pastrychef's HP ProDesk 400 G6 SFF Batocera Hack - i9-9900 + RX 560

[pastrychef]

HP ProDesk 400 G6 SFF



Another build?!?
Yeah... I got bored and had an i5-9400F laying around and decided to do a Batocera build. I found a barebones HP ProDesk 400 G6 SFF on eBay and jumped on it. Of course, I needed a dGPU since the i5-9400F doesn't have an IGPU. Plus, I wanted a little more oomph than an IGPU can offer because I like to upscale the graphics in my games a bit. I went with an AMD RX 560 because of its native support in macOS.

Be warned!! After getting the system up and running, I quickly found that because the heatsink/fan of the RX 560 is right up against the power supply, it gets very little airflow and can get uncomfortably hot when the GPU is being stressed. To make matters worse, the fan gets quite loud when this happens. That being said, under normal loads, GPU temps are not a problem.

Originally, I hadn't planned on doing a build write up on this but I had a heckuva time getting macOS to boot using the conventional quirks that I'd been using for Coffee Lake and changed my mind because I think it may help others. Batocera is the primary OS that I will be using this build for, so updates to the EFI will be limited.


Specs
Motherboard chipset: B360
BIOS: Insyde
CPU: Intel i5-9400F i9-9900
GPU: Visiontek RX 560 4GB (14CU)
RAM: 2x4GB 2x16GB (Be careful when shopping for RAM. There's very little RAM height clearance, so don't buy RAM with huge heat spreaders.)
PCI-e x1: ASM1142 USB 3.1 gen 2 (10Gb/s) card
Wi-Fi/Bluetooth: BCM94360NG
Drives: 1xM.2 SSD (macOS), 1x2.5" SSD (Batocera) in ODD bay, 1x3.5" HDD (ROMs)


BIOS Settings
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/592575870
*Sorry for poor quality... Vimeo limits me to only 360p...

Those who will be using IGPU only can set Advanced > Secure Boot Configuration > Legacy Support Disable and Secure Boot Disable.
Also, don't forget to set DVMT Prealloc to 64MB or more.


Create Your USB Installer And Install macOS
On your working Mac or hackintosh, create your USB Catalina installer.
1. Follow the official Apple instructions on how to create your USB installer.
2. Download either the Clover or OpenCore EFI below then unZip it.
3. Copy the EFI Folder to the EFI partition of your USB flash drive. (EFI Agent can help with mounting of EFI partitions.)
4. Boot from the USB flash drive.
5. Install macOS.
6. Mount the EFI partition of your USB flash drive and the EFI partition of your main system drive.
7. Copy the EFI folder from the EFI partition of your USB flash drive to the EFI partition of your main system drive.
8. Generate and fill in your Serial, Board Serial, UUID, and MAC address to the config.plist.
9. Done.


EFI Configuration Notes

• iMacPro1,1 system definition used. (You may switch to iMac19,1 if you like.)
• SIP is enabled.
• SecureBootModel is disabled for backwards compatibility with older versions of macOS. (You can enable this if you have no intention of booting Catalina or older.)
• APFS "MinDate" and "MinVersion" set to "-1" for backwards compatibility with older versions of macOS. (You can set to "0" if you have no intention of booting Catalina or older.)
• All external USB ports are enabled.
• USB port associated with M.2 slot for Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card is enabled.
• The EFI folder(s) should work fine for non-SFF G6 HP desktops with the exception of the USBPorts.kext.

Final Thoughts
I really like the size of the SFF systems from both Dell and HP. I just wish they'd swap the physical location of the PCI-e x16 and PCI-e x1 slots. Having the heatsink and fan of the video card right up against the power supply makes getting any airflow extremely difficult.

I appreciate the PCI-e x1 slot. It allowed me to add a UBS 3.1 gen 2 (10Gb/s). This makes it the fastest external I/O port I have on this system.

Outfitting an i9-9900 (non-K model) with this system would result in a very powerful and relatively tiny system. Even with my i5-9400, I am able to run Xbox, PS2, and Wii U games in Batocera with upscaled graphics. With my i9-9900, I can emulate everything up to Xbox 360 and PS3.

 

[pastrychef]

I have been falling deeper in love with this system. Batocera has been fantastic and this system has been able to handle any game I've thrown at it except God Of War III for the PS3. The limiting factor is the CPU, not the GPU. I tested on my i9-9900K system with RX 560 and it was very playable.

Some time this week, I will attempt to install Windows. I've just been dragging my feet on this because I've been trying to think of the most elegant way to mount a third SATA drive... I don't think I have much choice but to tape it to the underside of the drive cage...

 

[pastrychef]

I know... I know... I said I wasn't going to invest anymore money in to hackintoshing but I'm doing it for the emulation...

Found an i9-9900 for only $270 and went for it. It really makes this little box a screamer.

 

[trs96]

for only $270

I have a brother that always prefaces a price of something he bought with only. I always like to remind him that is a four letter word, not to be spoken regularly.

 

[pastrychef]

I'm having a heckuva time trying to install Windows... I keep getting the following:

I swear. Installing macOS was so much easier.

 

[trs96]

I'm having a heckuva time trying to install Windows

Try turning off XMP and see if that makes a difference. A CPU overclock can also cause the WHEA error.

 

[pastrychef]

Try turning off XMP and see if that makes a difference. A CPU overclock can also cause the WHEA error.

XMP and overclocking features are not even available in the BIOS...

 

[trs96]

XMP and overclocking features are not even available in the BIOS...

Right, I was thinking of your OC'd Z390M system.

 

[pastrychef]

Right, I was thinking of your OC'd Z390M system.

I'm gonna try again later... It's too nice of a day outside to deal with Windows today.

 

[pastrychef]

Right, I was thinking of your OC'd Z390M system.

Okay. Resetting BIOS to factory defaults didn't work... Clearing CMOS didn't work... It turned out that having my 3.5" mechanical drive connected was causing the WHEA error?!?


However, next, I was immediately presented with...

This NMI error was apparently due to having my USB 3.1 gen 2 PCI-e card installed?!?

Disabling the PCI-e card in BIOS finally allowed the Windows 10 Installer to boot!!

So... I had to disconnect my 3.5" hard drive and disable my USB 3.1 gen 2 card to finally get to the installer. I don't understand why it's this difficult. The 3.5" hard drive and USB card are extremely common devices that are found in many many many systems. Neither macOS nor Linux complained about either and both just worked OOTB. Windows is truly an operating system that only a mother could love. Unfortunately for me, I still have the need to run a few Windows only apps...