Hardware Recommendations

Table of Contents

About Hardware Recommendations

HackintoshExpert Provide Ultimate Guide About Hackintosh Hardware Recommendations.A Hackintosh is a custom-built computer designed to run macOS on non-Apple hardware. Building a Hackintosh requires careful hardware selection to ensure compatibility with macOS.

Motherboard Recommendation

Motherboard Recommendations

So our overall recommendation for brands(Intel):

  • Z370 and older:
    • Gigabyte
    • Asus
    • MSI
  • Z390:
    • Asus
    • Gigabyte
  • Z490:
    • Asus,
    • Gigabyte
    • AsRock
  • Z590:
    • Asus
    • Gigabyte
    • MSI
  • Z690:
    • Asus
    • MSI
    • Gigabyte
  • Z790:
    • Asus
    • MSI
    • Gigabyte
Motherboard Support List CLICK HERE

CPU Recommendation

  • From Ivy Bridge (Consumer Series) to Comet Lake for full native support.
  • Rocket Lake, Alder Lake and Raptor Lake (spoofed to Comet Lake)
  • So our overall recommendation for CPUs:
    • Semi-modern consumer Intel CPUs
    • Haswell (4th) through Raptor Lake (14th) are properly supported in macOS
    • Xeon Sandy Bridge-EP/EN/EX Through Cascade Lake-SP/WX

CPU Recommendations

Supported Intel CPUs:

macOS supports a range of Intel Core processors, primarily from the following families:

  • Inten Core CPUs
    • Haswell (4th Gen, 2013-2015): Core i3, i5, i7
      • i3 4370, i5 4690k, i7 4790k
    • Broadwell (5th Gen, 2014-2015): Core i5, i7
      • i5 5675c, i7 5775c
    • Skylake (6th Gen, 2015-2017): Core i3, i5, i7
      • i3 6300, i5 6600k, i7 6700k
    • Kaby Lake (7th Gen, 2016-2018): Core i3, i5, i7
      • i3 7350k, i5 7600k, i7 7700k
    • Coffee Lake (8th/9th Gen, 2017-2020): Core i3, i5, i7, i9
      • i3 8350k, i5 8600k, i7 8700k, i3 9300, i5 9600k, i7 9700k, i9 9900K
    • Comet Lake (10th Gen, 2019-2021): Core i3, i5, i7, i9
      • i5 10600K, i7 10700K, i9 10900K
    • Rocket Lake (11th Gen, 2021): Core i5, i7, i9
      • i5 11600K, i7 11700K, i9 11900K
    • While newer generations like Alder Lake (12th Gen) and Raptor Lake (13th Gen) have been used in Hackintosh builds, they may require additional configuration and are not officially supported.

Intel Xeon processors, designed for workstations and servers, can also be used in Hackintosh systems. Compatibility varies based on the specific model and macOS version. Notable supported Xeon families include:

  • Intel Xeon CPUs
    • Sandy Bridge-EP/EN/EX (2012-2014): Xeon E5-1600, E5-2600 series
    • Ivy Bridge-EP/EN/EX (2013-2015): Xeon E5-1600 v2, E5-2600 v2 series
    • Haswell-EP/EN/EX (2014-2016): Xeon E5-1600 v3, E5-2600 v3 series
    • Broadwell-EP/EN/EX (2016-2017): Xeon E5-1600 v4, E5-2600 v4 series
    • Skylake-SP/WX (2017-2019): Xeon Scalable Processors
    • Cascade Lake-SP/WX (2019-2020): Xeon Scalable Processors

It’s important to note that Xeon processors may require additional configuration, and some features like integrated graphics are not present in many Xeon models, necessitating a dedicated GPU.

Intel CPU Support List CLICK HERE
AMD CPU Support List CLICK HERE

GPU Recommendation

dGPU Recommendation

  • So our overall recommendation for GPUs:
    • Newer AMD GPUs:
      • Polaris 10 and 20(RX 4XX, 5XX)
      • Vega 10 and 20(RX Vega 56, 64 and VII)
      • Navi 10(RX 5XXX)
  • Overall brand recommendations:
    • Asus
    • Gigabyte
    • Sapphire
    • MSI
  • Polaris
    • Sapphire Pulse RX 580
    • MSI Armor RX 580
    • Asus Strix RX 580
  • Vega
    • Asus Strix Vega 56/64
    • Gigabyte RX Vega 56/64 Gaming
    • MSI Airboost Vega 56/64
    • Radeon VII
  • Navi
    • Sapphire Nitro+ RX 5700 XT
    • Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 XT
    • Gigabyte Gaming OC RX 5700 XT
    • Asus Strix RX 5700 XT

iGPU Recommendation

  • AMD APUs with Integrated GPUs
    • Raven Ridge (Zen 1 with Vega Graphics):
      • Ryzen 3 2200G (Vega 8)
      • Ryzen 5 2400G (Vega 11)
    • Picasso (Zen+ with Vega Graphics):
      • Ryzen 3 3200G (Vega 8)
      • Ryzen 5 3400G (Vega 11)
    • Renoir (Zen 2 with Vega Graphics):
      • Ryzen 3 4300G (Vega 6)
      • Ryzen 5 4600G (Vega 7)
      • Ryzen 7 4700G (Vega 8)
    • Cezanne (Zen 3 with Vega Graphics):
      • Ryzen 3 5300G (Vega 6)
      • Ryzen 5 5600G (Vega 7)
      • Ryzen 7 5700G (Vega 8)
    • Mendocino (Zen 2 with RDNA 2 Graphics):
      • Ryzen 5 7520U (Radeon 610M)
      • Ryzen 7 7730U (Radeon 610M)
      • Phoenix (Zen 4 with RDNA 3 Graphics):
      • Ryzen 5 7640U
      • Ryzen 7 7840U (Radeon 780M)
  • Intel iGPU
    • Haswell (4th Gen Intel Core)
      • HD Graphics 4200, 4400, 4600 (Supported from macOS 10.9 Mavericks and later)
      • Iris 5100 (Supported)
      • Iris Pro 5200 (Supported, better performance)
    • Broadwell (5th Gen Intel Core)
      • HD Graphics 5300, 5500, 6000 (Supported from macOS 10.10 Yosemite and later)
      • Iris 6100 (Supported)
    • Skylake (6th Gen Intel Core)
      • HD Graphics 510, 520, 530 (Supported from macOS 10.11 El Capitan and later)
      • Iris 540, 550 (Supported)
      • Iris Pro 580 (Supported)
    • Kaby Lake (7th Gen Intel Core)
      • HD Graphics 610, 630 (Supported from macOS 10.12 Sierra and later)
      • Iris Plus 640, 650 (Supported)
    • Coffee Lake (8th/9th Gen Intel Core)
      • UHD Graphics 610, 630 (Supported from macOS 10.13 High Sierra and later)
      • Iris Plus 655 (Supported)
    • Comet Lake & Ice Lake (10th Gen Intel Core)
      • UHD Graphics 630 (Supported from macOS 10.13 High Sierra and later)
      • UHD Graphics G1 (Supported with macOS 10.15 Catalina and later)
      • Iris Plus G4, G7 (Supported)

Roket Lake, Alder Lake and Raptor Lake iGPU is Not Supported in MacOS Hackintosh

Intel GPU Support List CLICK HERE
AMD GPU Support List CLICK HERE
Nvidia GPU Support List CLICK HERE

Storage Support

  • So Our Overall Recommendation of Storage:
    • SATA SSDs and NVMe SSDs
  • Overall Brand Recommendation:
    • Gigabyte
    • Lexer
    • Corsair
    • Kingston
    • ATIC Kingsman
    • HP
    • WD
Storage Support List CLICK HERE

RAM (Random Access Memory)

Recommended RAM Brands

The following brands are widely used in Hackintosh builds and are known for good compatibility with macOS:

  • Corsair:
    • Vengeance LPX 
    • Vengeance RGB Pro 
    • Dominator Platinum
  • G.Skill:
    • Trident Z 
    • Ripjaws V 
    • Trident Z RGB
  • Crucial:
    • Ballistix Sport LT
    • Crucial Basics
  • Kingston:
    • HyperX Fury 
    • HyperX Predator 
  • ADATA:
    • XPG Gammix D10 
    • XPG Spectrix D60G
  • TeamGroup:
    • T-Force Delta RGB
    • T-Force Vulcan Z 
RAM Support List CLICK HERE

Wired Networking

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Wired Network Support List CLICK HERE

Wireless Networking

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Wireless Network Support List CLICK HERE

→ If You Want to Know About More Info Go to Hardware Compatibility 

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