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[SUCCESS!] ASUS z97-PRO(Wi-fi ac) - Core i7-4790k - EVGA GTX 760

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Joined
Jun 24, 2014
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Motherboard
ASUS Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac)
CPU
i7-4790K
Graphics
EVGA GeForce GTX 760
Mac
  1. Mac Pro
Classic Mac
  1. 0
Mobile Phone
  1. iOS
Takesthewheel's Build:
Core i7-4790k - ASUS z97-PRO(Wi-fi ac) - EVGA GTX 760 - 32GB - 10.9.4

102308-fractal-design-arc-midi-r2-case.jpg




COMPONENTS

ASUS Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) LGA 1150
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132117

Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117369

EVGA GeForce GTX 760 02G-P4-3765-KR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130953

Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148665

Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147360

Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200 RPM Internal HDD ST2000DM001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834

Corsair Hydro Series H60 (CW-9060007-WW) High Performance Water / Liquid CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181030

Corsair CX600M 600W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048

Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 FD-CA-ARC-R2-BL-W Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352031

LG BluRay Optical Drive - UH12NS30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136268


COMMENTS

I decided to build my first Hackintosh/PC build for digital video editing (Adobe AE, Premier, FCP-7, ect.) as my MBP (13.3" mid-2010) could hardly keep up. Even after a ton of research I didn't have any luck finding even one thoroughly resourceful post explaining how to hack this z97 motherboard. I initially tried methods found in successful posts using the ASUS z97 Deluxe, but had no luck.

After much trial & error, I finally found success with this motherboard using notes I had gathered from all over the web. That said, you may find some of the procedures to possibly be redundant, however the steps in my guide are there to thoroughly explain in detail what I did for MY SPECIFIC BUILD.

I have at least the following working:
  • Ethernet
  • Onboard bluetooth
  • Onboard WiFi
  • Sleep
  • USB 3.0
  • Audio out (only tested green port)
  • Bootable OS X from SSD

Have not gotten iMessage or Mail apps working yet so if you have any insight on a fix please let me know. Other than that I have not had any crashes or issues with instability, so let's begin.


Brief Overview of Guide
  • Create Bootable USB drive
  • Hardware Setup/Installation Notes
  • Configure BIOS Settings
  • Install OS X Mavericks
  • Post-Install Using MultiBeast
  • Install Additional Kexts



THE INSTALLATION PROCESS


Create Bootable USB drive
Create bootable USB drive with Unibeast and use my guide along side with the UniBeast Guide
  1. First, on another Mac, download a copy of OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 from the app store. This is STEP 1 from the Unibeast guide provided below. (While downloading, you may proceed to Hardware Setup/Installation Notes below)
  2. Once downloaded and verified in /applications, proceed to STEP 2 and create Bootable USB drive.
  3. Ignore STEP 3 (as you will be using my BIOS settings provided below). Use my instruction before beginning STEP 4: Install OS X Mavericks


Hardware Setup/Installation Notes
Before beginning, do the following to reduce any problems throughout the installation process.
  • Disconnect all SATA drives from the motherboard except your boot drive (drive you will be installing OS X on). This was the 850 Pro for me.
  • Disconnect the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi from the back of the motherboard.
  • Only use USB 2.0 ports with your bootable USB drive or other external storage options until after you are finished.
  • I used the DVI-D output on my GPU to connect to monitor
  • Only use 1 stick of RAM until after installation if possible. (e.g. I only used one 8GB stick and installed all four (32GB) after installation).


Configure BIOS Settings
  1. Update your BIOS to version 1304 (mine was 0801 from store).
  2. You can find the drivers on at ASUS.com
  3. Drag driver file to empty USB drive (Format USB drive as MS-DOS (FAT) MBR)
  4. Plug USB into 2.0 port, power on computer, enter BIOS, use Flash 2 utility under TOOLS to update.
  5. Reset, enter BIOS, select Load Optimized Defaults
  6. Under BOOT, change CSM to ENABLED with Legacy as first boot priority (opposite to all other Asus z97 posts claim the DISABLE option). Change Security to OTHER OS.
  7. Under Advanced>Configure Onboard devices, disable Ethernet. (Note: may need to disable bluetooth and Wi-Fi too)


Install OS X Mavericks
Follow along with STEP 4 from the Unibeast guide.
  1. Plug Unibeast USB into 2.0 port, turn on computer and enter BIOS. From EZ-menu, choose your USB to boot from.
  2. At Chimera Boot Screen, enter following boot flags below.
    • boot flags: -x -v GraphicsEnabler=No IGPEnabler=Yes Darkwake=0 PCIRootUID=0
    • (Note: GraphicsEnabler=No is required for my GPU. If using Integrated Graphics on CPU, GraphicsEnabler=Yes may work for you instead. -v is boot flag for VERBOSE mode)
    • (to enter boot flags just start typing)
  3. Hit [return] to boot.
  4. Follow remainder of STEP 4 in the Unibeast Guide and install OS X Mavericks.


Post-Install Using MultiBeast
Because you will not have Wi-Fi after installation you will need to use your other Mac again to download MultiBeast, KextBeast, & additional kexts.
  1. Download: MultiBeast and KextBeast and additional kexts below.
    1. Activation for onboard BT on Asus Z97 Deluxe.
      • Follow Link
      • Follow instructions from 1st post by imarun and download AsusBCM20702A0Bluetooth.kext.zip
    2. Bluetooth Firmware Uploader:
      • Go to osxlatitude.
      • At bottom of page > Attached Files > download BTFirmwareUploader_v2.5.2_Final.zip
    3. WiFi Airport & Enable 5GHz internet for WiFi:
      • Go to Toleda wifi download
      • Download bcm4352.kext (Toleda wifi download: airport_kext_enabler/bcm4532.kext) and wireless_half-mini-brcm4360-90_patch.command
    4. Quick fix for onboard audio on 9-Series Motherboards
      • Go to Tonymacx86 post from 6/12/2014
      • Click Azul-10.9.4-9series-fixed.zip to download AppleIntelFramebufferAzul.kext
  2. Drag MultiBeast, KextBeast, & additional kext files to USB formatted [Mac OS Extended (Journaled), Options: GUID partition]
  3. Plug USB into 2.0 port on hackintosh and run MultiBeast.
  4. Set install drive to your HHD/SSD and configure settings exactly as I have listed in the picture below.(Note: only select TRIM Patch if installing to SSD)
  5. Select BUILD to install!
  6. Restart computer and your HDD/SSD should now appear as a bootable option.
  7. Enter same boot flags as before and boot from HDD/SSD.

My MultiBeast build settings
102391-multibeast-settings.jpg


Install Additional Kexts
  1. Drag KextBeast onto desktop.
  2. Extract your additional kext files (.zip folders) and drag the files onto your desktop as well. You should have:
    • AppleIntelFramebufferAzul.kext
    • AsusBCM20702A0Bluetooth.kext
    • bcm4352.kext
    • BTFirmwareUploader.kext
    • wireless_half-mini-brcm4360-90_patch.command
  3. Run KextBeast and the desktop kexts will be installed.
  4. Lastly, double-click on wireless_half-mini-brcm4360-90_patch.command to install.
  5. Eject Unibeast USB and restart computer (be ready to enter BIOS upon restart [F2]).
  6. Enter BIOS and enable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet > boot from HDD/SSD.




BENCHMARKS

I have not become very familiar with over clocking yet, but once I do and get my mackintosh OC'd accordingly I will post new Geekbench results.

My score as of now. Full Geekbench report
102425-geekbench-score.jpg



CONCLUSION

So far I am very pleased with the build, but still have some tinkering to do.

For a more "Vanilla" install of OS X you can transfer your bootloader & /Extra folder to your EFI Partition via Terminal as explained in this article by Tonymacx86. If you have any experience doing this with no problems repost back because I may do it soon.

If you have any questions or see anything that I missed and/or have a more efficient method(s) please don't hesitate to correct me. Good luck, and I hope this was for you!
 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Are you dual booting at all? I'm concerned about the BIOS settings since I'm going to be using Windows 8.1 and OS X so I haven't even bother trying to install Mavericks yet.

No, I switched to a MBP in 2010, building this Hackintosh is the closest to windows I've been since. However, I initially installed Windows 7 on my SSD just to verify that all the hardware was working/connected and I was booting off whatever the default BIOS settings are.

Depending how often you will be switching between OS's, I guess you could possibly save a BIOS preset for each and switch that way before booting into your desired OS?

Also, I know I saw a post on this forum or two where the user was dual booting (OS X from HDD, Windows from HDD). Might want to look into that...

Not very helpful, but that's all I know.
 
Hey I can relate to your build cause i pretty much have everything you have haha

Tower Cooler Master Cosmos SE
CPU Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz
Motherboard ASUS Z97 PRO (WIFI+AC)
RAM Corsair Vengeance 16GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR3 2400MHz
SSD Samsung 840 EVO 500GB
PSU Thermaltake Toughpower DPS 750W
Case Fan x3 120mm Xigmatek XLF-F1253
Case Fan x2 140mm Xigmatek XLF-F1453
Blu-Ray Drive Pioneer BDR-209DBK
 
do you use nullcpupowermanagement as well or does the 4790k not need it
 
What Boot Loader should I use? Chimera or Clover
 
After I install Mavericks it requires a restart.. then I select OS X Mavericks to boot into and the loading thing just continually loops am I doing something wrong?
 
do you use nullcpupowermanagement as well or does the 4790k not need it

I've been trying to figure out the power management because I noticed a couple times that when I would wake it from sleep that it would wake for a few seconds and then freeze. But it wasn't a consistent.


What Boot Loader should I use? Chimera or Clover

If you use my MultiBeast settings Chimera will be installed along with it (reference the Unibeast guide).
I tried clover a couple different ways with no luck before using Multibeast.

To address the Power mgmt issue and a couple other kexts I screwed up (post-guide, don't worry) I decided to just reformat and reinstall OS X to my SSD using my guide to make sure my steps were correct. I have now successfully booted back in and installed OS X.

If I happen to make revisions to the ADDITIONAL KEXTS section and/or necessity of nullcpupowermanagement ect. I will post back to notify y'all.
 
After I install Mavericks it requires a restart.. then I select OS X Mavericks to boot from bootloader and the loading thing just continually loops am I doing something wrong?
 
Hey Great post, I've got the same motherboard and tried to install Mavericks on it and had lots of problem installing all it's features, but now I feel like trying again, so thanks for that.

Just one think I've noticed on the topic Configure BIOS Settings, step 6, I've found CSM options not under TOOLS but under BOOT instead.

cheers
 
Hey my pioneer blu ray drive is not recognised? is there a way to get it recognised?
 
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