Contribute
Register

beelzebozo's Skylake Build: ASUS Z170 Deluxe i7-6700K 32GB AMD RX 5700 XT

Status
Not open for further replies.

beelzebozo

Super Moderator
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
3,718
Motherboard
Gigabyte z690-AERO-G-DDR4
CPU
i7-13700K
Graphics
RX 6900 XT
Mac
  1. iMac
Classic Mac
  1. Power Mac
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
beelzebozo's Z170 Deluxe Build: ASUS Z170 Deluxe - Intel Core i7-6700K - AMD RX 5700 XT

61W95l7WbtL._SY355_.jpg
Contents
Components

Corsair 200R Case
ASUS Z170 Deluxe ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i7-6700K 4 GHZ
CORSAIR Hydro Series H50
Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB
Corsair CX750M
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB
Mac OS X

Already Owned

Apple Wired Keyboard
Logitech Rechargeable Trackpad for Mac
Patriot 16GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive (for UniBeast)


Comments
This is my 2nd ASUS build following my 1st ever P55 build based on the P7P55D motherboard from 2010 which is still up and running.

I chose the Z170 Deluxe for my Skylake CustoMac because of the abundance of features it provides. The features that I am most interested in are:
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Broadcom BCM94360HMB) - compatible with OS X.
  • M.2 x4 Socket 3, with M key, type 2242/2260/2280 storage devices support (both SATA & PCIE mode) - which I hope to upgrade to in the near future.
  • Realtek ALC1150
  • ASMedia USB 3.1/3.0/2.0 port(s)
  • Thunderbolt PCIe Header - allows for an ASUS ThunderboltEX3 expansion card. I use an Universal Audio Apollo Twin for recording on my Z77x-UD5H CustoMac build which I will transfer to this Skylake build once I get an ASUS ThunderboltEX3.
The main display is connected to the HDMI port since I'm using Intel HD graphics, however I plan on getting a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 for this build later on.

This Skylake CustoMac took a little bit of additional tweaking in the BIOS to get OS X installed which I ended up attributing specifically to the Intel Core i7-6700K processor. When I first attempted to install OS X El Capitan, I couldn't reach the OS X setup screen because it would reset automatically as files loaded from the UniBeast installer. Once the BIOS settings were sorted out, the rest was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. See the screenshots below for my BIOS settings.



BIOS Settings

Current BIOS Settings Used to Install OS X

Main Screen - BIOS Version 1902
full


Exit > Load Optimized Defaults > Ok
full


Ai Tweaker > CPU SVID Support > Disabled
full


Ai Tweaker > Internal CPU Power Management > Intel(R) SpeedStep(tm) > Enabled
full


Advanced > Advanced\System Agent (SA) Configuration > Graphics Configuration > Primary Display > IGFX
full


Advanced > Advanced\System Agent (SA) Configuration > Graphics Configuration > DVMT Pre-Allocated > 64M
full


Advanced > USB Configuration > XHCI Hand-off > Enabled
full


Boot > Secure Boot > OS Type > Other OS
full


Exit > Save Changes & Reset
full



About This Build

Currently running OS X El Capitan 10.11.6.
full



Installation
Please follow the official tonymacx86 guide to Install OS X: UniBeast: Install OS X El Capitan on Any Supported Intel-based PC


MultiBeast

MultiBeast Post-Install Configuration
full


Enable 5Ghz WiFi/Bluetooth
The onboard Azurewave AW-CB160H/BCM94360HBM combo card shows as Third Party Wireless and only works on a 2.4Ghz frequency in OS X, however it is relatively easy to enabled 5Ghz WiFi and Bluetooth features.

full


Download two required kexts
  • BrcmFirmwareRepo.kext
  • BrcmPatchRam2.kext
Use KextBeast to install both kext files to Library/Extensions

1. Place files on desktop.
2. Run KextBeast installer
3. Select the destination folder: /Library/Extensions
4. Reboot

Next, download and run the Wireless BCM 94352_110 v4.0 Patch
full

Select a Patch Option, hit return or enter, and enter your User Password. You should see verbose output in terminal of the patch executing and should see '[Process completed]' once it's done. Restart and check if it was successful.

If it's successful, it should change from Third Party Wireless in Hardware > System Information > Wi-Fi, to:
Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x8659)
Firmware Version: Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (7.21.95.175.1a6)

You should also have Continuity working via Bluetooth. You'll need to sign into iCloud to take advantage of it.

Messages
Enabling Messages should be pretty easy to do with the following steps:
  1. Once you have installed the IntelMausiEthernet kext from MultiBeast and made the fix to the built-in WiFi/Bluetooth, open Finder and go to Library>Preferences>SystemConfiguration and delete NetworkInterfaces.plist.
  2. Next, download and open Clover Configurator. You'll need to mount the EFI partition and open the config.plist file located in EFI>EFI>CLOVER folder. You should already have a SMBIOS setup when you ran MultiBeast but I suggest that you make Clover Configurator change the Serial Number. Click the Wand icon to the right in the SMBIOS selection and choose a Mac model using the icons (you should see iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook, Mac Mini, and MacPro.) Once you make a selection, on the left hand-side, select your Mac Model (you should select the latest model available). On right hand side, you should see two buttons next to Week of Manufacturer and Unit Number. Click each several times alternating between them randomly to generate a unique Serial number.
  3. Next, you'll need to modify Board Serial Number. It should match the Serial Number and 5 random letters and/or numbers. For example, if your Serial Number is C02AWA35H2YQ, Board Serial Number should be C02AWA35H2YQ followed by something such as 5AB43, but it should be random. Concatenate the two strings and your Board Serial Number would be something like C02AWA35H2YQ5AB43. Enter it into the Board Serial Number in the SMBIOS section of Clover Configurator and then go to RT Variables and enter it in the MLB field. In the ROM field, enter your Ethernet or WiFi adapter MAC address. Remove the colons in between the value. If your MAC address is 30:25:a9:2u:b5:88, you'll need to remove each colon and paste the value 3025a92ub588 into the ROM field.
  4. Run 'uuidgen' in terminal and use that as your SmUUID in Clover Configurator. It should be something like
    DF881D99-3EA2-4B60-B95A-C156CC35B32C (these are my values, not yours).
  5. Save your config.plist file and restart your CustoMac.
  6. Sign into Messages and confirm if it's working. You should also see a notification on your iPhone if you use one.

full



Power Management
You can download and run PikeRAlpha's ssdtPRGen.sh to create your own SSDT for Power Management or use mine which I generated specifically for my Intel Core i-6700K processor (see the attached SSDT at the bottom of this page).

Before applying a SSDT.

full

After applying a SSDT.
full


What Works
Ethernet
Built-in WiFi/Bluetooth
Intel Z170 Chipset Express USB 3.0
  • 5 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports (4 ports MID-board, 1 port back panel, blue)
  • 5 x USB 2.0/101 ports (4 ports MID-board, 1 port back panel)

ASMedia USB 3.1 controllers - (requires GenericUSBXHCI.kext in OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 or earlier or you will get Waiting for Root {stop sign} when loading UniBeast from ASMedia ports)
  • 5 x USB 3.1/3.0/2.0 ports back panel (teal blue, Type A)
  • 1 x USB 3.1/3.0/2.0 port @ back panel (Type C)

Audio ALC1150
full




What Doesn't Work
Sleep/Wake not yet fully functional with Intel HD530 (OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 or earlier).


Benchmarks

Geekbench Score
full



Black Magic Speed Test
full



Change Log:
2016-Aug-06 - Initial Guide
2016-Aug-21 - EFI uploaded
2017-Mar-26 - BIOS updated to Z170-DELUXE BIOS 3201. Warning*** This newer version breaks previous native NVRAM in earlier BIOS builds. Please read this post for latest fix - https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/native-nvram-available.192920/page-3#post-1464840
2017-Mar-28 - Running macOS Sierra 10.12.4
2017-Apr-12 - Installed ASUS ROG 1080 Strix and updated to BIOS Z170-DELUXE BIOS 3401. Requires Problem #6 fix.
2017-Aug-24 - Updated to BIOS Z170-DELUXE 3504. Must disable Keyboard and Mouse Simulation setting under USB settings for the system to boot properly.
2017-Nov-11 - Upgraded to macOS 10.13 High Sierra with UniBeast 8.0 and MultiBeast 10.0.
2018-Jun-02 - Upgraded to macOS 10.13.5 High Sierra. Clover r4509. BIOS Z170-DELUXE BIOS 3801.
2020-Dec-28 - Upgraded to maOS Big Sur 11.1. Clover r5127, post #93.
2021-Jan-07 - Reverted to macOS Catalina 10.15.7. Changed to Open Core 0.6.4. See below:
2021-Oct-28 - Updated OpenCore to 0.7.5. *** BlueToothFixup.kext is the only bluetooth kext needed for macOS Monterey in BrcmPatchRAM-2.6.1. Also upgraded to macOS Monterey 12.0.1.

OpenCore 0.6.4 Considerations:

BIOS Changes

  • Boot\CSM (Compatibility Support Module):
    • Launch CSM: Disabled
  • Boot\Secure Boot:
    • OS type: Other OS
    • Secure Boot State: Disabled
I have Windows 10 installed on a separate SSD, formatted as UEFI-GPT and the drive is visible from the OpenCore boot picker. A MBR formatted drive will not boot with Open Core.
  • config.plist - Took the vanilla sample.plist and kept pretty much all the sample settings in there. You can see that for the most part, many of them are disabled if you compare mine vs the sample.
    • Patches
      • Rename _OSI to XOSI (OS)
      • Rename XHC1 to XHC (USB)
      • Rename HECI to IMEI (PAVP)
      • Rename EC0 to EC (USB Power)
      • Rename SAT0 to SATA (Disk)
      • Rename PEGP to GFX0 (Graphics)
    • boot-args = <keepsyms=1 agdpmod=pikera alcid=1 debug=0x100 darkwake=8>
  • ACPI
    • SSDT-EC
    • SSDT-PLUG-DRTNIA
    • SSDT-SBUS-MCHC
    • SSDT-TB3
    • SSDT-USBX
  • Drivers
    • AudioDxe.efi - for start up chime
    • HFSPlus.efi - for Recovery partition boot
    • OpenCanopy.efi - for External Picker Mode
    • OpenRuntime.efi - required
  • Kexts
    • AirportBrcmFixup.kext
    • AppleALC.kext
    • BrcmBluetoothInjector.kext
    • BrcmPatchRAM3.kext
    • IntelMausi.kext
    • Lilu.kext
    • USBPorts.kext - implemented for XHCI 15 port limit. ASMedia USB ports are not affected.
      • HS01 Front Right USB 2.0
      • HS02 Front Left USB 2.0
      • HS05 Rear USB 2.0
      • HS06 Rear USB 320, next to USB 2.0
      • HS07 Internal Bluetooth
      • SS01 Front Right USB 3.0
      • SS02 Front Left USB 3.0
      • SS06 Rear USB 3.0, next to USB 2.0
    • VirtualSMC.kext
    • WhateverGreen.kext
  • Pci Device Tree
    • Deleted CPU, Z170 Chipset LPC/eSPI Controller, and any unknown devices. This is purely cosmetic, however including Z170 Chipset LPC/eSPI Controller breaks sleep.
  • What works
  • What doesn't work
    • Do not add the following Pci Device in Device Properties. It breaks sleep.
      AAPL,slot-name Internal@0,31,0 STRING
      device_type ISA bridge STRING
      model Z170 Chipset LPC/eSPI Controller STRING

Resources

Contents
 
Last edited:
Thanks for this! Im interested to see how your mileage goes with 2 issues I currently face.
Firstly,
I noticed after the SSDT is enabled, you've left 'PowerNap' and WOL enabled. I have issues where I leave power nap but disable WOL but return to my PC with a 'this computer restarted because of a problem'. I got no idea if it restarts at some point or just dhows up as Im not around when power nap kicks in. Interesting to see how you go.

Secondly, and this might be too early for you atm without an external GPU, but I very much have sleep problems where occasionally, I out the machine to sleep, only for it to immediately wake up and then eventually go back to sleep.
I thought I've narrowed this down to the BCM94630CD PCIE card that everyone has for native wifi/blutooth (specifically the USB connection to the MB). But it seems to also occur when I use the bundled WIFI/Bluetooth card. Should be interesting if you also have the same issue when your sleep is able to function.
 
Thanks for this! Im interested to see how your mileage goes with 2 issues I currently face.
Firstly,
I noticed after the SSDT is enabled, you've left 'PowerNap' and WOL enabled. I have issues where I leave power nap but disable WOL but return to my PC with a 'this computer restarted because of a problem'. I got no idea if it restarts at some point or just dhows up as Im not around when power nap kicks in. Interesting to see how you go.

Secondly, and this might be too early for you atm without an external GPU, but I very much have sleep problems where occasionally, I out the machine to sleep, only for it to immediately wake up and then eventually go back to sleep.
I thought I've narrowed this down to the BCM94630CD PCIE card that everyone has for native WiFi/Bluetooth (specifically the USB connection to the MB). But it seems to also occur when I use the bundled WIFI/Bluetooth card. Should be interesting if you also have the same issue when your sleep is able to function.

Hi. The image was just to show how it changed after the SSDT was applied. Since wake isn't working on this build, I'm not sure what the correct Energy Saving settings are for sleep/wake. I've seen on my other builds that Wake On Lan can cause some issues, so I'd probably leave it unselected. Try leaving Power Nap unchecked and see if it helps.

This CustoMac goes into a sleep state and becomes unresponsive -- won't wake via USB or the power button. I've tested every darkwake flag and it hasn't changed this problem as well. But this seems to be across the board with Skylake builds in general, other wise this build is pretty solid.
 
Thanks for posting beel- this is a great example of an ASUS Skylake build configured correctly. Eventually we'll get HD 530 to wake from sleep. Until then NVIDIA.

:ugeek:
 
Is there any possible setting on the MB that you have made or to ensure, I can't get to the install screen. Just the pretty apple logo? I have updated bios, redid my usb stick, I am just stuck.
 
Is there any possible setting on the MB that you have made or to ensure, I can't get to the install screen. Just the pretty apple logo? I have updated bios, redid my usb stick, I am just stuck.

I have no idea what system you're trying to install onto and the BIOS screenshots are exactly what I needed to do on my CustoMac to get an installation done based on my parts; mainly the CPU and Motherboard.
 
Nice guide :¬)

Why do you disable CPU SVID?

Thanks. I kept getting instarestarts when loading UniBeast, trying to reach the Setup Assistant. Since the 6700K can be overclocked, I thought leaving it enabled was causing the instarestarts. Once I disabled it and set SpeedStep to Enabled, I was able to reach the installer. May be a different story with a different CPU.

Check out this TweakTown guide which talks about CPU SVID- http://www.tweaktown.com/guides/748...-intel-skylake-overclocking-guide/index5.html
 
Thanks. I kept getting instarestarts when loading UniBeast, trying to reach the Setup Assistant. Since the 6700K can be overclocked, I thought leaving it enabled was causing the instarestarts. Once I disabled it and set SpeedStep to Enabled, I was able to reach the installer. May be a different story with a different CPU.

Check out this TweakTown guide which talks about CPU SVID- http://www.tweaktown.com/guides/748...-intel-skylake-overclocking-guide/index5.html

Thanks, will check it out. I have a weird shutdown problem (computer restarts itself after 5-10 seconds), I'm hoping this may fix it (overclocked at 4.7Ghz).
 
So I had this build up and running reasonably stable, then I realised that I had a 15,1 SysDef on. I changed it to 17,1 for my skyline build. Everything else was untouched but now my system will wake up randomly and when i log in I have the 'computer has restarted because of a problem'. Im going nuts trying to figure it out. Apple RTC is on, I have wake on LAN disabled in BIOS as well as wake for network activity in preferences.

Any idea?

Cheers.

Edit: In the report of the issue, all I get from it is Event: Sleep Wake Failure.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top