I've never spent any significant amount of time using a Mac, but the newest 10.6 OSX version just came out and I've been eyeing it. I'm a long time Windows user, and have been running Windows XP for the last decade it seems. I've built several computers and have been pretty competent with desktop hardware for the last 4-5 years.

Anyway, I've spent some time messing with Ubuntu 9.04 in the last month, and have been researching OSX 10.6 as well as Windows 7 recently. Once Windows 7 is released next month, I will have basically 3 new and promising operating systems to choose from as I finally move away from XP, (notice that I completely exclude Vista in this discussion). Anyway, I was wondering—should I choose to give OSX a shot—if I should take a 'Hackintosh' approach to learning/testing Mac, or if I should just buy a Macbook.

Personally, I don't even own a laptop and never have, so I wouldn't mind buying and having one, but I don't really have any substantial Mac experience whatsoever. So, I'm not very anxious to drop $1200+ on a completely new system that I may not even like, be able to use effectively, or even need. That said, I would probably love having a laptop, and the 13” Macbook (from a hardware perspective) seems quite appealing to me. Also, buying a Macbook seems to be the cheapest option for becoming a 'legitimate' Mac user.

However, I've already got a few desktops around that I have built that are fully capable machines and recently updated with hardware upgrades, and it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to give OSX a try on one of those systems before I commit to buying any new laptop. I also don't know how easy it is to just build a Hackintosh, so I can't really contemplate this option very easily on my own. I've got a new Intel processor on one of my machines, so I believe that makes it possible building such a machine, but I've got no idea what risks or hurdles might be involved. And I'm not looking for a project that would just be fun or interesting—although that would certainly be nice—I just want the best, most secure, and most stable operating system that makes sense for me given (1) the hardware I have or don't have, and (2) the lack of general Mac experience I have. I have a feeling that OSX 10.6 could be that operating system for me. I just don't want to screw myself over from the outset simply because I didn't buy a 'real' Mac initially. Is building and using a Hackintosh a recommend place to start for a Mac novice (Windows user) like me?

Hello,

If you want to be totally legitimate, buy a Macbook, but if you really want to save some money and be able to run Mac OS X on a PC you already own, Hackintosh is definitely the way to go. Some distros may work, some may not, it all depends on your hardware. Not only is Hackintosh a good approach but you can overclock your PC with Hackintosh, and use up to date hardware.

I hope that helped.

and if you like the hakingt0sh, and you have a good amount of money, you can by a macbook / pro and use boot camp to run either windows 7 (vista'a nicer brother - (that copied everything from apple) or linux via VMware.

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I Do Not Condone Piracy, If You Like It BUY IT! - It's Ok To Test But Not Steal - MacBook Pro Owner

iPhone Owner 3G

If I wanted a laptop, it seems like a 13" Macbook Pro would ultimately be the best option to go with anyway--better than a hackintosh laptop I think. I went to the Apple store yesterday to just get a hands-on feel of those things--and they are every bit as cool as I thought they would be. But, if I really wanted the best setup for a desktop, it seems like a hackintosh is not only practical, but ideal. And I don't just mean that from a financial standpoint--although the prices on those Mac Pros seem crazy---but also from a performance standpoint.

I also never thought about the overclocking consideration, that's a good point.

the only huge issue you are going to have with a desktop setup with a Hackingt*sh is the drivers for it. If you do go down this root, then i would advise looking up all compatable hardware to make sure that the machine runs properly.

Anouther area you need to consider is that Apple does do product updates and they do try and stop piracy. Its a cat and mouse game. So if you did an update one day it may get broken by it.

- Just something to keep in mind

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I Do Not Condone Piracy, If You Like It BUY IT! - It's Ok To Test But Not Steal - MacBook Pro Owner

iPhone Owner 3G