Desktop

Overview

This laptop has been done before, but retired it due to multiple factors preventing it from functioning properly at the time. Then in early 2024, I couldn't deal with Windows 11 running poorly, and with it never supporting Kaby Lake based CPUs, I decided to go back to installing macOS. And with the new knowledge I learned from the last attempt to now.. I can say this is probably my most efficient Hackintosh to date.

Specification

• Intel i5-7300U 2.6GHz Dual-Core processor
  • Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
  • Intel HD 620 Series Integrated iGPU
  • 13.3" LED Backlit IPS Touchscreen Panel @ 300nits & 700:1 Contrast Ratio
• 16GB Single-SODIMM DDR4-2133
• 256GB Micron 1100 Series (MTFDDAV256TBN) SATA M.2 Drive
  • This is not a NVMe Micron so it is fully functional
• Intel I219LM4 PCI-Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
• AzureWave BCM94352Z M.2 NGFF WiFi
• ELAN-based Touchpad and Touchpoint
  • Touchpoint is disabled

Temperature does not work, which is normal.

What Works

Overall I am very pleased with this system, which I opted to use a MacBookPro SMBIOS due to no Kaby Lake or near KBL based SMBIOS for MacBook Air SMBIOS. Typically in Windows, I normally get about 6-8 hours of battery life under normal usage, despite the brochure states 13hrs of usage. But the battery is degraded to about 92%, and most of the components have aged pretty badly in this model as it is from 2017.

Now the best part. In macOS, I see about a 4-6hr battery life with this machine, which is the most efficient I have seen to date with all my laptops that I have hackintosh'd over the years. The only caveat is that the Touchscreen does not function, and the laptop's Yoga mode does not work in macOS which is expected. However I good amount functions:

• CPU Control despite MSR 0xE2 being locked in the BIOS
  • Setting Low-Power Mode reduces CPU usage to its base clock speeds (no Turbo Boost)
  • Apple VTD (VT-d support)
• Patched DMAR Table for functional VT-d
• Graphics Acceleration with full 8-bit color depth functionality
  • With this, there is no color banding even when the Kaby Lake framebuffer is utilized.
• Ethernet
• Wireless
  • iContinuity is partially functional due to this WiFi module not being natively supported
• SuperIO Readouts are functional - YogaSMC utilized with a SSDT provided by their GitHub page.
  • Battery Readout - With native reporting in macOS
  • Fan readout is also functional with the ability to use manual fan speeds
• Boot Camp Assistant
  • With the driver ExFatDxe.efi I was able to utilize the Boot Camp Assistant tool to install Windows 10 and the process was nearly automatic. Only thing I had to intervene was booting back into OpenCore, as Windows took over as the primary boot OS upon installation.
  • Despite that, once Windows was installed, the process continued just like an actual Mac and I had a seamless Boot Camp install of Windows 10 on a Hackintosh, with only minor manual intervention
• Audio Controller
  • Boot Chime is indeed possible but you must make sure to use the 2nd output and convert the boot chime file to 48KHz, as 44.1KHz is not supported in the UEFI firmware.
  • All other Audio functions normally within macOS.
• Sleep
  • Though I am noticing potential lockups while in sleep and will have to investigate this.
• Stylus Pen
• MicroSD Slot

Battery Settings with Battery Health

Sudden spike was the laptop's screen shutting off then waking up.

What Does Not Work

Of course the touch screen does not work, and I have attempted to get this functional, but this causes a hang during boot up as I am using an old version of VoodooSMBus.kext for my trackpad as it is a PS/2 ELAN device, and not the typical I2C based, which the touchscreen is. The USB-C port on the side works but only when a device is plugged in prior to booting macOS as it is a Thunderbolt-based USB-C 3.1 port, so no hot-plug support.

• Hibernation
• Touchscreen
• USB-C (Partially)
• SIM Slot
  • No WWAN Controller
  • No drivers for WWAN Controller
• Smart Card Reader

Conclusion

Overall this system is the most efficient and most compatible I have seen in awhile. Even though battery life is still not as high as it is in Windows, it is farther than most of my other laptops I have used in the past. And once I get the sleep issues ironed out, this will probably become my daily driver for when I'm on the go. As always, I do not include an EFI for this setup as it is purely setup for this particular machine, and there is no guarantee that it will work on any other similar machines.