# Hardware Limitations
With macOS, there are numerous hardware limitations you need to be aware of before stepping foot into an installation. This is due to the limited amount of hardware Apple supports, so we're either limited by Apple or what patches the community has created.
The main hardware sections to verify are:
And for more detailed guides on the subject, see here:
- GPU Buyers Guide (opens new window)
- Check if your GPU is supported and which macOS version you can run.
- Wireless Buyers Guide (opens new window)
- Check if your WiFi card is supported.
- Anti-Hardware Buyers Guide (opens new window)
- Overall guide on what to avoid and what pitfalls your hardware may hit.
# CPU Support
For CPU support, we have the following breakdown:
- Both 32 and 64-bit CPUs are supported
- This however requires the OS to support your architecture, see CPU Requirements section below
- Intel's Desktop CPUs are supported.
- Yonah through Comet Lake are supported by this guide.
- Intel's High-End Desktops and Server CPUs.
- Nehalem through Cascade Lake X are supported by this guide.
- Intel's Core "i" and Xeon series laptop CPUs
- Arrandale through Ice Lake are supported by this guide.
- Note that Mobile Atoms, Celeron and Pentium CPUs are not supported
- AMD's Desktop Bulldozer (15h), Jaguar (16h) and Ryzen (17h) CPUs
- Laptop CPUs are not supported
- Note not all features of macOS are supported with AMD, see below
For more in-depth information, see here: Anti-Hardware Buyers Guide (opens new window)
CPU Requirements
Architecture Requirements
- 32-bit CPUs are supported from 10.4.1 to 10.6.8
- Note that 10.7.x requires 64-bit userspace, limiting 32-bit CPUs to 10.6
- 64-bit CPUs are supported from 10.4.1 to current
SSE Requirements:
- SSE3 is required for all Intel versions of OS X/macOS
- SSSE3 is required for all 64-bit versions of OS X/macOS
- For CPUs missing SSSE3 (i.e. certain 64-bit Pentiums), we recommend running 32-bit userspace (
i386-user32)
- For CPUs missing SSSE3 (i.e. certain 64-bit Pentiums), we recommend running 32-bit userspace (
- SSE4 is required for macOS 10.12 and newer
- SSE4.2 is required for macOS 10.14 and newer
- SSE4.1 CPUs are supported with telemetrap.kext (opens new window)
- Newer AMD drivers also require SSE4.2 for Metal support. To resolve this, see here: MouSSE: SSE4.2 emulation (opens new window)
Firmware Requirements:
- OS X 10.4.1 through 10.4.7 require EFI32 (i.e. IA32 (32-bit) version of OpenCore)
- OS X 10.4.8 through 10.7.5 support both EFI32 and EFI64
- OS X 10.8 and newer require EFI64 (i.e. x64 (64-bit) version of OpenCore)
- OS X 10.7 through 10.9 require OpenPartitionDxe.efi to boot the Recovery partition
Kernel Requirements:
- OS X 10.4 and 10.5 require 32-bit kexts due to only supporting 32-bit kernelspace
- OS X 10.6 and 10.7 support both 32 and 64-bit kernelspace
- OS X 10.8 and newer require 64-bit kexts due to only supporting 64-bit kernelspace
- Run
lipo -archsto know what architectures your kext supports (remember to run this on the binary itself and not the .kext bundle)
- Run
Core/Thread Count Limits:
- OS X 10.10 and below may not boot with more than 24 threads (evident by a
mp_cpus_call_wait() timeoutpanic) - OS X 10.11 and newer have a 64 thread limit
cpus=boot argument can be used as a workaround, or disabling hyperthreading
Special Notes:
- Lilu and plugins require 10.8 or newer to operate
- We recommend running FakeSMC for older versions of OS X
- OS X 10.6 and older require RebuildAppleMemoryMap enabled
- This is to resolve an early kernel
Intel CPU Support Chart
Support based off of Vanilla Kernels (i.e. no modifications):
AMD CPU Limitations in macOS
Unfortunately many features in macOS are outright unsupported with AMD and many others being partially broken. These include:
- Virtual Machines relying on AppleHV
- This includes VirtualBox, VMWare, Parallels, Docker, Android Studio, etc
- VirtualBox 6, VMware 10, and Parallels 13.1.0 do support their own hypervisor, however using such outdated VM software poses a large security threat
- Adobe Support
- Most of Adobe's suite relies on Intel's Memfast instruction set, resulting in crashes with AMD CPUs
- You can disable functionality like RAW support to avoid the crashing: Adobe Fixes (opens new window)
- 32-Bit support
- For those still relying on 32-Bit software in Mojave and below, note that the Vanilla patches do not support 32-bit instructions
- A work-around is to install a custom kernel (opens new window), however you lose iMessage support and no support is provided for these kernels
- Stability issues on many apps
- Audio-based apps are the most prone to issues, ie. Logic Pro
- DaVinci Resolve has been known to have sporadic issues as well
# GPU Support
GPU support becomes much more complicated due to the near-infinite amount of GPUs on the market, but the general breakdown is as follows:
- AMD's GCN based GPUs are supported in the latest versions of macOS
- AMD APUs are not supported however
- AMD's Lexa based cores (opens new window) from the Polaris series are also not supported
- Special note for MSI Navi users: Installer not working with 5700XT #901 (opens new window)
- This issue is no longer present in macOS 11 (Big Sur).
- NVIDIA's GPU support is complicated:
- Maxwell(9XX) (opens new window) and Pascal(10XX) (opens new window) GPUs are limited to macOS 10.13: High Sierra
- NVIDIA's Turing(20XX, (opens new window)16XX) (opens new window) GPUs are not supported in any version of macOS
- NVIDIA's Ampere(30XX) (opens new window) GPUs are not supported in any version of macOS
- NVIDIA's Kepler(6XX, (opens new window)7XX) (opens new window) GPUs are supported up to macOS 11: Big Sur
- Intel's GT2+ tier (opens new window) series iGPUs
- Ivy Bridge through Ice Lake iGPU support is covered in this guide
- Info on GMA series iGPUs can be found here: GMA Patching (opens new window)
- Note GT2 refers to the tier of iGPU, low-end GT1 iGPUs found on Pentiums, Celerons and Atoms are not supported in macOS
- Ivy Bridge through Ice Lake iGPU support is covered in this guide
And an important note for Laptops with discrete GPUs:
- 90% of discrete GPUs will not work because they are wired in a configuration that macOS doesn't support (switchable graphics). With NVIDIA discrete GPUs, this is usually called Optimus. It is not possible to utilize these discrete GPUs for the internal display, so it is generally advised to disable them and power them off (will be covered later in this guide).
- However, in some cases, the discrete GPU powers any external outputs (HDMI, mini DisplayPort, etc.), which may or may not work; in the case that it will work, you will have to keep the card on and running.
- However, there are some laptops that rarely do not have switchable graphics, so the discrete card can be used (if supported by macOS), but the wiring and setup usually cause issues.
For a full list of supported GPUs, see the GPU Buyers Guide (opens new window)
Intel GPU Support Chart
| GPU Generation | Initial support | Last supported version | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Gen GMA (opens new window) | 10.4.1 | 10.7.5 | Requires 32-bit kernel and patches (opens new window) |
| 4th Gen GMA (opens new window) | 10.5.0 | ||
| Arrandale(HD Graphics) (opens new window) | 10.6.4 | 10.13.6 | Only LVDS is supported, eDP and external outputs are not |
| Sandy Bridge(HD 3000) (opens new window) | 10.6.7 | N/A | |
| Ivy Bridge(HD 4000) (opens new window) | 10.7.3 | 11.7.x | |
| Haswell(HD 4XXX, 5XXX) (opens new window) | 10.8.5 | 12.6.x | |
| Broadwell(5XXX, 6XXX) (opens new window) | 10.10.0 | ||
| Skylake(HD 5XX) (opens new window) | 10.11.0 | ||
| Kaby Lake(HD 6XX) (opens new window) | 10.12.4 | Current | |
| Coffee Lake(UHD 6XX) (opens new window) | 10.13.6 | ||
| Comet Lake(UHD 6XX) (opens new window) | 10.15.4 | ||
| Ice Lake(Gx) (opens new window) | 10.15.4 | Requires -igfxcdc and -igfxdvmt in boot-args | |
| Tiger Lake(Xe) (opens new window) | N/A | N/A | No drivers available |
| Rocket Lake (opens new window) | N/A | N/A | No drivers available |
AMD GPU Support Chart
| GPU Generation | Initial support | Last supported version | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| X800 (opens new window) | 10.3.x | 10.7.5 | Requires 32 bit kernel |
| X1000 (opens new window) | 10.4.x | N/A | |
| TeraScale (opens new window) | 10.4.x | 10.13.6 | |
| TeraScale 2/3 (opens new window) | 10.6.x | ||
| GCN 1 (opens new window) | 10.8.3 | 12.6.x | |
| GCN 2/3 (opens new window) | 10.10.x | ||
| Polaris 10 (opens new window), 20 (opens new window) | 10.12.1 | Current | |
| Vega 10 (opens new window) | 10.12.6 | ||
| Vega 20 (opens new window) | 10.14.5 | ||
| Navi 10 (opens new window) | 10.15.1 | Requires agdpmod=pikera in boot-args | |
| Navi 20 (opens new window) | 11.4 | Currently only some Navi 21 models are working |
NVIDIA GPU Support Chart
| GPU Generation | Initial support | Last supported version | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce 6 (opens new window) | 10.2.x | 10.7.5 | Requires 32 bit kernel and NVCAP patching (opens new window) |
| GeForce 7 (opens new window) | 10.4.x | Requires NVCAP patching (opens new window) | |
| Tesla (opens new window) | 10.4.x | 10.13.6 | |
| Tesla v2 (opens new window) | 10.5.x | ||
| Fermi (opens new window) | 10.7.x | ||
| Kepler (opens new window) | 10.7.x | 11.7.x | N/A |
| Kepler v2 (opens new window) | 10.8.x | ||
| Maxwell (opens new window) | 10.10.x | 10.13.6 | Requires NVIDIA Web Drivers (opens new window) |
| Pascal (opens new window) | 10.12.4 | ||
| Turing (opens new window) | N/A | N/A | No drivers available |
| Ampere (opens new window) |
# Motherboard Support
For the most part, all motherboards are supported as long as the CPU is.
MSI 500-series AMD motherboards note
The exception is MSI 500-series AMD motherboards (A520, B550, and X570). These motherboards have issues with macOS Monterey and above:
PCIe devices are not always enumerated properlyThe BIOS update for Zen 3 support breaks boot
macOS Big Sur or earlier is recommended for these motherboards.
Thanks to CaseySJ, this has been fixed in the latest version of the AMD vanilla patches!
# Storage Support
For the most part, all SATA based drives are supported and the majority of NVMe drives as well. There are only a few exceptions:
Samsung PM981, PM991 and Micron 2200S NVMe SSDs
- These SSDs are not compatible out of the box (causing kernel panics) and therefore require NVMeFix.kext (opens new window) to fix these kernel panics. Note that these drives may still cause boot issues even with NVMeFix.kext.
- On a related note, Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe SSDs also had the same problem but it was fixed in a firmware update; get the update (Windows via Samsung Magician or bootable ISO) here (opens new window).
- Also to note, laptops that use Intel Optane Memory (opens new window) or Micron 3D XPoint (opens new window) for HDD acceleration are unsupported in macOS. Some users have reported success in Catalina with even read and write support but we highly recommend removing the drive to prevent any potential boot issues.
- Note that Intel Optane Memory H10/H20 models are compatible if the Optane part is disabled in macOS. More information can be found here (opens new window) (original Chinese source (opens new window)).
Intel 600p
- While not unbootable, please be aware this model can cause numerous problems. Any fix for Intel 600p NVMe Drive? #1286 (opens new window)
- The 660p model is fine
# Wired Networking
Virtually all wired network adapters have some form of support in macOS, either by the built-in drivers or community made kexts. The main exceptions:
- Intel I225-V 2.5Gb NIC
- Found on high-end Desktop Comet Lake boards
- Requires device properties: Source (opens new window) and Example
- Intel I350 1Gb server NIC
- Normally found on Intel and Supermicro server boards of various generations
- Requires device properties
- Intel 10Gb server NICs
- Workarounds are possible for X520 and X540 chipsets (opens new window)
- Mellanox and Qlogic server NICs
# Wireless Networking
Most WiFi cards that come with laptops are not supported as they are usually Intel/Qualcomm. If you are lucky, you may have a supported Atheros card, but support only runs up to High Sierra.
The best option is getting a supported Broadcom card; see the WiFi Buyer's Guide (opens new window) for recommendations.
Note: Intel WiFi is unofficially (3rd party driver) supported on macOS, check WiFi Buyer's Guide (opens new window) for more information about the drivers and supported cards.
# Miscellaneous
- Fingerprint sensors
- There is currently no way to emulate the Touch ID sensor, so fingerprint sensors will not work.
- Windows Hello Face Recognition
- Some laptops come with WHFR that is I2C connected (and used through your iGPU), those will not work.
- Some laptops come with WHFR that is USB connected, if you're lucky, you may get camera functionality, but nothing else.
- Intel Smart Sound Technology
- Laptops with Intel SST will not have anything connected through them (usually internal mic) work, as it is not supported. You can check with Device Manager on Windows.
- Headphone Jack Combo
- Some laptops with a combo headphone jack may not get audio input through them and will have to either use the built-in microphone or an external audio input device through USB.
- Thunderbolt USB-C ports
- (Hackintosh) Thunderbolt support is currently still iffy in macOS, even more so with Alpine Ridge controllers, which most current laptops have. There have been attempts to keep the controller powered on, which allows Thunderbolt and USB-C hotplug to work, but it comes at the cost of kernel panics and/or USB-C breaking after sleep. If you want to use the USB-C side of the port and be able to sleep, you must plug it in at boot and keep it plugged in.
- Note: This does not apply to USB-C only ports - only Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C combined ports.
- Disabling Thunderbolt in the BIOS will also resolve this.