The Hackintosh Thread

[MacUser2525]

Now while I was originally obsessed with buying a 27” iMac, I got chatting to a friend last night and he said that for the same money, I could have a PC that would be more powerful & more storage than the iMac. So this got me thinking about Hackintosh for the best of both worlds.

Have Windows for Gaming (Steam & Xbox Gamepass Ultimate) & Handbrake, then the Hackintosh for Lighroom, Photoshop, Portrait Professional, Finalcut Pro & Sidecar to my iPad Pro if at all possible.

I know there are things like the Mac Mini and I will probably look at getting a more up to date Macbook Pro for work when away from home in the future, But was wondering if all what I need to do, is doable on Hackintosh ?.

Many thanks

No clue about the SideCar, but everything else is possible software is software the same as hardware is hardware, the hardware that will run that software is in a computer. With intel parts the software runs on what it thinks is a mac version of Intel hardware. It is that simple once booted it is a Mac and runs Mac software. I have yet to find a program I wanted to run that did not do so. And now I think they do it on AMD too with a little extra messing around, showing how easy it is to run software when not prevented from doing so by artificial means and restrictions.

 

[pshufd]

I've been seeing posts on QEMU-KVM as an easier way to get macOS running on x86 hardware. I read an article about getting it to work on WSL 2 which is quite interesting. The directions are a considerable amount of work though. I see more people trying it from Linux. I think that this approach is to be able to use the hardware graphics of your host system to get around the problem of graphics emulation from the Virtual Machine approach.

Anyone try this approach? It would make running a mixed-environment much easier; at least until the M1X systems come out.

 

[jwar1976]

No clue about the SideCar, but everything else is possible software is software the same as hardware is hardware, the hardware that will run that software is in a computer. With intel parts the software runs on what it thinks is a mac version of Intel hardware. It is that simple once booted it is a Mac and runs Mac software. I have yet to find a program I wanted to run that did not do so. And now I think they do it on AMD too with a little extra messing around, showing how easy it is to run software when not prevented from doing so by artificial means and restrictions.

Thank you for that, was just looking at some videos and I cannot believe that even the Magic Keyboard, Mouse, Trackpad all work flawlessly on Hackintosh. Yes the iMac‘s look smart and stunning but having the best of both worlds would be better, even if it means splashing out on a kickarse monitor.

 

[nathansz]

Now while I was originally obsessed with buying a 27” iMac, I got chatting to a friend last night and he said that for the same money, I could have a PC that would be more powerful & more storage than the iMac. So this got me thinking about Hackintosh for the best of both worlds.

Have Windows for Gaming (Steam & Xbox Gamepass Ultimate) & Handbrake, then the Hackintosh for Lighroom, Photoshop, Portrait Professional, Finalcut Pro & Sidecar to my iPad Pro if at all possible.

I know there are things like the Mac Mini and I will probably look at getting a more up to date Macbook Pro for work when away from home in the future, But was wondering if all what I need to do, is doable on Hackintosh ?.

Many thanks

more powerful, more storage and easiky upgradable

there’s almost nothing you can do on a mac that you can’t do on hackintosh, even sidecar will work as long as you have a compatable wireless card

(i only say almost in case i’m forgetting something. if there’s something you can’t do someone will correct me i’m sure!)

all of the information you need to build and set up your hackintosh is here: https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/

 

[jwar1976]

there’s almost nothing you can do on a mac that you can’t do on hackintosh, even sidecar will work as long as you have a compatable wireless card

(i only day almost in case i’m forgetting something. if there’s something you can’t do someone will correct me i’m sure!)

all of the information you need to build and set up your hackintosh is here: https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/

Thank you very much for that, I will take a look.

 

[nathansz]

I've been seeing posts on QEMU-KVM as an easier way to get macOS running on x86 hardware. I read an article about getting it to work on WSL 2 which is quite interesting. The directions are a considerable amount of work though. I see more people trying it from Linux. I think that this approach is to be able to use the hardware graphics of your host system to get around the problem of graphics emulation from the Virtual Machine approach.

Anyone try this approach? It would make running a mixed-environment much easier; at least until the M1X systems come out.

i know virtually (pun intended) nothing about wenu/kvm. what is the benifit of this approach over running on bare metal other than not having to reboot between operating systems?

 

[pshufd]

i know virtually (pun intended) nothing about wenu/kvm. what is the benifit of this approach over running on bare metal other than not having to reboot between operating systems?

You don't have to deal with drivers as much. I have a very old machine and have tried Hackintosh and it's problematic as I can't get it to see my local drives. I can only install using a USB 2 external drive. It does not appear that my system would be a candidate for OpenCore either. QEMU-KVM is a Virtual Machine approach which does passthrough to the graphics card. macOS runs fine in Virtual Machines except for graphics becase the graphics are emulated. So there are artifacts with many operations, even on fast machines.

 

[pshufd]

I'm going to give Clover another try. The motivation is to be able to sell my 2015 MacBook Pro if I can get this ancient machine to run macOS. It's preparation for upgrading to an M1X later this year. I will still have my 2014 MacBook Pro in case I need a real Mac running a recent operating system. I could always use my daughter's M1 Air if I needed Big Sur. It typically takes about two days to do a Clover install because EFI boot takes 30 minutes before it does anything every time it boots. I don't know why it does this - and I should probably debug it but it's kind of what I expect with really old hardware.

 

[MacUser2525]

Thank you very much for that, I will take a look.

Take a look at OC Gen-X too, it makes configuring OC a simple matter, I never manged a boot with it until I found that tool.

GitHub - Pavo-IM/OC-Gen-X: OpenCore Config Generator

OpenCore Config Generator. Contribute to Pavo-IM/OC-Gen-X development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

For the Russian language bug fix. Well it is not actually a bug considering the author is Russian but it certainly makes it confusing when you do not speak it. I muddled through it somehow when I first got it going.

OC Gen X EFI Generator

ALL-IN-ONE OPENCORE EFI CREATION UTILITY OC Gen-X Opencore EFI Creator Utility First-Ever Beta is now released to the Public for Testing. Bugs or Issues please submit bug reports via the GitHub page! https://github.com/Pavo-IM/OC-Gen-X/ Also, tell us what you think and what future features you wo...

www.insanelymac.com

 

[jwar1976]

Take a look at OC Gen-X too, it makes configuring OC a simple matter, I never manged a boot with it until I found that tool.

GitHub - Pavo-IM/OC-Gen-X: OpenCore Config Generator

OpenCore Config Generator. Contribute to Pavo-IM/OC-Gen-X development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

For the Russian language bug fix. Well it is not actually a bug considering the author is Russian but it certainly makes it confusing when you do not speak it. I muddled through it somehow when I first got it going.

OC Gen X EFI Generator

ALL-IN-ONE OPENCORE EFI CREATION UTILITY OC Gen-X Opencore EFI Creator Utility First-Ever Beta is now released to the Public for Testing. Bugs or Issues please submit bug reports via the GitHub page! https://github.com/Pavo-IM/OC-Gen-X/ Also, tell us what you think and what future features you wo...

www.insanelymac.com

Thank you, have To say that sone of the Hackintosh systems look absolutely amazing and the best thing is that they are upgrade friendly as well. Now that the 11th Gen Intel‘s are getting released soon, no doubt the 10th Gen should see a pretty good price drop. From what I understand Radeon graphics are more supported with their web drivers, so will take a look at the Radeon equivalent for the games that I want to play. The majority of time I do gaming on my Xbox One, but a backup plan is ideal, especially when the missus is hogging the TV.

 

[MacUser2525]

Thank you, have To say that sone of the Hackintosh systems look absolutely amazing and the best thing is that they are upgrade friendly as well. Now that the 11th Gen Intel‘s are getting released soon, no doubt the 10th Gen should see a pretty good price drop. From what I understand Radeon graphics are more supported with their web drivers, so will take a look at the Radeon equivalent for the games that I want to play. The majority of time I do gaming on my Xbox One, but a backup plan is ideal, especially when the missus is hogging the TV.

No driver needed from the web for ATI they use the whatever green and lilu to load it and configure for the card. Works great I have all three outputs possible working with my machine with a rx560, DVI, DP and HDMI. Oh and audio on the HDMI too if I want to use the speakers in the TV I use for that screen instead of my 5.1 setup.

 

[jwar1976]

No driver needed from the web for ATI they use the whatever green and lilu to load it and configure for the card. Works great I have all three outputs possible working with my machine with a rx560, DVI, DP and HDMI. Oh and audio on the HDMI too if I want to use the speakers in the TV I use for that screen instead of my 5.1 setup.

That is really useful to know thank you, I will start pricing things up for my ideal machine.

 

[MacUser2525]

That is really useful to know thank you, I will start pricing things up for my ideal machine.

There you are better off looking for guides for the machine you wish to have. Once you see one someone has done with the processor, motherboard really is the main to look for. It is simple to adapt their method to your new install. Perhaps all the files needed will be there in a nice zipped up EFI folder if you duplicate it exactly.

Edit: And I would add if the case of exact duplicate it is so simple it is not funny. Take existing Mac clone to a hard or ssd drive, mount the ESP boot partition the tiny little fat partition on a guid prtitioned hard drive. Once done copy the unzipped EFI folder to the partition. Eject the drive put it into the machine and boot into your new "Mac" the first time without any problems at all.

Edit2: Left out the editing of the configuration file to make the serial number and these settings unique to the new machine.

 

[jwar1976]

There you are better off looking for guides for the machine you wish to have. Once you see one someone has done with the processor, motherboard really is the main to look for. It is simple to adapt their method to your new install. Perhaps all the files needed will be there in a nice zipped up EFI folder if you duplicate it exactly.

Edit: And I would add if the case of exact duplicate it is so simple it is not funny. Take existing Mac clone to a hard or ssd drive, mount the ESP boot partition the tiny little fat partition on a guid prtitioned hard drive. Once done copy the unzipped EFI folder to the partition. Eject the drive put it into the machine and boot into your new "Mac" the first time without any problems at all.

Edit2: Left out the editing of the configuration file to make the serial number and these settings unique to the new machine.

I am currently looking at guides of different boards on a site called TonyMac, there are probably other sites, but that was one of the first that came up in a search. In all honesty while i am fairly confident in putting a PC together as have done it since the 90’s, but Hackintosh is completely new to me, so the guides are a essential.

 

[MacUser2525]

I am currently looking at guides of different boards on a site called TonyMac, there are probably other sites, but that was one of the first that came up in a search. In all honesty while i am fairly confident in putting a PC together as have done it since the 90’s, but Hackintosh is completely new to me, so the guides are a essential.

If you can build the machine you have it beat, it really is that simple if you have a duplicate machine and access to a Mac running the software you want on it. With a working EFI folder for a machine, same hardware and efi settings a clone with that folder in its esp (EFI) boot partition will boot without fail. Identical conditions identical result, works every time I clone my main machine to its identical except for processor setup backup machine. Where I will test any changes and then clone it back to the main one if I like what I find.

 

[jwar1976]

If you can build the machine you have it beat, it really is that simple if you have a duplicate machine and access to a Mac running the software you want on it. With a working EFI folder for a machine, same hardware and efi settings a clone with that folder in its esp (EFI) boot partition will boot without fail. Identical conditions identical result, works every time I clone my main machine to its identical except for processor setup backup machine. Where I will test any changes and then clone it back to the main one if I like what I find.

The only Mac I have access to is my early 2015 MacBook Pro, so unfortunately don’t think that would be enough. So am hoping to put together a Hackintosh that has been done before, so that there is more chance of getting the configuration files. Does i the config if Windows is already on ?. The plan is to have 2 M2 drive, one for PC & one for Mac.

 

[pshufd]

The only Mac I have access to is my early 2015 MacBook Pro, so unfortunately don’t think that would be enough. So am hoping to put together a Hackintosh that has been done before, so that there is more chance of getting the configuration files. Does i the config if Windows is already on ?. The plan is to have 2 M2 drive, one for PC & one for Mac.

It would be enough.

I've built a few on my 2015 MacBook Pro 15. It's mainly for building the Unibeast/Multibeast installer and getting the macOS installer.

 

[jwar1976]

It would be enough.

I've built a few on my 2015 MacBook Pro 15. It's mainly for building the Unibeast/Multibeast installer and getting the macOS installer.

Thank you for that, just a dangerous thought, my 2015 MacBook Pro has a 1tb NVME drive. In the coming months I am also looking at getting something like a M1 based MacBook Air. Whilst my current NVME drive couldn’t be installed in the M1, I am wondering about either putting it in the Hackintos, or would it need to be formatted ?.

 

[pshufd]

Thank you for that, just a dangerous thought, my 2015 MacBook Pro has a 1tb NVME drive. In the coming months I am also looking at getting something like a M1 based MacBook Air. Whilst my current NVME drive couldn’t be installed in the M1, I am wondering about either putting it in the Hackintos, or would it need to be formatted ?.

You need the Mac to build the installer to a thumb drive or a USB 2.0 SSD. The process takes about ten minutes to an SSD and a lot longer to a thumb drive because the installer is quite large.

A 1 TB NVMe drive doesn't cost that much these days and your 2015 MBP is likely worth more than the NVMe.

 

[jwar1976]

You need the Mac to build the installer to a thumb drive or a USB 2.0 SSD. The process takes about ten minutes to an SSD and a lot longer to a thumb drive because the installer is quite large.

A 1 TB NVMe drive doesn't cost that much these days and your 2015 MBP is likely worth more than the NVMe.

Now I understand thank you, I haven’t built a desktop for myself in years, so am really looking forward to this project.

 

[Aoligei]

You need the Mac to build the installer to a thumb drive or a USB 2.0 SSD. The process takes about ten minutes to an SSD and a lot longer to a thumb drive because the installer is quite large.

A 1 TB NVMe drive doesn't cost that much these days and your 2015 MBP is likely worth more than the NVMe.

No. You don't need Mac to build the installer.

Follow Opencore guide, you can download, build USB thumb drive with Windows or Linux.

 

[jwar1976]

Well after a day of pricing up different components for a Intel based machine, I came across a few posts on here about AMD being really good. I haven’t had a AMD machine since the late 90’s, so have no idea of their capabilities for gaming on Windows & photo video editing on Mac. Any recommendations ?

 

[MacUser2525]

Well after a day of pricing up different components for a Intel based machine, I came across a few posts on here about AMD being really good. I haven’t had a AMD machine since the late 90’s, so have no idea of their capabilities for gaming on Windows & photo video editing on Mac. Any recommendations ?

It has been all intel for me since they came out with the core 2 duo processors, was all AMD really before that in at least 2007, as I check my joining date. That lampshade G4 20" that led me to join here bought me that machine from the profits of selling it. Hell even got a dual G4 MDD out of that money to. Later sold that for amazing money, crazy Mac users and their premiums paid, ah was a hell of year got to run my first hackintosh on it, thanks for triggering the memories...

Edit: NO clue on the AMD to answer that question as a hackintosh, they did have to wait all the time to upgrade as the kernel is different, not sure if they still do.

 

[jwar1976]

It has been all intel for me since they came out with the core 2 duo processors, was all AMD really before that in at least 2007, as I check my joining date. That lampshade G4 20" that led me to join here bought me that machine from the profits of selling it. Hell even got a dual G4 MDD out of that money to. Later sold that for amazing money, crazy Mac users and their premiums paid, ah was a hell of year got to run my first hackintosh on it, thanks for triggering the memories...

Edit: NO clue on the AMD to answer that question as a hackintosh, they did have to wait all the time to upgrade as the kernel is different, not sure if they still do.

Must admit I am normally a Intel user, it’s crazy I was willing to spend £1,800 on a iMac, and now totalling up the cost of parts for a Hackintosh and they are coming close to £1000 without monitor, I am thinking I am nuts. ?

 

[Aoligei]

Must admit I am normally a Intel user, it’s crazy I was willing to spend £1,800 on a iMac, and now totalling up the cost of parts for a Hackintosh and they are coming close to £1000 without monitor, I am thinking I am nuts. ?

Well... I might be amateur Hackintosh builder. I have nothing but trouble getting Big Sur installed on Ryzen PC. Eventually I got it working by playing around different .plist settings.

But it is way harder than any Intel based PC. I got it working on old Haswell based PC, my Core i3 9100 with B360 chipset, Core i5 based Z390 chipset. The most important point is that Intel based Hackintosh is more stable than AMD based.

I still think Intel is the way to go in terms of Hackintosh.