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

[TheOfficialGypsy]

I have noticed that under Windows 10 Pro, Core 1 is running at maximum frequency no matter how long I let the system idle.
All the other cores / threads are at idle frequency except Core 1 Thread 2, is this normal?
I have tried using default bios settings, various windows power plans all with no luck.
Does anyone else experience this?

 

[canyondust]

built an air-cooled 7800x + X299 Deluxe based on this guide. Was very straight forward.

 

[poshook]

great, installation working great, however when I try to create account in the setup procedure, reboot occurs everytime. after reboot the setup procedure starts again and creating account will cause the reboot again. what is wrong?

 

[maffel]

Does anyone have any success with a Gigabyte Aurus Gaming 3 and a 7820x? I get through the first part of installation just fine but the second part gets stuck with the error right after Nvidia graphics driver startup:
Kextd stall[0], (240s): 'AppleACPICPU'

Never mind, silly me who thought you could put the kexts in the 10.13 folder. All kexts should be in Other folder.

 

[Bagi1992]

Not so sure that generalization about other processors holds true, KGP. I've actually found the i7-7820x to be not particularly stable with the ASUS multicore enhancement. Subject to frequent random restarts in particular. Those problem resolved with disabling the feature.

Neverheless, a big thank you for all your hard work on this project. Really amazingly detailed guide.

My i7-7820X is rock solid, I had only 2 random reboots under video editing, but nothing more. I know 2 random reboots are more than 0, but I think on this new platform it is acceptable. And yes, my Multicore enhancement is enabled!

 

[braindeadmac]

My i7-7820X is rock solid, I had only 2 random reboots under video editing, but nothing more. I know 2 random reboots are more than 0, but I think on this new platform it is acceptable. And yes, my Multicore enhancement is enabled!

Well it's certainly plausible that I have a marginal chip. It doesn't seem to overlock worth a darn so far, although I haven't spent much time with it yet...mainly focusing on getting a stable system. With Multicore and Sync all cores enabled, I would get random reboots with even mouse clicks at stock speeds. With Multicore only enabled, random reboots occur less frequently, but reliably when I'm in Photoshop, opening or (augh!) saving files.

 

[braindeadmac]

Hey BrainDead, long time no talk! I was just posting my issue and was inquiring about what KGP's "stability issues" were, when I saw your post and it looks like you're suffering with the same issue I am. Mind you I don't have any kind of Multicore functionality enabled (at least I don't think I do). I'll have to check with the guy I'm teamed up with helping me with my install process. You too also have the same GPU - Good for you. I have two, because I'm running 3 x 28" monitors and you need two in order for three to work. All 3 monitors do work though; which is something that I needed.

I'm kind of regretting getting the AORUS 9 board (like KGP did), but (again) it seems like you faced the same issue, but now it's corrected since you disabled it. I wonder what is causing it on my end. That's why I gave up on my SuperMicro X9DAi Dual 2697 v2 CPU setup, because it just randomly just kept freezing up every 1 to 2 hours for no reason. I hope there is a resolve to this or might just have to get the Asus Prime Deluxe and EK Monoblock. Man, having to pack up and resell the AORUS 9 and Monoblock in order to get another one.

Hey ImaPirate! Once I disabled the ASUS Multicore enhancement and Sync All Cores options, my stabilty issues are entirely resolved. My particular chip doesn't seem to like overclocks at all, although I haven't delidded yet. So here I am in 2017 with roughly the same Geekbench scores that I had in 2013 with my 'Deep Thought' EVGA SR-2 build--granted it uses 1/3 the electricity and costs about 1/3 as much. However, the ASUS Deluxe X-299 is much, much better than that experience. Power management, sleep, build in USB and SATA just works.

 

[microstudiodan]

What MB is better to setup ? gigabyte x299 ud4 or asus prime delux or prime A?
I think if I need ''sync all core'' for a good mac? I have allready a GA x299 ud4 but i can change with asus x299 prime A. Or is better x299 prime delux? I don't make overcloking

 

[kgp]

When you mention "stability issues," what are you specifically referring to? Is it freezing up (or is something else happening) on your system when your BIOS functionality is Enabled? Do you face those stability issues even when it's Disabled and running at stock speeds? I say this because I face restarting issues; that's when the system just restarts for no reason. Is there something that I should enable or disable? Let me know what you can, thanks.

I did enable the Multicore enhancement, but it quickly restarted twice after about 5 minutes of use. I disabled it and it worked fine (well sort of); still restarts after 2 hours of use. Mind you I'm still using HS Beta and waiting to install the full version of HS.

On a side note, I better understand how you feel KGP, where (on the other Hackintosh site) you said: "I feel extremely stupid of having returned my ASUS X299 Prime Deluxe!" "The ASUS PRIME X299 DELUXE is amazing and I returned it because of this promising but misleading thread!" Well now you get to sing it's praises and as I'm going through the same thing that you went through. Oh well, at least it's cheaper than a brand new Apple that is twice as slow and costs twice as much.

Well, everything works flawless under 10.13 SU with the ASUS Prime X299 Deluxe and the i9-7980XE, as long I do not enable the multi core enhancement BIOS feature. With the latter BIOS feature enabled, my system would reboot just a few moments after login. However, under 10.12.6 there are absolutely no issues even with the multi core enhancement enabled and the Geekbench score boost is tremendous, i.e. 51.000 (disabled) vs. 58.000 (enabled)! Nevertheless, with the i7-7800X, I could use the multi core enhancement also under 10.13 even before SU. Give time to the mainboard developers and also to Apple to fix remaining issues.

In any case, with the multi-core enhancement disabled, your system should work flawless and absolutely stable... If you still face reboots, something else might go wrong... The reason might be one of the 10.13 beta versions your are still using, but I doubt that the latter is really the cause.... Although within this beta version you will not have for e.g. native XHC USB support in any case. Thus a board-specific XHC USB Kext might still be mandatory for XHC USB2.0 and 3.0 functionality.

Also the Skylake-X and XCPM support dramatically improved within 10.13 SU for many Skylake-X processors. E.g., the i9-7900 or the i7-7820X do not require anymore any kind of aml stepping, everything is already natively implemented.

I am indeed very happy with the ASUS Prime X299 Deluxe...

I think we can be proud and totally satisfied with what we reached so far! At least my build behaves absolutely stable and works flawless with respect to my personal requirements and expectations. I still would like to improve some minor issues, the multi-core enhancement functionality with the i9-7980XE under 10.13 would be one of those... Full sleep/wake functionality also with the TB EX 3 is another thing I am currently aiming at and latest results are indeed very promising.

 

[kgp]

Hey punk! Once I disabled the ASUS Multicore enhancement and Sync All Cores options, my stabilty issues are entirely resolved. My particular chip doesn't seem to like overclocks at all, although I haven't delidded yet. So here I am in 2017 with roughly the same Geekbench scores that I had in 2013 with my 'Deep Thought' EVGA SR-2 build--granted it uses 1/3 the electricity and costs about 1/3 as much. However, the ASUS Deluxe X-299 is much, much better than that experience. Power management, sleep, build in USB and SATA just works.

I totally agree that Skylake-X/X299 only becomes unbeatable when using CPU's with more than 10 cores. Even with my i7-6950X 10 core Broadwell-E and ASUS X99-A II, my Geekbench cores are well above the 40.000... Nevertheless, a top-end Broadwell-E/EP (Haswell-E/EP)/X99 build might not be much cheaper than any comparable Skylake-X/X299 system.

I would say that within both builds and guides, I reached equal system sophistication and stability. However, concerning native system implementation, Skylake-X/X299 might become totally unbeatable within the upcoming 10.13 releases, and certainly supersedes already now any X99 system.