Hackintosh for Millumin

Loccufier

Hi all
New to the forums here, been using Millumin for a while.

I was looking at some new Millumin systems, but the current Apple line-up doesn't really make sense for dedicated media servers.
We own a couple of maxed out 2015 rMBP's and data paths, but I was looking for something more powerful, and perhaps not already four years old.

I was wondering if people are building purpose built hackintoshes for Millumin?
Stability seems like a big issue, although it does seem possible to get it right.
A search on these forums didn't turn up a dedicated hackintosh thread, maybe this could become one?

Anyone willing to share their experiences?

Manu44

Hi

I built an hackintosh recently and Millumin works very well (on Sierra), but I don't success to use all outputs of the graphic card (just 1 hdmi and 1 DVI). But I use an other hackintosh and we can use 1 HDMI for millumin and 3 displayport to VGA for 3 videoprojectors. If you choose a good graphic card, you can use all outputs for Millumin.

(sorry for my english)

Millumin

Hello @Loccufier,

You can find a lot of working configuration on this website : https://www.tonymacx86.com

Alternatively, you can try eGPU (external graphic card). It's probably easier to accomplish that the Hackintosh. See this website for working configurations : http://www.egpu.io

Of course, both solutions aren't official ones, but some people are using them on a daily basis without any issue.
Best. Philippe

andrew

I've used some on shows and they've always been ok. Had 4 outputs from gtx960s running, no issues. Actually needed another feed, so used the output from the blackmagic capture card.

Currently looking into building a new system for myself, just waiting to figure out the component list.

Loccufier

Thx for the replies!

I know all the good sources on the web for building hackintoshes, but was wondering about specific Millumin recommendations.

For instance: Nvidea's GPU's are easier to get working in a hackintosh, but AMD would be more efficient because of their openCL support, right?

My biggest fear is updates bricking the builds. I value reliability most, but the current hardware options Mac has just don't make a lot of sense. 

 

rolandino

I'm working with hackintosh machines for quite a while.

Can run up to 12x 1920x1200 outputs at 60fps using Datapath FX4s.

But it is a very complex subject, you really need time to dig in the details.

Too much to explain on this forum.

PM me and I can give you at least some hints.

Best

Roland

jamesont

I have a solid hackintosh build including dual Nvidia 980ti GPUs. It works great but if I connect more than 2 external displays the frame rate on the Millumin output drops to 30fps. Anyone else have this problem? I'm hoping the new Nvidia driver update for mac fixes the problem but have not tested yet. I'm also upgrading to an Nvidia Titan Xp.

alenmecan

@jamesont that is a very strange issue. I use a GTX980 and have never had any problems. Try avoiding the DVI ports if you can - I get the best results using an HDMI for my monitor and the 3 DP for the projectors/LED controllers.

Tonymac is a great resource and a good configuration is key for a working system.

I DO NOT recommend the CPUs that have more than 4 cores, as the support is just not there.

i7 6700K is probably the best bet for a CPU, and a motherboard like the Gigabyte GA-Z170X-SOC FORCE.

The 10xx series GPUs are not supported, so the GTX980Ti is the fastest you can get at the moment.

Note that these cards work via the NVidia driver and are not natively supported in OSX.

The fastest cards with a native support are the GTX780. Some early 780Ti cards are supported as well, but it is a chip lottery.

I have to say that I regularly run 3 projectors at 1920x1200 with many layers and elements in alpha and get 60fps output. 

GPU is very important, but a good CPU and fast RAM and fastest m2 drives are just as important.

ALSO, the formats are super important - I get the best results rendering content in ProRes4444 or HAP. 

Like @rolandino said, it is a complex subject and performance depends on the weakest link in your chain.

It would be brilliant if we could maybe create a hackintosh topic with focus on performance.

jamesont

@alenmecan thanks for your thoughts. Since my original post I have upgraded to the new nVidia drivers that now support the 10xx series cards including the Titan XP which is what I'm using. Still no improvement in the fps though. My hackintosh build is in line with what you've outlined above. I'm getting ready to swap out the nVidia Titan with an AMD Vega to see if it's specific to the card. We've also been testing eGPU boxes over thunderbolt 3 and unfortunately see the same drop in frame rates with the nVidia cards. I have a separate post going on the eGPU thread in this forum. You can read more about it there. We will keep everyone posted as we've dumped a lot of $$ into finding the perfect performance Millumin rig including nVidia 980ti, 1080ti, Titan XP, and AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition cards, 2 Hackintosh builds and multiple different eGPU boxes. I'm sure we will eventually get to the bottom of it.

alenmecan

@jamesont thank you for this report. 

I still find it very shocking that the framerate is affected with just 2 displays (or 3) connected.

You have not mentioned the codecs that you use - as I said in my previous post, the ProRes4444 should work the best.

The quality is beyond reproach, but more importantly, the machine doesn´t have to struggle with decodecing.

HAP is great, but for experimental purposes better left out, esecially as it´s decode depends on the video hardware, so it is not a fair comparison. 

Your drive will impact performance as well, I assume you use SSDs or faster aproppriate for your load.

I use Millumin exactly because few years ago I could not afford extremely expensive hardware, but could still get amazing results from it´s engine. 

I started rendering all my content at native resolutions and 50 or 60 fps and clients were blown away - and Millumin could play it.

LOOK FOR BOTTLENECKS - it is hard in hackintosh, as you have no way of knowing but a lot of trial and error will help.

The best machine I have now is quite medeival - a 3770 CPU(OCd to 3.8GHz), 32GB of 2330RAM (DDR3) and a GTX980. Using the 2 displayports, you can get 2 outputs at UHD and 60Hz and a monitor output from HDMI. Running content at these resolutions is another thing - it will start at 60fps and average at 48-50. When you add 2 capture sources and more layers, it gets a lot slower.

Probably the new iMacPro will be great for Millumin - but the price point defeats the purose.

I wish there would be a Millumin for Windows where we could build any machine - Mac has left us behind a long time ago.

alenmecan

@andrew actually I just saw this "Actually needed another feed, so used the output from the blackmagic capture card."

I have done this as well as the last resort, and the performance drops a LOT. The BMD cards are not only different beasts, they do not work in "graphics" resolutions but video resolutions. 

It is still great to have the option.

I have the 4K cards which have the 1920x1080@50/60 or UHD 50/60 so the only difference is the colorspace (and BMD support both) so you are almost down the rabbithole of thinking it is the same thing.

michaelvoccola

I can second that using the BMD cards as outputs will absolutely drop FPS to 15-20fps if you have any other I/O active on the same card.

andrew

@alenmecan I can't totally remember the setup now but i'm sure it was the HDMI output from a blackmgaic ultrastudio, that was fed to an Ascender and the input then cropped to the section of content we needed. Gave us an extra feed and didn't effect the frame rate within Millumin.

vjkatza

Hello hackintoshers!
I have two Hackintosh Machines:

1. i7 desktop

2. High Performance i7 Laptop(Clevo Based)

Both of them have multiboot WIN/OSX

Everything seems very stable & performance is great.

The only issue I have on both machines is higher latency while capturing with BMD devices then over windows on the same machine.
As I get about 3 fps latency with windows, there is about 5 fps latency with OSX.
I use "Deckling duo 2" &  "Ultrastudio HD mini" (the new thunderbolt 3 device)
Any of you checked that out?

jamesont

Hackintosh with NVidia Titan XP outputting 3 - 4k@ 60hz, 60fps in Millumin.

alenmecan

vjkatza I can confirm the higher latency as well and also have decklink duo, decklink 4K, ultrastudio extreme 3D, ultrastudio express TB and ultrastudio SDI.

alenmecan

@jamesont please care to share your build?

I know it´s "old" but most people on here prefer stability to brute force.

As it happens my favorite Millumin machine is an i7 3770K, 32GB of 2330 DDR3 RAM, GTX 980 as it is rock solid.

I have skipped x99 completely for hackintosh as Apple never supported 6 or 8 core on i7 it and it was a mess.

In general, Apple computers which are not Hackintosh are in a sad state right now.

I am typing this on a top of the line Mac Book Pro from 2016 and it struggles having an external display connected.

Rendering content is a joke. I am missing my HP EliteBook from 5 years ago as far as performance goes.

This is why we must be brand agnostic, and I wish Millumin had other platforms too.

Alain

I couldn't agree more with that :

we must be brand agnostic, and I wish Millumin had other platforms too.

emanuele

Hallo Everybody,

Anybody know if Millumin is working more with open CL or open GL?

I'm going to do a new hackintosh mediaserver i7 extreme based but I'm not sure if to install the GTX or AMD graphics card.

Any suggestion?

Thank you

Millumin

Hello @emanuele,

The answer is simple : no OpenCL at all, all OpenGL.

Best. Philippe