[Success] b1's "Mac Mini Killer" with macOS Mojave: i7-8700 | Gigabyte Z370N | RX560 | 16GB RAM

[serg1892]

I feel a little bad because it was me who recommended some of your components (although I mentioned that the Noctua had limitations even with my processor). But I definitely second @b166ar's suggestion to try undervolting. It's pretty easy, cost-free, and is guaranteed to lower your cpu temperatures by a few degrees. Even a conservative 50mv undervolt on my CPU helped the temperatures to remain under 77C in all intensive tasks (in my case games). You should definitely give it a try. Take a look at this post to see how it's done in the Z370N WiFi.

Don't be, I have another macOS based mini-itx media center/server in mind for future, so this l9i cooler will definitely be a good choice for some i3 or i5.

I guess that will try undervolting these days, but again summer in Shanghai is crazy hot, even with AC turned on ambiance temp normally above 25°C, so if NH-l12 will fit I'll leave it there for good.Thanks for the link.

GPU: Personally, I replaced the fans of my RX580 with two Noctua 120mm. It was something along the lines of this mod. Well frankly, the final result was not very aesthetically pleasant... Even the temperature drop was not that high: around 6C - maximum of 79C in games now as opposed to 85C before. However, the real difference is noise-wise: the Noctua fans barely spin and when they do, they're literally inaudible. However, try this mod only if you want to keep your VGA for a really long time, because you won't be able to sell it , unless you restore the original fans.

Wow, that's so cool, I might do it once the warranty on my card is over, but before I can live with it pretty happily as well: when I edit I use headphones, when I play games - the sound effects of the game usually way louder than fan noise, while GPU is working with less than 50% of the load the fans either not spinning at all or dead silent.

Case: since your case supports two case fans, I recommend setting them as exhaust rather than intake (if you're not doing it already). The rationale behind it is that small cases like yours (and mine) work better with negative air pressure. In other words, it's more effective to get rid of the hot air and allow fresh air in through the grill holes than the opposite. This experiment highlights the difference in temperature caused by the orientation of the case fans. The tests were done in a Node 202 case, but the same should apply to your case.

You probably haven't noticed the picture in one of my previous posts:

There are two silent 92mm PWM case fans on the top, I purchased them separately and they help a lot with getting rid of that hot air inside of the case:

Spoiler: like in this image

View attachment 383247

CPU and GPU fans: intake
Top 92mm fans: exhaust

 

[b166ar]

@inarush @serg1892 they banned me because of my Github link, where they found a donation section I deleted it.

If something happens, you can always follow my updates on the Github.

 

[b166ar]

So @b166ar, I have a question. You dual-boot your hackintosh with Windows 10, don't you? I am planning to purchase one extra M.2 SSD to install Windows on. First question is: the rear M.2 slot for SSD in our motherboard only supports NVMe drives, no SATA at all right?

The main M.2 slot (with the heatsink) supports SATA and PCIe M.2. The second slot is PCIe only. So, if you are going to buy SATA M.2, you will have to move your macOS drive to the back of the motherboard. And M.2 may become very hot without a heatsink. I had to buy an additional heatsink for this drive, and my max temps dropped from 70C to 55C.

Second question is: once I get the drive, can I just install Windows on it and Clover will automatically recognize both systems? Or do I have to configure something first?

Clover will recognize both systems automatically.

 

[inarush]

@inarush @serg1892 they banned me because of my Github link, where they found a donation section I deleted it.

If something happens, you can always follow my updates on the Github.

Sorry to hear that. I think some of the rules here are over-reinforced, but perhaps the staff have their reasons...

The main M.2 slot (with the heatsink) supports SATA and PCIe M.2. The second slot is PCIe only. So, if you are going to buy SATA M.2, you will have to move your macOS drive to the back of the motherboard. And M.2 may become very hot without a heatsink. I had to buy an additional heatsink for this drive, and my max temps dropped from 70C to 55C.

Clover will recognize both systems automatically.

I ended up purchasing a cheap 256 GB NVMe drive just to install Windows and some games. It was placed on the rear slot, but I was able to install Windows only after disabling all other drives, just like @serg1892 had suggested. After installation, I re-plugged the other storage units and Clover correctly identified the Windows drive. Dual-boot working fine in my Hack.

It is definitely running hot, though. I will have to get a heatsink as well.

 

[endrus]

The main M.2 slot (with the heatsink) supports SATA and PCIe M.2. The second slot is PCIe only. So, if you are going to buy SATA M.2, you will have to move your macOS drive to the back of the motherboard. And M.2 may become very hot without a heatsink. I had to buy an additional heatsink for this drive, and my max temps dropped from 70C to 55C.

I use two Samsung 970 EVO. The 500GB NVMe on the top side under the MOBO's heatsink and a 250GB NVMe on the back side. The boot drive is the 250GB and the home directory is the 500GB. The 970 EVO comes with heat sink (thin layer of copper laminated on the chips) I only have 6C temp difference. 49C vs 55C

Check your airflow it might be blocked on the back of the MOBO!

 

[b166ar]

The 970 EVO comes with heat sink (thin layer of copper laminated on the chips)

I don't think that "heat sink" is a correct definition for copper sticker

Check your airflow it might be blocked on the back of the MOBO!

SFF case, so zero airflow.

 

[endrus]

b166r,

I have a problem with your new SSDT-EC. My BenQ monitor has an SD card reader connected through an USB port. With the new SSDT-EC it is not recognised (nothing happens) however with my previous SSDT-UIAC it was working fine.

Had a quick look at it and seen SSDT-EC has dependencies, which file should I look at?
See my previous SSDT-UIAC attached - only use back panel USBs

 

[b166ar]

b166r,

I have a problem with your new SSDT-EC. My BenQ monitor has an SD card reader connected through an USB port. With the new SSDT-EC it is not recognised (nothing happens) however with my previous SSDT-UIAC it was working fine.

Had a quick look at it and seen SSDT-EC has dependencies, which file should I look at?
See my previous SSDT-UIAC attached - only use back panel USBs

Did you copy USBPorts.kext to you /L/E/ or Other folder?

 

[endrus]

Did you copy USBPorts.kext to you /L/E/ or Other folder?

Yep, I have it in the /L/E/ folder.
There was a conflict with USBInjectAll which is not needed anymore. After removing USBInjectAll everything is working fine.

 

[diamonddust]

Hello there, I would like to ask you if wake up works as expected. I have same motherboard, on Vanilla install but have problem with wake up, few time works but most I get black screen with LCD on, or keyboard and mouse frizzed.