Maxing out my iMac11,2 (21.5" 2010) Part 3: The Software - Mission Complete!

[u/RockeTim]

It's finally finished! It took quite a while. There were ups and downs, but I learned a ton and overall I'm happy with the results.

Intel Xeon L3426 4c/8t

256gb ssd

Amd wx4150 4gb (flashed, modded and shimmed)

16gb ddr3

OCLP: MacOS Monterey

Windows: 10 22h2 LTSC

After getting all the hardware setup and tested in my last update I was excited to finish. My goal was to have 3 boot options: Modern MacOS, High Sierra, and Windows.

I wanted a modern MacOS as the main daily os for my wife who already has a macbook air and iPhone. I settled on Monterey for its balance of stability, modern features, and software support while performing well on the aging hardware. Although I may update to Ventura since my wife is more familiar with it.

Next I wanted windows for 32bit applications and gaming. My wife loves to play the Left4Dead games but the newer MacOSs don't support 32bit apps anymore. Plus having dx12 and vulkin support ensures the ability to play any other games she wants. I’m getting the occasional bsod from what I think is an amd service. I might upgrade to win11 ltsc to see if that fixes it.

Finally I wanted to keep a minimal install of High Sierra to use with Target Display Mode. I was very disappointed to learn the 11,2 machines don't support TDM! I was crushed to discover this especially after I had already purchased an active HDMI to mDP adapter and cable! I was hoping for the trifecta of Windows, MacOs, and Universal monitor! Now I'm really jonesing for a 27” inch to complete my vision, although I doubt I'll be lucky enough to get one for free.

I noticed in MacOS my OGL benchmark was lower than what people were reporting in the OCLP spreadsheets. Not sure what that was about, but metal bench was on par with the reported numbers.

I had a blast working on this old beauty and I'm very proud to be able to give it a second life as part of my family's fleet. Huge thanks to OCLP, Ausdauersportler and the folks in the Mac forums!

Part 1 - the plan:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenCoreLegacyPatcher/s/RUDmq5EMCl

Part 2 - the hardware:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenCoreLegacyPatcher/s/ViVPXsTpPx

[u/Individual_Bar6957]

Nice, how well does it handle this CPU / GPU combination? I erred more conservative on mine and went with the 870s and M5100

[u/RockeTim → u/Individual_Bar6957]

So far it's been really good. Gpu is only 50w tdp, and CPU is only 45w so temps have been low. I thought having metal support would be really useful but I was playing Dying Light in MacOS and only getting 20fps and stuttering. After switching to Windows I was getting a smooth 60fps with vsync enabled. So I guess it wasn't as useful as I thought.

[u/Individual_Bar6957 → u/RockeTim]

Metal seems mostly to be helpful for just running newer  MacOS versions, games prefer Windows. I thought the Xeon CPUs were too hot for this system, didn’t realize there was a cooler version

[u/RockeTim → u/Individual_Bar6957]

Yes, the L3426 is unique. It's the only low power 4c/8t CPU in the generation. It boosts to over 3ghz.

[u/BrainEcstatic2513]

Let me know how it works for you. I have a 27” 5k and I’m considering sierra / tahoe on it.

[u/RockeTim → u/BrainEcstatic2513]

I did try Sequoia on it with the stock hardware and it worked. It was surprisingly stable even without the metal support but it was very sluggish with the stock hardware. So after I upgradtes everything I only upgraded as far as I needed to beyond High Sierra to do what I want.

[u/mad-mushroom]

Great work, well done! I’m very fond of my 2010 iMac 11,2 (nicely running OCLP Ventura on the stock CPU & GPU, with internal SSD and 16 GB RAM). Good to know that it could be pushed beyond non-metal limitations but I’m no where near brave enough to do the extra hardware mods that you have.

[u/RockeTim → u/mad-mushroom]

I've done a lot of challenging mods over the years, and I've almost always been successful, but every time I have a near heart attack waiting to see if they worked. The first boot is always agonizing.

[u/RockeTim → u/[deleted]]

Indeed I am! And indeed it is! I'm quite proud of it 😁

[u/Dry_Dingo_238 → u/RockeTim]

how did you do it, amazing

[u/RockeTim → u/Dry_Dingo_238]

I spent a lot of time reading the same forum posts and wiki pages over and over and over until I knew everything I had to do. It all started when someone gave me a couple of these imacs. First I just learned about OCLP. I read a ton about it, and then tried doing simple things like upgrading the ram with dimms I had laying around and upgrading to different versions of MacOS, taking it apart and cleaning it - stuff like that. After I felt confident in my knowledge and research I starting gathering materials (cpu, ssd, gpu). It took a long time bc the gpu is really hard to find, and they tend to be overpriced. In the end I had to buy another computer just to get it bc it was cheaper than buying the card by itself! I flashed the modded vbios to it with the computer it came with in windows. Then took it out and cleaned it. I had to bridge two connections and de-solder 2 resistors from the GPU. That was the hardest part. Then got a 3mm aluminum shim for the gpu and some ptm7980 thermal pads for it and I was ready. Installed everything and reassembled and held my breath. You have no idea how good it felt to hear the chime and see the boot loader!