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Gigabyte H270N-WIFI /Intel HD630 / i5-7600 Kaby Lake running Sierra

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Joined
May 19, 2017
Messages
57
Motherboard
GA-H270N-WIFI
CPU
i5-7600
Graphics
Intel HD 630 / GEFORCE 1050ti
Mac
  1. iMac
Mobile Phone
  1. Android
  2. iOS
phlydude's "Hack-Cube" H270N-WIFI:
i5-7600 (Kaby Lake)


Components

Gigabyte GA-H270N-WIFI Motherboard with on-board Intel HD630
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N2V075M/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Intel i5-7600 Processor
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MYTYSMK/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x16GB White Memory (BLS2K16G4D240FSC)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156086

Thermaltake Core V1 Black Mini-ITX Case
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M2UKGSM/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Noctua NH-L9i CPU Cooler
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608029

EVGA 110-BQ-0600-K1 PSU
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438100

Crucial MX300 275GB M.2 SSD drive
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156153

Samsung 850 EVO SSD
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W05718017

Seagate Firecuda 2TB storage drive
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M1NHCZT/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Airport Wireless card BCM94360CS2
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SNL3RPI/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Wireless card to M.2 adapter
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KHRJVXW/?tag=tonymacx86com-20

Antenna cable (longer wires)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E29566W/?tag=tonymacx86com-20


Comments

The last Mac I purchased arrived to me in May 2011. A top of the line 27" iMac mid-2011 model with a processor upgrade, best video option available and 4GB or RAM (subsequently upgraded to 32GB). As the years have gone on, the iMac served me well (and still does mostly to this day). However, it is getting a little tired and it was time for an upgrade.

Being an impatient person, I couldn't wait for the WWDC to see what and when new models would be available (and didn't want to spend the money on a non-upgradeable machine). So I went to work on amassing the components to make a replacement for my iMac with more modern components and ones that would run OS X (and after seeing the new releases, I am glad I went this route and not the iMac route again).

I decided to replace the Intel card from the MB with a Broadcom chip to get native WIFI and BT as the Intel chip doesn't seem to work for WIFI at this time. Because the included wires just barely were long enough for the Intel wireless chip, I bought extended length wires. The combo of the adapter from Broadcom to M.2 socket raises the antenna connection points and the wires that come with the MB just aren't long enough. Make sure you order the right ones as the connectors are tiny (I needed a magnifying headgear to see well enough to attach the leads).

I won't bore you with the details of the set-up as there are guides that walk you through the process.
Some notes of the options to select when using this set-up:
  • Mac Version 17,1
  • Acpi: Rename HDAS to HDEF (find 48444153 replace 48444546), Change GFX0 to IGPU (find 47465830 replace 49475055), FixShutdown_0004 (checked)
  • Boot: check kext-dev-mode=1, set darkwake=8, XMPDectection = Yes, Flag "-shikigva"
  • Devices: IntelGFX = 0x19168086, Add Properties Device IntelGFX (Key= AAPL,GfxYTile Value= 01000000)
  • Graphics: ig-platform-id= 0x19120000 and check Inject Intel
  • Kernel and Kext Patches: FakeCPUID= 0x0506E3, Check Apple RTC, Asus AICPUPM and KernelPM,
    • Kexts: (AppleALC, HibernationFixup, IntelGraphicsFixup, IntelMausiEthernet, Lili, Shiki, USBInjectAll and XHCI-200-series-injector)


Summary

Overall, things went much smoother than expected. I had some Intel display driver issues that were fixed up with Lilu and Skiki kexts and an addition review of my Clover configuration and injecting Intel again in the graphics section.

What Works
Kaby Lake i5-7600 processor (using Fake ID 0x0506E3)
Intel 630 Graphics (after modifying entries in properties, adding kexts and injecting Intel)
WIFI ac (natively supported card)
Bluetooth (natively supported card)
USB 3.0
Personal Hotspot with phone
M.2 SSD in SATA configuration as a boot drive
Ethernet (on one of the two ports)
iMessage
USB-C
Apple Watch Unlock

What Doesn't Work
Sleep wake (launches Clover boot instead of waking from sleep)
Ethernet (on 2nd of the two ports)

Untested
Airplay (option appears - untested)

Benchmarks
See attachment for Geekbench scores - compared my mid-2011 27" iMac (i7-2600 / Radeon 6790M 2GB / 32GB 1333 DDR3)



Notes:
Many thanks to jktaurus8 for his thread that helped guide me on my build. His guide can be found here
 

Attachments

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Last edited by a moderator:
I have since updated the video adapter to a Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050i - the trick is using the correct HDMI port on the card to make sure you get the video signal - otherwise, you will get a blank screen and no signal.

With the card upgrade, all sleep functions work, including deep sleep and scheduled power off/on.
 
What HDMI port did you use?
 
At first, I tried the top one (closest to the display port) and got a responsive machine but no display. I then did a little digging and found that the bottom HDMI is active on this card based on others' experiences. Once I switched it up, I got full display with NVidia driver actively managing the display. Sleep, wake, unlock (with Apple watch) all work perfectly.
I am still using darkwake=8 in my config file and that seems to be OK with this card.
 
Other upgrade was to go all Noctua on the fans. 2x 80mm in the rear, Noctua slim CPU cooler and a big old 200mm on the front. Whisper quiet now - I actually get more white noise from the crappy Altec USB powered speakers than I do the fans under normal load.
 
Well done to phlydude on getting Kaby to work, I have tried for over a week and cannot get past the USB boot screen with the apple logo,

can you tell me where this bit goes ???

is it in clover boot options from the USB stick?

  • Mac Version 17,1
  • Acpi: Rename HDAS to HDEF (find 48444153 replace 48444546), Change GFX0 to IGPU (find 47465830 replace 49475055), FixShutdown_0004 (checked)
  • Boot: check kext-dev-mode=1, set darkwake=8, XMPDectection = Yes, Flag "-shikigva"
  • Devices: IntelGFX = 0x19168086, Add Properties Device IntelGFX (Key= AAPL,GfxYTile Value= 01000000)
  • Graphics: ig-platform-id= 0x19120000 and check Inject Intel
  • Kernel and Kext Patches: FakeCPUID= 0x0506E3, Check Apple RTC, Asus AICPUPM and KernelPM,
    • Kexts: (AppleALC, HibernationFixup, IntelGraphicsFixup, IntelMausiEthernet, Lili, Shiki, USBInjectAll and XHCI-200-series-injector)
 
Well done to phlydude on getting Kaby to work, I have tried for over a week and cannot get past the USB boot screen with the Apple logo,

Can you tell me where this bit goes ???

Is it in Clover boot options from the USB stick?

  • Mac Version 17,1
  • ACPI: Rename HDAS to HDEF (find 48444153 replace 48444546), Change GFX0 to IGPU (find 47465830 replace 49475055), FixShutdown_0004 (checked)
  • Boot: check kext-dev-mode=1, set darkwake=8, XMPDectection = Yes, Flag "-shikigva"
  • Devices: IntelGFX = 0x19168086, Add Properties Device IntelGFX (Key= AAPL,GfxYTile Value= 01000000)
  • Graphics: ig-platform-id= 0x19120000 and check Inject Intel
  • Kernel and Kext Patches: FakeCPUID= 0x0506E3, Check Apple RTC, Asus AICPUPM and KernelPM,
    • Kexts: (AppleALC, HibernationFixup, IntelGraphicsFixup, IntelMausiEthernet, Lili, Shiki, USBInjectAll and XHCI-200-series-injector)
MultiBeast should get you close with most of the options being built on the USB installer and it should allow you to get a bootable version of Sierra installed and running to allow you to get into Clover and save these as your updated Config.plist file.
If you are getting stuck in boot, you may have an issue with the graphics hanging you up. In Clover during boot-up, flag the graphics as standard (not Intel) and see if you can get into Sierra - it will look like crap but it gets the job done...allowing you to get into Clover to make final updates to the config file as listed in the detail above. Each line header is where the updates are made in Clover - save after each change to ensure your entries are written.

A good step-by-step guide is found here:
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...-series-board-with-kabylake-processor.218494/
 
@phlydude , I'm thinking of doing a new build with the i5 7600k with a Gigabyte 270 series board to fit in my ATX case. I just bought a GTX 1050 TI SC card and I would also like to add a Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD.
Do you think I can follow your process and I should be OK to install Sierra?
 
@phlydude , I'm thinking of doing a new build with the i5 7600k with a Gigabyte 270 series board to fit in my ATX case. I just bought a GTX 1050 TI SC card and I would also like to add a Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD.
Do you think I can follow your process and I should be OK to install Sierra?

Wait to put in the 1050ti card until you get it up and running and can install the NVidia graphics driver. Then install the driver, power down, install the card and use the bottom HDMI port. Boot up and you should be using the NVidia graphics automatically by installing the driver and selecting its use post install (which requires a reboot).

I will suggest using my guide loosely and if you need more detail, look at JKTaurus's thread I linked for more detailed instructions for the initial set-up. I used his guide to build mine and he was very helpful with troubleshooting the few issues I ran into.
Why reinvent the wheel if the wheel has already been built and works well! :)
I am not sure about the NVMe M.2 card - mine is a SATA protocol card and it works well. I don't know if the OS will like the drive for installation - if the BIOS allows for you to configure the drive type, you may be OK.
My M.2 SSD is a Crucial card and the EVO is a 850 SATA 2.5" drive.
 
well I finally got my Hack up and running with the Kaby Lake chip :thumbup::thumbup:


Screen Shot 2017-07-07 at 20.24.32.png



but I have run into a problem whereas I cannot boot from the hard drive, I have to hit F10 to get into Clover and change the chip to 0x0506E3 everytime I switch it on. I have the fake id in my config but for some reason it is not working :banghead::banghead:

Attached config if anyone would care to comment on what is wrong.

Apart from not booting everything works great.


View attachment 265420
 

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