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Success! MacOS High Sierra on a Dell Optiplex 9020 with 2 GPUs, 3 monitors

I've been on a steep learning curve with my first Hackintosh build and thought I’d pass along a few tips and lessons learnt for the Dell 9020 optiplex mid-tower. This is a popular model in academic/gov’t settings. Not much to look at, but it’s well constructed and capable of running MacOS High Sierra. Currently running version 10.13.4 (17E199). https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=2NS-0008-0CYB8

Specs: - CPU: Intel i7-4790 @ 3.6GHz - GPUs: onboard Intel HD 4600 , NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 2GB - Displays: 3 x Dell P2314H (three 23” displays, 1920x1080 resolution). - RAM: 16 GB, 1600 MHz DDR3 - Storage: 1x1TB HDD, 1x120 GB SSD - Ethernet: onboard Intel I217LM PCI Express Gigabit - No wifi, no bluetooth, single OS.

Resources: - Guide: http://forum.osxlatitude.com/index.php?/topic/8506-dell-latitude-inspiron-precision-xps-clover-guide/#entry54621 - Bootpack: https://osxlatitude.com/topic/6006-optiplex-9020-mavericks-el-capitan-sierra-wip/ - BIOS updater: http://www.dell.com/support/home/ca/en/cabsdt1/product-support/product/optiplex-9020-desktop/drivers - Getting Messages to work: https://www.Tonymacx86/threads/an-idiots-guide-to-imessage.196827/

Hardware issues:

  1. My Dell came with an AMD Radeon R7 250 installed. Maybe in the right hands it can work in a mac but for me this was a dead end. I recommend removing it and using onboard integrated graphics, at least during the installation. This Dell has 2 DisplayPort ports available. I later picked up a Nvidia card to handle a third display.

  2. Adding a SSD was a simple and worthwhile upgrade. I dropped mine onto the same ribbon cable as the HDD and nicked the power lead from the CD/DVD drive (when will I ever use a DVD?). No issues here. Trim enabled by default. I put the OS and some essential apps on the 120 GB SSD and still have about 95GB free.

  3. I use the onboard ethernet adapter and picked up a cheap ($4) USB dongle for bluetooth, which works fine with an apple trackpad. If you absolutely need wifi then do some research before buying a card. Some people go for a macbook wireless card and pci-e adapter to get around compatibility issues.

  4. Upgraded the system bios (currently v22). See link above.

Installation:

  1. Used Jake Lo’s guide for High Sierra (UEFI booting) at the link above. Follow it closely. It covers recommended BIOS settings, how to create the install USB drive, and how to install clover and the bootpack for the 9020 model onto the USB drive. It is written with experience. I was stuck for an embarrassingly long time trying to reach the MacOS install screen. Problem was I didn’t follow the guide closely enough and didn’t see that the FixHeaders option must be activated (under the ACPI section in clover configurator, or in ACPI patching in the Clover boot menu). *fun fact: newer ‘vibrant’ versions of clover configurator seem to have moved or hidden the FixHeaders option. I use an older ‘classic’ version of CC.

  2. The kexts and drivers recommended in Jake’s guide were sufficient to get MacOS up and running. Audio worked out of the front headphone jack. USB3 drives all work, front and back. However sleep/wake didn’t work at first so I couldn’t leave the system powered on overnight, and the ethernet dropped its connection every 20-30 minutes or so, and still does.

Dualing GPUs:

A recommendation: if you do not have 3 displays or are not into gaming or video editing then you might save yourself some grief by using the integrated graphics GPU and 2 available DP ports on the Dell. They work very well. Else, add a more powerful GPU that handles 3 displays and turn off Intel's integrated graphics. The NVidia geforce 710 is a fine GPU but using 2 GPUs simultaneously compromises the stability. I am still working out the bugs.

To install the extra GPU - first, in the BIOS I selected Nvidia to be the main card, deactivated intel graphics and multiple displays. Then I dropped the card into the AMD’s old slot on the MB. It powered up fine but without full acceleration.

Next, I installed the Nvidia web drivers that matched my MacOS version number. There is a handy script that manages this for you: https://hackintosher.com/forums/thread/how-to-install-nvidia-web-drivers-with-webdriver-sh-on-a-Hackintosh.48/ Don't think the CUDO drivers are necessary for this card.

Once installed, I went back into the BIOS, activated ‘multiple displays’ option, and rebooted. Results so far have been mixed.

  1. Post-installation:

There was some work left to do using Clover configurator. I still don’t understand most of what this app does, so some of my suggestions here are probably unnecessary. But these settings got things working well for me, so if you are stuck, try this.

  • Boot section, activate -v -xcpm dart=1 npci=0x2000 -kext-dev-mode=1 darkwake=no NeverHibernate (and add custom flags: IGPEnabler=Yes GraphicsEnabler=No HDAEnabler=Yes)
  • Graphics section, activate Inject Intel. Ig-platform-id: 0x0D220003
  • SMBIOS section: select iMac15,1
  • Drivers: a few deviations here from the 9020 bootpack: deselect OsxAptioFixDrv-64. Select CsmVideoDxe-54, EmuVariableUefi-64 and OsxAptioFixDrv2-64 and OsxAptioFixDrv3-64. I also changed the ethernet driver to IntelMausiEthernet.kext. Fix permissions (step #1) after any changes to kexts and drivers.
  • System parameters: activate NvidiaWeb
  • Follow the guide linked above to get Messages working properly; it's a bit fussy about serial numbers and the SMBIOS configuration.

EFI/CLOVER/kexts/other: FakePCIID.kext FakePCIID_Intel_HDMI_Audio.kext Lilu.kext FakeSMC.kext NvidiaGraphicsFixup.kext IntelGraphicsFixup.kext

EFI/CLOVER/drivers64UEFI AppleImageCodec-64.efi AppleKeyAggregator-64.efi AppleUITheme-64.efi CsmVideoDxe-64.efi DataHubDxe-64.efi EmuVariableUefi-64.efi FSInject-64.efi FirmwareVolume-64.efi HFSPlus.efi NTFS.efi OsxAptioFix2Drv-64.efi OsxAptioFix3Drv-64.efi OsxFatBinaryDrv-64.efi SMCHelper-64.efi apfs.efi

/Library/Extensions ACS6x.kext ATTOCelerityFC8.kext ATTOExpressSASHBA2.kext ATTOExpressSASRAID2.kext AppleHDA_ALC280.kext ArcMSR.kext CalDigitHDProDrv.kext EAPDFix.kext GeForceTeslaWeb.kext GeForceWeb.kext HighPointIOP.kext HighPointRR.kext IntelMausiEthernet.kext NVDAGF100HalWeb.kext NVDAGK100HalWeb.kext NVDAGM100HalWeb.kext NVDAGP100HalWeb.kext NVDANV50HalTeslaWeb.kext NVDAResmanTeslaWeb.kext NVDAResmanWeb.kext NVDAStartupWeb.kext PromiseSTEX.kext SoftRAID.kext USBInjectAll.kext

Remaining issues:

  • Still have only about a 30% Success rate at boot up to get both GPUs working with full acceleration on all 3 monitors. If there’s an obvious fix to this then please let me know.
  • I learnt to never, never select “sleep” from the apple menu. Instant crash. Sleep works when the system is left alone. Guessing the C-state enabled in the bios does not match what macos wants to do? not sure.
  • And the ethernet connection is still dropping for a few seconds, every 20-30 min or so. Bit of a nuisance.

All an all, despite the minor issues, it was a fun Hackintosh experience. Most of the hardware was compatible(ish). And I've turned an unwanted PC into a very capable mac.

Author: @java1030
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