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.


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.

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