if i buy the exact parts that are in an imac would i be able to run retail mac os x leopard or osx86 right out of the box??

First off, a pc and a Mac have a different way of starting up, or booting. PC hardware with the same processor, chipsets (mobo, vid, sound, ether, etc), will still need to be tweaked using the stuff that the OSX86 gurus put together to make it run. As for the EXACT parts in a mac, like I said: that would be a Mac, and probably more expensive than buying a new unit.

The closer you are to the specs of a Mac, the easier it is to load using one of the OSX86 installers. (Intel is easier than AMD, for instance) Some motherboard/CPU combos are slam dunk easy installs, and others need a little more work. Keep reading and you see what I mean. There are whole lists of compatible equipment from which to choose to build up your system. Hope this answers your question, at least in part.

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Intel DG43NB, ICH10, Ethernet Intel 82567V, Audio Realtek ALC888VC, nVidia 9400 GT, Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33 GHz, 4GB, SATA WD 500GB, DVD Sony DRU-865S
EFI v9 courtesy iPC OSx86 10.5.6 - Updates via Software Update!

God made man knowing his new creation would not live up to Gods' own standards, so God gave him a loophole, ignorance. Now man can exist in their imperfect state and God won't have to squish him. So, if I am ignorant at times, chill. God made me that way.

lol i researched this intensly and it is impossible to make a mac clone, no one knows what the hardware is, i think its hardware specifically made for apple that is regarding mobo anyway i couldnt find out the iMac chipset for the life of me, but my gear (in my sig) is as close as i could get to identical hardware through reviews i read. its running retail like a dream, with a dsdt patch and 2-3 kexts.

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iMac ::: Mac OS X 10.6.1 ::: Intel Core2Duo 2.93GHz ::: NVIDIA Geforce GT 120 256MB ::: 4GB DDR3 RAM

Milanca Project ::: Mac OS X 10.6.1 Retail ::: Vanilla Kernel ::: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2.4GHz ::: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB ::: 4GB DDR2 RAM ::: GIGABYTE GA-EP35C-DS3R

If you've ever opened a Mac you would see that everything is fabricated to Apple's design - PCBs included. It may be done by a name brand manufacturer, but it's still designed to Apple's specs, so there's zero chance you could buy one in retail.