I went ahead and processed the return for the video card and a not-quite-right power adapter I mistakenly bought for my MIDI keyboard. Will drop off at UPS store later.
The new computer parts should start showing up tomorrow.
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Ok so I kinda figured out what I want to build, but of course the processor is out of stock for who knows how long. How do I know what I can sub in and what’s good? The one suggested was AMD Ryzen 3 3300X and it’s long gone. I don’t necessarily want to bump the entire system up to the next level just to find in stock items, though it may be necessary. Thanks
That’s the one I was originally planning to build around, but I got tired of waiting on availability for both CPU and the B550 chipset motherboards–and my needs changed slightly.
I feel like the best time to build a computer is always next month.
Everything I need except the SSD and the motherboard have arrived. I really like the case.
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I just don’t know if the extra money to move up a tier is worth it. But if I can upgrade for longer it would be. Still thinking about it.
So what case? I saw a few when I was briefly looking I liked, and am curious what others are interested in.
Gave in and ordered a prebuilt system from best buy. After adding in peripherals and operating system it would have been much more expensive to build. The boys can upgrade their own stuff with their own money from here on out.
Also, everything was on sale and in stock and available for curbside. So I don’t even have to wash my hair. 
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This one: Thermaltake Core V21 SPCC Micro ATX Cube
I’ll take pics when I start putting it together. Very modular, good panel access for where it will be sitting (under the desk in the right side). It’s supposed to be relatively quiet with the 220mm front fan, but we’ll see.
I was looking at similar cases when I was considering building something. Nice mix of affordable, practical, and the badging looks non-gaudy compared to some designs.
It’s practically drab by some standards. I was thinking about making a stencil and spray painting something or other on the side.
Do Hackintoshes fit into this thread?
I’ve been mulling over building one for a while (ages, actually) to replace my 2012 iMac, and have hit a few roadblocks.
- Apple are migrating to their own silicon over the next couple of years, which kind of kills any future-proofing once they stop supporting x86 CPUs. I can see that their current Intel-based machines will skyrocket in value as people hang onto them.
- The whole process looks painful, especially with AMD chips and the ‘OpenCore’ boot / setup process. I have no desire to burn money on something that will not work as a daily “do everything” machine.
- The only reason I need Windows compatibility is for Elite:Dangerous, and the current BootCamp setup works perfectly for that. I do not want a second PC.
- The sheer cost of parts here in Oz. If I build what I consider to be a reasonably powerful machine with a good monitor it will cost almost as much as a current top-spec iMac. (Not iMac Pro.) Which kills the premise of building a Hackintosh in the first place - to have a more-powerful Mac for less cost.
Have any of you built a Hackintosh? If so, can you share a few pointers about what’s good about the process, what’s bad, and what issues you’ve hit? (And how easy they were to resolve.)
Thanks,
V
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Why not? Even though it became synonymous with Wintel clone, PC still means personal computer.
Yes! Mine got more into the aesthetics and case issues though.
Mine is somewhat outdated now, but basically an Intel chipset and Nvidia graphics card. I’d like to replace the card, but not sure what would be a good replacement heat-wise.
So basically:
- Long-term it may not work well, but that’s a pretty long time top worry about. I have a feeling a ‘current’ machine will be pretty feeble by the time Apple stops releasing macOS releases for x86 boxes.
- AMD is definitely a recipe for increased difficulty. I’m using Clover on mine currently, which is the older boot loader. If I had to rebuild it I’d probably give OpenCore a try, but I also like that Clover has a Theme so it looks like an original B&W Mac briefly on boot.
- Quite reasonable. Multiboot should work, in the long run, on a Hackintosh. Some weirdness setting it up, partially because neither OS really likes the idea of sharing. I only run macOS on mine, though.
- Cost is understandable: I want to upgrade my living room entertainment rig and considered a SteamOS box, but that’s on minimal support these days and the cost savings to use the ‘leftover’ part I have would have been negligible. A lot of savings to me is finding deals, which is weird with stuff like video cards. AMD processors open up some options, but video cards are still weird right now.
I’ve had ups and downs with software. It works currently. I started from a ‘known good’ recommended list as much as possible. I had a few stretches and, yes, every major upgrade has a small but noticeable risk of going weird if Apple changed something odd. Recent macOS major releases (the annual ‘named’ releases) have had a lot of this, like the move to APFS, the ‘hybrid’ volume arrangement, etc.
Also, I’m totally hoping I can afford a MacBook when they ship with ARM. I’ll shut down the “Daily driver” ancient Mac Mini I’m using and maybe my wife’s even-more-ancient MacBook in return for one newer laptop.
Edit: A few things I do have issues with, although in many cases I haven’t spent much time looking for fixes:
- Some video won’t play due to Apple thinking the stream is unprotected.
- Bluetooth can be a little wacky at times.
- Sleep is erratic, but I only live this box on to game really…
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I now have 2 empty mini-ITX cases. The boards that were in them were so old that they had PS2 connectors for keyboard and mouse and DB9 for video. 'Nuff said.
I’m looking into the possibility of getting a new board to put into one of them, but to get a decent one will push me into the $500 bracket with memory, M.2 drive, and processor.
This is just the beginning of this journey, and I don’t really need another computer right now except to play newer games that I’m only marginally interested in.
All the stuff finished arriving, and after a few hours, it’s working.
Initial thoughts and results:
- I REALLY like this case. We’ll see what happens when I start pushing it, but in casual use it is near silent; I can’t hear it over the NAS that is also under the desk. The only fans are that massive one that came with the case on the front, the CPU fan, and the power supply fan. All side panels are interchangeable so you can rotate it however you like; the control panel on the front also moves easily. It’s even more open when (as pictured) you remove the mounting rails for cooling systems. So much space.
- I didn’t really need a semi-modular power supply, since the only thing I needed to plug in was the motherboard and the one hard drive. Will be nice when/if I add a discrete graphics card.
- The M.2 SSD I bought only works in the second of the two slots on the motherboard; if you put it in the other one, it simply doesn’t see it. I don’t have another one and have no way to test; it could be a “bad” slot. The slots are different and the primary one is potentially faster, but I don’t really understand the technology so I’m not sure if it would make a difference in my use case. I need to research to figure it out.
- We’ll see what the integrated graphics allow me to do, but the newest game I have is 6 years old and I think I’m good to keep endlessly replaying things at least until Baldur’s Gate 3 comes out. I didn’t build this for gaming, but I’d like to be able to play some games.
- I like building PCs. I forgot how much fun this is.
Here it is with some of its new music friends. This is primarily to be an AV production and office system.
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If you want to test your graphics, get a fairly recent game in the range of what you want to play from Steam and install and play for a little while. Then, return it and get your money back. It should get you all the metrics you need.
I did this, but backwards. I installed a game I wanted to play, found out that my laptop graphics couldn’t handle it, then returned it.
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+100 on motivation
-100 on whine
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Turned out I bought the older/less amazing type of drive and it’s not compatible with the new hotness. I could have gotten the faster one for only a few dollars more if I’d paid a little more attention. But honestly it doesn’t make enough difference to be worth fixing. Maybe next time I have a few bucks extra I’ll buy one of those, too, and have a full terabyte of stupidly fast storage.
So far, very pleased with the computer. It doesn’t make much noise at all. I wish I had a better desk so it wasn’t on the floor. That will come in time, I think. The next big thing is my music software, but waiting for the new version to arrive with my audio interface on Friday.
So much those 3 days of research and parts-finding. Work is having a restructure and my name is not on the new org chart. 
So all non-essential spending is off the table until I know WTF is going on - and it could take 6 months or more before I know what’s happening.
If anyone is curious what I was looking into, this is the build I was aiming at, but with some minor changes to the hardware to fit into my budget and what parts are available down here in Oz.
I was about to say I don’t remember if I posted it, but I did. The motherboard for the Linux box I bought supports M.2 SSDs but you have to have the right processor for it to work. Mine’s the lower-range of the two types, so it no workee.
Ouch. Hope it works out and is an actual oversight!
BTW, the Hackinoths community has developed a definite dislike of TonyMac. The tools can make it easier, but not in all cases, and the community has a reputation to be somewhat toxic. Complain too loudly and you’ll be banned… Which makes downloading tools directly difficult.