# Hackintosh build - what do you think of this setup?



## yaron_e (Apr 20, 2021)

Hi guys,

I'm building a Hackintosh, by which I mean - I know very little about computers, and I'm hiring someone to build a Hackintosh for me. To keep things brief - I'm a media composer, and I'd like to run a large Cubase 11 Pro + VEPro7 scoring template that'll run smoothly on a single computer. Basically, I'm willing to spend a little more (but not as much as a current Mac Pro would cost) on a good setup that'll run smoothly and ensure that all I have to think about for the next 4-5 years is music. I currently own a 2019 MP Pro, and had initially considered a network setup (i.e. getting a slave PC to run VEP), but from the research I've done, it seems that the technology is at the point where that might not be necessary, and if I can keep things simpler by having just one computer, I'd rather do that.

The current proposed Hackintosh setup is:

* PROCESSOR: Intel Core i9-11900KF 3.5Ghz 8-Core
* RAM: 128GB Certified DDR4 3200Mhz
* MOTHERBOARD: Intel Z590 Rocket Lake Chipset
* OS/PROJECTS DRIVE: 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD ±3500Mb/s
* SAMPLES/LIBRARIES DRIVE: 2TB NVMe GEN4 M.2 SSD ±7000Mb/s
* GPU: NVIDIA GT710 2GB HDMI+DVI (2K)
* Thunderbolt3 DSL7540 2-Port Card

I'd love to know your opinions. Incidentally - if any of these components seem like they might be an overkill, do let me know that as well! 

Many thanks


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## yaron_e (Apr 20, 2021)

Forgot to write that the intended Mac OS is Big Sur.


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## jbuhler (Apr 20, 2021)

yaron_e said:


> Forgot to write that the intended Mac OS is Big Sur.


I don't have any advice, but I didn't know Hackintoshes were reliably running on Big Sur. That's good to know.


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## Kent (Apr 20, 2021)

You should read my thread here:






I9 10900k OpenCore/Catalina Hackintosh Build Journal


Making this computer: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BgjrZf (Note that not quite all the components are listed. Read the journal for more details!) Build starts on this post: https://vi-control.net/community/threads/i9-10900k-opencore-catalina-hackintosh-build-journal.96309/post-4609982...




vi-control.net





Any particular reason why you're going with Big Sur?


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## Giovanni dall Camera (Apr 20, 2021)

jbuhler said:


> I don't have any advice, but I didn't know Hackintoshes were reliably running on Big Sur. That's good to know.


Sure! The only limitation on my system is that you have to decide between DRM playback (Amazon Prime playing videos on Safari, Apple TV, etc) and Sidecar (adding an iPad as an additional monitor). I don't think there is a way to make both work, currently. But other than that, my Hackintosh runs Big Sur as smoothly as my m1 MacBook Air.


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## yaron_e (Apr 20, 2021)

kmaster said:


> You should read my thread here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hey kmaster. No particular reason, other than the builder I'm working with seems to believe that this setup will run better with Big Sur than with Catalina.


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## Kent (Apr 20, 2021)

yaron_e said:


> Hey kmaster. No particular reason, other than the builder I'm working with seems to believe that this setup will run better with Big Sur than with Catalina.


Aha.

Well, I would definitely start the building coming from the other direction: are you 100% sure that every software and firmware you need to use is Big Sur-compatible? If so, then go for it, but if not, then do the best Catalina build you can do.


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## yaron_e (Apr 20, 2021)

kmaster said:


> Aha.
> 
> Well, I would definitely start the building coming from the other direction: are you 100% sure that every software and firmware you need to use is Big Sur-compatible? If so, then go for it, but if not, then do the best Catalina build you can do.


Yeah, that's something I made sure to do. Hopefully I haven't missed anything, but to test things out, I've gone ahead and updated my current MP Pro to Big Sur (after saving a Time Machine backup of my pervious Catalina OS), and I'm trying things out just to make sure. 
Incidentally, since you've brought up the topic - if anything I use were to not be supported in Big Sur, what would that look like? i.e., am I looking for garbled plugin interfaces, or software just not working?

Also, part of the reason for going with Big Sur is that it is my understanding that Hackintoshes are generally going in the direction of extinction, in about 5-6 years. I figured a Big Sur setup would leave me compatible for as long as possible.


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## Kent (Apr 20, 2021)

It could be anything, really. Best bet is to verify from each developer's official statements on the matter that they have tested and can guarantee compatibility. Otherwise, it's Russian Roulette—you _might not_ experience issues, but you _might_, and if and when they do occur you might be S.O.L. depending on the nature of the issue.

If you're looking for compatibility, the general rule-of-thumb is to stay at least one OS behind current release, anyways, for just this reason.


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## yaron_e (Apr 20, 2021)

kmaster said:


> It could be anything, really. Best bet is to verify from each developer's official statements on the matter that they have tested and can guarantee compatibility. Otherwise, it's Russian Roulette—you _might not_ experience issues, but you _might_, and if and when they do occur you might be S.O.L. depending on the nature of the issue.
> 
> If you're looking for compatibility, the general rule-of-thumb is to stay at least one OS behind current release, anyways, for just this reason.


I agree, and it's what I've been doing up until now (only just updated from Mojave to Catalina a few months ago). But as I said, this time around I'm looking to stay compatible for as long as possible. In any case, I've checked the official statements for the main pieces of software and plugins I use %99 of the time, and it seems like I'll be ok. Worst case, if for some reason I'm not able to use one plugin or another until it's made compatible, I'll make do without it until it gets supported. Seems like a manageable tradeoff.


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## RAdkins (Apr 21, 2021)

I just purchased a z490 with 10850k build personally. Unless you are going to overclock the 11th gen cpu, the 10th gen is just as good and costs less. Just my 2c.


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## easyrider (Apr 21, 2021)

RAdkins said:


> I just purchased a z490 with 10850k build personally. Unless you are going to overclock the 11th gen cpu, the 10th gen is just as good and costs less. Just my 2c.


The 11th gen processors are slower from the benchmarks I’ve seen.


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