I ran a Hackintosh for about 1.5 years. I just recently went back to Windows 10 after the integrated Linux sub-system came out with the update. Most of the software/tools I use run in both OS X and Windows, so it wasn't a huge deal breaker for me.

One thing I didn't like about the Hackintosh was maintaining it during updates, having to wait for the right NVidia web drivers, and then remembering how to update all the stuff specifically.

What I did like was that I had a computer that I built for $1100 that scored about 16,000 on the Geekbench, without overclocking.

Note: I still use a Mac Book Air 11" because it's the best laptop I've owned. I think the trackpad and sleep/wake functionality that just works is the best ever, and makes it really convenient. Obviously, these two killer features for me matter a lot less on a desktop.

Second Note: I built mine with an aluminum Rosewill Legacy U3-S – Silver/Aluminum Case that was both compact, and really good-looking.

[Edit, updated type of computer cost from $110 -> $1100]

I'd gladly give Apple $200/$300 have have a supported OS X running on my own hardware, BTW.

Well, you don't have to wait for the right Nvidia drivers anymore since they've stopped releasing them. 980 GTX Ti is as far as it can go now.

Is this just because the newer cards are so new, or will there never be drivers released anymore? That's a bummer. And makes me feel slightly more confident on going back to Windows from Hackintosh. It likely wouldn't affect me for a few more years, since this 970-based, Intel gen 5, desktop that I built up a couple years ago, still has plenty of longevity left in it.

I think what he's trying to say is that you're stuck a generation behind in GPU's - for example there are no Pascal drivers for Nvidia.

For anything earlier, Nvidia periodically releases drivers about a month later than the OS version bumps. There are drivers for 10.12.4.

That's it. With any future releases being under a dark cloud of doubt.

You still need to update them in tandem with OS updates, but your point is well taken.

I'm on #3 hackintosh, and I agree, they're great. I'm using it for audio production primarily. 0 problems, and I have a lot of peripherals. The one place these fall short is graphics card support. Newer 1070's and 1080's simply do not work (unless there's some very recent developments).

I built my Hackintosh on the 970 platform, right when it came out. It was frustrating early on, waiting for the supported drivers, but eventually they came. What didn't go away though was having to install custom drivers with each upgrade/patch of OS X.

Have a Fractal Define Mini C myself, definitely desk worthy even as someone who is very fussy about product design. Has a utilitarian Richard Sapper vibe.

Really wish more PC component companies focus on high quality good looking components without the gamer branding.

Where do you recommend for someone that wants to build one?

I've been building hacks (as the community calls them) since 2010.

If you get a golden build and get it working it's almost like a real mac. It's possible to get everything working 100% but it's time consuming and even in the best case scenario macOS updates will probably be a pain.

Another aspect to consider is noise. If you come from the Mac world you are probably spoiled by low noise or silent computers. PCs are very noisy and you will probably have spend time in research and money in expensive silent parts to solve this.

Finally, a common problem with hackintoshes is wifi. I've tried everything, believe me. If you intend on using Wifi your best bet is buying the same chip Apple uses with an adapter. Many manufacturers offer their Wifi drivers for macOS but those are usually finicky or outdated.

This is expensive, but it's IMO the best choice: http://www.osxwifi.com/apple-broadcom-bcm94360cd-802-11-a-b-...

Macs (maybe with the exception of a Mac Pro) are only silent at idle, not in full load. By my definition of 'silent' at least. If you can't hear the system while gaming because you use headphones, sorry, it's not silent.

If you just randomly build a beige box hackintosh, it will be noisy. If you spend some quality time on silentpcreview, you can get one that is silent even under load. I know, I have one.

Still, I'd very much like to get a decent Mac Pro instead. Devil's in the details, let's wait and see. My hackintosh isn't becoming obsolete any time soon.

Silent computers at full load are very rare, but a common PC is noisy even at idle.

My point is simply that one has to put special effort when building a PC to even get silence at idle.

If anyone's looking for information on silent PCs, http://silentpcreview.com/ is a handy resource.

I briefly ran a hackintosh when my Biostar motherboard died and I was frustrated with how slow my old Macbook Air was running. Pretty simple process: replaced it with a Gigabyte, downloaded an installer image from my Mac, and used to TonyMac tools to set it up. Unfortunately wasn't able to get Xcode to work reliably. Everything else seemed to work but Xcode was a crashfest.

I'm not sure it's the hackintosh... now and then I hear a lot of complaints about a particular version of xcode even on native macs. I don't use it, but I have work colleagues who do.

I was running the same version of Xcode on the same version of Mac OS on a 4-5 year old Macbook Air and it worked fine there, just slow.

I've certainly had Xcode crash once in a while, but this was something else. Tried reinstalling it and no change. I don't think I even got it to finish a build.

The FC R5 is a HUGE case, and it's as good as my mac pro 2008 really. Lighter too! Very, VERY well designed, excellent filters, and I run 3 140mm fans in it so it doesn't make a noise; the fans are permanently just over the stalling speed. Really very good cases.

Closed loop liquid cooling is silent and can be had for around $100.

The TonyMac community has some great resources, including guides to the hardware:

https://www.tonymacx86.com/buyersguide/march/2017

There was also a great hackintosh discussion on HN a couple days ago:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13901752

Their utilities (Multibeast, Unibeast, Kextbeast...) are well-though and easy to use, but it worth noting that Tonymacx86 doesn't have any plans to open source them -- you have to trust him (no one seems to know his real name, mostly for legal reasons related to Apple I think) to execute binaries with root rights on your fresh OS, or go the Vanilla (and harder) way.

That's true and it's probably a bad idea, but I never had any problems with that. And I am using my second hackintosh in 5 years now without problems.

I have a fully working hackintosh. Just take someones confirmed build and buy the exact same parts. I lucked out in that every piece of hardware (besides the wifi card) worked out of the box. It runs just like a mac, better actually, and I use it all the time.

The truth is that the best hackintosh is Niresh but since it's even more illegal than Unibeast and such it's banned from the tonymacx86 forum and /r/hackintosh/ both.

Had you built a hackintosh before? Any major negative experiences with compatibility / updates?

Been running hackintoshes since 2007 or so. Mostly smooth sailing. Off the top of my head:

- It's all about making it easy for yourself. In short, motherboard and GPU choice change the experience from 'almost effortless' to 'never gonna work'. Get a $20 USB external soundcard to get rid of any audio configuration quagmires. Get the most compatible, widely used motherboard and Nvidia GPU, so you can get support on Tonymac should you need it. Stick to wired Ethernet to avoid meddling with bluetooth and wi-fi if you can. Everything else (PSU, CPU, RAM, hard drives and case) isn't an issue.

- The tradeoff is time invested into initially understanding how it all fits vs. money saved and increased knowledge of how MacOS ticks (a good thing regardless, if you're a power user). How much time depends on how much of a PC tinkerer you are already. If you already built PCs and tried getting Linux distros going it's gonna be second nature.

- You'll still need to check out Tonymac when a point update comes out for tips and warnings. The easiest solution is to install the fully up to date next-to-last MacOS version (install El Capitan 10.11.6 now that we are in the Sierra cycle, for example) and keep it going until you're forced to upgrade. Staying a generation behind, both in hardware and software, is the safest strategy. Hackintosh and being on the bleeding edge don't really mix.

OTOH, being on the bleeding edge of MacOS and being productive never really mixed :)

In fairness I've been running Sierra just fine on my Hackintosh, though I did wait until 10.12.1. If I recall correctly the first version had issues with the Nvidia Web Drivers (some strange bugs) but they've long since been resolved.

I would agree with the overall sentiment though and add that even on a legitimate Mac it's usually a good idea to hold back a bit on updating. I work with audio a lot and it's common for audio units (and Pro Tools if you use that) to break initially.

Audio user here too. I just updated to 10.12.4 yesterday on a test install and it went without a hitch, but only because I checked Tonymac and updated Clover beforehand, which I wouldn't have done otherwise. And I'm on a old GTX 650 Ti that doesn't need the Web Drivers. Meanwhile my main 10.9.5 work install keeps gloriously chugging along.

Yes I had a previous hackintosh running for a few years in parallel with the Mac Pro. It's actually quite simple but it requires a bit more patience, especially during updates. It's mostly a case these days of doing the update, rebooting in 'safe' mode to install the binary third party nvidia driver, then reboot again and voila.

Also, some of the original setup requires a bit of tinkering with drivers to start with (especially if you use 'recent' hardware) but it's really not more complicated than installing linux these days (and then fiddle a bit with the settings).

It was the updates, and the time they took, and all the details to remember that eventually led me off of running a Hackintosh after 1.5 years. That and Windows 10 is more than good enough for me, especially as a desktop.

Fellow hackintosh builder here. It's totally doable. If you're able to run Linux and able to understand concepts like kernel modules, you'll be perfectly fine.

To get solid bluetooth support I bought a card from http://www.osxwifi.com/ , which makes peripherals like the magic trackpad work smoothly.

For me it was just too much work to keep it up to date. But then I don't have the big power requirements, but really need/want a separate monitor. These days I probably could get away with a Mini.

I've built one before. Updates involved losing sound. To get it back run an installer and restart.

Odd kernel panics used to happen once every 3 months. Black text would scroll down the screen and you have to hard reset the system.

I would keep a legit backup around but the power/price ratio cannot be beat. I'm looking at building another soon.

I generally recommend that people building hackintoshes get an external USB / Firewire / Thunderbolt soundcard. That way you're pretty much guaranteed to get official macOS drivers that'll work without issues.