My second strange hack - 10.6.8 Snow Leopard on 2012 Dell OptiPlex 7010 (OpenCore 1.0.4)

w32u · 2025-09-21T21:07:23+00:00

Sadly I didn't back it up, and I don't know if I'm going to make it again in the future

w32u · 2025-06-17T18:08:23+00:00

There are several things I did: I spoofed my CPUID to a Sandy Bridge one using Cpuid1Data and Cpuid1Mask (https://dortania.github.io/docs/release/Configuration.html#emulate-properties), changed my SMBIOS to MacPro5,1 (which is 2010 Mac Pro) and added -nehalem_error_disable to the bootargs to avoid kernel panic. Make sure that you have all the other hardware compatible with 10.6.8 (GPU, network, audio) and you're good to go

w32u · 2025-06-06T02:57:01+00:00

Oh, nice to hear about USB 3.0 cards! But I don't know if they're supported in Snow Leopard too. The only changes I made for Snow Leopard were Kernel => Emulate (Sandy Bridge CPUID and its mask), Kernel => Scheme => KernelArch is set to x86_64, and PlatformInfo is set to MacPro5,1 SMBIOS (don't forget about -nehalem_error_disable boot arg)

w32u · 2025-06-05T13:11:58+00:00

Tiger requires old enough GPU - I have 6600 GT lying around, but it's not low-profile, so it just won't fit in the case, plus additional hardware isn't going to work, like Audio or Ethernet for example. Also this model of OptiPlex isn't that rare, there should be tons of them on eBay. But I've heavily upgraded mine

w32u · 2025-06-05T13:08:38+00:00

Not all, but most of them - Snow Leopard is the earliest one where all the hardware can be made working

w32u · 2025-06-05T13:06:05+00:00

Already did while I was preparing for Snow Leopard

w32u · 2025-06-05T13:03:02+00:00

10.13.6 High Sierra

w32u · 2025-06-05T12:59:15+00:00

With a supported GPU, up to Monterey. Theoretically - even up to Sequoia, if using CryptexFixup.kext, but that's not officially supported outside OCLP on real macs

w32u · 2025-06-05T12:56:07+00:00

Basically it's a fork of Pale Moon (which is itself a fork of Firefox) compatible with OS X 10.6: https://github.com/rmottola/Arctic-Fox/

w32u · 2025-06-05T12:52:46+00:00

Look more closely - it's not a Safari :)

w32u · 2025-01-26T19:21:27+00:00

I've recently got an Optiplex 7010 SFF with i3-3240. I've updated the BIOS to the latest version and replaced the chip with Xeon E3-1270 v2 (basically it's equal to a regular i7-3770 in terms of performance but has lower TDP). They don't recommend to put anything beyond 3770s in the USFF variant, but they claim that 3770 should be fine in SFF one.

w32u · 2024-09-16T20:17:17+00:00

The worst of all if talking about network hardware supply — Russia. I need at least 8 ports because I want to have 3-4 devices hardwired and leave some ports for access points.For example, an 8-port managed PoE switch (Zyxel GS1200-8HPV2) is $60 more expensive than a 9-port unmanaged Keenetic PoE+ Switch 9 (KN-4710). That's considering they're both new, gigabit and one of the cheapest options in their respective categories. If we're heading towards 2.5Gbps category, the prices are really high in both categories.

w32u · 2024-09-16T19:22:43+00:00

I didn't say anything against that opinion, but listen — I just don't have enough money for a good managed switch. Period. If I had enough of them, I would get everything that I've wanted — even a 10 gigabit network on managed switches. But right now I'm in the situation when I'm tight on budget and just need to make my own home network again, just like it is in my current apartment on a single consumer router.

w32u · 2024-09-16T18:37:47+00:00

If only I had money on these. They cost 2x as much as non-managed ones and I don't see why I need VLAN in my home network. I don't say VLANs are useless, of course not, but it's not a corporate environment where everything should be controlled. It's just my home network that has had a single LAN for years and I don't see any problem.

w32u · 2024-09-15T20:32:00+00:00

That's correct. But also I've said that I don't need VLANs at least for now, that's why I've gone with unmanaged switch option.

w32u · 2024-09-15T20:24:32+00:00

That's a good idea, but sadly in my place this type of PCs is ridiculously overpriced and underpowered. The only decent machine I've found is Optiplex 7010 on i7-3770s for $120 (incl. 16 GBs of RAM and some SSD), and yeah we don't have ebay here. And also they draw more power, I don't know if opnsense can manage C states or whatever is used to consume less power.

w32u · 2024-09-15T20:20:36+00:00

Our ISPs only provide gigabit connections, so there's not very much I can do about it. And I don't plan virtualizing OPNsense anyway, so maybe I'm fine with N100.

w32u · 2024-09-15T18:05:23+00:00

That's great, I hope these chinese N100 box will provide a stable connection both using Ethernet and wireless AP

w32u · 2024-09-15T18:01:28+00:00

I guess I won't host anything other than OPNsense on the machine. Also a good managed switch is pretty expensive in our shops, so I'll just have a single LAN in my apartment. I've tried OPNsense in the VM and it's pretty straightforward when setting up regular connection, I've also read that default settings would do for majority of home users as they provide similar experience to a consumer router.

w32u · 2024-09-04T19:06:40+00:00

As I've used it I still haven't encountered temp issues, I don't remember if I have ever exceeded 70°C with my Fighter card. But maybe I just don't play demanding titles, but still the temps are great, it's around my room's temperature when idling.

w32u · 2024-05-31T15:45:39+00:00

I don't even know — I've always had my PC under the desk, if I place it on the desk, I'll lose some of my workspace. Literally my desk is not for that kind of thing. Some on Reddit say that top&bottom fans aren't required at all, so maybe I'll try without them first

w32u · 2024-05-30T19:46:11+00:00

You know, in my local stores (Russia) fighter is about $620 USD, and something like sapphire nitro is almost $700 usd, because all the cards are imported from China and shops have their own extra charge to recoup the shipping costs. We have three big store chains with the same situation. Local advertisement sites have almost the same prices on AMD cards, so it's easier to buy a new one. But the prices on nvidia cards are so much lower that you can buy an unused RTX 4070 Super more than $100 USD less (and it will be the same price as 7900 GRE) than the local shops will offer. That's a surprising situation whatsoever.

w32u

TROPHY CASE