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

[trs96]

I also disapprove of the tendency to make everything 'flat', so you can't see the difference between ordinary text and a button. This gets worse with every new iteration of MacOS.

Since way back to Yosemite Apple has slowly been making macOS look more like iOS. They sell many more iPhones than Macs so I think their goal is to make it more familiar to those coming from iOS to the latest macOS which will soon be Monterey. Many of the icons in Big Sur and Monterey are exactly the same as you'd see on an iPhone. As always Apple's goal is to grab more market share. This is why they want to make it easy for iPhone users to switch from their clunky old Windows PC laptop or tower to a brand new, fast shiny M1 Mac. Soon to be M1X or M2. That's how I see it.

I know some people that do everything on their iPhone and don't even use a laptop. Apple would like the average customer to own a phone, watch, tablet, laptop, Apple TV and possibly even a Mac mini or iMac. Then they are locked into the ecosystem, buy more Apple services and the cash keeps flowing in to Apple inc. That's their big picture strategy. That's why they are now the 800 lb. gorilla of the tech world and everyone else including Microsoft tries to copy them.

What's wrong with the shiny pill fake 3D button? Works for me.

What I miss most from Mavericks and older versions is the 3D dock. That got killed off back in Yosemite in 2014. You can mostly thank (or curse) Jony Ive for making everything flat in macOS.

 

[zipb]

Do not upgrade. Nobody force you!

I do not agree. I can't use the latest version of Logic Pro because I am still using Mojave. There's no technical reason for this. It's just planned obsolescence. When I upgrade to Catalina or later, I will need to spend about $2000 on new (non-Apple)hardware.
I have 30 years of projects in Emagic/Apple Logic. So, I can't afford to ditch MacOS.

I need a proper/affordable platform to run Logic/Cubase/Bitwig/Lightroom/Photoshop, but I don't like to spend money on the latest UI trends and social media gadgets.

Yes, I am a grumpy old man with a restricted budget. And I hate stuff that can't be replaced/upgraded by the end user.

 

[bh1cqx]

Reminder to all:
Please do not use BIOS F9j.

BIOS F9j is worse than we thought, causing random freezes in latest versions of Big Sur.

Use F9i or F9g instead, both of which are available through the Quick Reference spoiler in Post 1.

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Honestly I was well aware of this warning, but I don't need the Thunderbolt ports and everything else has been fine until 11.5, so I didn't think this could have been the cause of my problem.

Probably add some extra warning in Post 1 so that people who don't use TB may also pay more attention?

 

[CaseySJ]

Honestly I was well aware of this warning, but I don't need the Thunderbolt ports and everything else has been fine until 11.5, so I didn't think this could have been the cause of my problem.

Probably add some extra warning in Post 1 so that people who don't use TB may also pay more attention?

Changed:

 

[TheWiggler]

I dumped the firmware of a new Gigabtye GC-Alpine Ridge Rev 2.0 and it seems quite different from the latest patched one in the repository (I compared the two with Hex Fiend). Can someone take a look to see if this is the same or different from what's already posted? Also, the one posted is called GC-ALPINE-RIDGE-NVM21-V3-NATA.bin, but it appears it's actually firmware 33.

 

[StefanAM]

I do not agree. I can't use the latest version of Logic Pro because I am still using Mojave. There's no technical reason for this. It's just planned obsolescence. When I upgrade to Catalina or later, I will need to spend about $2000 on new (non-Apple)hardware.
I have 30 years of projects in Emagic/Apple Logic. So, I can't afford to ditch MacOS.

I need a proper/affordable platform to run Logic/Cubase/Bitwig/Lightroom/Photoshop, but I don't like to spend money on the latest UI trends and social media gadgets.

Yes, I am a grumpy old man with a restricted budget. And I hate stuff that can't be replaced/upgraded by the end user.

Fair enough!

 

[CaseySJ]

I dumped the firmware of a new Gigabtye GC-Alpine Ridge Rev 2.0 and it seems quite different from the latest patched one in the repository (I compared the two with Hex Fiend). Can someone take a look to see if this is the same or different from what's already posted? Also, the one posted is called GC-ALPINE-RIDGE-NVM21-V3-NATA.bin, but it appears it's actually firmware 33.

Some comments and questions:

• You are quite right about GC-ALPINE-RIDGE-NVM21-V3.NATA.bin. The active region is at 082000, and the firmware at that address is NVM 33 from Intel Hades Canyon. There is an NVM 21 at the usual 004000, but this is inactive.
• I wasn't aware of a GC-Alpine Ridge Rev 2.0, but as long as you're sure it's Rev 2.0, that's okay.

Attached is a modified version (V4) that corrects the problem, but hasn't been tested.

 

[brousseau6933]

What I miss most from Mavericks and older versions is the 3D dock. That got killed off back in Yosemite in 2014. You can mostly thank (or curse) Jony Ive for making everything flat in macOS.

I use cDock for this exact reason… https://www.macenhance.com/cdock.html

 

[jiffyslot]

I do not agree. I can't use the latest version of Logic Pro because I am still using Mojave. There's no technical reason for this. It's just planned obsolescence. When I upgrade to Catalina or later, I will need to spend about $2000 on new (non-Apple)hardware.
I have 30 years of projects in Emagic/Apple Logic. So, I can't afford to ditch MacOS.

I need a proper/affordable platform to run Logic/Cubase/Bitwig/Lightroom/Photoshop, but I don't like to spend money on the latest UI trends and social media gadgets.

Yes, I am a grumpy old man with a restricted budget. And I hate stuff that can't be replaced/upgraded by the end user.

Unless you are into nested loops/sequences in the latest Logic update, there is no compellng reason to overhaul a good workflow just to have the latest OS. I keep my email/cloud services on a different machine than my studio machine. It would be handy to have an official Apple bloatware removal tool so that new setups are easier to manage and general nonsense can be removed from production machines.

 

[luvlastcall]

Amazon warehouse has one. If you buy new, they cost a lot of $$

Amazon Warehouse deals have full warranty and return rights. They are usually never even used.
The box may get damaged in shipping and the buyer returns it for a replacement.

Amazon.com: GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS ULTRA (Intel LGA1151/Z390/ATX/3xM.2 Thermal Guard/Onboard AC Wi-Fi/RGB Fusion/Gaming Motherboard) : Everything Else

Amazon.com: GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS ULTRA (Intel LGA1151/Z390/ATX/3xM.2 Thermal Guard/Onboard AC Wi-Fi/RGB Fusion/Gaming Motherboard) : Everything Else

www.amazon.com

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Bit Confused As not getting the Good review For the Board