Opencore + Sonoma vs Ventura vs Monterey
183 views
Skip to first unread message
Mario Obejas
Jul 1, 2024, 1:32:00 AMJul 1
to MacHACers
Anybody else using Opencore boot loader to extend the life of their Intel Macs?
Independent of that, are there compelling reasons to run Sonoma versus Monterey?
Independent of that, are there compelling reasons to run Sonoma versus Monterey?
Background:
I have a working 2012 Mac Mini. As you know, official support ended with Catalina 10.15.7. Opencore has allowed me to install Big Sur and extend the life of my trusty old Mac mini, without requiring any patches beyond the boot loader.
If you don't know Opencore, it's an opensource boot loader. The patcher I'm using is located and described here:
What is OpenCore? | OpenCore Legacy Patcher
What is OpenCore? | OpenCore Legacy Patcher
Opencore would let me install Sonoma but that seems unnecessarily cutting edge for my needs, and it adds some additional complexity to run Sonoma on a 2012 Mac (which I will retire when M4 minis are available). Starting with Ventura, I would have to install an additional patch for the native Intel Ivy Bridge 4000 graphics card - so I've been content with avoiding that extra patching. I have an M2 Macbook for running anything that is only compiled for Apple Silicon, and so far I haven't run into that, though I have one app (TurboTax) that needs me to be on Monterey.
I admit it has been nagging me that I'm a few months passed the unofficial Big Sur End of Life so I know I need to upgrade. I have been slowly preparing to bump up my Mini to Monterey this week. That's what prompted me to ask if anybody in this community is using Opencore.
When I first considered going to Big Sur, I installed it on a separate external drive. That means it's definitely slower running over USB 3.0 in that test environment, but for testing and kicking the tires, it's good enough. Time to do that test regime again with Monterey. If anyone thinks I'm missing something important by not being on Sonoma or Ventura, your thoughts are truly welcome. I'd like to keep using this Mini until the M4s are out which hopefully is less than a year away. I hate the amount of electronics waste generated by premature end of life strategies.
When I first considered going to Big Sur, I installed it on a separate external drive. That means it's definitely slower running over USB 3.0 in that test environment, but for testing and kicking the tires, it's good enough. Time to do that test regime again with Monterey. If anyone thinks I'm missing something important by not being on Sonoma or Ventura, your thoughts are truly welcome. I'd like to keep using this Mini until the M4s are out which hopefully is less than a year away. I hate the amount of electronics waste generated by premature end of life strategies.
Bradford Miller
Jul 1, 2024, 9:25:44 AMJul 1
to unix...@yahoo.com, MacHACers
I haven’t been, but thanks for the pointer!
What I have been doing with my older mac mini (about the same age) is running Ubuntu on it (as it’s lower overhead than MacOS + VMware). I write FPGA software, and the (chip vendor) tools only run under x86/Linux or Windows, sadly, and seem not to want to run under emulation on Mx machines. So in some sense I have the opposite problem of not having newer x86 Macs to run VMware on at some point (I do have a 2018 mini that should keep me going for a couple more years before they don’t have the cycles to keep up with the latest tool releases or increasing complexity of the chips I target). I guess at some point I’ll have to bite the bullet and get a Dell or some such, but I don’t look forward to it.
At any rate, I heartily agree with you about “premature end of life strategies” :-).
--
To post an announcement or ask a question, send an email to mach...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe, send an email to machacers+...@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacHACers" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to machacers+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/machacers/19794842.6647876.1719811917507%40mail.yahoo.com.
Felino Bautista
Jul 1, 2024, 1:45:55 PMJul 1
to gor...@mac.com, unix...@yahoo.com, MacHACers
Im following this. I have a trash can Mac and use Lightroom / photoshop all the time.
Fel Bautista
Fat fingered from my iPhone
On Jul 1, 2024, at 6:25 AM, 'Bradford Miller' via MacHACers <mach...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
I haven’t been, but thanks for the pointer!
What I have been doing with my older mac mini (about the same age) is running Ubuntu on it (as it’s lower overhead than MacOS + VMware). I write FPGA software, and the (chip vendor) tools only run under x86/Linux or Windows, sadly, and seem not to want to run under emulation on Mx machines. So in some sense I have the opposite problem of not having newer x86 Macs to run VMware on at some point (I do have a 2018 mini that should keep me going for a couple more years before they don’t have the cycles to keep up with the latest tool releases or increasing complexity of the chips I target). I guess at some point I’ll have to bite the bullet and get a Dell or some such, but I don’t look forward to it.At any rate, I heartily agree with you about “premature end of life strategies” :-).
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/machacers/9E2BD359-39E7-441C-9EF8-825D0AC6CC50%40mac.com.
Mario Obejas
Jul 1, 2024, 2:15:09 PMJul 1
to Felino Bautista, MacHACers
I think your "trash can mac" is the 2013 mac pro with the identifier "MacPro6,1" - is that correct?
If so, you have the same roadmap ahead as me. No root patching needed until Ventura. Then there is a Legacy Metal patch to be applied for the Intel GPU. Note: the patches needed are based on detected hardware - you'll be prompted to apply one from the menu if that's the case.
So, you'll likely see what I'm getting - no patching needed - until Ventura:
Photoshop and Lightroom should be fine - unless you need Paravirtualized graphics, whatever the heck that is.
So, you'll likely see what I'm getting - no patching needed - until Ventura:
Photoshop and Lightroom should be fine - unless you need Paravirtualized graphics, whatever the heck that is.
If that's the case, no Sonoma for you - just Ventura.
All the known issues with Ventura and Sonoma are here:
Legacy Metal Graphics Support and macOS Ventura - Sonoma · Issue #1008 · dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher
All the known issues with Ventura and Sonoma are here:
Legacy Metal Graphics Support and macOS Ventura - Sonoma · Issue #1008 · dortania/OpenCore-Legacy-Patcher
|
Until then, this is where I'm at today, should be on Monterey later this week.
Mario Obejas
Jul 9, 2024, 3:33:14 PMJul 9
to MacHACers
Follow up:
I've been running Monterey on this 2012 Mac Mini with no problems.
After rereading the considerations about running Ventura, I'll probably upgrade to that later this year, but I'm in no hurry. On Ventura there's apparently an unresolvable issue with the Photos app Memories tab causing an app crash when the Intel 4000 GPU is present. Seems more of an annoyance than a show stopper.
MIKE SHULMAN
Jul 9, 2024, 7:07:05 PMJul 9
to MacHACers
I found this message thread in my Junk Folder! 😡
My obsolete iMac (18,3) is currently running macOS 14.5 “Sonoma” via the awesome OpenCore Legacy Patcher tool 1.5.0 -> System Information: Model: iMac (27-inch, 2017) • CPU: Intel Core i5-7600K (4 Threads, 4 Cores) @ 3.80 GHz • Memory: 24.00 GB • Uptime: 12 days • Space: 2.00 TB • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics KBL, Radeon Pro 580 • Display: 5120 x 2880 • OS: macOS Sonoma (Version 14.5, Build 23F79)
I followed the directions from the OpenCore website and it was fairly easy to get it up and running. I purchased a 3-pk of Sandisk 32GB USB flash drives to build installers on and I always download a full OS installer when there is a new update before applying anything to the iMac. Plus, I use Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner faithfully to keep a pool of backups.
This iMac runs 24/7 and is quite happy with macOS 14.5… It is booted from an external Thunderbolt 3 OWC Envoy Express enclosure containing a 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 SSD. The iMac’s internal spinning drive, part of its 2TB “Fusion” drive had failed. I separated (un-Fusioned?) the spinning drive from the internal Apple SSD and use the internal 128GB SSD for a bootable backup macOS install as well as a bootable Windows 10 install when needed thanks to Apple’s Boot Camp tools.
I do not run video or photo editing apps very often, but everything I throw at it seems to work well. Among the apps that are always running are multiple browsers (But not Safari), IRC, Beeper, Discord, my custom Twitter/X client... The processor is currently at a cool 162°.. and ramps up once in a while to 200°.
Hopefully a nice M4 Mini or larger iMac will be offered and I will retire it, but for now it’s happy to meet my needs.
Mike
On Jul 9, 2024, at 12:33 PM, 'Mario Obejas' via MacHACers <mach...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Follow up:I've been running Monterey on this 2012 Mac Mini with no problems.After rereading the considerations about running Ventura, I'll probably upgrade to that later this year, but I'm in no hurry. On Ventura there's apparently an unresolvable issue with the Photos app Memories tab causing an app crash when the Intel 4000 GPU is present. Seems more of an annoyance than a show stopper.
<Screen Shot 2024-07-09 at 12.23.27 PM.png>
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/machacers/335033218.1558922.1720553588272%40mail.yahoo.com.
<Screen Shot 2024-07-09 at 12.23.27 PM.png>
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages