Tri-Boot Build Part I: The Parts

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Tri-Boot Build Part I: The Parts

By EAN ⋅ March 17, 2008 ⋅

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The basis of this guide started with a computer that I built in October 2006. If you already have a complete (and working) computer, you can skip this section.

My parts:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Asus P5W DH Deluxe Motherboard
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB RAM
XFX GeForce 7600 GT XXX Edition
Fortron FSP FX600-GLN Power Supply
DVD Burner
4 Hard Drives of various makes and sizes (3 WD SATA drives and 1 Seagate ATA drive)

A word on the processor.

I chose the E6600 at the time because it was what I needed at a price I was willing to pay. Are there better processors now? Yes. Will they provide the stability you need to run all three operating systems flawlessly? Not all of them. Check the OSx86 Wiki for the complete processor compatibility list. A good rule of thumb, however, is to stick with Intel if you are doing a fresh build.

A word on the motherboard.

Choosing the right motherboard is the most critical part of building a stable Hackintosh. A plain Windows computer can use any motherboard you buy, a Linux computer has some issues here and there with a few motherboards, but OS X is very picky. So choose a motherboard that is guaranteed to work. The P5W DH is a fantastic example, but you should also look at the OSx86 Wiki for a the complete motherboard list if you don’t want the recommended Asus motherboard. Asus is the company that builds many of the current Apple products, so you may want to stick with them when choosing a motherboard.

A word on the RAM.

Buy whatever gets good reviews, goes fast, and carries a cheap price tag. The Corsair sticks were heavily marked down when I bought them, but shop around and you can find some fantastic deals.

A word on the video card.

Like the RAM, the 7600GT was priced right and a great mainstream card. I’m slowly getting out of the computer gaming business, so it was more than enough power for me. However, if you want to really put a ton of video power in your build, go with an 8800GT with 512MB memory.

A word on the power supply.

Don’t cheap out on your power supply. Lots of cases come with crappy power supplies. Such supplies are guaranteed to break. I’ve built numerous PCs for friends and family and every time they’ve tried to save money by using the built in power supply, it has always failed within a year–sometimes taking down other components with it. Seriously, buy a good power supply like those from Fortron, Corsair, and other reputable brands. And before you make any purchase, use a power supply calculator to determine how much juice you need.

A word on the hard drives.

It’s entirely possible to do a triple boot if you only have one or two HDDs, but I tend to *collect* drives. From what I’ve read, partitioning a drive is actually easier when it comes to booting than having multiple drives, but when you’re operating with a single drive there is always that chance that you could lose all of your data.

A word on cost.

This is not the cheapest build you can buy, nor is it the most expensive–but while you may save a buck or two by going with other items, you may lose some compatibility with OS X and/or Linux. I’m mainly putting a build guide here for those who are looking for a computer that can run OS X, Vista and Linux perfectly. There was not a single problem with my build and all three operating systems work as flawlessly as they do on my MacBook and iMac.

A word on Wi-Fi.

The Asus P5W DH Deluxe has a nifty wireless antenna built in if you want to use it with your existing wireless network. Unfortunately, I’ve never had much luck with it. The range is poor, it drops connections like crazy, and it just wasn’t worth the time to set up. You can try if you are interested, but unless you are dying to make use of that wireless router of yours, just plug an ethernet cable into your desktop instead.