We collect analog Mac mini for 333 dollars.
I have long wanted to try to switch from a Windows platform to something more decent. Experiments with Linux have shown that it has not yet reached the desktops, and from an aesthetic point of view it did not suit me - smoothing fonts is ugly, “for show”, the choice of the actual fonts is also. There was Mac, but didn’t want to buy it blindly, spending about one bucks on a Mac mini for a dough, too. Putting a hackintosh on a home computer is also not an option, since with this option one of the main features of the Mac is lost - reliable trouble-free work. Search / select patches, juggle distributions, and in the case of inadequate operation of the OS, guessing is a Hackintosh or Leopard glitch - I did not want to.
In the end, I saw a compromise: you need to build a separate system unit, with hardware compatible with MacOs and put hakintosh with a native kernel (vanilla kernel) and with a minimum of patches to get the system as close as possible to the original one. I thought it over and put it in the todo on the far shelf.
So she would have lain there, but just a few days later I saw a post in LJ devoted to the same problem - alexmsk.livejournal.com/996014.html . And I decided to go on the path, beaten by alexmsk.
')
So, the following equipment was purchased:
Intel D945GCLF motherboard (single-core Intel Atom 1600MHz onboard processor) - $ 74
The Mini-ITX Morex Cubid 3777B case - $ 116
DDR2 2Gb memory (maximum that comes up to this board) - $ 47
DVD NEC AD-5590A Slim IDE - $ 41
HDD 250Gb SATA Hitachi - $ 54
Power coupler for 4pin motherboard - $ 1
Total: $ 333
The basis, as you can see, was taken by the motherboard Intel D945GCLF, which is almost perfect for a trial Mac - it
1) cheap
2) has one of the most powerful processors among mini-itx mothers
3) is very similar to mac-hardware - according to wiki.osx86project.org, sound and video with full acceleration is started on it without patches.
The only drawback - as it turned out, the DVD doesn’t fit into most mini-itx cases with this board - it rests on the CPU cooler. The only suitable trouble-free case, as it turned out - Cubid 3777B.
DVD, by the way, is better to take not my 5590A, but to look for a variant with slot loading (Slot-In), for example, NEC AD-7630A-01. This option looks more elegant, but, unfortunately, such CDs are a relative rarity.
For assembly, you will need a small “watch” screwdriver (a standard one that does not fit an ATX-case doesn’t fit - everything is very compact and small inside).
In the case, by the way, I would recommend turning the side fan so that it works to blow air inwards - in my opinion, the processor and the screw are better cooled.
The result is such a black box, not even devoid of a certain charm:
Next, download the image of MacOs, adapted for launching on a self-made intel-platform - the so-called Hakintosh. I chose an image from torrents.ru - Kalyway_10.5.2_DVD_Intel_Amd . Another image, I think, will also be great.
I will not describe the installation process in detail; you can find many manuals on the network, including videos. In short - everywhere click “Next” :) The only thing is, when the installation process reaches the installation step of installing MacOs (the Customize button), select the following items:
- core: vanilla kernel
- video: Intel GMA950
- patches: leave only patch for USB.
and continue the installation.
Half an hour of waiting - and voila, after a reboot, we enjoy the beauty of MacOs. Expose / Spaces fly without brakes, sound works without problems. Logic Pro 8, which I launched for the sake of the test, on a delay of 64 samples without clicks, lost the trial project of three audio tracks. Although for real work with sound, this configuration is rather weak, but still, such a small buffer size shows that the audio subsystem works on this hardware in full.
And what about performance? Here is the xbench report that was launched immediately after the installation was completed:
From the comparison table you can see that mac mini usually show the result within 35-45 points. Our result - 43.38 - also fits into this set.
Well, you can begin to deal with the Leopard, set the program and equip living space. But this is a topic for another topic. :)
In the end, I saw a compromise: you need to build a separate system unit, with hardware compatible with MacOs and put hakintosh with a native kernel (vanilla kernel) and with a minimum of patches to get the system as close as possible to the original one. I thought it over and put it in the todo on the far shelf.
So she would have lain there, but just a few days later I saw a post in LJ devoted to the same problem - alexmsk.livejournal.com/996014.html . And I decided to go on the path, beaten by alexmsk.
')
So, the following equipment was purchased:
Intel D945GCLF motherboard (single-core Intel Atom 1600MHz onboard processor) - $ 74
The Mini-ITX Morex Cubid 3777B case - $ 116
DDR2 2Gb memory (maximum that comes up to this board) - $ 47
DVD NEC AD-5590A Slim IDE - $ 41
HDD 250Gb SATA Hitachi - $ 54
Power coupler for 4pin motherboard - $ 1
Total: $ 333
The basis, as you can see, was taken by the motherboard Intel D945GCLF, which is almost perfect for a trial Mac - it
1) cheap
2) has one of the most powerful processors among mini-itx mothers
3) is very similar to mac-hardware - according to wiki.osx86project.org, sound and video with full acceleration is started on it without patches.
The only drawback - as it turned out, the DVD doesn’t fit into most mini-itx cases with this board - it rests on the CPU cooler. The only suitable trouble-free case, as it turned out - Cubid 3777B.
DVD, by the way, is better to take not my 5590A, but to look for a variant with slot loading (Slot-In), for example, NEC AD-7630A-01. This option looks more elegant, but, unfortunately, such CDs are a relative rarity.
For assembly, you will need a small “watch” screwdriver (a standard one that does not fit an ATX-case doesn’t fit - everything is very compact and small inside).
In the case, by the way, I would recommend turning the side fan so that it works to blow air inwards - in my opinion, the processor and the screw are better cooled.
The result is such a black box, not even devoid of a certain charm:
Next, download the image of MacOs, adapted for launching on a self-made intel-platform - the so-called Hakintosh. I chose an image from torrents.ru - Kalyway_10.5.2_DVD_Intel_Amd . Another image, I think, will also be great.
I will not describe the installation process in detail; you can find many manuals on the network, including videos. In short - everywhere click “Next” :) The only thing is, when the installation process reaches the installation step of installing MacOs (the Customize button), select the following items:
- core: vanilla kernel
- video: Intel GMA950
- patches: leave only patch for USB.
and continue the installation.
Half an hour of waiting - and voila, after a reboot, we enjoy the beauty of MacOs. Expose / Spaces fly without brakes, sound works without problems. Logic Pro 8, which I launched for the sake of the test, on a delay of 64 samples without clicks, lost the trial project of three audio tracks. Although for real work with sound, this configuration is rather weak, but still, such a small buffer size shows that the audio subsystem works on this hardware in full.
And what about performance? Here is the xbench report that was launched immediately after the installation was completed:
From the comparison table you can see that mac mini usually show the result within 35-45 points. Our result - 43.38 - also fits into this set.
Well, you can begin to deal with the Leopard, set the program and equip living space. But this is a topic for another topic. :)
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/30824/
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