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Summary
Have you ever wanted to build a custom PC running Apple’s macOS, but thought that the process seemed too complex and daunting? Well, we have some good news! The process of installing macOS on non-Apple hardware has gotten much more achievable over the past few years thanks to improved compatibility and awesome tools created by the hackintosh community (all hail tonymac86)
In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through everything that is needed to install macOS and build a successful hackintosh system completely from scratch, from choosing compatible hardware, accessing macOS installer files, creating a bootable USB drive, to configuring your motherboard’s firmware and running post-installation configs. Let’s dive in!
Selecting Compatible Hardware
Choosing the right hardware components is by far the most important factor that will determine the success or failure of your hackintosh build.macOS was never designed for anything other than Apple’s own hardware, so you need to select parts with careful consideration for compatibility.Let’s dive deep into each component and explore which options will provide the best macOS support:
- CPU- Your best bet is sticking with newer 8th gen to 10th gen Intel Core i5, i7 or Xeon chips, the kind that fit the consumer 1151 or 1200 sockets. Some of those serious server-level Xeon processors can also do the job.The key thing is making sure the Intel chip fully supports instruction sets like SSE3, SSSE3.Yeah, all those acronyms? macOS needs those.Don’t even think about using some old budget Intel processor, those just end up causing problems down the line. Stick with the newer stuff that has the features macOS expects, and you’ll avoid banging your head against compatibility issues.
GPU- When it comes to the graphics card,always go AMD Radeon over NVIDIA if you have the choice.macOS has the Radeon drivers built right in, so most modern AMD cards just work out of the box with full OpenGL and Metal acceleration. But NVIDIA support (and forgive our harsh words here)…sucks. Those drivers and macOS just don’t play nice at all. Your best bet for smooth sailing is an AMD card like the RX 580, RX 5700 XT, Vega 56, or R9 Fury. Some NVIDIA cards like the GTX 1060 can kinda limp along, but without full acceleration it’s not ideal.
Motherboard- When picking a motherboard, we’d look at Gigabyte or Asus. They tend to keep their BIOS and UEFI firmware updated with hackintosh-friendly features for DIY Mac builders. Obviously, you gottamake sure the board uses an Intel chipset rather than AMD. It should also have onboard audio and ethernet that plays nice with macOS drivers right out of the box. Some audio chips that work great are ALC892, ALC897, ALC1220, and ALC1150.As long as the board checks those boxes, you should be sitting pretty for a smooth hackintosh experience. The last thing you want is to end up struggling with flaky audio or network issues because of some janky unsupported motherboard. A little compatibility research up front saves headaches down the road!
RAM- For RAM, you’ll need standard desktop DDR4 sticks, either SODIMMs for laptops or DIMMs for desktops. To play it safe,find a RAM kit that your specific motherboard model has validated on its QVL(qualified vendor list). Keep the speeds reasonable; 2400 to 3200MHz is a good sweet spot where you’re able to tighten the timing for good performance without threatening stability. Make sure to use matched kits for dual channels too. That nearly doubles the memory bandwidth when the sticks work in tandem.
Storage- For the best experience, go with a speedy SATA III SSD or PCIe NVMe solid state drive rather than an old-school mechanical hard drive. Your boot times will be way quicker and everything will just feel snappier and more stable on macOS with fast flash storage. Both M.2 NVMe drives and standard 2.5" SATA III SSDs usually play nice with hackintosh builds. NVMe can give you lighting fast performance if set up properly, though some third party drives need extra SSDT driver kexts to work fully. Mechanical drives are usable but will really slow things down, save those for pure data storage.
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth- For full native continuity, handoff, airdrop and instant hotspot support on macOS, ideal options are either amotherboard featuring pre-installed native BCM94360CD or BCM94352Z Wi-Fi and Bluetooth M.2 modules,or adding a compatible Broadcom PCIe wireless card like the Fenvi T919, which requires no additional drivers for macOS compatibility right out of the box.
Thoroughly vet all planned components against community hackintosh hardware databases like thetonymacx86 buyer’s guide. Specific models can make or break your build, so diligent research of each part is mandatory before purchasing anything for your hackintosh!
Gathering Your Software Tools
While compatible hardware is the core foundation, specialized software utilities empower you to successfully boot and run macOS on that hardware:
With these essential utilities, creating macOS installer media, installing, booting, and customizing macOS on PC hardware becomes accessible for both entry level and advanced hackintosh builders.
Creating The macOS Installer Drive
With the macOS installer appdownloaded from the Mac App Storeand a suitable USB drive ready, it’s time to make your macOS installer drive. Follow these steps carefully to create your installer drive using UniBeast:
After following this process meticulously, you will have a completed USB installer drive fully ready to boot your hackintosh system and commence macOS installation. Always refer to UniBeast documentation if you encounter any confusion or complications when creating your bootable macOS media.
Quick side note,while we are aware that Sonoma OS is now out there,werecommend working with Big Sursince it is the most recent version of Mac that has been found to be compatible with the hackintosh. Which is why we will be using it as a default example throughout the article. Regardless, we have linked to the latest version of the OS installer above. Choose wisely!
Configuring The BIOS/UEFI Firmware
Before the installation can begin, you must configure your motherboard’s BIOS or UEFI firmware with settings appropriate for a hackintosh install. Carefully make these changes in your firmware interface prior to booting the macOS installer:
Always refer to your motherboard manual for exact menu locations if unsure where a particular setting resides in your firmware interface. Once changes are complete, save settings and exit BIOS. Your system should now boot the macOS installer USB drive without issues.
Performing The Installation
With your bootable USB installer drive ready and BIOS fully configured, it’s time to begin the macOS installation:
Configuring Your Drivers Post Installation
Directly after performing the base macOS installation, you’ll likely face issues like non-working audio, broken Ethernet networking, graphics glitches or artifacts, etc. This occurs because we still need to install Clover EFI drivers and macOS kexts (kernel extensions) to add full hardware compatibility support:
With tailored MultiBeast drivers and Clover UEFI settings, your hackintosh hardware should operate just as smoothly as if you were running on genuine Mac hardware. Take time to thoroughly test all components and functions. And if all this seems a little too much trouble to go through to get your hands on macOS, oh boy do we have the perfect solution for you!
…Buy a macbook. Yeah. It’s honestly just less of a headache and saves you a ton of time and resources.
