vappster

joined 1 year ago
 
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3500U
  • GPU: Vega 8 (iGPU)
  • RAM: 16 GB DDR4 (overclocked to 2666 MHz via Smokeless UMAF)
  • Laptop model name: HP 15-db1061nw
  • Audio Codec: Realtek ALC236
  • Ethernet: Realtek PCI GbE
  • Wi-Fi/BT card: Realtek RTL8821CE (Not supported, I've mounted an USB Archer T2U Nano internally - more info in the description)
  • Touchpad: Synaptics touchpad (PS/2)
  • Keyboard: Integrated (USB)
  • NVMe SSD: WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006
  • SATA SSD: Samsung 860 EVO

(I'm using a MacPro7,1 SMBIOS as it was the only way I could get iServices to work)

This is a laptop I have gotten in Poland as I needed a machine for an apprenticeship there, and it's very likely the last hackintosh I ever make: I'm planning to stick by this one for as long as I can and, once becomes too old to be useful, I will buy an Apple Silicon based Mac if I want to run macOS.

iGPU aside (seriously impressive stuff by the NootInc team!), the tricky parts to get this hackintosh laptop to work were the Wi-Fi/BT card and USB. The stock Wi-Fi card is unsupported by macOS and, while I could've bought and installed a supported M.2 model, I've decided to use a compatible USB one I had lying around from a previous project instead and mount it internally, connecting it to the laptop's internal antenna so I can still get good reception. I know it's not ideal, but I'm okay with not having AirDrop and I can always get a proper compatible card down the line if I change my mind, so why not?

Then, there's the USB issue. Oh boy. If you're not up to speed, some Ryzen APU-based hackintoshes hang on boot when XHC0 & XHC1 get initialized due to a not yet fully understood issue. You can work around this either by disabling one of the two controllers using Smokeless UMAF (but that means losing some external/internal ports, plus some laptops don't have that option in UMAF... like this one) or use GenericUSBXHCI, which will allow you to boot into the OS, however most of its functions are broken under 11.0+ (no USB mass storage, and most USB devices that aren't mice/keyboards won't work).

Therefore, because I couldn't use the UMAF workaround, I was stuck with a laptop with next to no USB support in macOS up until I decided to screw around with GenericUSBXHCI during some downtime at work, and I've managed to make USB work properly on my machine! The result is this experimental kext - make sure to read the readme if you're planning to test it out on your hackintosh, neither I nor the guys I talked to at Noot Inc. are sure what exactly is making it work so far so it's not a proper fix just yet. (But if you are affected by the USB issues and do end up trying it, let me know if it worked for you!)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Just checked, I've registered my account... 9 years ago. Welp lol

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I'm currently using a refurb sub-400 Eur laptop (R5 3500U) I've bought in Poland as my daily driver portable machine, which I've done a good number of DIY upgrades to it: for example, even if the motherboard had a SATA Slimline port, it was completey unused (probably as a carry over from an older design) and the case had no accomodation an optical drive (the space normally reserved for an ODD was filled up with plastic reinforcements), yet I've managed to find a way to free up some space and use the PCB of a Slimline to full size SATA to install a SATA SSD I've had lying around from a dismissed computer.

Also, a few years ago I've built a very cheap hackintosh out of a Dell Optiplex 755 for my family, who was unsure whether to keep using PCs or switch to Macs at the time. The PC used a LGA 771 to 775 modded quad core Xeon x3363 as a CPU, a Nvidia GT 210 "GPU" (in quotes because we all know just how underpowered it was, but I've been able to get it essentially for free and I was only looking forward to use it as a display adapter as the onboard graphics was completely unsupported by macOS and that PC had no HDMI out otherwise anyway) and a DIY'd USB DAC salvaged from a broken pair of headphones a friend of mine was throwing away as its speaker out (all I did was desolder the headphones from it and solder a 3.5mm jack in their place - macOS had serious audio quality issues with the onboard audio on that chipset, so using a USB DAC instead was highly recommended). The final build was running High Sierra, which was a few releases behind at the time as Big Sur had just been announced, but it was surprisingly usable especially considering all the DYIng and how some of the components had 10+ years on their back!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Pretty easy. Here's my two experiences so far:

  • Twitter: I've only ever used it for memes, to follow a literal couple of content creators I liked and to promote my Twitch channel (which, at that point, was inactive). After the Musk acquisition and the first few bullshit decisions, I've promptly deleted my account and never looked back. I've since heard of Mastodon and decided to give it a shot - Twitter wasn't one of my favorite socials to begin with so I'm not particularly active on Mastodon either, but it's hands down a much better experience compared to it.
  • Lemmy: I haven't outright deleted my Reddit account and I don't think I will, not because I want to keep using the site but rather due to some contributions that can be considered important to some communities (mainly 3DS hacking & homebrew) which could be lost if I do. However, I've been enjoying Lemmy a lot and the more time passes, the more I find myself using this social compared to Reddit.
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This is kind of a weird one, but 3DSController. I wouldn't use my 3DS as my go-to PC controller of course, but doing so as a temporary/emergency gamepad or even just for the novelty factor is very cool imo!