Can I install Mac OS X on my Windows PC?

Compatibility of the hardware in your build is the difference between succeeding  and failing. If you would like to install the Mac Operating System on your Windows PC, it's important that you know what hardware works and what does not work. Mac OS X compatible hardware varies, it depends a lot whether your computer was Self-Built by you or Pre-Built by a company like HP, also if it's a desktop machine or a portable notebook or laptop. If you are in doubt about what hardware is inside of the computer you want to use, install something like CPU-Z. This program will tell you what CPU you have and a few more details. HWINFO is another free software program that will give you more details about what hardware your PC uses, not only CPU but graphics card and pretty much anything else.


This article was made to help you in determining if your PC is capable of running Mac OS X. If, However, your intentions are to build a complete new computer to run Mac OS X, the best way is always to follow the tonymacx86's recommendations, or the cheap hackintosh builds here. If you want to use the computer you already own, check out the Mac breaker's 2012 laptop buying guide and see if yours is there, or the Dell XPS 8300 Pre-Built desktop, the only documented system that is Mac OS X compatible.

Self-Built PCs

Motherboard:

If the Motherboard of the PC you want to use was manufactured between 2010-2012 and designed for Intel processors, there is a good chance that it will work with the Mac Operating System. If it was manufactured before 2010, it might be too much of a hurdle, and not worth you while, spending time with it.

The best Brand to choose and the most supported is Gigabyte, these are the only Motherboards that will work with the CPU power management service built into Mac OS X, out of the box. The vast majority of Gigabyte motherboards have DSDT files available in the DSDT section of the tonymacx86 website, this is extremely helpful, it can mean hours of work vs days! DSDT files are configuration files that help Mac OS X run with your motherboard. DSDT files are compatible with only the motherboard they were patched for, also note that the bios version needs to be taken into account. The latest Gigabyte motherboards use UEFI instead of a bios and do not even need a DSDT file.

Even if you do not have a Gigabyte motherboard, still check the tonymacx86's DSDT Section it is not limited to Gigabyte Motherboards. If you cannot find your motherboard model there, Google is your friend to search for instructions on installing Mac OS X on your particular Motherboard. As an example, if you have a ASUS Maximus V GENE Motherboard, then Google "ASUS Maximus V GENE hackintosh". You might also need to check the tonymacx86 Wiki and the OSX86 wiki for more info on semi compatible motherboards.

ASUS is the second most popular motherboard brand for Hackintosh builds, there are a lot of guides for getting Mac OS X on motherboards of this brand. Sometimes emulation is required. You might also come across guides for other boards, they are less common than guides for Gigabyte and ASUS motherboards.

Graphics Card:

Apart from the motherboard, the graphics card is probably the most important component you will have to consider for your rig. The Mac OS X Operating System does not usually work with integrated graphics (incorporated in the motherboard). You will most likely need a separate graphics card for your build. One of the only exceptions is the integrated graphics of the new core i Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge Intel processors; more info can be found in the CPU section below.

Older cards like the NVIDIA 8800GS and the Radeon 5770 will normally work with Mac OS X, without the need to change anything. As far as newer graphics cards are concerned, most cards in the AMD Radeon 6600 and 6800 series will work. Some of the cards in the NVidia 400 series will also work without extra modifications, a good selection of them will require you to install an Enabler in MultiBeast to enable the visuals that Mac OS X has in Lion and Mountain Lion, in some cases the official drivers that NVidia released, only for Snow Leopard though.

The most recent cards from the NVidia 500 series only work with the latest versions of the Mac OS; ie Lion and Mountain Lion, cards from the NVidia 600 series only work with Mountain Lion. To enable graphics support for the NVidia 500 series in OS X Lion, you will have to install OpenCL Enabler in MultiBeast. In the latest Version of the OS (Mountain Lion) the NVidia 500 series and the NVidia 600 series usually work without any modifications, this is not always the case though, If it does not work you may have to install the Enabler to enable full graphics support.

In respect to the AMD 6900 series and the AMD 7000 series, there is no compatibility yet for these graphics cards. In addition, CrossfireX and SLI, which enable you to run two separate cards as a single graphics card on Windows, do not work on a Hackintosh build. OS X always recognizes double-card layout as two separate graphics cards.

Have a look at the tonymacx86 wiki and the OSx86 wiki for two unfinished lists of compatible cards. It's important that you will be aware that Mac OS X is extremely picky about the brand, the model and even the manufacturer of a particular graphics card model. For example, a An XFX NVidia 8800 GTS card might work much better than a Sapphire NVidia 8800 GTS card. When searching for graphics card compatibility, it's always good to include these details in your search.

CPU:

Pretty much any Intel CPU from 2010 to the present day (Nov 2012) will work with the Mac OS. AMD CPUs are barely supported, some of it's support stopped at the Snow Leopard iteration of the OS, therefore they are not recommended. Even older Intel CPUs can run Mac OS X Snow Leopard, but there are many that don't work with Mac OS X Lion or Mountain Lion. Lion and Mountain Lion are 64-bit operating systems, so it's incompatible with the 32-bit architecture that older CPUs use.

The new Sandy Bridge Core i CPUs by Intel include built-in graphics in the CPU chip itself. Sandy Bridge processors can be distinguished by the model number in the 2000's, as an example the Core i5-2500. These built-in graphics cards work with Mac OS X Lion but do not work with Snow Leopard, and come in two versions: HD 2000 and HD 3000 graphics. Unfortunately, only HD 3000 graphics are officially supported. HD 2000 sort of works, but it doesn't have graphics acceleration, so it's not recommended for an Hackintosh build.

The Ivy Bridge CPUs are supported by Mac OS X 10.7.5 Lion and every update released up to date, of OS X Mountain Lion. Ivy Bridge processors model number is in the 3000's, such as the Core i5-3450. Ivy Bridge does not work in Snow Leopard. Usually, you must have access to a real Mac or an existing Hackintosh or install OS X on a virtual machine before you can install OS X on your Ivy Bridge PC. You might be able to install Snow Leopard on Ivy Bridge with the iBoot legacy, but results vary. The integrated HD 4000 found on some Ivy Bridge CPUs, works on Mac OS X 10.7.5 and every update of OS X Mountain Lion. HD 2500 graphics are not supported.

Some Intel Sandy Bridge processors do not work very well with the Snow Leopard version 10.6.8. It is recommended that you update to version 10.6.7 instead. You can still update to Mac OS X Lion from 10.6.7. Mountain Lion requires 10.6.8, but there might be a way to circumvent this requirement by spoofing the system version.

Peripherals and Discs: 

The majority of WiFi adapters and WiFi cards do not work with OS X. A wired internet connection with a Ethernet cable is advised. If you need WiFi, go with Ralink, plenty of support for older and new Wireless N cards.
Mostly all Bluetooth adapters, in theory, work with the Mac OS, a large majority will break sleep mode though. If you want to use a Bluetooth mouse, but you also want to use sleep mode, acquire a Bluetooth adapter that has known compatibility with OS X. It most likely will say it in the packaging.

Most hard drives should work fine, there are some exceptions to the rule. HDDs with 4096 byte sectors, instead of the usual 512 byte sectors have problems booting the system, and require a complex terminal fix. This issue is prominent in WD Caviar Green HDDs. Just about every SSD will work with OS X by default. Some Solid State Drives do not have a built-in service called TRIM (some, like the SandForce drives by OCZ do not even need it) if required, you can enable it with MultiBeast.

Additionally, there are cases where optical drives prevent OS X from sleeping. Go by the safe route and buy online, research if there are any compatibility issues with the optical drive you have in mind. Mac OS X can read and write to BluRay discs, you cannot, watch BluRay films as there is no support in the Mac OS.

If you find a webcam compatible with Mac OS X, it most likely will be compatible with Hackintoshes too. Beware that to get it to work you will need drivers and the support software that came with it.

It is the same with other peripherals, such as mice, keyboards, usb hubs and so on: most of them work, you will not know for sure until you have tried them.

To check the compatibility of some peripherals, refer to OSx86 Wiki. Tonymacx86 Wiki will also includes a growing lists of compatible peripherals. Neither of these lists are huge, still good to have as reference.

Pre-built desktop PCs:

Ok, so building a new computer it is not what you have in mind. It is possible to turn a normal pre-built computer like an HP or Sony into a Hackintosh. It's just not very likely that everything will work. If you want to try and install OS X on a computer you bought pre-built, you need to do some research beforehand.

One of the main issues with these computers is that they have non standard motherboards. When constructing computers, manufacturers usually tend to use their own proprietary hardware, unknown, or sometimes, made specifically for the computer that they are building. This causes a problem to someone assembling a hackintosh as most of the parts are not tested for compatibility. A bit like Apple and their Mac hardware.

The only way is to search Google for specific Hackintosh guides for your model of computer. i.e. , if you have a Sony T3612, search "Sony T3612 hackintosh" in Google.

Not forgetting to check the OSx86 Wiki for a list of compatible PCs. Also the tonymacx86 Wiki has a few lists of compatible Pre-Built Desktops, there isn't a single place you can go to that has all that information.

If you looked and cannot find a guide or any instructions for your particular PC, then the process will become a bit of hit and miss, sometimes more of the miss and hours of trying. This is not something you can do in an hour, like installing windows on a PC, remember you are installing OS X on a machine that was not meant to have it. However, if you have a relatively new computer model with an Intel CPU, there's a good chance that it can run OS X quite well. Better results are achieved with gaming personal computers, these normally use publicly available motherboards. Without the help of a guide it might be impossible, I make no promises you will get yours working.

Laptops and Notebooks:

When its down to OS X compatibility, laptops and notebooks are even worse than pre-built PCs. As I previously mentioned, it's hard to find a Wi-Fi card that will work with OS X (Ralink being the exception), in the case of the trackpad not being supported, the only way to pass the initial screen on the Mac OS X installer is to plug in a USB or Bluetooth mouse and Keyboard.
Rules for Pre-Built PCs also apply to laptops: Google search for specific Hackintoshing instructions and guides for your laptop or notebook model. Revisit the OSx86 Wiki and tonymacx86 Wiki (amazingly, there is more compatibility info for laptops comparing to desktop PCs).




Happy Building!

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