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

[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.

 

[pastrychef]

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

I don't know if there's any correlation between the Maximus X Hero and the Strix Z370-G, but the Z370-G's latest firmware is version 1601.

 

[uran0s]

What I figured out regarding fan settings:

• Idle Speed = RPM of the fan when there is low load on the GPU. I have mine set to 800.
• Target Speed = RPM of the fan when the GPU is under load. I have mine set to 4900.
• Minimum Speed = Not sure what this does. I left it at default setting.
• Maximum Speed = Not sure what this does. I left it at default setting.
• Sensitivity = I don't know what this is and left it at the default setting.
• Target Temp = Define what the highest temp the GPU should be before the fan starts to ramp up. I have mine set to 55.

can you share all the data you entered in VGTab?

regards

 

[pastrychef]

can you share all the data you entered in VGTab?

regards

GPU core 1590MHz
GPU voltage 1010mV
920MHz HBM
Target Temperature 55
Idle fan speed 800RPM (I may change this to something higher, maybe 1000)

 

[NZRichard]

The BCM94360CS2 is true plug-n-play with macOS.

Does this card enable Wi-Fi in Clover, i.e. before Mac OS launches?

 

[pastrychef]

Does this card enable Wi-Fi in Clover, i.e. before Mac OS launches?

On my motherboard, yes. My motherboard came with an Intel M.2 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card that I replaced.