SUCCESS: Asus prime Z370-A MK II + i5-9600K + Sapphire Pulse RX 580

[Bergier3K]

I cannot speak for the this kind of Ballistix, but on my current setup I use 24GB (1 stick was faulty when i ordered the pack and I'm waiting to replace it) of Ballistix Sport 2666MHz. It worked out the box, not questions asked. Thought, it is on a different motherboard, I have no fear for its compatibility.

For the Z370 BIOS, I can explain it easy peasy. The chipset Z370 was intended for the 8th Intel generation (ix 8xxx), and with them it works with all the bios versions supporting this chipset. Now, the 9th inlet generation (ix 9xxx) works with the chipset Z370, but with a mandatory BIOS update.

If you have a way to make sure of the specific BIOS version your motherboard is shipped with, you have 2 solutions :

1 : You have a version that handle the 9th generation (list here), and you're good to go. I think you need at least version 0602).
2 : You don't have a version that handle the 9th generation. In this case there is only one possibility : booting with an 8th genCPU and updating the BIOS. I was in that case, and I bought a Celeron G4920 just for the purpose of udpating the motherboard. The Celeron is really really cheap, and, at least in Europe, the price of the i7-9700K + Celeron was a little bit cheaper than buying just an "old" and compatible OOB i7-8700K.

For the BIOS update you need juste the motherboard, a stick of ram and the CPU. The process is straightforward especially with the built in tool, all works with internet, no usb stick need (though you can go this route if you so desire).

No need for wishing good luck, it's really straight forward !

PS : Just realized that some PC components online stores, at least in Europe, offer the bios update as an option you have to pay for. If it's case with your favorite reseller, do that, it is generally cheaper than a Celeron... though you can sell the Celeron after the update...

 

[Aldaro]

I didn't have any issues with my ASUS prime, but that being said, I have the MK II variant, and can therefor not speak to the original. If you have a Z370 system currently working, you can go ahead, and update the BIOS ahead of time on this board. If not, there might be a way to do it with some additional work, but I wouldn't know for sure.

 

[Aldaro]

The location of CFG lock will vary based on your board, and if there's know explicitly defined option, you'll have to go about it the semi hard way. There's a good post from pastrychef that details this process quite nicely. I know it's for a Z390 board, but the overall concept is of course nearly identical. I've had a lot of KPs on my MBP 16' with the 5500M that mostly pertain to waking from sleep (the main error I see in console is something like timeout after going from darkwake to fullwake).

 

[Bergier3K]

I didn't even realised that MPB 16" were using a 5500M! If I follow logic, then 5500 GPU's must be as recommended as 5700 series isn't it? Concerning the problem, it's a pity that Apple doesn't correct these kind of glitches. I'll keep people up about my build during the week, maybe it will help other figuring out this setup.

 

[Aldaro]

As far as I'm aware, yes, they're typically a good choice as far as newer GPUs are concerned. As for the RX 580, I wouldn't worry about that having support dropped since the new Mac Pro comes with a Radeon pro 580, and the iMac 19,1 has a Radeon pro 580 as a configurable option. These "pro" GPUs seem to share the same device IDs with the standard RX 580; so, I'm not sure what's going on there ...

 

[Bergier3K]

I report a successful build with my Z370-A and i7! Install, copy paste the EFI, updated Clover and voilà. However there are 2 problems :
1. The i7 shows up as i9 in About this Mac.
2. The USB3 header, the one close to the SATA connectors doesn't work for data, I can plug a USB device to charge, no problem, but a USB drive would not be recognized...

Other than that, a perfectly working setup, thank a lot Aldaro for sharing your EFI!

 

[brimcan]

I still can't figure out if the BIOS on the motherboard I intend to purchase is compatible with 8th or 9th generation. And is the motherboard the Z370-A or AII? I am glad it worked out so well for you.

 

[Bergier3K]

Mine is just A. The MKII version is slightly different, but nothing to speak of regarding macOS. Which one do you intend to buy ?

 

[brimcan]

I was intending to buy the A II, because it was newer and that was the one that you had attached to the bios compatibility list in your prior post:

1 : You have a version that handle the 9th generation (list here), and you're good to go. I think you need at least version 0602).

The AII states it is the newer board, and Amazon lists it as:

ASUS Prime Z370-A II (Intel 9th Gen) DDR4 DP HDMI DVI M.2 USB 3.1 Z370 II ATX Motherboard Gigabit LAN and USB 3.1 Compared to the other board, which it lists as:

ASUS PRIME Z370-A LGA1151 DDR4 DP HDMI DVI M.2 USB 3.1 Z370 ATX Motherboard with USB 3.1 for 8th Generation Intel Core Processors
I checked the US sellers that I could find, and none specifically mention which bios version they come with, so it is a roll of the dice. Otherwise, I was considering the build from CaseySJ:

[SUCCESS] Gigabyte Designare Z390 (Thunderbolt 3) + i7-9700K + AMD RX 580

CaseySJ's Coffee Lake in Phanteks Evolv X ATX Case: Gigabyte Designare Z390 - i7-9700K - UHD 630 - AMD RX 580 (Please do not quote this build guide in its entirely. Post a link instead.) (See this post for how to refer to a Guide or Mini-Guide.) URGENT: Please avoid Clover 5123 and newer for...

www.tonymacx86.com

But it is a z390 build, and I have read they seem to be more finicky, and this build from Aldaro seems quite stable and straight forward, since I am not willing to have to be constantly tinkering. I was also considering OpenCore over Clover, but that seems even more unstable and challenging.

 

[Aldaro]

You'll have to create your own USBPorts.kext, as there's a good chance our case headers are different. In kexts/off, I included a copy of USBInjectall which can be enabled from clover before you boot macOS.