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brosmonaut's Mini-ITX Build: i5-2500K - GA-H77N-WIFI - GTX 650 TI - Apple Remote - 10.10.3 UniBeast

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brosmonaut

brosmonaut

Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
27
Motherboard
GIGABYTE H77N-WIFI
CPU
Intel i5-2500K
Graphics
EVGA GTX 650 Ti 1GB
Mac
  1. 0
Classic Mac
  1. 0
Mobile Phone
  1. 0

brosmonaut's Mini-ITX Build: i5-2500K - GA-H77N-WIFI - GTX 650 TI - Apple Remote - 10.10.3 UniBeast
rHqb7el.jpg

​

Components

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge Quad-Core 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W BX80623I52500K Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-2500K-Quad-Core-Processor-Cache/dp/B004EBUXHQ/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

GIGABYTE GA-H77N-WIFI LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009JDTWVC/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128567

EVGA SSC 01G-P4-3652-KR GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Dual-Link-Graphics-01G-P4-3652-KR/dp/B009KUT3UY
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130839

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

CORSAIR CXM series CX500M 500W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Modular-Bronze-ATX12V-EPS12V/dp/B00ALK3HF4/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139050

SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-Series-2-5-Inch-Solid/dp/B009NB8WRU/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193

Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-SATA-7200rpm-Internal-Drive/dp/B0088PUEPK/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339

LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YIG9AQ/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

For Dell HALF-MINI WIRELESS N CARD DW1515 ATHEROS AR5BHB92 AR9280 MINI CARD
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=dell+1515+ar9280

2x TP-LINK TL-ANT2405C 2.4GHz 5dBi Indoor/Desktop Omni-directional Antenna
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-ANT2405C-Desktop-Omni-directional-Antenna/dp/B001VEAI74/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812997086

Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced - Mini-ITX Computer Case with USB 3.0 and Long Graphics Card Support - Black
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Elite-120-Advanced/dp/B008R524GS/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119261

MACBOOK Pro 15'' Infrared Board w/Cable 820-2155-A 820-2306-A
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=820-2155-A
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=922-7195
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=820-2159-A

Original Apple Remote Control A1156 MacBook Pro, Apple TV, Intel Mac Mini
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?&_nkw=apple+remote+A1156

Dell S2440L Black 24" 6 ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor, VA Panel 250 cd/m2 DC 8,000,000:1 (5000:1)
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-S2440L-24-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B009H0XQRI/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260106

Comments

I made this guide for my personal reference for when I'd need to reinstall OSX one day but I'm sharing it here in case it might help others who have similar hardware. This guide is mainly a consolidation of links to other guides which I organized into sequential steps and added some notes to, so all credit goes to all those folks who provided all this great information on their sites, blogs and forums.

I built this Hackintosh sometime in late 2013 and used it through Mountain Lion, Mavericks, and now, Yosemite as an HTPC (with Kodi and Apple Remote), a gaming PC, and as a main desktop. The installation steps below will also work for Mountain Lion and Mavericks with minor variations.

This build uses UniBeast 5.1.0 and MultiBeast 7.3.0 on GA-H77N-WIFI motherboard with F4 firmware. I use Samsung SSD for OS installation, Applications, and scripts, and I use the WD HDD to store everything else (e.g., Downloads, Movies, Music, Pictures). Even though the processor in this build, i5-2500k, has an unlocked multiplier, this particular motherboard doesn't allow overclocking. I bought this processor because I got a good deal on it.

Installation Procedure

  1. Update BIOS firmware to version F4. Confirm your motherboard revision is 1.0 before proceeding. Download mb_bios_ga-h77n-wifi_f4.exe from Gigabyte, extract it with 7zip, put the H77NWIFI.F4 on a USB drive, boot into BIOS, press F8 to start Q-Flash, and it's self-explanatory from there.
  2. Configure the UEFI according to the guide for Gigabyte's 7-series LGA-1155 motherboards. One small note about the guide: because i5-2500K doesn't have VT-d, you will not find the option for it in UEFI.
  3. Follow tonymacx86's guide carefully to make a Yosemite Installer USB with UniBeast 5.1.0 (need min. 8GB USB drive); and install Yosemite onto the SSD. You do not need to use any special boot flags when booting with the UniBeast USB.
  4. You should now be inside your new Yosemite installation. If you're not on 10.10.3, Google "10.10.3 Combo Update", download it, install it, and reboot the same way with the UniBeast USB back into Yosemite. Note: it may be possible to hold off that reboot until after completing steps #5 and #6.
  5. Download MaciASL and follow the guide to create a DSDT for a UserDSDT installation in MultiBeast in the next step.

    Relatively short summary: start MaciASL and confirm that the title shows "System DSDT". This means you're working with a clean, unpatched DSDT. Open Preferences and change to ACPI 5.0 in the iASL tab. In Sources tab, you need to add Gigabyte and Graphics patch sources. Add the sources using their respective names and refer to PJALM's site for their URLs. Close Preferences and click on Patch. On the left hand, scroll down until you find H77N-WIFI (under Gigabyte) and click it. Wait until the list on bottom half of MaciASL displays the patches and click Apply. Patches have been applied once the list has cleared. Repeat the same process for "Generic Discreet Graphics (AMD/nVidia)" under Graphics. Close Patch window and click Compile. There should be no warnings and no errors. Now save the DSDT as DSDT.aml in a location you can find later. Be sure to set File Format to ACPI Machine Language Binary when saving.
  6. Run MultiBeast 7.3.0, select the following items, and then install everything to the SSD drive to which you installed Yosemite:

    Code: 
    Quick Start > UserDSDT - Desktop/DSDT.aml
Drivers > Audio > Realtek ALCxxx > ALC892
Drivers > Disk > 3rd Party SATA
Drivers > Disk > TRIM Enabler > 10.10.3 TRIM Patch
Drivers > Graphics > Intel Graphics Patch for Mixed Configurations
Drivers > Misc > FakeSMC v6.14.1364
Drivers > Network > Realtek > AppleRTL8169Ethernet 2.0.6
Drivers > System > AppleRTC Patch for CMOS Reset
Boatloaders > Chimera v4.1.0
Customize > Boot Options > 1080p Display Mode
Customize > Boot Options > Basic Boot Options
Customize > Boot Options > Generate CPU States
Customize > Boot Options > Hibernate Mode - Desktop
Customize > Boot Options > Kext Dev Mode
Customize > Boot Options > Use KernelCache
Customize > System Definitions > Mac Pro > Mac Pro 3,1
Customize > SSDT Options > Sandy Bridge Core i5
Customize > Themes > Chameleon 2.2 Default

    This Hackintosh uses a Sandy Bridge processor on an Ivy Bridge motherboard, which isn't really a problem, but if you're ever going to be using HD3000 for graphics, you'll also need to enable "Intel Graphics Patch for Mixed Configurations".

    I enable AppleRTC Patch for CMOS Reset out of habit. On my other systems, using sleep would reset BIOS configurations and drive me nuts. This build doesn't seem to have that problem so you can probably leave it off.

  7. Reboot. If during reboot you are haunted by boot0 errors, whip out your UniBeast USB, use it to boot into Yosemite installer, and follow the guide.
  8. You should now have a functional Yosemite installation, you're no longer dependant on UniBeast USB to get into your Hackintosh, and things like USB3, sleep and HDMI audio should be working. However, there are a few issues that need to be addressed:
    • "ATHR: Unknown locale: 60" error during boot

      My wifi card (DW1515) came with its regulatory domain set to 0x60. This should either be set to 0x00 or to the hex code of your country. For instructions on how to change this, see either of the guides below. I used the Linux guide with an Ubuntu LiveCD to change mine to 0x00 and it works great. Read the instructions carefully and make sure you substitute the hex code to 0x00 where appropriate. The codes can be found by running RCU.exe which is provided as an attachment in first post of the second guide. You can also find the codes on one of the links.

      Consider philip_petev's responses on the second guide. He argues that it's better to use your own country's code instead of 0x00 (esp. if you live outside of US). I initially used my country code but I still continued to get errors so I set it to 0x00 and now it's fine. Nevertheless, the explanation philip_petev provides is useful to keep in mind for diagnostics purposes if you ever come across wifi problems in the future.
    • Freezing during shutdown and before login screen

      Randomly, the system would fail to shutdown or reboot. On shutdown/reboot, Yosemite would close all programs and just as it's about to turn off or restart, it would hang. Verbose mode sometimes shows kernel panics. Otherwise, the monitor turns off with the the PC continuously running. It doesn't happen every time, but wnce you get this bad shutdown/reboot, you will have a 75% chance of having your system completely freeze just before it displays a login screen on the next startup. Verbose doesn't show anything useful before the freeze on startup, either.

      I'm not quite sure what causes this in 10.10.3 but it looks like it's something to do with the graphics card when using Apple's nVidia drivers. A workaround for this is to try booting with -f. Once inside, repair permissions in Disk Utility and update caches by typing 'sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions'. This seems to stop the startup freezes until you get another bad shutdown/reboot.

      A better way to fix this is to install AND enable nVidia's drivers. You can enable the drivers from System Preferences nVidia pane or nVidia's menubar icon. Confirm that your /Extra/org.chameleon.Boot.plist contains nvda_drv=1 in Kernel Flags. Once I started using nVidia's drivers, I stopped having this problem.

      Below is a link to the latest (as of this writing) nVidia driver for 10.10.3 as well as guides on how to pick a correct driver version for your Hackintosh.
    • App Store issue

      On other builds, I sometimes had a problem with App Store not working due to an error so I included this fix just in case it came up again. This is an excerpt from the included guide that worked for me:

      7. Remove all devices from System Preferences -> Network, and Apply.

      8. Remove NetworkInterfaces.plist & com.apple.network.identification.plist from /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/

      Code: 
      sudo rm /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.network.identification.plist
sudo rm /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist

      6. Reboot.
      Click to expand...
    • Setting up Apple IR Sensor, Apple Remote, and Kodi/XBMC

      Getting Apple Remote working is not hard. You need an Apple IR Receiver and a spare USB cable, which are sold on eBay. There are several part numbers for the receiver, such as 922-7195, 820-2159-A, and 820-2155-A. Make sure the receiver comes with the little cable. Follow the instructions in the guides on how to splice the little cable with the spare USB cable. Pay special attention to the cable pinouts as different part numbers may have different pinouts. Once spliced, plug the USB in and it should work. No need to install or configure anything.

      If you're using Kodi/XBMC, there is an option in system > input settings to start Kodi/XBMC with the Apple Remote instead of whatever the default is (iTunes?).

      I like to have Apple Remote adjust the system volume rather that its own application-level volume, so I included a forum post showing how to accomplish this.
    • Yosemite violating your privacy

      Turns out Yosemite comes enabled with certain features by default that send your personal data like Spotlight searches to Apple and Microsoft. Turn it off with the following guide which suggests you "disable 'Spotlight Suggestions' and 'Bing Web Searches' in System Preferences > Spotlight > Search Results" and also "uncheck 'Include Spotlight Suggestions' in Safari > Preferences > Search."
    • Getting iMessage to work

      iMessage is the only thing I found that doesn't work in this build. I looked into fixing it but it seems like a long process so I'll leave it for another weekend project. However, if you do use it, I included a guide that's worth reading that should help you.
    • Hiding the Chimera boot screen

      This setting doesn't remove the Chimera boot screen completely. It will still flash for a few milliseconds. If you ever need to access it again, hold F8 just before it comes up. Add the following to /Extra/org.chameleon.Boot.plist:

      Code: 
      <key>Timeout</key>
<string>-1</string>
MultiBeast Settings

kFl9ozL.png


Benchmarks

  • Geekbench 3

    yBUZ852.png

  • Heaven Benchmark 4.0

    NVIDIA Drivers - (Medium settings)
    TiOFz22.png


    I also did a comparison between nVidia drivers and OSX drivers on Ultra setting. Doesn't seem like there's much of a difference.

    NVIDIA Drivers (Ultra setting)
    MmTqQ4a.png


    OSX Drivers (Ultra setting)
    tMgsZe3.png

History

  • 05/19/2015 - Revised MultiBeast settings to replace RealRTL82xx v0.0.90 ethernet driver with AppleRTL8169Ethernet 2.0.6 as that resolved the issue with Wi-Fi not detecting 5GHZ band on startup and the issue with a short keyboard and mouse freeze during and after login.

  • 05/17/2015 - Guide added
 
Last edited:
Yeah, they both work.

I just tried plugging in my Logitech C310 cam, logging into FaceTime, and calling someone. It worked.

App Store worked without issues, but I remember on my other builds I'd sometimes get an error so I'd have to reset my network settings.

"For those of you who can't login to Appstore, make sure your Ethernet built'in is set à en0 (you can see that in System Information, ioreg and Network utility). If not, then go to Network in System Preferences and delete all your devices, apply, then deleteLibrary/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist. Reboot, go to Network in System Preferences again and add your Ethernet connection FIRST. You're good to go!"
Click to expand...

http://www.tonymacx86.com/yosemite-desktop-support/144930-app-store-error-code-your-device-computer-could-not-verified-contact-support-assistance.html#post898729"]
 
I reinstalled Yosemite yesterday with Clover and iMessages started working. The install was surprisingly easy, and everything works now.

I followed tonymacx86's guide for the Clover install. A few notes about it:

  • I used config.plist-Standard.zip (post attachment on tonymacx86's post) for the config.

  • I installed Clover on the SSD using UEFI settings rather than legacy.

  • I had to include a nv_disable=1 flag on every boot until I installed and enabled nVidia web drivers (see step #8b of my guide for link) or else I'd get a black screen.

  • I used DSDT I made in step #5 in my own guide. I took the SSDT from the previous install in /Extra. You can also get one by running MultiBeast and selecting "Customize > SSDT Options > Sandy Bridge Core i5".

  • For ethernet, download the Mieze's driver.

  • After the install, to get audio working, I used audio_cloverALC-100.command from "cloverALC/Clover patched" portion of toleda's audio guide. You can also use MultiBeast to install 892 audio drivers, but the former would leave your /S/L/E unmolested.

  • Clover gave me iMac12,1 system definition. This works fine but anything other than Mac3,1 gives me annoying audio pops after a period of silence when the amp powers on again. I had to make a small applescript to stop the amp powering down. Open Script Editor, type this in, save it, and leave it running. I made a Launch Agent that keeps the script running in the background. It gets restarted even even if the process dies for some reason.

    Save the applescript as Stop-Pop.scpt into something like ~/Code

    Code: 
    repeat
    say " "
    delay 10
end repeat

    For a Launch Agent, save below as com.user.stoppop into ~/Library/LaunchAgents

    Code: 
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
	<key>Label</key>
	<string>com.akusha.stoppop</string>
	<key>ProgramArguments</key>
	<array>
		<string>/usr/bin/osascript</string>
		<string>/Users/User/Code/Stop-Pop.scpt</string>
	</array>
	<key>KeepAlive</key>
	<true/>
</dict>
</plist>

 
I have HDMI audio working via this thread:

Clover HDMI audio for NVIDIA & AMD cards. Easy way

However, by doing it this way - it seems there is no way to get volume controls working through HDMI - I've tried using soundflower however it works on OS X but once I launch Kodi it doesn't like the whole soundflower thing.

The main reason it would be great is because I've also ordered an Apple IR Reciever w/ Apple Remote and I'd love to control the MAC Volume Level as indicated by the post you've linked but is this only dependant on volume control already being enabled. As currently by using HDMI audio this is all I get?

Any advice would be great...

Thanks

Screen Shot 2015-07-06 at 00.00.55.png
 
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