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Turning a PC into a MAC

If cost is a major factor in deterring you from buying a MAC machine then it is perhaps worth knowing that an intel PC can be turned into a MAC.
The following article explains the steps involved and Youtube has a number of videos on the subject.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5589982_turn-pc-mac.html
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Comments

  • The following guide outlines the process of turning your tired, crash-prone Windows box into a serene Mac OS X computer

    But my Windows box isn't tired or crash-prone, it's a silent, very cute little eMachine that runs fine on Win7 /64, can't think why I'd want to change it to an iThingy?
  • John_Gray
    John_Gray Posts: 5,847 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    The next thread will presumably be about how to turn your BMW into a 2CV!
  • Notmyrealname
    Notmyrealname Posts: 4,003 Forumite
    If cost is a major factor in deterring you from buying a MAC machine then it is perhaps worth knowing that an intel PC can be turned into a MAC.
    The following article explains the steps involved and Youtube has a number of videos on the subject.

    http://www.ehow.com/how_5589982_turn-pc-mac.html

    However it isn't an equivalent of a Mac. To become an equivalent, you need to buy an IPS panel. For a 27" iMac equivalent, that means a specific Dell model which is £600 alone. To build a like for like to a 27" iMac, you'd need to put Linux on because as soon as you pay for a Windows OEM licence, it puts the total cost above that of the 27" iMac and even then there's no Thunderbolt, you're using a mid-range motherboard and you've still got a tower instead of everything being in one.
  • I agree entirely with the above threads being a very happy bunny running XP & W7.
    In fact in the first 6 months of this year Apple were giving away their Snow Leopard OS on dvd for free.
    My post was purely an informative post for those (and there are a few) misguided souls you think that MAC machines are superior to Windows machines.:beer:
  • Notmyrealname
    Notmyrealname Posts: 4,003 Forumite
    My post was purely an informative post for those (and there are a few) misguided souls you think that MAC machines are superior to Windows machines.:beer:

    In the main they are simply due to better components, such as IPS screens, and superior build quality. The main problem though is people compare a £1200 iMac to a £300 Compaq - its like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Lada. However buy or compare to a £1200 Windows PC and it'll have comparable build quality - more akin to then comparing a Maybach to the Rolls Royce.
  • fishybusiness
    fishybusiness Posts: 1,263 Forumite
    'Hackintosh' is their common name, and what a pain they are.

    There are so many issues, and you'll spend so much time making it work, when you do eventually get it working, you'll feel justified in not seeing your family for a week :)

    Oh, and don't forget the mac updates, major ones will break your system, you'll have to mess with a few kexts (kernel extensions), perhaps reinstall sleep enabler from a previous version and you will be able to boot again.

    If you want a mac O/S, go buy a mac........
  • prowla
    prowla Posts: 14,304 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 6 October 2012 at 11:24PM
    I looked into setting up a hackintosh a couple of times, but the risk is that Apple could at any point in time make a change to stop it working for you.

    It also contravenes the conditions of the software licence.

    I've also tried it in a virtual machine, but you have to hack the host machine's virtualization software too, which is a bit of a no-no, as the purpose of the VM is to securely contain it.
  • Entimp
    Entimp Posts: 58 Forumite
    Cant imagine why anyone would want an Apple product in the first place. The days are long gone where you needed a mac for video/music production.
  • fishybusiness
    fishybusiness Posts: 1,263 Forumite
    Cant imagine why anyone would want an Apple product in the first place. The days are long gone where you needed a mac for video/music production.

    So many reasons, here is an example, I recently sold my 4 year old MacBook 13" as it wasn't really big enough, couldn't get the latest Apple upgrade and also I quite like some of the features of Windows 8.

    So, off I went and bought a £700 Asus Core 5. It's quick, larger HD screen etc etc. Keyboard looks nice, but compared to my old Apple it's rubbish, lacking sensitivity, as is the trackpad - it is too sensitive and I've had to switch off all of the gestures.

    Battery is rubbish too, old Apple was 4 hours on battery, this lump is max 2 hours.

    The devil is in the detail with Apple :)
  • prowla
    prowla Posts: 14,304 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    £700 for an Asus seems a bit steep...
    (And what features of Windows 8 are there to like?)
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