Customize About This Mac on a Hackintosh: Model Name, Processor, and Memory

The "About This Mac" window is usually the first thing people check after a fresh Hackintosh install. By default, it shows a generic model identifier like MacPro6,1 or iMac14,2 — whatever SMBIOS you injected in your bootloader. For a vanilla build, that’s fine. But on a legacy system with mismatched hardware — say, a dual-Xeon X79 board paired with a non-standard GPU — the default model can mess up power management, sleep, or even block iServices. Customizing that dialog isn't just for looks; it's a diagnostic and compatibility tool. Here's how to change the model name, serial number, processor string, and memory display, and what can go wrong with each method.

Why Bother Customizing About This Mac?

The standard SMBIOS injection in Clover or OpenCore already sets the basic identifiers. But the model name shown in the macOS GUI (e.g., “Mac Pro (Late 2013)”) is derived from a lookup table inside /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist. If your bootloader injects a model that macOS doesn’t recognise (like an unsupported MacPro7,1 on Mojave), the window will show “Unknown” or a generic placeholder. Customizing this string can:

• Eliminate confusion when troubleshooting with other users — everyone sees the same model name.
• Fix certain iCloud/iMessage activation checks that rely on the displayed model being in Apple’s database.
• Prevent kernel panics related to AppleGraphicsPowerManagement when the GPU profile doesn’t match the SMBIOS. (See our guide on editing AppleGraphicsPowerManagement.kext for the underlying plist manipulation technique.)
• Improve sleep/wake behaviour on boards like X79 and X99 where ACPI tables are heavily patched.

What Exactly Can You Customize?

The “About This Mac” window draws data from multiple sources:

• Model Name – from SystemVersion.plist or the bootloader’s SMBIOS product name.
• Processor – from the kernel’s CPU detection, but can be overridden via SystemVersion.plist or a kernel extension.
• Memory – from the bootloader’s SMBIOS memory tables; macOS automatically sums DIMMs.
• Serial Number – from the bootloader’s SMBIOS; displayed only in the “System Report…” window.
• Graphics – from the GPU’s device properties; cannot be faked without kext-level hacks.

This guide focuses on the two most commonly modified fields: the model name and the processor string.

Method 1: Editing SystemVersion.plist (Persistent, System-Wide)

This method changes the model name shown in the GUI, no matter what bootloader you use. It survives macOS updates only if you re-apply it after every major update (minor updates may overwrite it).

Step-by-Step

1. Open Terminal and make a backup:
   sudo cp /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist ~/Desktop/SystemVersion.plist.backup
2. Open the file in a plist editor (Xcode, PlistEdit Pro, or even nano with care):
   sudo nano /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist
3. Locate the key ProductName. Its default value is something like Mac OS X or macOS. Change it to your desired display name, e.g., Mac Pro (Dual Xeon X79). Do not exceed 64 characters.
4. Find ProductVersion — leave it alone unless you want to fake a different OS version (not recommended).
5. Save and exit. Reboot.

Risk: An incorrect ProductName can break software updates that parse this string. Always keep a backup. On legacy systems, this file is sometimes SIP-protected even with SIP disabled; you may need to remount the root volume as writable with sudo mount -uw / before editing.

Method 2: Overriding the Processor String

macOS reads the CPU brand string from the kernel. To change what appears in “About This Mac”, you can patch the kernel’s cpuid output or inject a fake value via a custom kernel extension. The safest approach for legacy Hackintosh users is to modify SystemVersion.plist with a ProcessorName key — but this only works on macOS 10.13 and later.

Adding ProcessorName to SystemVersion.plist

1. Open SystemVersion.plist as above.
2. Add a new string key ProcessorName with a value like Intel Xeon E5-2680 v2.
3. Save and reboot.

If your macOS version ignores this key (common on Sierra and earlier), you can use a small kernel extension like CPUFriend to supply a custom CPU name. This is more advanced and requires generating a CPUFriendDataProvider.kext with your desired string. For most users, the plist method is sufficient.

Method 3: Bootloader-Level Customization (Clover / OpenCore)

Rather than modifying system files, you can inject a custom model name via your bootloader’s SMBIOS settings. This is the cleanest method because it doesn’t touch the root volume.

Clover

Edit config.plist under SMBIOS → ProductName. Set it to a model that macOS recognises, but if you want a completely custom string, you must also set ProductName to a valid identifier and then use a custom SystemVersion.plist override (method 1) to change the display name. Clover alone cannot display a string that is not in the macOS lookup table.

OpenCore

OpenCore’s PlatformInfo → Generic → SystemProductName works the same way. For a custom display name, you still need the plist edit. However, OpenCore can inject a custom SystemVersion.plist via a Vault or Resource section — a more advanced technique that avoids altering the system volume entirely.

Method 4: Using Hackintool for Quick Changes

Hackintool (formerly Intel FB-Patcher) includes a “System” tab that lets you view and modify SMBIOS parameters and even generate a custom SystemVersion.plist. It’s a GUI convenience, but the underlying mechanisms are the same. Always verify the generated plist with a text editor before copying it into /System/Library/CoreServices/.

Risks and Limitations

Verifying Your Changes

After a reboot, open “About This Mac” and check the displayed strings. For a more reliable verification, run in Terminal:

sysctl -n hw.model

This returns the actual SMBIOS model identifier (e.g., MacPro6,1). The GUI name may differ if you edited SystemVersion.plist. To see the raw plist values:

plutil -p /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist

When Customizing Can Break Things

Changing the processor string to something wildly inaccurate (e.g., “Apple M1” on a Core i7) can confuse apps that rely on CPU detection, such as video encoders or virtual machines. Similarly, altering the model name to a newer Mac than your hardware can trigger incompatible power management profiles. If you experience kernel panics after customization, revert to your backup and consider using only bootloader-level SMBIOS injection without modifying system files.

Final Practical Tip: Keep a Recovery Plan

Before any customization, create a bootable USB with your current working EFI. If the system becomes unbootable after a plist edit, you can boot from the USB, mount the internal drive, and restore the backup plist. On systems with SIP fully enabled, editing SystemVersion.plist may be impossible without disabling SIP first — do that only temporarily and re-enable it afterward. For legacy Hackintosh builds where SIP is already partially disabled, the risk is lower but still present. Always test one change at a time.