[doe88]

I actually use a hackintosh system since 2010 and I would not overstate enough how much it is a pain in the ass, I've had all kind of issues although I've always carefully chosen my components, moreover you cannot easily test previews of OS X, if you're a developer it can be a problem. And because generally xcode requires the last version of the system and also often the last version of iTunes which in turn requires to be up to date you are then forced to make every update and each update is a new risk to break something.

In short at one point or another I've had issues with the graphic card or the integrated gpu, with USB 3, with the audio, with the screen resolutions on my two displays, various kernel freezes, networking... And to this day some of these issues are still unresolved.

Moreover you generally should always buy a Gigabyte motherboard for maximum compatibility but with the new Z87 chipset if I were to buy a MB I'd like to buy an Asus I prefer their current lineup. So in the end you don't even buy what you really want to buy. And also if your mb have something fancy, forget it you'll likely have troubles make it work.

After 3 years, my conclusion is it's not worth the energy I'm waiting the new mac pro to ditch my current setup, I can't take it anymore.

[listic]

Can you install the version of Mac OS, iTunes and XCode that go together with each other and stick with it?

I'm thinking of getting a Hackintosh on my laptop to get started with iOS development, but I'm not ready o get a new laptop just for that (and I don't really like Mac OS).

[doe88]

As I explained, yes you can but only for a limited time. For instance xcode 5 is only compatible OS X 10.8 and upward so it is likely that next year in june the new xcode will drop compatibility on OS X 10.8. Moreover to target new devices, new iOS versions you must use the latest xcode version thus at one point you'll need to make an update.

I also don't want to scary you either because it is doable, this is what I do since 2010 and I use it as my main system (I have a mac mini and a macbook pro but I prefer a big machine for my developments) and chances are that if your system works well with a given version of OS X it will likely work well with the next version. But it will always take some time to check the forums to resolve a particular issue or to check what people have experienced before making an update and breaking anything big. What I want to say is it's not straighforward because you are somehow always forced to update if you use it for developing apps.

[randyrand]

I do IOS development in a VM on a lenovo w520 - runs pretty well and never had compatibility problems. Graphics related things not so much but if you test on the hardware itself (as you probably should with games) and are careful about your debugging process it works pretty damn well considering its a VM in a VM :)

I'd suggest trying that before setting up a real hackintosh. Here's a tutorial (havent tried this exact one but one similar):

http://www.ihackintosh.com/2012/07/install-mountain-lion-in-...