[Guide] HP Elite 8300 & 6300 Pro (all form factors) using Clover UEFI hotpatch

[pastrychef]

Kaby Lake based Dells are getting pretty cheap now too. Keep in mind that Kaby Lake supports HEVC encode and decode.

Link:https://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-Optip...724671?hash=item3da8b95a7f:g:5-IAAOSwEt9ewdB0

Link:https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-OptiP...741898?hash=item3da32e8c8a:g:WfMAAOSwfHZessBv

 

[trs96]

Kaby Lake based Dells are getting pretty cheap now too.

Those are good deals on Kaby Lake SFF models. The MT versions of the Optiplex 7020/9020 let you easily swap out the standard ATX PSU and install a full height, full length graphics card like an RX 580. Those need more power, 450/500W and an 8 pin connector. The stock Dell PSUs don't offer those two things. The MT 7040/7050s don't use the standard ATX PSU form factor so that is another limitation. For running something like the RX 560 though they work quite well.

 

[craighazan]

Just checked eBay for prices on the 5050 MT motherboard, cheapest BIN $40. It looks to have 2 PCIe x1 slots, one of which would be blocked by a graphics card!. The SFF motherboards are much cheaper though.

 

[Micalllee]

I guess I should have been clearer, but I'm trying to understand if a newer system would be usable as a Hack for longer. Once Apple discontinues support for models with say 3rd or 4th gen Intel chipsets, does it get harder to keep systems with those chipsets up to date as Hackintoshes?

 

[trs96]

Once Apple discontinues support for models with say 3rd or 4th gen Intel chipsets, does it get harder to keep systems with those chipsets up to date as Hackintoshes?

At some point it will but with a hackintosh you can easily change the SMBIOS to something newer when support for older Macs is discontinued. Many people have successfully used 10 year old Gigabyte X58 systems with Mojave.

If you can afford to build a new 10th gen Intel system go with that. Buying older hardware is primarily for those that don't have a large build budget but need a working system now. If you don't have $700 to $1000 for a well specced new 10th gen system go with a lower cost refurbished system that has a guide to follow. You won't get 8-10 years out of a refurb system but at least you'll be able to run the most current macOS version today and get things done rather than waiting to buy new hardware.

 

[Micalllee]

At some point it will but with a hackintosh you can easily change the SMBIOS to something newer when support for older Macs is discontinued. Many people have successfully used 10 year old X58 systems with Mojave.

So using a SMBIOS for a Mac with say an 8th get chipset, in a hack with a 3rd gen chipset works fine? Good to know! I almost bought a 5040 from an eBay auction for $112 (pre-pandemic) because I was worried support for my 8300 might end. As was pointed out above, when I looked at what the performance increase would be, the answer was "negligible".

 

[trs96]

So using a SMBIOS for a Mac with say an 8th get chipset, in a hack with a 3rd gen chipset works fine? Good to know!

For older Ivy Bridge and Haswell systems it's advisable to use iMac 15,1 so that you'll get better CPU power management. The new default for Unibeast and Multibeast is iMac 19,1. I believe that is for the March 2019 iMac models. Two of those had Kaby Lake core i5 CPUs. The other two were 9th gen CPUs.

 

[trs96]

I was worried support for my 8300 might end.

There's also the option to simply keep using Mojave or Catalina. Those will keep receiving security updates for many years ahead. Big Sur is in early beta and I don't see any good reasons to upgrade to that yet. Experimenting with it on a separate drive is fine though.

 

[aarkayx]

If I changed my SMBIOS from imac13,2 to something more modern, will that affect (improve) font rendering on my setup (hp 8300 i5-3470, hd2500, nvidia gtx 710, 1080p dual monitors, Catalina 10.15.6, Opencore 0.6.0, newest kexts). Are these two things even related. If yes, what would be a good SMBIOS to use. I tried to screenshots to compare my ubuntu install on the same hw but screenshot software smoothes out the pictures and thus the difference in rendering is not visible.

 

[trs96]

If I changed my SMBIOS from imac13,2 to something more modern, will that affect (improve) font rendering on my setup ?

I don't think it will. It has more to do with what Apple has done since Mojave with macOS. When you use any monitor that is less than Retina quality with Mojave or Catalina the fonts can look jagged and blurry. What is your monitor's resolution ? Try loading up High Sierra and compare how sharp the fonts look on the same monitor you're using now.