last os to support Core i5-650 with iGPU"Intel HD"? Lenovo M90Z AIO

[cdoublejj]

have an m90z AIO, specs say it's an Core i5-650, i tried to see which igpu it is but, i think it's LEGIT just "Intel HD" first gen iGPU. i believe that would be an improved variation of the "feces" gpu architecture.

i think the bare minimum for any recent macOS is like intel HD4600 so idon't think this thing can be used for any useful daily driven form of x86 macOSing.

NOW if i had a tower where i could install a GPU, would these older i5s still be too old?

 

[Edhawk]

No they are not too old, if you can add a metal compatible Discrete GPU to the system, then these old CPU's will work in anything up to and including Catalina.

My real iMac mid-2010 uses an i7-860 (same generation as the i5-650) but only works with a Discrete GPU. The iMac came with an ATI HD5670 512mb Discrete GPU (MXM-A), which I have since replaced with an Nvidia K1100M 2GB card (also MXM-A). This allowed me to update the system to macOS High Sierra using the App Store.

If I want I can Hack the iMac (install OpenCore) this would allow me to run Mojave or Catalina on the system.

The bare minimum is an Ivy Bridge HD4000. This IGPU would allow you to install macOS Catalina with a display driven by the IGPU.

For Big Sur the minimum should be the Haswell Refresh HD4600 IGPU.

 

[trs96]

i think the bare minimum for any recent macOS is like intel HD4600

It's HD4000 currently. I'm using it with Big Sur with no issues. Apple left the HD4000 kexts and graphics bundles alone in Big Sur. Have a look in /S/L/E and you'll see them .

As far as CPUs go, you can use something as old as a Core 2 Duo or Quad. They don't support SSE 4.2 instructions but there are workarounds for that. Personally I wouldn't go with anything older than a Haswell system with a quad core i5 or better for Big Sur. If you can increase the Vram for the HD4600 to 2GB it works quite well for general usage.