iATKOS | United Kingdom

Installing macOS Sequoia on a Lenovo laptop with an AMD Ryzen 3 3250U is possible, but it comes with significant challenges and may have limited functionality due to macOS’s lack of native support for AMD CPUs, especially on a laptop with integrated AMD Radeon Graphics. Here’s what to consider:

Potential Challenges

1. AMD CPU Compatibility: Ryzen CPUs are not officially supported by macOS, so you’ll need to rely on kernel patches to make it compatible. The Ryzen 3 3250U is a lower-power APU with two cores, which may struggle with macOS’s requirements, particularly with newer macOS versions like Sequoia.

2. AMD Radeon Integrated Graphics: macOS does not natively support AMD Radeon integrated graphics found in Ryzen APUs. This means that even with OpenCore and WhateverGreen, graphics acceleration may not be possible. You might be limited to basic, unaccelerated graphics, which can impact usability and performance.

3. AMD-Specific Kexts and Kernel Patches: You will need specific kexts and patches to boot macOS on an AMD Ryzen setup:

   • OpenCore Bootloader: Preferred for AMD setups due to its flexibility with kernel patches.
   • AMD-Specific Kexts: Kexts like AMDRyzenCPUPowerManagement, AppleMCEReporterDisabler, and SMCAMDProcessor are essential.
   • Kernel Patches for AMD: These patches allow macOS to boot on AMD Ryzen, but require careful setup and configuration in config.plist.

4. USB and Audio: USB and audio functionality on AMD laptops can be hit or miss without proper kexts (e.g., AppleALC for audio and USBInjectAll for USB functionality), and may require additional configuration and custom SSDTs.

Steps if You Want to Try It

1. Prepare a USB Installer with OpenCore:

   • Download macOS Sequoia and create a USB installer.
   • Set up OpenCore with AMD patches, configure config.plist for Ryzen, and include essential kexts: Lilu, WhateverGreen, AMDRyzenCPUPowerManagement, and AppleALC.

2. BIOS Configuration:

   • Disable Secure Boot, CFG Lock, and set SATA mode to AHCI in BIOS.
   • If possible, disable unnecessary hardware like serial ports to simplify configuration.

3. SMBIOS Selection:

   • Use iMacPro1,1 or MacPro7,1 as the SMBIOS in config.plist, as these are generally more compatible with AMD CPUs.

4. Expectations:

   • Be prepared for limited graphics performance without acceleration and possible limitations with other hardware components. Installation may succeed, but achieving full functionality could be challenging.

In summary, while technically possible, the limited hardware support for AMD Ryzen APUs with integrated graphics makes a stable Hackintosh difficult on this setup, particularly with macOS Sequoia. If you proceed, expect to experiment with configurations and be prepared for a trial-and-error approach.