A Hackintosh, in geek terms is a non-Apple Intel PC hacked to run Mac OS X operating system. Unlike Microsoft Windows, you cannot install OS X on just about any generic PC. The reason is, Mac OS X operating system disk ships with only a limited set of drivers which are just enough to run on Apple's Macintosh range. Because of this, it becomes essential to choose components that will have drivers already shipping with the OS X disk.

Finding and choosing the best hardware for running OS X is a tedious task. You do not need to go through this pain as I have already done that work for you. The configuration that I am suggesting in this lens is pretty cheap but at the same time powerful and expandable.

If you have never assembled a PC before, fret not. It is a very simple task. All you need to know is how to use a screw driver. There are several excellent articles on the net on how to assemble a PC, so I am not going to go into the details of that. In case you are not confident, buy a beer for your geeky friend. It takes about one to two hours to assemble a PC from scratch.

Here is one article that I suggest.

Because of the slight difference in architecture between regular PCs and Macintosh systems, you cannot pop in a Mac OS X install DVD on a PC and start installing it. (If you need to know why, it is because Macintosh's use the modern EFI whereas PCs still use a technology called BIOS, which is several decades old). Because of this, you need to obtain a patched OS X disk that can be installed straight away on a compatible PC.

This is one section where I am going against my own advice. The best place to look for patched OS X disks is in torrent sites. Use Firefox to navigate to a torrent site like piratebay and search for "Kalyway OS X DVD". These DVDs are typically around 4 to 6 GB in size, so they will take quite a while to download. Once downloaded, you can burn it to a DVD disk and load it on your DVD tray. Once the disk boots, just follow the instructions. I recommend creating two partitions. One for OS X Leopard and the other for storing all the data. While installing the disk, choose the ALC 839 HDA audio patch as it will enable microphone input on the motherboard. Also install the time machine patch if you are planning to use that. (Highly recommended).

If you did everything correctly, your Mac should be up and running by now. I run the same configuration at home and everything works beautifully. Just drop a question in the guest book section if you need any help with this configuration.

One thing you need to watch out when using a Mac is automatic updates that come from Apple. Do not install them in a hurry. Check Hackintosh forums (links below) and wait till they are confirmed to be safe. This is because some of the updates need to be patched, or they will render your Mac unusable.

Here are some of the resources that you may want to look at in case you hit a road block:
1. InsanelyMac Forum. This should be your first stop for any help on OS X installation and maintenance.
2. OSX86 Wiki. Great source of how to articles. It also contains a huge Hardware Compatibility List if you want to try out some new hardware.
3. A slightly nerdy OSX86 Forum. Once you are an experienced Hackintosh user, you can hang around here.
4. My personal homepage on my Hackintosh. Since the configuration is similar to what I am suggesting here, just check back whenever there are new updates from Apple. I will tell you whether it is safe or not.

Go ahead and enjoy your Mac!