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

[golfleep]

Here's a video of a cold boot of my system (sorry for poor quality). I think that the trick is to make sure your monitor is fully awake before booting your computer. By "fully awake", I mean not in sleep mode.
https://vimeo.com/user49225627/review/307235168/184582832e


Here are my BIOS settings:
View attachment 373632 View attachment 373633


As previously stated, as of macOS 10.14.2, 9th gen CPU users need to spoof 8th gen ig-platform-id:
View attachment 373634

Thanks for the screenshots and the video, it looks like the option to set the primary graphics is also gone from your BIOS settings, so at least I know it's not specific to my BIOS settings. But it does seem like it's something specific to my setup because I don't seem to be able to get a POST display when multi-monitor is enabled (works fine when multi-monitor is disabled). Tried keeping the monitor powered up during POST per your suggestion, as well as a different GPU, without any success. I might try a BIOS refresh or rollback if I can't make any further progress.

I do have the 8th gen ig-platform-id spoofed per your initial setup post, the iGPU shows up as "Intel Graphics CFL" or something like that, and it does show up in the system info tab. Quicksync h.264 encoding is definitely enabled, and Intel Power Gadget shows appropriate ramp up/down of the IGFX.

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks for the screenshots and the video, it looks like the option to set the primary graphics is also gone from your BIOS settings, so at least I know it's not specific to my BIOS settings. But it does seem like it's something specific to my setup because I don't seem to be able to get a POST display when multi-monitor is enabled (works fine when multi-monitor is disabled). Tried keeping the monitor powered up during POST per your suggestion, as well as a different GPU, without any success. I might try a BIOS refresh or rollback if I can't make any further progress.

I do have the 8th gen ig-platform-id spoofed per your initial setup post, the iGPU shows up as "Intel Graphics CFL" or something like that, and it does show up in the system info tab. Quicksync h.264 encoding is definitely enabled, and Intel Power Gadget shows appropriate ramp up/down of the IGFX.

Hmm... I'm surprised you get "Intel Graphics CFL" without spoofing... I'll have to do a little testing on my end.

 

[eliyu]

I give your kext a shot...
Because my vgtab created kext for my vega eliminates coil whining but it seems, that my card is in failure mode now.

why do u think it is in failure mode?

 

[RumpelHumpel]

why do u think it is in failure mode?

Because when you use this command in terminal, to see temperatue, fan speed, core clock and so on, there are no values. Complete 0.

while sleep 1; do clear;ioreg -l |grep \"PerformanceStatistics\" | cut -d '{' -f 2 | tr '|' ',' | tr -d '}' | tr ',' '\n'|grep 'Temp\|Fan\|Clock'; done

The reason is/was that the power table doesn't fit to my card.
So I downloaded the original bios of my card and created with OverdriveNTool with the bios file my power table for my card.
In windows you can test it directly. You can "remount" your card without reboot with the tool and test if the values are ok or not.
When it's not ok the windows are stuttering when you move them

Now I have a core clock of 1474 Mhz on P6 and the coil whining is a lot more quiet!

I will test some more settings and I hope to eliminate the coil whining completely.

 

[Fordski]

Thanks for the screenshots and the video, it looks like the option to set the primary graphics is also gone from your BIOS settings, so at least I know it's not specific to my BIOS settings. But it does seem like it's something specific to my setup because I don't seem to be able to get a POST display when multi-monitor is enabled (works fine when multi-monitor is disabled). Tried keeping the monitor powered up during POST per your suggestion, as well as a different GPU, without any success. I might try a BIOS refresh or rollback if I can't make any further progress.

I do have the 8th gen ig-platform-id spoofed per your initial setup post, the iGPU shows up as "Intel Graphics CFL" or something like that, and it does show up in the system info tab. Quicksync h.264 encoding is definitely enabled, and Intel Power Gadget shows appropriate ramp up/down of the IGFX.

This may be a bit of a long shot for you, but I've discovered that my system only displays the bios post on boot up from 1 display port jack on my Sapphire 580. If I plug into the other jack I do not see the bios post similar to your experience. My equipment is different but thought I'd make the suggestion as a possibility...

 

[golfleep]

Hmm... I'm surprised you get "Intel Graphics CFL" without spoofing... I'll have to do a little testing on my end.

@pastrychef I believe I am spoofing the the 8th gen ig-platform-id, as I followed your instructions in order to enter the appropriate entries into the Devices/Properties. The iGPU does show up in IOreg with the appropriate device id. I was however, under the impression that it wasn't going to show up under system info, and I wasn't expecting it to be named Intel Graphics CFL, but rather something like HD 630.

This may be a bit of a long shot for you, but I've discovered that my system only displays the bios post on boot up from 1 display port jack on my Sapphire 580. If I plug into the other jack I do not see the bios post similar to your experience. My equipment is different but thought I'd make the suggestion as a possibility...

@Fordski Thanks for the suggesting, I'll definitely give it a try. I'm pretty puzzled as to what the issue is.

 

[pastrychef]

@pastrychef I believe I am spoofing the the 8th gen ig-platform-id, as I followed your instructions in order to enter the appropriate entries into the Devices/Properties. The iGPU does show up in IOreg with the appropriate device id. I was however, under the impression that it wasn't going to show up under system info, and I wasn't expecting it to be named Intel Graphics CFL, but rather something like HD 630.

Ah. Yes, typically, it shouldn't show up in System Information, but for some odd reason, it is showing in this instance. I know that the ig-platform-id I'm using is headless so I'm assuming it's just an error with System Information. When I had my i7-8700K, it was also listed as "Intel Graphics CFL".

 

[golfleep]

Ah. Yes, typically, it shouldn't show up in System Information, but for some odd reason, it is showing in this instance. I know that the ig-platform-id I'm using is headless so I'm assuming it's just an error with System Information. When I had my i7-8700K, it was also listed as "Intel Graphics CFL".

Just in case it's useful information to someone, I was able to resolve my issue ultimately by rolling back the Asus BIOS from the most recent version to a previous version (for my Maximus X Hero, it mean rolling back from BIOS 1704 to 1602). Technically, the previous BIOS is no longer approved for the 9th gen Intel processors like the 9900K, but it was the initial BIOS to support the 9th gen processors, so I figure it was worth a shot.

Once I rolled back the BIOS, the ability to select a primary display re-appeared, and once I was able to set the primary display, my issues with not being able to see POST and enter BIOS were resolved. Also, my internal graphics now no longer shows up in system information, which is the correct setup for a headless configuration. In IOReg, the iGPU is properly configured under a headless platform-id as outlined by @pastrychef and h.264 and HEVC hardware encoding/decoding is working perfectly.

So my issues seem to have resulted from Asus's unfortunate decision to remove the primary display option from the current BIOS. I can't seem to find any issues with running an older BIOS, even though it's no longer the recommended BIOS. Hopefully Asus will bring back the primary display option in future BIOS updates. Interestingly, my system agent shows up as Kaby Lake instead of Coffee Lake, which is probably a direct result of this BIOS being released before the 9th gen processors were released.

BIOS1602Graphics

• golfleep
• Dec 20, 2018

BIOS1602KabyLake

• golfleep
• Dec 20, 2018

 

[dasboot5]

“If you wish to use iMacPro1,1 system definition, simply change it in the SMBIOS section of config.plist along with new Board Serial Number, Serial Number, and UUID. No other change is needed. As of macOS 10.13.4, there is no longer special builds of macOS for iMacPro1,1. The builds have been unified.”

“PCI section of System Information will not provide any PCI-e card info. This is how it is on real iMacs too. It's possible to populate it but it's strictly cosmetic and requires customized SSDTs or DSDT. This thread does not provide support for this. RehabMan confirmed that it is strictly cosmetic here.”

Pastry,


I have a couple of questions:


1. If I have done a test install on my Samsung 960 Pro M.2 NVME drive of High Sierra, but have not done a clean install of Mohave, should I use MultiBeast to finalize then upgrade to Mohave, or create a Mohave Unbeast for booting do an Apple store upgrade, and swap High Sierra Uni, for Mohave Uni, and then finalize with MultiBeast 11.0.1?? (Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 7, with I7 8700 K, ASUS ROG AMD VEGA 64 STRIX) This build is in a modified G5 case with tempered glass window door. Could not wait anymore for Nvidia driver support for Mohave...


2. Will the AMD Vega 64 card not show up in System Info as it PCIe card noted above in 10.14.2? It shows in High Sierra correctly now.


3.Is iMacPro 1.1 the best system definition for a Z370 Generation 8 setup for 10.14.2?


Link to build without Vega card installed in pic is here: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/a-g5-work-in-progress-template-when-finished.256631/#post-1788417, card is much longer and needed new longer cables to swap out. Dual 8 pins to card, vs. one 6 pin on Nvidia 1060 and longer 8 pin CPU cable 50mm to 80mm.

 

[pastrychef]

“If you wish to use iMacPro1,1 system definition, simply change it in the SMBIOS section of config.plist along with new Board Serial Number, Serial Number, and UUID. No other change is needed. As of macOS 10.13.4, there is no longer special builds of macOS for iMacPro1,1. The builds have been unified.”

“PCI section of System Information will not provide any PCI-e card info. This is how it is on real iMacs too. It's possible to populate it but it's strictly cosmetic and requires customized SSDTs or DSDT. This thread does not provide support for this. RehabMan confirmed that it is strictly cosmetic here.”

Pastry,


I have a couple of questions:


1. If I have done a test install on my Samsung 960 Pro M.2 NVME drive of High Sierra, but have not done a clean install of Mohave, should I use Multibeast to finalize then upgrade to Mohave, or create a Mohave Unbeast for booting do an Apple store upgrade, and swap High Sierra Uni, for Mohave Uni, and then finalize with Multibeast 11.0.1?? (Gigabyte Z370 Aorus Gaming 7, with I7 8700 K, ASUS ROG AMD VEGA 64 STRIX) This build is in a modified G5 case with tempered glass window door. Could not wait anymore for Nvidia driver support for Mohave...


2. Will the Amd Vega 64 card not show up in System Info as it PCIe card noted above in 10.14.2? It shows in High Sierra correctly now.


3.Is ImacPro 1.1 the best system definition for a Z370 Generation 8 setup for 10.14.2?


Link to build without Vega card installed in pic is here: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/a-g5-work-in-progress-template-when-finished.256631/#post-1788417, card is much longer and needed new longer cables to swap out. Dual 8 pins to card, vs. one 6 pin on Nvidia 1060 and longer 8 pin CPU cable 50mm to 80mm.

I haven't done a clean install in well over a decade. I just keep updating with each new release of macOS. I don't see why you can't do the same.

To upgrade, just make sure you are on the latest Clover and update the kexts you use. If you are using my EFI folder, just replace the old EFI folder with the Mojave one and proceed to upgrade to Mojave. To be safe, you can keep a backup of your existing EFI folder on the EFI partition of a USB flash drive so you can boot from it in an emergency.

I don't know why your Vega is showing up in System Information. My Vega has never done that unless I used a SSDT. The Vega cards are not as bad as many people seem to believe they are. Out of the box, they don't compare well with Nvidia cards but, with some simple tweaks, they are very competitive with the 1000 series Nvidia cards. However, users who rely on Cuda are SOL...

I don't know which system definition is "best"... I use iMac18,3 and everything is running fine. If you decide to use iMacPro1,1, you should probably disable IGPU.