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

[DJEarthworm]

@CaseySJ is there anything specific other than the SSDT's I need to enable high-current on the USB ports? If you recall, I asked for the way to test, and you suggested charging an iPad. I have an iPad Pro (2016 model I think). When I plug in, it shows up under USB 2.0, and is not Charging with the screen on. When checking under USB in System Info, it says it is using 500ma. I tried the front USB ports on my case, as well as USB3 port on the back. Same result.

 

[khaoskosmos]

Has anyone setup the newer versions of the EFIClone script that does an archive backup of the EFI partition at each successful boot?

Also, in the CCC instructions in the original post, the command tail -f /EFIClone.log cannot be executed (there is no /EFIClone.log during backup). I image that this command must be ran after the script executes, which should occur after the backup completes.

EDIT: I see, the -f parameter outputs appended data as the file grows, but the command will not execute if the file doesn't already exist. You can touch /EFIClone.log first, or wait for the first backup to complete.

BTW: No problem updating Clover, kexts, and MacOS to latest supplement 2.

 

[CaseySJ]

@CaseySJ
Hello
Thank you for all the information you have provided me. I still have some questions about my configuration.
-What is the top and bottom slot on the Z390 Designare MB to install NVMe SSD as I would like to install a second 1TB card?

• The top NVMe slot (closest to CPU) is M2M.
  • If you are installing Windows on NVMe SSD, install the SSD into this M2M slot.
• The bottom NVMe slot is M2P.
  • Install MacOS Mojave into this lower M2P slot.

-Is it possible to migrate OS Mojave from the NVMe 250 GB card to the NVMe 1TB card without doing a full reinstallation?

Yes absolutely! Use a disk cloning application such as Carbon Copy Cloner and also copy the EFI partition. The basic procedure is as follows:

• First run Disk Utility and format the new SSD (NVMe 1TB) as follows:
  • Name: any name
  • Format: APFS
  • Scheme: GUID Partition Map
• Then run Carbon Copy Cloner to transfer everything from old drive (NVMe 256GB) to new drive.
• Now mount the EFI partition of both the old drive and the new drive. You can use Clover Configurator or EFI Mounter v3 to mount the EFI partitions of both NVMe drives.
  • Then manually drag-and-drop the EFI folder from the old drive to the new drive (specifically, from the EFI partition of old drive to the EFI partition of new drive).
• Reboot the system and press F8 during BIOS Splash screen to open the Boot Menu.
  • Choose the new 1TB NVMe drive and make sure the system can boot properly.
  • Now you can remove the old 256GB NVMe.
    • But shutdown the computer and turn off power switch on the PSU (or pull power cable from the wall). Do not install or remove any device from the motherboard without completely disconnecting power.

Because I would like to follow your recommendations to install W10.
-Do you have a tutorial to follow this procedure?
I ask you these questions because I have not finished the post-installation and I would like to do things properly.

It is very important to remove all macOS drives from the system before installing Windows. This means:

• Physically remove the macOS NVMe SSD. Yes, really!
• Disconnect SATA cables from all macOS SATA drives.
• Remove any USB flash drives that are APFS or HFS+ format.
• Disconnect all Thunderbolt disk drives.

The Windows NVMe SSD should, of course, be installed (in upper M2M slot). Now you can install Windows. Just follow the standard Windows installation procedure from Microsoft website. Most likely you will first create a Windows USB Install Disk.

And, finally, how do you configure the bluray player?

You can connect USB blu ray players directly. However, to play a blu ray movie you will need third party software. QuickTime and iMovie cannot play blu ray movies because Apple did not license the blu ray CODEC from the Blu Ray Disc Association.

 

[CaseySJ]

@CaseySJ is there anything specific other than the SSDT's I need to enable high-current on the USB ports? If you recall, I asked for the way to test, and you suggested charging an iPad. I have an iPad Pro (2016 model I think). When I plug in, it shows up under USB 2.0, and is not Charging with the screen on. When checking under USB in System Info, it says it is using 500ma. I tried the front USB ports on my case, as well as USB3 port on the back. Same result.

Version 7 of the USB SSDT (SSDT-UIAC-DESIGNARE-Z390-V7.aml) contains a device called USBX which injects high-current properties. In addition to this SSDT, we also need to copy SSDT-EC.aml to the CLOVER/ACPI/patched folder. These are the only two SSDTs necessary for high-current support.

 

[oopsmybad]

I just completed my new build - yay! A big thanks to @CaseySJ for creating the full and complete guide. I wouldn't have dropped $2K+ on the hardware if I had to figure this all out myself.

Things mostly went well, except after booting into Mojave (10.14.6), the EFI Mounter kept giving me an error. I had to reboot - which gave me a scary looking white circle with a slash through it - but I rebooted again, logged in normally, and finished up the rest of the install.

I use FCP, so I configured the headless options (with my RX 580) - and videoproc shows I have h264/h265 acceleration. Yay again!

Finally, and this is probably the only bit of real news here, I was able to get my Focusrite Clarett 2pre (Thunderbolt 1 device) to work with Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter! But it didn't work straight away - nothing happened when I plugged in the device on the back of my Define R6. I booted into Windows, and nothing happened in there either... but I could see I was missing a Windows Thunderbolt driver, so I downloaded it from the Gigabyte website.

After that, I shut everything down, and booted back into Windows - and the Clarett was recognized. I then "soft booted" into Mojave and saw there was an unrecognized Thunderbolt device detected... and after downloading the drivers from Focusrite's website, I rebooted into Mojave again, and there it was - in system report and Logic X!

The reason I did the 'boot to windows, install the drivers, then reboot into Mojave' is because I saw a video where somebody (with a different, non Z390 mobo) installed a Titan Ridge card and figured out that Windows somehow initializes the device and the device doesn't lose its magic when softbooting into MacOS. (Maybe it's like the NZXT CAM software - I set it up in Windows and it keeps its settings with a soft boot into Mojave.)

I don't pretend to know how it works, only that it worked for me. Yay^3!

EDIT: Here's a link to the Windows Thunderbolt drivers I downloaded:

http://download.gigabyte.us/FileList/Driver/mb_driver_thunderbolt_17.4.77.400.zip

 

[chabeus57]

@CaseySJ
WOW
Thank you very much for this description. I just received the 9Pin USB Header to connect my bluteooth wifi card as you advised me. Next weekend I will follow this procedure and finalize the post-installation.
You are a genius with extraordinary skills.
Thank you so much

 

[CaseySJ]

...
Finally, and this is probably the only bit of real news here, I was able to get my Focusrite Clarett 2pre (Thunderbolt 1 device) to work with Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter! But it didn't work straight away - nothing happened when I plugged in the device on the back of my Define R6. I booted into Windows, and nothing happened in there either... but I could see I was missing a Windows Thunderbolt driver, so I downloaded it from the Gigabyte website.

After that, I shut everything down, and booted back into Windows - and the Clarett was recognized. I then "soft booted" into Mojave and saw there was an unrecognized Thunderbolt device detected... and after downloading the drivers from Focusrite's website, I rebooted into Mojave again, and there it was - in system report and Logic X!

The reason I did the 'boot to windows, install the drivers, then reboot into Mojave' is because I saw a video where somebody (with a different, non Z390 mobo) installed a Titan Ridge card and figured out that Windows somehow initializes the device and the device doesn't lose its magic when softbooting into MacOS. (Maybe it's like the NZXT CAM software - I set it up in Windows and it keeps its settings with a soft boot into Mojave.)
...

Perseverance pays off -- glad to hear another success story! I've added the Focusrite Clarett 2Pre (non-USB version) to the Thunderbolt 3 Experiences list. Welcome to the forum!

 

[lamlo32]

@CaseySJ Can't thank you enough for this post! I have no knowledge whatsoever concerning hackintoshes (computers in general, really) and after trying many other methods, this one was the most easiest to comprehend. However, I do have a question though.

I didn't come across this guide until after installing the MacOS through UniBeast, and found out that I have skipped the "config.plist Modification" step that has been labeled as Mandatory, but I did follow the guide afterwards. I've been using Mojave 10.14.6 for about 2 weeks now, and the only problem I came across was not being able to get Quick Look and Preview to work, but I easily found a way around that installing something through Hackintool. My question is, will this be a problem in the future? And if it does, is it a bad idea to do those steps post installation?

@oopsmybad That's amazing that you were able to get your TB1 device to work. I've searched many forums about getting those devices to work with Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter, but to no avail (I have a first generation Silverface Apollo Quad with Thunderbolt 1 connections). Unfortunately I don't have Windows installed to install those drivers. LOL. I'm guessing the only other way around this is to buy a HUB that utilizes Alpine Ridge controller chip?

Thanks again, and I'm really thankful to see so many success stories about this build.

 

[oopsmybad]

@oopsmybad That's amazing that you were able to get your TB1 device to work. I've searched many forums about getting those devices to work with Apple's Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter, but to no avail (I have a first generation Silverface Apollo Quad with Thunderbolt 1 connections). Unfortunately I don't have windows installed to install those drivers lol. I'm guessing the only other way around this is to buy a HUB that utilizes Alpine Ridge controller chip?

I'm not sure about that - we don't have the Thunderbolt header on the Z390, so I don't think anything other than a monitor would work if you installed an Alpine Ridge card.

However, if you wanted to try what I did, you could do so pretty cheaply. A 128GBB Kingston SSD sells on Amazon for $21.99, and Windows 10 doesn't need a product code to boot up and allow you to install the Gigabyte Thunderbolt drivers. Necessary Disclaimer: If you go on to use Windows, you should buy a product code!

 

[lamlo32]

However, if you wanted to try what I did, you could do so pretty cheaply. A 128gb Kingston SSD sells on Amazon for $21.99, and Windows 10 doesn't need a product code to boot up and allow you to install the Gigabyte Thunderbolt drivers. Necessary Disclaimer: If you go on to use Windows, you should buy a product code!

Thanks for the quick reply! Yeah it is an option worth trying. I am contemplating on whether or not to upgrade my interface to a newer model (TB3 model), but if I choose not to, I'll definitely give this one a try.
I do, however, would like to know what you mean by "soft booting" from windows to Mojave. Sorry, I'm a computer newb and this is my first computer build ever haha.