[Guide] Dell Inspiron 15 7559 El Capitan Hackintosh (Dual Boot With Windows)

[MikePieronek]

hello
my 2011 mbp is dying i am in the market for a laptop for video editing.
unfortunately my finances are low so MBP is not possible at the moment.

Would you recommand a Dell 7559 ? I'll need to run FCPX and Sierra.

I can get a second hand dell7559 with 2 years warranty, i7/4k display/128gb ssd+1Tb hdd for 900 euros.

Thanks for your replies.

I have the Dell 7559 2016 model. Dell updated this model a couple of weeks ago with a new case Nvidia 1070 GTX graphics board. They might have rev'ed the processor to Kaby Lake, too. Looks like clock speed stayed the same. I've been running this as a Hackintosh for a few weeks.

I own a MacBook Pro 2011 & 2012. If yours is dying, try to fix it. It's still a good computer. You know there was a recall on MBP 2011 models, right? The recall has since expired, but my buddy just had his repaired by Apple for free, out of warranty. If your graphics are flaking out or your computer won't start, head to the Apple Store.

With the money you have, you could buy a used MacBook Pro. A used Mac is better than a new Dell. There are great things about this Dell. The 4K screen is outstanding when used as a Mac. Better DPI than a Retina. Adding a second drive, memory, just accessing the inside is great. One screw and you're in. This 7559 falls short of my MBP in just about every other category. The case is plastic, it would crack if dropped. I dropped my MBP on the floor at work. I dented the front of the case. I was able to tap out the dent. The keyboard doesn't feel as solid, though I do like the number pad. The lid with the screen flexes more than I'd like. The trackpad is the weak link. It's doesn't feel as good or work as well. It feels cheap compared to the glass trackpad Macs use. Updates are a hassle on a Hackintosh. It took about 4 days to get this Hackintosh working and it feels somewhat fragile to me. I put a new Broadcom Wifi card in it and wireless works perfectly as a Mac. I'm running the Mac on M.2 card. I put a Samsung EVO 500GB card in it. I dual boot with Windows 10 on the 1TB hard drive. Very cool.

But I could do all of this and more with a used 2012 MBP and a second drive in the DVD slot. It would cost about the same, too. I got a good deal on this Dell. $729US. My total cost. $729 + $39 Wifi card + $139 EVO + tax is about $920US.

I'm thinking about selling this computer. It's been a fun experiment. But it's too much of a compromise to make it worth the money and effort. I'd be more inclined to use a desktop Hackintosh build. You can better control the hardware you use.

Buy a Mac if you need a Mac. I'm sure plenty will disagree with me. There are plenty of smart people on this site. I need a Mac. This was fun, but it's not a Mac.

 

[MikePieronek]

There is a lot over my head also. But hey, man, we made it mostly. I have been in that abyss also, and I think I'm going to try leaving the computer on all the time plugged in or not for now.

Did you try the suggestion by fengcen? "Thanks! I remove EFI/CLOVER/drivers64UEFI/EmuVariableUefi-64.efi, and then the brightness can be restored at boot."

I'm going to try it tonight.

Also, are you brave enough to try and update to Sierra? >

I didn't try the EmuVariable thing. I haven't been up here in a few weeks. I've been working a bunch and I'm back in school at night. I'll give this a shot and see if it works.

I've had fun with this computer, but I'm seriously considering selling it. I don't want to lose too much money on it. I'm lucky enough to have a real MBP that I like. This was a good exercise. If I need a powerhouse desktop Mac I would probably go Hackintosh. Apple builds some really nice hardware. This Dell has proven that to me. I looked at Hackintosh laptop because $3000 for the new MBP is outrageous. But I use my computer everyday, multiple times a day. $2000 for a used one in a year is reasonable to me. If I sell this, I can put the money toward another Mac or in the bank for a while, which would be smarter.

 

[wooolooo]

Hey Mike,
Thanks for your answer !
I called the closest Apple certified repair center (which is 2hrs away- I live far out in the Alps) and they told me the repair programm ended January 1st. I said it's weird cause it's still on their website, and they sayd something like "we can't order new parts from Apple for your mac since the programm ended, but come here anyway and see if you can convince them over the phone"... Since it's prety much a One day mission to get there and back, I was like "**** it".

But since your buddy got his fixed, I'll give it a try.

I love my 2011 MBP, I maxed out the ram and the drives (2x500GB SSDs, 16GB ram) but I'm a video guy and we're having more and more 4k footage that this laptop just can't deal with... and it takes ages to create proxys...
But I believe even the newest MBP aren't great with h264 or h265 4k footage either so... I'll try to give my MBP another round this year.

Thanks Mike for saving me lots of time and 900 euros ;-)

 

[MikePieronek]

Hey Mike,
Thanks for your answer !
I called the closest Apple certified repair center (which is 2hrs away- I live far out in the Alps) and they told me the repair programm ended January 1st. I said it's weird cause it's still on their website, and they sayd something like "we can't order new parts from Apple for your mac since the programm ended, but come here anyway and see if you can convince them over the phone"... Since it's prety much a One day mission to get there and back, I was like "**** it".

But since your buddy got his fixed, I'll give it a try.

I love my 2011 MBP, I maxed out the ram and the drives (2x500GB SSDs, 16GB ram) but I'm a video guy and we're having more and more 4k footage that this laptop just can't deal with... and it takes ages to create proxys...
But I believe even the newest MBP aren't great with h264 or h265 4k footage either so... I'll try to give my MBP another round this year.

Thanks Mike for saving me lots of time and 900 euros ;-)

Glad I could help.

If I needed a desktop rig, I would consider a desktop Hackintosh. You have much more control over the components. You would be able to build a really strong machine for a much more reasonable price than a Mac Pro. You'd still have the Hackintosh update hassle. But it may be more tolerable in desktop form.

Good luck at the Apple store. Hopefully it's worth your while.

 

[anor4k]

EDIT: redownloaded MaciASL and iasl and it worked. only 3 minor errors that i think i can handle.


I'm having trouble patching the DSDT on my machine. It's the i5 variant, on Sierra, and I'm booting using clover legacy (can't boot using UEFI).
I extracted the ACPI files using Clover's F4, deleted every non-DSDT/SSDT file, and disassembled using iasl and the refs.txt file (no errors there), but my DSDT has tons of errors when i compile (mostly "Object does not exist"). I tried the syntax patches but they didn't help.
I'm attaching my Clover EFI folder and the disassembled ACPI files.

 

[RehabMan]

EDIT: redownloaded MaciASL and iasl and it worked. only 3 minor errors that i think i can handle.


I'm having trouble patching the DSDT on my machine. It's the i5 variant, on Sierra, and I'm booting using clover legacy (can't boot using UEFI).
I extracted the ACPI files using Clover's F4, deleted every non-DSDT/SSDT file, and disassembled using iasl and the refs.txt file (no errors there), but my DSDT has tons of errors when i compile (mostly "Object does not exist"). I tried the syntax patches but they didn't help.
I'm attaching my Clover EFI folder and the disassembled ACPI files.

Your DSDT.aml has some corrupt data.
Remove the External declarations with invalid characters.
External (***J, UnknownObj) // Warning: Unknown object
External (0**J, UnknownObj) // Warning: Unknown object
External (P**H, UnknownObj) // Warning: Unknown object

After removing those lines, result is no errors.

 

[demonguru18]

My EFI Zip

 

[RehabMan]

My EFI Zip

Why?
Files without details on the problem or a question are as bad as a question/problem report without files.

 

[Johnnnnnnnnnny]

I have the Dell 7559 2016 model. Dell updated this model a couple of weeks ago with a new case Nvidia 1070 GTX graphics board. They might have rev'ed the processor to Kaby Lake, too. Looks like clock speed stayed the same. I've been running this as a Hackintosh for a few weeks.

I own a MacBook Pro 2011 & 2012. If yours is dying, try to fix it. It's still a good computer. You know there was a recall on MBP 2011 models, right? The recall has since expired, but my buddy just had his repaired by Apple for free, out of warranty. If your graphics are flaking out or your computer won't start, head to the Apple Store.

With the money you have, you could buy a used MacBook Pro. A used Mac is better than a new Dell. There are great things about this Dell. The 4K screen is outstanding when used as a Mac. Better DPI than a Retina. Adding a second drive, memory, just accessing the inside is great. One screw and you're in. This 7559 falls short of my MBP in just about every other category. The case is plastic, it would crack if dropped. I dropped my MBP on the floor at work. I dented the front of the case. I was able to tap out the dent. The keyboard doesn't feel as solid, though I do like the number pad. The lid with the screen flexes more than I'd like. The trackpad is the weak link. It's doesn't feel as good or work as well. It feels cheap compared to the glass trackpad Macs use. Updates are a hassle on a Hackintosh. It took about 4 days to get this Hackintosh working and it feels somewhat fragile to me. I put a new Broadcom Wifi card in it and wireless works perfectly as a Mac. I'm running the Mac on M.2 card. I put a Samsung EVO 500GB card in it. I dual boot with Windows 10 on the 1TB hard drive. Very cool.

But I could do all of this and more with a used 2012 MBP and a second drive in the DVD slot. It would cost about the same, too. I got a good deal on this Dell. $729US. My total cost. $729 + $39 Wifi card + $139 EVO + tax is about $920US.

I'm thinking about selling this computer. It's been a fun experiment. But it's too much of a compromise to make it worth the money and effort. I'd be more inclined to use a desktop Hackintosh build. You can better control the hardware you use.

Buy a Mac if you need a Mac. I'm sure plenty will disagree with me. There are plenty of smart people on this site. I need a Mac. This was fun, but it's not a Mac.

Yeah,
I´m thinking about building a desktop hackintosh for Logic Pro mixing, video editing and gaming on windows
also buy a used macbook pro for tracking (in Logic pro) and to take away for trips.

The only bad thing about oder Macbooks (and new ones too) is the graphic cards - not very good for video editing or gaming.

 

[wooolooo]

Glad I could help.

If I needed a desktop rig, I would consider a desktop Hackintosh. You have much more control over the components. You would be able to build a really strong machine for a much more reasonable price than a Mac Pro. You'd still have the Hackintosh update hassle. But it may be more tolerable in desktop form.

Good luck at the Apple store. Hopefully it's worth your while.

Agree on desktop hackintosh, I built mine three years ago, mostly with second hand parts. Has been editing videos professionaly with it since then, super stable, prety fast, and now running Sierra.

Apple Store won't fix my 2011 MBP. They said they have no more parts and they won't help me. Have you seen that video of a french guy with a hammer at an Apple store, smashing all iphones ? I kinda felt the same way in there. Good thing I didn't have a hammer with me lol.

Anyway with a little app I can force the computer to use the discrete card and not switch, and it has been stable this way.

I am waiting for an answer for a job that involves traveling the world to shoot and edit videos, so I might have to spend and get a 2015 MBP second hand...