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pastrychef's Asus ROG Strix Z370-G Gaming (WI-FI AC) build w/ i9-9900K + AMD 6600 XT

Sounds like the next version of High Sierra, 10.13.4, may address some Vega issues:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/01/25/egpu-macos-beta-10-13-4-video/
Not sure how eGPU drivers differ from an internal Hack setup but could be related.

Thanks for the notice. Thats Good news.

@pastrychef sorry to ask again, but could/should I update to the beta 10.13.4.

Or should I just wait for a month until the final build shows up?

and If I do update, how can I roll back the update if things go wrong.

Thank you
 
Thanks for the notice. Thats Good news.

@pastrychef sorry to ask again, but could/should I update to the beta 10.13.4.

Or should I just wait for a month until the final build shows up?

and If I do update, how can I roll back the update if things go wrong.

Thank you

That's up to you. Personally, I usually never use the betas. I only tested the 10.13.3 beta to get my 10GBase-T network card working. I did so on a separate drive and kept my main installation on 10.13.2 until 10.13.3 was officially released.

Rolling back is a pain and I wouldn't recommend it unless you didn't have any other choice. Restoring from an old back is a much better solution.
 
That's up to you. Personally, I usually never use the betas. I only tested the 10.13.3 beta to get my 10GBase-T network card working. I did so on a separate drive and kept my main installation on 10.13.2 until 10.13.3 was officially released.

Rolling back is a pain and I wouldn't recommend it unless you didn't have any other choice. Restoring from an old back is a much better solution.

Thanks. I think I will wait for the final release.
 
Good evening all - Bluetooth Issues here with the Z370 and the Apple BCM94360CS2 Wifi card.

As per the guide I removed the Wifi card that came with the board and replaced it with an M.2 Adapter and placed the BCM94360CS2 MacBook Air card inside the adapter, got a longer Antenna Cable and was happy at first. Wifi works great (stable and highest speed I can get), BUT the bluetooth stutters.

I thought it was my Magic Mouse 2nd Gen first, but a 1st gen from my brother had the same issue. Both work fine on my Macbook. Then I noticed the keyboard had a lag as well. So definitely a problem with the PC.

I checked everything, this happens regardless of Bluetooth device or if the external Antennas are connected or not. Also its not the surface. Both desk and Mousepad result in stutters.

My USB mouse works smooth as butter btw, so only bluetooth has the issue.

This is very annoying as you have to predict where the mouse goes. I recorded a short video where I move my Magic Mouse at an even speed across my mousepad. See how it stops every now and then? Thats the stutter that drives me crazy.


I move the mouse evenly and it looks like randomly long stutters at random times.

So I figured the card might have a problem... and then I nearly burned my fingers. I immediately switched off the system - the card was very hot, above 70°C, or 160°F.

CDC7B177-4FA9-4F6C-AD89-90E9C996B962.jpeg



The thermometer is pointed at the centre of the WiFi Card. Nevermind the laser.

Any idea if this is normal? Or is there something wrong with the card?


 
Good evening all - Bluetooth Issues here with the Z370 and the Apple BCM94360CS2 Wifi card.

As per the guide I removed the Wifi card that came with the board and replaced it with an M.2 Adapter and placed the BCM94360CS2 MacBook Air card inside the adapter, got a longer Antenna Cable and was happy at first. Wifi works great (stable and highest speed I can get), BUT the bluetooth stutters.

I thought it was my Magic Mouse 2nd Gen first, but a 1st gen from my brother had the same issue. Both work fine on my Macbook. Then I noticed the keyboard had a lag as well. So definitely a problem with the PC.

I checked everything, this happens regardless of Bluetooth device or if the external Antennas are connected or not. Also its not the surface. Both desk and Mousepad result in stutters.

My USB mouse works smooth as butter btw, so only bluetooth has the issue.

This is very annoying as you have to predict where the mouse goes. I recorded a short video where I move my Magic Mouse at an even speed across my mousepad. See how it stops every now and then? Thats the stutter that drives me crazy.


I move the mouse evenly and it looks like randomly long stutters at random times.

So I figured the card might have a problem... and then I nearly burned my fingers. I immediately switched off the system - the card was very hot, above 70°C, or 160°F.

View attachment 308478


The thermometer is pointed at the centre of the WiFi Card. Nevermind the laser.

Any idea if this is normal? Or is there something wrong with the card?


Hold the Option key while clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar. This will allow you to see how your reception is.

From Monitor a Bluetooth Device’s Connection Strength in Mac OS X :
Screen Shot 2018-01-25 at 1.00.04 PM.png



In regards to the temperature of the card itself, that's considerably hotter than mine but I'm not transferring any data through Wi-Fi at the moment. I'm seeing about 95F (approx 35C).
IMG_5483.JPG
 
Hold the Option key while clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar. This will allow you to see how your reception is.

From Monitor a Bluetooth Device’s Connection Strength in Mac OS X :
View attachment 308481


In regards to the temperature of the card itself, that's considerably hotter than mine but I'm not transferring any data through Wi-Fi at the moment. I'm seeing about 95F (approx 35C).
View attachment 308484

I get the following:

Mouse connection: -44 dBm
Keyboard connection: -45 dBm

I just switched to Ethernet and Wired Peripherals and the card cooled down to 40°C. Thanks for the hint it might have to do with Wifi usage.

With only Bluetooth on I get around 45°C

With only Wifi on I get 65°C (not actually downloading anything)

With both on I get 70°C+.

In conclusion this means that the Wifi connection heats up the card so much it makes bluetooth devices stutter. Since I want Wifi (I don't want a 10m Ethernet Cable across my room) I have to cool the card.

I will probably get thermal pads and a heat spreader for the wifi card!
 
Keep in mind that my BCM94360CS2 card is directly behind my CPU heatsink/fan so there should be a decent amount of air going to it.
 
Keep in mind that my BCM94360CS2 card is directly behind my CPU heatsink/fan so there should be a decent amount of air going to it.

Yes. Amazon hasn't shipped my case yet :( so once I have case fans and good airflow it should work out fine :)

Thank you again for your great and fast assistance - if you're ever in Germany I owe you a coffee :thumbup:
 
Hi Pastrichef!
Thank you very much for your great build, for all the work you have put into it, and are still putting into this build, for guiding and helping us. You can count with another SUCCESSFUL pupil's build.:thumbup:

I am a “late 2012 Mac Mini” 16GB 2 SSD drives very happy user, but getting to the point where I am in need of a future upgrade, mainly due to the intel motherboard graphics which can’t deal with my two display setup Wacom 22HD CiintQ and a LG 34UM88 (3440x1440) at the same time.

I don’t think Apple is going to release an updated and powerful version of the Mini, they’ll want to sell the iMac Pro, or the upcoming Mac Pro. I don’t need an iMac Pro, I do concept art, draw, use After Effects some editing now and then, Photoshop , some Cinema 4d as a layout tool. I also use now and then FCP 7.3 on El Capitan, but it won't run from Sierra and I get from this forums FCP X is giving a hard time to nVidia users. :cry:

I am getting to work in rather big canvases 8k, 12k+ as production is moving towards the 4k standard I will be getting several 4Ks in some boards.

I tried the path of the eGpu for a couple of years hacking the Mini with Goalque’s script, and with an external Villagetronics PCMCIA enclosure to sonnet PCMCIA to Thunderbolt 1 into the Mini, a serious bottleneck for what I read afterwards. Last year right after buying the LG monitor, something changed in Yosemite and the system would crash, going to absolute off, dead. Had to go back to previous config, Mini, CintQ and an old 2560x1440 Dell as I couldn't spoil more time.

Last Xmas I started reading Tonymacx86, and maybe it was around Xmas Eve that I found your build.
It sounded very appealing to me, your explanations are among the best in the forum (for my understanding) , I could see you are attentive, fast answering. I had never built a computer, but my brother -a Steadycam operator- built one hack two years ago (thanks to tonymacx86 ), this gave me the confidence to try and see. Take it as a test, see if I get it running and maybe leave my port-dear mini for FCP 7.3.

So I dove into it. Almost same components, for GPU I am using for now the one I had in the external box, I might want to use a GPU rendering soft like Octane or RedShift, which for now require nVidia.

My config:
Case Jonsbo UMX4 JONSBO eu site

RAM F4-3200C16D-32GTZSW https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232416

SYS SSD Crucial MX300 2.5" 275GB SATA III 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for the OS

WORK SSD SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 500GB NVMe for current works and cache

PSU Corsair RM650X

GPU Gigabyte GeForce 970 Windforce 4GB

So last monday I started the physical build.

Wifi_pigtails.png


Thanks to your BCM94360C2 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card w/ M.2 adaptor pictures and notes I found the way to fit the MB, a bit of fan shaving with a cutter did the trick. I had bought a pigtail antenna as you did mention the length of the original was short; I only changed one and kept the other.


fan_shaved.png

The rest of the mounting went smoothly and without issues.
I placed the RAM banks as recommended instead of following Asus’ recommendation.

It was a kind of magical moment for a newbie when I turned it on and the BIOS popped up!:D


Jack.png
I am calling her "Jack" (Sparrow :mrgreen:) the iMack.


Next first thing I did was updating the MB BIOS to 606. Easy procedure following Asus’ directions.
Thanks to your thorough directions and your EFI install went smooth at the very first try, no issues!

RAM fix: all is OK. I discovered that SlotCOunt must reflect the physical slots of the MB for the “About this Mac” to reflect the correct info. And that having only 2 slots populated I had to number them as 0 and 2 for the memory to be recognised.:clap:

iMessage fix all OK. Was I nervous while performing the operations! And deliberately made it really slow, double checking every step.
I deleted the Lib files indicated, but also -as read in another forum - deleted /Library/Messages and com.apple.Messages
When in SMBIOS I did also generate a new board serial using "simpleMLB.sh" as your EFI came with a number on it.

:arrow: One thing I think saved me from failling is that I did NOT log out of iCloud on my iPhone. The moment I logged into my iCloud account in the hack I did get the message that it was locked, that I could unblock it using my phone number.
It became then what seemed to me like 20 minutes of confirmations, security codes sent to my phone, a change of password imposed by Apple, etc. (maybe it was much less but I perceived it as long stressful time). But it all worked well in the first try, I just had to relog in my iPad and Mini with the new password.

Power Management fix following method 2 seems to be OK. No problem waking up after 8hours + of sleep.:clap:

USB fix OK. Follow your instructions on post #310, I had One doubt: whether I should copy your Strix Z370 USB ports.dsl into /EFI/EFI/Clover/ACPI/patched/ folder. I did. As I did not follow your other instructions on post #646 from 10.11.0-10.11.3 Skylake Starter Guide I did not “Added the the IOAPCI fix to KextsToPatch in my config.plist”
But everything seems to be working fine though.:)

Audio loss after sleep I downloaded “CoodecCommander.kext and use KextBeast to install it to /Library/Extensions/“ but I need to thoroughly check ‘cause audio is sometimes gone after a long sleep. I’ll have to follow your directions in post #391, maybe tomorrow I´ll have some time.

Audio through DIspplayPort is working!, this is sooo cool! I do get sound through the DP > LG ultrawide. :clap:

Bluetooth and Wifi work from the very beginning. :clap:

HEVC decoding with UHD630 working fine . I tried yesterday the 4K movie you linked and it does run buttery smooth. :clap:
At the begging of the clip there is a couple seconds of weird stuttering, Do you also see it? I thought it might be in the clip…

I updated yesterday to 10.13.13, my system became really slow after the update and nVidia drivers install (I did update Cuda today after reading this post).
:arrow: I think it has to do with a process named photoanalisysd which I believe is related to iphoto libraries analysis. So I am not worried so far, just letting it run while I continue to install the rest of my apps, after 10 years+ of migrating systems I have taken the High Sierra chance to start from scratch with a brand new installation,

Now, being a newbie, and with a very limited understanding of most of this I have some doubts, I rather ask than spoil the system.

1-My 2 RAM modules are 3200, but BIOS says they are 2133MHz. Should I activate XMP? If so, should I also change any other setting in BIOS etc. or is it just as easy as enabling it?

2-OC. I would like to try OC my CPU, right now normal temp is around 36º C. Cpu seems to be running now at a max of 4’6 . This was the max value I could find in a log from Intel Power Gadget.
Have no idea what the procedure is, have not been able to find any step by sptep info or guide, just comments about many different stuff like volts, max MHz,... most of them to complex to understand. I understand I could fry my CPU or MB etc, so I don’t want to just start playing.

3-BIOS: Should I get any benefits from enabling Boot/CSM (Compatibility Support Module)/ Launch CSM - Enabled.

4-Would you recommend I do your Update #1 (January 20, 2018)?
(I found out that the Clover r.4380 includes OsxAptioFix3Drv-64.efi. This version restores native NVRAM!!)

Thanks again for all your help, I feel very happy with this build, I have already started working with it (Clip Studio Paint so far) and it does feel smooth and nice.

JACK_the_iMack.png


These are my scores so far, I don't know if or how Ram speed, OC if there is any are affecting the results.

geekbench_compute.png

geekbench.png

 
Last edited:
Hi Pastrichef!
Thank you very much for your great build, for all the work you have put into it, and are still putting into this build, for guiding and helping us. You can count with another SUCCESSFUL pupil's build.:thumbup:

I am a “late 2012 Mac Mini” 16GB 2 SSD drives very happy user, but getting to the point where I am in need of a future upgrade, mainly due to the intel motherboard graphics which can’t deal with my two display setup Wacom 22HD CiintQ and a LG 34UM88 (3440x1440) at the same time.

I don’t think Apple is going to release an updated and powerful version of the Mini, they’ll want to sell the iMac Pro, or the upcoming Mac Pro. I don’t need an iMac Pro, I do concept art, draw, use After Effects some editing now and then, Photoshop , some Cinema 4d as a layout tool. I also use now and then FCP 7.3 on ElCapitan, it won't run from Sierra and I get from this forums FCP X is givving a hard time to nVidia users. :cry:

I am getting to work in rather big canvases 8k, 12k+ as production is moving towards the 4k standard I will be getting several 4Ks in some board.

I tried the path of the eGpu for a couple of years hacking the Mini with Goalque’s script, and with an external Villagetronics PCMCIA enclosure to sonnet PCMCIA to Thunderbolt 1 into the Mini, a serious bottleneck for what I read afterwards. Last year right after buying the LG monitor, something changed in Yosemite and the system would crash, going to absolute off, dead. Had to go back to previous config, Mini, CintQ and an old 2560x1440 Dell as I couldn't spoil more time.

Last Xmas I started reading Tonymacx86, and maybe it was around Xmas Eve that I found your build.
It sounded very appealing to me, your explanations are among the best in the forum (for my understanding) , I could see you are attentive, fast answering. I had never built a computer, but my brother -a Steadycam operator- built one hack two years ago (thanks to tonymacx86 ), this gave me the confidence to try and see. Take it as a test, see if I get it running and maybe leave my port-dear mini for FCP 7.3.

So I dove into it. Almost same components, for GPU I am using for now the one I had in the external box, I might want to use a GPU rendering soft like Octane or RedShift, which for now require nVidia.

My config:
Case Jonsbo UMX4 JONSBO eu site

RAM F4-3200C16D-32GTZSW https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820232416

SYS SSD Crucial MX300 2.5" 275GB SATA III 3D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for the OS

WORK SSD SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 500GB NVMe for current works and cache

PSU Corsair RM650X

GPU Gigabyte GeForce 970 Windforce 4GB

So last monday I started the physical build.

Thanks to your BCM94360C2 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card w/ M.2 adaptor pictures and notes I found the way to fit the MB, a bit of fan shaving with a cutter did the trick. I had bought a pigtail antenna as you did mention the length of the original was short; I only changed one and kept the other.



The rest of the mounting went smoothly and without issues.
I placed the RAM banks as recommended instead of following Asus’ recommendation.

It was a kind of magical moment for a newbie when I turned it on and the BIOS popped up!:D


I am calling her "Jack" (Sparrow :mrgreen:) the iMack.


Next first thing I did was updating the MB BIOS to 606. Easy procedure following Asus’ directions.
Thanks to your thorough directions and your EFI install went smooth at the very first try, no issues!

RAM fix: all is OK. I discovered that SlotCOunt must reflect the physical slots of the MB for the “About this Mac” to reflect the correct info. And that having only 2 slots populated I had to number them as 0 and 2 for the memory to be recognised.:clap:

iMessage fix all OK. Was I nervous while performing the operations! And deliberately made it really slow, double checking every step.
I deleted the Lib files indicated, but also -as read in another forum - deleted /Library/Messages and com.apple.Messages
When in SMBIOS I did also generate a new board serial using "simpleMLB.sh" as your EFI came with a number on it.

:arrow: One thing I think saved me from falling is that I did NOT log out of iCloud on my iPhone. The moment I logged into my iCloud account in the hack I did get the message that it was locked, that I could unblock it using my phone number.
It became then what seemed to me like 20 minutes of confirmations, security codes sent to my phone, a change of password imposed by Apple, etc. (maybe it was much less but I perceived it as long stressful time). But it all worked well in the first try, I just had to relog in my iPad and Mini with the new password.

Power Management fix following method 2 seems to be OK. No problem waking up after 8hours + of sleep.:clap:

USB fix OK. Follow your instructions on post #310, I had One doubt: whether I should copy your Strix Z370 USB ports.dsl into /EFI/EFI/Clover/ACPI/patched/ folder. I did. As I did not follow your other instructions on post #646 from 10.11.0-10.11.3 Skylake Starter Guide I did not “Added the the IOAPCI fix to KextsToPatch in my config.plist”
But everything seems to be working fine though.:)

Audio loss after sleep I downloaded “CoodecCommander.kext and use KextBeast to install it to /Library/Extensions/“ but I need to thoroughly check ‘cause audio is sometimes gone after a long sleep. I’ll have to follow your directions in post #391, maybe tomorrow I´ll have some time.

Audio through DIspplayPort is working!, this is sooo cool! I do get sound through the DP > LG ultrawide. :clap:

Bluetooth and Wifi work from the very beginning. :clap:

HEVC decoding with UHD630 working fine . I tried yesterday the 4K movie you linked and it does run buttery smooth. :clap:
At the begging of the clip there is a couple seconds of weird stuttering, Do you also see it? I thought it might be in the clip…

I updated yesterday to 10.13.13, my system became really slow after the update and nVidia drivers install (I did update Cuda today after reading this post).
:arrow: I think it has to do with a process named photoanalisysd which I believe is related to iphoto libraries analysis. So I am not worried so far, just letting it run while I continue to install the rest of my apps, after 10 years+ of migrating systems I have taken the High Sierra chance to start from scratch with a brand new installation,

Now, being a newbie, and with a very limited understanding of most of this I have some doubts, I rather ask than spoil the system.

1-My 2 RAM modules are 3200, but BIOS says they are 2133MHz. Should I activate XMP? If so, should I also change any other setting in BIOS etc. or is it just as easy as enabling it?

2-OC. I would like to try OC my CPU, right now normal temp is around 36º C. Cpu seems to be running now at a max of 4’6 . This was the max value I could find in a log from Intel Power Gadget.
Have no idea what the procedure is, have not been able to find any step by sptep info or guide, just comments about many different stuff live volts, max MHz most of them to complex to understand. I understand I could fry my CPU or MB etc, so I don’t want to just start playing.

3-BIOS: Should I get any benefits from enabling Boot/CSM (Compatibility Support Module)/ Launch CSM - Enabled.

4-Would you recommend I do your Update #1 (January 20, 2018)?
(I found out that the Clover r.4380 includes OsxAptioFix3Drv-64.efi. This version restores native NVRAM!!)

Thanks again for all your help, I feel very happy with this build, I have already started working with it (Clip Studio Paint so far) and it does feel smooth and nice.

These are my scores so far, I don't know if or how Ram speed, OC if there is any are affecting the results.


Nice build description! It deserves it's own thread.

Yes, due to the placement of the rear fan, I had to shave off a piece of the fan housing too. Although, you did a much cleaner job than I. Lol. Mine is an utter massacre.

You only need the .aml file to be in your /EFI/CLOVER/ACPI/patched/ folder. The .dsl is just there for your reference and if you ever need/want to change anything. Also, the proper name for the file should be SSDT-USB.aml when you put it in to the patched folder.

I never had to delete any files when setting up iMessage.


  1. Yes, you can just activate XMP in BIOS.
  2. In post #1, I have a link to a YouTube video that I followed for overclocking and it worked well for me. The only thing I want to add to the video is the AVX offset does not seem to work right with macOS. I ended up setting it to 0.
  3. CSM can be set to enabled or disabled. Some devices (PCI-e cards, etc) work better with it enabled. Disabling it will allow Clover (and, consequently, macOS even without Nvidia web drivers) to boot in to your monitor's native resolution. Try both to see which works best for you.
  4. Read through the directions. If you are comfortable with the procedure, I would say do it. Native NVRAM brings with it a few important advantages.

macOS 10.13.3 itself seems to be fine so far, but the Nvidia web drivers cause a great deal of lagging for me. I had to revert to the previous version. If you are also experiencing the lag, let me know and I can post the procedure I used to revert to previous version.
 
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