Improve Font Smoothing in Mac OS X [QuickTip]

This may be old news for some, but those new to Mac OS X will find it extremely useful. In Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple removed the ability for the user to adjust font smoothing via System Preferences. For a flat panel monitor, some may prefer to view with the anti-aliasing turned up or down. This simple tweak can reduce eye strain, and improve the rendering of fonts on larger non-Apple branded monitors.

To adjust, open Applications/Utilities/Terminal and type the following:

defaults -currentHost write -g AppleFontSmoothing -int 2

Then reboot to see the changes. You can use any number between 1 and 4, which is the default. The value 2 is apparently best for flat panel screens. If this works well for you, let us know! Further information with comparison screenshots at macworld.com.

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!

MultiBeast 3.4 Update

Today MultiBeast was updated to version 3.4.  The latest version is now available at tonymacx86.com/downloads.

Please do not upload or redistribute MultiBeast to any other sites. 

Full list of changes:

• Added ATI 1.6.32.12 Drivers to Graphics. These are all of the updated ATI drivers from the Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for early 2011 MacBook Pro (Sandy Bridge). This option will backup the currently installed versions to a folder on the desktop.
• Added MacBookPro8,1 System Definition
• Corrected description for Voodoo PS/2 Controller to "Enables non-USB keyboard/mouse and is 32-bit only."
• Added Voodoo PS/2 Trackpad to Miscellaneous. This adds trackpad support for Laptops and requires Voodoo PS/2 Controller to also be installed. 32-bit only.

If this utility has helped you, please consider a contribution to support further MultiBeast development.  Thanks in advance, and enjoy!

-tonymacx86 & MacMan

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!

Native Graphics Acceleration for Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx in 10.6.7

We have confirmed that Apple has included native graphics acceleration for some Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx cards in the Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for early 2011 MacBook Pro (Sandy Bridge).  This means full QE/CI without Chameleon's GraphicsEnabler or any enabler kexts such as ATY_init.

The following graphics cards appear to be natively supported:

ATI Radeon HD 5630 Device ID 0x68D8
ATI Radeon HD 5630 Device ID 0x68D9
ATI Radeon HD 5670 Device ID 0x68D8
ATI Radeon HD 5730 Device ID 0x68D8
ATI Radeon HD 5770 Device ID 0x68B8
ATI Radeon HD 5850 Device ID 0x6899
ATI Radeon HD 5870 Device ID 0x6898

AMD Radeon HD 6850 Device ID 0x6739
AMD Radeon HD 6870 Device ID 0x6738
AMD Radeon HD 6970 Device ID 0x6718 (not working yet)

This development raises some interesting questions. Could this mean the end of the Mac-only graphics card? Could Apple be opening up the platform more? What happens to NVIDIA? Why support for cards that aren't in Macs yet? Will the 2011 Sandy Bridge iMacs contain one or more of these new 6xxx cards?

-tonymacx86 & MacMan

Related Posts: 10.6.7 Update, Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for early 2011 MacBook Pro (Sandy Bridge)

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!

Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for early 2011 MacBook Pro (Sandy Bridge)

In addition to providing a universal 10.6.7 Update, Apple has also today provided a standalone 10.6.7 update "for early 2011 MacBook Pros". Since these models use the Socket 1155 Sandy Bridge chipset, this update includes support for Sandy Bridge CPUs in Mac OS X. It also initiates Radeon HD 6xxx support for a limited number of cards.

Download the Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for early 2011 MacBook Pro (Sandy Bridge)

What we know about this update so far:

• 10.7.3 Darwin kernel (With support for Sandy Bridge CPUs)
• Installer checks for MacBookPro8,1 MacBookPro8,2 MacBookPro8,3
• Initial Sandy Bridge Intel HD 2000/3000 Graphics support
• BREAKING: Native Graphics Acceleration for Radeon HD 5xxx and 6xxx 
• Tested on Gigabyte Radeon HD 5770 - Chameleon 2.0 RC5 - valv branch with GraphicsEnabler=No and no enabler kexts.  Full resolution switching and QE/CI.

How To Use (Experimental)

1. Install MacBook Pro System Definition from MultiBeast
2. Open Finder and Navigate to /Extra/smbios.plist
3. Open in TextEdit
4. Change MacBookPro6,1 to MacBookPro8,1
5. Save and Reboot
6. Open /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist
7. Drag SystemVersion.plist to Desktop
8. Open with TextEdit
9. Change ProductBuildVersion to 
   10J3210
10. Save and move back to 
    /System/Library/CoreServices/
11. Install Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update for 2011 MacBook Pro

NOTE: So it seems as if there's a limit of 3.2 GHz maximum.  If you can't boot- and get a reboot loop- change your multiplier in BIOS to 32x or lower.  I ran into trouble loading 33x or higher on the Core i5-2500K.  Still investigating.

Related Posts: 10.6.7 Update, 10.6.6 Update, 10.6.5 Update, 10.6.4 Update, 10.6.3 Update

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!

Mac OS X 10.6.7 Update

Today Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.7 the 7th major update to Mac OS X Snow Leopard. To update for any supported CPU, simply run Software Update, or download the standalone installer from Apple.

Download the Mac OS X 10.6.7 Combo Update

Be sure to back up any important data, and if possible clone your hard drive before applying the update.  Testing is underway.  Report your results in the forum here. 

All updated information will be posted here.  

What we know about 10.6.7 so far...

• 10.7.0 Darwin kernel (No Sandy Bridge support)
• No Sandy Bridge Intel HD 2000/3000 Graphics support
• No ATI 6xxx support
• BREAKING: Sandy Bridge MBP models receiving separate build of 10.6.7

Most supported systems will not need to make post-installation fixes, but here are a few points to be aware of.

• Graphics - If you're using a NVIDIA 4xx "Fermi" card, you will have to re-run the tonymacx86 NVIDIA Update to regain full acceleration.  

• Audio - The Combo update will replace your AppleHDA.kext.  If you aren't using the ALC889a codec, you will have to reinstall AppleHDA Rollback using MultiBeast.  If you're using VoodooHDA, you will not need to make any modifications.

• USB -  The Combo update will replace your IOUSBFamily,kext.  To restore full USB functionality on a non-DSDT or EasyBeast system install USB Rollback using MultiBeast before reboot.  Download MultiBeast. 

Related Posts: 10.6.6 Update, 10.6.5 Update, 10.6.4 Update, 10.6.3 Update

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!

How To Get iBoot Functionality From MultiBeast

One of the top questions on the forum these days seems to be how to get the functionality of iBoot when booting from the hard drive. For novices, it seems like the process ends after the Combo Update. But iBoot was designed as an installation tool only- not as a permanent solution for post-installation. It is NOT a boot crutch. By using it as such, you are limiting the functionality and upgradeability of your system. Fortunately, MultiBeast contains the same drivers and files as iBoot and can allow most things to work without using a DSDT.

We created MultiBeast to solve the post-installation problem. When installed, the following MultiBeast options will allow boot from a 1 TB or less hard drive or partition, universal audio, network, and graphics. These are not the only drivers available, and may not give optimized performance. However, these options will allow you to be rid of iBoot as a boot crutch.

ATI Graphics

NVIDIA Graphics

Good luck, and see you on the forum!

-tonymacx86 & MacMan

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!

MultiBeast 3.3 Update

Today MultiBeast was updated to version 3.3.  The latest version is now available at tonymacx86.com/downloads.

Please do not upload or redistribute MultiBeast to any other sites. 

Full list of changes:

• Replaced ElliottForceLegacyRTC with LegacyAppleRTC in EasyBeast  
• Updated Chameleon 2.0 RC5 - ATI Experimental to r748
• Fixed HDAEnabler for ALC888 as it was 32-bit only, unlike the rest which were 32/64-bit.
• Renamed all HDAEnablers to include the codec it enables: HDAEnabler888, HDAEnabler888b, HDAEnabler889, HDAEnabler889a and HDAEnabler892.
• Added to Customization -> Boot Options -> Chameleon Instant Menu. Adds Instant Menu=Yes or replaces Timeout=n in /Extra/com.apple.boot.plist 

If this utility has helped you, please consider a contribution to support further MultiBeast development.  Thanks in advance, and enjoy!

-tonymacx86 & MacMan

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!

iBoot 2.7 Update

Today, iBoot has been updated to 2.7.  Grab the latest version at tonymacx86.com/downloads.

• Updated bootloader to Chameleon 2.0 RC5 r748 ATI Experimental (Kabyl Branch).  To clarify, this version works with both NVIDIA and ATI cards.
• Replaced Intel82566MM.kext with AppleIntelE1000e.kext.
• Replaced ElliottForceLegacyRTC.kext with LegacyAppleRTC.kext for compatibility with Intel boards.

Please do not upload or redistribute iBoot to any other sites.  

If this utility has helped you, please consider a contribution to support further iBoot development.  Thanks in advance, and enjoy!

-tonymacx86 & MacMan

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!