MAC OS X Leopard on a PC



  • Hey guys,

    Just a quickie,

    I have a PC I assembled myself that has an Intel Pentium D processor. Now, MAC OS X supports Intel processors, so I was wondering if I could install OS X on my PC. Looking at the requirements of OS X they say you need an Mac computer with an Intel processor

    Now I have an Intel processor, but not an MAC. Can I run OS X on my PC?

    What makes something a "MAC"? The mainboard? The chipset?



  • As I recall, OSX will check to make sure you're actually using a Mac, and won't let you install if you aren't.



  • Yes, the installer, i believe, will check the hardware. The solution to that problem is getting the files onto the hard drive without using the installer. :-)

    A friend of mine managed to get OS X (though not Leopard) running on a Dell laptop. I believe this involved a third-party installer that incorporated / installed bits of OpenDarwin. Presumably this only works on certain hardware configurations, and requires modifications and lots of patience. Use Google, and have a look around on various forums.

    If you don't mind getting your OS X from somewhere else than Apple (cough, nudge, Swedish high seas entrepreneurs) there are likely relatively easy-to-use install discs too. Read up on the relevant laws and use at your own risk, obviously.

    @Ice^^Heat said:

    What makes something a "MAC"? The mainboard? The chipset?

    The Reality Distortion Field, presumably.



  • Simply put: the answer to my question is no.

    I don't want to go hacking around to do things that shouldn't work. My Vista setup works fine.

    I just wished I had bought a MacBook instead of the crappy Dell laptop I now have.



  • @Ice^^Heat said:

    What makes something a "MAC"? The mainboard? The chipset?

    Macs have some extra hardware internally, functionally the equivalent of a TPM module. They also have Apple chipsets (you won't find an Intel/nVidia/ALi/ATI-type northbridge/southbridge combo in a mac). They do implement PCI Express/AGP and whatnot, they're just plugged into Apple chips.

    Intel macs also use EFI for booting, which is fine. It's more modern and extensible than the old BIOS booting methods, but that also means you can't just stick an OS X dvd into a PC and boot - the hardware/software for it simply is NOT present in a PC. In fact, to get Windows to install on a Mac, you have to use Bootcamp, which is an EFI plug-in that emulates a standard BIOS so the Windows installer can actually run.

    Then there's the driver issues. If you do manage to get OS X onto a PC, if you're got any exotic hardware (which applies to even standard stuff like video cards, IDE controllers, USB controllers, etc...), you'll be completely SOL. Apple isn't going to bother writing drivers for hardware which isn't available for legitimate Macs.

    The EULA for OS X also requires that it be run only on a Mac, I believe. In other words, run it on an PC, and you're a software pirate, even if you've purchased a legitimate boxed copy. It's kinda like taking an OEM copy of Windoze that came with a PC and trying to run it on another machine. Even if you've wiped it off the original system, the OEM copy is "legally" tied to that system and can't be transferred.



  • @Ice^^Heat said:

    Simply put: the answer to my question is no.

    I don't want to go hacking around to do things that shouldn't work. My Vista setup works fine.

    I just wished I had bought a MacBook instead of the crappy Dell laptop I now have.

     

    At 12:01GMT 29-12-2007

    From http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/irl/

    • 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
    • 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB
    • 1TB Serial ATA Drive
    • SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
    • Apple Mighty Mouse
    • Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
    • Accessory kit
    • ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
    • 24-inch glossy widescreen LCD
    • AirPort Extreme
    • Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

    This was priced at €3,339.00

     

     From www.komplett.ie
     

    • Case
    • 630Watt PSU
    • Asus P5N32-E SLI MoBo
    • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz
    • 8GB  800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 4x2GB
    • 2TB (2x1TB) SATA Drives
    • 2 x XFX GeForce 8800GTS 500M 320MB GDDR3 - SLi Mode
    • NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7200 IDE Black OEM, DVD+R/+RW/DVD-R/-RW/Ram (Dual layer)
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate English OEM DVD
    • Logitech Cordless Desktop MX5000, LCD-display, Retail, Keyboard/mouse
    • Samsung 24" LCD Syncmaster 245B, Black, 1920x1200, 5ms, 1000:1, DVI
    • Logitech Z-2300 Speakers 2.1 THX 2 Satellites and Subwoofer, 200 W RMS
    • D-Link DWL-G520 PCI Super G 108Mbps Wireless 802.11g

    This was priced at €2552

     

    Yup I did go waaaay overboard trying to catch up with the price on the windows machine but as you can see I'd much more happily spend my money on a propper Windows/Linux machine than a well overpriced Mac Linux OS X machine.



  • It is possible to install Mac OS X Tiger or Leopard on a generic PC, you can even use the installer. Google for "osx86". However, hardware support is patchy (basically, Mac OS X only includes drivers for hardware present in Macs and few third-party drivers are available), even then it takes some work to get it fully working.

    Another problem is legality. You cannot legally obtain the Intel build of Tiger without buying a Mac (and even if you do own an Intel Mac, installing the OS on a second computer is slightly dubious).
    Since you can buy Leopard, the only thing stopping you is the EULA, check your local laws as to weather these are legally enforceable (in most places they are not).



  • @Hitsuji said:

    @Ice^^Heat said:

    Simply put: the answer to my question is no.

    I don't want to go hacking around to do things that shouldn't work. My Vista setup works fine.

    I just wished I had bought a MacBook instead of the crappy Dell laptop I now have.

     

    At 12:01GMT 29-12-2007

    From http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/irl/

    • 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme
    • 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB
    • 1TB Serial ATA Drive
    • SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
    • Apple Mighty Mouse
    • Apple Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
    • Accessory kit
    • ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB memory
    • 24-inch glossy widescreen LCD
    • AirPort Extreme
    • Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

    This was priced at €3,339.00

     

     From www.komplett.ie
     

    • Case
    • 630Watt PSU
    • Asus P5N32-E SLI MoBo
    • Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz
    • 8GB  800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 4x2GB
    • 2TB (2x1TB) SATA Drives
    • 2 x XFX GeForce 8800GTS 500M 320MB GDDR3 - SLi Mode
    • NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7200 IDE Black OEM, DVD+R/+RW/DVD-R/-RW/Ram (Dual layer)
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate English OEM DVD
    • Logitech Cordless Desktop MX5000, LCD-display, Retail, Keyboard/mouse
    • Samsung 24" LCD Syncmaster 245B, Black, 1920x1200, 5ms, 1000:1, DVI
    • Logitech Z-2300 Speakers 2.1 THX 2 Satellites and Subwoofer, 200 W RMS
    • D-Link DWL-G520 PCI Super G 108Mbps Wireless 802.11g

    This was priced at €2552

     

    Yup I did go waaaay overboard trying to catch up with the price on the windows machine but as you can see I'd much more happily spend my money on a propper Windows/Linux machine than a well overpriced Mac Linux OS X machine.


    Your pretty right,

    I was comparing the MacBook Pro with a Dell XPS M1530,

    Using more or less the same specs, the Mac is €600 more expensive than the Dell. And then the dell has an 7200rpm 200 GB hard drive, whereas the Mac has an 120 GB 5200rpm drive.

    Pretty overpriced idd. My enthusiasm for Mac is slighty impaired.



  • As far as i can see the only place where you'll see a somewhat decent price for a Mac is when purchasing an entry level desktop or MacBook, other than that they start wracking up the cost very quickly



  • @Ice^^Heat said:

    idd.

    (pssst!)

    (idd isn't english!)

    ( ;) )



  • @dhromed said:

    @Ice^^Heat said:

    idd.

    (pssst!)

    (idd isn't english!)

    ( ;) )

    What? Doesn't idd stand for "indeed"??

    But I never understood internet slang anyway...



  • @Ice^^Heat said:

    @dhromed said:

    @Ice^^Heat said:

    idd.

    (pssst!)

    (idd isn't english!)

    ( ;) )

    What? Doesn't idd stand for "indeed"??

    But I never understood internet slang anyway...

    Hm. Come think of it, that's actually plausible.

    But strictly speaking, inderdaad doesn't mean the same as indeed.


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