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

[CaseySJ]

Does flashed TB3 fully Compatible with windows as before flashing?

It depends on the type of Thunderbolt device you connect. Some work better than others with a flashed controller, and some do not work at all.

If you do flash the firmware, simply test all of your Thunderbolt devices under Windows. If the results are unacceptable you can always flash the original firmware back.

 

[CaseySJ]

Hi @CaseySJ It was just a thought about the BIOS. I may have a go at reverting to F8 to see if it works.
The Thunderbolt ports on the Designare are working fine. I just use the add in card for experimentation so it is not a problem. Just trying to pin down the reason for the change.

The Apple Firewire adapter should work with flashed GC-Titan Ridge. Does it work when connected to one of the on-board Thunderbolt ports?

 

[gazzmanzx6]

The Apple Firewire adapter should work with flashed GC-Titan Ridge. Does it work when connected to one of the on-board Thunderbolt ports?

It works fine with the on-board ports which aren’t flashed.

 

[vitoludo]

Hi @CaseySJ,
(despite I know that is not recommended to use a modified firmware file and use it in another motherboard)
does any of these modified firmware could potentially be used to flash the onboard GA-X99P-SLI thunderbolt chip?
Gigabyte Designare Z390 and B550 Vision D Motherboards
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS Xtreme Motherboard
Gigabyte Z490 Vision D Motherboard

Thank you

 

[CaseySJ]

Hi @CaseySJ,
(despite I know that is not recommended to use a modified firmware file and use it in another motherboard)
does any of these modified firmware could potentially be used to flash the onboard GA-X99P-SLI thunderbolt chip?

Hello @vitoludo

The GA-X99P-SLI contains an Alpine Ridge controller so we cannot flash the firmware using the files for Z390, B550, and Z490 motherboards because they contain Titan Ridge.

However, Thunderbolt bus can be activated on most ("most" does not mean "all") Alpine Ridge controllers with just a SSDT. We have done this for several motherboards in this post.

If you'd like to try this, please do the following:

• State which version of macOS you're running
• State whether you're using Clover or OpenCore
• Provide your motherboard's "System DSDT" -- do this from Hackintool

• Provide your IOReg dump (IORegistryExplorer --> File --> Save As...)

Finally, please understand:

• All I can do is help you to activate Thunderbolt Bus
• If some devices do not connect on cold boot, I cannot help you
• If some devices do not connect on warm boot, I cannot help you
• If hot plug does not work, I cannot help you
• If one port works, but not the other, I cannot help you
• If USB-C ports don't work, I cannot help you
• If some devices do not reconnect on wake-from-sleep, I cannot help you
• If you encounter any other problems with Thunderbolt devices, I cannot help you

I can only help you activate Thunderbolt Bus. The rest is up to macOS's drivers, the motherboard BIOS, the device itself, etc. Still interested?

 

[jrhillma]

@CaseySJ just checking in to report success updating to Big Sur. Thank you, again, so much for your detailed how-to guides and endless support.

 

[Stork]

Hi, @CaseySJ!

I've bought a flashed Titan Ridge TB 3 card (eBay) to add to my ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z370 HERO X Motherboard (MyHero II build). I'm trying to figure where to start as the MyHero II motherboard does not have any on-board TB3 controller. I've tried searching your two GB descriptions for a usable SSDT, but couldn't find one. Do you have a guide or recommendation how I should start out after I install the card? TIA.

MyHero II is currently running Mojave using Clover. However, I'm going to update to Catalina with OC *real soon now*.

 

[CaseySJ]

Hi, @CaseySJ!

I've bought a flashed Titan Ridge TB 3 card (eBay) to add to my ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z370 HERO X Motherboard (MyHero II build). I'm trying to figure where to start as the MyHero II motherboard does not have any on-board TB3 controller. I've tried searching your two GB descriptions for a usable SSDT, but couldn't find one. Do you have a guide or recommendation how I should start out after I install the card? TIA.

MyHero II is currently running Mojave using Clover. However, I'm going to update to Catalina with OC *real soon now*.

Hello @Stork,

If you have the Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge card, we can use a simple jumper wire to connect the top and middle pins of the rear J1 header (the one with 5 pins oriented vertically). When holding the card such that the gold PCIe pins are facing the floor, simply bridge the top and middle pins. This forces the card to power on when the motherboard lacks a Thunderbolt header.

A single female/female jumper wire is needed. The item below from Amazon is a bit overkill, but provides all three types of wires in a single low-cost package:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU0IMFF/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

As for the SSDT, let's determine the root port of the Thunderbolt card by running IORegistryExplorer and exporting the file (File --> Save As...).

 

[CaseySJ]

@CaseySJ just checking in to report success updating to Big Sur. Thank you, again, so much for your detailed how-to guides and endless support.

Glad to hear it. Welcome to the cutting edge...

 

[Stork]

Hello @Stork,

If you have the Gigabyte GC-Titan Ridge card, we can use a simple jumper wire to connect the top and middle pins of the rear J1 header (the one with 5 pins oriented vertically). When holding the card such that the gold PCIe pins are facing the floor, simply bridge the top and middle pins. This forces the card to power on when the motherboard lacks a Thunderbolt header.

The Titan Ridge card came with all the goodies including the jumper pin cable. The card is V2.

As for the SSDT, let's determine the root port of the Thunderbolt card by running IORegistryExplorer and exporting the file (File --> Save As...).

I've attach the IOReg file.