[Guide] Install High Sierra or Mojave on the Dell Optiplex 7010 / 9010 Desktop PC - Revision II

[trs96]

I’m sure I shorted my 7010 motherboard and am waiting for a replacement

Replacements are cheap. Reinstalling all the hardware is the hard part especially in your custom G5 case.

 

[craighazan]

Replacements are cheap. Reinstalling all the hardware is the hard part especially in your custom G5 case.

Ha!. Fortunately not to difficult to put back together, just have to be very gentle when mounting inside the case. Thanks to you and your amazing guide trs96, I’m really happy with this build.

 

[trs96]

Moving your Dell 7010/9010 DT or MT System into a New Case
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In this video Science Studio moves an Optiplex MT (3010) motherboard into a Fractal Design case. This is obviously completely optional. It will look nicer and you've got many more cooling options (fans or liquid cooling). Only reason I would do this is if the graphics card / CPU temps were getting too hot and it needed a lot more airflow to stay cool.

If you were to buy a Dell on Ebay and get a very distressed, scratched and dented case, that would be another reason. I wouldn't pay the premium prices that FD charges for a tempered glass case for a refurb Dell Optiplex system. There are many other lower cost mATX cases that could be used.

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Here are the 7010/9010 power switch pinouts if anyone is interested in attempting this case transfer. You should also be able to get the pwr LED and HDD LED to work even though that isn't shown in the video. Remember that polarity matters for LEDs but not the power switch (the yellow and black wires). If anyone does try this please share your results.

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[trs96]

Ebay Dell Optiplex Deal of the Day
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This is the 17-3770 DT version for $145 (20% off)

Dell Optiplex 9010 3.4GHz QC i7 4GB 320GB DRW Win 10 Pro 64 Desktop Computer B | eBay

Manufacturer Model Optiplex 9010. Manufacturer Dell. Form Factor Desktop. This program is only open to a handful of vendors around the world and each is hand selected by Microsoft. Along with the specifications listed, your laptop also features a free version of Microsoft Defender (anti-viral...

www.ebay.com

This would work well for a Logic Pro X DAW system on a budget. If you're not an audio pro and record music as a hobby this is a good entry level system for macOS. You would of course add an SSD and a 16GB ram kit as two basic upgrades. You'd have plenty of room internally for LP add in cards like a firewire card. You could also run dual 1440p monitors from the DP outputs. If you want to connect a 4K TV with HDMI 2.0, the fanless Zotac GT 710 would work in that scenario. Most importantly, these are quiet even with the stock fans.

I've purchased refurbs from Arrow Direct and had a basically positive experience. They are one of the larger MARs in the USA and have top notch customer service. If you have to return one within 30 days they give you free return shipping, no questions asked. They even throw in a free keyboard and mouse. They are generic and basic quality but it's a nice gesture. When you consider that the cost of the i7-3770 is 100 dollars, you are getting the case, psu, mobo, ram, HDD and optical drive all for $45 ! If you ever need replacement parts any of them will cost 20 dollars or less on Ebay. Primarily, the mobo and psu. Arrow does give you a 1 year hardware warranty.

 

[waipeinan]

I'm amazed what knowledge you fantastic users have, I had the same problem with my build number after doing a USB installer from my MBP, and your tip solved it! After applying the terminal update, machine restartet 2-3 times and now I can install the Nvidia drivers which worked flawless! Thank you!

There is a way to use the x1 slot and the Fenvi Wifi/BT card. Takes some work but might be worth it.

Dell Optiplex 9010 MT mod use GPU covered PCIe 1x slot

This is a quick physical build modification to a Dell Optiplex 9010 MT to allow installing full size RX570 and still use the PCIe 1x slot that is covered by the double-slot width of the RX570, and in my case, custom install a Fenvi FT-T919 PCIe card by mounting next to the rear fan. I was...

www.tonymacx86.com

love those express extenders, tho the amazon price of 10-15 euro is absurd as direct from china they are just
2 euro

and all these extension cables and the riser im presently using really allow possibility of some unique case configurations.

 

[waipeinan]

BTW..... does an NVMe really make that much difference on these machines?
I can imagine in video work its a yes, but as a boot drive?

 

[trs96]

BTW..... does an NVMe really make that much difference on these machines?
I can imagine in video work its a yes, but as a boot drive?

It's primarily another option than a Sata SSD if you are using a 3.5" HDD which is slow. If Sata based SSDs cost about the same price, why not get the NVMe instead ?

 

[waipeinan]

very good points

 

[Rico-ET22]

Hello, I installed macOS (10.14) on my Optiplex through this guide and everything runs fine except iMessage and FaceTime.

When logging in to them I get an activation error:

The Console app shows that I've got errors 31 and 20 and according to How to fix iMessage the first one is related to MLB/ROM (SMBIOS).

I followed An iDiot's Guide To iMessage and reconfigured SMBIOS with new values using How to Fix iMessage guide, but none of them are working for me.
Maybe that's because I didn't install RC scripts with Clover, which isn't mentioned in this thread?
Anyway, can you help me?

 

[trs96]

Maybe that's because I didn't install RC scripts with Clover, which isn't mentioned in this thread?

RC scripts are not needed on the 7010. Submit your PR files.