Running Mac OS X on a PC

I have seen lots of apples running windows, is it possible to run OSX on PC and does it run as it would on a mac. Im trying to do some multimedia work but the software isnt available on mac. Any ideas exerience etc...

Cheers

This has been done, but experience for doing so is not solely limited to English speaking expats in Germany

Google.

http://osx86.thefreesuite.com/

Running OSX on a PC is possible, but is still a Grey area legally. There is an EFI (Think Bios) emulator out that will allow
a PC to run an Orig. Non modified (non-hacked) version of OSX. As long as you buy OSX you should be legit. (Sort of)

The big problem is still hardware support. OSX may run on your PC, but unless you have the correct compatible hardware
installed, things like Network, WLAN, Bluetooth, Audio and some video cards won't work.

If your planning on building a new PC to run OSX, I suggest you do some through investigation into exactly what hardware
is supported natively by OSX, and limit yourself to installing only that hardware.

A useful link...
http://www.macworld.com/article/133028/200..._mac_clone.html
A company called "Psystar" was offering OS-X on cheaper HW in US.

Buy Desktop Computer for sale - Shuttle SB86i computer from me and I'll install OS 10.4.6 on it for you! (I couldn't get anything more recent than 10.4.6 to work).

I've installed OS X on multiple PCs and my experiences have been mixed. If you want to do it for fun I'd highly suggest giving it a go. If you want a machine that you can rely on to work always, 100%, then I'd recommend against it. Just buy a used Mac.

The OSx86 project is a good place to start.

The Psystar PC, uses a hacked/modified OSX Install and some of its hardware is not compatible with OSX and doesn't work.

According to many posts on many different sites, Apple's restrictive EULA (OSX on MACs only) is not enforceable in the EU.
Which is how Psystar is challenging apple, that and they actually buy a valid retail OSX package for each PC sold.

True, If you want OSX to just work, and have all hardware supported, then get a MAC. The problem for most people with this route is the price premium for what is
basically bog standard run of the mill PC hardware with the apple name on it.

If apple were smart they'd make a ver. of OSX for standard PC's and include better driver/hardware support. Since this would cut into their
hardware sales, they could sell this ver. of OSX for $200-$250 instead of $100.

Yeah, I wouldn't be opposed to using the Mac OS, but there's no way I'm going to pay extra money for Apple's über-trendy hardware, which is also considerably more expensive to upgrade or repair than a standard PC.

In my opinion, it's well worth the premium.

Hell yeah. White man speak truth.

And frankly, if you buy a decent bit of Apple kit you won't need to be upgrading or repairing.

I am shifting the rest of the office over to MAC. I have seen the light. I shall only wear blue jeans and a black turtleneck in homage to the almighty.

Bill can eat my shorts.

For some it is.. But for others that don't want to be locked into expensive (and restrictive) upgrades, its not. If Apple weren't so restrictive on what hardware
can be used and charged a decent price for their computers, I'd have a Mac Pro now.. But when you look to see what hardware is in their computers and what
expansion/ports/option are included, all macs fail in comparison to standard PC's.

I mean, come-on.. The mac air only has 1 VGA and 1 USB port.. Nothing else, and most USB devices don't even fit in the opening..

IBM X300, slightly thicker than the Air, but has many more options.. And it still fits in an envelope.

No worries dude. You hold out as long as you fancy - you can see from my previous posts years ago on TT I felt the same way. What's the point in going the Apple route with restricted software, expensive hardware etc? Seemed a waste of time and money to me.

But hell, for productivity, it's just fuggin awesome compared. It just works, all the time, no pissing about, no spam, no slow running, no virus etc. If you made me pay DOUBLE for the Mac kit I would still choose it now in a heartbeat 'cos my time is also money, and it saves me looooooooaaaads.

Holy mother of god. For that price it better include many more options.

MacBook Air = Apple. IBM X300 = Orange. An expensive orange.

Just out of curiosity, what hardware does Apple restrict you from using?

My advice would be, don't be a fucking tightwad and buy a Mac, you'll save yourself a lot of time and hassle, plus you won't be looking at a piece of shit ugly beige box with wires hanging out the back of it anymore.

Look, we all know the Macbook Air is an obscure overpriced niche product. Don't go labelling Apple on the back of that one unit. It's like saying that spending €xxx on an AlienWare Gamer machine is cock because it's so expensive and you can do spreadsheets on a €200 Dell. Horses for courses.

The Macbook Air is fine if you really need an iddy biddy laptop etc - so might suit 1% of users. But there are plenty of other fairly priced Apple solutions. Ironically when I specced up an equivalent to my MacBook Pro there was actually fuck all in it pricewise compared to the same Dell/Sony.

Iain & Siobhan: Coming back to the original post, I'm slightly confused as you ask about running OSX on a PC but then say


Maybe you could mention the software your trying to use and someone may know equivalent/similar software for another OS.

Running Mac OS X on a PC is a bit like putting Oz F1 wheels on a donkey.

My new MacBookPro arrives next week. YAH!

Thats BS, OSX runs great on a PC. You have more options, not less with a pc... How many AMD macs do apple sell? what does ram from Apple cost?

Its about 1 hour more work to set it up at the most, with the extra drivers etc, but then you should have waaaaaay more performance per euro than any Apple computer, assuming you build the computer yourself.

That said, I will happily get a Macbook Pro when the new chipset arrives later this year, cause the company is paying for it

can't imagine what multimedia work can't be done on a mac, it's the de-facto standard for most MM apps.
Steve

The 32,651 posts on OSx86 Project would seem to imply the opposite. Having done it myself, it completely depends on the hardware you start with. For the vast majority of computers out there it won't work well, if at all.

what multimedia work cant you do software such as the entire Adobe Master collection, Studio 4d, Logic Pro, Final Cut, Aperture 2, Reason and Maya? (and thats just from the first page of thepiratebay...)

Well, the newest high-end graphics cards for starters. Even the last gen cards can't be used. In order to use any Graphics
or storage cards (SAS/SATA/SCSI) in a Mac, the cards require a different BIOS than what is normally put on the cards for use in Normal PC's.
THis is required due to the MAC's using EFI, and not standard BIOS. Some of the PC standard cards can be used in a MAC, but will only be
seen/used if you boot into windows. In theory any PCI/PCIe card can be used in a MAC, but the problem comes down to the EFI Bios code on the cards
or a total lack of drivers either from the company, or built-into OSX.

Cards that do have the MAC EFI BIOS, tend to be older cards and cost much more than the current model (faster) cards.
Network cards also have issues with OSX, unless their natively supported. There are only a hand full of cards which are supported
by OSX (Both wired and wireless), So if your thinking adding any old NIC to a Mac.. Think Again.

Just for S-N-G I installed OSX Leopard on my Tower PC. Everything works just fine.. Network (Wired), Bluetooth, Audio and Graphics (Dual Monitor).
There are no freezes and no sluggishness. It all comes down to what hardware you have installed. The entire install took about 30min.

The best hardware to use when building a Hackintosh are:

CPU: Core2Duo
Mainboard: Intel Mainboards work best.
Graphics: Most ATI and Nvidia cards are supported, but don't waste your $ on the super new $$$ ones. a 6800 GT will work just fine.
Network (Wired): Intel chipset based Gigabit NICs
Network (WLAN): Broadcom BC41xx or Dell Truemobile cards
Audio: AC97 based cards based on Sigmatel, Nvidia or Intel chipsets.

Stick to these specs, and OSX will fly. Use the EFI Emulator avail. on the net and you can install OSX from the Orig. Apple DVDs
and even use the Software Update Service to stay updated.

@Iain & Siobhan
What work are you trying to do? Every application Adobe makes is avail for Mac. Microsoft has office 2008 For mac. Plus there are tons of other titles avail.

Im trying to create stuff I used to be able to do on authorware but I read that authorware is no longer published and my version died at the time of os9. I only use mac but am thinking of a laptop that can link to the mac and use some of its capabilities combined with the option of using authorware ttype programmes. Adobe Authorware is only available for PC

Have a look at google.. OSX has backward support for many OS9 apps. Perhaps yours is one of them.

nope it dont work on os x whatever I do or have done