Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/lzhoang2801/OpCore-Simplify/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
After loading your hardware report, OpCore Simplify immediately runs the Compatibility Checker — an automated scan that inspects every relevant device in your system and determines which macOS versions it can support. The results are displayed in a color-coded summary and feed directly into the macOS version suggestion and hardware customization steps that follow. You do not need to run this step manually; it executes automatically as part of selecting your hardware report.
What Gets Checked
The checker walks through up to eight device categories in order, printing a compatibility line for each device it finds:
| Category | What Is Evaluated |
|---|
| CPU | SIMD feature flags (SSE4.1 / SSE4.2) determine the supported macOS range |
| GPU | Manufacturer, codename, and Device ID determine native and OCLP-patched ranges |
| Sound | Codec IDs are looked up against a known layout table; USB audio always passes |
| Biometric | Always marked unsupported (requires Apple T2 chip) |
| Network | Device IDs are matched against Ethernet and Wi-Fi lists |
| Storage Controllers | Unsupported NVMe subsystem IDs and Intel VMD controllers cause a hard stop |
| Bluetooth | Device IDs are matched against known compatible lists |
| SD Controller | Realtek card reader IDs determine support; newer Realtek IDs are capped at Sonoma |
Color-Coded Output
Each device line uses a consistent color scheme to convey compatibility at a glance:
| Color | Meaning | Example |
|---|
🔴 Red — Unsupported | Device has no macOS support at all | NVIDIA Turing / Ampere GPUs |
🟢 Green — High Sierra to Ventura | Device is supported across a specific sub-range | Navi 10 AMD GPU |
🔵 Cyan — Up to Tahoe | Device is supported across the full range (High Sierra to the latest version) | Intel Skylake / Kaby Lake iGPU |
🔵 Cyan — Maximum support up to … | Device’s compatibility ceiling is the oldest supported macOS version | Intel Sandy Bridge iGPU (non-HD) |
⚫ Grey — Unchecked | No compatibility data was evaluated for this device | Non-PCI storage controllers |
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti: Maximum support up to macOS High Sierra 10.13
- OCLP Compatibility: Big Sur to Sequoia
CPU Compatibility
The CPU check examines the SIMD Features field from your hardware report. macOS requires at least SSE4 support; systems without it cannot run any macOS version covered by OpCore Simplify.
| SIMD Features | Supported macOS Range |
|---|
| No SSE4 | Unsupported — tool exits with an error |
| SSE4.1 only (no SSE4.2) | Mojave to Monterey (Darwin 18–21) |
| SSE4.2 | High Sierra to Tahoe (full range) |
Intel Celeron and Pentium processors are treated as unsupported for iGPU purposes even when their SSE4 flags are present, because their integrated graphics lack the display engine required by macOS.
GPU Compatibility
GPU compatibility is the most complex check. The checker uses the GPU’s manufacturer, codename, and four-character Device ID prefix to assign a native support range and, where applicable, an OCLP-extended range.
Intel Integrated GPUs
| Device ID Prefix | Native Support Cap | Notes |
|---|
0042, 0046 (mobile) | High Sierra | Ironlake — laptop only |
01xx (non-HD) | High Sierra | Sandy Bridge non-HD variants |
0152, 0156 and other 01xx | Big Sur | Sandy Bridge HD 2000/3000 |
04xx, 0Axx, 0Cxx, 0Dxx, 0Bxx, 16xx | Monterey | Haswell / Broadwell |
09xx, 19xx, 59xx, 3Exx, 87xx, 9Bxx (selected) | Tahoe | Skylake, Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake, Comet Lake, Ice Lake |
8Axx (Ice Lake) | Tahoe | Minimum Catalina 10.15.4 |
AMD GPUs
| Codename | Native Max | OCLP Range | Notes |
|---|
| Navi 21 | Tahoe | — | Requires Big Sur 11.5+ |
| Navi 22 | Tahoe | — | Requires Monterey 12.2+ |
| Navi 23 | Tahoe | — | Requires Monterey 12.2+ |
| Navi 2x (other) | Unsupported | — | No AVX2 CPU → capped at Monterey |
| Navi 10 | Tahoe | — | Minimum Catalina; OCLP from Ventura if no AVX2 |
| Vega 20 | Tahoe | — | Minimum Mojave 10.14.6 |
| Vega 10, Polaris | Tahoe | — | Minimum High Sierra; OCLP from Ventura if no AVX2 |
| GCN 1–3 (Hainan, Oland, Cape Verde, etc.) | Monterey | Big Sur–Sequoia | Legacy GCN via OCLP |
AMD APU (15D8, 15DD, 15E7, 1636, 1638, 164C) | Tahoe | — | Minimum Catalina |
NVIDIA GPUs
| Codename | Native Support | OCLP Range |
|---|
| Kepler | Big Sur max | Big Sur–Sequoia via OCLP |
| Maxwell | High Sierra only | Big Sur–Sequoia via OCLP |
| Pascal | High Sierra only | Big Sur–Sequoia via OCLP |
| Fermi / Tesla | High Sierra only | Big Sur–Sequoia via OCLP |
| Turing / Ampere and newer | Unsupported | — |
Network Compatibility
Wi-Fi cards receive additional detail beyond simple range output:
- Broadcom — full Continuity feature support (AirDrop, Handoff, Universal Clipboard, Instant Hotspot). Some newer Broadcom IDs are capped at Ventura natively and require OCLP from Sonoma onward.
- Intel — partial Continuity support via
AirportItlwm (Handoff and Universal Clipboard only; no AirDrop).
- Atheros — limited support; not recommended; older cards capped at High Sierra, newer at Big Sur.
Ethernet adapters are checked against known supported lists. Intel I225-V controllers require Catalina or later; Aquantia AQtion requires Monterey or later.
OCLP Compatibility
Devices that are unsupported natively in newer macOS versions but can be re-enabled using OpenCore Legacy Patcher receive an OCLP Compatibility range in addition to their native range. These devices are labelled “Requires OpenCore Legacy Patcher” in the macOS version selection screen.
Using OpenCore Legacy Patcher disables macOS security features including SIP and AMFI. This can lead to issues such as requiring full installers for system updates, application crashes, and general system instability. OCLP is not officially supported by the Hackintosh community.
Supported macOS Versions
The table below lists every macOS version OpCore Simplify can target, derived from os_data.py.
| macOS Name | macOS Version | Darwin Major |
|---|
| High Sierra | 10.13 | 17 |
| Mojave | 10.14 | 18 |
| Catalina | 10.15 | 19 |
| Big Sur | 11 | 20 |
| Monterey | 12 | 21 |
| Ventura | 13 | 22 |
| Sonoma | 14 | 23 |
| Sequoia | 15 | 24 |
| Tahoe | 26 | 25 |
Hard-Stop Conditions
The Compatibility Checker will exit the program and refuse to continue if any of the following are detected:
- No SSE4 CPU — macOS Sierra and earlier are not supported by this tool.
- No supported GPU — macOS cannot be installed without at least one compatible GPU.
- Intel VMD controller detected — Intel VMD must be disabled in BIOS before proceeding.
- All storage controllers unsupported — at least one compatible NVMe or SATA controller is required.
If you hit a hard stop on storage controllers, the error message recommends Western Digital NVMe SSDs as a generally reliable choice for macOS compatibility.
