Build your own Core i7 Hackintosh with an Intel DP55WB motherboard

The following are step-by-step instructions for building a PC based on an Intel DP55WB motherboard that runs Mac OS, otherwise known as a Hackintosh.

While this is a complete set of step-by-step instructions, all the information was gleaned from tonymacx86’s P55 Hackintosh Blog, the forums there and the InsanelyMac forums. If you have questions or problems with the instructions below, one of those links will be much more beneficial to you than contacting me.

Parts

For the build, the following components are used:

Motherboard	Intel DP55WB LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX motherboard	$99.99
CPU	Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core CPU	$279.99
RAM	2 x OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-pin DD3 1066 SDRAM	$195.98
Video Card	EVGA nVidia GeForce GT 240 1GB 128-bit GDDR3 PCIe video card	$84.99
Optical Drive	ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM	$22.99
Hard drive	3 x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200rpm SATA 3.0Gb/s drives	$209.97
Case	Cooler Master Elite 335	$49.99
Power Supply	Antec BP550 Plus 550W PSU	$64.99
Card Reader	Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5” Internal Card Reader with USB port	$14.99
Bluetooth Adaptor	IOGEAR GBU241	$12.84
Mouse	Apple Magic Mouse	$69.00
Keyboard	Apple Wireless Keyboard	$69.00
Operating System	Apple Mac Box Set	$169.00

Apart from the Apple stuff above, all the items are from NewEgg. The total comes to about $1350 before any rebates. This is for a Core i7-860 system with 8GB RAM, 1TB system drive and 2TB RAID 0 array. A 27” monitor is about $350, so for $1800 you’re getting something similar to the custom build iMac that sells for about $2450. However, you’re also getting expansion and a built-in card reader.

Build

If you’ve put together a computer before, there are no surprises here – the build is very straightforward. The only thing you might want to do is to add a 120mm fan inside the front of the case to cool the hard drives.

If this is the first time you are building a computer, there’s a good guide here. It is really very straightforward. If you can change a light switch, you can do this.

Software Installation

Assuming the build went correctly and you can power on and get to the BIOS screen, you’re ready to do the software installation.

You will need the following to install Mac OS:

• Mac OS Snow Leopard installation disk (in parts list)
• iBoot Supported disk (burn an image from this article)
• DVD containing Mac OS 10.6.4 Combo Update and MultiBeast 2.0.2.
• AppleHDA.kext from Mac OS 10.6.2 from here.
• Wired USB keyboard and mouse (something like this is great)

Also, you will need to do the initial installation with 4GB of RAM rather than 8GB.

BIOS Settings

The current BIOS is WBIBX10J.86A from the Intel site here. Follow Intel’s instructions for updating should you need to do so.

Set all BIOS settings to default except for:

• Boot from CD first
• SATA mode to AHCI

Pre-OS Installation

Boot with the iBoot Supported disk in the drive.

Once you get to the screen with drive icons, eject the iBoot disk and insert the Snow Leopard disk and press F5 to refresh.

When you see “Mac OS X Install DVD” as one of the selections, select it using the cursor keys and type –x to select a safe mode boot. Press Enter to boot.

It will take several minutes before you see the Mac OS Apple logo and spinning wheel to indicate that Mac OS X is booting. During this time, the DVD will be accessed.

Mac OS X Installation

Once Mac OS X loads, you will be prompted to select the installation language and then you’ll see the “Install Mac OS” screen. Here, you must select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.

In Disk Utility, select the hard drive you will install Mac OS to. Choose Partition and set the Volume Scheme to 1. Name the Volume (say Hackintosh HD) and check that the Format is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Now press the Options button and set the Partition Scheme to GUID Partition Table. OK out of all of that and once Disk Utility has done its thing, you can exit out of it.

Go through the installation, which will take about 30 minutes before rebooting.

The reboot will fail because the Mac OS X installation disk is in the drive. Eject it (you may need to press eject immediately after powering the machine on), and put the iBoot disk in. Reboot and this time select the hard drive (e.g. Hackintosh HD) and type –x for a safe boot.

Go through the installation screens, though I suggest that you do not opt to transfer information from another Mac at this time.

Once all of this is complete, you’ll get a login screen with Safe Boot in red under the Mac OS X banner. This is because we booted with the –x switch.

Making it all work

When logged in, you will notice that neither sound nor USB work. We now need to install the Mac OS 10.6.4 update, and since there’s no USB this is where you will use the DVD that you burned.

Eject iBoot and insert the update DVD. Copy over MultiBeast to the desktop and install the Mac OS X update. Restart the computer and boot with the iBoot disk again and the –x switch.

Once you login, start MuliBeast and choose the following installation options:

· EasyBeast -> EasyBeast for Supported CPU

· System Utilities

· Advanced Options -> Kexts -> Audio -> HDAEnabler -> ALC888

· Advanced Options -> Kexts -> Audio -> LegacyHDA -> ALC888

· Advanced Options -> Kexts -> Network -> Intel82566MM

· Advanced Options -> smbios.plist -> iMac11,1 -> Core i7

· Advanced Options -> OSx86 Software -> Kext Utility

Once the installer has finished (the last phase takes several minutes), eject the iBoot disk and restart the computer.

Your computer should boot Mac OS from the hard drive without requiring safe mode.

At this point, USB and networking are functional, but audio is not.

Now, open the Applications folder and retrieve the AppleHDA.kext file from a Mac OS 10.6.2 insllation. Drag the kext onto Kext Utility in the Applications folder and let it do its thing.

Restart the computer and you should have working audio output.

Now run Software Update and download the various updates, shut the system down and insert remaining memory.

Turn the power on and you should have a working Hackintosh running Mac OS 10.6.4 with 8GB RAM.

Note that Sleep mode does not work and you should disable it.

This is what will be in your /Extra/Extensions folder:

· EvOreboot.kext

· fakesmc.kext

· Intel82566MM.kext

· IONetworkingFamily.kext

· IOUSBFamily.kext

· JMicron36xATA.kext

· JMicron36xSATA.kext

· Legacy888HDA.kext

· LegacyAppleRTC.kext

· NullCPUPowerManagement.kext

This is what has changed in your /System/Library/Extensions folder:

· HDAEnabler.kext (new)

· AppleHDA.kext (from 10.6.2)

Setting Up RAID

I use the two additional drives as a striped RAID array (RAID 0) for video editing. You can set this up in Disk Utility simply by selecting the RAID tab and dragging over the two unused drives.

Dual Booting Mac OS X/Windows 7

The way I have done this is to dedicate a new drive to Windows 7. Unplug all the other drives, plug in the drive that will contain Windows 7 and install Windows 7 to it.

Once Windows 7 is installed and happy, reconnect the other drives and go into the BIOS to ensure that the drive containing Mac OS X boots first. Now when you boot, you can hold down the Alt (Option) key to select which OS to boot.

Comments

[Andrew]

Am I missing something, or does the graphics card just work out of the box?

[David]

It just works.

[Jordan 1]

You have inspired me to adapt this project for my high school level design class.

[Brandon]

I'm curious, the firewire on the motherboard wok?

[Dave]

Any problems with this system so far ?

[david]

As I think I might have mentioned, it doesn't come back from sleep, so I disabled that.
I've also found that my Elgato H.264 Turbo HD hardware video encoder doesn't work. I haven't had a chance to really tinker with that yet.
Other than that, I've had no trouble updating to the latest Mac OS updates, have installed lot of software and just recently put on Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac and iLife 11.

[Comparison]

FYI, you can get a used Mac Pro 2.66 quad core for $1099.
http://www.gainsaver.com/Catalog/Detail.aspx?cICode=111544&CID=103&SID=MA356LL/A#specs

[Tom]

A 27" monitor at 2560x1440 resolution is at least $900 now. I got that similar set up. But with a real iMac with 2560x1440 resolution, 2.8 GHz Quad Core i7. I've upgraded it to 16 GB for about $200. All this cost me $1799 today. Yes, I got the iMac (2009 model 2.8 GHz Core i7) for $1599, free shipping, and no tax.

I would save some money and buy the real thing for less, if just for the 178% Full HD display. (Yes, almost Double Full HD resolution!)

[Nick]

Boot failed after MultiBeast due to ElliottForceLegacyRTC.kext panic. Had to boot into alternate OS and remove from /Extra/Extensions then reboot with -f to rebuild cache.

[steve]

Hi there!
Have you got any problems with the system?
And is the dual screen working?

[David]

Update - it is working well. The latest Multibeast fixes USB issues and now the Elgato video encoder does work.
I'm careful when installing system updates and frequently need to re-run Multibeast after a system update.

For those experiencing issues with the instructions above, I can't help further - just reporting what I did and what worked. If you do have issues, maybe install Windows to test the system and ensure that you have the latest BIOS, etc.

For the one person complaining that I need to update this post because the parts list is out of date: sorry, no.