Since there hasn’t been a Mac Mini update in years I thought I would make this quick guide on how to get a “New Mac Mini” where you can add up to 16GB of ram and as big of a 2.5″ SSD/HDD you can find while saving a couple hundred dollars in the process. The processor in this NUC is the same one found in a specced out 2015-MacBook Pro 13 @ $1599 (3.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz). This NUC is one third the cost same performance. Audio, sleep, ethernet, HDMI and are all working with this build.
| Part | Name | Purchase Price |
|---|---|---|
| Total | $549.97 | |
| NUC | Intel NUC Kit NUC5i7RYH | $449.99 |
| Memory | Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $49.99 |
| Storage | PNY CS1311 120GB 2.5″ Solid State Drive | $49.99 |
What Works
- Sound
- Ethernet
- HDMI Audio
- Sleep and Wake
- Power Saving Features
- Graphics Acceleration
- App Store, iMessage, iBooks
What Doesn’t
- Wifi
- Some 4k Monitors
- SD Card Slot
- Bluetooth
- IR
Downloads:
STEP 1: Creating a USB Installer
In order to install macOS on your computer you need to create USB flash drive installer. You can learn how to make one in our with our Bootloader Guide
Editing Installer EFI
-->STEP 2: Mounting Bootloader EFI
If the EFI of your USB bootloader isn’t mounted follow the steps below. We need to paste the edited EFI Folder you downloaded above into that location.
-
- Open Clover Configurator
- Select Mount EFI under TOOLS
- Click Mount Partition for Install macOS…. EFI or the name of your bootloader installer
- Click Open Partition
- Delete EFI folder if it exists
- Replace the deleted folder with the folder contained in NUC5i7RYH – EFI
STEP 3: Entering BIOS
Before the NUC can be booted with the usb installer certain BIOS settings must be changed.
- Restart or power on the NUC if off
- Press F2 upon the splash screen showing to enter the BIOS
- After you enter the BIOS select Advanced(F7)
STEP 4: Configuring the BIOS
Change the following settings:
- Devices ⤏ Video Set → IGD Minimum Memory to 64MB Note: Use 128MB if your monitor boots with a black screen
- Boot ⤏ Boot Priority → Verify UEFI Booting is checked
- Boot > Boot Priority → Uncheck Legacy Booting (You can recheck it after installing if you intend to dual boot windows)
- Boot > Secure Boot → Uncheck Secure Boot
- Power → Verify Wake on LAN from S4/S5 is unchecked
- All changes have been made Press F10 to Save and Exit the BIOS
STEP 4: Installing MAC OSX
Follow STEPS 2, 3 and 4 of our general Installation Guide if you have never went through the installation process of a hackintosh before. If you have just follow STEP 4 after you install macOS which is basically just pasting the EFI from the USB Drive to the EFI of the disk that macOS is installed on which will enable you too boot into macOS without the USB Drive.
After completing the steps above the only thing that shouldn’t be working just yet is the audio.
Audio Patching
In order to get audio through the front audio port and hdmi audio functioning the audio must be patched. This step requires a connection to the internet.
Gatekeeper must be disabled to patch the audio properly. Open Terminal and type the following below and press enter:
sudo spctl --master-disable
Download the audio patcher audio_cloverALC.zip
Enter your password and go through the steps entering y for every step.
The script will then proceed to patch your audio. If successful the completed text should look like this.
Restart your machine and you should have audio.
Tip
You can select your audio output device by opening the Settings app and going to Sound > Output. Also recommend that you select ‘Show volume in menu bar’ for quick access.
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36 Comments on "Mac Mini Killer: Broadwell NUC Hackintosh"
Nice! I wanna build this one after reading your post!
For the WiFi, swapping the stock card by the Broadcom BCM94322HM8L DELL DW1510 300M Wireless ABGN Half MINI PCI-E WIFI Card (ebay) (natively accepted by macOS) should do the trick, what do you think?
Also, what Temps do you got with this build on idle & stress?
~40C on idle and ~85C on load; never stress tested it so couldn’t give you those temps.
If you want wifi you’ll need to get either the NUC5i3MYHE or NUC5i5MYHE as the i7 model doesn’t support Wifi Card swapping, then it should work yea
thanks !
can I use this config.plist for the i5 NUC?
Yes all you have to do is delete and replace the files located at EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched/ with these ones depending on which i5 model you are using:
NUC5i5 RYH/RYK:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/attachments/nuc5i5-ssdts-zip.164383/
NUC5i5 MYHE:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/attachments/nuc5i5myhe-ssdts-zip.164384/
Hi thanks for this guide. I used the NUC5i5 MYHE files for EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched/ you linked here. Then I applied the audio patch download and steps, but still no sound device on my NUC 5i5 MYHE. Do the i7 and i5 models have the same audio chipset? Also I got a DW1830 Wi-Fi/BT card which works out of the box for Wi-Fi but not BT and the Wi-Fi is dog slow. Any advice?
I think I remember reading that an audio dongle is needed for the MYHE don’t remember, you’ll have to go with a USB Dongle for audio
Not so… for the benefit of anyone else reading this, I’ve been able to use the “audio_cloverALC-130.command” script to get DisplayPort audio working just fine. There’s no system-level volume control capability, so I have to use the volume controls on my monitor and on individual apps.
I got macOS running on a NUC7i3BNH successfully. A cheap Acer USB wifi dongle fixed the wireless issue.
Hello! Forgive me asking. Does the ethernet works in that NUC7i3BNH? I’m planning on setting macOS in that same NUC and I need the cable connection instead of wifi. Kind regards, Juma.
[…] Mac Mini Killer: Broadwell NUC Hackintosh […]
Hello,
I have been trying to install macOS Sierra for a long time now on my Intel NUC (NUC5i7RYH), but for some reason I can’t get to the setup page of the installation process.
I have tried on several different monitors, but there always seems to be a graphical glitch, when the Apple slider gets to about 2/3 of the way.
On one of the monitors it gets to a blank white screen with the scrolling wheel in the corner, and on the other monitor the Apple slider glitches out 2/3 of the way in, and the scrolling wheel appears again, scrolling into infinity.
Do any of you have any idea, why this is happening?
All help is appreciated. 🙂
Thanks.
Try this:
Devices ⤏ Video Set → IGD Minimum Memory to 64MB Note: Use 128MB if your monitor boots with a black screen
I am having the same issue. My NUC is NUC5i5RYK. Did you manage to fix it? Any ideas?
Thank you.
Tried to intaglio high Sierra. All I get is a freeze at boot. I added apfs.efi……
Hello
I use a nuc6i3syk
Do you have an EFI directory for this installation?
If not, what should I change in the config.plist file for this to boot.
Thank you for your help
Michel
Hello
Thanks a lot for your tuto.
Surprisingly the internal BT works for me on my NUC5i7RYH.
Meanwhile the audio does not, I went through the audio patch (version 130, you did version 120) but only one HDMI output appears and is not working.
Thanks for the guide. Btw, can you suggest me some 4k monitor names that I should buy?
Had no success so far with this guide… I have a NUC5i5RYK, 16gb RAM and 256 SSD. Followed the guides to Sierra and High Sierra and I was able to boot but the screen glitches and freezes when the loading bar in reaching the end… Any ideas?
Here is a picture: https://imgur.com/a/2A0Hq
Thanks in advance.
So do I. Have you fixed it?
I follwed with this guide to install High Sierra 10.13.3 in my nuc 5I7RYH.
No. I couldn`t find any way to solve this issue.
I’m having the exact same problem and I have wanted help for months now. 🙁
John, Tonny, others – are you still having the problem? I got High Sierra working on my NUC5i5MYHE, which is pretty similar to the 5i5RYK (slightly faster CPU, vPro, and mDP rather than mHDMI – none of which should make much difference here). I’d be happy to share my boot stick EFI folder if it’ll help.
What a very useful guide. Thank you so much! I followed this and was able to get High Sierra working pretty much perfectly on my NUC5i5MYHE. Bluetooth works with my Intel wifi card, but the wifi part doesn’t. I’ve got a Broadcom card on order which should fix it (the 5i5MYHE has a replaceable M.2 Wifi card).
As a refinement to your process, I also used the “Intel Integrator Toolkit” EFI tool to create a custom BIOS logo – white Apple logo on a black screen – for that extra touch of polish when the machine POSTs. You can also use ITK to edit SMBIOS settings & pre-load the appropriate BIOS settings. I’d be happy to share my custom BIOS or Clover EFI folder if needed.
Minor observation – I see from your shopping list at the top that you used only 1 stick of memory. These NUCs have dual-channel memory, so you’ll get a performance boost if you populate both slots.
He mentioned he would like to upgrade in the future, that is why he chose to use only one stick. If he had installed 2x8GB he would have had to discard both 8GB sticks to upgrade.
Followed this through over ten times and it didnt work at all for the exact model you mention. The mac boot option doesnt show in clover with that EFI folder replaced for me.
I’m having this issue too, did you every resolve it?
Same here.
Worked like a charm using Sierra. High Sierra didn’t work for me.
Hi, I am not sure if you are still monitoring this thread, but I just have a quick question if this will work on the i5 version of the NUC , i.e. Intel NUC Kit NUC5i5RYH
Thanks
Hi Santoso, I’m using the same exact model. I’m replying from my newly setup mac mini 😀
Everything works except WIFI but I bought a cheap USB WIFI dongle and used the driver included and now it works like a real mac. I followed the tut from tonymac’shttps://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/unibeast-install-macos-mojave-on-any-supported-intel-based-pc.259381/
You really need to follow everything to the letter especially the bios setup. Good luck
I’ve gotten the Flash drive to boot the installer but within a few seconds the screen displays a circle with a diagonal line through it. I’ve went back and recreated everything twice from the directions, but, I just can’t seem to get it past this point. Any suggestions please?
Hello. I purchased the above parts except I got 16GB ram and a bigger ssd. I’ve followed the directions and it keeps hanging before it gets to where it should display the apple and loading bar. I’m not sure what’s up, but, I’m certainly missing something. Any ideas?