Alienware 17 R4 (2016 Skylake) QHD and Nvidia Issues

[Hoscetti]

I'm a newb to the Hackintosh community and have built a mostly successful desktop build and thought I would try my luck on a Laptop.

I followed RehabMan's guide for booting OS X on a laptop using Clover and am able to boot successfully from the internal SSD on the laptop (sata not nvme). I didn't get very far into the post install process other than getting the Killer ethernet working and installing the Nvidia Web Drivers for the 1070 dedicated graphics card.

The Nvidia Web Drivers are showing up as the selected drivers, but the NVRAM on the 1070 is only showing 14MB and I have menu and icon graphics glitches. I have tried solutions 4 and 6 of the "Solving NVIDIA Driver Install & Loading Problems" post with no luck, and this is where I am stuck. If I remove nv-disable from config.plist I get a black screen when booting.

I'm guessing that issue has to do the the Intel Integrated Graphics? There is no way to disable or change the dvmd allocation in the bios. This particular laptop has a QHD (G sync) display without Optimus, so it is only possible to use the discrete graphics on the internal display. Integrated graphics cannot be used, but shows up still in both MacOS and Windows.

Is there a way to disable the integrated graphics through DDST patches or something I can do to fix the VRAM and glitch issues I am experiencing?

I hope I posted the files correctly, if not, I can try again!

EDIT: I already found my simple mistake. I added nv_drv and everything is working correctly with the 1070 now! I could still use some help with the DDST and SSDT as I'm still a little lost as what to do with that.

 

[RehabMan]

I could still use some help with the DDST and SSDT as I'm still a little lost as what to do with that.

I think you mean 'DSDT'.
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-patching-laptop-dsdt-ssdts.152573/

 

[Hoscetti]

Even though I was able to get the Nvidia Web Drivers to successfully load, I am still experiencing issues with corrupted icons and buttons (especially in Safari). I know that this is typically fixed by disabling the integrated graphics. The BIOS does not have an option to disable integrated graphics.

My questions is, would it be possible to disable integrated graphics with DSDT/SSDT edits in method similar to that which is used to disable discrete graphics? I have seen a few similar questions regarding disabling integrated graphics in an Optimus configuration (not possible) but since I my laptop does not use Optimus, I wonder if this is possible.

If it is not possible to disable integrated graphics, would adjusting a VRAM setting for the integrated graphics solve the issue I am having with distorted Safari icons?

 

[RehabMan]

Even though I was able to get the Nvidia Web Drivers to successfully load, I am still experiencing issues with corrupted icons and buttons (especially in Safari). I know that this is typically fixed by disabling the integrated graphics. The BIOS does not have an option to disable integrated graphics.

My questions is, would it be possible to disable integrated graphics with DSDT/SSDT edits in method similar to that which is used to disable discrete graphics? I have seen a few similar questions regarding disabling integrated graphics in an Optimus configuration (not possible) but since I my laptop does not use Optimus, I wonder if this is possible.

If it is not possible to disable integrated graphics, would adjusting a VRAM setting for the integrated graphics solve the issue I am having with distorted Safari icons?

Is the internal display connected to the IGPU?

 

[Hoscetti]

Is the internal display connected to the IGPU?

No. The internal display is connected directly to the NVIDIA card (Gsync displays are all like this). I mis-spoke on the previous post and I guess that the NVIDIA card would be considered to be a dedicated video card since it is not routed through the Intel graphics. Basically the Intel graphics serves no purpose in my configuration, other than thunderbolt video out, which I do not plan on using. That is why I am trying to disable it to solve the corrupted icons. Everything else is working well video wise.

 

[RehabMan]

No. The internal display is connected directly to the NVIDIA card (Gsync displays are all like this). I mis-spoke on the previous post and I guess that the NVIDIA card would be considered to be a dedicated video card since it is not routed through the Intel graphics. Basically the Intel graphics serves no purpose in my configuration, other than thunderbolt video out, which I do not plan on using. That is why I am trying to disable it to solve the corrupted icons. Everything else is working well video wise.

So this config is:
- HDMI+internal display: dedicated to Nvidia
- TB3: Intel HD

If your BIOS does not provide an option to disable the IGPU, it probably cannot be disabled easily.
You might read the chipset/graphics datasheet from Intel to see if you can determine a way to do it via ACPI.

 

[Hoscetti]

In that case I may try to find a modified BIOS that may allow me to disable the iGPU. Everything is working other than distorted icons in Safari, so I can live with that if necessary.

For others with the same or similar configuration (Gsync and QHD), it was not necesaary to make any modifications or patches to accommodate the QHD display like you would have to do with integrated graphics. It just worked out of the box with the NVIDIA card, so that saved some time on the install. On the bright side, this is one of the few laptop configurations that allow full NVIDIA acceleration using the internal display. Battery life will suffer as a consequence, but I'm ok with that.

 

[d1ck3r]

In that case I may try to find a modified BIOS that may allow me to disable the iGPU. Everything is working other than distorted icons in Safari, so I can live with that if necessary.

For others with the same or similar configuration (Gsync and QHD), it was not necesaary to make any modifications or patches to accommodate the QHD display like you would have to do with integrated graphics. It just worked out of the box with the NVIDIA card, so that saved some time on the install. On the bright side, this is one of the few laptop configurations that allow full NVIDIA acceleration using the internal display. Battery life will suffer as a consequence, but I'm ok with that.

So it's hard to get the Alienware working?? I'm deciding between an Alienware with brutal specs and a pricely MacBook Pro, I really want the Alienware but need Mac OS

 

[Hoscetti]

So it's hard to get the Alienware working?? I'm deciding between an Alienware with brutal specs and a pricely MacBook Pro, I really want the Alienware but need Mac OS

I was able to get most everything on my Alienware working without too much difficulty and I would consider myself a novice with Hackintosh. I haven't had time to mess with it for the last month or so, but hope to get the last few issues ironed out soon.

I have been unable to get Apple HDA audio working (VooDoo works) and have been unable to disable the integrated graphics card to resolve the corrupted Safari icons (not sure if there is an easy solution for this, but this is only an issue with the gsync displays).

I will provide an update once I dive back into the project.

 

[Dexterxiee]

can External 4k display ?