[Updated] wildwillow's Haswell Build: GA-Z87X-OC - i7-4770K - HD4600+GT 640

[wildwillow]

Currently running Yosemite with this golden build, just wondering what the opinions out there are for upgrading to El Capitan or waiting for sierra? I have no issues with my build right now and it has been going strong for quite some time.

Hi xdriver,
I'm still running Yosemite on this build simply as the Radeon card I'm using works fine with it and not so great with El Capitan and Sierra. I have ran El Capitan on this system and now Sierra so both 10.11 and 10.12 will work fine. El Capitan is running on all my other systems. If you're on Yosemite with Chimera you'll need to update your bootloader to Clover. Transitioning an upgrade from Chimera/Yosemite can be done following steps mentioned in these guides:
Clover Basics and Switching Advice
Explaining OS X El Capitan Security Changes - Workarounds and Current Information
SIP (System Integrity Protection)
How to Backup and Remove Chimera and any Related Files
CustoMac Desktop USB Fixes - OS X 10.11 El Capitan - Reference(this can achieved with MultiBeast).
In Post#1081 there is a EFI folder that'll help you install with your configuration.

 

[xdriver]

Hi xdriver,
I'm still running Yosemite on this build simply as the Radeon card I'm using works fine with it and not so great with El Capitan and Sierra. I have ran El Capitan on this system and now Sierra so both 10.11 and 10.12 will work fine. El Capitan is running on all my other systems. If you're on Yosemite with Chimera you'll need to update your bootloader to Clover. Transitioning an upgrade from Chimera/Yosemite can be done following steps mentioned in these guides:
Clover Basics and Switching Advice
Explaining OS X El Capitan Security Changes - Workarounds and Current Information
SIP (System Integrity Protection)
How to Backup and Remove Chimera and any Related Files
CustoMac Desktop USB Fixes - OS X 10.11 El Capitan - Reference(this can achieved with MultiBeast).
In Post#1081 there is a EFI folder that'll help you install with your configuration.

I am on Clover with a
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 2048 MB

Your suggestions are appreciated. Maybe I will just wait a few months before considering an update to Sierra.

 

[wildwillow]

I am on Clover with a
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 2048 MB

Your suggestions are appreciated. Maybe I will just wait a few months before considering an update to Sierra.

You're almost there using Clover, the 760 is supported without the web drivers. The least you would have to do is update your Clover build possibly on USB as a test boot(to start) to boot in to OS X Yosemite, this includes updating your Kexts, mandatory update FakeSMC.kext. The great thing with Clover is you can test before making it permanent.

 

[ColdCross]

Hello,

I upgraded to Sierra as described in the main guide without issues.

 

[wildwillow]

Hello,

I upgraded to Sierra as described in the main guide without issues.

Hey ColdCross, yeah the main upgrade guide worked flawlessly. I'm running macOS Sierra on a test drive and its been pretty good so far. Its on a HDD and its quicker that El Cap in everyday tasks. As soon a the community finds a solution for AMD GPU's I'll update my primary installation drive from Yosemite.

 

[ColdCross]

It would not have worked so easily without you giving me the clover config prior.
Thank you for that!

I have Sierra on a SSD. I cannot tell the difference in speed really.

Good luck with the Radeon upgrade - quite a difficult path.

 

[npike]

Seems that the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard is out of stock everywhere. Any suggestions for a replacement that would work?

 

[tofubrain]

Hi WW and those who's running the same GA-Z87X-OC & i7-4770k build, thanks for your great work here.

I built my rig following your guide back in 2013 and it's been running smooth till recently when I had to do a fresh install El Capitan 10.11.6, got everything running running again except USB 3 ports on the front of the case. When connected to the problem ports it would appear under USB3.0 Bus at root level but not under one of the 2 hubs (see pic)
Also the USB3 bus is (Renesas Electronics Corp.) instead of Intel.

View media item 187646
Hoping you or anyone else here can offer some pointers, Thank you!

My build:
GA-Z87X-OC
i7-4770k
32GB RAM Corsair LP
GTX 770
Define R5 Case

The issue is only with the front 2 USB ports, when using usb 3 external hdd it would mount fine but not with the 2 usb3 ports. on one of the usb 3 ports it would pick up the drive but then eject it with the alert 'disk not ejected properly' this would repeat if left connected. but the back USB3 ports works fine.

I've already searched and tried a few solutions listed below with no success:
- add 3rd party USB fix / GenericUSBXHCI.kext: https://github.com/RehabMan/OS-X-Generic-USB3 via multibeast
- add usb support for series 6/7/8 via multibeast
- Renaming EHCx->EH0x in DSDT
- using FakePCIID_XHCIMux to route USB2 devices on XHC to EHCI

Anyone who might have experienced this issue please let me know your suggestions, much appreciated!

 

[wildwillow]

Seems that the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard is out of stock everywhere. Any suggestions for a replacement that would work?

Hi npike,
Welcome to the forums. The Z87X-OC has been around since 2013 so I would be hard to pick up one of these boards including the OC-Force edition. If you have a Haswell Processor take a look at both 8 Series and 9 Series previous Buyers guides here :
http://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/building-a-customac-buyers-guide-october-2014.152135/
http://www.tonymacx86.com/buyersguide/march/2016
The 9 series boards may be easier to purchase since they are newer and will also support Broadwell Processors.

If you are after the latest motherboard and processors available, check out this months Buyer's Guide.
I have all three of the above series motherboards running OS X and macOS Sierra, so if you have any questions I'd be happy to help.

 

[wildwillow]

Hi WW and those who's running the same GA-Z87X-OC & i7-4770k build, thanks for your great work here.

I built my rig following your guide back in 2013 and it's been running smooth till recently when I had to do a fresh install El Capitan 10.11.6, got everything running running again except USB 3 ports on the front of the case. When connected to the problem ports it would appear under USB3.0 Bus at root level but not under one of the 2 hubs (see pic)
Also the USB3 bus is (Renesas Electronics Corp.) instead of Intel.

View media item 187646
Hoping you or anyone else here can offer some pointers, Thank you!

My build:
GA-Z87X-OC
i7-4770k
32GB RAM Corsair LP
GTX 770
Define R5 Case

The issue is only with the front 2 USB ports, when using usb 3 external hdd it would mount fine but not with the 2 usb3 ports. on one of the usb 3 ports it would pick up the drive but then eject it with the alert 'disk not ejected properly' this would repeat if left connected. but the back USB3 ports works fine.

I've already searched and tried a few solutions listed below with no success:
- add 3rd party USB fix / GenericUSBXHCI.kext: https://github.com/RehabMan/OS-X-Generic-USB3 via multibeast
- add usb support for series 6/7/8 via multibeast
- Renaming EHCx->EH0x in DSDT
- using FakePCIID_XHCIMux to route USB2 devices on XHC to EHCI

Anyone who might have experienced this issue please let me know your suggestions, much appreciated!

Hi tofubrain,
I'm not running El Capitan at present but very similar macOS Sierra using the same USB configuration as you. With FakePCIID.kext/FakePCIID_XHCIMux.kext and GenericUSBXHCI.kext installed in /L/E. The picture that you posted is the exact same as my System Report>USB output here.
I have 1xUSB3.0 - 3xUSB2.0 on the front of my case. The USB3.0 port works connected to the Renesas Hub.

If I were you I'd remove the EHCx->EH0x rename in your DSDT whilst using FakePCIID and FakePCIID_XHCIMux.kext and see how this works for you. My USB3.0 Hub shows the Renesas chipset, looking in IOReg they are serviced by FakePCIID_XHCIMux.kext, revealing the six rear ports as SSP1-SSP6 when connected. There are only 2xUSB3.0/2.0 Intel ports from the internal motherboard headers. Take a look at the internal USB 3.0 motherboard headers here, I've added the arrows for the connections

I know that the USB3.0 on the front of the case are connected to Renesas for 2 reasons, 1) it shows in the System Report USB screen shot and 2) I'm not connected the Intel port on the motherboard.