The Ultimate Low Cost Big Sur Hackintosh - Core i5 Dell Optiplex 3020 SFF

[Toyo72]

Great guide as always, @trs96, thanks. Installed Catalina as iMac 15,1 on the 3020 and other than a hang or two on the install reboots all went well. I didn’t do the Enable EHCI Handoff / Set XHCI mode to Enabled changes, as I wasn’t sure they were needed for Catalina.

Runs great so far, using the iGPU on this one. Found a great deal on eBay, less than $100 including shipping, i5-4590 with 8gb RAM, and in mint condition.

 

[trs96]

Installed Catalina as iMac 15,1 on the 3020 and other than a hang or two on the install reboots all went well. I didn’t do the Enable EHCI Handoff / Set XHCI mode to Enabled changes, as I wasn’t sure they were needed for Catalina.

Happy to hear of your success with the guide. All of the EHCI and XHCI bios settings are related to how the USB ports function so they apply equally to Catalina and Big Sur. They're not mandatory for either but they are suggested to get the best USB function from a 3020. They don't apply to the 3020M models. All of those variables are completely different. Applying the wrong ones will create havoc.

 

[Toyo72]

OK, implemented those as well. Also ordered one of the SSD trays as suggested in the 1st post, so I can use two drives.

 

[Toyo72]

One issue - no audio device is detected. Something must be out of sorts with the ID for the audio codec. Going through Dortania's troubleshooting and guide to get audio to work in OC, not having much luck.

 

[trs96]

One issue - no audio device is detected. Something must be out of sorts with the ID for the audio codec. Going through Dortania's troubleshooting and guide to get audio to work in OC, not having much luck.

Here's all the potential Layout IDs for the ALC 280 codec. I had used 13 with success on the 7020 and 9020 models. Not sure why it's not working for the 3020. We'll have to research this some more.

 

[trs96]

Going through Dortania's troubleshooting and guide to get audio to work in OC, not having much luck.

Give layout-id 11 a try and it should work. I have no idea why the 13 or 17 layout ids don't work on the 3020 when they work perfectly on the 7020/9020 which also uses the same ALC280. That's the nature of the hackintosh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[bejbuling]

Give layout-id 11 a try and it should work. I have no idea why the 13 or 17 layout ids don't work on the 3020 when they work perfectly on the 7020/9020 which also uses the same ALC280. That's the nature of the hackintosh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Check this out thread and my post in it, on my Optiplex 3050 (newer gen) I have for Hackintosh tinkering it worked after I've done this: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...2-catalina-10-15-7.305259/page-2#post-2236757

 

[Toyo72]

Here's all the potential Layout IDs for the ALC 280 codec. I had used 13 with success on the 7020 and 9020 models. Not sure why it's not working for the 3020. We'll have to research this some more.

View attachment 527644

@trs96 in BIOS (v A20) my system reports ALC3220 rather than ALC280. edit - I see that Dortania notes about rebranded controller if 3xxx.

Tried changing .plist with layout 11 (0B000000) in Device Properties > Add and it displays a Digital Out in System Prefs Audio
with layout 13 (0D000000) the system displays a Headphone Out and a Line Out

 

[trs96]

Tried changing .plist with layout 11 (0B000000) in Device Properties > Add and it displays a Digital Out in System Prefs Audio

Have you plugged in any headphones to the front jack ?

layout 13 (0D000000) the system displays a Headphone Out and a Line Out

Is 13 working alright for you ?

 

[trs96]

my system reports ALC3220 rather than ALC280

ALC3220 is what Dell calls ALC280 not sure why they do that.

Here's what I get when using Audio Layout ID of 11:

If I plug my headphones into the back panel line out, then that appears as an output option. The internal speaker disappears.

The internal speaker works for those that want to hear the boot chime. I usually never enable that on my hacks. I mostly use the front headphone jack so the layout ID of 11 meets my needs.