A newb's build featuring a bootable NVME m.2 drive in Sierra

[Mechno]

Hello all!
I'm really new to the world of Hackintosh and have been looking for a guide for getting an NVME m.2 drive to work as your install-able and bootable drive.
I'm going to keep a diary and hopefully produce a guide to convey what I've learned through the whole process to hopefully help others.
-mechno

 

[RehabMan]

Hello all!
I'm really new to the world of Hackintosh and have been looking for a guide for getting an NVME m.2 drive to work as your install-able and bootable drive.
I'm going to keep a diary and hopefully produce a guide to convey what I've learned through the whole process to hopefully help others.
-mechno

https://github.com/RehabMan/patch-nvme

Note: Suggest using an SM951/AHCI instead...

 

[Mechno]

At this moment making heads and tails of your repository is something of an uphill battle (aka me=newb) but I'm going to give it my best effort.
I had the impression that modification to the EFI:/EFI/CLOVER/config.plist was all that is needed to allow one to install to the attached m.2 NVME, but that impression is not as strong as it was a few minutes ago...

Regarding the "Note: Suggest using an SM951/AHCI instead..." I didn't quite get that from the reading. I gathered that it's an easy route to use an AHCI drive being as it should work just as a SATA, but not really sure why the SM951 should have an advantage over the SM950.
Any advice/anecdotes/caveats that you or anyone would like to share will be welcomed.
-mechno

 

[Mechno]

Because this looks like a real uphill battle, I'm also building with a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD. My thinking is that I can get started with the SATA drive and learn a bit and if I'm able to do as planned and get the 950 Pro nvme working as my boot drive, I'll just use the SATA drive for additional storage.

 

[RehabMan]

Because this looks like a real uphill battle, I'm also building with a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD. My thinking is that I can get started with the SATA drive and learn a bit and if I'm able to do as planned and get the 950 Pro nvme working as my boot drive, I'll just use the SATA drive for additional storage.

Although the Samsung 950 Pro is possible, it is a significant hassle with very little performance advantage over SM951/AHCI.

 

[Mechno]

Although the Samsung 950 Pro is possible, it is a significant hassle with very little performance advantage over SM951/AHCI.

It looks like the SM951/AHCI is quite expensive, while I was able to get the 950 Pro 256GB for $140 (refurb) without trouble.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the reason why the SM951/AHCI is so much easier is because it should just work without any Kext patching?

 

[RehabMan]

It looks like the SM951/AHCI is quite expensive, while I was able to get the 950 Pro 256GB for $140 (refurb) without trouble.

I purchased my 950 Pro and SM951/AHCI around the same time (both 512gb). I found the prices to be similar (approx. $320).

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but the reason why the SM951/AHCI is so much easier is because it should just work without any Kext patching?

Correct. It is supported natively.
I've run both, and while NVMe is possible (see link already provided), it is a hassle, especially for novices.

 

[Mechno]

I purchased my 950 Pro and SM951/AHCI around the same time (both 512gb). I found the prices to be similar (approx. $320).



Correct. It is supported natively.
I've run both, and while NVMe is possible (see link already provided), it is a hassle, especially for novices.

Being that the SM951/AHCI is a discontinued product, I'd hoped that by persisting I could make something of an approachable guide to using the patches that you've made and flushing out the elements of the installation procedure that still seem vague in the guides that I've seen....

But I was able to source a certified used 256GB sm951/AHCI for about $200 so I went with that. :/

Thank you very much for the conversation, though. I hope the non-AHCI NVMe drives mature to be mainstream and simple to use.

 

[RehabMan]

Being that the SM951/AHCI is a discontinued product,

As far as I know, still available. And Eluktronics is making clones of it with full retail warranty.

I'd hoped that by persisting I could make something of an approachable guide to using the patches that you've made and flushing out the elements of the installation procedure that still seem vague in the guides that I've seen....

The requirements are fully documented at my github.

But I was able to source a certified used 256GB sm951/AHCI for about $200 so I went with that. :/

You'll be happy with that, assuming 256GB meets your storage needs.

Thank you very much for the conversation, though. I hope the non-AHCI NVMe drives mature to be mainstream and simple to use.

Probably not. Apple seems bent on doing things in a proprietary way.

 

[Mechno]

Just checking back in! I took your advice and just went with the AHCI sm951 and you were right, it couldn't have been easier. Thank you for the guidance, ReHabMan