- The maximum version of Mac OS X, OS X, or macOS supported by each G3 and later Mac follows. For complete specs on a particular system, click the name of the Mac. For all Macs that are compatible with a specifc maximum supported version of Mac OS X - courtesy of EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Sort - click the OS of interest.
- Seamless Use Windows side-by-side with macOS (no restarting required) on your MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac mini or Mac Pro. Share files and folders, copy and paste images and text & drag and drop files between Mac and Windows applications. Easy Set-Up Parallels Desktop automatically detects what you need to get started so you are up and going within minutes!
- Parallels Desktop® for Mac is the fastest, easiest, and most powerful application for running Windows® on a Mac®—without rebooting. Brought to you by the world-class developers of the #1-rated Mac virtualization software. Note: It is not recommended that existing Parallels Desktop® for Mac users m.
Every major version of Mac OS X macOS has come with a new default wallpaper. As you can see, I have collected them all here.
While great in their day, the early wallpapers are now quite small in the world of 5K and 6K displays.
If you want to see detailed screenshots of every release of OS X, click here.
OS X El Capitan: 6 great Photos extensions you can use today I simply can't stress enough how effectively extensions help transform Photos on a Mac into a professional quality imaging application.
If you are looking for Mac OS 9 wallpapers, this page is for you.
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10.0 Cheetah & 10.1 Puma
The first two releases of Mac OS X shared the same wallpaper. The sweeping blue arcs and curves helped set the tone of the new Aqua interface.
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10.2 Jaguar
Jaguar took the same Aqua-inspired theme but added some depth and motion to things. In my head, the trails streaking across the screen were from a set of comets.
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10.3 Panther
While Panther inflicted Macs everywhere with Brushed Metal, its wallpaper stayed on brand, refreshing the original 10.0 image.
Perpixeled Mac Os X
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10.4 Tiger
Many consider Tiger to be the best 'classic' version of Mac OS X. While that may or may not be true, it is my favorite Aqua-inspired wallpaper.
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10.5 Leopard
Complete with a revised, unified user interface and shiny new Dock, 10.5 broke the Aqua mold. As such, Leopard was the first version of OS X to break from the Aqua-themed wallpaper. It ushered in the 'space era' of OS X wallpapers, which was used heavily in the new Time Machine interface as well.
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10.6 Snow Leopard
The 'no new features' mantra for Snow Leopard didn't ban a new wallpaper, thankfully. This starscape is still one of my favorites.
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10.6 Snow Leopard Server
The server version of Snow Leopard came with its own unique wallpaper that is a real treat:
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10.7 Lion
Lion kept up the space theme, this time showing off the Andromeda galaxy. The space nerd in me likes the idea, but the execution of this one leaves dead-last on my list of favorites.
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10.8 Mountain Lion
Just like Snow Leopard before it, with Mountain Lion, Apple opted to clean up and revise the existing theme as opposed to changing directions for what would be a less-impactful release of OS X.
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10.9 Mavericks
Mavericks marked the beginning of Apple's 'California location' naming scheme for Mac releases. The wave depicted looks as intimidating as the ones in the famous surfing location.
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10.10 Yosemite
Yosemite brought another UI refresh to the Mac, making things flatter and more modern. The wallpaper ushered in a new era based on … well … mountains.
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10.11 El Capitan
Named after a breathtaking spot in Yosemite National Park, El Capitan was a clean-up year after 10.10.
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10.12 Sierra
More mountains.
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10.13 High Sierra
Even more mountains.
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10.14 Mojave
No more mountains! Mojave brought a new system-wide Dark Mode, and the OS shipped with two versions of its default wallpaper to match. Users could even have macOS slowly fade between the two background images over the course of the day.
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10.15 Catalina
macOS Catalina brought big changes to the Mac, including the ability to run iPad apps natively, opening the platform up to a much larger number of developers than ever before. Catalina shipped with multiple variants of its default wallpaper, and the ability to shift between them as time progresses throughout the day:
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macOS Big Sur
This version of macOS is such a big deal, Apple changed the version number to 11.0. It will be the OS that brings support for Apple Silicon-powered Macs, and features a brand new design.
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To use an eGPU, a Mac with an Intel processor is required.
An eGPU can give your Mac additional graphics performance for professional apps, 3D gaming, VR content creation and more.
eGPUs are supported by any Mac with an Intel processor and Thunderbolt 3 ports1 running macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 or later. Find out how to update the software on your Mac.
An eGPU lets you do all of the following on your Mac:
- Accelerate apps that use Metal, OpenGL and OpenCL
- Connect additional external monitors and displays
- Use virtual reality headsets plugged into the eGPU
- Charge your MacBook Pro while using the eGPU
- Use an eGPU with your MacBook Pro while its built-in display is closed
- Connect an eGPU while a user is logged in
- Connect more than one eGPU using the multiple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports on your Mac2
- Use the menu bar item to disconnect the eGPU safely
- View the activity levels of built-in and external GPUs (Open Activity Monitor, then choose Window > GPU History.)
eGPU support in apps
eGPU support in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later is designed to accelerate Metal, OpenGL and OpenCL apps that benefit from a powerful eGPU. Not all apps support eGPU acceleration; check with the app's developer to find out more.3
In general, an eGPU can accelerate performance in these types of app:
- Pro apps designed to utilise multiple GPUs
- 3D games when an external monitor is attached directly to the eGPU
- VR apps when the VR headset is attached directly to the eGPU
- Pro apps and 3D games that accelerate the built-in display of iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (This capability must be enabled by the app's developer.)
You can configure applications to use an eGPU with one of the following methods.
Use the Prefer External GPU option
Starting with macOS Mojave 10.14, you can turn on Prefer External GPU in a specific app's Get Info panel in the Finder. This option lets the eGPU accelerate apps on any display connected to the Mac, including displays built into iMac, iMac Pro, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro:
- Quit the app if it's open.
- Select the app in the Finder. Most apps are in your Applications folder. If you open the app from an alias or launcher, control-click the app's icon and choose Show Original from the pop-up menu. Then select the original app.
- Press Command-I to display the app's info window.
- Select the tick box next to Prefer External GPU.
- Open the app to use it with the eGPU.
You won't see this option if an eGPU isn't connected, if your Mac isn't running macOS Mojave or later, or if the app self-manages its GPU selection. Some apps, such as Final Cut Pro, directly choose which graphics processors will be used and will ignore the Prefer External GPU tick box.
Set an external eGPU-connected display as the primary display
If you have an external display connected to your eGPU, you can choose it as the primary display for all apps. Since apps default to the GPU associated with the primary display, this option works with a variety of apps:
- Quit any open apps that you want the eGPU to accelerate on the primary display.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Select Displays, then select the Arrangement tab.
- Drag the white menu bar to the box that represents the display that's attached to the eGPU.
- Open the apps you want to use with the eGPU.
If you disconnect the eGPU, your Mac will default back to the internal graphics processors that drive the built-in display. When the eGPU is re-attached, it will set the external display as the primary display automatically.
About macOS GPU drivers
Mac hardware and GPU software drivers have always been deeply integrated into the system. This design fuels the visually rich and graphical macOS experience as well as many deeper platform compute and graphics features. These include accelerating the user interface, providing support for advanced display features, rendering 3D graphics for pro software and games, processing photos and videos, driving powerful GPU compute features, and accelerating machine learning tasks. This deep integration also enables optimal battery life while providing greater system performance and stability.
Apple develops, integrates and supports macOS GPU drivers to ensure that there are consistent GPU capabilities across all Mac products, including rich APIs like Metal, Core Animation, Core Image and Core ML. In order to deliver the best possible customer experience, GPU drivers need to be engineered, integrated, tested and delivered with each version of macOS. Aftermarket GPU drivers delivered by third parties are not compatible with macOS.
The GPU drivers delivered with macOS are also designed to enable a high-quality, high-performance experience when using an eGPU, as described in the list of recommended eGPU chassis and graphics card configurations below. Because of this deep system integration, only graphics cards that use the same GPU architecture as those built into Mac products are supported in macOS.
Supported eGPU configurations
It's important to use an eGPU with a recommended graphics card and Thunderbolt 3 chassis. If you also use an eGPU to charge your MacBook Pro, the eGPU's chassis needs to provide enough power to run the graphics card and charge the computer. Check with the manufacturer of the chassis to find out if it provides enough power for your MacBook Pro.
Recommended graphics cards, along with chassis that can power them sufficiently, are listed below.
Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPU products
These products contain a powerful built-in GPU and supply sufficient power to charge your MacBook Pro.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPUs:
Perpixeled Mac Os 11
- Blackmagic eGPU and Blackmagic eGPU Pro4
- Gigabyte RX 580 Gaming Box4
- Sonnet Radeon RX 570 eGFX Breakaway Puck
- Sonnet Radeon RX 560 eGFX Breakaway Puck5
- Quit any open apps that you want the eGPU to accelerate on the primary display.
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Select Displays, then select the Arrangement tab.
- Drag the white menu bar to the box that represents the display that's attached to the eGPU.
- Open the apps you want to use with the eGPU.
If you disconnect the eGPU, your Mac will default back to the internal graphics processors that drive the built-in display. When the eGPU is re-attached, it will set the external display as the primary display automatically.
About macOS GPU drivers
Mac hardware and GPU software drivers have always been deeply integrated into the system. This design fuels the visually rich and graphical macOS experience as well as many deeper platform compute and graphics features. These include accelerating the user interface, providing support for advanced display features, rendering 3D graphics for pro software and games, processing photos and videos, driving powerful GPU compute features, and accelerating machine learning tasks. This deep integration also enables optimal battery life while providing greater system performance and stability.
Apple develops, integrates and supports macOS GPU drivers to ensure that there are consistent GPU capabilities across all Mac products, including rich APIs like Metal, Core Animation, Core Image and Core ML. In order to deliver the best possible customer experience, GPU drivers need to be engineered, integrated, tested and delivered with each version of macOS. Aftermarket GPU drivers delivered by third parties are not compatible with macOS.
The GPU drivers delivered with macOS are also designed to enable a high-quality, high-performance experience when using an eGPU, as described in the list of recommended eGPU chassis and graphics card configurations below. Because of this deep system integration, only graphics cards that use the same GPU architecture as those built into Mac products are supported in macOS.
Supported eGPU configurations
It's important to use an eGPU with a recommended graphics card and Thunderbolt 3 chassis. If you also use an eGPU to charge your MacBook Pro, the eGPU's chassis needs to provide enough power to run the graphics card and charge the computer. Check with the manufacturer of the chassis to find out if it provides enough power for your MacBook Pro.
Recommended graphics cards, along with chassis that can power them sufficiently, are listed below.
Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPU products
These products contain a powerful built-in GPU and supply sufficient power to charge your MacBook Pro.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 all-in-one eGPUs:
Perpixeled Mac Os 11
- Blackmagic eGPU and Blackmagic eGPU Pro4
- Gigabyte RX 580 Gaming Box4
- Sonnet Radeon RX 570 eGFX Breakaway Puck
- Sonnet Radeon RX 560 eGFX Breakaway Puck5
AMD Radeon RX 470, RX 480, RX 570, RX 580 and Radeon Pro WX 7100
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Polaris architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Pulse series and the AMD WX series.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- OWC Mercury Helios FX4
- PowerColor Devil Box
- Sapphire Gear Box
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 350W
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W4
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
- PowerColor Game Station4
- HP Omen4
- Akitio Node6
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Vega 56 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Vega 56.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
Perpixeled Mac Os Download
- OWC Mercury Helios FX4
- PowerColor Devil Box
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 550W4
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
- PowerColor Game Station4
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64, Vega Frontier Edition Air and Radeon Pro WX 9100
Perpixeled Mac Os Catalina
These graphics cards are based on the AMD Vega 64 architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the Sapphire Vega 64, AMD Frontier Edition air-cooled and AMD Radeon Pro WX 9100.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
AMD Radeon RX 5700, 5700 XT and 5700 XT 50th Anniversary
If you've installed macOS Catalina 10.15.1 or later, you can use these graphics cards, which are based on the AMD Navi RDNA architecture. Recommended graphics cards include the AMD Radeon RX 5700, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary.
Recommended Thunderbolt 3 chassis for these graphics cards:
- Sonnet eGFX Breakaway Box 650W4
- Razer Core X4
Learn more
- Find out how to choose your GPU in Final Cut Pro 10.4.7 or later.
- To ensure the best eGPU performance, use the Thunderbolt 3 cable that came with your eGPU or an Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cable. Also, make sure the cable is connected directly to a Thunderbolt 3 port on your Mac, not daisy-chained through another Thunderbolt device or hub.
- If you have any questions about Thunderbolt 3 chassis or graphics cards, or about third-party app support and compatibility, contact the hardware or software provider.
- Software developers can find out more about programming their apps to take advantage of macOS eGPU support.
1. If you have a Mac mini (2018) with FileVault turned on, make sure you connect your primary display directly to Mac mini during startup. After you've logged in and can see the macOS Desktop, you can unplug the display from Mac mini and connect it to your eGPU.
2. If you're using a 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2016 or 2017, always plug eGPUs and other high-performance devices into the left-hand ports for maximum data throughput.
3. macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 and later don't support eGPUs in Windows using Boot Camp or when your Mac is in macOS Recovery or installing system updates.
4. These chassis provide at least 85 watts of charging power, making them ideal for use with 15-inch MacBook Pro models.
5. Playback of HDCP-protected content from iTunes and some streaming services is not supported on displays attached to Radeon 560-based eGPUs. You can play this content on the built-in display on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iMac.
6. If you use Akitio Node with a Mac notebook, you may need to connect your Mac to its power adapter to ensure proper charging.
