Optimizing macOS Sonoma for Intel Raptor Lake CPUs

Guide:

Audience: Expert Hackintosh Users

Introduction

As the Hackintosh community embarks on integrating macOS 14 Sonoma with the latest 13th Generation Intel® Raptor Lake CPUs, fine-tuning is essential to get the most out of your system.

Performance Tuning Steps

1. BIOS Configuration:

   • Ensure that you have the latest BIOS firmware that supports Raptor Lake CPUs.
   • Adjust CPU settings to enable all cores and threads if they are not all recognized.

2. plist Configuration:

   • Use a plist editor to carefully tweak your config.plist file.
   • Ensure that your CPU type is correctly identified and that the power management settings are optimized for Raptor Lake.

3. Kexts and Drivers:

   • Update to the latest Lilu and WhateverGreen kexts for compatibility.
   • Include any other necessary kexts for USB, Audio, and Network that are specific to your motherboard.

4. AML Files (DSDT/SSDT):

   • Craft or modify your DSDT/SSDT files to match the Raptor Lake power states and device properties.
   • This may require advanced knowledge of ACPI tables and how they interact with macOS.

5. Testing and Benchmarking:

   • Use Geekbench or similar benchmarking tools to test the performance of your CPU.
   • Monitor the activity of your cores and threads through the macOS 'Activity Monitor' or third-party tools like iStat Menus.

6. Troubleshooting:

   • If not all cores or threads are recognized, investigate potential issues with VoodooTSCSync or CPUFriend kexts.
   • Ensure that the SMBIOS profile in your config.plist is appropriate for your CPU, such as using a profile for a close equivalent Intel CPU found in real Macs.

Feedback and Iteration

• Share your benchmarks and configurations with the community to receive feedback and suggestions.
• Iteratively refine your configuration files based on testing and community advice.

Documentation

• Keep detailed records of changes made to your configuration files for future reference or for sharing with the community.

Conclusion

While not yet perfect, achieving a stable and functional system with a 13th Generation Intel® Raptor Lake CPU on macOS Sonoma is a commendable milestone. Continuous iteration and community collaboration are key to further refining performance.

Wishing you continued success with your Hackintosh project, and may the New Year bring further breakthroughs in compatibility and performance!