[Success] GIGABYTE Z370 Gaming 7 + Intel Core i7-8700K + RX 580 + (2x) Dell P2715Q 4k @ 60Hz

[GideonBlack]

For some strange reason, updating this motherboard to the latest bios (f7) has ruined my ability to overclock the 8700k using the auto settings. I get everything from kernel panics to system freezes. Switching back to f5 solves the problem. Anybody else facing similar issues?

 

[jb007]

For some strange reason, updating this motherboard to the latest bios (f7) has ruined my ability to overclock the 8700k using the auto settings. I get everything from kernel panics to system freezes. Switching back to f5 solves the problem. Anybody else facing similar issues?

Hi @GideonBlack. I've no problems with F7. I'm running at 4.9GHz on my i7-8700K. I found just using the basic overclocking setting, that if I tried for 5GHz it would crash doing heavy duty stuff like running Prime95, etc.

I also had my system crash at 4.9GHz running under Arch Linux yesterday whilst compiling code for around 20 or so minutes using all of the 12 cores. It wasn't a temperature thing as I have water cooling, and it didn't get past 76C, well under the 100C limit. I re-ran and it compiled flawlessly! Go figure!

I wonder if the F7 BIOS is changing the CPU voltage levels a little different to the previous F6 BIOS, and your CPU is on the edge. I'm not experienced in OC issues, so maybe have a look at some other websites to do with overclocking.

I also am using the 'DMAR' setting in the Drop Tables along with the PluginType enabled (ticked) in the ACPI section of my config.plist. This gives me better (native) control of the CPU power management.

• What overclocking frequency are you setting your CPU too?
• What are your system logs saying (if any) regarding the crashes?
• Also, are you overclocking your RAM? I leave mine at the Profile 1 setting... I have 3600 RAM.
• Is it crashing whilst only under heavy load?

Jim

 

[jb007]

hi @HackaShaq
could you please share your efi folder?
i have install high Sierra 10.13.6 many times on other mobos, but really I can't find out the issue with my z370x gaming wi-fi.
I can't boot the installer, it hangs at ++++++++++++++ after start randomset-end random set.
could you please help me?

Hi @xelanaiznac. I had a problem today with the same hanging point as you are getting.
I updated my clover install from 4630 (the one that is included in Multibeast HS 10.4.0), using the update function in Clover Configurator, to the latest version 4658. It would not boot past the '++++++++++++++++++'.

I re-booted using my HS USB boot disk and re-applied the default Clover 4630 install. All is now well in my world again. Don't know why the later version causes this.

FWI, I'm applying/booting using the 'Clover UEFI Boot' option, as I now believe our Mobo has native NVRAM and does not need the '+ Emulated NVRAM' option, unless you are using an NVIDIA GPU, then you should(?) be using 'emulated NVRAM'... see this link for further info regarding NVRAM.

Jim

 

[xelanaiznac]

thank you!!!!

 

[GideonBlack]

Hi @GideonBlack. I've no problems with F7. I'm running at 4.9GHz on my i7-8700K. I found just using the basic overclocking setting, that if I tried for 5GHz it would crash doing heavy duty stuff like running Prime95, etc.

I also had my system crash at 4.9GHz running under Arch Linux yesterday whilst compiling code for around 20 or so minutes using all of the 12 cores. It wasn't a temperature thing as I have water cooling, and it didn't get past 76C, well under the 100C limit. I re-ran and it compiled flawlessly! Go figure!

I wonder if the F7 BIOS is changing the CPU voltage levels a little different to the previous F6 BIOS, and your CPU is on the edge. I'm not experienced in OC issues, so maybe have a look at some other websites to do with overclocking.

I also am using the 'DMAR' setting in the Drop Tables along with the PluginType enabled (ticked) in the ACPI section of my config.plist. This gives me better (native) control of the CPU power management.

• What overclocking frequency are you setting your CPU too?
• What are your system logs saying (if any) regarding the crashes?
• Also, are you overclocking your RAM? I leave mine at the Profile 1 setting... I have 3600 RAM.
• Is it crashing whilst only under heavy load?

Jim

Thanks for a really comprehensive reply.

I've tried all "dummy" overclocking modes, which only include 5.0, 4.9 and 4.8 GHz. All failed on F7 BIOS in one way or the other. At 5.0 and 4.9, MacOS be stuck in a boot loop 3 out of 4 times, and the 4th time wouldn't let me past the login screen (the system would just freeze). At 4.7, Geekbench would lock up halfway through benchmark testing. System logs do not say much except that it is a clear kernel panic that takes place at various stages of the boot process. No RAM overclocks at this point.

Today, I spent around an hour fiddling with manual overclocking based on a number of guides, and have tried a wide array of settings (including voltage). Nothing seemed to address these issues and the same symptoms persisted.

I'm back on F5 BIOS now, running smoothly at 5.0 GHz and even overclocking my ram to 3000 MHz (from a factory frequency of 2400). No issues at all under this BIOS, which is irritating.

My theory is that F7 BIOS is not compatible with something in my configuration. My machine is set to iMac 18,3, with a lot custom configs. I, too, have PluginType enabled, but haven't used the DMAR setting, and I have internal graphics running in "headless" mode alongside a Vega 56 GPU.

I wonder if I'd be missing anything of value if I just stick to the F5 firmware. I'm sure with extensive troubleshooting I might find a configuration that works under F7, but it just doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle.

 

[ndrik]

Howdy ndrik,

Please check out my build sig.
I can tell you that for sure that my Gigabyte GC TB card works in Windows 10 Pro, setting up the GC Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt card there first. Both TB3 ports of the card work. You can turn the Apollo on or off anytime in that setup and get it back without restarting your machine. But that's only in Windows so far. For all of my varied efforts, I've never been able to get past the final Multibeast setup, so I just turned the machine into a huge VEP6 slave and stuck it in my basement to run all of my virtual instruments via ethernet. It's a shame because the reason I built the machine was for the Apollo 8. So check my build, make sure the TB card is in the last slot at the bottom of the MOBO, load the GB driver from the disk that it shipped with (after installing Windows) and run all the updates.
After all of that, shut down the PC, disconnect your Windows drive and install another SSD that will be your Hackintosh. I hope you have better luck than I, but know that the listed setup works with the UAD stuff and Pro Tools 2018.4 on my Windows build. I'm just not using it. I'm back to using my 2012 6,2 Mini for Pro Tools and the UAD. LMK how it goes. -FWIW, I use real Apple Thunderbolt 2 cables with the TB2 to TB 3 dongles. They work. I won't be buying that $500 TB3 card for the Apollo 8.

I didn't see your reply until now. I actually plan on getting on with ordering the parts and this build in a couple of weeks.

Did you manage to get any further with this at some point, and get the Apollo 8 to work?
Is it a silverface or a blackface?

 

[jb007]

Thanks for a really comprehensive reply.

I've tried all "dummy" overclocking modes, which only include 5.0, 4.9 and 4.8 GHz. All failed on F7 BIOS in one way or the other. At 5.0 and 4.9, MacOS be stuck in a boot loop 3 out of 4 times, and the 4th time wouldn't let me past the login screen (the system would just freeze). At 4.7, Geekbench would lock up halfway through benchmark testing. System logs do not say much except that it is a clear kernel panic that takes place at various stages of the boot process. No RAM overclocks at this point.

Today, I spent around an hour fiddling with manual overclocking based on a number of guides, and have tried a wide array of settings (including voltage). Nothing seemed to address these issues and the same symptoms persisted.

I'm back on F5 BIOS now, running smoothly at 5.0 GHz and even overclocking my ram to 3000 MHz (from a factory frequency of 2400). No issues at all under this BIOS, which is irritating.

My theory is that F7 BIOS is not compatible with something in my configuration. My machine is set to iMac 18,3, with a lot custom configs. I, too, have PluginType enabled, but haven't used the DMAR setting, and I have internal graphics running in "headless" mode alongside a Vega 56 GPU.

I wonder if I'd be missing anything of value if I just stick to the F5 firmware. I'm sure with extensive troubleshooting I might find a configuration that works under F7, but it just doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle.

Very strange. From what I can recall, F7 will allow us to use a later CPU (yet to come out). I noticed no changes in performance etc. I also are using iMac18,3.

The only problem I have ATM is with my thunderbolt card, but it's not an issue ATM as I have no TB devices. I wonder if it's something to do with your Vega and/or Intel GPU.

Do you have Windows that you can boot into, or a Linux Live USB stick, so you can test with a different OS? Could something be corrupted in your macOS install? Have you tried just booting of your install disk (bypassing your config.plist on your HD) into your macOS and running some benchmarks to hammer it?

Let us know if you find the culprit.

Jim

 

[HackaShaq]

Today, I spent around an hour fiddling with manual overclocking based on a number of guides, and have tried a wide array of settings (including voltage). Nothing seemed to address these issues and the same symptoms persisted.

I'm back on F5 BIOS now, running smoothly at 5.0 GHz and even overclocking my ram to 3000 MHz (from a factory frequency of 2400). No issues at all under this BIOS, which is irritating.

Just to note, the manual overlocking step-by-step is also found in post #3 here of my guide.

I originally had a step-by-step using the manual overlooking steps found on that video is post #3, but I've found that the "dummy" overclocking method is obviously much easier and yielded slightly better geekbench results.

Sorry to hear you're having issues with F7 BIOS, but my adage is always if it ain't broke don't fix it. If F5 is working for you, then no need to update it.

 

[jiffyslot]

I didn't see your reply until now. I actually plan on getting on with ordering the parts and this build in a couple of weeks.

Did you manage to get any further with this at some point, and get the Apollo 8 to work?
Is it a silverface or a blackface?

It's the black one: The Apollo 8 Quad with the 2x Thunderbolt 2 ports. It works like a charm in Windows 10 on my build, but I've never got the chance to try it in HS 10.13.6 because of many boot/install prohib stops, or apparently successful installs that only worked once and bricked after that running Multibeast once for that last step. Gigabyte's F7 bricked my Windows machine and (weirdly) killed my GC Thunderbolt card. Luckily I bought two of the Alpine Ridge cards, so I had a spare. I was able to clear the CMOS, pull the RAM and the battery, and finally reflash the mobo to F5. This machine now runs Windows 10 and is a dedicated Vienna Ensemble Pro Server/slave via ethernet. Too bad that video card is just idling.

I wonder if the Clover 4428 that's created in the EFI of the USB High Sierra installer is conflicting later with the Clover 4630 that's in Multibeast 10.4.0. ?????

 

[ndrik]

It's the black one: The Apollo 8 Quad with the 2x Thunderbolt 2 ports. It works like a charm in Windows 10 on my build,...

So you haven't gotten OSX running on your build yet?
What happened before you bricked your Thunderbolt Card ?!