[SUCCESS] Gigabyte Designare Z390 (Thunderbolt 3) + i7-9700K + AMD RX 580

[Stork]

Because the sluggishness is becoming painful on my machine, I will embark on doing a clean install.
I'll take this opportunity to also upgrade my SSD drive to something with more storage and better (2TB or more). I currently have a Samsung Evo 970 500Gb.

From reading the thread here, it seems that the following are good contenders for a boot drive:
- Samsung 990 Pro
- Samsung 980 (seen this might have issues?)
- WD Black SN850XWD Black SN850X

Did I miss other options and are there any of the 3 here to be avoided?

The WD Black SN850XWD Black SN850X is our recommendation.

 

[trs96]

are there any of the 3 here to be avoided?

From Post #1

Although this applies to all versions of macOS, it is particularly applicable to Monterey users because of the sudden onslaught of trim-related issues.

Avoid installing macOS on the following NVMe M.2 SSDs:

• Samsung 970, 970 Plus, 970 Pro
• Samsung 980, 980 Pro

Every model of Samsung NVMe (including 990 Pro) has broken TRIM function when used with macOS Monterey or newer. WD NVMe drives are the most widely used with success and provide fast boot times.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7CMZ3QH/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

 

[ndrik]

The WD Black SN850XWD Black SN850X is our recommendation.

Thx, will grab one of those.

From Post #1

Although this applies to all versions of macOS, it is particularly applicable to Monterey users because of the sudden onslaught of trim-related issues.

Avoid installing macOS on the following NVMe M.2 SSDs:

• Samsung 970, 970 Plus, 970 Pro
• Samsung 980, 980 Pro

Every model of Samsung NVMe (including 990 Pro) has broken TRIM function when used with macOS Monterey or newer. WD NVMe drives are the most widely used with success and provide fast boot times.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7CMZ3QH/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

I guess not upgrading from Catalina wasn't so bad. It probably saved my SSD.

 

[jiffyslot]

My workaround for squirrelly Samsung NVMe's is to use them as HFS+ storage for sample libraries and recording. The "old, slow" SATA SSD's are just fine for MacOS. I do love the NVMe proto, but the motherboard manufacturers are a little stingy with the slots.

 

[scrump]

I am a bit confused.

Had the Samsung 970 Pro in my system for quite a long time. It got me stressed out because of this super long boot time and occasional hick ups and I am afraid of data loss. So I swapped the main NVMe for a SN850X. So far so good. Now I want to use the Samsung as a storage only device. Does the trim problematic only occur with APFS or with all file systems?

 

[jiffyslot]

I am a bit confused.

Had the Samsung 970 Pro in my system for quite a long time. It got me stressed out because of this super long boot time and occasional hick ups and I am afraid of data loss. So I swapped the main NVMe for a SN850X. So far so good. Now I want to use the Samsung as a storage only device. Does the trim problematic only occur with APFS or with all file systems?

I use HFS+ (aka Mac OS Extended) for data storage. I only use APFS for MacOS.
In my config.plist, I have Kernel<Quirks<SetApfsTrimTimeout Number set to 4294967295.
As always, YMMV.

 

[ndrik]

I got the SN850XWD and got ready to install it in my machine.
I opened it up, removed the Graphic card to access the 2nd NVMe slot, and installed the new SSD in.
I then proceeded to reboot the machine, but to no avail. The DRAM led on the motherboard turns on and stays on...

I tried removing the newly installed drive, unplugging every other SATA drive, removing the Graphic card, removing both SSDs, removing and resitting the RAM, resetting CMOS by shorting the 2 small pins...
It always gets stuck on boot with the DRAM led on.
The monitor doesn't even flinch, so I'm guessing it's not even booting.

I was expecting to encounter some issues, but not this early in the upgrade process .

What could I have done wrong and how can I go beyond this error?

Edit:

Figured it out, the SSD weren't fully in their slot, which showed as a DRAM error on the MB. I can now get to the BIOS, but can't go beyond the apple logo.

 

[CaseySJ]

I got the SN850XWD and got ready to install it in my machine.
I opened it up, removed the Graphic card to access the 2nd NVMe slot, and installed the new SSD in.
I then proceeded to reboot the machine, but to no avail. The DRAM led on the motherboard turns on and stays on...

I tried removing the newly installed drive, unplugging every other SATA drive, removing the Graphic card, removing both SSDs, removing and resitting the RAM, resetting CMOS by shorting the 2 small pins...
It always gets stuck on boot with the DRAM led on.
The monitor doesn't even flinch, so I'm guessing it's not even booting.

I was expecting to encounter some issues, but not this early in the upgrade process .

What could I have done wrong and how can I go beyond this error?

Edit:

Figured it out, the SSD weren't fully in their slot, which showed as a DRAM error on the MB. I can now get to the BIOS, but can't go beyond the apple logo.

At the OpenCore boot menu, press and release CMD-V to enable verbose logs, then try booting the system. Depending on BIOS version, please check that BIOS -> Boot -> CFG-Lock is Disabled.

 

[ndrik]

thx, the BIOS -> Boot -> CFG-Lock was Disabled. Seems this is doing the trick!
Now I can finally start on making a clean install on the new SSD.

 

[ndrik]

I spoke too fast, I can't seem to login to my user anymore. I get "Can't login to "user" an error has occured" T_T