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You are not logged in. [Log In] AppleCentral » Forums » Mods and Hacks » Desktop Mods » HTMac Project
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#472133 - 05/28/07 02:23 AM HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
MDC Offline


Registered: 03/05/06
Posts: 6
Alright, so I've wanted to start this project for a while, but I know I will need some big time help. No better place to get it right, right?

Alright, so here is the idea:

A Mac in a Home Theater PC style case (to be placed with my Home Theater Equipment) that will be upgradeable (PCI slots, 2 5.25" slots, and lots of hard drive space.) I want to be able to start small (case, hard drive and board/processor,) and inexpensive. Eventually I want it to be a monster. High Performance audio/video, tuner/dvr capability, dual boot (maybe), with tons of storage space.

Crazy? Impossible? I don't know, I've never done anything like this before.

I have a <a href="http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php/pName/silverstone-lascala-sstlc17-htpc-case-black/cName/htpc-cases">case</a> in mind which meets my expansion needs. However this presents a couple questions.

1. If I use an Intel, do I have to buy a "mac" intel chip and board?
2. If I do, then will that fit in this case?
3. If not, are there only some boards/chips that mac os will run on?

If anyone can help me out on those I would be very grateful. smile

As far as processors go I want better than average but not the best. Sad to say, I don't even really know what that is these days. Suggestions?

Hardware:
I already have a few HD's lying around that I can use.
For audio I am thinking of a <a href="http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Revolution71-main.html">Revolution 7.1 PCI Card</a>
Video I will probably need to do thing basic and cheep at first. (I don't want to worry about tuner/dvr at all at the beginning.
I will have my router right there, so I won't need wireless for a while.

Alright, thats the basics I guess.

Comments, questions, suggestions PLEASE! This will be a long project, but I am ready to get started. Thanks in advance.

_Matthew

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#472134 - 05/28/07 03:23 AM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
zib_redlektab Offline


Registered: 03/18/07
Posts: 42
Loc: Avoiding Direct Sunlight
Hai. Just to start off, I am a complete and total n00b when it comes to mac mods. The most I've ever done is repaired my macbook pro's superdrive.

But I can tell you that pretty much any Intel chip will work with Tiger, it just has to be a cracked version, which is not hard to find. I have a Dell under my desk running OSX.
_________________________
MacBook Pro Intel Core Duo 2.0ghz, 1gb ram
Dell 228WPF 22" monitor
Mybook Premium 320gb
iPod Nano 4gb (red)
Wacom Intuos3 6x11

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#472135 - 05/28/07 03:33 AM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
MDC Offline


Registered: 03/05/06
Posts: 6
Sweet.

Forgive my ignorance, but does that meant that there are cracks out there for some processors, and not others?

_matthew

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#472136 - 05/28/07 03:57 AM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
manhackman Offline


Registered: 04/26/06
Posts: 173
Yup! check out osx86 on wikipedia... You can get a complete list of compatible systems.
_________________________
>Mac mini PPC / 1.42 Ghz / 1GB RAM / 74.41GB 4200rpm 2.5" / Airport + Bluetooth / 10.4.7 / 20.1" LG widescreen
>G4 400 PPC / 20 gig / 768MB RAM / ZIP drive / 10.4.7 /17" apple SD / Back up system
>Powerbook Titanium 1Ghz / 40GB / 512MB RAM / mashed up and waiting for a good mod!
>Macintosh SE/30

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#472137 - 05/28/07 04:13 AM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
MDC Offline


Registered: 03/05/06
Posts: 6
Ahh. Ok. I think I get it.

Thanks.

_matthew

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#472138 - 05/28/07 11:58 AM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
anil8tor Offline


Registered: 07/05/05
Posts: 409
Sound like a great project !  :compute:
Keep us posted on your progress. And don't hesitate to ask for help! There is a lot of talent here in the forums, ranging from maestro, who has been here forever, to mxlews who did that great mod for Macworld.
And I have a little experience building a media center PC, but mine runs Linux. Good Luck!
_________________________
Macbook 2.1 core duo 1gig 160gb sata
iMac g5 w/1 gig 160gig all-in-one and SWEET!
iBook G4 IGhz
Quicksilver Dual 800's
iPod touch
"Guys, I think we just lost the platform here" Pete Conrad
When in doubt, try SCE to AUX

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#472139 - 05/28/07 05:49 PM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
Waragainstsleep Offline


Registered: 02/13/05
Posts: 1723
I always thought it was the chipset/motherboard which was the trickiest part to pick for hacked x86 box.

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#472140 - 05/29/07 01:51 AM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
TCPMeta Offline
MacModder

Registered: 11/16/07
Posts: 1816
Loc: Florida, USA
Pretty much now and X86 compatible system will run OSx86 but needs a hacked kernel with the proper drivers and to disable SSE3.
_________________________
To live is to let die

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#472141 - 05/31/07 05:03 AM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
MDC Offline


Registered: 03/05/06
Posts: 6
Awesome. I've started looking at some mobos and chips. It is a little more difficult to find what I am looing for that I thought. hehe. Anyone have any brands that they feel are better than others? ASUS Seems to have a few that have what I am looking for. Thanks for all the advise so far. smile

_matthew

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#472142 - 06/04/07 01:09 AM Re: HTMac Project [Re: expedegawroow]
macDeviant Offline


Registered: 02/14/05
Posts: 491
i looked into that 7.1 and even the 5.1 card, and you have to have atleast a 733mhz Quicksilver g4 to use either card. when i called up m-audio to find out if processor upgrades were supported they said officially they are not... so you might buy it and try it. personally i'm uesing the griffin firewave, which uses firewire for 5.1 separation. http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/firewave/
_________________________
2.4gHz 15" MacBook Pro, 1.66gHz Core Duo Mac Mini, 2.5gHz G5 QUAD, 733mHz Quicksilver, 450mHz G4 Cube, 700mHz G3 iBook, 350mHz Sawtooth G4, 350mHz Revs. A and B B&W G3, 16mHz Powerbook 100, 8mHz Macitosh Classic.

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