[mike817]

Hi all. I know this has been asked on the linux side, but i'm wondering if you guys can help me make a choice for the mac. Ideally i'd like a video card with HDMI.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Gamester17]

For OSx86 you mean?

Mac OS X otherwise only comes pre-installed on Apple Mac/iMac/Macbook, see store.apple.com, there are no other official choices for running Mac OS X. You can not buy Mac OS X by itself and install on any computer you want (like you can do with Microsoft Windows and Linux).

[mike817]

I guess so. The mac version of XBMC was suggested to me so i'm trying to figure out what i need to do to get it going.

[Gamester17]

Sounds like you need to do some research before you take the leep and actually buy something

Normally people who want a cheap Mac OS X computer woud just would go out and buy a Mac Mini, (however there are rumours going around right now that Apple might be releasing an updated version of the Mac Mini within two weeks time so the investment in the current 'old' model today's might not b e be so smart).

Installing OSx86 on a custom computer is an alternativ however it is something that could possible be illegal so that is not something that we can help you with. If you are looking for custom computer hardware to run XBMC on then you looking in our Linux forum or in third-party OSx86 forums elsewhere.

If you are not interested in the Mac OS X operating-system, and you are only interested in the XBMC part as a dedicated media center machine then you might instead consider running XBMC for Linux (search for LiveXBMC in our Linux forum if you like to test a relativly easy way to try out XBMC for Linux).

[waldo22]

Installing OSx86 on a custom computer is an alternativ however it is something that could possible be illegal

Personally, I wouldn't feel the least-bit guilty about installing OSx86 on a Hackintosh, as long as I went out and bought a copy of OSX from the Apple store.

It's only US$129.

Some might say that that price is low because you have to use it with Apple hardware, but I think they'd have a very hard time enforcing a shrink-wrap EULA copyright infringement claim on a paying customer who installs the OS on one machine.

Of course the Linux solution would be totally in the clear, though.

[davilla]

As someone who follows the OSx86 happenings, my recommendation is don't waste your time. Yes it can be done, you will spend lots of time tracking down all the correct bits and trying the install method of the month, and end up with something that will easily break on the first update.

What I've seen over the years is eventually, those running a Hackintosh will get rid of it and get real Apple hardware.

So find a 1.8GHz MacMini and jump right to enjoyment. And today is not the best time to be buying Apple products. WWDC is a few days away and you can never tell what surprises Apple has planned.

[Gamester17]

So find a 1.8GHz MacMini and jump right to enjoyment. And today is not the best time to be buying Apple products. WWDC is a few days away and you can never tell what surprises Apple has planned.

Yes, the rumour that is going around is that Apple will release an updated Mac Mini model sometime next week, so I would wait at least the 7 days before going out and buying a new Mac Mini, ...maybe the eBay price of older used models will go down as well if they do release a new model.