Harry Su

Tinker • Barista • AutoCAD novice • Former IT Worker

My Hackintosh Build (OpenCore) Part 3

by · February 2, 2023

Introduction

It is that time of the year again: upgrade macOS in my hackintosh from Big Sur (11) to Monterey (12) because Ventura (13) is available.

Installation Issues

The macOS Monterey installation process went fine but I encountered two Bluetooth issues post-install. First, Monterey did not recognize Asus BT400. Second, Bluetooth stopped working when wake from sleep. Apple rewrote the Bluetooth stack for Monterey which impacted many Bluetooth devices in OpenCore. I tried BlueToolFixup kernel extension as recommended by official OpenCore documentation but that did not work for me. Since Fenvi FV-T919 had Bluetooth function but was not used, I decided to give it a try. I connected the Bluetooth-USB header on the Fenvi card to an internal USB header on the Gigabyte motherboard. Monterey recognized it right away on first attempt!

To fix Bluetooth and wake/sleep issue, I disabled XMP in Gigabyte motherboard’s UEFI (BIOS) as suggested by some forum members. I had some doubts about this solution at first but was pleasantly surprised by the result. I have no problem trading minor performance loss in order to keep using Apple Keyboard and Apple Trackpad. I also discovered that I could use Apple Keyboard in OpenCore’s GUI (OpenCanopy) during boot up in this configuration.

While troubleshooting Bluetooth issues, I discovered that I did not need USBMap kernel extension anymore.

Hardware Components

During the last Winter holidays, I replaced the Cooler Master NR400 case with BitFenix Prodigy M case to give my hackintosh a Mac-like appearance. While I succeed in that regard, I had mixed feelings about the new case though. The fans that came with the BitFenix case were really loud so I replaced them with much quieter Fractal Design Aspect 12 RGB. I liked the idea of using a remote to control fan speed and color but it failed after only a few months of usage. The fan hub is still supplying electricity to the fans but I can not change their speed nor color with the remote. I do not know if the fan hub or the remote is the culprit here. The case itself has numerous minor fit-and-finish issues as well. If I had to do it again, I would not get this case.

I also replaced Corsair HX650 with smaller Seasonic Focus SGX-500 for easier cable management and better air flow inside the BitFenix case. Asus BT-400 failed to work in Monterey and was replaced by Fenvi FV-T919’s built-in Bluetooth.

Here are my parts:

  • Apple Magic Trackpad
  • Apple Wireless Keyboard (4th generation)
  • BitFenix Prodigy M case [new]
  • Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler
  • Crucial MX500 1TB 2.5″ SSD
  • Fenvi FV-T919 Wifi 802.11ac Bluetooth 4.0 PCI-E adapter
  • Fractal Design Aspect 12 RGB fans [new]
  • Gigabyte Z490M Gaming X motherboard
  • Gigabyte Radeon RX480 4GB Gaming GPU
  • G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 RAM [running at 2133 MHz with XMP turned off]
  • Intel Core i5-10400 CPU
  • Seasonic Focus SGX-500 PSU [new]

Setup & Benchmarks

My hackintosh is running OpenCore 0.8.8 and Monterey 12.6.3 as of this writing.

About This Mac
About This Mac

The EFI folder layout for Monterey is similar to Big Sur, except one fewer kernel extension.

EFI Folder Layout
EFI Folder Layout

Disabling XMP did not have much impact on Cinebench scores when comparing to Big Sur.

Cinebench scores
Cinebench R23 Scores

Disabling XMP did have an impact on Geekbench multi-core score when comparing to Big Sur.

Geekbench scores
Geekbench 5.5 Scores

What Does Work

Everything that was working in Big Sur is still working in Monterey.

AirPlay in Monterey now works over Ethernet. WiFi feature is still required but can be disabled which was not the case for Big Sur.

Here is a list of some of the apps I use in my hackintosh:

  • Android Studio
  • DBeaver
  • FileZilla
  • Firefox
  • GIMP
  • Maps
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Word
  • OneDrive
  • Podcasts
  • PyCharm CE
  • Slack
  • VLC
  • Xcode

Steam

Steam needed a work-around in order to run in Big Sur because the app was not properly signed. That issue went away with the latest version of the app and Monterey. I did not have much time to play games these days so I do not have much to report here. Hades ran just fine in the short time I spent in that game. I did encounter some interesting but frustrating issues when I tried to get multiple wireless controllers working properly at the same time in Steam. I will save that experience and others for another post.

What Does Not Work

Amazon Prime Video does not work. The app runs but actual videos fail to load. I suspect the reason has to do with DRM and HDCP. Not a big deal for me because I can watch Amazon Prime Video on other devices but it was an interesting find nonetheless.

What Is Next

I am planning to replace Intel CPU & motherboard with AMD offerings and turn this setup into a Ryzentosh sometime this year or next. I am also planning to replace the BitFenix case with Fractal Design Pop Mini Air. That looks like a cool case for a Ryzentosh build.