pastrychef's Asus ROG Strix Z370-G Gaming (WI-FI AC) build w/ i9-9900K + AMD 6600 XT

[pastrychef]

Here's a strong reason for always staying up to date...

Apple explains upgrade vs update and how old versions of macOS don't always get all know flaws patched.

Apple clarifies security update policy: Only the latest OSes are fully patched

New document confirms what security researchers have observed for a few years.

arstechnica.com

 

[hannibal1969]

Pastry may I say a big thank you for supporting this hardware configuration for about 5 years! I think it's time to update my system because my VEGA 64 is becoming somewhat slow in Windows gaming. Do you already support a newer up to date platform (AMD ryzen?) or what do you advise to look for? I can also limit my update to an upgrade of the VEGA 64 to a 6900XT which is becoming affordable right now. I already have the i9 9900K over the i7 8700k and 64GB RAM. Can you advise me something to look for?

 

[trs96]

Do you already support a newer up to date platform (AMD ryzen?)

Here's a quote from @pastrychef August 27th in this thread:

I have never even touched a system with anything beyond Coffee Lake. I had no interest in any of it since Apple announced their transition to Apple Silicon. I just know that my M1 Max feels considerably faster than my Coffee Lake systems. I don't care if Intel or AMD releases CPUs several magnitudes faster than Apple Silicon, if I can't run macOS, it means nothing to me. The super fast boot times are also nice.

The only way you can be 100% certain to have macOS support past Ventura is to buy an Apple Si Mac. Apple may still offer support for Intel in macOS 14 next year but after that, it doesn't look promising. All the Apple Silicon Macs will have been released by next Fall and they want Apple Mac owners to upgrade their older Macs to them. If being on the latest macOS release isn't important to you, then yes, you can do another newer Hackintosh build and keep using Monterey or Ventura for 2-3 years.

 

[pastrychef]

Pastry may I say a big thank you for supporting this hardware configuration for about 5 years! I think it's time to update my system because my VEGA 64 is becoming somewhat slow in Windows gaming. Do you already support a newer up to date platform (AMD ryzen?) or what do you advise to look for? I can also limit my update to an upgrade of the VEGA 64 to a 6900XT which is becoming affordable right now. I already have the i9 9900K over the i7 8700k and 64GB RAM. Can you advise me something to look for?

As trs96 stated, my hackintosh journey ended with Coffee Lake.

If you want to squeeze a few more years out of your current system, upgrading the video card to a 6900 XT should improve the gaming experience in Windows A LOT. Even the 6600 XT I got was considerably faster than my old Vega while running much cooler and sucking down much less power.

If macOS is important to you, I'd look towards a new Mac. The Apple Silicon SoCs are really amazing. Although Apple gouges customers with their RAM and storage pricing, I think the current Mac lineup still offers pretty good value when configured well. Going to Raptor Lake would require purchasing new motherboard, CPU, DDR5, and maybe a new PSU and case. By the time you are done, you won't be far off from a pretty well specced Mac Studio.

If you do decide to go with a real Mac and wish to continue being able to game in Windows, you'd be well served by keeping your current system around. While nowhere near as powerful as the newest hardware, the i9-9900K is still quite capable.

 

[hannibal1969]

Thanks supers! I will just go to a 6900XT /6800XT and a new case / cooler then. I need macOS but also Parallels VMs with X86 (vTPM) for my work environment. That's for me the deal breaker to go to Apple Silicon. I also like to game sometimes in windows. So a X86 system is still a requirement. Any risks to buy a 6900XT / 6800XT will they supported natively in Ventura?

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks supers! I will just go to a 6900XT /6800XT and a new case / cooler then. I need macOS but also Parallels VMs with X86 (vTPM) for my work environment. That's for me the deal breaker to go to Apple Silicon. I also like to game sometimes in windows. So a X86 system is still a requirement. Any risks to buy a 6900XT / 6800XT will they supported natively in Ventura?

Some models of 6800/6900 XTs may need device-id spoofing. There's no way to tell whether the card you get will need the spoofing or not...

Please see the following thread for more info:

[Success] AMD RX6000 Series working in macOS

Just got the card in the mail this morning. It is replacing a 5700 XT which was working fine on Big Sur, OpenCore 63. The rest of my system: I7-8086k MSI Z370I The last system log shows a « PerfPowerService » error, unauthorized client on AMDRadeonX6000_AmdGpuWrangler in the pci-bridge@0...

www.tonymacx86.com

Besides that, you will also need to add the "agdpmod=pikera" boot-arg.

What sorts of VMs do you run? I have Windows 11 and Ubuntu VMs set up on my Mac Studio using UTM (open source). I haven't used the Windows 11 VM since I set it up, but the Ubuntu VM runs really well on Apple Silicon.

It's even possible to install macOS in a VM with UTM.

Install macOS Ventura Beta in a Virtual Machine on an M1 or M2 Mac with UTM - The Mac Security Blog

If you want to try out the beta of macOS Ventura, but don't have a spare disk, use the free UTM to create a virtual machine.

www.intego.com

 

[hannibal1969]

What sorts of VMs do you run? I have Windows 11 and Ubuntu VMs set up on my Mac Studio using UTM (open source). I haven't used the Windows 11 VM since I set it up, but the Ubuntu VM runs really well on Apple Silicon.

Thanks,

I do need bit locker with vTPM. It's a requirement to work for my company. We need VPN connection (Pulse) and this client will check if the VM is compliant. UTM is indeed very interesting but I doubt it support vTPM as parallels does (on X86) on ARM its not support anyway I thought.

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks,

I do need bit locker with vTPM. It's a requirement to work for my company. We need VPN connection (Pulse) and this client will check if the VM is compliant. UTM is indeed very interesting but I doubt it support vTPM as parallels does (on X86) on ARM its not support anyway I thought.

Ah. I'm not sure about TPM on UTM. Never looked in to it...

 

[NZRichard]

Z370 should not be a bottle neck ... I think the 6600 XT pairs very nicely with it.

Sounds good.

Which boot args/other settings worked best for the Z370-G + AMD RX 6600 XT system?

TIA

 

[pastrychef]

Sounds good.

Which boot args/other settings worked best for the Z370-G + AMD RX 6600 XT system?

TIA

Just add "agdpmod=pikera" (without the quotes).