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

[prunzi]

Sorry that I answer lately but I am very busy at the moment.
What I personally like more is, that everything that was done wrong by Asus,
like the whole VRM overheating story for example was fixed from the beginning on.
Also GIGABYTE never had that hole microcode bugs which had bad behavior with AUDIO Production Software,
so to me this was also one point where I thought ok, they don't give a damn about the users like ASUS does,
@kgp and myself was a long time in contact with ASUS to tell them whats going wrong and how its possible fix this...
Overclocking works also much better with the Gigabyte Board and also cooler.
I hate to use extra cards for Thunderbolt or anything else,
so the 2 Onboard Thunderbolt 3 ports are just perfect for my needs.

There is nothing I could talk about what I don't like with the Designare.
My personal opinion is that its the better motherboard in comparison with the ASUS but its a matter of taste.

Well... I completely share your point of view ho having less "rework" on the system and concentrate to other questions.
My I also ask you 3 more questions?

1) if the 2 TB3 onboard ports worked out-of the box installing MACOS and configuring your rig as IMacPro, or did you had to do some other kind of configuration trough Microsoft Windows programs, before installing MacOS?
2) did you made special "changes" to the KGP ImacPro EFI to let your system works, or just followed the guide ?
I ask this because I'm not very deep in the system knowledge, so just "applying KGP guide/instructions" worked everytime perfectly for me, but I definitively have not knowledge enough to make "experiments" or educated guesses.
3) Do you use Sata or NVMe SSD as your primary boot device with MacOS? and what are on average your booting times?Many thank's in advance for Your kind answer....

 

[kgp]

Well... I completely share your point of view ho having less "rework" on the system and concentrate to other questions.
My I also ask you 3 more questions?

1) if the 2 TB3 onboard ports worked out-of the box installing MACOS and configuring your rig as IMacPro, or did you had to do some other kind of configuration trough Microsoft Windows programs, before installing MacOS?
2) did you made special "changes" to the KGP ImacPro EFI to let your system works, or just followed the guide ?
I ask this because I'm not very deep in the system knowledge, so just "applying KGP guide/instructions" worked everytime perfectly for me, but I definitively have not knowledge enough to make "experiments" or educated guesses.
3) Do you use Sata or NVMe SSD as your primary boot device with MacOS? and what are on average your booting times?Many thank's in advance for Your kind answer....

Up to my knowledge, you just have to add the Gigabyte typical npci=0x2000 boot flag to successfully boot with the Designare EX and my basic EFI-Folder distribution. This already as been outlined just a few posts ago (see post #5598), but as usually, most people don't seem to follow or read the posts along this thread

Your remaining questions for sure will be answered directly by @DSM2.

Good luck,

KGP

 

[prunzi]

Up to my knowledge, you just have to add the Gigabyte typical npci=0x2000 boot flag to successfully boot with the Designare EX and my basic EFI-Folder distribution. This already as been outlined just a few posts ago (see post #5598), but as usually, most people don't seem to follow or read the posts along this thread

Your remaining questions for sure will be answered directly by @DSM2.

Good luck,

KGP

Thank's KGP... I diligently trie to read ALL YOUR post and guide modifications/enhancements, and some other people posts to (one example is DSM2), but -without wanting to be rude to anyone- most other people posts' are not "trustable" enough or do not give me enough confidence being right... so forgive me please when I ask ONLY to specific people ;-)).

 

[prunzi]

1) It depends on the Hardware which you use...
In my case I had to initialize the UAD first in Windows and afterwards it worked with MacOS.

2) I don't use @kgp 's EFI, but I did an Initial EFI which is based on the KGP EFI for others,
since there where people which could not get the Designare to work...
If you use ACPI replacement patches there will be some differences related to the different Mainboard hardware/different paths of the Hardware.

3) I use an NVMe SSD as primary boot device, boot times are something around 8-10 seconds, not more,
but I never stoped the time to be honest.

My i ask you wich modification you made to KGP EFI for let the designare x299 work?

 

[prunzi]

Again I don't use the EFI from KGP but its totally mandatory to use npci=0x2000 !
You will not be able to boot without it.
If you need an initial EFI which will work with the designare check this : #5353 or just add npci=0x2000 to the one from @kgp

Many, many thank's DSM2!!!
I was thinking to give a trie to the DESIGNARE X299... with this-your information I feel much much more comfortable!!!
BTW i also use (albeit only 1) VEGA 64 FE graphic card...so I guess it should boot without any problem.

Just another question to be sure to have understood well: I'll need to boot 1st time with windows, to configure the TB3 ports and then use your EFI or KGP EFI with npci=0x2000 and follow KGP guide to load MacOS? Is that all that is to care about?

 

[BoomR]

You can find a detailed change log along the thread! Sorry, but this must be really sufficient. It just requires that you fly over the individual posts, something that might offer additional information in any case.. .

I really cannot commit further efforts.

Current efforts already exceed by far my available time.

My guide development and support is for free.. I also have a real life apart ..

Thus mouth flying paradise grilled chicken support must be somewhat limited ..

Thanks for your comprehension,

KGP

Actually, to be fair, and according to the final set of instructions on the official build guide template, we do recommend that you include a change log as the last thing in your post:
"Finally, we recommend that you provide an edit/update log to help your fellow forum members note any changes and improvements to your system.
[e.g.] Update: I updated to the latest version of OS X and have updated this post with the results."

For example, on one of my builds, I swapped out the air-cooler for water cooling after a few montrhs. In addition to updating the hardware section, I also added a note similar to this:
Update 20Feb2017: Replacing Cooler Master air cooler with Corsair water cooling system - see updated hardware list for details.

Obviously too late to retro-fit this post with a change log, and we're very thankful that you've done the important part and updated all the technical descriptions in the main post. BUT... on your next "CustoMac Super-Computer" build, please consider adding this high-level snapshot of changes to the end of your post.

...and once again, thanks very much for such a great build & description!

 

[kgp]

Actually, to be fair, and according to the final set of instructions on the official build guide template, we do recommend that you include a change log as the last thing in your post:
"Finally, we recommend that you provide an edit/update log to help your fellow forum members note any changes and improvements to your system.
[e.g.] Update: I updated to the latest version of OS X and have updated this post with the results."

For example, on one of my builds, I swapped out the air-cooler for water cooling. In addition to updating the hardware section, I also added a note similar to this:
Update 20Feb2017: Replacing Cooler Master air cooler with Corsair water cooling system - see updated hardware list for details.

Obviously too late to retro-fit this post with a change log, and we're very thankful that you've done the important part and updated all the technical descriptions in the main post. BUT... on your next "CusoMac Super-Computer" build, consider adding this high-level snapshot of changes to the end of your post.

...and once again, thanks very much for such a great build & description!

If such change log also must cover software system configuration changes, I can still include such change log for future software system configuration updates. But it might unnecessarily extent and complicate the original post and exceed by far the amount of possible attachments, if one thinks e.g. only on the individual EFI-Folder distributions so far attached to the change log posts along my thread. This was also the main reason why I outlined so far all software system configuration changes in form of prominent posts along my thread.

There have not been any significant hardware changes for months. Basically, there was always a starter configuration and goal configuration clearly outlined at the beginning of my guide. The former has been removed once the goal configuration was reached.

Glad to know about your opinion in how to proceed..

Cheers,

KGP

 

[kubusikan]

After Months of silent following i'd like to say a big thank you @kgp for this comprehensive guide!
And also big thanks to all contributes to this and other threads on this forum!
I learned a lot about building a Hackintosh in a short time.

I'm using an Asrock X299E-ITX/ac, i7-7820X (delidded), EVGA Nvidia GTX 1060 SC Gaming (cooler modified) and an (Apple) BCM94360CS2 m.2 WiFi Card in a NCASE M1.
My main goal is a somewhat powerful system with a small footprint and reasonable thermals on air-cooling while using it for Lightroom and Premiere Pro.
I wasn't planning to do a Hackintosh build with this system so soon but using this guide it was quite easy to accomplish! Great!

The only thing that is not working are the four USB 3.1 Gen1 ports on the back. The reason might be that they are connected via an Asmedia Hub and not direct as the other USB-ports that are working.
Not sure about that as i haven't done any SSDT implementation yet (because the system is working quite nice and i'm kind of lazy). But i suspect that these non-functional ports won't be easy or even possible to implement.

Notes:
the MSR 0xE2 register is unlocked on this board but needs to be configured in BIOS under Advanced/CPU Configuration/CFG Lock
You might need to switch CPU C States Support from auto to manual to get this entry.

Another setting that took me some time to figure out is Processor Hot Modes (or something similar - not sure about the exact naming atm).
As per default this is set to a value that significantly reduces the frequency switching under MacOS.
In my case the CPU would sometimes "turbo" to different speeds under load but would not reach the max for the use case.
After setting this to output or disabled the CPU will consistently "turbo" to the max under e.g. Cinebench and use it's full allowed TDP.

I hope this longish post is ok, kgp?

1. Asrock x299e-itx motherboard
2. Intel 7820X chip
3. Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics.

Have tried all sorts of options and files with no success. Has anyone got something like this to work?

I'm using a very similar system that only differs by its GPU (Nvidia GTX 1060)

My advice would be to double check the BIOS settings and use a very basic set of options regarding the clover configuration.

Just use the files provided by kgp, fill in the correct SMBIOS values as outlined by kgp and leave everything else untouched.
This should give you a somewhat or even nice working system to start with.

To start, connect only one monitor using the lower display port connector. HDMI might work but i haven't tested this.
Having a second monitor or the first monitor connected via the DVI port gave me black screens and quite some headaches!
Only switching off the monitor did not help - so disconnect if apropriate.


I don't have access to my System or my notes at the moment but can provide further information this weekend if needed.

Note: I started my build some weeks ago with the iMac 17,1 system definition and changed to iMac Pro 1,1 later, so i can't comment on the recent way to install the system. I haven't tried it, that is.

 

[BoomR]

If such change log also must cover software system configuration changes, I can still include such change log for future software system configuration updates. But it might unnecessarily extent and complicate the original post and exceed by far the amount of possible attachments, if one thinks e.g. only on the individual EFI-Folder distributions so far attached to the change log posts along my thread. This was also the main reason why I outlined so far all software system configuration changes in form of prominent posts along my thread.

There have not been any significant hardware changes for months. Basically, there was always a starter configuration and goal configuration clearly outlined at the beginning of my guide. The former has been removed once the goal configuration was reached.

Glad to know about your opinion in how to proceed..

Cheers,

KGP

I think it's more of a philosophy difference (and maybe a cultural one, too?) - My company often time uses the acronym "BLOT" - Bottom Line On Top: Give me all the info I need to make a decision as an executive brief first, and then we can dig into the details & go "into the weeds" as we say, to learn more about why. So by putting a change log at the bottom of your post, readers can get a high-level snapshot of changes as this build has evolved.

"Changes" meaning significant hardware, UEFI/BIOS, kexts used/not used, important config.plist changes, updates driven by macOS or Clover updates, etc. etc. And it's just a sentence at most of what's changed... As far as the attachments are concern, this isn't an "archive" of every version over the history. Just do what you have already done - always keep the attachments the most current version matching the updated state of your system.

Certainly keep the in-line updates, because that's the place where we want to see the details of what change, why, and benefit of the change, etc. But also nice to see that high-level summary "snapshot" of how your build and the tweaking has evolved. For what it's worth... consider for NEXT time, my friend...we are "all good here!"

 

[rushstrike]

My i9-7900x can only hit turbo 2.0 frequency (4.3 Ghz) but in windows it can hit 4.5Ghz turbo 3.0 frequency? Any tips on which settings i should check at?

Nevermind I just didn't load my CPU high enough to see the turbo 3.0 kick in on the Mac OS side.