Planning

This is perhaps the most contemplative part of the journey. And the one that consumes the most amount of braintime/power. And the thing is I have to first find all the right parts that fit and are within my budget. With a normal PC build that's daunting enough. In the case of my Hackintosh. There's about a billion things to consider (okay 2).

Compatibility
OS X is a snobby operation system. It only likes to work with its friends. When making a Hackintosh this can be a pain, because you have to find the parts that mimick it's friends or at least can be manipulated into being friends.

Fitment
Because I'm using an Apple designed case I'm going to have to contend with the way the thing is shaped inside. Apple doesn't like going with established standards. It's why they can make beautiful products. But it also means that if I fit a mATX motherboard in it, the audio parts are going to be blocked by a bar that goes through the back.

I recruited a friend of mine in town, Izzy, to help me out with the build. He's a really great and skilled guy and helped provide a bit a relief and confidence in my build plans, along with a healthy dollop of truth and realization.

Basically he's able to help me really mod the case and motherboard to fit. But I'm going to have to be aware that if I mount the motherboard in a normal fashion, space will be an issue. And installing and maintaining a Hackintosh will be like owning an Alfa Romeo. It might explode.

This was a good dose of reality. Because earlier that day I was keenly considering buying better and more expensive parts while increasing my budget substantially. It's back to $800 now.