Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming build with working NVRAM

[LIVEitup472]

Try looking in BIOS again. There has to be a setting for IGPU.

So I found this settings screen.

`iGPU Multi-Monitor` was set to enabled. I disabled it but I did not find any more mentions of iGPU in the BIOS.

 

[pastrychef]

So I found this settings screen.
View attachment 470984
`iGPU Multi-Monitor` was set to enabled. I disabled it but I did not find any more mentions of iGPU in the BIOS.

Disabled is enough. That's fine if you are using iMacPro1,1 system definition.

 

[Humanate]

If I had to guess, I would say the following can affect the amount of time it takes to get from post screen to boot picker:

• Amount of RAM installed.
• Number of drives connected.
• Selecting UEFI boot only (as opposed to UEFI and Legacy).
• Correctly setting the drive with your bootloader as the primary boot drive.

Experimenting, I found a couple things.

Someone suggested Boot Chime could have an impact. I had Boot chime enabled but I wasn't hearing it as I have a USB DAC. Setting to disabled didn't make a huge difference, but then I removed AudioDXe from both EFI/OC/Drivers and from UEFI following guide HERE and it made a big difference. Much quicker from OEM BIOS screen to Boot Picker

The second thing I found was playing around with Basemark GPU - with RadeonBoost.kext installed my score was 3677, with kext removed, score is 4185. Repeated test a couple of times, same results

Thought this might be interesting for you

 

[joobuzz]

Hi pastrychef,

I’ve spent the last 5-6 hours reading every post in this thread for your build, as I’ve been thinking about the best setup for my next Hackintosh.

My first Hackintosh (the one I am currently writing this on), is an old Gigabyte B75M-D3P motherboard with an i3 processor that I put together based on Moarfish’s build back in late 2012. It’s (somewhat surprisingly) running Catalina reasonably well, but given it’s almost 8 years old, and there are some interesting features in Catalina that I cannot access with it (like Sidecar), I’m keen to try a new build.

Your build attracts me as the instructions are incredibly thorough, and the board is reasonably priced. I’d pair it with the i5-9400 probably, and use internal graphics as nothing I do is graphic intensive.

However, I’d also like to use it on a 4k monitor, and one thing I have noticed you say again and again in this thread is how HDMI doesn’t really work well with MacOS. This leaves me thinking I should get a board that has DisplayPort output for internal graphics.

In the Buyers guide, there seem to be 2 mtx options that are available in the UK…

(More expensive option)ASUS TUF Z390M-PRO GAMING (WI-FI) - Macman and others seem to have successful builds with this board.

(Cheaper and older option) Gigabyte H370M DS3H - this is near end of life I think, though @Jamesbond007 recommended it a month ago, but I can’t find instructions for a build on that board as clear as yours.

So my question is this, what do you recommend? Can I get stable 4k resolution out of the Z390M Gaming board over HDMI on the iGPU, or should I give the ASUS or the older H370M a go if I can find a good guide.

I’m leaning to your build (iGPU only) as it’s the Customac recommended motherboard also.

Thanks!

 

[pastrychef]

Hi pastrychef,

I’ve spent the last 5-6 hours reading every post in this thread for your build, as I’ve been thinking about the best setup for my next Hackintosh.

My first Hackintosh (the one I am currently writing this on), is an old Gigabyte B75M-D3P motherboard with an i3 processor that I put together based on Moarfish’s build back in late 2012. It’s (somewhat surprisingly) running Catalina reasonably well, but given it’s almost 8 years old, and there are some interesting features in Catalina that I cannot access with it (like Sidecar), I’m keen to try a new build.

Your build attracts me as the instructions are incredibly thorough, and the board is reasonably priced. I’d pair it with the i5-9400 probably, and use internal graphics as nothing I do is graphic intensive.

However, I’d also like to use it on a 4k monitor, and one thing I have noticed you say again and again in this thread is how HDMI doesn’t really work well with MacOS. This leaves me thinking I should get a board that has DisplayPort output for internal graphics.

In the Buyers guide, there seem to be 2 mtx options that are available in the UK…

(More expensive option)ASUS TUF Z390M-PRO GAMING (WI-FI) - Macman and others seem to have successful builds with this board.

(Cheaper and older option) Gigabyte H370M DS3H - this is near end of life I think, though @Jamesbond007 recommended it a month ago, but I can’t find instructions for a build on that board as clear as yours.

So my question is this, what do you recommend? Can I get stable 4k resolution out of the Z390M Gaming board over HDMI on the iGPU, or should I give the ASUS or the older H370M a go if I can find a good guide.

I’m leaning to your build (iGPU only) as it’s the Customac recommended motherboard also.

Thanks!

If you intend to use IGPU only (no dGPU), I highly recommend going with a motherboard with DisplayPort.

In every instance where I've managed to coax HDMI in to working somewhat reliably at 4K, I've had to lower refresh rates. 50Hz sometimes works. 30Hz always works. However, even at 30Hz, sometimes when waking from sleep, I'll get an all green screen or no image at all.

Personally, I'd just look for a 300-series motherboard that has DisplayPort and avoid HDMI altogether. The Asus seems TUF Z390M-Pro seems like a fine choice if you do not plan on overclocking the CPU. (The VRM of this Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming was the main draw for me because I had every intention of overclocking.)

That being said, you are not limited to what's on the Buyer's Guide. Just about any 300-series motherboard should work. The only one I'd avoid is the Asus Prime Z390 because I've seen a few users with bizarre issues that I can't explain. Also, keep in mind that Gigabyte Z390 motherboards whitelist their M.2 slots for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth to only work with CNVi cards, so you will not be able to install macOS compatible Wi-Fi/Bluetooth cards in those slots.

If you like this build, you will be able to use the EFI folders here with just about any Z390 motherboard with just a few minor changes. (1) You must do your own USB fix and (2) your motherboard may need an RTC patch.

 

[joobuzz]

If you intend to use IGPU only (no dGPU), I highly recommend going with a motherboard with DisplayPort.

Thanks for the prompt reply!

Lots of good advice here...I use a Fenvi PCI card for my wifi, works fine on my current build so should be fine going forward.

I guess I’ve never seen the need for an extra graphics card, if the onboard CPU one is fine...and it’s just another fan too make noise....but if I were to get a relatively cheap one, got any recommendations - must have DP obviously!?

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks for the prompt reply!

Lots of good advice here...I use a Fenvi PCI card for my wifi, works fine on my current build so should be fine going forward.

I guess I’ve never seen the need for an extra graphics card, if the onboard CPU one is fine...and it’s just another fan too make noise....but if I were to get a relatively cheap one, got any recommendations - must have DP obviously!?

The lowest end natively supported video card is the RX 560. As far as I know, the only brand to stay away from is XFX. Also, there are two kinds of RX 560s out on the market, one has 14 compute units and the older has 16 compute units. The 16 compute unit models are more desirable. RX 560s are still used in the most current iMac models.

Back in January 2019, I picked up a used PowerColor RX 560 from eBay for $70 for another system. It works well and I've never heard the fan on it.

Your Fenvi card should work fine on your new build.

 

[tedyun]

I was playing around with the MSR lock/unlock today on my build. Some interesting results:

1. With the locked MSR, I did the "HelloWorld" test and I verified my NVRAM is working. I don't have any other kext that I'm aware of that emulates NVRAM. I am using the SSDT-PMC that was installed by Multibeast. Hackintool reports values in the NVRAM. I'm not sure how else to tell whether I'm using native or emulated, but as long as it is working (and iMessages is working), I'm not sure I need to dig too deep here.

2. I unlocked my MSR and used your Clover EFI, and to my surprise, it booted (on my config, I get the prohibited sign). So it must be some of the settings you are using that allow me to get through booting. When I got through the other end, my USB 2.0 ports weren't working, but that can be addressed I think. Anyway, you've given me a clue on how to get the unlocked MSR going on my system so maybe I will try figuring it out one of these days.

Thanks

Ted

I was told that NVRAM would not work with the MSR locked. I didn't personally test it and just took someone else's word for it. Having working NVRAM makes a big difference in how well macOS will run. I kept my Gigabyte Z390 in a closet until the acidanthera team released the NVRAM fix.

I haven't had any stability problems with unlocked MSR and IGPU enabled. The only anomaly is that BIOS has a tendency to revert to French. But I haven't had a need to mess with BIOS settings in months so it's not much of an issue for me.

View attachment 470966

 

[pastrychef]

I was playing around with the MSR lock/unlock today on my build. Some interesting results:

1. With the locked MSR, I did the "HelloWorld" test and I verified my NVRAM is working. I don't have any other kext that I'm aware of that emulates NVRAM. I am using the SSDT-PMC that was installed by Multibeast. Hackintool reports values in the NVRAM. I'm not sure how else to tell whether I'm using native or emulated, but as long as it is working (and iMessages is working), I'm not sure I need to dig too deep here.

2. I unlocked my MSR and used your Clover EFI, and to my surprise, it booted (on my config, I get the prohibited sign). So it must be some of the settings you are using that allow me to get through booting. When I got through the other end, my USB 2.0 ports weren't working, but that can be addressed I think. Anyway, you've given me a clue on how to get the unlocked MSR going on my system so maybe I will try figuring it out one of these days.

Thanks

Ted

My EFI folders should work for Gigabyte Z390 motherboards. The only thing you need to do is configure the USB ports yourself for your motherboard.

Z390 motherboards from other manufacturers may need the RTC patch to boot.

 

[joobuzz]

Back in January 2019, I picked up a used PowerColor RX 560 from eBay for $70 for another system. It works well and I've never heard the fan on it.

I think I've made my decision, I'll get the gigabyte Z390M gaming and CPU now, using my current 1080p monitor with the DVI output on the motherboard (I currently do this with my b75m). Later, if/when I upgrade the monitor to a 4k, I'll get the RX 560 as you suggest to use with it...I noticed @UtterDisbelief use it in his successful build, which gives me confidence.

Thanks for all your advice, hopefully I'll be back here in a couple of weeks sharing a success story.