MSI PRO Z690 A DDR4 + i7-12700K + AMD RX 580

[NorthAmTransAm]

Thank you so much for your comprehensive guide and EFI. I was able to get everything up and running on Big Sur with the same motherboard (Wi-Fi) but a 12900K and 6800 XT. Thank you for all your hard work!

Would you recommend I do a fresh install for Monterey? Or could I use the update process? Thanks!

I love to hear this!

While you should be fine to update, I’d suggest doing a backup first. Otherwise, you’re good to go.

 

[centraljava]

@NorthAmTransAm, thank you for the wonderful guide.
kindly pls comment on the relative scarcity of MSI board in 'golden build' section.

I'm considering getting a z690 board from MSI

TIA.

 

[NorthAmTransAm]

@NorthAmTransAm, thank you for the wonderful guide.
kindly pls comment on the relative scarcity of MSI board in 'golden build' section.

I'm considering getting a z690 board from MSI

TIA.

I think the scarcity of Golden Builds around it is simply that not many users had them at the time. To be fair though there are actually plenty who had them before me, and all I did was study the Alder Lake thread.

 

[trs96]

...comment on the relative scarcity of MSI board in 'golden build' section...

Back when this site got started, from 2010 to 2012 most everyone used Gigabyte boards exclusively because they were the most compatible with OS X. The easiest to make a hack with. After all board makers added UEFI by 2013 then people started using Asus and MSI as well. A few people also tried Asrock. So the bias towards Gigabyte and Asus is mostly because those were the two largest brands that work well in a hackintosh. They are usually the first choices because people have previous experience using them and they have the most guides here. MSI makes good boards too but in the past they were not as hack friendly as the "big two" so most people went with those brands. It looks like now with the Z690 chipset that MSI will be a great choice as well.

 

[NorthAmTransAm]

Back when this site got started, from 2010 to 2012 most everyone used Gigabyte boards exclusively because they were the most compatible with OS X. The easiest to make a hack with. After all board makers added UEFI by 2013 then people started using Asus and MSI as well. A few people also tried Asrock. So the bias towards Gigabyte and Asus is mostly because those were the two largest brands that work well in a hackintosh. They are usually the first choices because people have previous experience using them and they have the most guides here. MSI makes good boards too but in the past they were not as hack friendly as the "big two" so most people went with those brands. It looks like now with the Z690 chipset that MSI will be a great choice as well.

Excellent.

Admittedly it was a gamble on my end as I remembered being steered away from MSI and Asrock early on. But, I needed something in a hurry and this was near and cheap. I got lucky as its rock solid and easy to get rolling. So easy in fact that the only initial bios setting was to disable Thunderbolt (or change DTBT Port value to 1) and the Alder Lake starter EFI booted it.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Excellent.

Admittedly it was a gamble on my end as I remembered being steered away from MSI and Asrock early on. But, I needed something in a hurry and this was near and cheap. I got lucky as its rock solid and easy to get rolling. So easy in fact that the only initial bios setting was to disable Thunderbolt (or change DTBT value) and the Alder Lake starter EFI booted it.

<ASRock>Shudder!</ASRock>

 

[NorthAmTransAm]

@jiffyslot I finally figured out the constant Apollo Twin sample rate toggle. It only interrupted audio when printing a mix (I use hardware).

In console, I moved it from Device A to Device B and that resolved it. I don't know if using the twin by itself would have such issues.

 

[jiffyslot]

@jiffyslot I finally figured out the constant Apollo Twin sample rate toggle. It only interrupted audio when printing a mix (I use hardware).

In console, I moved it from Device A to Device B and that resolved it. I don't know if using the twin by itself would have such issues.

Yikes. Is the Apollo providing the master clock for the other digital hardware?

 

[centraljava]

Back when this site got started, from 2010 to 2012 most everyone used Gigabyte boards exclusively because they were the most compatible with OS X. The easiest to make a hack with. After all board makers added UEFI by 2013 then people started using Asus and MSI as well. A few people also tried Asrock. So the bias towards Gigabyte and Asus is mostly because those were the two largest brands that work well in a hackintosh. They are usually the first choices because people have previous experience using them and they have the most guides here. MSI makes good boards too but in the past they were not as hack friendly as the "big two" so most people went with those brands. It looks like now with the Z690 chipset that MSI will be a great choice as well.

well, we all can read how the MSI z690i failed the complete install (including Thunderbolt activation).
i just had a conversation with a hackintosher (with paying customers), & he confirmed that z690i & z690 Godlike both did not pass thorough install.
perhaps things will change with future BIOS update(s)

 

[NorthAmTransAm]

Yikes. Is the Apollo providing the master clock for the other digital hardware?

No, all the other hardware is analog. The only digital stuff is the Twin and x16. I guess its just a quirk--I'll take it.