Am I crazy for thinking about a Hackintosh?

[Thomas Morter-laing]

Apparently there are issues to do with installing other software as well. Even if the OS works, software components require specific hardware which a hackingosh may not have. You may have issues…

😀
Tom Morter-Laing
Freelance Editor
Certified Apple Product Proffessional, 2010
http://www.depictproductions.co.uk

Sony Z5, with Rode NTG2.
iMac 27″ intel i7 2.93GHz, 12GB RAM, ATI HD5750 [1GB GDDR5], 2TB Int. SATA with 2TB External HDD; (FW800), with Elgato Turbo H264HD.

[Michael Sacci]

It is not crazy if…

This will not a production system until it is fully tested and its stability is confirmed.
– this should be a hobby venture that may payoff if it all works.
That you have the time to put into debugging a system like this.
That your saving is not eaten up by time away from a paying project.

There is a guy in Nashville that is big on building these but I have not heard from him in a while but he was building these for FCS.

If you need a system to be up and running quickly I think it is crazy to try.

My 2 cents

[Mark Petereit]

I built high-end PC systems for myself for almost 15 years (the first system I built was a screaming 486 with a HUGE 2GB SCSI drive!!)

When I finally had enough of constant driver updates, swapping flaky video boards, MOBOs, power supplies, driver controllers, etc, etc, ad nauseum, a friend of mine talked me into buying a Mac.

I’ve never touched a PC since. Can’t even remember the last time I cracked the case in my Pro. And I LIKE it that way!

The mere thought of trying to hack a hacked PC into running Mac OSX just seems like a tremendous waste of time to me. And even if I had the time to return to constant “futzing”, I would never, EVER put myself in a position where I DEPENDED on a Frankensteined box for my livelihood. My time if far more valuable than any perceived savings. Besides, any perceived savings is going to be quickly eaten up by lost time and additional money in add-ons/upgrades necessary to keep the box on life-support.

But hey, if you’ve got nothing better to do with your time then knock yourself out.

[Alan Okey]

If you’re a professional, saving small amounts of money by skimping on tools isn’t a good way to get ahead. The money you save building a hackintosh hardly seems worth it considering that you should be able to make up the price difference with a few paid jobs. If you can’t, then you need to examine your business model or adjust your rates.

Trying to save money on tools by cutting corners can be a slippery slope. Where do you draw the line? There are plenty of kids out there using cracked versions of software for which many pros paid hundreds or thousands of dollars. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, or a sound business strategy.

[Shane Ross]

I have a hackintosh. But I built it for the kids to abuse. I did install FCP on it, just to see…and for the kids to start to try editing. It wasn’t very stable. And they liked iMovie better.

I know someone who has built a Hack and uses it for editing. But he’s VERY techie and computer literate, so he knows how to attend to the many hiccups that occur.

Shane

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def

[Rafael Amador]

I know at least a dozen of guys running FC on PC. They say runs the same than on Mac.
No problems about recognizing hardware or about updating software.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Max Frank]

Thanks all who have supplied input – much appreciated.

Definitely some food for thought.

If any one has any success and/or horror stories, feel free to share. I’m sure I’m not the only one asking this question.

Thanks,

Wayne

[Gene Limbrick]

I built one, using tonymac86’s website as a guide. i5 processor with a pretty sweet gfx card, it runs OSX fine, and i’ve haven’t had FCP or after effects crash yet, but i only use this for personal projects, if i was a freelance editor i would maybe rent/borrow a machine for my first few jobs until i could afford a mac pro, it’s tricky though.

[Rafael Amador]

Probably there are many complicated legal considerations, but building a Hackintosh for non-commercial purposes, I guess is like compiling an open source application: You can have applications able to export MPEG-2s (ie; ffmpgx) without paying any license to the MPEG-2 Consortium.
You are just putting together things that you are entitled to posses.
Loading FC on that computer, probably is a very different issue; and of course giving a professional service with that tool is out discussion.
But you made your question from a theoretical/technical point of view.

http://www.nagavideo.com

[Bernard Newnham]

Mine works fine with Final Cut Studio.

This is my second Hackintosh. The first was also my main pc – I had it set up so that if I plugged in an external eSATA drive it would boot as a Mac, and unplugged it would boot into Windows 7. I screwed it up by updating the graphics card to one which needed drivers that weren’t available, so I’ve built another using the tonymac method. Cost of the box was around £560, around 25% of the equivalent Mac, and endlessly upgradable just like a pc.

B

bernie