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Sierra and contemporary chipsets

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Motherboard
ASUS PRIME Z490-A LGA 1200
CPU
Intel i7-10700k
Graphics
ASUS AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT
Mac
  1. iMac
  2. MacBook Pro
Classic Mac
  1. iMac
  2. Power Mac
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
I'm making considerations for a Hackintosh build in the very near future and I'm inclined to carefully consider the version of macOS I plan on installing while making the purchases.

The broad strokes are as follows:
  • Sierra is the "sweet spot" OS for using older Adobe software I own and want to continue using.
  • Official Apple hardware is known for having the ability to roll back to its originally installed OS, but newer hardware can't be "degraded" to earlier versions of macOS

My fantasy build would involve contemporary hardware (LGA 1200 Intel chips and motherboards) and having the option to boot into Sierra on one drive and also newer versions like Big Sur on another drive.

So, is this possible? Or are Hackintoshes limited in the same way as Macs in the sense that they can only operate with an OS contemporary with the hardware?

Please forgive any naiveté on my part if the answer is obvious. I'm comfortable building PCs and following installation guides; my first experience with running Snow Leopard on a Dell netbook worked a treat since it was known for having zero issues between the OS and hardware. These days, however, the prospect of using custom and experimental kexts and the like are beyond anything I've done before. In closing, thank you all so much for your insight and hardwork!
 
I'm making considerations for a Hackintosh build in the very near future and I'm inclined to carefully consider the version of macOS I plan on installing while making the purchases.

The broad strokes are as follows:
  • Sierra is the "sweet spot" OS for using older Adobe software I own and want to continue using.
  • Official Apple hardware is known for having the ability to roll back to its originally installed OS, but newer hardware can't be "degraded" to earlier versions of macOS

My fantasy build would involve contemporary hardware (LGA 1200 Intel chips and motherboards) and having the option to boot into Sierra on one drive and also newer versions like Big Sur on another drive.

So, is this possible? Or are Hackintoshes limited in the same way as Macs in the sense that they can only operate with an OS contemporary with the hardware?

Please forgive any naiveté on my part if the answer is obvious. I'm comfortable building PCs and following installation guides; my first experience with running Snow Leopard on a Dell netbook worked a treat since it was known for having zero issues between the OS and hardware. These days, however, the prospect of using custom and experimental kexts and the like are beyond anything I've done before. In closing, thank you all so much for your insight and hardwork!
it may be worth checking over:

may have some insights on hardware for Sierra :)
 
My fantasy build would involve contemporary hardware (LGA 1200 Intel chips and motherboards) and having the option to boot into Sierra on one drive and also newer versions like Big Sur on another drive.
Sierra public release was Sept. of 2016 so there's no way it could support newer LGA 1200 chips and boards. You'd have to go with much older hardware for Sierra. Would be best to have one Z490 Big Sur system and an older Skylake or Kaby Lake system to run Sierra on.
 
Seems those Adobe softwares should be very old that don’t require an subscription... Get rid of them for your computer, or sell your computer for buying a used one which is limited to Skylake or older.
 
Sierra public release was Sept. of 2016 so there's no way it could support newer LGA 1200 chips and boards. You'd have to go with much older hardware for Sierra. Would be best to have one Z490 Big Sur system and an older Skylake or Kaby Lake system to run Sierra on.
Ok, this is pretty much what I was expecting. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask since the Hackintosh community seems to make miracles happen (in my eyes) regularly. I'll go ahead and make a Big Sur machine and be happy!
 
Seems those Adobe softwares should be very old that don’t require an subscription... Get rid of them for your computer, or sell your computer for buying a used one which is limited to Skylake or older.
I do have an old 2013 iMac running the suite in question and it does a fine job. It would be ideal to use one machine for all my needs, but if worse comes to worse I'll just hold on to the iMac in addition to the new build. Thanks!
 
Ok, this is pretty much what I was expecting. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask since the Hackintosh community seems to make miracles happen (in my eyes) regularly. I'll go ahead and make a Big Sur machine and be happy!
MacOS Sierra 10.12.6 still works with Z370 / Z390 motherboards and 8th / 9th generation Intel CPUs provided that you use a supported graphics card like the RX 580.

My first and second systems are based on them and both run MacOS Sierra / High Sierra / Mojave / Catalina.
 
Seems those Adobe softwares should be very old that don’t require an subscription... Get rid of them for your computer, or sell your computer for buying a used one which is limited to Skylake or older.
Now, if that older software (Photoshop CS6?) still works properly for the OP I don't see why he/she should have to upgrade, unless the hardware he/she is using or is going to use no longer support it.

If it is MacOS Sierra he/she is after, a Z370 / Z390 motherboard, Intel 8th / 9th generation i3/i5/i7/i9 CPUs and a supported graphics card like the RX 580 will enable him/her to continue to run MacOS Sierra 10.12.6. My first and second systems run everything from Sierra to Catalina.
 
Now, if that older software (Photoshop CS6?) still works properly for the OP I don't see why he/she should have to upgrade, unless the hardware he/she is using or is going to use no longer support it.

If it is MacOS Sierra he/she is after, a Z370 / Z390 motherboard, Intel 8th / 9th generation i3/i5/i7/i9 CPUs and a supported graphics card like the RX 580 will enable him/her to continue to run MacOS Sierra 10.12.6. My first and second systems run everything from Sierra to Catalina.
I just gave options: Upgrade Adobe softwares. Or use old hardwares.
 
MacOS Sierra 10.12.6 still works with Z370 / Z390 motherboards and 8th / 9th generation Intel CPUs provided that you use a supported graphics card like the RX 580.

My first and second systems are based on them and both run MacOS Sierra / High Sierra / Mojave / Catalina.
Hmm, this makes things interesting. Researching things before jumping into the forums I checked Everymac to see if I could find any 8th generation Intel CPU Macs which originally came with Sierra pre-installed. As best as I can tell, every system had High Sierra. Based on that it was my guess that any Hackintosh using an i5 8600, for example, wouldn't allow anything earlier than 10.13.

Am I correct that the board you're using that can run Sierra is the Z370 Aorus Ultra Gaming you have listed in your profile? I've put software installation on the back burner because hardware seems to be the critical first step when building a Hackintosh, so I'm not entirely clear on how one would get Sierra running on the newer chipset. Is this where hardware profiles come into play?

I try not to get "into the weeds" on forums, but elaborating on my intentions might be helpful: As I mentioned, I do have a late 2013 27" i7-4771 iMac which runs Adobe Creative Suite 6 just fine. A gnat did find its way under the display glass, but otherwise everything else is in great shape. Within the last year I upgraded the original 3tb Fusion Drive to a 500gb Crucial SSD.

One could say there is little reason to replace it. However, we all know Apple systems are known for being difficult and expensive to repair. The idea that catastrophe could strike is always on my mind. Putting something together with user replaceable parts is very enticing. Duel booting with Sierra and one of the current macOS versions is even better. Not paying Adobe's ridiculous subscription fees is just the icing on the cake. (My feelings about Adobe's pricing scheme is another subject and everyone has their opinion. That's a subject for another forum. If it becomes clear my endeavors aren't tenable I'll just have to be happy with what I have. That being said, I'm refraining from discussing the pros and cons of Adobe CC.)
 
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