Mac Pro Mini Hackintosh aka iHack Pro

(It works! I've since updated from iMacPro1,1 to MacPro7,1 and upgraded to Big Sur 11.0.1 with a 49inch Dell monitor)

My goal was to build a Hackintosh that has a smaller footprint than the 2019 Mac Pro but also just as powerful if not more powerful. I've been using a 2012 Macbook Pro that is still running strong but I wanted much more power to do video/photo editing, mobile app development, and some machine learning.

Seeing that Apple came out with a very pricey version of the Mac Pro that starts out at $6K, I basically laughed at that idea of buying one. Having been a long time lurker of the Hackintosh movement I decided to jump into the pool after hearing about the success people were having with the OpenCore Vanilla Guide plus the use of AMD CPU's.

In this "Guide" I'm not going to go over every step of the build but will point you to resources that I used and thought were very helpful. Keep in mind that depending on the hardware you go with the experience and process may be slightly different.

The Build

• OpenCore: 0.6.6(updated from 0.6.3 to 0.6.6 using OC-Tool 2/25/21)
• Mac OS: Big Sur 11.2.2(updated 2/25/21)
• SMBIOS: MacPro7,1
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
• Motherboard: Gigabyte X570i AORUS PRO WIFI
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX Pro 2x32GB = 64 GB DDR4-3600MHz
• Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB GAMING OC
• Storage (macOS): Sabrent Rocket 1 TB NVMe 4.0 M.2 SSD
• Storage (media or dual boot): Sabrent Rocket 1 TB NVMe 4.0 M.2 SSD (Still deciding if I want to use this to boot Windows)
• Wireless/Bluetooth: Broadcom BCM94360NG
• Case/Cooler/Power: NZXT H1

When it comes to parts there's a few things you have to consider and think about.

CPU: Prior to OpenCore Intel was the name of the game and considered native. However with OpenCore it's pretty easy to use an AMD chip.

GPU: AMD is what's supported natively on MAC's and straight up plug play with no fuss. If you go with a 5000 series AMD GPU you'll need to add one extra Boot Arg to your plist which is easy and in my config.plist. I have encountered issues with the 5700 XT which are described below.

WIFI/BT: If you want this to have Airdrop and Handoff you need a Broadcom card. In my case a Broadcom BCM94360NG.

Thunderbolt: If you want this you'll want to go Intel CPU with a mobo like a Designare Z390 or you add a Titan Ridge TB card. At the moment I dont think AMD supported motherboard actually works.

RAM: With any computer build check the motherboards list of acceptable Ram otherwise you'll be wasting money.

Start Here...

If you want to take this seriously the OpenCore guide has all the steps to building your hackintosh. Read it line by line as you are going through it'll make sense.

If you are more of a visual person that just rather learn as you go I suggest watching a few of Technolli Youtube video's of various hackitosh builds he has put together for his subscribers. Literally he goes from start to finish. Building the computer, creating the bootloader, creating your EFI, walking through OpenCore, and installing it all on your new build.

The reason why I chose the NZHT H1 case was because of many reasons. 1) Form Factor, Design, and Size 2) AIO liquid cooling, case fans, all included and pre-configured 3)Power supply comes with it 4) Super easy to install everything! Last time I built a computer was probably 20 years ago back in college and this was just a breeze. Here's a handy video of the NZXT H1 build using the same motherboard that I used that came in handy. Robeytech NZXT H1 Build

Tools Needed

• OpenCore - Tool to turn your PC into a Hackintosh
• GibMacOS - Script to download MacOS for Bootloader
• ProperTree - GUI plist editor
• MaciASL - AML(ACPI Machine Language) compiler and IDE
• Mount EFI - Mount the EFI from the bootloader and system drive so you can add files to it
• GenSMBIOS - Generate SMBIOS Serial Number
• USB Stick - For the bootloader. Minimum space needed at least 10GB. Must be formated so don't use and existing one with data you want to keep.
• Computer Tools for building computer - Screw drivers and etc.

Additional Tools

• Patience
• Google Search
• Navigating Forums
• Following in detail OpenCore guide

Bootloader

This is what you need to create on a formated USB drive(minimum 10GB) with the MacOS of your choice and the EFI with all the drivers, kext, plist, and etc to get your new Hackitosh running. You can create the bootloader from a Mac or a Windows PC. This is also where you'll need to download GibMacOS so you can get a copy of the MacOS of your choice.

Insturctions on how to go about it here: OpenCore Creating USB Bootloader Video of how to do it: Windows Version or Mac Version

OpenCore for Ryzen

You'll now need to download the latest OpenCore then start building your EFI folder. You'll also need Mount EFI so you can reach the EFI folders.

Instructions: Follow the OpenCore guide will be key. If you wish to check out a video a link is below.

• Adding The Base OpenCore Files
• Gather Kext & Drivers - A copy of my [EFI is located here](link to EFI folder)
• ACPI - This is all I needed
• Config.plist Setup
• AMD Zen Config.plist
• Patches.plist - AMD Kernal patching

Video: Great video on how to build the EFI folder that needs to be loaded onto the Bootloader: Technolli Easy OepnCore for Ryzen

Installation After loading all the neccessary items into the EFI folder onto your bootloader USB you are ready to Install it onto your PC. You'll want to go into the bios first to make some updates which the video below can explain what needs to be updated.

Instructions: Installation
Video: Technolli Easy OpenCore for Ryzen Install

BIOS Settings

You'll want to go into your BIOS by restarting the computer and just hitting Delete until BIOS comes up. Just make sure that using the X570I motherboard that these settings are in place. XMP is not needed to be updated but from what I can tell the ram was not taking full advantage until I updated this setting. Also probably suggest to update your BIOS version as well just in case they come out with any new updates or improvements.

• Load Optimized Defaults
• Above 4G Decoding - Disabled
• CSM Support - Disabled
• Extreme Memory Profile XMP - Profile 1
• PCIe Slot Configuration - Gen3 (If you encounter issues with your system freezing up during Setup, After login, or in general and have a 5700XT paired with this board you'll need to switch it from Auto to Gen3 to get it stable. This also resolved my issues with the HEIC images/Dynamic Wallpaper being big block pixelated)

Drivers

• HfsPlus.efi - Needed for seeing HFS volumes
• OpenRuntime.efi - Included in OpenCore. Helps with patching boot.efi for NVRAM fixes and better memory management.

Kexts

• VirtualSMC - Emulates the SMC chip found on real macs, without this macOS will not boot
• Lilu - A kext to patch many processes, required for AppleALC, WhateverGreen, VirtualSMC and many other kexts. Without Lilu, they will not work.
• AppleALC - Used for AppleHDA patching, used for giving you onboard audio. Ryzen/Threadripper systems rarely have mic support
• WhateverGreen - Used for graphics patching DRM, boardID, framebuffer fixes, etc, all GPUs benefit from this kext.
• smalltreeintel82576 - Ethernet for this motherboard to work. Required for I211 NICs, based off of the SmallTree kext but patched to support I211
• SMCAMDProcessor - All the tools for CPU power and Temprature out the