LAST UPDATED: May 23, 2016Having compatible hardware in a Hackintosh makes the difference between success and failure. If you're interested in installing Mac OS X on your PC, it's important to know what hardware is compatible and what isn't.
While it's true you can build a cheaper PC or a Hackintosh than the Mac mini, it is unquestionably NOT true that you can clone the Mac mini as a Hackintosh. Not even close. Is my PC hackintosh compatible? Thread starter Stoimen; Start date Oct 23, 2014; Stoimen. Joined Oct 23, 2014 Messages 2 Mac Classic Mac Mobile Phone. Oct 23, 2014 #1 Hello, everybody! Before anything else I want to say that this is the most amazing hackintosh community out there! Will Mac OS run on this configuration?
Hackintosh compatibility varies, depending on whether your computer was self-built or prebuilt, and whether it's a desktop PC or a laptop. (If you don't know what hardware your current computer has, use a program like.)This article will help you determine whether your current PC can run Mac OS X. However, if you're looking to build an entirely new computer for Hackintoshing, the easiest route is always to follow tonymacx86's, or our own. If you don't want to build your own computer, check out our, or our (one of the only prebuilt desktop Hackintoshes that has been well-documented).Self-Built ComputersMotherboard: If your computer's motherboard was made for Intel processors, and was manufactured in 2010 or newer, there is a pretty good chance that it will work with Mac OS X. Motherboards made before 2010 are a lot trickier to work with, and may not be worth the effort.In the past, motherboard compatibility had the potential to be very complicated, since many motherboards didn't work with the CPU power management service built into Mac OS X. However, the introduction of the new has largely fixed this problem: thanks to Clover's automatic patching abilities, CPU power management now works instantly on most new motherboards.
So there's no more need to hassle yourself with, power management kext patching, or (at least for power management issues- DSDTs can still be very useful for improving other aspects of hardware compatibility with OS X).Before you start installing OS X on your own PC, however, be sure to search Google for specific Hackintoshing instructions on your particular motherboard. For example, if you have a Asus P8Z68-V LX Motherboard,. Although Clover offers good 'general' support for motherboards, individual motherboards will often have their own specific problems with OS X, so extra research is always a good idea. After Gigabyte, ASUS is usually the second most popular motherboard brand for Hackintoshes, so you can often find a lot of Hackintoshing guides about ASUS boards on Google. You might also find Hackintoshing guides on motherboards from other brands, but they are far less common than guides for Gigabyte and ASUS boards. Graphics card: Besides the motherboard, this is probably the most important part of your build. Mac OS X often does not work with the built-in ('integrated') graphics on motherboards or CPUs; you can check the CPU section below for more info.
In those cases, you will have to buy a separate graphics card for your computer.Old graphics cards (like the NVIDIA 8800GT and AMD Radeon 5770) will often work with Mac OS X 'out of the box', without the need for any extra drivers or modifications. Many cards in the AMD Radeon 6600 and 6800 series will work in Mac OS X out of the box, as well. Some cards in the NVIDIA 400 series also do this.As for newer NVIDIA cards, Mac OS X offers 'out of the box' support for many graphics cards in the NVIDIA 500 series, 600 series, and 700 series, as long as your computer is running OS X Mountain Lion or newer (cards in the 700 series specifically require version 10.8.4 of Mountain Lion, or newer). Unfortunately, OS X currently does not offer built-in support for graphics cards using NVIDIA's newest; these include cards in the most recent 900 series, as well as select cards from older series, such as the GTX 750, GTX 750 Ti, and Titan. To enable OS X support on these cards, you will have to.Regarding newer AMD Radeon cards, the AMD 6900 series isn't supported (and probably never will be). The AMD 7000 series received support in OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3. However, is still harder than for the newest NVIDIA cards.
The same thing goes for AMD's R9 200 series, which is largely just a rebranding of the 7000 series. Many of the mainstream desktop models work, but they won't necessarily work 'out of the box' like comparable NVIDIA cards. Meanwhile, cards from AMD's newest R9 300 series might not work at all.Additionally, ATI CrossfireX and NVIDIA SLI, which allow you to run two separate graphics cards as a single graphics card on Windows, do not work on a Hackintosh. Mac OS X will always recognize double-card setups as two separate graphics card.Mac OS X can be very picky about graphics cards; the manufacturer of the card matters just as much as the card's model. For example, a Gigabyte Radeon 5770 graphics card might work differently from a Sapphire Radeon 5770 graphics card. In addition, when we say that a particular graphics card series is compatible, this doesn't necessarily apply to every single card in the series.
Oftentimes, lower-end graphics cards and mobile graphics cards in these series don't actually work, for a variety of reasons.Before buying a specific card, always check Google first; for example, if you want to check the compatibility of a Sapphire Radeon HD 6850,. It's easy and saves you a lot of trouble. CPU: Almost any Intel CPU manufactured in 2010 or newer will work with Mac OS X., and therefore not recommended. If your Intel CPU was manufactured before 2010, it may still be able to run Mac OS X Snow Leopard, but it probably won't work with Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks. These are 64-bit operating systems , so they're incompatible with the 32-bit architecture that older CPUs use. In this section, we will mostly focus on processors from Intel's mainstream 'Core' processors.The Sandy Bridge generation of Intel Core processors is supported by all recent versions of Mac OS X. Sandy Bridge processors are the processors with a model number in the 2000's, such as the Core i5- 2500.
They include built-in graphics cards that work with Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mavericks (but not Snow Leopard), and come in two versions: HD 2000 and HD 3000. Unfortunately, only HD 3000 graphics. HD 2000, but it doesn't have graphics acceleration, so it's not recommended.The Ivy Bridge generation of Intel Core processors is supported by Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 and all newer versions. Ivy Bridge processors have a model number in the 3000's, such as the Core i5- 3450.
They also include built-in (integrated) graphics cards, which come in two versions: HD 2500 and HD 4000. HD 4000 graphics. HD 2500 graphics; however, it does not work in OS X Mavericks.The Haswell generation of Intel Core processors is supported by OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 and all newer versions.
Haswell processors have a model number in the 4000's, such as the Core i7- 4770. Haswell processors include built-in graphics cards, which come in two versions: HD 4600 and HD 4400. HD 4600 graphics work with OS X Mavericks and OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8.5 and above). HD 4400 does not work in Mac OS X. There are also several specialty Haswell processors that use HD 5200 and HD 5000, which are essentially the same as the HD 4600, in terms of compatibility.
These two integrated graphics cards are generally only included in prebuilt computers or laptops. They also work in Mavericks and version 10.8.5+ of Mountain Lion.The Broadwell generation of Intel Core processors is supported on OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 and all newer versions. Unlike with previous generational upgrades, Broadwell processors are largely similar to their Haswell predecessors, except they have improved built-in graphics cards. As a result, they are mainly used for laptops. Broadwell processors have a model number in the 5000's, such as the Core i7- 5775C. Same as with previous versions, you can (sort of). The built-in graphics cards on Broadwell processors generally work with OS X.Currently, the newest generation of Intel Core processors is Skylake, whose processors have model numbers in the 6000's (e.g.
Core i5- 6700K). This generation is supported on OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 and all newer versions. For Skylake processors, the HD 530 built-in graphics card works with OS X.And the rest: Unfortunately, most WiFi adapters and WiFi cards don't work with Mac OS X. Using a wired internet connection with a Ethernet cord is preferred. If you need WiFi, check out our, or our.While many Bluetooth adapters technically work with Mac OS X, a large majority will break sleep mode.
If you want to use a wireless mouse that needs Bluetooth (such as the Apple Magic Mouse), but you also want to use sleep mode, check out.Most hard drives should work fine, though there are occasional exceptions. Hard drives with 4096 byte sectors (instead of normal 512 byte sectors) have problems booting Mac OS X,. This issue is most common in.
Seagate hard drives are generally problem-free in this regard.Some optical drives may prevent Mac OS X from sleeping. If you want a safe choice, buy a from a confirmed DVD drive series like. Hackintoshes can read and write Blu-ray discs with a Blu-ray drive, but you can't play Blu-ray movies because they don't support Mac OS X.If a webcam claims to be compatible with Mac OS X, then it's likely that it will work for Hackintoshes too. (Note that most webcams will not need drivers to run on OS X.) The same goes for any other peripherals, such as mice and keyboards: most of them work, but you can never know for sure until you've tried it.To check the compatibility of specific peripherals, be sure to check with Google. For instance, if you want to know whether the D-Link DBT-120 is compatible with Mac OS X,.Pre-built desktop computersOkay, so maybe building a new computer isn't an option for you. It's definitely possible to turn a normal pre-built computer into a Hackintosh. It's just not very likely.
If you want to attempt an install of Mac OS X on a pre-built computer, you need to do your research beforehand.The main problem with pre-built computers is that they have really weird motherboards. When building PCs, manufacturers tend to use their own proprietary motherboards that nobody has ever heard of, so nobody has ever had to chance to make them compatible with Mac OS X.You will have to search Google for specific Hackintoshing instructions for your particular model of computer. For example, if you have a Dell Optiplex 745,.If you can't find a Hackintoshing guide (or wiki entry) for your desktop computer model, then the Hackintoshing process becomes a bit of a crapshoot.
If your computer is a relatively new model and uses an Intel processor, there's a chance that it can run Mac OS X reasonably well. You will generally have the best luck with gaming PCs from small 'boutique' manufacturers (like or ), since they tend to use publicly available motherboards. However, without the help of a guide, I can't make any guarantees.Laptops.
AdvertisementInstalling While Mac OS X works well for most tasks, there are times when it just can't do what you want it to. More often than not this means running Windows on your Mac., but did you know you can install macOS on a PC? It’s not a project for those who don’t like to get hands-on with hardware, but with the right combination of components and effort, it is possible.In order to It's really easy to save the macOS installer to avoid multiple downloads, and worth doing even if you only have the one Mac., you’re going to need to use another Mac to Microsoft offers a simple tool to create a bootable USB on Windows, but there is no such tool for Mac users.
Fortunately the process is pretty easy, if you know how. You’ll also need access to the Mac App Store to download macOS in the first place.So let’s take a look at how it’s done. Before You BeginBack in the day (, to be precise), this tutorial explained how to install (what was then) Mac OS X on a Windows PC without the need for a Mac. This is no longer possible with modern versions of macOS.Apple strictly forbids the use of macOS on any machines other than its own, whether it’s a modified version or not. You should be aware that by doing this, you’re violating the terms of the macOS license agreement, and that you do so at your own risk.If you have an older PC, you’ll be pleased to know you can install every version of macOS (or OS X) from 10.7.5 Lion right up to 10.12 Sierra. Whether or not your older machine will be compatible is another story entirely. It's official, updating my hackintosh/getting it to work is officially the most frustrating thing I've ever done— Alex Walling (@AlexWalling)It’s worth reiterating that installing macOS on a non-Apple computer is hard work. You may encounter hardware problems, card readers and Wi-Fi might not work, and you’ll need to go the extra mile if you want to use features like iMessage or audio-over-HDMI. Things You’ll NeedTo install the latest version of macOS on your PC, you will need:. a PC with compatible hardware.
a Mac running the latest version of macOS. the.
free apps. an 8GB or larger USB drive. patienceDon’t worry if you’re unsure about anything on the list, we’ll explain these requirements in the steps below. If you haven’t got a Mac, ask to borrow a friend’s for a few minutes (you won’t need it for long, though make sure you get the root admin password). Ensure Your PC is CompatibleThe best way to ensure compatibility is to build your machine to specification. By doing this you’ll be using hardware that’s the same or very similar to what Apple puts in its own machines.
You’ll be able to build a high powered machine for a fraction of the cost of a new Mac.Alternatively, you may want to install macOS on a laptop or PC that you already have lying around. This route is harder, you might have to work around issues that arise, or you may have incompatible hardware.feelin' proud– just finished an almost one-week quest to turn a $100 used Dell into an 'iMac'.— WS (@shortwill)Assuming you’re currently running Windows, you can download free app to get a Even if you’re not overly geeky, you probably have a rough idea of how much memory and what sort of processor your computer has. But what about its other statistics? For example, do you know. You can then use the following resources to ascertain compatibility. — a well-maintained resource for hardware components and pre-built laptops and desktops that play nicely with macOS.
— a constantly-updated “shopping list” for building macOS compatible computers in a variety of form factors. Online forums — check out, and Hackintosh Zone No Longer Available if you want to ask questions or search for builds similar to your own.2. Download Your SoftwareOnce you’re confident your machine is compatible, grab your Mac and launch the Mac App Store. Search for the latest version of macOS and hit Download. The file is around 4.7GB in size, and once downloaded appears as Install macOS Sierra in your Applications folder. Leave it there for now.Next head to and register an account, which will grant you access to the. From here you should download the latest version of UniBeast.
At the time of writing is designed purely for Sierra, while previous versions work with earlier editions of the OS.You should also download the version of MultiBeast that corresponds with your macOS version. For macOS Sierra, this is. You can unzip it and leave it in your Downloads folder for now, we’ll need it later. UniBeast is a tool for installing any legally downloaded version of macOS from the Mac App Store on compatible hardware. It can also be used as a Mac (or hackintosh) system recovery tool in a pinch. Extract UniBeast and Switched to a Mac and getting to grips with the basics? Wondering how to install software from the command line?
Got old Windows apps that you simply must run on your Apple computer? By dragging it to your Applications folder. Create Your USB InstallerInsert the USB drive you’ll be using into your Mac and launch your Mac’s in-built Disk Utility application.
Everything on the drive — including the partition itself — will be removed so make sure your data is safe before proceeding. When you’re ready, select your USB device in the list on the left and click Erase.Give it a name and choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) under “Format” and GUID Parition Map under “Scheme” then click Erase. Your USB device is now ready to become a bootable macOS installation drive.Launch UniBeast and follow the prompts — you’ll have to click Continue about four times, then Agree with the software license agreement (above). When you’re prompted for an install destination, select the USB drive you erased with Disk Utility (below).The installer will now prompt to choose the version of macOS you downloaded from the Mac App Store earlier (below). For this to work the Mac App Store download needs to have finished and the Install macOS Sierra file should stay in your Applications folder.Next you’ll need to choose Bootloader Options (below). According to the UniBeast documentation, choose UEFI Boot Mode for UEFI-capable systems (most modern hardware) or Legacy Boot Mode for older machines that still use BIOS ( Sometimes when troubleshooting, you'll need to know whether your PC uses UEFI or BIOS. Here's how you can check with ease.).The penultimate step is to choose a graphics card manufacturer if you’re using an older card (this step is optional).
You can then click Continue, make sure your settings are correct, enter your admin password, and UniBeast will write the macOS installer to the drive.Wait for the image to be written to the USB drive. The last thing you need to do is to copy MultiBeast to the root directory of your USB drive.4. Install macOS on Your PCNow you’re ready to begin installing macOS on your PC. Turn on your PC and press and hold the Delete (or equivalent) key to bring up your UEFI or BIOS settings. This is where things get a little tricky — the recommends the following:.
Set BIOS/UEFI to Optimized Defaults. Disable your CPU’s VT-d, if supported. Disable CFG-Lock, if supported. Disable Secure Boot Mode, if supported.
Disable IO SerialPort, if present. Enable XHCI Handoff. Disable USB 3.0UEFI/BIOS settings are a common cause for issues when trying to install macOS. You’ll probably need to hit the forums if you experience issues here, as each manufacturer does things a little differently. Save and exit once you’ve configured your BIOS/UEFI, then power the machine off.Insert the USB installer we created earlier into your PC, preferably into a USB 2.0 port. Power on your PC and while it boots press the boot device keyboard shortcut — probably F12 or F8.
When prompted, choose your USB drive, then on the Clover boot screen select Boot Mac OS X from USB.The installer will now launch, and you’ll first need to select a Language. As you’ll be installing macOS from scratch, you need to prepare the installation volume. Click on Utilities at the top of the screen and open Disk Utility.Choose your target destination for macOS, then click on the Erase button. Give it a name (e.g Hackintosh), choose OS X Extended (Journaled) under “Format” and GUID Parition Map under “Scheme” then click Erase. You can now continue with the installer, making sure you choose this disk when prompted for an installation location.That's right— nick.js (@npsmith90)Assuming it all goes to plan, you should be able to see the installer through to the end at which point your Mac will restart.
5. Finishing TouchesNow you’ll need to make your Mac install partition bootable, so you’re not depending on the USB bootloader. Restart your machine and hold down the boot device select key (probably F12 or F8), then boot from your USB device as you did last time.At the Clover boot screen, select your installation volume (e.g. Hackintosh) and follow the instructions to finalize the macOS installation. When you eventually boot into macOS, navigate to your USB installer and run the MultiBeast app.For fresh installs, click on Quick Start and choose between UEFI Boot Mode or Legacy Boot Mode (for older hardware), then select relevant audio and network options on the Drivers tab.
You can see even more options under Customize before saving or printing your chosen configuration.Now hit Build then Install. If you’re using unsupported NVIDIA hardware, now is the time to and install them.The final step is to restart your Hackintosh and remove your USB drive, as your macOS installation partition should boot automatically from now on. Now the Fun BeginsThere are so many things that could go wrong with this process. It’s unlikely you’ll make it all the way without a small snag or larger setback, and at the end of it all you’ll still need to fiddle with things to get some features working the way you’d like.If things aren’t quite working for you, hit up the relevant forums for advice tailored to your predicament. You can also try the comments below.Have you ever built a Hackintosh? Did it go well?
Was it worth it?Explore more about:,.