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neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 project for OS X

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neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

Good choices Neil!

I will watch this thread how are you going on. Especially because I'm struggling with the installation of El Capitan on Skylake, I just upraged to z170-A, 6700K. GPUs are the same, 970s in SLi. I used the same gpu-s with i5 4690k and I was happy with it, everything worked fine under clover. But now, I can not even load the installer. Looks like I updated too soon probably :p Anyway, the power that delivers the DDR4 and the new i7 is awesome, if you edit videos you will sure experience the difference. And yes, you have to get your hands on those samsung pros. I'm a Kingston-HyperX fanboy, but I have to admit, these will rock the productivity off the limits. Hope we get some straight compatibility soon.


GL HF!

I am still in the purchasing phase of this project. I have the memory due mid week and the i7-6700T CPU due in early November.

I have been reading about the issues others are seeing when attempting to boot into OS X on the Skylake systems. This is to be expected when integrating new parts with a new OS.

Good modding,
neil
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

Hi!

Anybody know what wifi card the Z170I from Asus is using? Is it compatible with OSX?

The Z97I comes with the AzureWave AW-CE123H Wifi/BT which is supposedly supported by apple...

I am searching for a ITX board at the moment.
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

Hi!

Anybody know what wifi card the Z170I from Asus is using? Is it compatible with OSX?

The Z97I comes with the AzureWave AW-CE123H Wifi/BT which is supposedly supported by apple...

I am searching for a ITX board at the moment.


Of interest I have the AzureWave AW-CE123H and it is a good WiFi card., I don't use the BT function so have not paid any attention to that feature.

On the Z170I, here it is:

R1.jpg


I pulled the WiFi radio off the ASUS Z170I Pro Gaming motherboard and took the following photos;

R2.jpg


R3.jpg


R4.jpg


R5.jpg


R6.jpg


R7.jpg


Unfortunately at this point I do not know much more then before.

Good modding,
neil
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

Haha, great work - thanks

So, the code QCNFA364A leads me to an Atheros card. It is listed here:

https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Qualcomm_Atheros_QCNFA34AC

But also that doesn't make me any smarter...

Btw, have you tried to install a Hackintosh on it yet since the new OS X version came out a few days ago?
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

Ohh, and another question regarding both Z97 and Z170 of the ASUS ITX series. Does the on-board sound work? Since there are no free PCIe slots, one has no other options...
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

Ohh, and another question regarding both Z97 and Z170 of the ASUS ITX series. Does the on-board sound work? Since there are no free PCIe slots, one has no other options...

If you google it, you will find out that even with the latest el capitan update, skylake based mobos can't boot osx because of it has a lack of compatibility with sata and usb 3. You can install osx el capitan on skylake bases if you have a pci based bootable storage drive, and using usb 2.0.
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

If you google it, you will find out that even with the latest el capitan update, skylake based mobos can't boot osx because of it has a lack of compatibility with sata and usb 3. You can install osx el capitan on skylake bases if you have a pci based bootable storage drive, and using usb 2.0.

Hey gianni, that I am aware of. I am just wondering specifically about the sound cards - are the models compatible in general. The Z97 probably has been tested already and the Z170 might have the same chip...?
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

All, I am waiting for my CPU to arrive (an i7-6700T) before I can play in this pond.

Of interest, I am an ASUS fan and have the Maximus VII Impact booting from an XP941 and use this as my main workstation running Mavericks 10.9.5 by choice. I do have bootable partitions with Yosemite 10.10.5 and El Capitan 10.11.1 also. This is with an i7-4970K normally at 4 GHz. and sometimes with a mild OC.

However, I am gearing up to join the Skylake early adopters and see what is on the other side...

I have been building a bring up frame, as seen here:

A-1.jpg


The frame is made from MakerBeam parts, and owned parts with a new PSU. I will swap in the new ASUS motherboard when my memory and CPU arrive.


Good modding,
neil
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

Hey gianni, that I am aware of. I am just wondering specifically about the sound cards - are the models compatible in general. The Z97 probably has been tested already and the Z170 might have the same chip...?

Hey, yes, on my z170-A asus mobo, there's an alc 889 for ex. Audio chips does not changes that fast. But I allways recommended to use an external usb plugged sound card. If you are audiophile, 100% of coil whine elimination, and there are many compatible and supported with osx. Sometimes easier and more stable than hacking alc chips in to your osx, and also, double booting with windows can mess up these chips layout and states that are hard to reset or repair sometimes.
 
neilhart's Q4 - a Z170 mini-ITX project for OS X

I purchased an Intel Skylake i5-6500 CPU as I needed to be working on this system. The i7-6700T is on order and will arrive sometime…

So using the lead that ammulder has provided: see post # 2 http://www.tonymacx86.com/desktop-compatibility/176407-testing-thread-skylake-platform-os-x.html

I have the ASUS Z170I Pro Gaming up and running.

Window 10 Enterprise Eval - Using Win 10 I am able to confirm that all of the major functions of the system are functional. I have Win 10 installed on a small SSD which I can move into the system with ease when I need/want.

OS X - I have El Capitan 10.11.1 installed on two partitions of a Samsung SM951 AHCI m.2 card and boot UEFI mode from the /EFI partition using Clover v 3292.

HD530-7MB.jpg


While I am booting and running OS X El Capitan, it is far from a useable system.

I have a USB to PS2 adapter attached for a keyboard. I do not have a PS2 mouse solution.

So to have control of the system, I am using screen sharing. I am doing this with an Intel Pro 1000 quad port Ethernet card installed in the one PCIe slot. This works fairly well and is repeatable.

The means that I am using the on board Intel HD Graphics 530, in the non-accelerated mode, as I have not found a way to run accelerated.

There are many issues - sound almost works, Quick time and VLC video do not work however videos over Chrome and/or Safari do play but with out sound. The system hangs at boot if I use a FakeSMC that has the Hardware Monitor sensors included.

Using the “KILL A WATT” meter, the system idles at 31 watts and under Prime95 torture test runs at 83 watts. Again this is with the i5-6500 CPU.

Anyway I now have two bootable partitions, so I can continue to experiment with less risk of locking myself out.



Good modding,
neil
 
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