I haven’t bought it yet, but here’s my build for a hackintosh-ready slim and sleek pc.   (hardware works – confirmed on osx86project)  Needless to say, all hardware can be found at newegg.com, the coolest place ever to buy computer stuff.  I’ve been buying from them for years, and they’ve always been good with returns, customer service, etc.  Also, their site has more reviews for computer hardware than anywhere I’ve seen.

Rosewill R379-SM Black/ Silver 0.8mm SGCC Steel MicroATX Slim Case Computer Case PSU ATX12V Flex 300W Power Supply – Retail

This Rosewill case is brilliant.  3.9 inches wide! Includes a 300w power supply – just enough for our needs.  Low power consumption, noise and heat output.  Very cool looking and super slim, and can be a tower or lay on it’s side.  Very reasonable at $54.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181196

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Just in case the combo deal wears out, here’s what it includes:

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor – Retail

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard – Retail

$112.98 has me sold on this combo.

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The video card choice was tough.  I had to find something reasonably priced, that has a low profile bracket included, and is compatible with hackintosh distros.  My final verdict:

ASUS EN9400GT/DI/512M(LP) GeForce 9400 GT 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

It’s pretty, has a good performance to price ratio, is compatible with Leopard, and includes the L-P bracket. $39.99 after 10$ mail-in rebate.

OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory

Some people say normal users don’t need 4 GB of ram.  Perhaps.  I’m not a normal user.  Plus, with the $10 mail-in rebate it’s only $30.99, and the timings are great – 4-4-4-15.

Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Hard Drive – OEM

70 bucks for 640 gb, with 32mb cache.  3 year warranty.  Not bad.  Remember, this case has only one internal 3.5″ slot.

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LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner – OEM

It’s a dvd burner.  It works.  It’s 23 dollars. I’m pretty sure it’s got those notches so you can load discs while vertically mounted.

This brings us to a cool $331.93! Add around 10 bucks for shipping and we’re still below the $350 mark.  Like I said, this is all confirmed by the community to be 100% working hardware;  shutdown/restart/sleep are reported to work on the motherboard.  My main motivation for building this was because I’d like to start doing IPhone development – it looks like loads of fun and maybe I’ll make some cash.  If you have any brilliant ideas for me to steal, let me know.  I might share when I get rich.

Here’s a few more cool items to consider beyond the box:

OCZ OALKBELX2US USB Wired Slim Alchemy Series Elixir II Keyboard

A slim cool keyboard to match the slim cool PC on the cheap.  15 bucks

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WACOM MTE450 5.8″ x 3.7″ Active Area USB Bamboo Pen Tablet- Black finish

Honestly, who doesn’t want one of these?  Pick one up for me.

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SMC SMCWUSB-G IEEE 802.11b/g USB 2.0 EZ Connect 2.4GHz Wireless Adapter Up to 54Mbps Data Rates 64/128-bit WEP, WPA, WPA2

This wireless adapter is supported by Leopard 10.5.6.  For N-speed, try a Belkin F5D8053.

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Logitech RX1000 Black/Silver 4 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser 1000 dpi Mouse

This is a great choice.  Black and silver match the case.  Laser means it’ll work on any surface, and it’s got 2D scrolling with the tilting scroll wheel.  21 bucks. The Logitech MX310 is a classic choice – I used the same MX310 for several years of gaming and got countless headshots in counterstrike.   It’s a few dollars more at 25, though technically optical and 900dpi I like the feel of them.  For the record, I’m not sure if the tilt will work in OSX.

The community surrounding this collaberative OSX86 project is just great.  Here’s a few good sites:

OSx86 Project | InsanelyMac

Main Wiki Page – OSx86

The OSx86 Scene Forums • Index page

InsanelyMac Forum

PCWiz Computer – Home

SU users, don’t forget the thumb!

Disclaimer:  Buy a leopard license.

http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Version-10-5-6-Leopard/dp/B000FK88JK

Hello Internet.  I’ve decided to start a blog to post random thoughts, projects, media and links.

Enjoy.