10 ms·

$682 Hackintosh Mac Mini vs. $1,300 Apple Mac Mini

35 points by rakibtg 10y ago

intopieces 10y ago
Hackintoshes are fun projects, I've made a few of them. Where they fall apart, though, is updates. If you're prepared to stay on the same OS X version or want to take the risk of something breaking, I highly recommend this kind of project. If you're looking for something that will smoothly update like the Mac mini does (set it and forget it) then Hackintosh is really not for you. I recommend a used Mac mini, which you can get for a good price on craigslist.
- op00to 10y ago
  Installing untrusted software of dubious origin to run at highest privilege levels is not a security best practice.
  - intopieces 10y ago
    Agreed, one of the reasons I considered my Hackintoshes to be toys more than machines for serious work. I don't put my real Apple ID on them. I've got one sitting around just for playing music and updating my iPod, though.
- CodeWriter23 10y ago
  Actually, since replacing Chimera with the EFI-compliant Clover boot loader, upgrades are a breeze. You can actually use Software Update to install point- and major- version releases just like on a real Mac. The downside, since a Hackintosh requires the use of unsigned kernel modules, you can't run with module signing turned on.
  - intopieces 10y ago
    >Actually, since replacing Chimera with the EFI-compliant Clover boot loader, upgrades are a breeze. You can actually use Software Update to install point- and major- version releases just like on a real Mac. Perhaps for certain builds, but this has not been my experience with either the Intel NUC Haswell i5-4250U or the ThinkServer TS140. Both required significant research and tweaking to get in-line updates to work, but that could have something to do with my particular components in both cases. It's certainly nothing compared to the off-the-shelf experience of a Mac mini proper. For some, that's the point, for others that's a terrible hassle that's ultimately not worth the monetary savings.
bsaul 10y ago
Didn't know mac mini 2016 were actually less powerful than 2012 ones. That's just insane....
- DoodleBuggy 10y ago
  Similar to the 2016 MacBook Pro benchmarking worse than the 2013, 2014, and 2015 MacBook Pro http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks
jrickert 10y ago
I have been running hacktinoshes as my daily drivers since 2011. Certainly there are trade offs, but I am surprised I don't see more love for them here on HN given Apple's recent lackluster hardware offerings.
nkkollaw 10y ago
If only there was a good-looking laptop... I'm considering buying the MacBook Pro (without their retarded touchbar), but it costs over 1900EUR. I would really love it if I could reliably run macOS on cheaper hardware.
- hbcondo714 10y ago
  Try this method[1]. It allows me to run macOS virtually on a cheap laptop. [1] https://techsviewer.com/install-macos-sierra-vmware-windows/ https://techsviewer.com/install-macos-sierra-vmware-windows/
  - nkkollaw 10y ago
    Yes, but how is the performance? Also, I read that not everything works.
    - hbcondo714 10y ago
      Performance is decent. I run Xcode and the iOS simulator on a $850 Lenovo 7th gen i7 laptop with 16gb (8gb allocated to the BMW) and ssd. I think some folks have mentioned they couldn't get their iMessages from their iPhone to work but I haven't tried pairing my phone.

35 points by rakibtg 10y ago

Hackintoshes are fun projects, I've made a few of them. Where they fall apart, though, is updates. If you're prepared to stay on the same OS X version or want to take the risk of something breaking, I highly recommend this kind of project. If you're looking for something that will smoothly update like the Mac mini does (set it and forget it) then Hackintosh is really not for you. I recommend a used Mac mini, which you can get for a good price on craigslist.

op00to 10y ago
Installing untrusted software of dubious origin to run at highest privilege levels is not a security best practice.
- intopieces 10y ago
  Agreed, one of the reasons I considered my Hackintoshes to be toys more than machines for serious work. I don't put my real Apple ID on them. I've got one sitting around just for playing music and updating my iPod, though.
CodeWriter23 10y ago
Actually, since replacing Chimera with the EFI-compliant Clover boot loader, upgrades are a breeze. You can actually use Software Update to install point- and major- version releases just like on a real Mac. The downside, since a Hackintosh requires the use of unsigned kernel modules, you can't run with module signing turned on.
- intopieces 10y ago
  >Actually, since replacing Chimera with the EFI-compliant Clover boot loader, upgrades are a breeze. You can actually use Software Update to install point- and major- version releases just like on a real Mac. Perhaps for certain builds, but this has not been my experience with either the Intel NUC Haswell i5-4250U or the ThinkServer TS140. Both required significant research and tweaking to get in-line updates to work, but that could have something to do with my particular components in both cases. It's certainly nothing compared to the off-the-shelf experience of a Mac mini proper. For some, that's the point, for others that's a terrible hassle that's ultimately not worth the monetary savings.

bsaul 10y ago

Didn't know mac mini 2016 were actually less powerful than 2012 ones. That's just insane....

DoodleBuggy 10y ago
Similar to the 2016 MacBook Pro benchmarking worse than the 2013, 2014, and 2015 MacBook Pro http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks http://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

jrickert 10y ago

I have been running hacktinoshes as my daily drivers since 2011. Certainly there are trade offs, but I am surprised I don't see more love for them here on HN given Apple's recent lackluster hardware offerings.

nkkollaw 10y ago

If only there was a good-looking laptop... I'm considering buying the MacBook Pro (without their retarded touchbar), but it costs over 1900EUR. I would really love it if I could reliably run macOS on cheaper hardware.

hbcondo714 10y ago
Try this method[1]. It allows me to run macOS virtually on a cheap laptop. [1] https://techsviewer.com/install-macos-sierra-vmware-windows/ https://techsviewer.com/install-macos-sierra-vmware-windows/
- nkkollaw 10y ago
  Yes, but how is the performance? Also, I read that not everything works.
  - hbcondo714 10y ago
    Performance is decent. I run Xcode and the iOS simulator on a $850 Lenovo 7th gen i7 laptop with 16gb (8gb allocated to the BMW) and ssd. I think some folks have mentioned they couldn't get their iMessages from their iPhone to work but I haven't tried pairing my phone.