I posted here a few months ago. Here's a recap of my situation:
I'm doing a YouTube show where I need two boxes:
One: a powerful gaming PC. Not involved with hackintoshing.
Two: A hackintosh (or a Mac, I guess, but I don't want to spend a billion dollars) that can perform the following functions...
Have enough in terms of raw power to generate special effects on the fly during a live show. Decently powerful CPU, at least 32 GB of ram.
Able to output to 4 monitors at once, using onboard outputs, graphics cards, or a combination of both. My current monitor setup is 1 HDMI and 3 DVI-I/VGA. I used old monitors to keep costs down, but if I ABSOLUTELY have to buy new ones, I will.
Able to support two BlackMagic capture devices, each occupying a PCIe slot. Blackmagic stuff is Mac compatible. I already own two of the cards I linked, which are PCIe cards, but there are also thunderbolt cards as well. Just like the monitors, I'd like to use what I already have, but if I ABSOLUTELY need to buy new ones, I will.
I built an extremely powerful PC on my own about 6 months ago, and it's REALLY nice. However, I've been unable to get it up and running as a hackintosh, even with /u/corpnewt's ongoing help since march. It's not a very compatible system, and we've tried a lot of different things. But it's looking more and more like it might not be hackintoshable.
It's not a big loss - Like I said, I also need an awesome gaming PC, and this unhackintoshable one is pretty high-end when it comes to gaming. I'll put my GTX 980 in it and call it a day.
So now, I need to build another PC, from scratch. I'm focusing primarily on hackintosh compatibility, with power and performance being a pretty close second. But there's a few ways I can get this done regarding parts selection, and I'm looking for the cheapest option.
I choose a motherboard with 4 PCIe slots. I use my two old GTX 460s, allowing me to output to my current monitor setup (three DVI, one HDMI). I use the two Blackmagic cards.
I choose a motherboard with 3 PCIe slots. I use one of my old GTX 460s, or another old graphics card, in tandem with the motherboard's own display outputs, to output to my current monitor setup (three DVI, one HDMI). I use the two Blackmagic cards. (This assumes that the motherboard I choose has its own display outputs, and that those outputs don't disable when a graphics card is plugged in. For example, I know already that a very common hackintosh mobo, the GA-Z97X-UD7 will do this.)
I choose a mobo with three PCIe slots. I abandon the idea of using VGA displays. I pick up 3 digital displays, and use a single graphics card, maybe or maybe not in tandem with the motherboard's own outputs, to output to all 4 monitors. The blackmagic cards go into the final 2 PCIe slots.
I choose a mobo with at least two PCIe slots, but also with Thunderbolt connectors. I use my old GTX 460s to output to my original 3 DVI 1 HDMI monitor setup, and I abandon the Blackmagic Intensity Pro cards in favour of Blackmagic's thunderbolt capture devices.
I choose a mobo with any number of PCIe slots and thunderbolt ports. I abandon all my old displays, and my old capture devices, and I buy a new graphics card, new displays, and new capture devices. Obviously this is the most expensive option and therefore, is a last resort.
So, can anybody help me build this box at minimal cost? I'm hoping to reuse as many old components as possible, but I'm able to spend quite a bit if I absolutely have to. CorpNewt's already told me that while VGA does work sometimes, it's hit and miss and compatibility was dropped long ago, so I know I may have to go down one of the routes where I buy new monitors and possibly even a new graphics card.
Please, can you guys suggest a build that would do what I need it to do? If I can keep costs low and utilize old stuff, that's great. But it's NOT a necessity!
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