Hackintosh or 2010 Mac Pro? Tweet

[ChrisAngelius]

Hey guys,

I've been trying to work out which way to go for a new system for the past couple weeks. I'm currently running Octane on an iMac but of course this is not ideal and the limited GPU memory is leading to constant crashes and system instability. I really want to use octane as my primary renderer and this means building a system around it.

I really want to avoid going windows as I'm much more comfortable in OS X and switching everything over to windows would be a giant hassle.

So I'm left with going the route of a 2010 Mac Pro spec'd up to 12 core with a ton of RAM and multiple GPU's or building a hackintosh.

I built PC's when I was a kid, but haven't had to do so in a long time.

So I'm wondering on a couple of things. Mainly can the 2010 Mac Pro hold and support say 4x GTX 780's. That would be ideal, as it's simply a matter of getting the 2010 12 core machine and upgrading over time via plug and play.
OR is there a reliable guide out there for getting a Hackintosh running with 4x 780s in box preferably with a motherboard that supports Thunderbolt? My main concern with hackintosh setups is the forums I've visited seem mostly filled with questions and problems from people who can't get their system running without issue, and generally don't seem like they're being built as a gpu rendering machine so I've never come across a guide for a system running more than 1 gpu.

[face_off]

I'm running a single GPU Hackintosh. I tried a few hardware combo's, and going with a Gigabyte motherboard has been by far the easiest to implement. The only think missing is the inability to run VBox. At a guess - you could stack 4 cards in a Hackintosh, but you would want to do it on a Gigabyte motherboard, so your motherboard options will be limited. OSX may have a limit on the number of GPU's it can access. Or as you suggest, you could use Thunderbolt on a Hackintosh, but find someone here in these forums who has done it before to be sure it's possible.

Paul

[bepeg4d]

Hi,
there some octane users with hackintosh here on the forum with more than 1 GPU for sure, there is also this alternative solution for having 4 GPU in an old Mac Pro:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=47105
If your iMac has a thunderbolt port, you can have a look at this long discussion:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=43439
ciao beppe

[pegot]

I have successfully been running a Hackintosh for the past 2 years with 2 GPU's. Currently two GXT 780 6GB cards. I did successfully test it with 3 cards (2 780"s and one 770 but temps were way too much as none of the cards are reference cooled and I also needed my bottom slot for a RAID controller).

I am using a Gigabyte board that has built in thunderbolt and my CPU comes with on board graphics. Both of these are really useful in setting up a Hackintosh because it means you do not need a separate Mac compatible graphics card to get a boot screen and also enables you to easily access your bios settings to configure your system.

Since around December I have also reliably been using the Thunderbolt connection to run a OWC Thunderbay 4 disk enclosure in RAID formation.

I am interested in the x99 boards for a possible new build because they can support the intel Haswell E CPU's , which can allow for fuller use of 40 PCI lanes with multiple GPU's (I use Octane a lot for animation so loading time of geometry is important to me). However it seems like Thunderbolt is not a built in option for any of the boards I have thus far seen and only as an add on for a limited number. Additionally none of the Haswell E CPU's that support 40 PCI lanes have integrated graphics. For this reason, and also because I have read about some issues with Thunderbolt on those x99 boards and Hackintoshes, my next build will most likely be Windows based.

[ChrisAngelius]

I have successfully been running a Hackintosh for the past 2 years with 2 GPU's. Currently two GXT 780 6GB cards. I did successfully test it with 3 cards (2 780"s and one 770 but temps were way too much as none of the cards are reference cooled and I also needed my bottom slot for a RAID controller).

I am using a Gigabyte board that has built in thunderbolt and my CPU comes with on board graphics. Both of these are really useful in setting up a Hackintosh because it means you do not need a separate Mac compatible graphics card to get a boot screen and also enables you to easily access your bios settings to configure your system.

Since around December I have also reliably been using the Thunderbolt connection to run a OWC Thunderbay 4 disk enclosure in RAID formation.

I am interested in the x99 boards for a possible new build because they can support the intel Haswell E CPU's , which can allow for fuller use of 40 PCI lanes with multiple GPU's (I use Octane a lot for animation so loading time of geometry is important to me). However it seems like Thunderbolt is not a built in option for any of the boards I have thus far seen and only as an add on for a limited number. Additionally none of the Haswell E CPU's that support 40 PCI lanes have integrated graphics. For this reason, and also because I have read about some issues with Thunderbolt on those x99 boards and Hackintoshes, my next build will most likely be Windows based.

Hey Pegot,

Thanks for that. Can you tell me about how much your setup cost at the time of build? I've been weighing up going with 780's or trying my luck with a 980 and if successful getting 3 more. And which board are you currently using? Is there enough space between the cards to potentially setup water cooling or would stacking the case with fans help with heat issues? What kind of performance drop were you finding from putting a third card in the machine and finally do you have a parts guide I could follow? I'm pretty hopeless at this stuff and as you can imagine being a first time builder am pretty worried I'll buy the wrong parts.

Sorry for all the questions!

Cheers!