Build Recommendations for older versions of OS X/macOS using older Chipsets

[Jamesbond007]

I've been quite happy with my current setup running High Sierra, but am starting to run into software that insists in having Mojave or Catalina. At first glance, I'd like to think that all I need to update is my GPU/Video Card setup but was wondering if there are other hidden gotchas along the way the rest of the community might be able to warn me about. If additional information about my setup is required beyond what I have in my profile, please let me know. Thanks for any guidance/caveats you all can provide someone trying to keep up on a limited budget!

Your graphics card is not supported on Mojave or Catalina due to lack of Nvidia drivers.

If you want to run Mojave or Catalina with graphics acceleration, you will have to remove your graphics card and (1) replace it with a supported AMD card like the RX 580, or (2) use the CPU integrated graphics from the i7 7700 which should work with Mojave or Catalina.

 

[joeljgarrett]

The AMD RX 570 or 580 with 8GB of Vram is the best option. You can find one new for under 200 USD.

Where are you finding these cards for these prices? I've been looking at Amazon and Newegg and can't seem to find anything in stock for these display types for any less than $280 - in stock seems to be the key part of that phrase - perhaps that's why they seem to be out of stock all the times that I check?

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Where are you finding these cards for these prices? I've been looking at Amazon and Newegg and can't seem to find anything in stock for these display types for any less than $280 - in stock seems to be the key part of that phrase - perhaps that's why they seem to be out of stock all the times that I check?

Agreed, prices have gone silly again. Almost as if mining was taking off once more.

Beware faked imports too, with old cards having new VBIOSs flashed to them.

 

[trs96]

Where are you finding these cards for these prices?

Not anymore. The shortages of the new Nvidia and AMD cards that were supposed to be available now force people to buy the older cards as a placeholder till they can get the latest versions.

The best price on a 580 8GB now at Newegg is about $220.

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-radeon-rx-580-gv-rx580gaming-8gd-rev2-0/p/N82E16814932247

I like the fan stop feature on my Gigabyte RX 570 4GB. Got it over a year ago for around 90 dollars.

 

[Bustycat]

Not anymore. The shortages of the new Nvidia and AMD cards that were supposed to be available now force people to buy the older cards as a placeholder till they can get the latest versions.

The best price on a 580 8GB now at Newegg is about $220.

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-radeon-rx-580-gv-rx580gaming-8gd-rev2-0/p/N82E16814932247

I like the fan stop feature on my Gigabyte RX 570 4GB. Got it over a year ago for around 90 dollars.

That is exactly the same to what I’m using now but about 30 USD more expensive, and I bought it nearly two years ago...

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I like the fan stop feature on my Gigabyte RX 570 4GB. Got it over a year ago for around 90 dollars.

Same here. Well, I bought an Asus model after "lending" my Gigabyte to someone ... Fan stop means it has never spun up after initialisation. Zero dust, powerful and silent. I'm a bit baffled as to why there is suddenly a shortage. 570/580 are older cards now. Nividia has moved on to new generations for Windows. Maybe we hackintoshers are buying-up all the RX cards?

 

[Gigamaxx]

Agreed, prices have gone silly again. Almost as if mining was taking off once more.

Beware faked imports too, with old cards having new VBIOSs flashed to them.

Not just the video cards, I bought a AMD 3900x for $399, now it’s up to $529. I got my 5900x for $549, so it’s $30 more for a next gen with much better performance.

 

[joeljgarrett]

Same here. Well, I bought an Asus model after "lending" my Gigabyte to someone ... Fan stop means it has never spun up after initialisation. Zero dust, powerful and silent. I'm a bit baffled as to why there is suddenly a shortage. 570/580 are older cards now. Nividia has moved on to new generations for Windows. Maybe we hackintoshers are buying-up all the RX cards?

Well, that's essentially what I'm trying to do here, so yes! :-\

I've seen the same availability/pricing issues come up for Hackintosh-compatible WiFi modules. I guess when they aren't making them any more and there's folks like us out there still looking, it's a seller's market...

Thanks to everyone for their replies confirming that I'm not missing something here.

 

[mantis2001]

View attachment 103960​

New chipsets and graphics cards are not backwards compatible with many older OS X versions.

The Evolution of Core-i Processors
http://www.tonymacx86.com/376-evolution-intel-s-core-i-processors.html

The table in the post above shows the CPU and motherboard combos that are compatible with each version of OS X back to 10.6 Snow Leopard. Haswell support starts with 10.8.5 Mountain Lion. The older the system, the earlier the supported OS X version.

This site has maintained parts guides and compatibility reports since 2010. The best compatible builds for each major OS can be viewed by checking out the above post and comparing to some older buyer's guides.

Supported 10.6.2+

Buyer's Guide (Intel 5 Series)
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2011/02/building-customac-three-updated-lga.html

Buyer's Guide (Intel X58 / Socket 1366)
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2010/08/building-customac-customac-pro-2010.html

Supported 10.6.8+

Sandy Bridge Buyer's Guide (Intel 6 Series)
http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2011/11/building-sandy-bridge-customac-buyers.html

Supported 10.7.5+

Ivy Bridge Buyer's Guide (Intel 7 Series)
http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/building-a-customac-buyers-guide-august-2013.106788/

Supported 10.8.5+

Haswell Buyer's Guide (Intel 8 Series)
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/building-a-customac-buyers-guide-september-2014.151979/

Haswell Buyer's Guide (Intel 9 Series)
https://www.tonymacx86.com/buyersguide/archive/haswell-9-series/

Supported 10.11.4+

Skylake Buyer's Guide (Intel 100 Series)
https://www.tonymacx86.com/buyersguide/archive/skylake-100-series/

Supported 10.12.6+

Kaby Lake Buyer's Guide (Intel 200 Series)
https://www.tonymacx86.com/buyersguide/archive/kaby-lake-200-series/

Supported 10.13.0+

Coffee Lake Buyer's Guide (Intel 300 Series - Current Generation)

Building a CustoMac Hackintosh Archive: Coffee Lake 300 Series Buyer's Guide

www.tonymacx86.com

Supported 10.15.0+ (Intel 400 Series - Current Generation)
https://www.customac.com

I am very glad to have saved this article