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

[trs96]

I have been doing some research on the TRIM feature when SSDs are installed in a MAC. I decided to give it a try, as I know my SAMSUNG EVO 850 supports this. I found this article the most compelling.

Since APFS has come out I've found Trim to actually slow down boot times when I've applied it. Things may have changed but I haven't looked at it for some time now. Maybe it depends on the SSD in use. If your CustoMac stays on all day and you let it idle the garbage collection features of all modern SSDs will tend to do just what Trim does when enabled.

 

[trs96]

Hi guys, just let you know I made it. Thanks. I just replaced the whole EFI folder of hard disk with the EFI folder of USB. Then it worked.

This is why I mention near the end of the guide to back up your hard drive's EFI partition. That will have your completed EFI folder with your serial numbers and everything else in it that your USB drive's EFI folder doesn't have in it. You'll need to go back to step 7 again and redo that if you didn't write down your serial numbers and smUUID generated in that step.

 

[Grizz]

Since APFS has come out I've found Trim to actually slow down boot times when I've applied it. Things may have changed but I haven't looked at it for some time now. Maybe it depends on the SSD in use. If your CustoMac stays on all day and you let it idle the garbage collection features of all modern SSDs will tend to do just what Trim does when enabled.

I only mentioned it - as your GUIDE has people formatting as GUID / HFS+. That is how my drive is formatted, and it was amazing to me how much faster it booted when I enabled TRIM.

I am hoping this weekend I will get to play (instead of just building and learning) with my new TOY. Check out some softwares, etc. I like the HWMONITOR which is in the WEG download on your guide, but I am sure there are better ones. Also would like to look into some BluRay softwares and and my home network printer.

I am have also heard that playing some of the old ARCADE games and C64 games work great on OS X - any truth to this?

trs96 - again, many many thanks for this excellent guide.


Grizz

 

[kaaanonn]

Hi there,
Still looking for good deals to build another one . Found a 7010 with i5 3570 and 4GB RAM for 80 bucks. As it does not have HD4000, I am now looking for the GPU options.

As it's a SFF, I don't want to go with a heavy buffy choice, as the airflow wont be sufficient IMO. But I would rather not go for a 710, as the price is quite high for a quite weak performance (=HD4000).

Is there any middle road, Mojave-supported GPU you would recommand ? Any idea if the 730 LP would fit and run Mojave well ? I feel like it would be sufficient for light taskes and old games on decent graphic options, and it's almost the same price on eBay etc.

 

[trs96]

Is there any middle road, Mojave-supported GPU you would recommand ?

See if you can find a Kepler based GT 730 new. They don't cost much. Perform decently. There are also Fermi based GT 730s that won't work with Mojave. Don't support, not compatible with Metal 2 API.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R2M10SU/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
79 dollars for a new GT 730 is a real deal. It's worth paying slightly more for a new card rather
than taking a chance on Ebay. Kind of a lottery what you'll get there.

 

[kaaanonn]

Thanks for your fast answer I will look for these.

I also found a Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3 Go, from what I've seen online, it's Metal compatible as well. It has quite good performance (almost a GT 1050) but has a huge format that wont fit in a SFF. Too bad, cause it was sold for 35 bucks...

 

[trs96]

Thanks for your fast answer I will look for these.

I also found a Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3 Go, from what I've seen online, it's Metal compatible as well. It has quite good performance (almost a GT 1050) but has a huge format that wont fit in a SFF. Too bad, cause it was sold for 35 bucks...

Some of these super low price AMD cards are pulled out of Mining rigs so they will inevitably have fan failures etc. There is no rule on Ebay that says sellers must say what the card was used for. Some will tell you, many won't. Some big mining operations can dump hundreds of these on Ebay to liquidate them. Unlike a used HDD you can't determine how many "miles" it has on it. Sometimes you can get lucky and get a good mining card used but again it's another crap shoot. Oftentimes that's what you'll get.

 

[badmnky]

Download macOS Mojave only from the Mac App Store. Getting it anywhere else is a rules violation and will lead to a suspension from this community. We don't allow use of software and techniques from dosdude1 here.

I have a good install app now, and I was able to install Mojave completely and finish the guide. I did run into an issue where the video wasn't rendering, some of the things would show up during install but only the window that required entry and everything else was black. whe I rebooted I unchecked the injected HD_2500 and select the top generic intel for video and then the install went "flawlessly" (I do have H2500 graphic though). Now when I boot I only see the mouse, I know everything is there, because I "assumed" it, and I typed in my password and then after a few tries I was able to accurately guess where to move the mouse to open the apple menu and select "shutdown", after I hit enter the computer shut down.

I am able to boot in safe mode and everything seems to work, I have sound, I can see the desktop, etc.

I have been searching like crazy, but so far I haven't found any posts with an issue like mine. I'm going to put a new HD in and try again to see if I goofed somewhere etc... any idea? thanks.

 

[nicksoph]

@babmnky - the HD2500 has been reported by some as working but many more have reported that it is flaky at best, if you have followed these instructions carefully then the most likely issue is the HD2500, it is not supported on Mojave natively. Maybe search this thread and others on the site to see if you can find what they did to make it work. This thread doesnt really cover the HD2500 and offers instead a guide to setting it up with a chip that contains a HD4000 or natively supported additional gpu like the GT710.

You should fill out your profile to include the spec of your machine, it allows others to better help and its a rule.

 

[okykrismadi]

Time for an Update
​

I've installed High Sierra 10.13.6 on my USFF Dell 7010 and everything is fully working. Sleep and wake, USB 3.0 ports all work at full USB 3.0 speeds. I'm using AppleALC and Lilu kext to enable the ALC269 audio. It runs cool and quiet and boots up fast. Very happy with the results of this build. Note that the monitor colors and picture quality (in the pic below) are degraded by the poor quality LED lighting in the ceiling of my basement where this pic was taken. I'll try to update with one in natural lighting later on.

DP/HDMI audio will work through your monitor or television's speakers if you use AppleALC +Lilu method for audio. To get that working via AppleALC method just select that option in Step 6 as shown in the Guide in post #1.

This build consists of an HP 27" monitor, Dell Optiplex 7010 running macOS High Sierra along with an Apple keyboard and trackpad. Total cost was well under $350 for the whole system. Sure beats paying $1799 or more for a new iMac that is sealed up and extremely difficult to upgrade. What I like the most is having front USB 3.0 ports and not needing to use a USB hub the way most iMac users do. The Dell 7010 is not quite as small and quiet as a Mac Mini but it sure is a lot faster and costs a lot less. Let's see what Apple does with the next rumored Mac Mini upgrade. Read an excerpt from the Bloomberg story here

View attachment 342160
Above: I installed a blank, black cover in the DVD drive's place as I rarely use DVDs anymore

Here is a look at the inside of the 7010 USFF Version with the DVD/HDD tray removed
The PSU is 80+ Gold and is rated at 200W! Way more than is needed for this PC
I have an Atheros AR9280 Wifi card installed, works natively with High Sierra

View attachment 342016
The CPU fan even looks like something you'd find in an iMac or Mac Mini

View attachment 342017

The heatsink and heat pipes are all 100% Copper, they didn't go cheap here !​

Hello trs96, What do you think about adding "Mini PCI-E Version V8.0 EXP GDC Laptop External Independent Video Card Dock" for adding DGPU on USFF form factor? Will this work?