Mac Pro · 2010–2012
Mac Pro 2010–2012: the newest macOS it can run
Every Mac Pro sold in 2010–2012, what Apple supports, what OpenCore Legacy Patcher adds, and what to expect on each macOS version. Generated from the OCLP 3.0.0 source.
On this page 6 sections
Short answer
Apple stopped at macOS Mojave. With OpenCore Legacy Patcher the Mac Pro 2010–2012 runs macOS Big Sur through macOS Tahoe 26. Our pick for most people: macOS Sequoia. No Intel Mac can run macOS 27.
Which Mac Pro 2010–2012 do you have?
Apple sold one model as the Mac Pro 2010–2012. They can behave differently with OCLP, so check your model identifier: choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then More Info > System Report, and read Model Identifier. Or open Terminal and run sysctl hw.model
| Identifier | Sold as | Graphics | Apple's last macOS | OCLP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MacPro5,1 | Mac Pro (Mid 2010) Mac Pro (Mid 2012) | AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2) AMD Radeon Pro 400/500 (Polaris) | Mojave | Yes |
macOS versions compared
- Apple supported by Apple, no patcher needed
- runs with OpenCore Legacy Patcher
- runs with OCLP; older “legacy Metal” GPU, more patches
- runs with OCLP; GPU without Metal, apps that need Metal fail
- No not possible
| Model | Catalina10.15 | Big Sur11 | Monterey12 | Ventura13 | Sonoma14 | Sequoia15 | Tahoe26 | Golden Gate27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MacPro5,1 | No | No |
Model by model
Mac Pro (Mid 2010) · Mac Pro (Mid 2012)MacPro5,1
- Model identifier
MacPro5,1- Board ID
Mac-F221BEC8- CPU generation
- Core i (Nehalem/Westmere)
- Graphics
- AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2)
AMD Radeon Pro 400/500 (Polaris) - Wi-Fi
- Broadcom BCM4331 (legacy)
- Last macOS from Apple
- macOS Mojave
- T1 / T2 chip
- None
Our pick
macOS SequoiaNewest possible: macOS Tahoe
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2) + AMD Radeon Pro 400/500 (Polaris), patched as Metal (31001). Sequoia is the newest macOS the stable OCLP 2.5.1 supports. How we pick
| macOS | Status | Root patches OCLP applies |
|---|---|---|
| macOS Big Sur11.7.11 | AMD TeraScale 2 | |
| macOS Monterey12.7.6 | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless | |
| macOS Ventura13.7.8 | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless · Legacy USB 1.1 · AMD Polaris | |
| macOS Sonoma14.8.9 | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless · Legacy USB 1.1 · AMD Polaris | |
| macOS Sequoia15.8.2 | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless · Legacy USB 1.1 · AMD Polaris | |
| macOS Tahoe26.7.2 | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless · Modern Audio · Legacy USB 1.1 · AMD Polaris | |
| macOS Golden Gate27 | No | No Intel Mac can run macOS 27, with or without OCLP. |
This model shipped with (or commonly runs) more than one GPU. OCLP picks the patch set for the GPU it finds: AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2) → Non-Metal; AMD Radeon Pro 400/500 (Polaris) → Metal (31001).
Compared with the Mac Pro (Early 2009) MacPro4,1
| What | MacPro4,1 | MacPro5,1 |
|---|---|---|
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce (Tesla) + AMD Radeon Pro 400/500 (Polaris) | AMD Radeon HD 5000–6000 (TeraScale 2) + AMD Radeon Pro 400/500 (Polaris) |
| Wi-Fi | Atheros (AirPortAtheros40) | Broadcom BCM4331 (legacy) |
| Last macOS from Apple | OS X El Capitan | macOS Mojave |
- Root patches on Tahoe. New compared with the Mac Pro (Early 2009): AMD TeraScale 2. No longer needed: Nvidia Tesla.
- Kexts OpenCore loads. Dropped:
AirPortAtheros40-Tahoe.kext. (25 kexts on the Mac Pro (Early 2009), 24 here, from our builds.)
How much patching MacPro5,1 needs on each macOS
| macOS | Patch sets | Files installed | Files removed | KDK | MetallibSupportPkg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sur | AMD TeraScale 2 | 17 | 31 | No | No |
| Monterey | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless | 22 | 31 | No | No |
| Ventura | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless · Legacy USB 1.1 · AMD Polaris | 32 | 33 | Yes | No |
| Sonoma | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless · Legacy USB 1.1 · AMD Polaris | 36 | 33 | Yes | No |
| Sequoia | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless · Legacy USB 1.1 · AMD Polaris | 40 | 33 | Yes | No |
| Tahoe | AMD TeraScale 2 · Legacy Wireless · Modern Audio · Legacy USB 1.1 · AMD Polaris | 43 | 33 | Yes | No |
OCLP installs 17 files for this Mac on Big Sur and 43 on Tahoe. A Kernel Debug Kit is needed from Ventura.
From OCLP's own documentation
Universal Control. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth hardware: Wi-Fi 4 + BT 2.1 EDR. Not out of the box. Replace stock AirPort card with an mPCIE + USB Connector Adapter board with a BCM943602CD card Dortania, Universal Control guide
OCLP changelog entries that name this Mac, newest release first, word for word:
0.6.8Restore support for Aquantia Aqtion 10GBe Ethernet for Pre-VT-d systems on 12.3 and newer → i.e. MacPro5,1 with AQC107 expansion card running macOS Ventura/Monterey 12.6.x0.6.5Allow for coexistence of USB 3.0 controllers and USB 1.1 patches on macOS 13+ → Restores USB 3.0 expansion card support on USB 1.1 machines such as MacPro5,10.6.0Add early UHCI/OHCI support (USB1.1) → Applicable for Penryn Macs and Cheese Grater Mac Pros (MacPro3,1 - MacPro5,1)0.5.0Ventura Specific Updates: → Resolve Ethernet support on MacPro3,1-5,1
On Tahoe this Mac needs AMD TeraScale 2, Legacy Wireless, Modern Audio, Legacy USB 1.1 and AMD Polaris. What each of those restores, and what to keep ready when root patching: macOS Tahoe: what works and what does not.
Known issues
- Recommend upgrade to Metal GPU (source) Dortania, Supported Models
- non-Metal GPU (macOS 11+) (source) Dortania, Supported Models
- USB 1.1 (macOS 13+) (source) Dortania, Supported Models
What OCLP puts on the EFI partition for MacPro5,1 OpenCore 1.0.6 RELEASE · 24 kexts
From our build with the OCLP 3.0.0-rc.5 app's command line (--build --model MacPro5,1) on a GitHub macOS runner, 2026-11-05. Boot arguments: keepsyms=1 debug=0x100 -lilubetaall shikigva=128 unfairgva=1 -wegtree -btlfxallowanyaddr amfi=0x80.
Kexts Reasons are shown for kexts that set this Mac apart; the rest are explained in the kext glossary.
Lilu.kext 1.7.2CryptexFixup.kext 1.0.5NoAVXFSCompressionTypeZlib.kext 12.3.1Prevents AVXFSCompressionTypeZlib crash on pre AVX1.0 systems in 12.4+NoAVXFSCompressionTypeZlib-AVXpel.kext 12.6Prevents AVXFSCompressionTypeZlib crash on pre AVX1.0 systems in 12.4+NoAVXFSCompressionTypeZlib-AVXpel-Tahoe.kext 26.7Prevents AVXFSCompressionTypeZlib crash on pre AVX1.0 systems in 12.4+AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext 1.0.0AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient.kext 1.0.0ASPP-Override.kext 1.0.1Forces ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin to outmatch X86PlatformPlugin and disable firmware throttlingAppleMCEReporterDisabler.kext 1.0.0Intel82574L.kext 1.0.0Resolves Ethernet Support on MacPros Needed on: MacPro3,1 - 5,1.ECM-Override.kext 1.0.0CatalinaIntelI210Ethernet.kext 1.0.0corecaptureElCap.kext 1.0.2Re-inject WiFi drivers from El Capitan Needed on: BCM94328, BCM94322 and Atheros chipsets.IO80211ElCap.kext 2.0.1Re-inject WiFi drivers from El Capitan Needed on: BCM94328, BCM94322 and Atheros chipsets.WhateverGreen.kext 1.7.1Patches GPU Frameworks and kext to ensure proper support Needed on: All models require when spoofing or have non-stock GPU.AppleALC.kext 1.6.3-JazzznyKDKlessWorkaround.kext 1.0.0Helps with Mac os updates on KDKless patched systemsBlueToolFixup.kext 2.7.2Bluetooth-Spoof.kext 1.0.0Injects extra data into certain bluetooth chipsets for recognition by the system Needed on: Models with the BCM2070 or BCM2046 chipsets.SMC-Spoof.kext 1.0.0Spoofs SMC version to 9.9999 Needed on: All models require when spoofing minimal or higher.CSLVFixup.kext 2.6.1AMFIPass.kext 1.4.1RestrictEvents.kext 1.1.7CPUFriend.kext 1.3.0Patches IOx86PlatformPlugin to restore previous CPU profiles Needed on: All models using minimal or higher spoofing.
Settings specific to this Mac
- Overriding ACPI SMC matching 41 of 86 builds
- Enabling BCM94328 Networking Support 19 of 86 builds
- Enabling SMC exemption patch 3 of 86 builds
- Disabling memory error reporting 5 of 86 builds
- Fixing AVX hardcoding in JavaScriptCore 31 of 86 builds
- Setting RestrictEvents block arguments: pcie 5 of 86 builds
- Setting RestrictEvents patch arguments: jsc 3 of 86 builds
- Setting macOS Monterey Supported SMBIOS 3 of 86 builds
- Using Minimal SMBIOS patching 3 of 86 builds
- Setting Firmware Feature: 8e81fe137 1 of 86 builds
8 more settings are applied to most of the 86 Macs we built; they are listed in the full build log.
Our build for MacPro5,1 loads 24 kexts in an EFI folder of 21.5 MB. Across the 86 Macs we built, the median is 18; 91% of builds load fewer.
What owners reported for MacPro5,1 39 reports on GitHub
39 issues were filed in OCLP's tracker with MacPro5,1 as the machine model (39 closed, 0 open), filed 2021 to 2022; the newest is from 2022-02-06. The topics that come up most, by keyword match in the title and text: install or update (19), graphics (12) and black screen or boot failure (7). These are owners' reports, not confirmed bugs, and all of them were filed on OCLP versions from before 2024, so many describe problems that have since been fixed.
- #946 2022-02-06 · closed · Monterey · 1 comment Only boots in safe mode - post install patch fails
- #895 2022-01-20 · closed · Big Sur · 1 comment MacPro5,1 don't load OpenCore with Radeon Vega 54
- #820 2021-12-17 · closed · Monterey · 9 comments missing symbol _CGDisplayRegisterReconfigurationCallback after post-install patches
- #513 2021-09-27 · closed · Big Sur · 11 comments Latest Nightly Build Doesn't Disable SIP
- #123 2021-04-01 · closed · 22 comments MacPro5,1 screen shuts off right before login
Installing on the Mac Pro 2010–2012
Choose MacPro5,1 as the target model when OCLP builds OpenCore (it detects it automatically when you run OCLP on this Mac). Before that, install the newest macOS Apple offers for it, macOS Mojave, so the firmware is current. The steps themselves are the same for every Mac: How to install OpenCore Legacy Patcher.
Memory
Macs with 2 GB of memory cannot install macOS Sonoma or newer (Dortania, Supported Models). Upgrade the memory first if your Mac allows it.Common questions
What does OCLP patch on a Mac Pro 2010–2012 running Tahoe?
What is the latest macOS for a Mac Pro 2010–2012?
Other Macs from 2010–2012
- MacBook Pro 2010 MacBookPro6,1, MacBookPro6,2, MacBookPro7,1
- MacBook Pro 2012 MacBookPro9,1, MacBookPro9,2, MacBookPro10,1, MacBookPro10,2
- MacBook Air 2010 MacBookAir3,1, MacBookAir3,2
- MacBook Air 2012 MacBookAir5,1, MacBookAir5,2
- MacBook 2010 MacBook7,1
- iMac 2010 iMac11,2, iMac11,3
- iMac 2012 iMac13,1, iMac13,2
- Mac mini 2010 Macmini4,1
- Mac mini 2012 Macmini6,1, Macmini6,2
Keep going
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