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Success: GC Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3 AIC (rev 2.0), High Sierra

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ritchieborg said:
What happen with your thunderbolt connection when waking from sleep?
Click to expand...
I don't think his hot swap is working.

It is not perfect if there is no SSDT patch for TH3.

After sleep and wake, it must be lost its connection from TH3. No hot swap!
 
In the thread of https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...c-pro-successful-build-extended-guide.229353/ they got hotplug Thunderbolt working...

So you may want to make a SSDT and adjust it to your system, and get it up and running like a real mac!

Here is a quote from the Thunderbolt 3 section:
kgp said:
E.9.2.11) - ThunderboltEX 3 Controller PCI Implementation:

DefintionBlock entry:

Code: 
External (_SB_.PC01.BR1A, DeviceObj)    // (from opcode)
External (_SB_.PC01.BR1A.PEGP, DeviceObj)    // (from opcode)
External (_SB_.PC01.BR1A.SL01, DeviceObj)    // (from opcode)
External (_SB_.PC01.BR1A.UPSB, DeviceObj)    // (from opcode)
External (OSDW, MethodObj)    // 0 Arguments (from opcode)
External (OSYS, UnknownObj)    // (from opcode)
External (PEGP, DeviceObj)    // (from opcode)
External (SL01, DeviceObj)    // (from opcode)
External (UPSB, DeviceObj)    // (from opcode)

PCI Device Implementation:

Code: 
    Scope (\_SB.PC01.BR1A)
    {
        Scope (SL01)
        {
            Name (_STA, Zero)  // _STA: Status
        }

        Scope (PEGP)
        {
            Name (_STA, Zero)  // _STA: Status
        }

        Device (UPSB)
        {
            Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
            Method (_DSM, 4, NotSerialized)  // _DSM: Device-Specific Method
            {
                If (LNot (Arg2))
                {
                    Return (Buffer (One)
                    {
                         0x03                                     
                    })
                }

                Return (Package (0x02)
                {
                    "PCI-Thunderbolt",
                    One
                })
            }

            Name (_RMV, One)  // _RMV: Removal Status
            Device (DSB0)
            {
                Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                Method (_DSM, 4, NotSerialized)  // _DSM: Device-Specific Method
                {
                    If (LNot (Arg2))
                    {
                        Return (Buffer (One)
                        {
                             0x03                                     
                        })
                    }

                    Return (Package (0x02)
                    {
                        "PCIHotplugCapable",
                        One
                    })
                }

                Device (NHI0)
                {
                    Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                    Name (_STR, Unicode ("Thunderbolt"))  // _STR: Description String
                    Method (_DSM, 4, NotSerialized)  // _DSM: Device-Specific Method
                    {
                        If (LEqual (Arg2, Zero))
                        {
                            Return (Buffer (One)
                            {
                                 0x03                                     
                            })
                        }

                        Return (Package (0x0D)
                        {
                            "built-in",
                            Buffer (One)
                            {
                                 0x00                                     
                            },

                            "device_type",
                            Buffer (0x19)
                            {
                                "Thunderbolt 3 Controller"
                            },

                            "AAPL,slot-name",
                            Buffer (0x07)
                            {
                                "Slot-4"
                            },

                            "model",
                            Buffer (0x30)
                            {
                                "ThunderboltEX 3 Intel DSL6540 Thunderbolt 3 NHI"
                            },

                            "name",
                            Buffer (0x37)
                            {
                                "ThunderboltEX 3 Intel DSL6540 Thunderbolt 3 Controller"
                            },

                            "power-save",
                            One,
                            Buffer (One)
                            {
                                 0x00                                     
                            }
                        })
                    }
                }
            }

            Device (DSB1)
            {
                Name (_ADR, 0x00010000)  // _ADR: Address
                Name (_SUN, 0x04)  // _SUN: Slot User Number
                OperationRegion (A1E0, PCI_Config, Zero, 0x40)
                Field (A1E0, ByteAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
                {
                    AVND,   32,
                    BMIE,   3,
                    Offset (0x18),
                    PRIB,   8,
                    SECB,   8,
                    SUBB,   8,
                    Offset (0x1E),
                        ,   13,
                    MABT,   1
                }

                Method (_BBN, 0, NotSerialized)  // _BBN: BIOS Bus Number
                {
                    Return (SECB)
                }

                Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                {
                    Return (0x0F)
                }

                Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                {
                    Return (Zero)
                }

                Device (UPS0)
                {
                    Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                    OperationRegion (ARE0, PCI_Config, Zero, 0x04)
                    Field (ARE0, ByteAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
                    {
                        AVND,   16
                    }

                    Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                    {
                        If (OSDW ())
                        {
                            Return (One)
                        }

                        Return (Zero)
                    }

                    Device (DSB0)
                    {
                        Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                        OperationRegion (A1E0, PCI_Config, Zero, 0x40)
                        Field (A1E0, ByteAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
                        {
                            AVND,   32,
                            BMIE,   3,
                            Offset (0x18),
                            PRIB,   8,
                            SECB,   8,
                            SUBB,   8,
                            Offset (0x1E),
                                ,   13,
                            MABT,   1,
                            Offset (0x3E),
                                ,   6,
                            SBRS,   1
                        }

                        Method (_BBN, 0, NotSerialized)  // _BBN: BIOS Bus Number
                        {
                            Return (SECB)
                        }

                        Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                        {
                            Return (0x0F)
                        }

                        Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                        {
                            Return (One)
                        }

                        Device (DEV0)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                            Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                            {
                                Return (0x0F)
                            }

                            Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                            {
                                Return (One)
                            }
                        }
                    }

                    Device (DSB1)
                    {
                        Name (_ADR, 0x00010000)  // _ADR: Address
                        OperationRegion (A1E0, PCI_Config, Zero, 0x40)
                        Field (A1E0, ByteAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
                        {
                            AVND,   32,
                            BMIE,   3,
                            Offset (0x18),
                            PRIB,   8,
                            SECB,   8,
                            SUBB,   8,
                            Offset (0x1E),
                                ,   13,
                            MABT,   1
                        }

                        Method (_BBN, 0, NotSerialized)  // _BBN: BIOS Bus Number
                        {
                            Return (SECB)
                        }

                        Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                        {
                            Return (0x0F)
                        }

                        Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                        {
                            Return (One)
                        }

                        Device (DEV0)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                            Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                            {
                                Return (0x0F)
                            }

                            Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                            {
                                Return (One)
                            }
                        }
                    }

                    Device (DSB2)
                    {
                        Name (_ADR, 0x00020000)  // _ADR: Address
                        OperationRegion (A1E0, PCI_Config, Zero, 0x40)
                        Field (A1E0, ByteAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
                        {
                            AVND,   32,
                            BMIE,   3,
                            Offset (0x18),
                            PRIB,   8,
                            SECB,   8,
                            SUBB,   8,
                            Offset (0x1E),
                                ,   13,
                            MABT,   1
                        }

                        Method (_BBN, 0, NotSerialized)  // _BBN: BIOS Bus Number
                        {
                            Return (SECB)
                        }

                        Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                        {
                            Return (0x0F)
                        }

                        Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                        {
                            Return (One)
                        }

                        Device (DEV0)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                            Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                            {
                                Return (0x0F)
                            }

                            Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                            {
                                Return (One)
                            }
                        }
                    }

                    Device (DSB3)
                    {
                        Name (_ADR, 0x00030000)  // _ADR: Address
                        OperationRegion (A1E0, PCI_Config, Zero, 0x40)
                        Field (A1E0, ByteAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
                        {
                            AVND,   32,
                            BMIE,   3,
                            Offset (0x18),
                            PRIB,   8,
                            SECB,   8,
                            SUBB,   8,
                            Offset (0x1E),
                                ,   13,
                            MABT,   1
                        }

                        Method (_BBN, 0, NotSerialized)  // _BBN: BIOS Bus Number
                        {
                            Return (SECB)
                        }

                        Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                        {
                            Return (0x0F)
                        }

                        Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                        {
                            Return (One)
                        }

                        Device (DEV0)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                            Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                            {
                                Return (0x0F)
                            }

                            Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                            {
                                Return (One)
                            }
                        }
                    }

                    Device (DSB4)
                    {
                        Name (_ADR, 0x00040000)  // _ADR: Address
                        OperationRegion (A1E0, PCI_Config, Zero, 0x40)
                        Field (A1E0, ByteAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
                        {
                            AVND,   32,
                            BMIE,   3,
                            Offset (0x18),
                            PRIB,   8,
                            SECB,   8,
                            SUBB,   8,
                            Offset (0x1E),
                                ,   13,
                            MABT,   1
                        }

                        Method (_BBN, 0, NotSerialized)  // _BBN: BIOS Bus Number
                        {
                            Return (SECB)
                        }

                        Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                        {
                            Return (0x0F)
                        }

                        Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                        {
                            Return (One)
                        }

                        Device (DEV0)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                            Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                            {
                                Return (0x0F)
                            }

                            Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                            {
                                Return (One)
                            }
                        }
                    }

                    Device (DSB5)
                    {
                        Name (_ADR, 0x00050000)  // _ADR: Address
                        OperationRegion (A1E0, PCI_Config, Zero, 0x40)
                        Field (A1E0, ByteAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
                        {
                            AVND,   32,
                            BMIE,   3,
                            Offset (0x18),
                            PRIB,   8,
                            SECB,   8,
                            SUBB,   8,
                            Offset (0x1E),
                                ,   13,
                            MABT,   1
                        }

                        Method (_BBN, 0, NotSerialized)  // _BBN: BIOS Bus Number
                        {
                            Return (SECB)
                        }

                        Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                        {
                            Return (0x0F)
                        }

                        Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                        {
                            Return (One)
                        }

                        Device (DEV0)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                            Method (_STA, 0, NotSerialized)  // _STA: Status
                            {
                                Return (0x0F)
                            }

                            Method (_RMV, 0, NotSerialized)  // _RMV: Removal Status
                            {
                                Return (One)
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }

            Device (DSB2)
            {
                Name (_ADR, 0x00020000)  // _ADR: Address
                Device (XHC5)
                {
                    Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                    Method (_DSM, 4, NotSerialized)  // _DSM: Device-Specific Method
                    {
                        If (LEqual (Arg2, Zero))
                        {
                            Return (Buffer (One)
                            {
                                 0x03                                     
                            })
                        }

                        Return (Package (0x12)
                        {
                            "built-in",
                            Buffer (One)
                            {
                                 0x00                                     
                            },

                            "AAPL,slot-name",
                            Buffer (0x07)
                            {
                                "Slot-4"
                            },

                            "model",
                            Buffer (0x41)
                            {
                                "ThunderboltEX 3 Texas Instruments TPS65982 USB 3.1 Type-A/Type-C"
                            },

                            "name",
                            Buffer (0x31)
                            {
                                "ThunderboltEX 3 Texas Instruments XHC Controller"
                            },

                            "device_type",
                            Buffer (0x13)
                            {
                                "USB 3.1 Controller"
                            },

                            "device-id",
                            Buffer (0x04)
                            {
                                 0xB6, 0x15, 0x00, 0x00                   
                            },

                            "USBBusNumber",
                            Zero,
                            "UsbCompanionControllerPresent",
                            One,
                            "AAPL,XHCI-clock-id",
                            One
                        })
                    }

                    Device (RHUB)
                    {
                        Name (_ADR, Zero)  // _ADR: Address
                        Device (SSP1)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, One)  // _ADR: Address
                            Name (_UPC, Package (0x04)  // _UPC: USB Port Capabilities
                            {
                                0xFF,
                                0x09,
                                Zero,
                                Zero
                            })
                            Name (_PLD, Package (0x01)  // _PLD: Physical Location of Device
                            {
                                Buffer (0x10)
                                {
                                    /* 0000 */  0x81, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
                                    /* 0008 */  0x31, 0x1C, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00
                                }
                            })
                            Method (_DSM, 4, NotSerialized)  // _DSM: Device-Specific Method
                            {
                                If (LEqual (Arg2, Zero))
                                {
                                    Return (Buffer (One)
                                    {
                                         0x03                                     
                                    })
                                }

                                Return (Package (0x02)
                                {
                                    "UsbCPortNumber",
                                    One
                                })
                            }
                        }

                        Device (SSP2)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, 0x02)  // _ADR: Address
                            Name (_UPC, Package (0x04)  // _UPC: USB Port Capabilities
                            {
                                0xFF,
                                0x09,
                                Zero,
                                Zero
                            })
                            Name (_PLD, Package (0x01)  // _PLD: Physical Location of Device
                            {
                                Buffer (0x10)
                                {
                                    /* 0000 */  0x81, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
                                    /* 0008 */  0x31, 0x1C, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00
                                }
                            })
                            Method (_DSM, 4, NotSerialized)  // _DSM: Device-Specific Method
                            {
                                If (LEqual (Arg2, Zero))
                                {
                                    Return (Buffer (One)
                                    {
                                         0x03                                     
                                    })
                                }

                                Return (Package (0x02)
                                {
                                    "UsbCPortNumber",
                                    0x02
                                })
                            }
                        }

                        Device (HS01)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, 0x03)  // _ADR: Address
                            Name (_UPC, Package (0x04)  // _UPC: USB Port Capabilities
                            {
                                0xFF,
                                0x09,
                                Zero,
                                Zero
                            })
                            Name (_PLD, Package (0x01)  // _PLD: Physical Location of Device
                            {
                                Buffer (0x10)
                                {
                                    /* 0000 */  0x81, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
                                    /* 0008 */  0x31, 0x1C, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00
                                }
                            })
                        }

                        Device (HS02)
                        {
                            Name (_ADR, 0x04)  // _ADR: Address
                            Name (_UPC, Package (0x04)  // _UPC: USB Port Capabilities
                            {
                                0xFF,
                                0x09,
                                Zero,
                                Zero
                            })
                            Name (_PLD, Package (0x01)  // _PLD: Physical Location of Device
                            {
                                Buffer (0x10)
                                {
                                    /* 0000 */  0x81, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00,
                                    /* 0008 */  0x31, 0x1C, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00
                                }
                            })
                        }
                    }
                }
            }

            Device (DSB3)
            {
                Name (_ADR, 0x00030000)  // _ADR: Address
            }

            Device (DSB4)
            {
                Name (_ADR, 0x00040000)  // _ADR: Address
            }
        }
    }

The above ThunderboltEX 3 PCI device implementation (a sophisticated and beautiful PCI device implementation thanks to @apfelnico, @MorkvomOrk, @Matthew82) provides full TB hot plug functionality but is only valid for users of the latter TB PCIe Adapter in PCIe Slot 4. Users of this PCIe Adapter within a PCIe slot population different from PCIe Slot 3 have to adapt/modify the respective path entires "PC01", "BR1A" and likely also the respective UPSB ACPI DSDT Replacement. Users of TB PCIe Adapters different from the ASUS TBEX 3 or users without any TB PCIe Adapter, have to either adopt the entire TB PCI implementation by means of IOREG or can simply skip the entire part.
Click to expand...
 
Have the same problem with my thunderbolt audio (MOTU 828ES) that I need to run Win10 first and reboot. Tried your bios settings without the part regarding iGPU since my RX580 never arrive. Thunderbolt works but the boot time more than doubled. I get a black screen for 50 sec before the apple shows up and sometimes it reboots after while. Do you experience the same?

EDIT: Bootarg -v shows nothing during the initial 50 seconds. Just a black screen as soon as it leave the clover screen.

Also tried some other BIOS settings with good results (same long boot though) Doesn't seem to matter if GPIO3... and Skip PCI... is set to disabled.
 
Last edited:
2018 Hack
Z370 AORUS Gaming 5 |  i7 8700K |  Radeon Other
Consigliere said:
Have the same problem with my thunderbolt audio (MOTU 828ES) that I need to run Win10 first and reboot. Tried your bios settings without the part regarding iGPU since my RX580 never arrive. Thunderbolt works but the boot time more than doubled. I get a black screen for 50 sec before the apple shows up and sometimes it reboots after while. Do you experience the same?

EDIT: Bootarg -v shows nothing during the initial 50 seconds. Just a black screen as soon as it leave the clover screen.

Also tried some other BIOS settings with good results (same long boot though) Doesn't seem to matter if GPIO3... and Skip PCI... is set to disabled.
Click to expand...

My boot time is not great (20 seconds from Clover) but I have never associated that with TB, but perhaps there is a link. I don't get a black screen or any freezes. Just boots normally, however slower than previous builds.
 
Devil's Canyon
GA-Z97X-UD3H |  i7 4790K |  GeForce GTX 650 Ti
purpleronnie said:
My boot time is not great (20 seconds from Clover) but I have never associated that with TB, but perhaps there is a link. I don't get a black screen or any freezes. Just boots normally, however slower than previous builds.
Click to expand...
Do you run apfs or hfs?

I think that maybe it has to do with the MOTU. It might not be as easy as with Apollo. Still hoping for the SSDT patch they are working on. :)
 
2018 Hack
Z370 AORUS Gaming 5 |  i7 8700K |  Radeon Other
If you press F4 at the main Clover bootloader screen, Clover will write your native DSDT and other files to EFI/Clover/ACPI/origin. If you could grab that, and copy your clover folder to your desktop. Then edit your config.plist so it doesn't have the serial and UUID in it, and do a IOJones dump into that folder, and post a zip of it, and I will attempt to make a SSDT.aml file to get your thunderbolt working with Native hot plug.
 
Thanks for posting your findings @purpleronnie and @BoomR.

I also have the GC-ALPINE-RIDGE v2.0 card. I'm on a GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 motherboard. My hackintosh is configured as MacPro6,1, and I'm on 10.13.4. I have a custom SSDT for USB 3 on my board, which I created after following @RehabMan's guide.

I also followed various threads on TM to figure out how to get this Thunderbolt AIC setup in Windows first, before switching over to macOS. For my BIOS (Gigabyte v21j) settings, I noticed that things didn't work at first (Windows Device Manager would complain that Thunderbolt devices I connected were lacking some firmware features) until I set "Skip PCI OptionRom" in the Peripherals > Thunderbolt to Disabled. On subsequent tries however, it seems that this setting mattered less than simply rebooting a few times. The card now seems to work perfectly under Windows 10 64-bit: hot plug works, I get notifications in the system tray; Device Manager reports everything is working; the correct version of the controller firmware is reported by the Thunderbolt app on windows; my Thunderbolt peripherals, in particular my AKiTiO Thunder 2 10GbE NIC works perfectly when connected using the TB3 to TB2 adapter from Apple.

thunderbolt_windows_details.JPG
akitio_windows_ok.JPG


After getting things working on Windows, I set my sights on getting Thunderbolt to work in 10.13.4, which I boot from a separate physical drive using Clover. After setting Security Level to "No Security" under Peripherals > Thunderbolt in the BIOS, I have Thunderbolt video working with my LG monitor when I connect the DisplayPort=>MiniDisplayPort cable from my Nvidia GPU to the GC-ALPINE-RIDGE, and I also confirmed that my OWC Thunderbolt 2 Dock is working correctly with no additional drivers required. Except for hotplug, which apparently doesn't work yet under hackintosh, this would seem to indicate that I have Thunderbolt working correctly on my build with 10.13.4 using the GC-ALPINE-RIDGE card.

However, the one device I really want to use, the whole reason I bothered with Thunderbolt, doesn't seem to work. I need a 10GbE NIC for my daily work, and I've been using the AKiTiO Thunder2 10GbE Network Adapter for some time with my old mid-2012 MacBook Pro. It works on 10.13.4 on the real Mac with drivers supplied by the manufacturer (installs tn40xx.kext into /Library/Extensions), and I was really hoping to use it on my hackintosh.

The problems I'm having with the AKiTiO device on my hackintosh are as follows:

1) The device doesn't show up under About This Mac > System Report > Thunderbolt. OK, apparently this is just a cosmetic issue.

no_drivers_loaded.png


2) The device DOES show up under About This Mac > System Report > Ethernet. Everything looks OK, but it shows a suspicious looking Revision ID of 0x0000.

ethernet_adapter.png


3) When I go to add the network interface in System Preferences, I notice that it reports a bogus MAC address for the device (ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff). I'm unable to get it to connect to my network, or to display a correct MAC address.

bogus_mac_address.png


Now I'm stuck, and it seemed to be so close to working! :(

What I've tried to fix this:

1) Methodically tweaking BIOS settings. Tried setting Other PCI Devices to "Legacy" as suggested by some, fiddling with Thunderbolt Boot Support, even messing with the Thunderbolt reserved memory settings. Nothing worked.

2) Disabling my custom SSDT in clover in case it was causing a conflict with Thunderbolt.

3) Uninstalling and reinstalling the tn40xx.kext drivers, checking I had the latest version for 10.13+.

Questions:

1) Given that Thunderbolt video works, and my OWC Thunderbolt 2 dock works, do you think that I probably have Thunderbolt working correctly on my build, and that the issue is likely driver compatibility with the external Thunderbolt 10GbE NIC under hackintosh rather than a general issue with my Thunderbolt configuration?

2) Does anyone know if some mac-supported Thunderbolt peripherals that have High Sierra drivers (like this NIC) just won't work on hackintosh even after you get Thunderbolt working for most devices? I'm not talking about hotplug - just devices that are plugged in before boot.

3) Is there anything else I should try to fix this bogus MAC address being reported by my 10GbE device? Other BIOS settings? A setting in Clover? Anyone seen anything like this for other NICs and got it working?

Your help is greatly appreciated.
 
Daily Hackintosh
GA-Z170X-Gaming 3 |  i7 6700K |  Radeon Other
Purplronnie, I'm SO glad I found this thread. I recently built a computer using the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 motherboard and among other things, I intend on using it for music production. The audio interfaces that I was most interested in purchasing use thunderbolt - specifically the Focusrite 2pre which you have.

So I just purchased an Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt expansion card (A little tricky to find these days) And I am currently waiting for it in the mail.

And I’m starting to get a little worried on whether it’s actually going to be able to work on my system. Will the Alpine Ridge work in any of the PCI Lanes on the Gaming 3 motherboard? Or does it only work in one specific PC lane? I had read somewhere that it only works in the PCIEX 4_2 lane which is going to be a problem for me because that’s where my massive GTX 1080 TI sits and I’m currently using the Nautua D5 as my heat sink which is making virtually all the other PCI lanes unusable due to the size.

Bottom Line: Is all of this worth it for Thunderbolt? Focusrite did recently release a Clarett Pre USB version and I was considering that if the Alpine Ridge + 2Pre Thunderbolt was not worth the hassle. I'm only using Windows 10 and have no intentions of doing OSX on my machine. I'm really not sure what do and I've been trying to figure this out for weeks so I would love to hear from you.

Many thanks in advance!
 
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