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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 t

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.

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.