No one can really deny that while the Mac operating system might be better than Windows for certain tasks, going the Apple route means buying into a closed ecosystem, in which other products and accessories also from Apple become your sole upgrade path. Recently, though, some enthusiasts have managed to get Mac OS X running on standard PC hardware – the cheap, readily available parts that make up Windows and most Linux PCs.

While the legality of doing this is questionable, the so-called “hackintosh” movement has become very popular over the past few years – so popular, in fact, that Kickstarter is now seeing a new company called Quo propose a motherboard seemingly designed specifically for hackintosh builders. The company won't admit that upfront, though.

The ProjectQ (or if you'd prefer the more technical name, Z77MX-QUO-AOS) motherboard features, among other things, an LGA1155 socket for Intel Ivy Bridge processors, DVI and HDMI video outputs, dual Thunderbolt ports, Firewire 400 and 800 support, up to four USB 3.0 ports, a gigabit LAN port, a UEFI BIOS, four RAM slots for up to 32GB of memory, and six SATA ports for up to six hard drives or optical drives. CPU overclocking is also supported, if the user feels like doing so, and QUO promises that their board will “run any Operating System you choose out of the box.”

Understandably, QUO themselves are not doing the manufacturing – Gigabyte Technology, an established motherboard maker, are. The whole thing is packed onto a standard Micro-ATX form factor circuit board, which ensures capability with the thousands of Micro-ATX and ATX system cases floating around on the market.

Currently, QUO are gathering support on Kickstarter to make their hackintosh dream board a reality. 100 boards are up for grabs to those who pledge at least $219; that rises to $239 once the initial batch runs out. Those who pledge $869 or more will get one of several complete systems, shiny cases and all, with the ProjectQ motherboards running the show.

With 24 days to go, 185 backers have pledged over half of QUO's $87,000 goal. The company considers this a stepping stone towards more custom motherboards and to similar things like videocards. We'll just have to see about that, won't we?