i9-10900k + Z590i + 6900 XT - Monterey and MacPro7,1?

[stiligFox]

Hello all!

I finally have my build put together enough that I'm ready to get the last few things settled. I want to see if I can get a little assistance making sure I have everything set up right!

I have:

Intel Core i9-10900k
AMD Sapphire 6900 XT Reference
2x32GB G.skill RAM
Samsung 970 Evo + 1TB NVMe SSD
MSI Z590i MEG Unify

@Leesureone graciously provided their EFI for setting up the board so that Thunderbolt 4 Hot Plug will work, but I was hoping for a bit more suggestions.

I have it currently set up for iMac20,2 in OpenCore, but I don't have working DRM, which I would like very much. I'd like to use MacPro7,1 as that would get me working DRM.

My questions are, and @Leesureone I would love any input you have, as I noticed from your EFI Folder that you have the same model number, is what would I need to change from my iMac20,2 configuration?

I'm assuming I would need to:

• Disable iGPU
• Remove the iGPU Framebuffer from config.plist

From there:

• As I have a i9-10900k that very closely matches the iMac20,2, will I need CPUFriend since I'm using a different SMBIOS?
  • I'm assuming that I would, as the i9-10900k is considerably different than the Xeon processors the Mac Pro uses. Or will macOS still see and give it the proper power management values as it would with the iMac20,2 definition?
• To enable Thunderbolt Hot Plug 4 support, which files will I need to add?
  • For this, I see there are some SSDT files, SSDT-TB3HP. Is that all I need to add?
  • On that note, I see SSDT-DTPG, SBUS-MCHC, and UIAC. What are these for, if I may ask?
• Will I see any performance loss using the MacPro7,1 SMBIOS? I don't need QuickSync for the work I do, which is why I don't care if it's not functioning. I'd much prefer the MacPro7,1 definition over iMacPro1,1, for cosmetic reasons.
• Will I need to redo my USB Map?

Thank you so very much for all the help! I'm so very close to having this build complete, and I think this is all that I'm missing to get it all neat and tidy.

 

[Leesureone]

Hello all!

I finally have my build put together enough that I'm ready to get the last few things settled. I want to see if I can get a little assistance making sure I have everything set up right!

I have:

Intel Core i9-10900k
AMD Sapphire 6900 XT Reference
2x32GB G.skill RAM
Samsung 970 Evo + 1TB NVMe SSD
MSI Z590i MEG Unify

@Leesureone graciously provided their EFI for setting up the board so that Thunderbolt 4 Hot Plug will work, but I was hoping for a bit more suggestions.

I have it currently set up for iMac20,2 in OpenCore, but I don't have working DRM, which I would like very much. I'd like to use MacPro7,1 as that would get me working DRM.

My questions are, and @Leesureone I would love any input you have, as I noticed from your EFI Folder that you have the same model number, is what would I need to change from my iMac20,2 configuration?

I'm assuming I would need to:

• Disable iGPU
• Remove the iGPU Framebuffer from config.plist

Hey. I assume you mean disabling the iGPU in the bios, if you do that then the any reference to it in the config.plist doesn't make sense so yes to both. I think with that CPU though I would stay with the iMac20,2 Symbios, a better match overall

From there:

• As I have a i9-10900k that very closely matches the iMac20,2, will I need CPUFriend since I'm using a different SMBIOS?
  • I'm assuming that I would, as the i9-10900k is considerably different than the Xeon processors the Mac Pro uses. Or will macOS still see and give it the proper power management values as it would with the iMac20,2 definition?

I don't think you need CPUFriend with a 10th generation processor being it is better supported but with Rocket Lake CPUs its often recommended. If you decide to go that route you also need the corresponding CPUFriendDataProvider.kext to define operating frequencies or else the kext by itself does nothing. It takes a bit of work to get that kext configured and I'm not sure you will benefit from the exercise. Again nothing wrong running iMac20,2.

CPUFriend/Instructions.md at master · acidanthera/CPUFriend

Dynamic macOS CPU power management data injection. Contribute to acidanthera/CPUFriend development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

• https://github.com/acidanthera/CPUFriend/blob/master/Instructions.mdTo enable Thunderbolt Hot Plug 4 support, which files will I need to add?
  • For this, I see there are some SSDT files, SSDT-TB3HP. Is that all I need to add?

I believe you also need SSDT-DTPG.aml to jump start the thunderbolt ssd.

• • On that note, I see SSDT-DTPG, SBUS-MCHC, and UIAC. What are these for, if I may ask?

Dortania has a good explanation for most SSDTs as part of the ACPI section of the install guide.

Fixing SMBus support (SSDT-SBUS-MCHC) | Getting Started With ACPI

UAIC was an attempt at mapping USBPorts that is not being used

• Will I see any performance loss using the MacPro7,1 SMBIOS? I don't need QuickSync for the work I do, which is why I don't care if it's not functioning. I'd much prefer the MacPro7,1 definition over iMacPro1,1, for cosmetic reasons.

Probably not but you can always test the differences and see, I think possible video decoding will be faster taking advantage of the iGPU.

• Will I need to redo my USB Map?

No, it shouldn't make any difference

Thank you so very much for all the help! I'm so very close to having this build complete, and I think this is all that I'm missing to get it all neat and tidy.

Hope that helps

 

[stiligFox]

Hey. I assume you mean disabling the iGPU in the bios, if you do that then the any reference to it in the config.plist doesn't make sense so yes to both. I think with that CPU though I would stay with the iMac20,2 Symbios, a better match overall


I don't think you need CPUFriend with a 10th generation processor being it is better supported but with Rocket Lake CPUs its often recommended. If you decide to go that route you also need the corresponding CPUFriendDataProvider.kext to define operating frequencies or else the kext by itself does nothing. It takes a bit of work to get that kext configured and I'm not sure you will benefit from the exercise. Again nothing wrong running iMac20,2.

CPUFriend/Instructions.md at master · acidanthera/CPUFriend

Dynamic macOS CPU power management data injection. Contribute to acidanthera/CPUFriend development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

I believe you also need SSDT-DTPG.aml to jump start the thunderbolt ssd.


Dortania has a good explanation for most SSDTs as part of the ACPI section of the install guide.

Fixing SMBus support (SSDT-SBUS-MCHC) | Getting Started With ACPI

UAIC was an attempt at mapping USBPorts that is not being used


Probably not but you can always test the differences and see, I think possible video decoding will be faster taking advantage of the iGPU.



No, it shouldn't make any difference

Hope that helps

Thank you for the detailed reply!

I'm actually quite happy with the iMac20,2 definition, but the main reason I want to go to MacPro7,1 is for DRM - right now I can't play certain types of Apple Music, and AirPlay 2 is quite broken. I also can't play any kind of DRM movies and it's rather frustrating - I've heard the only option to fix those currently is to go with a MacPro or iMacPro SMBIOS to remove the iGPU.

I'll see what I can do, thank you very much!

 

[Leesureone]

Thank you for the detailed reply!

I'm actually quite happy with the iMac20,2 definition, but the main reason I want to go to MacPro7,1 is for DRM - right now I can't play certain types of Apple Music, and AirPlay 2 is quite broken. I also can't play any kind of DRM movies and it's rather frustrating - I've heard the only option to fix those currently is to go with a MacPro or iMacPro SMBIOS to remove the iGPU.

I'll see what I can do, thank you very much!

Try adding the boot argument shikigva=80
Below is a snippet from the guide to Lilu and Plugins, the section on DRM is way at the end of the post.

An iDiot's Guide To Lilu and its Plug-ins

An iDiot's Guide To Lilu and its Plug-in's Last Update: 22nd Jan 2021 (Add note about OpenCore config.plist modifications) About this Guide Note: This guide was written when Clover was the boot loader of choice as such the config.plist examples in this guide are mostley Clover specific ... if...

www.tonymacx86.com

Update 17th May 2020

After updating to Lilu version 1.4.4 and WEG 1.3.9 and using the shikigva=80 boot argument on my desktop system (Haswell i7 4790K CPU / Vega 64 GPU), I can now play NetFlix DRM protected content in Safari in HD perfectly so it looks like more progress has been made by the acidanthera team on this. Amazon Prime Video still does not work and displays an error message. From the release notes it looks like Lilu version 1.4.4 and WEG 1.3.9 solves the crashing issue when using the DRM fixes in-conjunction with AMD Polaris based GPU's. Unfortunately I dont own a Polaris based GPU so i am unable to test to confirm.

 

[stiligFox]

Try adding the boot argument shikigva=80
Below is a snippet from the guide to Lilu and Plugins, the section on DRM is way at the end of the post.

An iDiot's Guide To Lilu and its Plug-ins

An iDiot's Guide To Lilu and its Plug-in's Last Update: 22nd Jan 2021 (Add note about OpenCore config.plist modifications) About this Guide Note: This guide was written when Clover was the boot loader of choice as such the config.plist examples in this guide are mostley Clover specific ... if...

www.tonymacx86.com

Update 17th May 2020

After updating to Lilu version 1.4.4 and WEG 1.3.9 and using the shikigva=80 boot argument on my desktop system (Haswell i7 4790K CPU / Vega 64 GPU), I can now play NetFlix DRM protected content in Safari in HD perfectly so it looks like more progress has been made by the acidanthera team on this. Amazon Prime Video still does not work and displays an error message. From the release notes it looks like Lilu version 1.4.4 and WEG 1.3.9 solves the crashing issue when using the DRM fixes in-conjunction with AMD Polaris based GPU's. Unfortunately I dont own a Polaris based GPU so i am unable to test to confirm.

Thank you! Sadly this no longer works in Big Sur and Monterey. I did have good luck converting to the Mac Pro SMBIOS definition! And all my DRM stuff works perfectly! Thank you for the help Now all that's left is to test the Thunderbolt ports. Cheers!

 

[coss]

Hello stiligFox!
I have the same hardware configuration. The current setting in opencore is iMac Pro1,1. But it cannot be loaded to the installation interface when I set it to iMac20,2, no matter how I adjust it. The errors encountered are also various, and I cannot fix it. Can you share the EFI configured on your iMac20,2? grateful!

 

[stiligFox]

Hello stiligFox!
I have the same hardware configuration. The current setting in opencore is iMac Pro1,1. But it cannot be loaded to the installation interface when I set it to iMac20,2, no matter how I adjust it. The errors encountered are also various, and I cannot fix it. Can you share the EFI configured on your iMac20,2? grateful!

Hey there! Sorry for the late reply, but here is the EFI you were looking for! Keep in mind, this is specific to this build and motherboard. I can't promise it'll work at all in your build. I see you have the same exact components so it should work pretty much right out of the box for you, except that DRM videos and Lossless/Dolby Apple Music won't work either.

I have also expunged my serial and other identifying data.

 

[gaoguansqz]

Hello，Thunderbolt 4 with Hot Plug Working？

 

[stiligFox]

Hello，Thunderbolt 4 with Hot Plug Working？

I can’t confirm as I don’t have any Thunderbolt devices yet, I apologize! As soon as I do, I’ll let you know

 

[coss]

Hey there! Sorry for the late reply, but here is the EFI you were looking for! Keep in mind, this is specific to this build and motherboard. I can't promise it'll work at all in your build. I see you have the same exact components so it should work pretty much right out of the box for you, except that DRM videos and Lossless/Dolby Apple Music won't work either.

I have also expunged my serial and other identifying data.

Thank you very much for your EFI folder. I installed iMac20,2 system before, which is restarted from time to time. My PC can work normally after replacing your EFI, I think it should be the problem of Intel UHD graphics 630. But I can't recognize thunderbolt 4, is there something wrong with my settings?