Running Apple’s Mac OS X software on PC hardware has been a hobby for some enthusiasts for a while. There are several forums on the Internet that discuss the topic extensively, but here is a brief article with one of the possible hardware configurations that can run OS X Lion or Mountain Lion.
Essential Reading
UniBeast: Install Mac OS X Lion Using an All-In-One Bootable USB Drive
MultiBeast – The Ultimate Post-Installation Utility
Essential Hardware
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 rev 1.3 board Amazon $122.25 (F12 BIOS)
Intel i7-2600k running at 4.2Ghz Amazon $289.99
(Frequency multiplier set to 42 in the BIOS)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler Amazon $29.56
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8 GB (2x4GB) Amazon $54.03 (low profile version lets you add another 8gb (2x4gb sticks) later without hitting the CM Hyper 212EVO cooler’s fins)
SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC128B/WW Amazon $116.99
SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC256B/WW Amazon $239.99
(Optional) Discrete Video / GPU card
If you need more GPU horsepower, these are the best price/performance deals:
SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 PCIE Graphics Card Amazon $169.99
Native Apple WiFi with AirDrop support $35.69
Atheros AR5BXB112 AR9380 Dual-Band Mini PCI-E 450M Wifi Wireless Card 802.11n Amazon $34.05 (the same board as in mid-2011 Mac Mini)
Mini PCIe to PCIe Express Adapter + 3 WiFi Antenna Amazon $1.64
Native Apple Bluetooth with sleep support $14.38 (+soldering skills)
Apple A1114 Bluetooth Card Board Module 820-1829-A PowerBook MacBook Pro w/Cable eBay $9.99 (read this great post with instructions how to adapt the module)
11″ Extension cable for a standard USB motherboard connector Amazon $3.99 (to be cut and connected to the above module)
2 x 1N4007 diodes Amazon $0.40
Build details
DSDT: DSDT Database
SSDT: Select i5/i7 overclocked SSDT option in the MultiBeast installer.
Smbios: After long tests and benchmarks I’m sticking with MacMini5,3 (mid-2011 MacMini Server), it has better SpeedStep settings compared to MacPro3,1 and MacPro5,1.
Ethernet: Realtek official driver has better stability and speeds compared to lnx2mac ethernet drivers under heavy torrent load for me. Both are available in the MultiBeast installer.
WiFi / Bluetooth: Don’t repeat my mistake and don’t tap power for bluetooth from the miniPCIe adapter’s 3.3 volt line, it’ll result in immediate wake upon putting computer to sleep. You have been warned. Use the 2 diodes hack or a proper 5v-3.3v regulator to bring the USB voltages down. The A1114 / 820-1829-A apple bluetooth adapter uses 3.3 volts, not 5.
Result
Native WiFi with AirPort supported and native Bluetooth with full sleep and wake with Apple Magic Mouse.
Geekbench 64bit score: 15065 points
talking about boot time, does your A1114 wake up in time to choose bios settings or boot options ?. I used a Belkin F8T016ng so far. It wakes up at boot time, in OS X and Windows 7. Wakeup from sleep in ML was an issue, so I soldered an A1114. It is doing fine in OS X and Windows but not at boot time. !?
Make sure you have removed any darkwake=on|off from kernel flags, and your apple alluminum full size keyboard or magic mouse shall wake your ml from sleep just fine, and you’ll be able to to enter bios. Still using F12 bios here.