Hackintoshes Getting More Difficult? Next Build!

[MacMarshall]

Finally time to replace my old Mac Pro 3,1, which has been a solid machine for 10+ years, which is pretty amazing.

Have most of the bits and going to follow CaseySJ's Designare Z390 Golden Build, which is currently sitting at 945 pages long! This will be my 3rd Hackintosh, first two felt like all I had to do was change a few BIOS setting, install OS with UniBeast, then run MultiBeast. Recently updated first two hacks to Mojave, getting those working required Lilu and WhateverGreen, that wasn't too hard. As I look at CaseySJ's guide I am comforted by the level of detail, but at the same time a little scared by the level of detail! Are hacks getting harder to pull off?

Here is the hardware I have and will be putting together this weekend:

Gigabyte Z390 Designare
Intel i7-9700K
Noctua NH-U12A
Crucial Ballistix 64GB Sport LT DDR4 3200
Saphire Pulse RX 580
Samsung 512GB 970 Pro (OS)
Samsung 4TB 860 EVO (Data)
Fenvi T919 WiFi/Bluetooth
Corsair AX850
Fractal R6 USB-C
Dell U3219Q
Spinning HDs for backup and archiving to be added later

Should be a nice setup if I can make it work!

 

[trs96]

Are hacks getting harder to pull off?

Yes and no. Yes, if you don't have a well written/documented guide to follow. No, if you do have a well written/documented guide to follow and some community support to get you through the rough spots.

 

[pastrychef]

Finally time to replace my old Mac Pro 3,1, which has been a solid machine for 10+ years, which is pretty amazing.

Have most of the bits and going to follow the CaseySJ's Designare Z390 Golden Build, which is currently sitting at 945 pages. This will be my 3rd Hackintosh, first two felt like all I had to do was change a few BIOS setting, install OS with UniBeast, then run MultiBeast. Recently updated first two hacks to Mojave, getting those working required Lilu and WhateverGreen, that wasn't too hard. As I look at CaseySJ's guide I am comforted by the level of detail, but at the same time a little scared by the level of detail! Are hacks getting harder to pull off?

Here is the hardware I have and will be putting together this weekend:

Gigabyte Z390 Designare
Intel i7-9700K
Noctua NH-U12A
Crucial Ballistix 64GB Sport LT DDR4 3200
Saphire Pulse RX 580
Samsung 512GB 970 Pro (OS)
Samsung 4TB 860 EVO (Data)
Fenvi T919 WiFi/Bluetooth
Corsair AX850
Fractal R6 USB-C
Dell U3219Q
Spinning HDs for backup and archiving to be added later

Should be a nice setup if I can make it work!

In my opinion, Z390 is definitely more of a pain than Z370 was. I spent so much time just trying to figure out which Aptio fix worked for me. What complicates matters more is that what works for one person may not work for another despite extremely similar hardware... This is why I haven't written any build guide for my Z390. There are just too many inconsistencies and variables.

 

[scottkendall]

In my opinion, Z390 is definitely more of a pain than Z370 was. I spent so much time just trying to figure out which Aptio fix worked for me. What complicates matters more is that what works for one person may not work for another despite extremely similar hardware... This is why I haven't written any build guide for my Z390. There are just too many inconsistencies and variables.

I have been able get booting Gigabyte Z370 HD3, Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 5, Asus Rog Strix Z370 -F, & Gigabye H370 HD3, MSI Z170 all with your EFI and modified USB file of course.

Should be a nice setup if I can make it work!

If you get a z370 board chances are you can boot it and set it up with very little work if you use @pastrychef EFI folder.

Unless you prefer to do it all yourself.

 

[pastrychef]

I have been able get booting Gigabyte Z370 HD3, Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 5, Asus Rog Strix Z370 -F, & Gigabye H370 HD3, MSI Z170 all with your EFI and modified USB file of course.



If you get a z370 board chances are you can boot it and set it up with very little work if you use @pastrychef EFI folder.

Unless you prefer to do it all yourself.

There might be hope... I updated to the latest BIOS on my Z390 earlier tonight and, along with OpenCore, booting has been very consistent. I still had to unlock the MSR by booting in to Grub and there's still no NVRAM support but at least booting seems to be working reliably without OsxAptioFix2Drv-free2000. I'm going to be busy testing for the next few days...

 

[scottkendall]

There might be hope... I updated to the latest BIOS on my Z390 earlier tonight and, along with OpenCore, booting has been very consistent. I still had to unlock the MSR by booting in to Grub and there's still no NVRAM support but at least booting seems to be working reliably without OsxAptioFix2Drv-free2000. I'm going to be busy testing for the next few days...

As much as like to be cutting edge I like something that is proven, so Opencore is not in my realm just yet. However, your EFI with Z370 is proven to be tried and true even if it is not your board. For that matter it works just as well with z170A. However, unless I remove the Fenvi card it only boots consistantly with Free2000.

 

[pastrychef]

As much as like to be cutting edge I like something that is proven, so Opencore is not in my realm just yet. However, your EFI with Z370 is proven to be tried and true even if it is not your board. For that matter it works just as well with z170A. However, unless I remove the Fenvi card it only boots consistantly with Free2000.

I love my Z370 for it's level of compatibility. I'm still hanging on to it because I foresee myself returning to using that as my main system. Maybe if/when I replace my Radeon VII with a Navi card...

 

[scottkendall]

I love my Z370 for it's level of compatibility.

This ^^

For me I need 200% uptime crashes can cause me hours of time lost since I am the worst at saving periodically.

 

[pastrychef]

This ^^

For me I need 200% uptime crashes can cause me hours of time lost since I am the worst at saving periodically.

Yeah, I've gotten over 60 days of uptime on my Z370. Incredibly compatible and extremely stable.

But I'm getting really close with my Z390. I've hit 7 days uptime and only restarted to update stuff.

 

[MacMarshall]

You guys are making me wonder if I am making a mistake with the Designare Z390, which I got because I liked the idea of having onboard Thunderbolt, and for which there is a Golden Build. I haven't opened the box up yet so I could still return it, but I think I am still gonna' give it a whirl this weekend. if I get totally stumped I will get a Z370. OpenCore looks pretty interesting, and I like to tinker, but I might need to wait until there are slightly more dumbed down guides for it