How to build your own iMac Pro [Successful Build/Extended Guide]

[braindeadmac]

Also @kgp, I have a theory regarding your Sync All Cores stability issues. I was experiencing some as well whenever I would load up Adobe Lightroom when Sync All Cores was enabled. I know Lightroom is a big user of the AVX instruction set on the CPU and I also know SiliconLottery (the CPU binning/delidding service) will always put its AVX offset figure on its recommended overclocks. Since Sync All Cores is essentially an overclock on all non-turbo boosted cores, it's likely that the stability issues comes in whenever a piece of AVX code is run. Silicon Lottery uses a AVX offset of 3 and AVX512 offset of 5. Since I started using those offsets in the BIOS, Sync All Cores is 100% stable for me (we are an hour in here - but previously I could barely make 1 minute while using Adobe Lightroom). Please try and let me know.

This is correct and also fixed my sync all core problems. You may be able to get by with smaller AVX offsets.

 

[kgp]

@kgp wow this is a beast of a system.

How's the stability?

I'm looking to swap my mobo and CPU with what you have now in a few months.

Stability is just awesome apart from CPU Core Ratio set to "Sync All Cores", but as you can read a few posts above and below there seems a solution. Gorgeous system, man. Absolutely recommended.

 

[poshook]

Is current EFI from the page 1 useful also for 10.3.2 OS?

 

[ImaPirate]

Well the entire backup procedure is really anything than difficult.

1.) At first place it is important to format primer to the CCC procedure your clone drive as described in C.11.b), which will create a single HSF+ partition and an EFI partition on your clone drive.

View attachment 293684

2.) After cloning your system disk with CCC to the freshly formatted clone drive, you have to mount and open the EFI-partitions on your system disk and clone drive with e.g. Clover Configurator, respectively, and indeed just copy the EFI-Folder in the EFI-partition of your System disk to the yet empty partition of your clone drive, using Apple's Finder Windows. And voila, you have a bootable clone drive. How to mount/unmount EFI partitions with clover configurator and copy/paste their content via Apple's Finder Windows is described in D1.4.a)

View attachment 293685

Good luck! Let me know if you have additional questions...

Wow! Thank you! I will try this with an blank SSD and give you my results.

In the meantime, I just backed up my existing SATA SSD (yesterday) by overwriting everything using just CCC and guess what? I just booted up the system this morning on that backup SSD and to my surprise... it started up just fine with no issues. That's weird?! I didn't even use that procedure you just provided. I thought it wasn't supposed to do that? Again, it's working just fine.

In any case I'm STILL going to follow your procedure with a blank SSD and provide my results. Again, thank you for taking the time to help!

 

[kgp]

Also @kgp, I have a theory regarding your Sync All Cores stability issues. I was experiencing some as well whenever I would load up Adobe Lightroom when Sync All Cores was enabled. I know Lightroom is a big user of the AVX instruction set on the CPU and I also know SiliconLottery (the CPU binning/delidding service) will always put its AVX offset figure on its recommended overclocks. Since Sync All Cores is essentially an overclock on all non-turbo boosted cores, it's likely that the stability issues comes in whenever a piece of AVX code is run. Silicon Lottery uses a AVX offset of 3 and AVX512 offset of 5. Since I started using those offsets in the BIOS, Sync All Cores is 100% stable for me (we are an hour in here - but previously I could barely make 1 minute while using Adobe Lightroom). Please try and let me know.

Works No further reboots with the i9-7980XE and CPU Core Ratio set to Sync All Cores

 

[ppffffpp]

Works No further reboots with the i9-7980XE and CPU Core Ratio set to Sync All Cores

So glad I could contribute something helpful for once.

 

[eiriasemrys]

Works No further reboots with the i9-7980XE and CPU Core Ratio set to Sync All Cores

How does one set the AVX ratio values on the ASUS Deluxe, mine is stuck at auto for both?

 

[kgp]

How does one set the AVX ratio values on the ASUS Deluxe, mine is stuck at auto for both?

Just manually enter the appropriate values with the keyboard..

 

[eiriasemrys]

Thanks guys!

First off, thanks to all that have contributed here and for KGPs work in creating a detailed and instructive guide. This is the 4th hack I've built, and I learned the most about why and how things work with this guide, so thanks again for taking the time to do a little teaching and explaining about what's going on behind the scenes of some of these patches, kexts, etc.

I have a stable system running these components:

ASUS Prime X299 Deluxe (Newest Firmware)
i9 7980XE (Sync all cores, w/ AVX offsets)
NVMe Sys. Drive.
32 GB 3000mhz ram
GTX 970 (For testing, replacing with Titan X tomorrow)

I ran a Geekbench before I enabled all cores and got a multicore "43926" and after enabling sync all cores, received a "50081."

From KGP's benchmarks, I am wondering why mine are so much lower... Any insight or tips on what I should be investigating or studying up on, would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[prunzi]

Buddy I told you that before you run your prime95 test...

Hi.. I tried to launch but it crashes always (MacOS13.1)