Well, by golly I’ve done it. I’ve created a monster! This quad core computer is QUITE powerful (to say the least)…
The hardware installation was a cakewalk except for seating the processor’s heatsink/fan. The RAM seated nicely, even with the large copper heatsinks on each 2GB stick. The Video card (Nvidia 9800 GTX+) is HUGE, and it’s nearly 10″ long, but it still fit nicely in the case. I had the rig built in about an hour.
I only encountered a few minor, user-introduced, errors during my installation of Snow Leopard. See, apparently, USB keyboard and mouse support can be disabled in the BIOS… and I kept scratching my head trying to figure out why I couldn’t use my keyboard and mouse during the installation dialogue. Missing the obvious, I formatted the tower’s hard drive, the startup/installer boot drive, and recreated the boot disk twice. d’oh! I probably could have had the OS installed in ~15 minutes after building the machine if I’d caught that BIOS setting screw up earlier, but instead I spent almost two hours starting everything from scratch twice on the software end.
Once that issue was solved, EVERYTHING WORKED! It was as simple as popping in the install DVD, eating dinner, and restarting the computer! Snow Leopard 10.6 booted properly, and system profiler recognized the processor, motherboard, and graphics card as a Mac Pro!
I upgraded to Snow Leopard OSX 10.6.2, and found no issues! Once I determined the system was stable, I installed a ton of software.
To say this computer is fast isn’t doing it any justice. I was able to multiplex and burn a 16x DVD-R with 4.4GB of data in about 90 seconds. 90 SECONDS.
OK, so I ordered the following parts from Newegg.com:
# GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
# Intel Core 2 Quad 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
# GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
# Pioneer CD/DVD 16x Burner, SATA Model
# 10/ 100/ 1000/ 2000Mbps PCI Copper Gigabit Network Adapter
### EA500PSU - 500W Power Supply
### Coolermaster ATX tower that I’ve had for ~5 years
### two orders of G.SKILL 8GB (4×2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500)
### Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD
### SIIG 3 Ports FireWire 800 PCIe Card Model NN-FW0012-S1
# = tested in a previously stable Hackintosh build
### = deviation from previously tested rigs
The pieces should arrive Thursdayish, and I’ll begin assembly then! For those interested in building their own rig using the same tutorial I am, check out this link from Lifehacker.com! LifeHacker’s Stable Hackintosh Pro build
Well, as my loyal readers know, I’m a professional PrEditor (Video Producer/Editor), and that job demands certain tools. At work, I have some serious hardware: Mac Pro with a ton of RAM, and a 16TB network accessible storage unit. At home, I’ve got an older 15″ Macbook Pro though… and it’s starting to show its limitations.
For a while now, I’ve been bouncing around the idea of buying a new 27″ Apple iMac for a desktop, and while it’s pretty powerful, it is limited in how it can be upgraded. That brought me to considering a new Mac Pro tower… and that idea was short lived. The cost of a Mac tower is, in a word, obscene. I’m talking unnecessarily expensive “price of a car” level costly.
As a Final Cut Pro enthusiast with a passion for After Effects, I wanted a computer rig at home that could run both, and not just run them. I want the software to FLY.
There are others in the same situation as me… and they have worked out ways to shoehorn the Mac OS onto 3rd party, home-assembled hardware that in some configurations rivals and even trumps the Mac Pro tower configurations… ready for this?… at less than 20% of the cost.
With a good bit of research under my belt, and a good bit of knowledge and the help of the kind souls on the Insanely Mac forums, I’m building myself a “Hackintosh”!
Here’s my first Hackintosh’s potential configuration:
Intel Core i7-920 Quad-Core Processor
GIGABYTE X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
CORSAIR XMS3 12GB (6 x 2GB) DDR3 RAM (PC3 12800)
CoolerMaster ATX Tower from my current Windows XP desktop
850W Power supply
2x 1TB Wester Digital SATA HDDs
Pioneer 16x DVDRW drive - SATA
Undecided on a Video Card, but soon I’ll have that squared away!
I’m going to do a little more research this week to make sure that this rig will work well, and work as a stable platform with SnowLeopard (OSX 10.6.2)… but soon, my Frankenstein Hackintosh machine shall live!
More to come…
EDIT:
Potential (more cost-effective, yet still high performance) configuration #2 for the easiest possible stable build:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz Quad-Core Processor
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P Motherboard
EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB DDR3 PCI-E Video Card
8GB (4 x 2GB) G.SKILL DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) RAM
CoolerMaster ATX Tower from my current Windows XP desktop
Some random 500w+ power supply w/ PCI-E + SLI support… TBD
1x 1TB Western Digital SATA HDD
Pioneer 16x DVDRW drive - SATA
So, to celebrate the new year and some new gear, I went out with the VAPhotogs for a Sunday Photo Fun Day in DC! I took my Panasonic GF-1 fitted with a 20mm f/1.7 pancake prime, and I also brought my Nikon 17-55/2.8 AFS, Nikon F-Mount Zeiss Planar T* 85mm f/1.4, Nikon F-mount Vivitar Series 1 85mm f/1.4, and Nikon 105mm f/2.5 AI lenses.
So far, this little Panasonic GF-1 is kicking butt, and I’m LOVING it for day-to-day photography. Will it replace my SLR gear? Hell no… but it sure is a lot of fun, and it takes a darn good picture!
Below is a video shot entirely with the GF-1 and various lenses. Filmed at 720p/30p in AVCHD, edited (poorly) on Final Cut Pro. More to come regarding the GF-1 & filming…
I just wrapped an AWESOME animation project at work… This is going to air on 2/22 on UPI.com as an ad for the Health Care Reform video series that I am creating for them (which begins airing 3/1!).
A lot of people have been asking which is THE 85mm prime to get… I owned the Nikon 85/1.4 AF-D, and loved it. I previously owned the 85/1.8 AF-D, and the 85 f/2 AI… I also currently own the Vivitar 85mm f/1.4 and I use the Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 ZF regularly at work for video production.
85mm is probably my favorite focal length for portraits on DX/cropped sensor Digital SLR cameras, and it’s tied with 105mm as my favorite on full frame digital/film SLR bodies.
A friend recently asked me “is the Zeiss 85 REALLY worth the amount it costs when there’s an option like the Samyang/Vivitar/Bower/Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 available for 1/4th the cost?” I decided to put the two ends of the spectrum to the test… This is part one of a series of videos I’m creating that will compare the cheapest Nikon-mount 85mm f/1.4 lens (Vivitar Series 1) to the most expensive (Zeiss Planar T*). The results of part two of this side-by-side test may surprise you…
Hey guys! I just uploaded a video review of a piece of camera equipment that I feel is the BEST bang-for-the-buck accessory for Nikon D300 shooters.
Last week, I bought a Zeikos NBG-300 Battery grip for the Nikon D300/300s/700 camera, for use on my new D300. It was only $60 with shipping from B&H Photo Video in NYC, and it functions 100% the same as the $260+ Nikon-brand equivalent grip.
I’m finally settling into the DC area and planting my roots it seems. The job market is tough out there right now, and I’ve had a heck of a ride getting to where I am, but I recently connected with a very creative, highly skilled media production company in the DC area! I’m their new A/V geek, and my job responsibilities include everything between script and screen in the production/post-production cycle in addition to photography and media strategy. In addition to all of that, I’m “getting my feet wet” with Avid Media Composer, and learning new post production skills.
Outside of work, I’ve been doing a LOT more photography. I’ve been averaging about 1,000 shots per week on a slow week, with upwards of 5,000 shots on a busy week! Less billable clients right now (it’s holiday season, and I’ve got stuff to do/fun stuff that *I* want to shoot), but 2010 wedding season is promising to be busy, with 7 full weekends booked already! I’ve been adding new gear to my kit, and pushing the limits on my capabilities further and further to see how much better my shots can get. As Chase Jarvis said, “the best camera is the one you have with you”, so I’ve adopted a take-my-gear-everywhere-I-go policy, and I’m starting to feel naked without my camera and lenses on me. These days I’m shooting with a 17-55mm/2.8, 70-200mm/2.8, a 12-24mm f/4, and a 35mm f/2 prime, and I finally found a photo bag that can haul all of it comfortably.
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying DC area nightlife. There are so many places to go, so many things to do, and so many people to meet that I’ve had an ear-to-ear grin ever since arriving back in the area in August. I’m still trying to find my way around (I don’t know what I’d do without my Tom-Tom GPS unit…), but my morning commute has been thoroughly kicking my butt daily. Anyone know any shortcuts between Fairfax and Alexandria/Crystal City area other than I-66 or Rte. 50 East? Please and thanks there.
So yeah… the blog is back, but my new portfolio is under construction. Check back for updates on that!
Lastly, thanks to all for the birthday wishes. I just enjoyed my 3rd annual re-celebration of my 21st birthday (I’m 24), and it has been a fun week. Dining out with David, going to the Redskins game with Scotty & John, wine bar double date with Lily, John, and Julia, Adams Morgan nightlife with Kat, and shenanigans with my coworkers… I’m partied out! For those that don’t know… I celebrate the week leading up to my birthday, and the following week. December is *MY* month.
I’m looking forward to a successful 2010 with my friends and family, new clients and a new city as my playground. DC better be ready for me!
Yeah, I know I’ve been neglecting this blog. As they say, “Life happens.” I’d rather be out taking photos than talking about photography, and I’ve had very little time lately to do either… so I took a ton of photos and wrote very little.
Thanks for the kind emails and calls checking to make sure I was doing alright! I’ve got a few entries going online soon, so please check back for updates early next week!
On the road again… Here are some family photos from this past weekend’s visit to Ocean, New Jersey! We went out to eat at Tuzzio’s Italian Eatery… GREAT food, good wine, and fantastic company!
As I sat down at the last available seat in our booth, my Mom reminded me, “Never sit with your back to the door in Little Itally.” HAHA… thanks mom. Want to trade seats? Some snaps from the evening:
This was an ITALIAN family restaurant. None of that "Olive Garden" crap here.
Tuzzio's. (I'm digging how well the Nikon D90 does in near-complete darkness)
Some fine Italian Pinot Grigio. Very tasty with Chicken Parmesan.
Dad!
My cousin Alex!
My other cousin, Jefferey! (Alex's non-identical twin brother)
Latest Update: Jason is building a Hackintosh PC!
