Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Part 1- Preliminaries




Where is the Hackintosh info?
Despite the title of this article, there is no Hackintosh section at this time. Honestly I'm still thinking about if I want to mess with Hackintosh.

I am a long time Mac user, who continues to use Mac computers who built a Gaming PC in October 2013 with the intention of also making it a Hackintosh, placing MacOSX on a PC. I've finished up the first part of this guide- building it and installing Windows 7 to be published on this blog in steps. An additional section will be added if and when I tackle  the Hackintosh aspect.

With the help of the Newegg TV: How to Build a Computer Part 1 followed by  Part 2 and Part 3, building a computer only took me two evenings at a relaxed pace. As compared to what I imagined. It was fast and relatively easy with some mild challenges, that I'll outline below.  Note that although the Newegg videos are from 2011 they are still relevant and accurate!

Before this build, my computer hardware experience level had been upgrading power supplies, memory, video cards, and hard drives. I admit that where I am lacking is in the troubleshooting department. Fortunately I had no serious issues to troubleshoot. However, this is Windows I'm talking about which is known for mysterious  "why is this happening?" moments, many more such moments than I've ever experienced on MacOSX.

If you are a first time builder, and/or are having second thoughts about a project like this, I'd suggest you go visit Digital Storm and check out their gaming towers for a price comparison. During this process I found that what they offer in the Vanquish Series, that has been customized, is very close price wise to my build. I wanted to do this for the experience.


How Did I Pick My Parts? 

Because I had Hackintosh in mind, I visited  TonyMacx86 the resource for building a Hackintosh. Due to Mac drivers/Intel components, etc, some components lend themselves better to function as a Hackintosh. So TonyMac86 was my primary source for picking parts, parts that would be compatible. For figuring out the best prices for parts, I used  PCPartPicker.com.

Disclaimer 2: This is not intended to be a comprehensive guide, more of a report of how my build went. I suggest referring to the NewEgg TV Video as the primary resource.

I'm sure there will be an abundance of typos. I'll fix them as I see them. If you want to send suggestions, tips, or solutions, please send a note. Thanks


PC Build Links
*There are sources online who post good gaming computer builds. I'll add some links. If you subscribe to PCGamer, they include a typical gaming build, also don't overlook Digital Storm who offers computer for just about at the same price you can build one. Compare components before you buy.
*TonyMacx86- The best single source on info about how to build a MacOSX compatible PC, without using Bootcamp. For Hackintosh compatibility, site includes recommended parts located in Buyer Guides.
*After components are decided on, use PCPartPicker.com- to locate the best prices.
*Newegg TV: How to Build a Computer Part 1 (2011) This is an outstanding series that shows you step by step how to build a computer from start to finish, includes intel and AMD builds.
*Newegg TV: How to Build a Computer Part 2.
*Newegg TV: How to Build a Computer Part 3.
*Clip Converter- Excellent online site allowing you to download and Youtube videos and save them to your computer.
*KeepVid.com- Video download site. 


---End of Part 1---

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