gall@yunexus.UUCP (Norm Gall) (01/10/90)
Does anyone know if this can be done and/or if there are any kits on the market somewhere. I am sick of the trad. plus/se case, and want something like the mini-tower set-ups available for the 80X86 people. Does anyone know/care what I am talking about? nrg -- York University | "Philosophers who make the general claim that a Department of Philosophy | rule simply 'reduces to' its formulations Toronto, Ontario, Canada | are using Occam's razor to cut the throat _________________________| of common sense.' - R. Harris
pophal@nicmad.UUCP (Gerry Pophal) (01/15/90)
In article <6367@yunexus.UUCP> gall@yunexus.UUCP (Norm Gall) writes: >Does anyone know if this can be done and/or if there are any kits on >the market somewhere. I am sick of the trad. plus/se case, and want >something like the mini-tower set-ups available for the 80X86 >people. I built a Hackintosh in a pc type case. The instructions were found in a series of articles in Computer Shopper magazine. The articles (3 or 4) were from the summer and fall of 1989. My favorite part of this is the Magnavx Monitor which is about 14" diagonally, is amber and has the same number of pixels as the mac plus. I had problem running a seagate ST277N verticaly so it is now horizontal. The vertical placement is really nice for conserving desktop space etc. gp
umcarls9@ccu.umanitoba.ca (01/16/90)
In article <6376@yunexus.UUCP> gall@yunexus.UUCP (Norm Gall) writes: >Does anyone know if this can be done and/or if there are any kits on >the market somewhere. I am sick of the trad. plus/se case, and want >something like the mini-tower set-ups available for the 80X86 >people. > >Does anyone know/care what I am talking about? > Check out some back issues of Computer Shopper, they gave detailed articles on putting Macintosh motherboards into PC type cases. They were run about a year ago. Charles
geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) (01/19/90)
So how tough is it to build a hackintosh? Are the parts (e.g.
motherboard) difficult to come by? What's the approximate cost of
building one?
Just curious.
Geoff
--
Geoff Allen \ Driggs, Idaho -- cultural hub of the west!
{uunet|bigtex}!pmafire!geoff \
ucdavis!egg-id!pmafire!geoff \ (Tom Harper in rec.skiing)pophal@nicmad.UUCP (Gerry Pophal) (01/22/90)
B Summary:Computer shopper dates Expires: References: <6376@yunexus.UUCP> <1990Jan15.230235.10653@ccu.umanitoba.ca> <1088@pmafire.UUCP> Sender: Reply-To: pophal@nicmad.UUCP (Gerry Pophal) Followup-To: Distribution: Organization: Nicolet Instrument Corp. Madison, WI Keywords: mini-tower In article <1088@pmafire.UUCP> geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) writes: > >So how tough is it to build a hackintosh? Are the parts (e.g. >motherboard) difficult to come by? What's the approximate cost of I will try to answer this and some other questions I've recieved about the hackintosh. There is a series of articles in the computer shopper magagine with instructions on creating a hackintosh from an PC case and using a PC monochrome monitor. The first part I can't seem to find now but was probably in the August 1988 issue and basically described the project as well as somecost estimates for it. The second part is in the September 1988 issue and describes how to put together the pieces. The October 1988 issue is the third part and is some stuff about wiring the keyboard,etc. The March 1989 issue has more info on hooking up a samsung monochrome monitor. The cost of the project varies depending on what you're starting with and what you want to finish with. A PC case was about $40 from JDR Micro. Power supply for a PC is about $65 for 135 watt size. A monitor is under $100. Other odd parts are probably less than $100 total. The monitor I'm using is a Magnovox PC monitor 80. It has the same number of pixels as the Mac Plus but is 12 inches diagonaly and is amber. I had to tweak some of the internal adjustments to get the picture centered but no mods that I recall. I tried a Packard Bell monitor (actually a samsung) but since it was used on a pc it had distinct characters burnt in which messed up some mac graphics. The rest of the parts could come from a used 512k mac or purchased separately from several sources advertised in the back of MacWeek and other mac magazines. I bought an A+ mouse and a laser external 800k drive for it. The only difficulties I had were bad seagate st277n hard drives (new) and a bad apple mac plus keyboard (new).There is some soldering, drilling and cutting sheet metal involved. The PC case is able to mount a 5 1/4 inch drive mechanism and could be modified for a smaller 3 1/2 inch drive. There was also room for a Supra 2400 modem inside (its smaller than an external 800k floppy). The normal rear connections are at the back of the PC case. gp
whit@milton.acs.washington.edu (John Whitmore) (01/23/90)
In article <1088@pmafire.UUCP> geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) writes: > >So how tough is it to build a hackintosh? Are the parts (e.g. >motherboard) difficult to come by? What's the approximate cost of >building one? I built my first a few months after the Dr. Dobbs upgrade article came out (January '85). Since I'd hacked my motherboard, it seemed prudent to spend a couple hundred on a pristine backup motherboard... which only needed a few parts to become FrankenTosh. It took a keyboard ($35), a mouse (I modified a game trackball, which was closeout priced: $10), a power supply ($10), a box (free, but took two weekends to properly perforate), a video monitor ($25), and about seven weekends of tracing signals and gradually integrating the components so it'd work. A better monitor showed up for $40, and I got a used single-sided disk drive for $250. It worked fine without a fan, but I got nervous and ($10) installed one (took another weekend-the simplest installation was too noisy, so I added a plenum and RF shielding). Modern prices will differ; keyboards are $100 or so, and a double-sided disk drive is now down to $150. I have since bought a 128k motherboard for $20. Anyone considering this much work will want to plan for upgrades; the Gemini board will need provisions for slightly more power (35 W is all the Mac, exclusive of monitor, really needs), and SCSI connectors. That upgrade runs $1000 to $1600, and gets the capability of an SE/30, exclusive of ROM differences and superdrive. A good guide is the Computer Shopper articles in issues of August, September, October of 1988. Also invaluable are the Mac schematics (available from Beck-Tech, I believe, and in MacPaint form on some BBS'es). Most video monitors require some "glue"; I used a CMOS gate and a few resistors and capacitors. No problem if you have an oscilloscope and know how to wirewrap and/or solder. One caveat; test all the power supply connections by making sturdy, neat wiring harnesses and running dummy loads (resistors) before you wager your motherboard on the correctness of the connections. Stray powered wires are DEADLY. Good luck. I am known for my brilliance, John Whitmore by those who do not know me well.
jdhill@bbn.com (Jack D. Hill) (01/23/90)
In article <1507@milton.acs.washington.edu> whit@milton.acs.washington.edu (John Whitmore) writes: >In article <1088@pmafire.UUCP> geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) writes: >> >>So how tough is it to build a hackintosh? Are the parts (e.g. >>motherboard) difficult to come by? What's the approximate cost of >>building one? > Speaking of Hackintoshs, has anyone attemted to build one using an LCD or some other flat screen? I'm considering taking on such a project and would like to have recommendations for screens and any problems you may have had. Jack