Gigabyte GA-X58-UD3R Rev 2 Motherboard
Newegg
This is one of the more widely used motherboards for Hackintoshing. It uses Intel's LGA 1366 socket, which means it will only accept Core i7 processors, which tend to be faster and consume more power. It has USB 3.0 and a fast 6gbps SATA bus. But perhaps most importantly, its onboard audio and LAN chipsets made by Realtek have excellent driver support.
Intel Core i7 950 Bloomfield 3.06 GHz Processor
Newegg
This is one of the fastest Core i7 processors Intel makes for under $300. Which processor you buy is mostly a budgetary consideration, so long as you don't venture into the newer Sandy Bridge CPUs just yet. Apple's own desktop machines are only just now getting Sandy Bridge processors, so the Hackintosh community will need time to add support for the latest and greatest.
Another note regarding CPUs: You'll hear a lot of gripes about the heatsink fan Intel ships with their processors, but I've used the stock fan in my system to no adverse effects. If you plan on pushing your machine hard, though, you may want to get an aftermarket CPU cooler like the
Scythe Mugen.
Gigabyte GV-R577UD-1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB Graphics Card
Newegg
Another widely-used component, Gigabyte's HD 5770 1GB card is now fully enabled by the Chimera bootloader. Which means you'll enjoy full support in OS X. This one's easily distinguishable by its Batmobile-shaped heatsink.
OCZ 3x2GB 240-pin DDR3 1600 MHz 1.65V RAM
Newegg
The RAM I used has since been discontinued, but RAM is fairly generic in terms of Hackintosh compatibility, so long as it works with your motherboard. I'd stick to the speed and voltage specs of these sticks, though. Others have had success with this still-available set from
Corsair.
Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB Solid State Drive
Newegg
I can't recommend highly enough getting a solid-state drive to serve as your main system and applications disk. The speed gains are incredible, and you don't need much storage space if you elect to store all of your user data on a more spacious conventional drive. I have what I imagine is a fairly standard number of applications on my machine, and I've only filled about half of the 64GB. Lots of modern cases have built-in mounting points for smaller SSDs, but if not, you may need cheapo brackets to install the SSD into one of your case's 3.5-inch drive bays.
Samsung Spinpoint 1TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Newegg
There are no compatibility issues with hard disks, so buy whichever drive you want. You can also install as many as you want--I have another 500GB drive for Windows.
Sony Optiarc 24x DVD Burner
Newegg
This is the only DVD drive you'll see in most Hackintosh builds. There may be issues with others, but there's no reason not to go with this Sony, which is 20 bucks and available everywhere.
Antec Three Hundred ATX Case With 430W Power Supply
Newegg
Much of the homebuilt PC industry is geared toward your more hardcore gamer types, who tend to favor some fairly elaborate case designs. So if your tastes lean more toward something simple and clean, your options are somewhat limited. I like the Antec 300 though--it's priced right, and doesn't have tons of blinking lights or elaborate air ducts.
A note on power supplies: Most Hackintosh builds you see documented will include a much more powerful power supply (sometimes as high as 800-1000 watts). My Antec 430W supply, though, has proven more than adequate for driving an SSD, two hard drives, an optical drive, my Radeon 5770 and a power-hungry 130W Core i7 processor. But if you're planning on an elaborate dual-graphics-card or overclocked setup, or think you'll require some additional fans and cooling systems, you may want more power.
source:popsci
