Cheap speed.

Mission style sofaback made by Yours Truly in best Canadian maple.

There are rumors circulating the San Francisco Bay peninsula that FU Steve has been seen wandering the street at night, head on chest, muttering various incantations.

The way I hear it the builder of the economy HP10 Hackintosh, the backup Hackintosh to my nuclear powered HP1, my standby these past two years, had a singular ‘six sigma’ problem in getting HP10 to fire up. Scuttlebut has it that his wild eyed forays on the streets of the Bay area were fueled by his conviction that all was not well with the power supply makers of this world.

You see, FU went through not one, not two, not three but four power supplies before finding one that would engage with the rest of the hardware. And the fourth and final one, the one which actually worked, came from the local computer recycler for $10.

It’s all too sordid to relate and suffice it to say that HP10 with its Intel i3 2100 3.1gHz CPU and Nvidia GT 430 GPU is perking along just fine as I write, delivering ever falling stock quotes to this stock market maven who loves pain for a living.

Well, a disgusted FU left the hardware with me and I duly applied the relevant tests of interest to photographers.

First the old standby, Geekbench (64 bit), a test of CPU performance.

The benchmark here is HP1, my Core2Quad Hackster with an Nvidia 9800GTX+ GPU, in both stock (2.83gHz) and overclocked (3.6gHz) modes, with 8gB of RAM. By comparison the HP10 uses an Nvidia GT430 GPU with just 4 gB of memory, albeit 1333mHz, compared to HP1’s 800 mHz speed.

Here are HP10, HP1 (stock) and HP1 overclocked:

HP10 stock, HP1 stock, HP1 overclocked.

So el cheapo HP10 with its bottom-of-the-line i3 Sandybridge CPU comes in at 98% of HP1’s base speed. What’s not to like?

OK, how about GPU performance? Here are the Cinebench benchmarks:

HP10 stock, HP1 stock, HP1 overclocked.

So you are getting stock HP1 performance (Core2Quad – $290) for an i3 price (Core i3 2100 – $128). Your GPU at some $80 is half the price of the fancy one in the older machine. And it’s faster. As is the memory – Memory Performance is 32% faster in stock mode for the i3 machine, even though there’s only 4gB in HP10 compared with 8gB in HP1. The DDR3 memory in HP10 runs at 1333MHz, compared with 800MHz for the DDR2 in HP1. And you don’t need to worry about fancy cooling solutions as the new bits use a lot less power than their predecessors. Similarly equipped to HP1, HP10 will use 30% less power. Less power, contrary to popular belief, is a good thing – whether in computers or bankers.

Tests with LR3 and PS CS5 confirm the above results. HP10 flies in photo processing tasks.

Do you need better cooling? Check out this chart using the poor stock Intel i3 cooler – the rise indicates the use of Handbrake to convert and compress a full size, full length DVD movie to M4v format for viewing on the iPad:

Stress test – stock Intel CPU fan.

The 149F maximum is well below the 176F service limit.

I hate heat in computers – it’s the great killer. So, a few days later, finding myself in Palo Alto, I blew $27 on an open box return Cooler Master 212 Plus at Fry’s Electronics, the same giant radiator and fan used in HP1, with the following result on the stress test:

Stress test – Cooler Master 212 Plus radiator and 120mm fan.

Here’s the Cooler Master installed in the case – this is a tall radiator so make sure it will fit your case if buying one.

Cooler Master 212 Plus installed.

As with HP1, the motherboard has to be removed when installing the Cooler Master as it requires installation of a retaining plate for the large radiator beneath the motherboard. It’s worth it – the temperature peaks at 115F under load compared with 149F with the stock fan. That is a startling improvement for very modest outlay and confers great peace of mind. As with the stock Intel fan, the Cooler Master uses a four pin connector for the fan (all included in the price) meaning that it’s energy efficient, speeding up only when needed. In practice I could only hear it speed up on restart.

What are you waiting for?

This is a dream photographer’s rig for a price much less than the bottom-of-the-line MacMini with its lower Geekbench score of 5700. And it comes with a DVD drive and proper cooling. The latest Mini (no DVD drive) runs its Core i5 CPU at only 2.3gHz versus 3.3gHz in the version sold by Intel. This is probably to keep heat down in the Mini’s cramped interior. The premium for upgrading the Mini to a Core i7 which runs at a pathetic 2.7gHz is $400, whereas the premium for dropping in a 3.4gHz i7 in HP10 is a mere $190, and you can bet it will blow the Mini away on performance measurements. And overclocking the i7 to 3.8gHz (i7-2600K version) takes about two minutes to do and is approved by Intel within its three year warranty term.

So you want more speed? The premium for an i5 CPU is $90 and for an i7 $190. Drop in plug-and-play replacements. Based on published data I would expect a stock Core i7 CPU to run at almost twice the speed of HP10 for that modest cost premium. Add a further 12% in speed for an overclocked i7. This sort of performance is way in excess of any photographer’s needs and HP10 proves that the modest i3-2100 Sandybridge CPU is a tremendous performer at an unbelievably low price, when properly installed and cooled in a large case.

By the way, there’s no shortage of expansion room in this rig and, yes, it will accommodate the super tall Coolermaster 212 CPU radiator used in HP1 if you want to run an overclocked i5 or i7 CPU. (The overclocking possible with the i3 is so low that’s it’s a waste of time).

HP10. Lots of room for growth.

Memory update – August 21, 2011:

Because memory is now so cheap, I went wild and ordered another 4gB stick of 1333mHz DDR3 memory ($30) and inserted it in the remaining RAM slot on the motherboard. No tools needed – two thumbscrews to remove the cover and that was it.

The result is that HP10 with its bottom-of-the-line i3 3.1gHz Sandybridge CPU is now 6% faster overall on Geekbench 64 than HP1 with its top-of-the-line Core2Quad CPU running at stock 2.83gHz speed.

HP10 with 8gB of memory – 6% faster than HP1 stock.

The loss of Processor integer performance is more than made up for by Memory performance which is far more important when moving files to/from LR3 or Photoshop.

Adding memory does not affect OpenGL Cinebench performance which remains unchanged at 26+ fps. That’s a function of the GPU’s RAM, not system RAM.

iCloud update – October, 2011:

OS 10.7.2 adds iCloud functionality. I ran Software Update and it works fine but to access the AppStore, Facetime and iCLoud (in System Preferences) you need a new bootloader named Chimera.

To get iCloud and AppStore working, you must install the latest Chimera boot loader; the old Chameleon one for 10.7.0/1 will not do, if that is what you used. If you used an older Chimera, you will have to update to the latest.

Go to www.tonymacx86.com, choose the downloads area and download MultiBeast. Run it and select Bootloaders->Chimera. Reboot after installing.

Equalling the original at half the price.

Expert computer builder FU Steve set out the current state-of-the-art in Hackintosh building for photographers and video artists in his piece here. At a cost of $1,347, which included one Dell 21.5″ IPS display it’s some 20% faster on most tasks than my Core2Quad machine which is overclocked to run at 3.60gHz versus 2.83gHz stock.

Truth be told, that latest build, using the Intel i5 Sandybridge CPU is overkill for most, so I asked FU to spec out a lower cost machine whose goal was to equal the performance of my Core2Quad Hackster at half the price. In contrast to the paper specs of the i5 machine, this one would be put to work as a stock quote and Excel machine in my office, so there is no room for any cost cutting which threatens reliability.

I’ll hand it over to FU Steve. Having built the HP1, my daily user, he now embarks on the HP10.

* * * * *

Thank you Thomas.

This build is going to use the Intel i3 3.1gHz CPU and a low power drain motherboard and graphics card. That will save on cooling without compromising reliability. On the other hand, the power supply will be over-spec’d to allow for the addition of more drives and monitors down the road with a possible upgrade to an i5 or i7 CPU which is a drop in replacement for the i3. The stock Intel cooler will be used; it’s a poor cooler but should be adequate for the demands here.

CPU:

Intel Core i3-2100, 3.1gHz – $124

This is a superb bargain. It can only accept very modest overclocking, which is a waste of time, but uses little power and is easily cooled.

CPU cooler:

I am using the stock Intel cooler which comes with the CPU, with Arctic Silver thermal paste in lieu of the stock paste supplied by Intel.

Motherboard:

Gigabyte Intel H67M-D2-B3 – $100

I’m sticking with Gigabyte as it’s a known and reliable maker. This board is a Micro-ATX board, though we are using a full sized ATX case. It supports the new 6gB/s SATA data transfer rate, twice as fast as the older 3gB/s. It will only accept two memory sticks, but we will only be using one, for 4gB.

Memory:

Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1333MHz PC3-10666 240-pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Intel Core i3 i5 i7 = $30

Another can be added if needed later on.

Graphics and video:

EVGA GeForce GT430 1024 MB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card Video Card 01G-P3-1431-KR – $64

There are faster and far costlier GPUs than this one but this is a tremendous price for an advanced card which will support two DVI-D displays. You can start with one display and then add a second later. I’m sticking with EVGA and the Nvidia chip as Thomas has had such excellent performance from his EVGA Nvidia 9800GTX+ card, which is marginally slower than this card, but cost twice as much. The card comes with its own cooling fan, which is as it should be. This is a low power consumption card and does not require plug in power, deriving what it needs from the motherboard.

In addition to the two DVI-D sockets for computer displays (a rarity on a card which is so inexpensive), the card also has an HDMI socket for use with modern LCD TV sets, making this machine ideal as a home theater PC, though I would use a smaller case and a notebook HDD for such purposes. There is no VGA socket – if that’s required, look at other cards. Gigabyte alone makes so many it’s mind blowing.

Computer case:

Cooler Master Elite 371 Mid Tower ATX Case – $40

Not as massive as the Antec Sonata III Thomas uses in his Core2Quad machine, but adequate for our purposes. It has especially easy installation for disk drives and peripherals and lots of space for cooling and expansion. There is no reason to go with a small case for this application.

Power supply:

Thermaltake W0070RUC TR2 Series 430W Power Supply with 2 Fans – $41

It’s easy to be cheap here, but an under-spec’d power supply will die on you, maybe taking the motherboard with it. Plus it limits upgrade potential. The power supply used here has shielded cables, lots of connectors, a twin fan and a great reputation. It includes a 115/230 volt switch.

You can use the table here to properly determine the power supply wattage needed. This rig demands 234 watts, so with a 430 watt power supply there’s no stress. Add a second HDD, two SSDs, more USB devices, more fans and an i7 CPU overclocked, and the power needed rises to 295 watts. (By contrast the Core2Quad Thomas uses needs 404 watts at full power, which gives you some sense of how power needs have fallen with the latest components).

Keyboard:

Kensington K64366 wired slimline USB for Mac – $38 (not at Amazon).

Forget wireless – simply not reliable enough. This keyboard uses mechanical scissor-type key springs and is superior in every way to the execrable ergonomics of the overpriced ones made by Apple. You use a keyboard all the time – why not the best? Get a cover while you are at it – $20 – and keep it clean and long lived.

Disk drives:

Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32 MB Cache 3.5 Inch Solid State Hybrid Drive ST95005620AS-Bare Drive = $100

You can get awfully used to the fast boot of an SSD but it comes at a price. As you can leave your HackPro on 24/7 there’s no need for a fast booting costly SSD, so use a good compromise, a hybrid HDD. This uses some internal memory to cache frequent uses (open PS, open LR, etc.) but traditional spinning disks for storage. The price is right. 500gB is plenty; if you need more buy larger traditional drives and consider using a small SSD drive for booting the OS and for loading apps. If the budget is tight, you can get a 500gB 6gB/s Seagate 7200rpm drive for as little as $40.

DVD readers:

DVD: Sony 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive AD-7260S-0B – $20

Steve Jobs may be junking the DVD drive but you don’t have to at the price Sony is asking. Forget slimline or slot loading drives – made to fail.

If you need an SDXC card reader, external USB types can be had for $20.

Mouse:

Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000 – White – $23

Bluetooth mice – Apple’s and many others – are plagued with interference problems. Like Thomas once did, I use the Microsoft Mobile Mouse because it’s cheap, comfortable, runs for three months on one AA battery and uses RF not BT. A small dongle is inserted in any available USB port and there’s no pairing or disconnection issues. Instant on, never off. Best of all, the white one has a semi-gloss surface which does not show fingerprints and is $4 less than the shiny black one. Go figure. Download MSFT’s Intellimouse software and you can tailor the two side buttons and the scroll wheel. The latter supports both vertical and horizontal (tilt the wheel) scrolling. A superb product, even if it does say ‘Microsoft’ on the box. The scroll wheel is freewheeling – if that does not work for you look at RF mice from Logitech.

By all means try Apple’s Magic Mouse. I suspect you will conclude, as I did, that the ergonomics suck, leaving you $70 poorer.

Bluetooth:

IOGEAR USB 2.1 Bluetooth Micro Adapter GBU421 – $12

If you need BT, plug this in to any USB port. The mouse used does not need it.

Speakers:

Logitech LS11 2.0 Stereo Speaker System – $18

These will give you sound about a billion times better than the ones in an iMac for very little outlay. They are wired – forget wireless toys. This model has been around for ever, with just cause.

Display:

ASUS VH222H-P 21.5-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor – $138 + $5 for a DVI-D cable.

With 1920 x 1080 definition this is a nice modern display. Not top of the line but adequate for all but the most critical users. Comes with DVI-D cable included. There’s a small built in speaker (poor) but will suffice if you do not need big sound.

Wireless 802-11n:

Newer Technology USB dongle from MacSales – $30

The latest driver works perfectly with OS Lion.

If you prefer wired Ethernet, be sure to install the RealtekRTL81xx.kext file (available free from kexts.com) using KextBeast (available free from the Downloads area of Tonymacx86.com). Simply place the kext file on your desktop and run KextBeast, then restart the computer.

Software:

OS X Lion – $30

The most overrated ‘upgrade’ to an OS ever, but robust, stable and easily made to behave like its awesome predecessor, Snow Leopard. Thomas has written about it a lot on his blog, and it is priced right. I used the TonyMac installation which is clearly documented here. The site has a host of DSDT files – these are specific to your hardware to make Lion run. Installation is simply a question of placing the file on your Desktop and running MultiBeast.

Sound is a little tricky. The motherboard uses the Realtek ALC888b codec. To avoid nasty crackling sounds run System and AppleHDARollback from Multibeast. Then go to Kexts.com and download GigabyteALC888b.kext and HDAEnabler.kext, place both on the Desktop, run KextBeast, reboot and you are done.

The installation here is a ‘clean’ Lion one, with no need for a pre-existing Snow Leopard installation.

You can update Lion 10.7.0 to 10.7.1 using Software Update in OS X; mine installed flawlessly.

Time to assemble the hardware and tools required:

Study the pictorial at the end of this piece first, then run it on your iPad as you do the work. I believe that even a first time computer builder could assemble this in a very leisurely ninety minutes, two hours with a pause to walk the dog. Tools needed are a medium Phillips screwdriver, a flat bladed screwdriver, a pair of snips to remove blanking plates (though you can just wiggle them until they break off), a 5mm nut driver to tighten the motherboard stand-off posts (though you could butcher these just as easily with a pair of pliers if you have no pride in your work), a thin piece of stout plastic to spread the thermal paste on the CPU and heatsink in the fan base, and a bent paper clip to test the power supply before installation.

Software hacking for Lion OS X:

There are a large number of web fora addressing OS X hacking. Some of the most useful are:

• InsanelyMac – a lot of noise on this forum, but the chances are high that your issue will have been encountered by someone else and, if not, posting a question comes with a good chance of a reply.
• TonyMacX86 – this aims for a much ‘cleaner’ presentation and comes with a host of free hacking tools and files.
• Lifehacker – Hackintosh – the source for the original Adam Pash build of Thomas’s HP1 Core2Quad Hackintosh, much enhanced since original construction. Lots of great tips on upgrading to Lion from Snow Leopard.

In both cases there is a strong sense of community and helpfulness, so if you derive value from these be sure to try and help others if you can.

Economic risk:

No component costs over $140 here, so if one part blows, your replacement cost exposure is low.

Expandability:

The beauty of using a generously sized computer case is not only that it makes cooling easy (you can get three more case fans in there and a large CPU fan) but also that the computer can be greatly expanded as needs dictate and the budget permits. Some examples:

• Add three more case fans
• Upgrade the Intel Core i3 CPU to an i5 or i7 – drop-in replacement, no software changes. The Core i3 used has excellent resale value.
• Use an i5 or i7 in the overclock version and you can further significantly increase processing speed
• Add more RAM – one more 4gB stick for 8gB total or two 8gB sticks for 16gB
• Add SSDs, HDDs, card readers, etc. until you are blue in the face
• Replace the Micro-ATX motherboard with a full sized ATX one if your needs are extreme
• Migrate to an exotic graphics card for the most demanding video processing needs
• Add a second monitor without the need to add a second graphics card

Further, by not chintzing on the power supply at this stage, there is more than enough current and connectors available to cope with increased power demands.

Total cost:

$814.

$724 if using wired internet and a regular 500gB disk drive.

Add as much as you want to spend for a costlier monitor. Or two.

In Thomas’s case, he had many of the peripherals and OS Lion, needing only the CPU, RAM, motherboard, graphics card and power supply, for a total outlay of $400.

For that price you get performance comparable to a mid-range iMac at half the price and with far better cooling, meaning far greater reliability.

* * * * *

Thanks, FU. FU is building the machine right now and I will run Part II with performance measurements on Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 once it’s up and running.

Click the picture below for a slideshow of how FU assembled the HP10 computer:

Click the picture for the HP10 assembly pictorial. © FU Steve.

Part II on the economy Hackintosh appears here.

The optimal photographer’s build.

The stock market just laid another egg, your investments are down 20% YTD, but you still need a new computer? Build a Hackintosh.

While my Hackintosh continues to deliver high performance and reliability, competitive with all but the most exotic current computers, its components are dated. Today’s Hackintosh builder could no longer buy the same motherboard new nor would he want to, as cheaper alternatives which accommodate newer CPUs and faster RAM are available.

With that thought in mind, and knowing that many readers here would like to screw up their courage and dump Apple’s flaky iMacs for good while not wanting to be hosed down for a new MacPro, I asked expert computer builder FU Steve (the builder of my HackPro) to put together a components list for a Hackintosh best suited to the needs of a photographer who might also want to do video processing. Video needs far more processing power than still pictures.

The design dictates were much the same as for my Hackintosh, meaning:

• Outstanding heat management
• Bullet proof reliability
• Uses standard PC industry parts
• Motherboard must be easily adapted to run OS Lion
• 80/20 performance – 80% of the best there is at 20% of the price
• Easily hacked to run Lion with a minimum of technical expertise
• Expandable
• Five year life expectancy

Here’s what FU came up with.

* * * * *

Thanks, Thomas.

I list the components below with today’s pricing at Amazon US, together with some words on each.

CPU:

Intel Core i5-2500K, 3.3gHz – $220

This is by no means Intel’s fastest CPU. It’s the mid-range model of their latest Sandybridge line with the ‘K’ denoting it’s unlocked, meaning it can be overclocked. Overclocking by 15% to 3.80 gHz is safe and will compete on speed with the $100 costlier i7 in non-overclocked mode. Thomas’s HackPro with its overclocked Core2Quad delivers a Geekbench score of 8,700 – that’s a CPU speed test. You can expect the i5 to deliver that in stock mode, rising to 10,000 once overclocked. The i7 supports 8 simultaneous threads compared to 4 for the i5, but for use with Photoshop and Lightroom/Aperture that adds no value. These CPUs use Intel’s latest 1155 socket fitting, so if you ever need to upgrade to an i7 it’s a plug-and-play replacement.

CPU cooler:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1 – $27

Intel sold the Core2Quad with one of the worst fan coolers ever. The i5 comes with an equally crappy fan. Don’t mess with success – use the tall Coolermaster 212 with its large array of fins in the radiator and a dedicated fan to keep things cool. This is the same one used in Thomas’s HackPro and fits the 1155 Intel socket CPU fine. Use Arctic Silver paste between the cooler and CPU – $5 – the tube will do more computers than you can.

Motherboard:

Gigabyte Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2133 LGA 1155 Motherboards GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3​ – $160

This one’s a slam dunk. The Gigabyte board chosen is easily adapted to Mac OS duties, fits the Intel 1155 socket Sandybridge CPU and has four RAM slots, each capable of holding 8gB for a 32gB total. It’s a full size ATX board making assembly easy and will pose no issues with the large Coolermaster CPU cooler which can be a squeeze on smaller boards. Unlike smaller boards which typically come with only one fan connector, this Gigabyte sports four – CPU, two System and one Power supply. There are also more USB and SATA and other connectors on this board than you will likely ever need.

Memory:

Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1333MHz PC3-10666 240-pin DDR3 Memory Kit for Intel Core i3 i5 i7 – 2 off = $60

If you ever see the need to go to 32gB buy one 8gB memory stick to make addition easy, but those are premium priced and it’s hard to imagine even a heavy video processor needing more than 16gB. As 8gB is more than adequate in Thomas’s HackPro I’m using two 4gB sticks here, leaving two slots open. You can add 4gB or 8gB sticks to these when you talk yourself into believing you need them. Why not faster 1600mHz RAM? Because the price-performance equation breaks down. 1333 is the price/performance sweet spot.

Graphics and video:

EVGA GeForce GT430 1024 MB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card Video Card 01G-P3-1431-KR – $64

There are faster and far costlier GPUs than this one but this is a tremendous price for an advanced card which will support two DVI-D displays. You can start with one display and then add a second later. If you need more than two do as Thomas does and use an USB-DVI adapter. I’m sticking with EVGA and the Nvidia chip as Thomas has had such tremendous performance from his EVGA Nvidia 9800GTX+ card, which is marginally slower than this card, but cost twice as much. The card comes with its own cooling fan, which is as it should be. On Cinebench, a graphics frame rate test, Thomas’s dated HackPro delivers 35 fps. Expect up to 50 fps from this build. Either is way beyond the needs of any but the hardest core gamers. For video processing these are more than you need.

Computer case:

Antec Sonata III 500 Quiet Super Mid Tower ATX Case – $130

A case, is a case, is a case …. not! This one has stood the test of time in many computers I have built. It’s sturdy, well ventilated, well made and the price includes a 500 watt power supply, more than adequate for a photographer’s needs. There are USB, SATA, and sound ports on the front and room for four internal and five front-mounted drive bays. It’s modestly sized but roomy enough to make assembly easy and comes with two fans – power supply and case. With the GPU having its own fan and the Coolermaster CPU fan this rig will run cool as can be, overclocked or not.

Keyboard:

Kensington K64366 wired slimline USB for Mac – $38 (not at Amazon).

Forget wireless – simply not reliable enough. This keyboard uses mechanical scissor-type key springs and is superior in every way to the execrable ergonomics of the overpriced ones made by Apple. You use a keyboard all the time – why not the best? Get a cover while you are at it – $20 – and keep it clean and long lived.

Disk drives:

Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32 MB Cache 2.5 Inch Solid State Hybrid Drive ST95005620AS-Bare Drive – 2 off = $200

You can get awfully used to the fast boot of an SSD but it comes at a price. As you can leave your HackPro on 24/7 there’s no need for a fast booting costly SSD, so use a good compromise, a hybrid HDD. This uses some internal memory to cache frequent uses (open PS, open LR, etc.) but traditional spinning disks for storage. The price is right. 500gB is plenty; if you need more buy larger traditional drives and consider using a small SSD drive for booting the OS and for loading apps. I’m buying two of these – boot and backup.

DVD and SDXC readers:

DVD: Sony 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive AD-7260S-0B – $20
SDXC: Atech FlashPro-55U Internal Flash Memory Card Reader w/ Front USB 2.0 Port for 5.25 Inch Drive Bay – $58

Steve Jobs may be junking the DVD drive but you don’t have to at the price Sony is asking. Forget slimline or slot loading drives – made to fail.

The SDXC card reader is expensive but makes for an elegant fit in the front panel of the Antec case. External USB types can be had for $20.

Mouse:

Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000 – White – $23

Bluetooth mice – Apple’s and many others – are plagued with interference problems. Like Thomas once did, I use the Microsoft Mobile Mouse because it’s cheap, comfortable, runs for three months on one AA battery and uses RF not BT. A small dongle is inserted in any available USB port and there’s no pairing or disconnection issues. Instant on, never off. Best of all, the white one has a semi-gloss surface which does not show fingerprints and is $4 less than the shiny black one. Go figure. Download MSFT’s Intellimouse software and you can tailor the two side buttons and the scroll wheel. The latter supports both vertical and horizontal (tilt the wheel) scrolling. A superb product, even if it does say ‘Microsoft’ on the box. The scroll wheel is freewheeling – if that does not work for you look at RF mice from Logitech.

By all means try Apple’s Magic Mouse. I suspect you will conclude, as I did, that the ergonomics suck, leaving you $70 poorer.

Bluetooth:

IOGEAR USB 2.1 Bluetooth Micro Adapter GBU421 – $12

If you need BT, plug this in to any USB port. The mouse used does not need it.

Speakers:

Logitech LS11 2.0 Stereo Speaker System – $18

These will give you sound about a billion times better than the ones in an iMac for very little outlay. They are wired – forget wireless toys. This model has been around for ever, with just cause.

Display:

UltraSharp U2211H 21.5″ 1920 x 1080 1000:1 Widescreen LCD Monitor – $248

With 1920 x 1080 definition this is a photographer’s dream display owing to its IPS panel – a worthy successor to the three 2209WAs Thomas uses (and which are only 1680 x 1050) and at a fantastic price. Comes with DVI-D cable included.

Wireless 802-11n:

TP-Link TL-WN951N 300Mbps Wireless N PCI Adapter – $34
Newer Technology USB dongle from MacSales – $30

Plug and play as it uses the Atheros chip. An alternative and faster solution is the like-priced Newer Technology USB dongle from MacSales for $30. The latest driver works perfectly with OS Lion.

Software:

OS X Lion – $30

The most overrated ‘upgrade’ to an OS ever, but robust, stable and easily made to behave like its awesome predecessor, Snow Leopard. Thomas has written about it a lot on his blog, and it is priced right. Kakewalk will allow you to do a fresh install – no need to have Snow Leopard installed first. Download Lion to your crappy old iMac and, before restarting, copy the installation files to an 8gB flash drive or SDHC card. Once you restart the iMac the required installer files for your Hackintosh will be erased.

Hacking:

Kakewalk – free, but make a $30 donation. Don’t be cheap.

It has never been easier. All the components above are supported by Kakewalk software, the same I used to install Lion on Thomas’s HackPro.

Assembly:

When I built Thomas’s HackPro I made a slide show showing assembly. As the same Antec case is used here and the motherboard is similar in layout, just refer to those original pictures to see how easy assembly is. Those assembly pictures also illustrate how to set up the BIOS (motherboard software) and the setup here is the same. That pictorial shows installation of the stock Intel CPU cooler; as I recommend the larger Coolermaster 212, above, be sure to fit the retainer plate underneath the motherboard before you install the motherboard in the case. Unlike the stock cooler which clips in from above, the Coolermaster is much larger and needs the retaining plate installed underneath the motherboard.

You can see the Coolermaster installed in Thomas’s HackPro here. The clips holding the fan to the radiator have been (mercifully) redesigned and now make attachment of the fan very easy.

Time value:

You will have an up front investment of your time. The times below are for complete novices who have never built or hacked a computer before.

Assembly time – it’s all plug and play. Needs one screwdriver. All components are keyed so you cannot install them incorrectly. 4 hours.
Hacking time – Kakewalk is so easy it’s hard to go wrong. 2 hours includes screwing up a couple of times.
Repair time – When something blows, you don’t have to lug your iMac down to the condescending ‘geniuses’ making minimum wage at the Apple Store. Order the replacement part for modest cost shipped overnight and you are up and running again in 24 hours.

What’s your time worth?

Cost:

Total outlay: $1,347.

As importantly, the single costliest part is the CPU at $220, so you will be out very little money if a component needs replacement.

Mac comparison:

Forget the MacMini – bush league.

Which iMac does that amount of money buy you? The base spec 21.5″ iMac for $1,199 is the nearest comparison. All of the Hackintosh’s components come with 3 year warranties, the iMac with just one year, so add $169 for AppleCare to make it three years, for a total of $1,368. How does it compare?

A fairer comparison may be with the MacPro. Even the lowest spec MacPro uses the Intel Xeon CPU which retails at $1,000 and up, so comparisons are difficult. You can expect the MacPro to outperform on multi-threading benchmarks but for photographic use there is no advantage. Spares are costly ‘Apple only’ even though the parts are stock PC ones, gussied up to rip you off. You can do the math but expect to pay a minimum of $3,600 for a machine with the HackPro’s performance.

* * * * *

Thanks, FU – a timely update.

So readers, what on earth are you waiting for? This is a killer photographer’s computer.

Scared that OS updates will brick your Hackster? Nah! Just keep reading this blog.

35% faster on graphics. Cost – zero.

Background:

This is going to sound like an ad for hair restorer, weight loss or one of Steve Jobs’s rollouts of Apple’s latest piece of hardware, but bear with me and read on.

One of the beauties of the CPU + motherboard in my Hackintosh is the ability to overclock the CPU with great control over dozens of settings – meaning to run it at a faster clock speed than the stock 2.83gHz. I have run mine stock until now, almost two years, and decided it was time to speed things up in light of the improvements in the latest CPUs and to counter the small 2-3% speed loss with the Lion upgrade in case that gets worse with newer versions of Lion.

To do this, I changed some settings in the BIOS on the motherboard after studying overclocker fora (!), and applied a modest overclock of 27% – thus increasing the stock CPU clock speed from 2.83gHz to 3.60gHz, or some 27% faster. This is conservative compared to what the hard core gamers on these fora with liquid cooled (!) CPUs do – they take it as high as 4.50 gHz or + 60% over stock.

The new settings can be saved as a separate set in the BIOS of the Gigabyte EP45-UD3P motherboard, so reverting to stock is a simple matter of recalling your stock settings when restarting. The Gigabyte’s superb dual BIOS (meaning there’s a backup if the main one blows) can store nine different sets of settings if you are that way inclined. On the handful or really warm days here (95F) I would simply restart the HackPro with the stock settings to keep things cool – we have no air conditioning. I simply take note of the Temperature Monitor reading for CPU1 in my menu bar – CPU1 always runs the hottest on the multi-core CPUs I have used.

System Profiler before and after. The CPU is actually a Core2Quad, Q9550 Yorkfield.

Geekbench Before and After:

Geekbench is the objective way of testing CPU speed and is recognized as the standard by many geeks. The pictures below are using 10.7.0 Lion measured in Geekbench 64-bit mode.

Core2Quad CPU at 2.83gHz and 3.60gHz, respectively.

That’s 28% faster compared to the theoretical 27% (3.60/2.83).

Comparison with latest iMacs with i5/i7 CPUs:

The above Geekbench score compares very favorably with the iMacs sold in the past year – HP1 has gone from bottom to top quartile:

Cinebench Before and After – GPU:

Cinebench is a commonly accepted GPU test for graphics rendering.

Cinebench reports a 35% increase in framing rate.

Both Geekbench and Cinebench tests were made using the 64-bit versions of the applications.

Subjective ‘feel’:

I hate subjective data. This is an engineering process, not an exercise in emotions. Subjective clap trap is about as reliable in the computer world as in the stock market. Just because you saw the Apple store full of people doesn’t mean the stock will take off. For all you know they were having a fire sale.

Still, in LR3, the sliders reflect changes even more immediately – almost a ‘real time’ experience. Enough with the subjective stuff.

Trade-offs:

What are the trade offs?

• Stability. The built in CPU/BIOS failsafes may kick in and switch your machine off. I have run this (modest) overclock hard with no issues.
• Heat. HP1 was running its CPU1 core at 115F. With this setup it jumps to 138F, still well below the 176F service limit for the Core2Quad. Still, that’s higher than I like so I opened up the case and …. lo and behold …. found that the cable for the CPU fan, attached to the Coolermaster radiator was detached! This must have occurred when I was installing the SSD drives. I reattached it and the ambient CPU1 temperature in overclock mode dropped immediately to 115F. So heat is not an issue if your CPU is properly cooled – my Hackintosh’s CPU has run in the 106-115F range for two years without one problem.

How hot can the Core2Quad be allowed to get?

In my original Hackintosh piece I stated that Intel’s specs dictate a core temperature no higher than 160.5F. That translates to an external case temperature maximum of 185F, as evidenced by Intel’s static storage data:

How hot can the outside get?

Temperature Monitor reports the outside case temperature, so a reported 185F (85C) is the same as the 160F core limit. On heavy Handbrake video conversion I have seen an indicated 169F (CPU cooler fan disconnected!), which is still 16F below the service limit. Limits on Core2Duo CPUs are higher – you can find them on Intel’s web site.

And this is what I mean by properly cooled – not the wimpy, stock Intel fan but something that really works:

Coolermaster 120mm variable speed fan in place. The red circle denotes the proper installation point for the fan clips.
Case exhaust fan on the left, HDD fan on the right.

Given the low cost of these after market fans – $30 for this radiator and fan – there’s no excuse for not installing one. I would not risk overclocking if I was using Intel’s stock CPU fan. In the chart below, you can get a sense of CPU1 temperature when doing a common task – exporting an image from Lightroom3, after converting the 12 mB RAW original to TIFF, to Photoshop CS5, doing heavy manipulation of the image and then re-saving the 80mB TIFF file back to Lightroom3. The temperature rises to 136F and quickly drops back to the steady state 115F.

Temperature changes in LR3 and PS CS5.

Stress test:

To stress test the system I ripped a double layer 7.4gB movie DVD using RipIt!; this took a scant 12 minutes, for a maximum CPU temperature rise of just 2F. I then compressed that ripped movie down to a 1.26gB .m4v file, using Handbrake, another 40 minutes, for a temperature rise of 20F to 133F.

Rip = green box; compress = red box.

Nothing to be worried about here. By the way, the comparable times for this task on my MacMini (Core2Duo, 1.83 mHz, 320M GPU), were 30 and 75 minutes, respectively, albeit with the CPU temperature soaring to 169F.

BIOS settings:

You can see all the revised BIOS settings on the Gigabyte EP45-UD3P motherboard by clicking the picture below. The RAM is Patriot DDR2/800mHz. This board uses the 775 socket common to many Core2Duo and Core2Quad CPUs from Intel. The latest i3/i5/i7 CPUs use a different socket and require a different motherboard and upgraded memory. Changes from stock are marked with green arrows:

Click the image to see revised BIOS setting slides.

To make things easy, as your Hackintosh will be disabled while you are in the BIOS, follow the above pictorial on your iPad while making these changes.

Gigabyte EP45-UD3P motherboard:

When Adam Pash at Lifehacker conceived the design of the HackPro over two years ago, he choose the Gigabyte EP45-UD3P motherboard (775 spec CPU socket). A wise choice as this electronic hardware is a masterpiece of design and flexibility. While it’s no longer available new, there are many used ones on the market available for around $100, and you can download the related manual by clicking below.

Click to download the Gigabyte motherboard manual.

I would guess you could build the HackPro using its previous generation parts with two 1tB HDDs for $500 today with mostly used parts, before adding displays, and have performance as good as the latest iMacs, with far superior engineering design and longevity for heavy users. A good new Dell IPS display 1920 x 1080 widescreen, like the U2211H, will add $250 – it’s probably too great a risk to buy a used one.

Overclocking:

Intel has realized that the overclocking/gaming fraternity is a meaningful business segment to market to, so in their latest i5/i7 CPUs they sell ‘locked’ and ‘unlocked’ versions; the latter can be overclocked and are $10-20 more. Such distinctions were not available for the earlier CPUs like the Core2Quad and Core2Duo used in the HackPro, all of which could be overclocked, so it’s more than likely that the three year warranty on your CPU will be rendered invalid if you overclock. However, if you use a competent motherboard like the Gigabyte, above, your risk of damage should be greatly reduced owing to the many failsafes in the motherboard’s code, or BIOS. Just avoid getting greedy and don’t use voltages which are too high. My selected speed of 3.6gHz is a fine trade off between the last word in speed and long term reliability.