LG Blu-Ray drive WH14NS40

As far as my failing brain can see, I followed the step-by-step USB stick OS installation procedure and BIO settings correctly as per this URL:

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/unib ... -pc.235474

Yet, every time (I have wasted two goddamn hours now waiting around twirling my balls – like a Windows 10 update status with the balls twirling in circles endlessly) the computer seems to hang there with about a 9% width macOS X installer status bar under the Apple logo. Yes, it will sit there until I hit the goddamn reset button and attempt to boot it again. This is such a goddamn waste of time.

(a while later, and shit out of luck, going on a whim and a “prayer”; LOL, I’m the opposite of religious!)

Well well well finally got the stupid 10.13.x USB installer to boot to the installer while holding down the shift key. Who’d have guessed??? Time to let it go and do it’s thing now (obviously after setting up the HD via Disk Futility).

LOL. Fun times. I have no life.

-he who stacks pork

_________________
Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women

Yep, nothing fucking works yet. Just a lot of “cannot boot from blah blah suck my ass”

Another waste of my life. Fucking bullshit. Why do I keep getting caught in this retardo-ass-fuck Hackintosh bullshit??? I’ve only been “successful” with two Hackintoshes out of eight system builds (or, attempted builds). Now I have a system that won’t boot anything, or recognize any media to install onto. What an epic waste of one’s time. Fuck me.

AKLJSKJLS

_________________
Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women

Since I rebuilt my PC at home I can't manage to make Windows take updated drivers without either freezing solid OR breaking all video output after the POST and "windows is starting" logo appears. I kind of said screw it and left the old working drivers in place until I feel like fighting it again. Last time I tackled it the damn thing refused to let me enter UEFI to choose an alternate boot device because of &*(@#$&*(# fast boot was enabled, which basically means resume from hibernation or something similar which disables the ability to enter UEFI. Its now not so fast, which means it takes all of 5 seconds longer to boot. I'm pretty sure it takes longer to display the login prompt but the time when Windows is actually usable after login is shorter.

Weird, wild stuff.

Yaaay hooray! I’ve now got three HDs that are completely hosed thanks to this assmastershitwhore experiment. Two 3TB and 1TB drive, totally unusable. Won’t even spin up. This is an exciting waste of money!!! Does it make me feel like a man? No, just a retard wasting $1,100.00 that I thought might be a sound investment.

Meanwhile, I somehow managed to get a slow-ass-molasses 5400RPM 1TB drive from a MacMini installed with 10.13.x… yet I am still holding my breath to see if it actually installed.

This whole project has been an EPIC FAILURE though, because I cannot get this particular install to have both macOS and Windoze 8.x installed onto a partitioned HD (attempting this killed the three HDs I’d attempted to install dual-boot OS onto). I seriously hope by some miracle I can maybe hook up another spare HD into it and install Windoze 8.x onto it, yet still be able to choose to boot from it via bootup (EFI/Clover/BIOS/etc./whatever).

-he who has no life

_________________
Powerbook 180, System 7.1, 100MB HD, 8MB Ram, external 20MB SCSI HD
2009 Surly 1x1 Anniversary Edition Rat Ride, 2016 9:zero:7 fatbike, 2014 9:zero:7 SS fatbike, 2013 SS PRC carbon 29er
I enjoy picnics on the beach with hot and crazy women