June 18th, 2012Top StoryBuild the Mac Pro That You Wish Apple ReleasedBy Adam Dachis
The Mac Pro update everyone was hoping for was supposed to include Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processors, which were designed to be smaller, more powerful, and more power-efficient. With a desktop computer like the Mac Pro, power usage is still a fairly significant concern because a lack of efficiency can make for a pricier power bill. Additionally, with the immediately out-of-date Mac Pro starting at $2,499, you're already overpaying for a machine that's slower than the one you can build yourself. In this post, we're going to look at three hackintoshes you can create yourself, how they stack up against a comparable Mac Pro, and how much you'll save in the process. The BuildsIvy Bridge Hackintoshes are pretty new, and it wasn't until last week that OS X even supported the new processors officially. The builds we're looking at in this section are based on the work of people in the hackintosh community who've already taken the plunge. Where applicable, we'll mention the sources we used so you can dig deeper and learn more before getting started. Fast: The Entry-Level DesktopsFirst let's start off with the entry-level machine. We're going to look at what Apple offers, what a hackintosh can offer, and how they compare in price and performance.
Here's what you get for that cool $2,499:
So, what's the difference? In terms of performance, the Mac Pro and Hack Pro are pretty evenly matched when it comes to the lesser-components (with the Hack Pro keeping a slight edge). This build even includes a FireWire 400/800 card so you have your standard Mac ports. Additionally, the motherboard supports USB 3.0 so you can have even faster data transfers than the current Mac Pro. The primary differences between Apple's entry-level Mac Pro and this build are between the CPU and graphics card. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti in our build offers significantly better performance, so if your needs are GPU-intensive you're in much better shape with the Hack Pro. When it comes to the CPU, Apple's Mac Pro offers a 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor to our 3.4 GHz Core i7. While the Xeon is a higher grade than the Core i7, the one Apple's using is kind of old and just not as fast. In fact CPU benchmarks tested both and the Core i7 came in at 10,455 and the Xeon at 6,070 (higher numbers are better). While benchmarks aren't everything, that's a pretty large performance gap between Apple's latest offering and a machine you can build for half the price. The bottom line: The Hack Pro is faster than the Mac Pro in every category and it costs less than half what you'd pay Apple. Faster: The Mid-Range WorkstationsNext we've got the mid-range machine. On Apple's side this means almost a $1,000 price hike. For the Hack Pro it's a difference of only around $100.
So, what's the difference? Fastest: The High-End PowerhousesIf you want one of the fastest Hack or Mac Pros you can get, here are your options. We decided to go all out, so you'll want a fairly fat wallet in either case.
So, what's the difference? At this point it's worth noting that the Hack Pro builds haven't changed much throughout the comparison. The graphics card was always faster, so it wasn't necessary to find a faster one. The CPU can hold its own against old Xeon processors so that wasn't much of an issue, either. When it came to the high-end build, we intended to offer a 240GB SSD instead of the 512GB option, but Apple only allows you to add 512GB SSDs to your Mac Pro. If you don't need a gigantic solid state drive, you can save yourself about $400 by cutting the space in half. It all comes down to this: when you start upgrading a Mac Pro, you spend a lot of money in the process. When you upgrade a Hack Pro, you don't. You also get a wider selection of what you can use in the machine. The entry-level model we put together is really fast, and barely over $1,000. It's still fast enough to rival the high-end Mac Pro. Until Apple figures out how to handle its professional machines, hackintoshes are going to be the way to go for desktop builds—especially on the higher end of things. Additional Hardware ResourcesThese Hack Pro builds were put together thanks to a great (but slightly outdated) build guide by tonymacx86. They were updated for Ivy Bridge by reading posts in the build section of the tonymacx86 forums (like this one and this one). Be sure to check out those resources if you want to learn more about these builds or swap out any of the parts we chose. The Hackintosh ProcessBuying a bunch of parts is the starting point, but you still have to actually build your hackintosh. Fortunately, we've got you covered in all aspects. Here are a few resources we've put together to take you through the entire process—even if you run into problems:
That should be everything you need to know. We hope you enjoy your new Hack Pro that you didn't have to wait for Apple to build for you!  |
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