Ok so

Hyburnate · 18 Aug 2011 at 15:35

My mum wanted to know what I'm buying and I told her, then my uncle tells me why don't I go and buy an off the shelf one, I was like cause its cheaper, then he goes but then you can get a Mac further down the line, but surely I could just buy another HDD and buy a copy of Lion and stick it on that, then jump into bios and change the boot drive.

Plus it would be cheaper because I could save loads of money.

(Didn't know where to put this thread)

Point of this thread is, would it work.

ExecutorKevin · 18 Aug 2011 at 15:37

so what exactly do you want to do?

Matterez · 18 Aug 2011 at 15:39

I think he's trying to get Mac OS on a PC... But he's not being very clear :/

Jony27 · 18 Aug 2011 at 15:42

you mean Hackintosh?
i think you need a G31/G41 mobo for that.

Hyburnate · 18 Aug 2011 at 15:42

I know, I'm not very good at this clear thing, would it work if you install a Mac OSX onto a HDD?

Surely you can buy a OS X disk

cmndr_andi · 18 Aug 2011 at 15:48

Hi there,

You can't legally install OSX on non-mac hardware(ie something that was designed to be a windows/linux PC) - what you need to legally run OSX is genuine apple mac hardware that supports it fully (ie mac mini, imac, macbook or mac pro). If you do it anyway then this is called hackintosh and can't be discussed on these forums as it is not legal.

The big question is, do you really need OSX? If not, then build a PC yourself (or buy one of the high quality pre-builds from OCUK) and don't consider buying any garbage pre-built PC off-the-shelf from standard retail channels (high street stores, big box retailers).
If you do need OSX, then please just buy a mac - if you are a student you get some pretty good deals and their certified refurb shop is well worth a look.

PiKe · 18 Aug 2011 at 15:49

Don't bother trying to make a hackintosh, there's always some issue you run in to, it's not easy and requires a lot of time and effort to iron out the bugs.

panyan · 18 Aug 2011 at 16:02

PiKe said:
Don't bother trying to make a hackintosh, there's always some issue you run in to, it's not easy and requires a lot of time and effort to iron out the bugs.

+100 ive wasted many hours trying to make a stable install and something never works: sound, wifi, video drivers, etc, etc - it is the most frustrating thing in the world

Hyburnate · 18 Aug 2011 at 16:03

I've got my answer

Who would want an overpriced over rated machine from Apple when you can build one cheaper for yourself

I have an Ubuntu 10.10 iso I'm going to install on a HDD anyway

The new Ubuntu is awful

panyan · 18 Aug 2011 at 16:23

Hyburnate said:
I've got my answer Who would want an overpriced over rated machine from Apple when you can build one cheaper for yourself

errr... no... an Apple machine is fantastically built with a rock solid warranty and excellent operating system, what is a bad idea is trying to replicate that on a PC

Yes, a PC will be cheaper for the same performance

But, a Mac will have a much better build quality, no-questions warranty and stability

cmndr_andi · 18 Aug 2011 at 16:38

panyan said:
errr... no... an Apple machine is fantastically built with a rock solid warranty and excellent operating system, what is a bad idea is trying to replicate that on a PC

Yes, a PC will be cheaper for the same performance

But, a Mac will have a much better build quality, no-questions warranty and stability

+1

Macs are really well built computers with an operating system that is lovely to use and offers some applications which haven't been matched on a PC (final cut pro for one thing). If you are one of the people that just want a computer to work without any messing and/or will make good use of the mac specific features then it is a very good bet. However, if you don't need either of these things then a Mac simply isn't the best option for you.

If you want the maximum performance per £ and Windows/linux offers all the applications that you need then this is the best road to go down for you. If you are up for it, then building one yourself is the cheapest route and gets you exactly the components you want. However, if you don't feel up to building one or just don't want the hassle then buying a system pre-built from somewhere like OCUK is a good option. They use high quality components, offer their own warranty and so long as you chose the right one - are very upgradable and overclockable.

Unless you are very technically minded and patient then I wouldn't suggest contemplating combining PC hardware and illicit apple software. Aside from being illigal it is a right pain to do properly (so I hear

).