Getting Your Feet Wet With Hackintosh/Printable version

Getting Your Feet Wet With Hackintosh

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A Grey Area, Legally Speaking

Disclaimer

While I attempt to inform you and all other readers about the legality of installing Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware in a Hackintosh setup, I am not responsible nor held liable for any sort of monetary, emotional, etc. loss that you may suffer as a result of you following this book or your attempt to follow this book. In addition, I am not liable for any criminal or civil charges incurred against anyone or party as a result of reading, following, or attempting to follow this book. The information in this book can be publicly searched and located on the Internet through a search engine, and is only amassed here for readers' convenience. The legality of building or using a Hackintosh may vary by your country of residence, so it is strongly recommended that you seek local guidance over this topic if you have qualms about the issue before you continue any further.

How It All Began

The Hackintosh (or "OSx86", as it is now affectionately referred to) movement first began in 2005, when Apple made the transition from the PowerPC architecture to Intel's x86 architecture. With that, somebody asked the trivial question "Can we port it over to non-Apple hardware?" Naturally, Apple had installed many checks and "gimmicks" throughout the system to ensure that this didn't happen, but with enough time, workarounds were found. Mac OS Leopard (the first release after Apple's transition) very quickly became a Hackintosh favorite, with higher end computers moving on to Snow Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion and beyond, up to macOS Sequoia.

In June 2020 Apple announced that the Macs will be transitioning from Intel x86-64 to Apple silicon (ARM64). The first Macs with Apple silicon were released in November 2020, and the transition was completed in June 2023. Even after the transition, Apple continues to support older Intel Macs, which make macOS still relevant in Hackintoshes today.

Several well-known Hackintosh lawsuits have gone down in history, the best known one probably being Psystar vs. Apple. In a nutshell, Psystar was convicted of encouraging its users to attempt the OSx86 hack, in some cases even distributing the operating system to customers. Eventually, Apple filed a lawsuit against Psystar, saying that Psystar's actions were a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) under US law. Psystar was eventually banned from distributing the operating system.

Fortunately for most of us, installing a Hackintosh for the average Joe is just a violation of Apple's EULA (End User License Agreement) -- which basically means that you will not be eligible for servicing or customer support at an Apple store -- you're on your own. Psystar was most likely penalized for illegally distributing Apple's operating system, which was a legitimate violation of the DMCA. As long as you obtain your copy of Mac OS X through legal and legitimate methods (and there are some rather sketchy ones out there), you should be in the clear. However, you should still be weary that OSx86 is a grey area in terms of legality and ethics.

Also a note tools by tonymacx86.com are better left alone as they aree to simple and add stuff that has been added without the owners consent/recognizing the owner.

Using Pre-built Models

What qualifies as "pre-built model"?

When we speak of pre-built models here, we mean that we are:

• purchasing a desktop or laptop computer and other components and using it in a Hackintosh build
• possibly using soft-fixes (most builds require soft fixes anyways)

Where can we find lists of pre-built models?

For finding pre-built model compatibility, your best resource is probably the OSx86 Wiki, with their Hardware Compatibility section. It is recommended that you look into the most stable version of Mac OS X that has been released (i.e. the latest version that is not a developer preview), because updating your software after you choose your hardware and install everything can result in boot errors, and possibly having to start all over again. If you don't find anything you want on the OSx86 wiki, you can always check TonyMacx86, which has an extensive forums family. If you still can't find what you're looking for, perhaps a guide is available for your desired hardware somewhere on the Internet, at which point you should finally resort to a search engine.

Using Known Working Configurations

If you want to live on the wild side of things, you can build your own computer based on other Hackintoshers' prior experience. Many people post their working builds online for other people to use. If you want a rather customizable yet stable setup, using known-working builds are your best option.

Where can we find known working configurations?

Again, we can look into Dortania's OpenCore Install Guide for help. While it's easy to assume that any Intel PC made in the last few years should work, this isn't necessarily the case, and there are some things which may require tweaking, or in some cases, do not work at all.

This article is not yet completed!

Graphics

This is a list of graphics cards and iGPUs supported or known to work on macOS.

AMD

Currently supported by current macOS

RDNA 2 (RX 6000 series)

Apple currently supports RDNA 2 cards in Intel Macs since macOS 11.4 Big Sur. Though it was succeeded by RDNA 3 (RX 7000 series) (not compatible with macOS), most of these GPUs are still available new for a cheaper price.

Navi 21

Supported since macOS 11.4 Big Sur

These high-end GPUs, costing around $450 to $650 new or even cheaper used, are excellent in professional tasks in macOS. When dual-booted with Windows, these are very capable of 1440p to 4K gaming

• RX 6950 XT 16GB - need to spoof to 6900 XT
• RX 6900 XT 16GB
• RX 6800 XT 16GB
• RX 6800 16GB
• Radeon Pro W6800 32GB

Required kexts: Lilu.kext, WhateverGreen.kext

Navi 22

Supported as of current macOS version

These mid-range GPUs are not natively supported by macOS, but there is a kext that makes these GPUs work in macOS. Costing around $300-350 new, they are still great choices for mid-to-high-end creative and professional tasks in macOS and even some 1440p gaming when dual-booted with Windows.

• RX 6750 GRE 12GB
• RX 6750 GRE 10GB
• RX 6750 XT 12GB
• RX 6700 XT 12GB
• RX 6700 10GB

Required kexts: Lilu.kext, NootRX.kext

Navi 23

Supported since macOS 12.1 Monterey

These GPUs provide solid performance for creative tasks on macOS on a budget and even 1080p gaming in Windows. These are available new, costing around $190-200 for RX 6600 and $220-240 for RX 6600 XT and 6650 XT.

• RX 6650 XT 8GB - need to spoof to 6600 XT
• RX 6600 XT 8GB
• RX 6600 8GB
• Radeon Pro W6600 8GB

Required kexts: Lilu.kext, WhateverGreen.kext

RDNA 1 (RX 5000 series)

Apple currently supports RDNA 1 cards in Intel Macs since macOS 10.15.1 Catalina. Although not as powerful as RDNA 2, it is affordable in the used market, costing around $120-140 for RX 5700 XT. The lineup, especially the RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT, provides very good value for creative tasks.

• RX 5700 XT 8GB - normal and 50th anniversary variants work
• RX 5700 8GB
• RX 5600 XT 6GB
• RX 5600 OEM 6GB
• RX 5500 XT 4GB/8GB
• RX 5500 OEM 4GB - unverified
• RX 5300 OEM 3GB
• Radeon Pro W5700 8GB
• Radeon Pro W5500 8GB

Required kexts: Lilu.kext, WhateverGreen.kext

Vega (Vega 56, 64, Radeon VII etc.)

Apple currently supports the Vega 10 and 20 series GPUs in Intel Macs.

Vega 20 series

Supported since macOS 10.14.5 Mojave

• Radeon VII 16GB
• Radeon Pro VII 16GB - unverified

Vega 10 series

Supported since macOS 10.13 High Sierra

• Radeon Vega Frontier Edition 16GB - watercooled variant unverified
• RX Vega 64 8GB - Limited Edition variant supported. Liquid Cooling variant unverified.
• RX Vega 56 8GB
• Radeon Pro WX 9100 16GB
• Radeon Pro WX 8200 8GB
• Radeon Pro WX 8100 8GB - unverified

Required kexts: Lilu.kext, WhateverGreen.kext

Unsupported

• RDNA 3 GPUs - RX 7900 XTX 24GB, 7900 XT 20GB, 7900 GRE 16GB, 7800 XT 16GB, 7700 XT 12GB, 7600 XT 16GB, 7600 8GB, Radeon Pro W7900 48GB, W7800 32GB, W7700 16GB, W7600 8GB, W7500 8GB
• Navi 24 GPUs (low end RDNA 2 GPUs) - RX 6500 XT 4GB, 6400 4GB, 6300 2GB, Radeon Pro W6400 4GB, W6300 2GB
• XFX Polaris and Vega GPUs
• RX 590 GME 8GB
• RX 580 2048SP 4/8GB

Intel

Currently supported by current macOS

UHD 600 series (8th-10th gen Intel Core)

Supported since macOS 10.13.6 High Sierra

Make sure your iGPU is GT2 not GT1. GT2 applies to i3, i5, i7, i9 and even some higher end Pentium CPUs.

• UHD Graphics 615
• UHD Graphics 617
• UHD Graphics 620
• UHD Graphics 630 (192SP recommended, 184SP also work by spoofing 192SP)
  • Pentium G5500 (184SP)
  • Pentium G5600 (184SP)
  • i3-8100(T) (184SP)
  • i3-8300 (184SP)
  • i3-8350K (184SP)
  • i5-8400 (192SP)
  • i5-8500(T) (192SP)
  • i5-8600(K) (192SP)
  • i7-8700(K)(T) (192SP)
  • i7-8086K (192SP)
  • i3-9100 (184SP)
  • i3-9350K (184SP)
  • i5-9400 (192SP)
  • i5-9500(T) (192SP)
  • i5-9600(K) (192SP)
  • i7-9700(K)(T) (184SP)
  • i9-9900(K)(S) (184SP)
  • Pentium G6500(T) (184SP)
  • Pentium G6600 (184SP)
  • i3-10100(T) (184SP)
  • i3-10300(T) (184SP)
  • i3-10320 (184SP)
  • i5-10400(T) (184SP)
  • i5-10500(T)(E) (184SP)
  • i5-10600(T) (184SP)
  • i5-10600K (192SP)
  • i7-10700(K) (192SP)
  • i9-10900(K) (192SP)
• Iris Plus 645
• Iris Plus 655

Unsupported

• Rocket Lake (Core 11th gen)
• Alder Lake (Core 12th gen)
• Raptor Lake (Core 13th/14th gen)
• Any iGPUs that are Xe-based
  • Tiger Lake (Core 11th gen)
  • Alder Lake (Core 12th gen)
  • Raptor Lake (Core 13th/14th gen)
  • Meteor Lake (Core 100 series)
  • Arrow Lake (Core 200 series)
  • Lunar Lake (Core 200 series)
• Any GT1 iGPUs - found in Intel Celeron and some lower end Pentium CPUs
  • Intel HD Graphics 400
  • Intel HD Graphics 405
  • Intel HD Graphics 500
  • Intel HD Graphics 505
  • Intel HD Graphics 510
  • Intel HD Graphics 600
  • Intel HD Graphics 605
  • Intel HD Graphics 610
  • Intel UHD Graphics 600
  • Intel UHD Graphics 605
  • Intel UHD Graphics 610
  • Intel UHD Graphics G1
• Any Intel Arc GPUs
  • Intel Arc A310 4GB
  • Intel Arc A380 6GB
  • Intel Arc A580 8GB
  • Intel Arc A750 8GB
  • Intel Arc A770 8/16GB