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Gigabyte Z490 Vision D (Thunderbolt 3) + i5-10400 + AMD RX 580

On all versions of macOS since Mojave:
  • AppleVTD is necessary to connect Antelope Audio Thunderbolt interfaces.
  • AppleVTD provides lower latency with Slate VRS and possibly other devices whose drivers use direct memory access.
On Big Sur and Monterey:
  • AppleVTD is necessary to connect Apple’s own Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adapter, which is one of very few Ethernet adapters that supports AVB (audio/video bridging).
There may be other benefits we haven’t discovered yet.
Hi, Casey. I hope I'm not talking nonsense, but I was testing, and I think adding Vt-d to my hackintosh solved a problem I had with my hackintosh, which was the following:

When I turned on my Apollo x4 (Thunderbolt 3 - connected to my Titan Ridge) while Chrome was open, I could experience clicks and pops in the audio. I had to completely turn off the system and turn it on again.
Since you helped me with the DMAR SSDT and activated the VT-d, this no longer happens!
Maybe this will fix it ...
Greetings, I did not want to stop reporting.
 
Hi, Casey. I hope I'm not talking nonsense, but I was testing, and I think adding Vt-d to my hackintosh solved a problem I had with my hackintosh, which was the following:

When I turned on my Apollo x4 (Thunderbolt 3 - connected to my Titan Ridge) while Chrome was open, I could experience clicks and pops in the audio. I had to completely turn off the system and turn it on again.
Since you helped me with the DMAR SSDT and activated the VT-d, this no longer happens!
Maybe this will fix it ...
Greetings, I did not want to stop reporting.
Interesting! Clicks and pops have been reported a handful of times in the past with UAD audio interfaces. Previously our remedy was flashing the Thunderbolt firmware, but if AppleVTD solves the problem then this is a much simpler and safer solution.
 
I wish I could still buy a Z490 Vision D. Any opinion of what is the next best alternative for building a Comet Lake hack with Thunderbolt 3 using currently available hardware?

Z590 Vision D? A different Z490 Mobo with a Titan Ridge thunderbolt card?
 
I wish I could still buy a Z490 Vision D. Any opinion of what is the next best alternative for building a Comet Lake hack with Thunderbolt 3 using currently available hardware?

Z590 Vision D? A different Z490 Mobo with a Titan Ridge thunderbolt card?
I think a viable option is Gigabyte Z590 Vision D with Comet Lake CPU. There is already a pre-built OpenCore EFI folder for this in the HackinDROM App. @CODYQX4 and @dehjomz are both using this board.

However, the on-board Thunderbolt 4 (Maple Ridge) controller is giving us some problems with hot-plug. If you connect and power up Thunderbolt devices before booting macOS, then you should be okay. There may be a workaround for hot-plug -- namely:
  • Hot plug a device while macOS is running
  • Put the system to sleep
  • Wake up the system
  • Now the device should be connected
 
Interesting! Clicks and pops have been reported a handful of times in the past with UAD audio interfaces. Previously our remedy was flashing the Thunderbolt firmware, but if AppleVTD solves the problem then this is a much simpler and safer solution.
Clarification, my titan ridge is flashed from before
 
I recently noticed that my Yubikey stopped working on the front panel USB-C SS01/SS02.
USB-C Flash Drives work fine without issues on the front panel.

Anyone facing similar issues?
 
@CaseySJ think I should be set by this weekend with all the required pieces to flash the Thunderbolt on my z490 Vision D. I did have one question though...

"(This procedure is not necessary for Gigabyte GC-Alpine Ridge and GC-Titan Ridge because they are very easy to read/write with an external SPI ROM flasher.)"

This is written on the "Recommended Circuit Board" section. Is this in reference to the Titan Ridge chip on the z490 Vision D or for the Aftermarket Thunderbolt Card. Circuit seems easy enough to build but would love your recommendation for this. I'll be using the raspberry pi and its 3.3v Power, along with the Pomona 5250 Chip Clip.

Thank in advance!
 
@CaseySJ think I should be set by this weekend with all the required pieces to flash the Thunderbolt on my z490 Vision D. I did have one question though...

"(This procedure is not necessary for Gigabyte GC-Alpine Ridge and GC-Titan Ridge because they are very easy to read/write with an external SPI ROM flasher.)"

This is written on the "Recommended Circuit Board" section. Is this in reference to the Titan Ridge chip on the z490 Vision D or for the Aftermarket Thunderbolt Card.
This is in reference to an aftermarket or add-in card. Because those cards are removed from the motherboard and have relatively few components on them, their firmware chips are easy to read/write.

The firmware chip on the Gigabyte motherboard itself is much harder to read/write. Everyone will struggle with it. We must be patient. We must always attach and detach the SOIC clip gently. If you are naturally near-sighted (or have perfect 20/20 vision without any corrective lenses) then you have an advantage. Attaching and detaching the clip requires very near sighted work.

If you are near-sighted and use corrective lenses to see distant objects, remove those corrective lenses so you don't experience any eye strain when focusing on very near objects.

Because the Gigabyte motherboard has a lot of components (and has memory modules, GPU, WiFi/BT card, etc.) it makes it much more difficult for the SPI Flash ROM reader/writer to properly power the Thunderbolt firmware chip. We end up back-powering other devices on the motherboard. This is why flashrom will often be unable to detect the firmware chip.

If you find yourself really struggling to detect the firmware chip, here are some suggestions:
  • Use shorter breadboard wires to reduce power losses over long runs of wire.
  • Perform the operation after dark. Sunlight/solar radiation can sometimes interfere (don't ask me to explain the voodoo science behind this). :)
  • If all else fails, try removing the motherboard from the case and detach all memory modules, PCIe cards, NVMe SSDs, etc. That will help reduce back-power.
Once again, be patient and expect to encounter problems. Don't hesitate to stop and ask questions. If you find yourself getting frustrated, STOP immediately and take a break.

It is easy to dislocate nearby surface mount devices (SMDs) from the motherboard when attaching and detaching the SOIC clip. Always be gentle. If you detach a nearby SMD, say goodbye to Thunderbolt...
 
This is in reference to an aftermarket or add-in card. Because those cards are removed from the motherboard and have relatively few components on them, their firmware chips are easy to read/write.

Thanks for such a detailed response @CaseySJ. Seems like I’m in for quite the party this weekend :)

I truly hope Solar Radiation does not jack me... I amazingly listened to a podcast on this very subject on NPR recently... No Joke.

The link to the location of the chip on pg1 shows a Designare z390 w/ the Thunderbolt chip being on the back of the board. While I have not yet pulled the board out of the case, I think it's safe to say I’m going to need to. Can you confirm I’m looking at the right place for the Z490 Vision D. The schematic provided by Gigabyte is somewhat deceiving and appears that its on top of the motherboard... The Image on the right is where I actually believe it to be.


z490.jpg
 
I wish I could still buy a Z490 Vision D. Any opinion of what is the next best alternative for building a Comet Lake hack with Thunderbolt 3 using currently available hardware?

Z590 Vision D? A different Z490 Mobo with a Titan Ridge thunderbolt card?

@tango76,

I also struggled to get hold of a Gigabyte Z490 Vision D Motherboard relatively recently.

Eventually I went with Gigabyte Z490 Vision G ... which is fully supported by the guide in post #1.
With a bit of searching you may find somewhere that has them still in stock.

It’s a great motherboard, and, if you need TB3, you can go the add in PCIe card route which is far easer to flash than the on board TB3.

Cheers
Jay
 
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