@Shaveblog, I hear you and I have the same philosophy on setting up and learning about the hackintosh

"If you see better performance with SSDT, more power to you. I didn't, and the more I read that thread the more I feel they're chasing something that's more of a bandaid for suboptimal builds than necessary part of a fully optimized Hackintosh."

I've just started to experiment with SSDTs on my Ivy Bridge "Thunderball" system just to see what the hype was all about. (Thunderball > i5-3570K | GA-Z77X-UP5-TH | GTX 650 Ti | Mountain Lion ) I have used the default System Definition MacPro3,1 and have been a happy camper. However, a fellow Moderator at tonymacx86.com gave me an i5-3570K SSDT to play with to see if I noticed a difference. (See this post.) So, I changed my SysDef to Macmini6,2 and added DropSSDT=Yes in the /Extra/org.chameleon.Boot.plist file. I have not noticed a difference in performance by just using the computer. I plan to try MacMini6,1 when I get a moment.

As you can tell from the P-State read out in the post, the SSDT did give me a lower P-State (12 vs. 16), but as you can tell from my system components, I'm not worried about running a lower P-State since I have liquid processor cooler. Nor do I think a 12 vs.16 lowest P-State will amount to much on a desktop, anyway.

So, I'm with you. For general purpose computing, you are better off with the MultiBeast default MacPro3,1. Then, when Apple updates OS X, you aren't sitting there scratching your head trying to figure out why the update screwed up your system. However, if you want to learn about hackintoshing and it's a hobby for you, go for it. But, putting on my coach's hat, "don't rush to fail!" Research is your best friend.

@Shaveblog, +1 concur.

@Shaveblog, The iMac System Definitions are defined in Apple’s OS X to have either idle or “full bore” states. The gurus that hang out in the tonymacx86 DDST and SSDT forum sections recommend the use of the Macmini6,1 (for Ivy Bridge i5 processors) and Macmini6,2 (for Ivy Brdige i7 processors) SysDefs along with a SSDT, which gives a fairly good P-state spread, for desktops.

However, you can try a SSDT to see if your system benefits from it. But, you’ll need to use a MacMini6 SysDef as using a SSDT with an iMac SysDef brings problems. Or, press on with your current situation if you’re a happy camper. :D

I’m experimenting (re: trying) the Macmini6,1 and an appropriate SSDT with “DropSSDT=Yes” in the /Extra/org.chameleon.Boot.plist file. (See this post for more information and my Thunderball build description in my signature block.) The SSDT generator app is in the first post of the thread mentioned in the first paragraph. Notice in my post, all I did was run the Terminal app with the processor as the only parameter.

Here’s the P-state range for my i5-3570K processor:

Macmini6,1 & SSDT = 16, 21, 28, 34, 37, 38 (need “DropSSDT=Yes” in /Extra/org.chameleon.Boot.plist file when using a SSDT)

Macpro3,1 /& no SSDT = 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 38

So, I’m getting a better processor P-state range from idle to max Turbo speeds. From were I’m at in my evaluation...well, I don’t know if it’s a big deal or not.

I advise newbies of two philosophical approaches for getting to know a hackintosh. First, get it working - use the defaults unless it’s advised not to do so (non Gigabyte motherboards, for instance). Second, (olde coaches adage) don’t rush to fail.

Given that, do your do diligence and backup, backup, backup. :D

@Stork Thanks for the info on Ivy Bridge and SSDT. I was under the impression SSDT was just for Sandy Bridge. MultiBeast only has options for Sandy i5/i7, so I assumed Ivy didn't need SSDT.

Never tried Mac Mini smbios for my big i7-3770L/HD5870 rig, as the CPU/GPU more closely match real Apple iMacs and Mac Pros vs those found in Mac Minis. Is there something else special about the Mac Mini def that unlocks the hot sauce?

I have to admit my approach to Hackintosh mirrored my approach to GH2 patches. First stage, read everything. Second, try everything. Third, once things reach a point where they stop getting better, stop. I got there with Intravenus 2, and I'm there now with my current Hackintosh setup. It Geeks at 17K, Luxmarks at 700, renders in realtime and doesn't make a peep. And it never, ever crashes. So I just don't worry on it anymore. It's doing what I want it to do. At a certain point I need to stop dicking with patches and Hackintosh hacks and get to work.

Never mind. Won't do it. Will stick to W7, even when adding a new SSD. Too pussy :P

Thanks @Vitaliy_Kiselev, will consider that!

I have a question for you all. I am a noob to the hackintosh but used to build windows machines before i switched to mac. I have to upgrade to a faster machine because my imac duocore just can’t handle the workload and it’s slowing me down big time (rendertimes are dramatic) but i just can't afford a real mac pro.

So what do i want to do with the new machine: - Video Editing with about 100gig of footage per project, no heavy grading but quite a few animations (in the future) Audio Recording (studio) Live streaming of music lessons using 3 cameras (2x GH3 1xBMPCC) - was hoping to use the GH2 for streaming but i read somewhere it can’t be done.

This hardeware would have to function with the build: MOTU midi express 128 (USB) RME Fireface 800 (firewire 800 obviously) Roland VG99 (USB) Decklink Quad (planning to) OR 3x intensity pro (will the GA-Z77X-UP5-TH take 3 intensitypros?)

The question is, will the i7 below do the trick live streaming 3 cameras with wirecast? Someone on creative cow suggested i would need a 6 core or 8 core machine for that but i thought it was a somewhat older post and i’m hoping today’s quad cores are fast enough to do the job. And I’ve seen that people usually get their RME running on their hackintosh so i’m hoping on a smooth ride there.

This is what i would like to assemble, i know, nothing fancy, straight from tonymacx86 but i don’t have time to research this for months. I wanna build it and have it ready in a couple of days. Any suggestions on the system are welcome!

Intel Core i7-3770K GA-Z77X-UP5-TH 16GB 1600Mhz DDR3 GeForce GTX 670

SATA 6Gb/s 240GB SSD TP-Link PCI Express Corsair 650 Watt Modular Corsair Carbide 500R

All help and input is appreciated! :-)

André

@andrevanberlo Check out my post and specs right above yours. Just built it and it smokes my 2011 MBP by at least 200%-300% in speeds for every function so far.

Hey that is some serious bandwidth you are going to need, recording and streaming from 3 HD-sources simultaneously. The hardware and tasks you are talking about are so specific, it might be hard to get some guaranteed tried-and-true respones with your query. If wirecast specs say "8 core minimum" you might be well advised to check out the Hex-core X79 Hackintoshes. I myself have a mere quad X79, which I specifically got because you can pack it with twice as much RAM and there are more PCIe lanes available (yes, for Raid arrays) than with the Z77 boards. Good luck...

@andrevanberio I was a bit worried about the whole Hackintosh thing but it was much easier than I thought. I had a couple hiccups but after a little bit of research, everything is running smooth.

I actually got the list off another site that confirmed it was all compatible but it had links to all the tonymac stuff too so it was sort of one in the same. I'll find it but I think most of the lower, middle and high end systems have the same specs.

@vicharris so I read the first version of your post wrong and built a system much like you describe but with the GA-Z77N-Wifi board (also i7, the 660, etc). So I have a shoebox sized unit sitting on my desk that smokes most Mac Pros. Resolve throws up an error that the set up is not fast enough at start up, but since the 10.8.3 graphics drivers the stress tests exceed the FPS on the "standard system" from last year. In the end it was one flag and two kexts and the rest was butter. WOW.