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

[Goiniro]

And this is my render time on the procedural chess benchmarking scene in Octane render: 8 secs

 

[pastrychef]

Approx 25 minutes later...

 

[pixelmambo]

Hi Pastry and All,

I was using Monterey 12.2 and OC 0.77. When I run a Software Update check in System Preferences - I got the message that my mac is "up to date (there was no warning about the availability of 12.3.1 - not sure why),

anyway:

I updated to OC 0.79 - using the ".ZIP" from post 1 and updating the necessary serials > MANY thanks Pastry!!! (... and also left Misc > Security > SecureBootModel > "Default" (previously I had this as "Disabled".)

Running Software Updater again (after a restart) I got notification about the availablity of 12.3.1, and after cca 30 minutes later I could successfully update to 12.3.1.

And now I am happy!
Thank you for all your help here!

 

[pastrychef]

Hi Pastry and All,

I was using Monterey 12.2 and OC 0.77. When I run a Software Update check in System Preferences - I got the message that my mac is "up to date (there was no warning about the availability of 12.3.1 - not sure why),

anyway:

I updated to OC 0.79 - using the ".ZIP" from post 1 and updating the necessary serials > MANY thanks Pastry!!! (... and also left Misc > Security > SecureBootModel > "Default" (previously I had this as "Disabled".)

Running Software Updater again (after a restart) I got notification about the availablity of 12.3.1, and after cca 30 minutes later I could successfully update to 12.3.1.

And now I am happy!
Thank you for all your help here!

It's always a good idea to update the EFI before trying to update macOS.

 

[bubkis]

Hey Pastrychef,

Couple questions about the Monterey update. I followed this guide back in 2018 and haven't touched my system since. It's been rock solid, thank you.

Will a 970 EVO NVMe M.2 work with Monterey?

Could I use mobo graphics on a 8700K to do the update (waiting for amd gpu)?

Do I need to switch to OC or is Clover still ok?

Could I jump from High Sierra to Monterey?

Any advice/suggestions would be very much appreciated.

THANKS!

 

[scottkendall]

Hey Pastrychef,

Couple questions about the Monterey update. I followed this guide back in 2018 and haven't touched my system since. It's been rock solid, thank you.

Will a 970 EVO NVMe M.2 work with Monterey?

Could I use mobo graphics on a 8700K to do the update (waiting for amd gpu)?

Do I need to switch to OC or is Clover still ok?

Could I jump from High Sierra to Monterey?

Any advice/suggestions would be very much appreciated.

THANKS!

EVOs were having issues with Monterey not sure if that issue has been solved. A lot of users changed to Western Digital Drives with the release of Monterey.

You should be able to use your 8700K GPU for the upgrade but I would bet you should remove the 1070 while doing the upgrade.

Cover can work and there is an EFI attached to the first post for Cover and OC.

Apple says you can go from High Sierra to Monterey but be prepared for it not to work.

 

[trs96]

Could I jump from High Sierra to Monterey?

I would make a TM backup of HS first. Then clean install Monterey to a new WD SN750 drive. Use Pastrychef's EFI folder and add in your serials and SMUUID. Restore from your TM backup during the Admin acct. creation phase and you should be good to go. You will of course need to use your UHD630 graphics until you can get a supported AMD card such as a 6600XT.

 

[pastrychef]

Hey Pastrychef,

Couple questions about the Monterey update. I followed this guide back in 2018 and haven't touched my system since. It's been rock solid, thank you.

Will a 970 EVO NVMe M.2 work with Monterey?

Could I use mobo graphics on a 8700K to do the update (waiting for amd gpu)?

Do I need to switch to OC or is Clover still ok?

Could I jump from High Sierra to Monterey?

Any advice/suggestions would be very much appreciated.

THANKS!

scottkendall and trs96 pretty much covered it all.

The 970 EVO can work but a Trim issue arose with Monterey that will cause a slow boot condition where boot times can take up to several minutes. As far as I know, there's no "fix" for this. If you are okay with the slow boot times, you can continue using the 970 EVO, otherwise, check the updated buyers guide for known compatible SSDs.

The iGPU of your 8700K will work fine. Make sure to pull out your 1070 Ti as it will definitely not work with Monterey.

Either OpenCore or Clover will work. Personally, I'd suggest moving to OpenCore.

High Sierra to Monterey should be fine as long as you pull the 1070 Ti.

Btw, depending on which AMD graphics card you switch to, you may or may not need to add the "agdpmod=pikera" boot-arg. Please see post #3 of my Gigabyte Z390 build for more info. Link is below in my signature.

 

[bubkis]

scottkendall and trs96 pretty much covered it all.

The 970 EVO can work but a Trim issue arose with Monterey that will cause a slow boot condition where boot times can take up to several minutes. As far as I know, there's no "fix" for this. If you are okay with the slow boot times, you can continue using the 970 EVO, otherwise, check the updated buyers guide for known compatible SSDs.

The iGPU of your 8700K will work fine. Make sure to pull out your 1070 Ti as it will definitely not work with Monterey.

Either OpenCore or Clover will work. Personally, I'd suggest moving to OpenCore.

High Sierra to Monterey should be fine as long as you pull the 1070 Ti.

Btw, depending on which AMD graphics card you switch to, you may or may not need to add the "agdpmod=pikera" boot-arg. Please see post #3 of my Gigabyte Z390 build for more info. Link is below in my signature.

Thanks for your response. I ordered an XFX Speedster 6600 XT. Read this today on dortania's AMD GPU buyer's guide. Think I should send back for an MSI 6600 XT? Not sure if this relates to the boot-arg you mentioned.

 

[pastrychef]

Thanks for your response. I ordered an XFX Speedster 6600 XT. Read this today on dortania's AMD GPU buyer's guide. Think I should send back for an MSI 6600 XT? Not sure if this relates to the boot-arg you mentioned. View attachment 545398

If you will be running Monterey 12.1 or newer, the 6600 XT will be fine. I also upgraded to a 6600 XT last month and it has been flawless.

Yes, you will need to add the "agdpmod=pikera" boot-arg when using the 6600 XT.