[Guide] Install High Sierra on the HP 8300 Elite / 6300 Pro Desktop PC

[philipstonybi]

@philipstonybi how many extras do you want? The HP8300 CMT looks very similar internally (if not identical?).

Yeah, but where i live, they don't sell HP 8300 CMT , and HP z220 ischeap, about: 180$ for i7.
If i build HP z220 CMT, then i can have more ssd/hdd, RX580, WIfi adapter ...ect

 

[trs96]

then i can have more ssd/hdd, RX580

If you want the RX580 you would still have to upgrade the PSU and use an 8 pin power adapter from the replacement PSU. I don't think the Z220 PSU has an 8 pin supplemental power adapter to connect to the RX580.

 

[philipstonybi]

If you want the RX580 you would still have to upgrade the PSU and use a custom 24 to 6 pin power adapter. I don't think the Z220 PSU has an 8 pin supplemental power adapter to connect to the RX580.

Yeah, i can upgrade the PSU with 2 6pin/8pin(6+2) for RX580, and buy ATX 24pin to 2-port 6pin adapter for HP Z220 mainboard.

Its seem the budget build + more room than the 9010 MT that i have (lack of Front usb 3.0 when installed RX 570 VGA, 3/4 sata ports using)

• HP z220 i7-3770: 180$
• RX580: 100$
• PSU 650W (80+): 50$
• Ssd 240: 30$
• 32GB RAM DD3 1600: 100$
• Wifi BT native adapter for hackintosh: 30$

It's about ~500$ for the HP z220 build but with more space that don't have to sacrifice ports (PCIe, sata...)

 

[trs96]

9010 MT that i have (lack of Front usb 3.0 when installed RX 570 VGA, 3/4 sata ports using)

This is why I said in the Dell Guide to use the Mini-ITX version of the RX 570. Those are under 8 inches in length and don't take away / block any SATA ports or the USB 3.0 header. It's all documented in post #2 of that thread.

I looked at the Z220 ATX motherboard more closely. It appears that you won't need a 24 to 6 pin adapater. It has a standard 24 pin power socket onboard. Only the SFF Z220's would need the 24 to 6 pin power adapter.

 

[philipstonybi]

This is why I said in the Dell Guide to use the Mini-ITX version of the RX 570. Those are under 8 inches in length and don't take away / block any SATA ports or the USB 3.0 header. It's all documented in post #2 of that thread.

Yeah, i read that, but where i live, hard to find Mini-ITX version of the RX 570 : (, and the SP Pulse RX570 is very cheap, about 50$, RX 580 about 80$-100$.

I looked at the Z220 ATX motherboard more closely. It appears that you won't need a 24 to 6 pin adapater. It has a standard 24 pin power socket onboard. Only the SFF Z220's would need the 24 to 6 pin power adapter.

You're right. My mistake : D

So, could you take ur time to guide for the installation HS/Mojave on HP z220? More options/specs/choices with the same price for the budget build.

 

[phrozenpenguin]

Yeah, but where i live, they don't sell HP 8300 CMT , and HP z220 ischeap, about: 180$ for i7.
If i build HP z220 CMT, then i can have more ssd/hdd, RX580, WIfi adapter ...ect

Fair enough. Good luck, I don't have experience with the Z220.

 

[trs96]

So, could you take ur time to guide for the installation HS/Mojave on HP z220?

You can follow this guide. It will work just as well since you'll be using the i7-3770. The Z220 has the C216 chipset which is slightly different than Q77 but not so much that it makes a difference for the install. Maybe you could write a small guide that outlines the differences when using the Z220 vs. the HP 8300 Elite MT.

 

[trs96]

HP and Dell Ivy Bridge Based Q77 Desktops are the Best Sellers on Amazon.com
​

Was checking this list today and was amazed to see how well these sell at the largest online retailer in the USA.
Q: What's the reason they top the best sellers list ?
A: It's not only because they make a great hackintosh system. It's because businesses that need to upgrade to Win10 Pro from Win7 home premium or Pro buy these up instead of getting brand new $1000 + business desktops. They have USB 3.0, Sata 3 and vPro features that businesses need. So why pay $800 more for each PC when these are fully working and ready to deploy right out of the box ? Keeps the accounting dept. much happier too. To buy a brand new Win10 Pro or Enterprise license to upgrade aging Win7 computers costs close to 200 dollars all by itself so it doesn't make sense to pay that to upgrade older 2007/8 PCs that were upgraded to Win7 from Vista or even 2009-10 era PCs that came with Win7 pre-installed. They're too old and slow for modern tasks. Put an SSD boot drive in either of these Q77 systems and they really fly.

Any business buying 10 or more saves a minimum of $8,000. Windows 10 will be supported on these for more than the next 3 years so there is no risk here. Any replacement PSUs, motherboards, ram and graphics cards are super cheap on Ebay and can be changed with no tools other than a #2 Philips driver. Anyone can do these replacements or upgrades.

The HP 8300 with an i5-3470 is always at the top of this list. The Dell 7010 has just recently moved up to #3 best seller. This is the DT version which is slightly larger than the HP 8300 SFF. The size of the Dell SFF is much smaller. The Dell DT shown as the #3 best seller is the best choice if you want a dual slot, LP graphics card and also need a PCIe Wifi and BT card. Has plenty of slots and room for those. This shows you the great quality and value of these desktops. They're well built, reliable and versatile. Just thought you might be interested.

 

[jazznerd]

Hi to all HP6300/8300 Hackintosh users,
i've managed to successfully install High Sierra 10.13.6 on HP6300 Pro SFF i7-3770 / 8Gb / Intel HD4000 Graphics .
Thanks for the great guide and lots of info on Tonymacx86 !



What works so far :
Intel HD4000 built in Graphics
Sleep/Wake works! ( exception : doesn't boot to Clover with USB3 external HD attached ,
need to disconnect USB HD before boot/reboot)
Onboard Audio
Ethernet
USB2 ports
USB 3 ports
PS/2 ports : keyboard & mouse ( with VoodooPS2Controller.kext)

What doesn't work :
HDMI Audio on display port
DRM HDCP content ( Netflix)

Have few questions :
1. What exact model PCI Wifi/Bluetooth card to get for HP6300 SFF that would work with iMessage , Airdrop , OTB out of the box , or easy to configure?

2. How difficult is it to enable HDCP protected Netflix video content ( a step by step guide link maybe?) , would it mess up my stable working install?

3. HP6300 upgrade limits :
a) can i install 3 SSD Disks or maximum 2 ? alternatively , can i use the DVDWriter empty slot and port for an extra HD ?
4) planning on purchasing a pro audio/midi USB3 interface : would any OSX supported external USB3 Audio/midi Interface work with just OSX drivers installation or only some very specific models ?

cheers,
Jazznerd

 

[trs96]

What exact model PCI Wifi/Bluetooth card to get for HP6300 SFF that would work with iMessage , Airdrop , OTB out of the box , or easy to configure?

There's a low cost solution on Ebay that uses a Macbook Air Wifi/BT card. Has the mandatory LP bracket for the install.

Dual Band BCM94360CS2 PCI-E 867Mbps 802.11AC BT4.0 Wifi PCI-Express Adapter Card | eBay

BCM94360CS2 chip. WIFI: 2.4G 300M / 5G 867M. AC 1000M dual-band desktop PCI-E wireless LAN + Bluetooth 4.0 combo. 2 X Dual Band Antenna. Two Antenna;Signal Stronger,Full-height Bracket. Compatible interface: PCI-E X1 X4 X8 X16 and video card slot.

www.ebay.com

How difficult is it to enable HDCP protected Netflix video content ( a step by step guide link maybe?) , would it mess up my stable working install?

Try some of the ShikiGVA bootflags or you could also try Lilu and Whatevergreen installed to /L/E. Always have a bootable backup before testing out anything on your CustoMac.

can i install 3 SSD Disks or maximum 2 ? alternatively , can i use the DVDWriter empty slot and port for an extra HD ?

You've got 4 Sata ports that you can use. You can use 3 SSDs but make sure your primary macOS boot drive is on Sata0 to get the fastest performance from it. Yes you can remove the DVD drive and use it for HDD. There is also a space for 3.5" drive directly below the optical bay.

would any OSX supported external USB3 Audio/midi Interface work with just OSX drivers installation or only some very specific models ?

Haven't looked into this but I'd think it should work as long as the audio interface is macOS compatible.