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

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@mm2margaret I tried everything out there already. The initial problem with my Vega 64 Gaming OC was that the fans spin up a minute after boot without any load. I then got rid of that issue by updating the cards BIOS to the latest version from Windows. The card remained silent from then. However, when putting it under load, fans do spin up and then fail to spin down. The often mentioned workaround of opening a video file to get the fans to spin down doesn't work on my card. Only a reboot works.

I also tried the VGTab-App with numerous settings. But never had any luck with it. It either resulted in the fans not turning on at all (= crash due to overheating) or the fans spinning up as usual and never spinning down again. Might be that I am just using it wrong tho.

The LowFanSpeed Kext I sourced from this topic (page #801) so far has been the only solution that managed to get my fans to spin down after load. However, as mentioned in my last message, only one fan of the two fans spins up which results in the card getting pretty hot and the fans taking longer to spin down after load. The other fan stands completely still, not a single sign of movement.
 
@mm2margaret I tried everything out there already. The initial problem with my Vega 64 Gaming OC was that the fans spin up a minute after boot without any load. I then got rid of that issue by updating the cards BIOS to the latest version from Windows. The card remained silent from then. However, when putting it under load, fans do spin up and then fail to spin down. The often mentioned workaround of opening a video file to get the fans to spin down doesn't work on my card. Only a reboot works.

I also tried the VGTab-App with numerous settings. But never had any luck with it. It either resulted in the fans not turning on at all (= crash due to overheating) or the fans spinning up as usual and never spinning down again. Might be that I am just using it wrong tho.

The LowFanSpeed Kext I sourced from this topic (page #801) so far has been the only solution that managed to get my fans to spin down after load. However, as mentioned in my last message, only one fan of the two fans spins up which results in the card getting pretty hot and the fans taking longer to spin down after load. The other fan stands completely still, not a single sign of movement.

So, you can try this thread on insanelymac: https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/325120-vega-frontier-edition-on-high-sierra/. There are a bunch of Vega kext posts there. Maybe one will work for you.....

This problem of spin up and failing to spin down is common with the Vegas running on a Mac. I think even Stork mentioned that with a real iMac Pro the fans can get quite loud when pushed. My Vega did that too (not spinning down after getting hot), but after trying a few kexts, I finally found one that worked (although it still takes a long time to spin down - but it does eventually), and with the utility, I managed to produce one that works even better.

So to use VGA Tab, the utility i've been discussing, you can't use the complete aml that KGP has constructed. You have to exclude the section on the Vega, or it won't work. That suggest some kind of modularity must be accomplished. Maybe you can delete the Vega PP_PowerTable section, or you can adjust it so the PP_Power table is not used or does not affect the results. What I do is to use modular aml files, created for each individual section of the guide, as opposed to the "one aml to rule them all"....approach. The one aml file is not a bad thing, it's just a different approach, understand?

I've been told by many that this issue appears to be finally addressed in Mojave. Something to think about, as Mojave is not far around the bend, and will be released soon. @kgp has already started a thread. Maybe you should check it out!
 
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It should be lower than 120W if you let the display(s) sleep...
That’s what my UPS shows, the screen isn’t even plugged on the UPS.

BTW, my Bluetooth usb dongle works perfectly, I disabled the USB port attached to the built-in BT. haven’t tested with the Magic Trackpad as I don’t have it here.
Do you know if there’s a way to have both BT adapter working at the same time? So I would have the trackpad linked with the Broadcom BT card, and the headset with the USB dongle.

Found plenty of ways o switch between the two, but only one works at a time.
 
That’s what my UPS shows, the screen isn’t even plugged on the UPS.

BTW, my Bluetooth usb dongle works perfectly, I disabled the USB port attached to the built-in BT. haven’t tested with the Magic Trackpad as I don’t have it here.
Do you know if there’s a way to have both BT adapter working at the same time? So I would have the trackpad linked with the Broadcom BT card, and the headset with the USB dongle.

Found plenty of ways o switch between the two, but only one works at a time.

Hm that's odd...mine is bout 80-100W on the PSU on idle with monitors off. Which is the equivalent to about 3-4 low powered light bulbs. It must not cost more than $20-30 per month (USD) on my end for idle.

Yeah the USB dongle will work better than onboard BT modules, including OSXWIFI (from my personal experience).

The downside is you cannot use that USB dongle with a wireless trackpad/keyboard/mouse during BIOS, it has to boot into an OS first.

Unlike OSXWIFI, which lets you have access to BT in BIOS.

I don't think you can mix USB dongles and have a good time. If it shows up under Bluetooth in Sys Info then I guess it's probable that it's working?

I just personally had issues with OSXWIFI + BT USB Dongle. I was trying to use the BT USB dongle only for audio and OSXWIFI BT for other stuff (incl wifi).
 
Hi everyone,

Inspired by this thread and after spending sleepless nights deliberating the pros and cons (such as, why not just go with an EGPU for my thermal-throttled Macbook), I signed up here today. I just finished ordering a pile of components for my (hopefully) soon to be Hackintosh #2… my first one was a Dell PC in 2005 or so, which means that I'm a bit out of shape.

My initial build is supposed to look like this:
  • Intel Core i9-7940X [1068€]
  • Asus Prime X299 Deluxe [400€]
  • EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Gaming [800€]
  • Corsair Hydro Series H150i [166€]
  • G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB DDR4-2666 [311€]
  • BeQuiet! Dark Power Pro 11 850W [190€]
  • Samsung 960 Evo2 500GB SSD (taken from old Macbook) [0€]
  • Generic 1TB HDD (taken from old iMac) [0€]
  • Thermaltake Core V51 Enclosure [103€]
  • 4-pin fan cable extension cord [5€]
  • ABWB 802,11 AC WI-FI + Bluetooth 4.0 PCI-Express (PCI-E) BCM943602CS Combo Card [49€]
  • Aqua Computer 53230 HUBBY7 internal USB 2.0 Hub [24€]
  • Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse (taken from old iMac) [0€]
  • Apple 30" Cinema Display w/ DVI port (taken from old Mac) [0€]
  • OSX 10.13.6, latest build
(Running total: 3116€)

Now while I'm waiting for the deliveries, some stupid questions to begin with:
  1. Do the instructions in post #1 of this thread reflect the current state of the art, or are the subsequent 1002 forum pages considered mandatory reading in order to get all the updates?
  2. I briefly glossed over MultiBeast and UniBeast, and it seems that MultiBeast now incorporates some X299 specific changes in the latest version. Does this mean that one could do a successful 79xx/X299-based installation with UniBeast/MultiBeast as well?
  3. I have a SSD from a previous MacBook which contains a 10.13.6 installation as well as my apps. If possible, I would prefer not to install all apps from scratch again. Is it feasible to overwrite the EFI partition of the SSD with the EFI files/folders as described in Post #1, install the SSD as an internal drive, and install 10.13.6 from the USB boot drive over the preexisting SSD macOS partition (which should result in preserving my existing apps and data)? Or do I really have to format everything and start from scratch with an empty disk?
Thanks for your help!
 
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Hi everyone,

Inspired by this thread and after spending sleepless nights deliberating the pros and cons (such as, why not just go with an EGPU for my thermal-throttled Macbook), I signed up here today. I just finished ordering a pile of components for my (hopefully) soon to be Hackintosh #2… my first one was a Dell PC in 2005 or so, which means that I'm a bit out of shape.

My initial build is supposed to look like this:
  • Intel Core i9-7940X [1068€]
  • Asus Prime X299 Deluxe [400€]
  • EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti FTW3 Gaming [800€]

Nvidia support on Mac isn't going to. Make your life easy.
The guide in this thread does *not* use MultiBeast nor UniBeast. I recommend that you read the first post carefully, it's all there.

For your 3rd question, yes it's entirely possible (reusing the ssd)
 
Nvidia support on Mac isn't going to. Make your life easy.
The guide in this thread does *not* use multibeast nor unibeast. I recommend that you read the first post carefully, it's all there.
I'm having zero issues using the exact same Nvidia card he's planning on getting. Just don't update the OS right away when new updates come out. Wait until Nvidia releases updated drivers, which lately takes only a day or so.
 
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