How to build a PC capable of running Snow Leopard/How to install Snow Leopard

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Originally Posted by NotAMacinClue

I just booted my build with this board and Q9550. See the link I posted earlier, Amazon shows them as in stock still. I first booted in XP to make sure all parts worked. Everything looks good so far. I will be working on boot my "MacPro" next.

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I am in Canada so ordering on Amazon.com is not possible for me. I'm ordering all of my parts from Newegg.ca

Yeah, the GA-EP45-UD3L motherboard seems to still be in circulation on quite a few websites. It's the GA-EP45-UD3R that seems impossible to find at this present time.

Which is not a big deal for me anyways. The only difference seems to be 2x PCI-e slots, and 2x ethernet connections. I wasn't planning on using them anyways. I just hope that the GA-EP45-UD3L works as well as the GA-EP45-UD3R!

I'm still not entirely sure which CPU and video card I'm gonna go with..
The 9800 GTX+ seems good in terms of specs but it's that S-video I am uncertain of:
Newegg.ca - EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
I will only be using dual DVI's but having S-video on the card I don't know if that will mess things up..

It's still a toss up between the E8400 and Q8400 for me.. Any suggestions? Both chipsets support virtualization so they will both work with a Hackintosh but it's the OSX Software Updates that I am most concerned about. Upgrading from 10.6.4 to 10.6.X I am just never quite sure if it will break something..

Perhaps I should test all future Software Updates on another harddrive with the EFI loader installed first to be 100% certain that it will work? Or do I even need to be worried about it? :P

Let's just put it this way: is there a more compatible Intel Core 2 chipset for the Hackintosh? Wolfdale or Yorkfield? Or will they both work exactly the same in terms of architectural design?

Oh, and one more question:
I was gonna be using the EFI 10.1 installer as opposed to the EFI 10.5 installer.. 10.1 is the installer listed on the Lifehacker article (Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required). Both are automated installers which are put onto the USB flash drive but is there any particular reason that version 10.5 is better than version 10.1?

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by revlimiter

I am in Canada so ordering on Amazon.com is not possible for me. I'm ordering all of my parts from Newegg.ca

Yeah, the GA-EP45-UD3L motherboard seems to still be in circulation on quite a few websites. It's the GA-EP45-UD3R that seems impossible to find at this present time.

Which is not a big deal for me anyways. The only difference seems to be 2x PCI-e slots, and 2x ethernet connections. I wasn't planning on using them anyways. I just hope that the GA-EP45-UD3L works as well as the GA-EP45-UD3R!

I'm still not entirely sure which CPU and video card I'm gonna go with..
The 9800 GTX+ seems good in terms of specs but it's that S-video I am uncertain of:
Newegg.ca - EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
I will only be using dual DVI's but having S-video on the card I don't know if that will mess things up..

It's still a toss up between the E8400 and Q8400 for me.. Any suggestions? Both chipsets support virtualization so they will both work with a Hackintosh but it's the OSX Software Updates that I am most concerned about. Upgrading from 10.6.4 to 10.6.X I am just never quite sure if it will break something..

Perhaps I should test all future Software Updates on another harddrive with the EFI loader installed first to be 100% certain that it will work? Or do I even need to be worried about it? :P

So let's just put it this way: is there a more compatible CPU for the Hackintosh? E8400 or the Q8400? Or will they both work exactly the same in terms of architectural technology? I guess I will need to research the differences between Wolfdale and Yorkfield. Does anybody know?

Oh, one more question:
I was gonna be using the EFI 10.1 installer as opposed to the EFI 10.5 installer.. 10.1 is the installer listed on the Lifehacker article (Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required). Both are automated installers which are put onto the USB flash drive but is there any particular reason that version 10.5 is better than version 10.1?

Thanks!

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I used the BFG version of the 9800GT. It has no S-video, only dual DVI. If your funds allow, I would go with Quad CPU (more Cores). As far as EFI, I don't have enough knowledge to answer this; perhaps someone else can give you some input. Sorry.

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Originally Posted by NotAMacinClue

I used the BFG version of the 9800GT. It has no S-video, only dual DVI. If your funds allow, I would go with Quad CPU (more Cores). As far as EFI, I don't have enough knowledge to answer this; perhaps someone else can give you some input. Sorry.

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Ah, I'm an idiot :P
..Q8400 = quad core
..E8400 = dual core

So even though the Q8400 is a tad bit lower in terms of the processing power, it sounds like it's double the card?

Weird, cause the benchmarks seem to be pretty even between the 2 CPUs.. But maybe that's cause the article I was reading benched them when Quad Core technology was not fully utilized within the software layer? Who knows..

I guess Q8400 seems like the better investment. It sounds like you can overclock past 3Ghz safely with the stock cooling too.

Oh and good news about this exact EVGA 9800 GTX+ card I am looking at
YouTube - How to Build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, Build Complete - 10.6.1 Updated

It works with EFI auto installer :D

Gonna order up my parts now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by revlimiter

Ah, I'm an idiot :P
..Q8400 = quad core
..E8400 = dual core

So even though the Q8400 is a tad bit lower in terms of the processing power, it sounds like it's double the card?

Weird, cause the benchmarks seem to be pretty even between the 2 CPUs.. But maybe that's cause the article I was reading benched them when Quad Core technology was not fully utilized within the software layer? Who knows..

I guess Q8400 seems like the better investment. It sounds like you can overclock past 3Ghz safely with the stock cooling too.

Oh and good news about this exact EVGA 9800 GTX+ card I am looking at
YouTube - How to Build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, Build Complete - 10.6.1 Updated

It works with EFI auto installer :D

Gonna order up my parts now.

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I hope it goes well for you. I cannot get my OSX up and running yet.

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Originally Posted by NotAMacinClue

I hope it goes well for you. I cannot get my OSX up and running yet.

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What hardware are you using and what seems to be the issue?

For the Intel Q8400:
Do you think I should order up some thermal paste or should the stock stuff work fine? I understand there is not very much included.. wondering if anybody has had this issue.
Thanks

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Originally Posted by revlimiter

For the Intel Q8400:
Do you think I should order up some thermal paste or should the stock stuff work fine? I understand there is not very much included.. wondering if anybody has had this issue.
Thanks

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I believe you will need the thermal paste/grease.

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Originally Posted by revlimiter

What hardware are you using and what seems to be the issue?

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EP45-UD3L (NOT EP45-UD3LR)
Patriot Extreme Performance 4 GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 Dual Channel
BFG BFGE981024GTGE NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1 GB GDDR3 PCI Express
Core 2 Quad Processor Q9550
CPU Freezer Pro
1.5 TB WD 7200 SATA HD
250GB 5400 SATA HD
Asus SATA DVD/RW
BFG 650W PSU

LCD temp gauge with fan control and sound card on order and possibly another 4GB ram if snow leopard AND XP can use it and OC'ing.

I booted with XP and all went well. When I tried the SL thumb drive install, it wouldn't load.......

still trying.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NotAMacinClue

EP45-UD3L (NOT EP45-UD3LR)
Patriot Extreme Performance 4 GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 Dual Channel
BFG BFGE981024GTGE NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1 GB GDDR3 PCI Express
Core 2 Quad Processor Q9550
CPU Freezer Pro
1.5 TB WD 7200 SATA HD
250GB 5400 SATA HD
Asus SATA DVD/RW
BFG 650W PSU

LCD temp gauge with fan control and sound card on order and possibly another 4GB ram if snow leopard AND XP can use it and OC'ing.

I booted with XP and all went well. When I tried the SL thumb drive install, it wouldn't load.......

still trying.

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Are you allowed to use DDR2-800 memory with that board?
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard says "DDR2 1366(O.C)/1066" so I'm wondering for myself if I need to spend $100 on faster DDR2 memory.

Why the new sound card? Does the onboard sound not work with the EP45-UD3L?

Also, which version of the EFI bootloader did you install onto your thumb drive?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by revlimiter

Are you allowed to use DDR2-800 memory with that board?
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard says "DDR2 1366(O.C)/1066" so I'm wondering for myself if I need to spend $100 on faster DDR2 memory.

Also, which version of the EFI bootloader did you install onto your thumb drive?

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DDR 800 works with it. I already booted in XP. The board is UP TO 1066. As for the EFI, I used COBO's file in the beginning of this thread.