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

[bluepr0]

Hello @pastrychef

I've been taking a look at what you said regarding Thunderbolt support and that you were not so sure that we needed a MB header to make it work because some people got it working on an old Mac Pro

I read lots of threads regarding thunderbolt on Hackintosh, mostly related to make the LG Ultrafine 5K to work. Sadly from what I see the people that got it working is because they have the Thunderbolt card + the MB header (actually these cards are only supported on Windows for the MBs that come with the TB header - https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GC-ALPINE-RIDGE-rev-10#ov)

This is literally what is stopping me right now to pull the trigger and order all the parts. We currently don't have any 5K display using DP1.4 but if Apple releases one it will be probably TB3 so I believe ideally I would want a TB header on my MB at least to have more chances?.

So my question is... what do you think about it? and also based on your experience if I would chose to go with Gigabyte (Z370 too) do you think it's likely to get everything working as you did? I've searched for the exact motherboard I'm looking at (Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming WIFI) but doesn't seem any posted a complete guide with that exact one)

Thanks so much!

 

[pastrychef]

Hello @pastrychef

I've been taking a look at what you said regarding Thunderbolt support and that you were not so sure that we needed a MB header to make it work because some people got it working on an old Mac Pro

I read lots of threads regarding thunderbolt on Hackintosh, mostly related to make the LG Ultrafine 5K to work. Sadly from what I see the people that got it working is because they have the Thunderbolt card + the MB header (actually these cards are only supported on Windows for the MBs that come with the TB header - https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GC-ALPINE-RIDGE-rev-10#ov)

This is literally what is stopping me right now to pull the trigger and order all the parts. We currently don't have any 5K display using DP1.4 but if Apple releases one it will be probably TB3 so I believe ideally I would want a TB header on my MB at least to have more chances?.

So my question is... what do you think about it? and also based on your experience if I would chose to go with Gigabyte (Z370 too) do you think it's likely to get everything working as you did? I've searched for the exact motherboard I'm looking at (Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming WIFI) but doesn't seem any posted a complete guide with that exact one)

Thanks so much!

I haven't really read much on the topic, but... Obviously, if shopping for a new motherboard and Thunderbolt is a desired feature, it's wisest to go with a motherboard that does have a Thunderbolt header.

Again, I never read much about 5K monitors... However, judging by all the issues users have had with 4K@60Hz over HDMI, it's best to stick with connection types that Apple themselves use.

Therefore, if I wanted to get a 5K monitor, I would do all the homework I can on getting Thunderbolt to work on hackintoshes and use a 5K monitor with Thunderbolt support.

I would also search around to see how much success others have had with 5K monitors that use the older method of using two DisplayPort cables to achieve 5K.

Personally, I understand the desire for 5K monitors and 8K monitors, but it's still a bit too bleeding edge for me...

 

[pastrychef]

Heya @pastrychef
Thank you so much for your guide, when you have time I have a quick question about the vega 56.
I've been following KGP's build for imacpro, have been running a 7980xe on 10.13 for the last year and am currently making the switch to mojave/AMD this week as I just got my MSI vega 56 card based on your experience with it.

I'm using 2x 4k displays, currently 1 HDMI and 1 DP. I'm not looking for high GPU performance, just stability and low power. I dont use sleep/wake/hotswap but i did read about the fan issues/possible mouse lag with vegas.

1) Do I need to do anything with the vega BIOS / jumper settings?

2) Are whatevergreen & lilu needed in EFI folders for proper boot/installation or is this just to fix certain problems?

KGP provides SSDT-X299-Vega.aml designed for vega64 nitro and mentions an app to set custom fan speeds (VGTab-en.app) .... 3) Are you using any SSDT.aml for the vega or is this just cosmetic?

3) Anyway to share your VGTab settings?

Many many thanks

No, there's nothing you need to do with the Vega BIOS unless you want to put it in low power mode which would, of course, also lower performance.

You can use the Vega 56 without Lilu and WhateverGreen but AirPlay video will break.

I haven't looked at his SSDT, but my guess is that it's strictly for cosmetic purposes to populate System Information > PCI and, therefore, not really needed.

Yes, I've been using VGTab for quite a while now and my current settings are 1590MHz core @ 1010mV, 920MHz HBM, 50 power limit, 800 idle fan speed, target fan speed 4900, and 55 target temperature. I left the rest untouched. You can see some of the settings I tried in post #3091. Keep in mind that I am using liquid metal on my Vega 56.

 

[bluepr0]

I haven't really read much on the topic, but... Obviously, if shopping for a new motherboard and Thunderbolt is a desired feature, it's wisest to go with a motherboard that does have a Thunderbolt header.

Again, I never read much about 5K monitors... However, judging by all the issues users have had with 4K@60Hz over HDMI, it's best to stick with connection types that Apple themselves use.

Therefore, if I wanted to get a 5K monitor, I would do all the homework I can on getting Thunderbolt to work on hackintoshes and use a 5K monitor with Thunderbolt support.

I would also search around to see how much success others have had with 5K monitors that use the older method of using two DisplayPort cables to achieve 5K.

Personally, I understand the desire for 5K monitors and 8K monitors, but it's still a bit too bleeding edge for me...

Thanks @pastrychef!

Actually the thing is a bit more complex than what it looks like. The LG 5K uses 2xDP1.2 because current TB chip on the MacBook Pro (except the new 2018) only allows for DP1.2 – Just like the Alpine Ridge cards currently does (at least current version)

So when Apple releases the new displays using DP 1.4 maybe there's a way with an adapter to make it work directly to the GPU... who knows?

Anyway just based on your experience... is usually easy to make everything work when using same chipset (Z370) but over different brands?

Thanks!

 

[pastrychef]

Anyway just based on your experience... is usually easy to make everything work when using same chipset (Z370) but over different brands?

Yes, generally, Z370 is Z370 and there are very few changes that need to be made to configurations to get macOS installed and running. When shopping for a motherboard, try to stick with Intel ethernet and Realtek audio.

 

[Rey]

Just the EFI folder should enable your audio. Make sure you select the correct output from System Preferences > Sound.
View attachment 360231

Also, your speakers should be connected to the green connector in the back.

All I get get is "no output devices found." I looked at Bios to make sure the audio is selected. Not quite sure whats happening. Do you think I might need to do a fresh install of Mojave?

 

[pastrychef]

All I get get is "no output devices found." I looked at Bios to make sure the audio is selected. Not quite sure whats happening. Do you think I might need to do a fresh install of Mojave?

Are you on Mojave and using EFI r4.4.4? Can you try setting audio-id to 1?

 

[Rey]

So I did a new install(Mojave) and tried just the different id's (1,2,5,7) with the EFI r4.4.4. Being curious I tried to change my SMBIOS to 17,1 and it worked with audio id 1. 18,1 gives me no sound and 18,2 and 3 give me a bad graphics flicker when I start opening windows. Thank you very much for all your help. You time invested help out a noob like me to figure out my first hackintosh.

 

[anirudhlath518]

Hey!
I have a hackintosh working very well, but only a few issues. I would be glad if you could help me out!

I bought an apple wifi+bt card from amazon, i.e. BCM94360CS with a PCI Adapter for it. I put in my hackintosh and it boots up with native support of thew WiFi and Bluetooth. But, here are some weird problems and I would be thankful if you can help me out:

1. Handoff is enabled but not working.
2. I cannot setup Unlock With Apple Watch, it says unable to communicate with your apple watch, make sure it on and on your wrist.
3. I specifically cannot find devices with my iCloud account signed in. When I log out of my iCould account on the mac, it starts detecting my devices over airDop.
4. Continuity shows up on both devices as an option but doesn't work either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[pastrychef]

Hey!
I have a hackintosh working very well, but only a few issues. I would be glad if you could help me out!

I bought an apple wifi+bt card from amazon, i.e. BCM94360CS with a PCI Adapter for it. I put in my hackintosh and it boots up with native support of thew WiFi and Bluetooth. But, here are some weird problems and I would be thankful if you can help me out:

1. Handoff is enabled but not working.
2. I cannot setup Unlock With Apple Watch, it says unable to communicate with your apple watch, make sure it on and on your wrist.
3. I specifically cannot find devices with my iCloud account signed in. When I log out of my iCould account on the mac, it starts detecting my devices over airDop.
4. Continuity shows up on both devices as an option but doesn't work either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

1. The only thing I had to do to get Handoff working was to set up Serial, Board Serial, and UUID.
2. I have zero experience with Apple Watches...
3. I don't understand what you mean about finding devices with iCloud. I didn't have to do anything special to get AirDrop working other than to make sure that Bluetooth is turned on with my iPhone or other Macs/hacks.
4. Again, all I had to do was set up Serial, Board Serial, and UUID.

You should make sure that NVRAM is working too. Either emulated NVRAM or native NVRAM works.

Also, using proper USB fix instead of the USB 15 port limit KextsToPatch can possibly help.