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

lamlo32 said:
Thanks for the quick reply! Yeah it is an option worth trying. I am contemplating on whether or not to upgrade my interface to a newer model (TB3 model), but if I choose not to, I'll definitely give this one a try.
I do, however, would like to know what you mean by "soft booting" from windows to Mojave. Sorry, I'm a computer newb and this is my first computer build ever haha.
Click to expand...

I looked into buying a TB3 audio interface and they were just outrageously expensive. I read someone had good luck with the Presonus Quantum 2, a TB2 device, which sells for "only" $599.95.

A "soft boot" (I think that's an official term?) is just rebooting the computer without using the physical button on your case. This allows the motherboard to stay powered up, and keep power flowing to all the connected devices on your computer, which allows some of them to keep their settings. (If you have some RGB memory, for example, you'll see it stays lit up throughout a soft reboot. If you shut down the system completely, the lights go out - that's a hard boot.)

Hopefully that helps!

EDIT - some people call a "soft boot" a "warm boot", which probably makes more (literal) sense.
 
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lamlo32 said:
@CaseySJ Can't thank you enough for this post! I have no knowledge whatsoever concerning hackintoshes (computers in general, really) and after trying many other methods, this one was the most easiest to comprehend. However, I do have a question though.
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Glad to hear it and welcome to the forum!
I didn't come across this guide until after installing the MacOS through Unibeast, and found out that I have skipped the "config.plist Modification" step that has been labeled as Mandatory, but I did follow the guide afterwards. I've been using Mojave 10.14.6 for about 2 weeks now, and the only problem I came across was not being able to get quick look and preview to work, but I easily found a way around that installing something through Hackintool. My question is, will this be a problem in the future? And if it does, is it a bad idea to do those steps post installation?
Click to expand...
If Preview and Quick Look are working then you should be okay long term.
@oopsmybad That's amazing that you were able to get your TB1 device to work. I've searched many forums about getting those devices to work with Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter, but to no avail (I have a first generation Silverface Apollo Quad with Thunderbolt 1 connections). Unfortunately I don't have windows installed to install those drivers lol. I'm guessing the only other way around this is to buy a HUB that utilizes Alpine Ridge controller chip?
Click to expand...
Although it sounds tempting to attach an Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3 dock in order to use legacy Thunderbolt 1 devices, we actually find that this does not work. Although Alpine Ridge supports Thunderbolt Legacy Mode for compatibility with TB1 devices, all data from the dock still flows through the motherboard's Titan Ridge controller, and it is here that legacy mode gets clobbered.

But if you install an Alpine Ridge add-in-card to a motherboard with a Thunderbolt THB_C header, then you should be able to drive nearly all TB1 devices. Designare Z390, however, does not contain this header and even though we can install Alpine Ridge AICs into an available slot, it will only support DisplayPort over Thunderbolt. Audio Interfaces will most likely not connect.
 
oopsmybad said:
I looked into buying a TB3 audio interface and they were just outrageously expensive. I read someone had good luck with the Presonus Quantum 2, a TB2 device, which sells for "only" $599.95.

A "soft boot" (I think that's an official term?) is just rebooting the computer without using the physical button on your case. This allows the motherboard to stay powered up, and keep power flowing to all the connected devices on your computer, which allows some of them to keep their settings. (If you have some RGB memory, for example, you'll see it stays lit up throughout a soft reboot. If you shut down the system completely, the lights go out - that's a hard boot.)

Hopefully that helps!

EDIT - some people call a "soft boot" a "warm boot", which probably makes more (literal) sense.
Click to expand...

Yeah.. they are expensive haha. I've been a long time Apollo user, so it's hard to try and switch to something else. Fortunately, there is a refurbished 3TB one on sale, and with the trade in of my current one, I'll be able to get it for under $1000, so that's why I'm debating.

THanks for the explanation, that made things a whole lot clearer. I guess this is the way to go to try and get this thing working then I guess. and for the record, soft boot sounds cooler anyways haha

CaseySJ said:
Glad to hear it and welcome to the forum!

If Preview and Quick Look are working then you should be okay long term.
Click to expand...

Awesome! So I guess I can call this build a success then!

CaseySJ said:
Although it sounds tempting to attach an Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3 dock in order to use legacy Thunderbolt 1 devices, we actually find that this does not work. Although Alpine Ridge supports Thunderbolt Legacy Mode for compatibility with TB1 devices, all data from the dock still flows through the motherboard's Titan Ridge controller, and it is here that legacy mode gets clobbered.

But if you install an Alpine Ridge add-in-card to a motherboard with a Thunderbolt THB_C header, then you should be able to drive nearly all TB1 devices. Designare Z390, however, does not contain this header and even though we can install Alpine Ridge AICs into an available slot, it will only support DisplayPort over Thunderbolt. Audio Interfaces will most likely not connect.
Click to expand...

Aaahhh, alright, I see. Thanks for the heads up. So I guess my only options are to either switch to a TB3 device, or try @oopsmybad 's method through windows.

Thanks again guys, this thread has been the most help of all!
 
CaseySJ said:
But if you install an Alpine Ridge add-in-card to a motherboard with a Thunderbolt THB_C header, then you should be able to drive nearly all TB1 devices. Designare Z390, however, does not contain this header and even though we can install Alpine Ridge AICs into an available slot, it will only support DisplayPort over Thunderbolt. Audio Interfaces will most likely not connect.
Click to expand...
in the name of research, I'm game to spring for an Alpine Ridge card for my Aorus Pro mobo, which has a thunderbolt header connection. I will test that with a TB1 HD dock which I bought for my old NUC3i3 which has a TB connection.
what physical connection either for the mobo or the alpine ridge card do I need for the TB1 cable that I have for the TB1 dock?

edit--on the gigabyte page for the alpine ridge card, the mobo compatibility only shows up to Z370 mobo's. I assume they haven't updated the page. do we know if the alpine ridge card in fact works with the Z390 Aorus Pro? I'll order from amazon so I can return it if it isn't compatible.

thanks
 
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faithie999 said:
in the name of research, I'm game to spring for an Alpine Ridge card for my Aorus Pro mobo, which has a thunderbolt header connection. I will test that with a TB1 HD dock which I bought for my old NUC3i3 which has a TB connection.
what physical connection either for the mobo or the alpine ridge card do I need for the TB1 cable that I have for the TB1 dock?

edit--on the gigabyte page for the alpine ridge card, the mobo compatibility only shows up to Z370 mobo's. I assume they haven't updated the page. do we know if the alpine ridge card in fact works with the Z390 Aorus Pro? I'll order from amazon so I can return it if it isn't compatible.

thanks
Click to expand...
That's the spirit! :)

GC-Alpine Ridge AIC should work fine on a Z390 board with THB_C header. Because this is a TB3 card, you will need a TB3-to-TB2 adapter in order to connect either TB2 or TB1 devices. Both TB2 and TB1 devices use the same physical connector (mini-DisplayPort).

Apple's TB3 to TB2 adapter isn't cheap (but then nothing's cheap with TB) but it's a good choice:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ26QIY/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Finally, good idea to buy from a retailer that easily accepts returns...
 
Has any installed 10.14.6 Supplemental Update #2? I have that and the Safari update but haven't had the guts to queue it (haven't backed up yet).
 
The update went well for me. Please back up first! It rebooted twice, the screen stayed black for a couple of minutes after the first reboot, then rebooted for the second time, and all was well.
Screen Shot 2019-09-30 at 4.53.30 pm.png
 
Question about long boot time or slow boot: It seems to take longer every day for my Hack to start up. I noticed recently that the Carbon Copy Clone was much faster. So today I did a test: I made a clone of my SSD en restarted.

Mojave backup: 50 sec. to desktop (from restart)
Mojave: 2.05 sec. to desktop (from restart)

Thats a big difference! Every step in the startup process of the main drive seems to take longer. The clone flies trough all this.

Breakdown from cold start (after complete shutdown):
11,95s to Gigabyte logo
21,69s to Welcome to Clover;
- testing hardware: takes 4,66s
- user settings: takes 10,41s
- scan entries; takes 21,68s
Startup Drive selection (3 secs automatic)
Then black screen for 6,79s
Boot text takes 34,45s
Apple logo with progress bar takes 2,8s
Then desktop appears
Total: 2m 21sec.

My drive setup:
MX500 SSD: MacOS (Mojave) main drive (first in line)
MX500 SSD: MacOS Backup drive (second in line, CCC clone)
970 EVO M.2 1TB: Only data
970 EVO M.2 1TB: Only data

MacOS is the only system. Simple logic suggests that it has nothing to do with BIOS, files or setup, the clone is a direct copy. At the end of Carbon Copy Cloner, CCC is updating Preboot-volume and Startup Caches. Is the clone therefore faster because of CCC deleting caches from the main drive that makes the startup faster. If so, how can I clean up the startup cache so that the startup is as fast as the clone? Or is it something else?
 
@jrebergen,

Slow startup times can be due to corrupted CMOS. Even though you have disks A and B which are clones of each other, they have different identifiers stored in CMOS/NVRAM.

Suggestion 1:
  • Shutdown the system and flip power switch on PSU for 10 seconds to fully cut power from the system. Then turn it back on. Does the original drive still boot slowly?
Suggestion 2:
  • Reset CMOS by shorting the two designated pins on the motherboard. Please follow the instruction in the Designare user's manual.
  • When the system restarts, enter BIOS Setup and configure BIOS parameters once again starting with Save & Exit --> Load Optimized Defaults.
  • Does the original drive still boot slowly?
 
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