pastrychef's testing machine - HP Elite 8300 SFF - i7-3770 - GT 630

[karoli9]

@karoli9 :

It really sounds like you have Clover installed in more than one location and you are booting from the wrong one.

As per trs96, I would try using VoodooHDA first.

I really love this community! I left the pendrive in one of the USB slots, but not sure for how many boots. I will report back asap, but got to sleep enough to be sharper. I'll do a totally fresh install keeping an eye on these things.

 

[iiKryptic]

@pastrychef Tomorrow I plan on installing on a HP 6300 Pro, I see that you are running the same GPU I intend. I read through this thread and it seemed that the GT630 has fared well for you. Quick question, I noticed that you had the web driver since upgrading from EL Cap. Is there a current web driver for the 630 on Sierra? Or is there a workaround to fresh install using this card. Any info would be most helpful. I tried an install on a different machine same card and if I recall when trying to get the web driver it said one does not exist. TIA

 

[pastrychef]

@iiKryptic :

If you use a GT 630, the Nvidia web drivers are optional. The GT 630 works fine with Apple's built-in drivers.

If you do want to use the Nvidia web drivers, there are links to the correct versions that correspond to different versions of macOS on this site.

 

[iiKryptic]

Awesome, thank you @pastrychef must have not been released last time I checked.

 

[karoli9]

@trs96 @pastrychef

Hello Fellows,

Here is a little sitrep on my progress with the HP 8300 SFF. As you know my specs are: i3-3220 CPU, 4GB RAM, MSI GTX 1050 Ti LP. Last time I couldn't get along with the SMBIOS, nVidia Web Drivers and so on. As I said, I started from scratch again with the suggestions you made. So here is what I did chronologically.
1. Installed macOS (pendrive made with the latest Unibeast) without LAN cable and not signing in to iCloud. Rebooted with no problems.
2. Ejected the macOS pendrive, and installed the stuff that is needed with the latest Multibeast. Finally I could change SMBIOS 14,2 to 13,2, so I think not signing in to iCloud was the key. Thanks pastrychef! After reboot everything was fine.
3. Installed nVidia Web Drivers and rebooted. Magically, the resoultion was fine without the need of https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/new-method-for-enabling-nvidia-web-drivers-in-clover.202341/. After installing the drivers it worked immediately with stock Clover bootloader, which was installed by Multibeast.
4. Generated SSDT.aml with the script, copied to EFI, checked the states and there was plenty, so I assume, my CPU works fine
5. Installed the latest VoodooHDA 2.9.0d10 to ~Library/Extensions and rebooted. There was no sound and no input or output. Since I have a HP ProBook 4340s hackintosh too, https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...book-using-clover-uefi-hotpatch-10-11.189416/ by Rehabman helped me again. I used "-f" flag in Clover and booted. Still had no sound, so I ran "sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions && sudo kextcache -u /" in Terminal and rebooted. After this I could see three "Digital-out (HDMI)" and chose the middle one, because that was the only one working. I haven't tested the jack connector since I only use HDMI. I don't even know if rebuilding the kextcache did the trick (I put the VoodooHDA kext into the ~Library/Extensions folder not S/L/E), but now it works.

Thanks for the help and the guides, you are awesome!

P.s.: I use this machine as a home server with Sierra and as a game "console" with Windows 10 Pro. I installed two Arctic F9 92mm PWM fans, one for the CPU and one for the PSU. Small annoyance, that I had to change the Arctic PWM 4 pin connectors to the stock ones, becasue the small plastic rails were narrower. It took about 2 minutes in total. Some stats if you are interested: The CPU and GPU temperature have never been higher than ~71°C during gaming at ~30°C ambient temps, GPU alone ~63°C during Furmark stress testing. I ran Battlefield 2, Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4, Battlefield Hardline, Serious Sam 3, Dirt 2, Dirt 3, Dirt Rally, Assetto Corsa (some settings needed High or Very High, the game is not really optimized compared to the other titles), Hawken, Bulletstorm, Lost Planet 2 with everything set to ultra at 60fps. On longer terms the bottleneck will be the CPU, but I don't care now, since everything is buttery smooth.

Cheers!

*Update: since yesterday I can see 5 options at the audio settings, the Speaker (Analog) and Green something (probably the jack) showed up!

 

[trs96]

Thanks for sharing your experiences @karoli9. So what you are saying is that your Nvidia, Pascal based card doesn't need NvidiaWeb set to true ? It may be that way because the 7 series motherboards still have NVRAM support so it isn't necessary. I've written a brief install guide, basic enough so that anyone with zero hackintosh experience can follow it and have success. https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-hp-elite-8300-6300-pro-mini-tower-macos-sierra-i5-3470-msi- gt640.224812/#post-1526635
I used a 6300 Pro from HP so not sure if anything will be different from the 8300. The 6300 uses the Q75 chipset while the 8300 uses Q77. The UEFI is exactly the same though. I welcome any feedback you may have regarding the 1050 Ti card as I don't have one for testing. Did you need to use the nv_disable=1 boot flag initially with your 1050 Ti to reach the macOS installer ? Was the graphics quality good enough to do the install without issues when using that card ?

With recent Youtube videos (getting over a half million views) showing how well these HP refurbs run macOS, I'm certain there will be a lot more people trying this out looking for directions on what steps to take.

In regard to the VoodooHDA install, it should work the first time if you completely disable SIP before trying to install it.
In Cl.Configurator, System Parameters, you can simply change CsrActiveConfig to 0x67 and then save. There should be no need to rebuild caches via the terminal. This is why I put the audio section near the end of the guide, after SIP is fully disabled. Great to hear of your success, sounds like you've got a decent gaming rig as well. You can always upgrade the CPU to an I5-3470 later on for less than 60 dollars if you start playing some more cpu intensive AAA titles.

 

[karoli9]

Thanks for sharing your experiences @karoli9. So what you are saying is that your Nvidia, Pascal based card doesn't need NvidiaWeb set to true ? It may be that way because the 7 series motherboards still have NVRAM support so it isn't necessary. I've written a brief install guide, basic enough so that anyone with zero hackintosh experience can follow it and have success. https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-hp-elite-8300-6300-pro-mini-tower-macos-sierra-i5-3470-msi- gt640.224812/#post-1526635
I used a 6300 Pro from HP so not sure if anything will be different from the 8300. The 6300 uses the Q75 chipset while the 8300 uses Q77. The UEFI is exactly the same though. I welcome any feedback you may have regarding the 1050 Ti card as I don't have one for testing. Did you need to use the nv_disable=1 boot flag initially with your 1050 Ti to reach the macOS installer ? Was the graphics quality good enough to do the install without issues when using that card ?

With recent Youtube videos (getting over a half million views) showing how well these HP refurbs run macOS, I'm certain there will be a lot more people trying this out looking for directions on what steps to take.

In regard to the VoodooHDA install, it should work the first time if you completely disable SIP before trying to install it.
In Cl.Configurator, System Parameters, you can simply change CsrActiveConfig to 0x67 and then save. There should be no need to rebuild caches via the terminal. This is why I put the audio section near the end of the guide, after SIP is fully disabled. Great to hear of your success, sounds like you've got a decent gaming rig as well. You can always upgrade the CPU to an I5-3470 later on for less than 60 dollars if you start playing some more cpu intensive AAA titles.

I've read your guide previously, but totally forgotten. It looks perfect, with almost exactly the same steps I needed.
To answer your questions:
1. I did not set nVidiaWeb to true, I only installed the misc. things with Multibeast (rebooted) and nVidia drivers (rebooted). I don't know the causes, it just works
2. As I recall, I've seen some nv boot flag (stock Multibeast Clover install with stock flags, I didn't tinker with it), but I have to check it again.
3. About graphics: with the MSI GTX 1050 Ti 4GB LP the resolution without the drivers is 1280x1024, so I could easily navigate through the process on my LG FullHD (1920x1080p) tv.
4. Small remark: this particular GPU is the max. that can be phisically fitted with its 187mm length. Soon I will post pictures regarding the topic.
5. I haven't disabled SIP before installing the VoodooHDA kext, nor did I later and even this way it worked out. Is it something extraordinary?
6. I try to avoid CPU upgrade, I am concerned about the 240W PSU, I don't want to kill it too soon
My i3 has a TDP of 55W, the i5 is 77W. Though it doesn't look too much.

+1: it is one hell of a budget (and silent) gaming rig!

If there is any question I can answer or test I can make, I am more than glad to fulfill.

 

[trs96]

I had wondered whether the MSI LP 1050 Ti would fit in the 8300 SFF version. Looks like the plastic shroud will be awfully close to the copper heatpipes on the side of the heatsink. You don't want the smell of melting plastic coming from your HP ! That's one reason I used the HP 6300 Mini-Tower for my Sierra Desktop Guide. You can use a full height 1050 Ti, it will fit in the case with no problems, better airflow around it and you get an extra 80W of power from the PSU with the 6300/8300 MT versions. Many people will be gaming via Windows with these so those are some good features to have.

Overall how much easier was it to get the 8300 SFF working than your HP ProBook laptop ?

 

[karoli9]

I had wondered whether the MSI LP 1050 Ti would fit in the 8300 SFF version. Looks like the plastic shroud will be awfully close to the copper heatpipes on the side of the heatsink. You don't want the smell of melting plastic coming from your HP ! That's one reason I used the HP 6300 Mini-Tower for my Sierra Desktop Guide. You can use a full height 1050 Ti, it will fit in the case with no problems, better airflow around it and you get an extra 80W of power from the PSU with the 6300/8300 MT versions. Many people will be gaming via Windows with these so those are some good features to have.

Overall how much easier was it to get the 8300 SFF working than your HP ProBook laptop ?

Thankfully the plastic is safe on both sides And as I said, the temps are peacefully low. The case size was a huge factor, so I couldn't go with a CMT (I am using this one vertically – best for case ventilation). This particular LP card has no backdraws regarding performance, only pricier a bit
The ProBook was easy, thanks to Rehabman, but needed more steps, especially with Terminal (GitHub). So less steps means the SFF won.

 

[hammerpocket]

An update on my Firewire problem from a few days ago: I previously installed a StarTech PCI1394MP Firewire 400 (1394a) PCI card and could only get it to be recognized by removing the AppleHPET.kext, which unfortunately made my system unusable.

I have now had success with the Syba/Iocrest SY-PEX30016 PCIe Firewire 800/400 card. It requires a separate Molex power connection, so I had to spend a few extra bucks on a SATA power to Molex power adapter cable. I now have beautiful sound through my Presonus Firebox and should be able to record with my Apogee Duet as well, although I haven't tried that yet.