EFiX

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A Mac is an ecosystem. Apple hardware is designed to run Mac OS X. Mac OS X is designed to run on Apple hardware. This is the source of Apple’s stability and reliability. It’s what makes Apple different from other hardware vendors. No messing around with drivers for graphics cards, network cards, sound cards. No incompatibilities or hardware issues. It just works. This is also Apple’s business model, which they try and protect. Of course, this isn’t a golden solution. By limiting the hardware to a subset of what’s out there, there’s a limited range of products. Sometimes this hardware is slow to change, or quite unique and unlike anything on the market, which gives rise to the perception that Macs are over priced.

I’d argue that the main benefit (if you can discount the hardware/software relationship) is Mac OS X. Based on that, what if you could run Mac OS X on generic hardware? Would you buy a Mac? What if running Mac OS X on generic hardware could be reliable? Would it be worth it or would it invalidate the purpose of a Mac and Mac OS X?

Created by Art Studios Entertainment Media, EFiX is a device that plugs into the internal USB header on a motherboard and acts as the EFI to enable a retail version of Mac OS X to install on generic hardware. In a nutshell, Mac OS X on a PC.

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EFiX is different from other methods of installing Mac OS X onto non Apple hardware. Usually Mac OS X and Apple software updates are hacked or modified and then installed. Hacking Mac OS X is against the EULA that you’re bound to when you install or use the operating system. You’re also prevented by the EULA to install Mac OS X on anything other than Apple branded hardware:

The software (including Boot ROM code), documentation and any fonts accompanying this License whether preinstalled on Apple-labeled hardware, on disk, in read only memory, on any other media or in any other form (collectively the “Apple Software”) are licensed, not sold, to you by Apple Inc. (“Apple”) for use only under the terms of this License, and Apple reserves all rights not expressly granted to you. The rights granted herein are limited to Apple’s and its licensors’ intellectual property rights in the Apple Software as licensed hereunder and do not include any other patents or intellectual property rights. You own the media on which the Apple Software is recorded but Apple and/or Apple’s licensor(s) retain ownership of the Apple Software itself.

This License allows you to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time. You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so.

From the EULA for Mac OS X 10.5.

Sounds fairly simple to me. Apple want to protect their business and their rights to their software.

This doesn’t stop companies like Psystar (and now PearC) offering machines for sale pre-installed with Mac OS X. Psystar also provide non-Apple updates for Mac OS X as well as offering to restore their machines to an original install of Mac OS X 10.5 using their own software techniques. Pystar are direct competitors to Apple and (according to Apple) are breaking the EULA of Mac OS X. Psystar counter by claiming Apple cannot prevent you from installing their OS on other machines and their EULA is void.

Whether or not Apple can legitimately prevent you installing Mac OS X on anything other than Apple hardware is a complex issue. Pystar are claiming some pretty outlandish things as to why Apple can’t prevent you from installing Mac OS X on non Apple hardware, but so far their claims have been rebuffed by the courts. Quite literally, the case continues.

EFiX takes a step back to try and avoid the punch of the EULA. Using an EFiX device gives you a launch-pad from which you can install any supported operating system (currently Windows, Linux and Mac OS X). Over the past few revisions of the EFiX firmware, the company have made the booting of Mac OS X on EFiX enabled machines much less Mac like, changing the icons at startup from an Apple logo to a suitably generic one, I’d imagine to avoid any legal issues.

The aim of EFiX is to expand your computing experience. ASEM are not selling machines pre-installed with Mac OS X, they’re merely providing a launch-pad that just so happens to be able to run Mac OS X. There is no hacking, no modification, no burning of a disc with an extra bit of code on it. This is straight forward; pop in the disc, install Mac OS X. ASEM claim that they are not competitors to Apple. We’ll see whether or not this is enough to protect them from Apple.

I was interested in EFiX because it could allow users to build low cost machines tailored to their specific needs. It’s no great revelation that Apple’s line up is missing the mid-range Mac. For a gamer, the only choice is the Mac Pro as it’s the only Mac you can upgrade easily. The lack of the cut down Mac Pro is a killer for many users wanting to use a Mac who game, but can’t afford the hefty price tag or simply don’t want the ability to install 18GB of RAM or have an eight core machine. For developers, imagine developing your game when the majority of users are effectively using laptops?

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Enter EFiX. By building a PC from a certain list of compatible components found on the EFiX website, the EFiX module can be plugged into the internal USB header, allowing you to select the device during boot and install Mac OS X. Although there’s a limited range of components to use, it’s much greater than anything you could source from Apple. EFiX brings the world of custom builds to those that wish to run Mac OS X on something that’s not a Mac.

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I did run into some problems installing my EFiX module. At times the system refused to boot or hung at install screens, but after a bit of perseverance, an update of the firmware of the EFiX module and support from the EFiX forums, I’d installed Mac OS X on my EFiX machine. And everything worked. Wireless, DVD playback, internet, CD/DVD burning, Software updates. The operating system required no hacking, no patches and no modifications.

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Most of my problems could have been avoided if there was a manual included with the EFiX device. The EFiX module comes with a cable to connect it to your USB header. That’s it. The EFiX website has a tutorial on the forum on how to install Mac OS X, but links on the EFiX site to an official tutorial lead nowhere. If ASEM could polish their support and add decent tutorials for installing Mac OS X, I’m sure it would alleviate user worries and create a more streamlined experience.

Installing Windows on your EFiX machine isn’t as simple as using Boot Camp on a regular Mac. ASEM recommend installing Windows on a separate drive, with your EFiX device unplugged. Once Windows is installed, you’re free to plug everything back in, but the procedure is rather un-Mac like. I’ve read about some issues on the EFiX forums, but it’s usually to do with user setup, not a problem with the EFiX module.

Testing

My EFiX machine:

• Gigabyte S-series GA-EP35-DS3P Motherboard
• 3GHZ Core 2 Duo E6850 Costa Rica
• 2 x 2GB 800MHZ DIMM
• 500GB WD Hard Drive
• AK-956SF CPU Cooler
• CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case
• Hiper HPU4S425 425W PSU
• GeForce 8800GT 512MB & Radeon HD3870 512MB
• EFiX Device

This system costs around £700 to build, quite a contrast to the cheapest Mac Pro from Apple at £1399.

I tested my Mac Pro (Quad Core 2.8GHZ Xeon, 6GB RAM) and EFiX machine with the latest batch of GPUs available for Mac OS X (NVIDIA 8800GT and ATI HD3870) using XBench, ET:QW and CoD4. I ran each test and time/net demo three times and averaged.

I ran ET:QW with the following settings:

• 1680 x 1080
• All settings at High/Ultra
• Enabled: Shadows, Soft particles, Smooth Foliage.
• bf.ndm demo

And CoD4 with the following settings:

• 1680 x 1080
• All settings Yes/Normal.
• Disabled: AA, Sync, Shadows (unsupported by NVIDIA), Soften edges
• Textures Trillinear
• Ansio Max
• Texture quality all to High.
• mac_pipeline.dm net demo

Results below:

As you can see, the Mac benchmarking app xBench scores the EFiX machine higher than the Mac Pro. Delving deeper into the results, with both machines using the 8800GT, the EFiX machine scores higher than the Mac Pro in Memory Test (EFiX 224.87 vs. MP 196.56) and Disk Test (EFiX 89.13 vs. MP 47.71), whereas my Mac Pro scores higher than the EFiX machine in Thread Test by a huge margin (EFiX 274.80 vs. MP 618.50) and OpenGL Graphics Test (EFiX 153.25 vs MP 186.77). It seems that although the EFiX beats my more expensive Mac Pro overall, the two machines are suited for different tasks. It’s not as simple as saying the EFiX is a better machine, it has it’s strengths, just like the Mac Pro. For more complete testing I should really should have used the same hard drive for the two machines, but it’s interesting to see what sort of performance you can achieve out of the box. The EFiX device is crying out for in depth performance testing. I’ll leave that to someone like Rob from Barefeats who has more experience than me in this field.

When testing ET:QW and CoD4, the Mac Pro achieved higher FPS across the board than the EFiX machine. At times the EFiX machine displayed erratic FPS. I couldn’t get the EFiX machine to achieve higher than 9FPS under CoD4, whereas my Mac Pro scored 45FPS.

The future and thoughts

Davide Rutigliano from the EFiX team let me know that certain NVIDIA Series 9 cards are working under Mac OS X using the EFiX module. These cards apparently have the same speed increases under Mac OS X that you would see on PC benchmarks, minus some optimisations made by NVIDIA for Windows and Direct X. ASEM are also working on support for Series 200 GPU’s from NVIDIA and the HD4870 GPU from AMD. Apparently support for i7, Intel’s brand new chipset, is coming too.

I wasn’t able to source a Series 9 card to test but I did speak to some of my contacts and asked how the EFiX team could write drivers for cards that are unsupported on Mac OS X. There was some confusion over whether EFiX GPU drivers simply allowed the newer cards to run with old drivers, benefiting from cooler, faster, smaller hardware but being unable to take advantage of features on newer cards or whether drivers were custom built. The complexity of modern GPU drivers would probably render custom drivers unlikely, but I can’t verify that. It’s certainly interesting the ASEM are at least willing to support hardware that Apple, Intel, ATI and NVIDIA haven’t yet released for Mac OS X.

Building an EFiX machine isn’t for the faint hearted. I’d never tried building a PC before, but I was pleasantly surprised at how painless it was. I didn’t run into any serious problems and whenever I had a minor issue, I headed over to the Bit-Tech forums and posed questions, quickly getting answers or at least possible solutions. Things can go wrong, so be prepared!

Depending on your views, using the EFiX module either strips away the benefits of using a Mac or allows you the freedom to choose the hardware you want. EFiX isn’t a perfect solution and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it for most users. For those willing to build their own, troubleshoot and be on the bleeding edge of technology, EFiX is your ticket to world of cheaper, faster machines that can run Mac OS X.

Thinking back to when I first heard about EFiX, I instantly thought of selling my Mac Pro and getting cheaper, faster, customisable hardware. But the value and power of my Mac is in the combination of hardware and software, fully supported and reliable. I value that in my Mac more than ever and it’s made me appreciate the design (both internally and externally) and power of my Mac Pro and Mac OS X.

The EFiX team are certainly dedicated to their cause, they frequently release updates and have a good relationship with the community. EFiX needs a little longer to be polished and evolve into a finished product. A little bit more support, some clear information, a more stable environment, and I’d be ready to switch.

With thanks to ASEM and Orange Systems for providing the EFiX unit and Gigabyte and Intel for providing the hardware for this test system and Rob from Barefeats for the time/net demos and help with setup.