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

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This all started because I inherited an old G4 Powermac Digital Audio, so I also have the laserhive g4 atx kit coming in the mail.
Sounds like a fun mod to work on. Good to know you've already got the software part working before putting all the hardware into the G4. Leave a link here when you've got the mod completed. I'm sure many will be interested in seeing how it works out. The reason the PSU works with the 560 is that it gets all it's power from the PCIe x16 slot, which can provide up to 75W. The newer cards are efficient enough that they do just fine with these relatively lower wattage OEM power supplies. Good part is that you can always upgrade it later if need be.

As I said in the FAQ section, this is the best way to get started with hackintoshing. It's not expensive like many new custom builds, you learn most of the basics and don't have to get in too deep over your head with the really complex aspects of this. Such as creating custom SSDTs to fix ACPI issues. I had a really good first experience with a simple mATX core i3 build and I'm still using it daily over seven years later. I liked Macs up until about 2012 but then things took a turn for the worse and I quit buying them and learned how to build a hackintosh myself out of necessity. Now prices of new Macs have gotten way out of hand (2018 Mac mini @ $800+) and owners are mostly locked out of doing any repairs or upgrades (other than ram) themselves. That just doesn't work for me. This is way better in my opinion. Hope we get to keep using these for many more years to come.
 
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Thank you, I'm going to take my time on this and be very careful, but I will be sure to post a link. It's tough because not only do I have to convert the G4 case to ATX standards, but then also mod the optiplex to play well in a standard atx case. I saw the links about the fan adapters, the G4 fan is 2 wire, so I will need a new case fan. Also, I will have to mod the Optiplex front panel connector on the motherboard to ATX standards using the pinout guides I've seen on this site and others. I know I can do it 100%, I know it will work, I've read plenty of documentation here, but it will take patience. This place is a wealth of knowledge, and I will post a link, thank you very much.
 
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bnphoto Ebay Seller taking advantage of "lazy" hackintoshers
I saw this misleading listing on Ebay recently and thought I'd share it with readers of this thread.
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Wow ! A fully configured working Mojave hackintosh shipped right to your door with free shipping. It even says they are a Top Rated Plus seller with 100% positive feedback. You'd better read the fine print before clicking on the purchase tab.

It appears that they are selling an Optiplex with Mojave pre-installed. Not really. They show it in the picture and in the title but all they are selling you is a Dell with a blank hard drive or SSD installed. They make it look like you select the OS that will supposedly be installed when you configure your system. This post on Ebay is getting a lot of traffic and I'm not really sure why. How could people who want a hackintosh be duped this easily ?

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You can buy a 7010 SFF right on Ebay with these specs for close to 100 USD or less, nowhere near the $185 they are asking for this. For that price, you should get at least an i7-3770 and 8GB, maybe even 16GB of ram installed.

Since they have already sold 16 of these (7 since January 1st) some are falling for this deceptive marketing. Here's what it says further down their listing in the fine print:

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At least they put "done by yourself" in red letters. I'm sure they get a lot of "free returns" from people angry that Mojave was not pre-installed for them. How they keep the comments of those people out of their Seller feedback I really don't know but they do. Or it could be that these gullible people give in, keep it and realize they can easily install Mojave all by themselves by following a guide.

I'd imagine they charge a high percentage restocking fee. You would also have to pay expensive return shipping. So don't be lazy and throw your money away. Avoid unscrupulus Ebay sellers like this.

Here's where it really gets ridiculous. They offer a 7010 DT with Core i7 16GB of ram and a GT 710. For $500 !!!

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You could buy one on Newegg right now with an i7-3770 and upgrade it to these specs for around 230 dollars less.

If anyone has bought one of these from bnphoto I'd like to hear from you. If you got instructions on how to install Mojave I'd be interested to see if they are plagiarizing this thread/guide and making profits from it.

It is illegal to be selling Dells or any other PC with macOS pre-installed so they are trying to make money this way with no risk of legal implications for selling hacks. Very clever in my opinion. Also very deceitful.
 
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I notice that the seller is using 'bhphoto' as the seller name, which at a cursory glance appears almost that well known electrical retailer B&H Photo, which could add to the gravitas of the posting without proper scrutiny.

You could argue that having a drop down listing that offers "Mojave 10.14" as an option is also misleading as despite the important small print the seller is confusing the issue and contradicting itself.

Buyer Beware, don't burn money that you cannot afford to lose.
 
I notice that the seller is using 'bhphoto' as the seller name
That is another trick they are using to deceive people. It makes you think they are B&H Photo. It actually says bnphoto.
The location they ship from is near Penn State University so there's no way there is any association with B&H which is in New York city. They would never resort to this to sell refurbished Dells. They only sell new PCs AFAIK. The seller is likely just shipping out off lease Penn State U computers that they have hundreds of. This is a way to move them faster.
 
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Picked up a K600 off eBay for ~14 bucks (T-Mobile deal last week). PNY model. Anyone try one of these in 10.14.4 yet? Thinking about using this in a Dell T30 I have to get sleep going.
 
In reference to my previous post here: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...p-pc-revision-ii.251736/page-122#post-1950264
where the Ebay seller is pretending to sell you a Dell with Mojave pre-installed but isn't
This is a deal worth buying and then installing Mojave yourself via the instructions in post #1.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAAYZ8S68206&ignorebbr=1

$152.50 and free shipping. You get an i7-3770 and 8 GB of ram. A 500 GB HDD with a Win 7 Pro license (can be converted to a Win 10 Pro license) by installing 10 Pro and entering it. Most likely there won't be any sales tax either.
You can install a 20 dollar Quadro K600 and get 4K @ 60Hz video resolution with a 4K monitor. There will still be room in the x4 PCIe slot for a Broadcom Wifi/BT card next to the K600. Can't beat a deal like that for a Mojave Hackintosh.

Here's what the seller says about these:
Each system has been cleaned/imaged and tested by our certified technicians and is guaranteed to be in perfect working order. The HDD's have been DOD wiped and loaded with a fresh copy of Windows 7 Professional.
Use the Win7 install to flash the BIOS and then either wipe it and install Mojave or put Mojave on an SSD and then dual boot. Lots of great options with these. I really enjoy my 7010 SFF with K600. I got one for even less than this from a different seller about 6 mos. ago.

Here's what a 2012 Mac mini with similar specs costs on Ebay:
Nearly 430 dollars ! Seriously, a 7.5 year old Mac for over $420 and you can't do any better than HD4000 graphics with these. It has Thunderbolt 1 but eGPU doesn't really work on these. TH1 ports are too slow. Maximum ram is just 16GB and you can't run a 4K display or television at it's native resolution.

It's a really nice machine but you will pay top dollar for it and have limitations the 9010 SFF doesn't have.
 
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Tis a beautifull day. Just got and installed my Fenvi
Why i love this topic: After 3 years of Custmac-ing i managed to find solutions in several problems that i had left to the self as unsolvable, just in this one thread. In addition- and most important for the topic- i can now easily setup Customacs for friends (that they probably wont need me when they upgrade) so they can enjoy the beauty of macOS like almost owning a mac, and smile again in front of a PC.
Why i love macOS: Installed my Fenvi wireless/BD adapter, booted to mojave. Bluetooth, wifi, location, all ready as the first screen appears. Plus my home network joined allready cause of apple ecosystem sharing from my iphone etc. Practically i plugged the card in and nothing else. People try to be very mild about their opinions on macOS. Saying things like "i prefer macOS but actually it is a matter of taste". Comparing only speed results. What about the freakin taste??? the style??? the ease of use??? is our life only numbers? I can't understand. You can deffinately not like le Corbusier's designs or Pink Floyd's music or a red Lamborghini Miura or ever better, the way a small cheap Peugeot 106 rallye drives in a corner, it is your right but i really do not give a s****t!! A work of art is a work of art. And the fundamentals on the design and the software aspects of macOS are a work of art. History was changed. I spent half my day in a wonderful, trouble free, full of solutions inviroment after many long freakin years of windows torture.
Why i love this community: I am back to macOS full time baby!!!

Ahh ... wanted to get it out of my system. if off topic i didn't mean to, greened the in topic ones... :) :p
Cheers everybody!!
 
After 3 years of Custmac-ing i managed to find solutions in several problems that i had left to the self as unsolvable, just in this one thread. In addition- and most important for the topic- i can now easily setup Customacs for friends (that they probably wont need me when they upgrade) so they can enjoy the beauty of macOS like almost owning a mac, and smile again in front of a PC.
This is what I want to see. People trying and using macOS without having to sell a kidney for a new iMac. I started using OS X Tiger back in 2005 and only take my Windose medicine when I absolutely have to. It always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It is hard to switch to anything different having used macOS for so long. Good to see some macOS enthusiasm posted here :thumbup:
 
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