"Mac Mini Hackintosh" Not as pretty, but an i7 and full PCIe graphics

[richorlin]

If you're going to spend $616 to build this, why not just spend the $699 (or $599 for a refurb) for a real mini? At least you know everything will work right with OS X and it's not a kludge. Granted, you don't get the satisfaction of building it yourself, but at least there's a guarantee.

[modelamac]

How many Mac minis can you find with the i7 processor? How much RAM will they handle, and what about an equivalent graphics card?

[mikebw]

The performance benefits of not going with a Mac Mini are HUGE.

[MacArtist]

I don't think I'd call Hackintoshes "kludge".

I built one for my wife last January and it's been running fine ever since. I updated it through 10.6.4. Running very stable. Fits her needs perfectly. I have about $430 into it. It's a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Quad, 8 gigs of RAM, fast video card.

Not one hiccup out of it.

I'm putting together one for my daughter this month.

[Sam3]

No Firewire, however. Dealbreaker for me.

[Ombligo]

Better refigure the price list.. I just priced out the components shown (using the cheapest, reputable vender via google shopping) and came to $675

[Jimmypoo]

Firewire card - $10. Get one with 400/800 and USB 3 probably for $59. If it can be found all on one card.
Otherwise, some of the higher end motherboards have it on board at $150 for the mobo.