[Success] Gigabyte Z370M D3H | i7-7800 | Sapphire RX580 8GB | Mojave 10.14.6

[m4a]

m4a's modest build:
Gigabyte Z370M D3H | i7-7800 | Sapphire RX580 8GB | Mojave 10.14.6

Components

Gigabyte Z370M DS3H
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079LC7VHW/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/1JW-000J-000A7

Intel Core i7-8700
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07598HLB4/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/core-i7-8th-gen-intel-core-i7-8700/p/N82E16819117826

Noctua CPU Cooler NH-U12S 120mm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C9EYVGY/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16835608040

Crucial Ballistix Sport LT White 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 CL16 KIT OF 2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XHTGS4G/?tag=tonymacx86-21

Samsung 970 PRO 512GB
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CJ3RVP3/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-pro-512gb/p/N82E16820147693

Sapphire RX 580 Pulse 8GB
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071CQ5LRV/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/sapphire-radeon-rx-580-100411p8gocl/p/N82E16814202278

Fractal Design Define Mini C Tower mATX Black
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N05CPU8/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811352064

Still waiting on WiFi/Bluetooth stuff from Aliexpress:
Adapter: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32271415660.html
Card: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33012728725.html


Already Owned

LG Ultra HD 27UD88-W Display
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CDYB0QS/?tag=tonymacx86-21



Comments

This was my first build since Windows XP times when I was like 16. It was super fun, and I enjoyed it a lot.

I choose micro ATX motherboard because of the fairly compact size. I was looking at Z390 as well, but went for 370 because I saw less issues in users builds with it. For the video card, I picked Sapphire RX 580 in hopes that it would work out of the box and it looks like it did. Samsung 970 pro SSD was a no brainer since the price difference with evo was like 20 eur in my country. For a long time I couldn't decide between i5 8600 and i7 8700, but since I do some video editing from time to time, I decided to spend a little extra and future proof my hackintosh a bit. I am so impressed with Fractal Design's case, it's super silent, great cable management, compact and looks very good. I'm glad I went with this option. Probably went a bit overkill with the Noctua cooler, but oh well, it's super silent as well and seems to be keeping temperatures wery low.

Installation Notes:
Pretty much went with the standard Installation Guide from tonymacx86. BIOS version was F7 and didn't bother changing that. Made a little mistake with buying 32GB USB 3.0 flash drive. Got the usual "Still waiting for root device" when installing OS. Couldn't figure out how to get it working so I bought another flash drive. This time 16GB USB 2.0 and installation went perfect.

Post installation front side audio jack was working but the backside motherboard audio ports were not. Used toleda's audio guide to fix it. Worked only when didn't select "Optional 3 port" options. At least one port works. That's all I need.

Fixed iMessage using "An iDiot's Guide To iMessage". Worked after the first try. Yay!

Yesterday found out that I can't open jpeg images. Used Averett's "Fix for Finder Preview not working on Mojave 10.14.1+" to fix the issue. Works fine now.

One thing I have noticed having issue with is, if I plug my MacBook (USB-C) and hackintosh (HDMI) into my monitor at the same time, sometimes when I switch between devices, it shows that hackintosh is not plugged in. Then I have to unplug HDMI and plug it back in and it works again. This is not how I will work usually, so I am not too worried about it.

Other than that, the system is super stable, no crashes what so ever. It's quieter than my 2017 MacBook Pro. I can't even hear it.


Summary

What Works
So far everything that should work, works:

Sleep/wake with a keyboard press or mouse​

iMessage/App store​

All the USB 3.0 and USB-C ports​

Audio front and back (just 1 back port though, but I don't care about the rest)​

Ethernet worked out of the box​

4K​

Final cut, Adobe apps and everything else I have installed.​

Wifi/Bluetooth​

Unlock with Apple Watch (somewhat, see the update)​

Benchmarks

I'm pretty stoked about these results. It runs as 2019 21" iMac which if would be similarly configured would cost around 2500 Eur. I paid around 850 Eur for parts + around 400 Eur for the monitor (which I had already).

Only thing I am a bit worries about is backups. Not sure what would be the best way of doing a backup. Should I grab a 500 GB HDD disk, add it in and do a backup every day using time machine?

 

[m4a]

Added WiFi/Bluetooth card. Everything works except "Unlock with Apple Watch". When I click on the setting "Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac", it just keeps spinning the wheel and shows "Turning On" until eventually shows that it could not connect. Anyone had experience with this?

 

[jhenu]

1. Get an additional SSD-01 and format as bootable macOS (APFS) ...Use Carbon Cloner to clone your Samsung 970 pro
2. Use EFI Mount and copy clover config folder to SSD-01
3. Keep the Data(Images, Projects, Files) in seperate SSD-02
4. This way you keep data safe, incase of any failure in installation of mac, you have back up to restore.

 

[chenga732]

Do you have sleep/shutdown issues? Do you mind sharing your EFI folder? TQ

 

[m4a]

Nice build, could you post your CPU temperatures?

Thanks, It's idling around 49-50*C

 

[m4a]

Do you have sleep/shutdown issues? Do you mind sharing your EFI folder? TQ

No issues with sleep/shutdown. At the beginning I had some issue where the monitor would not turn on, then I had to unplug the HDMI cable and plug in another slot on my video card, but that issue seems to be gone now.

Sure, I'm just not 100% sure how I can do it. I copied and attached it, not sure if that's the right one.

 

[m4a]

Forgot to update:
Received the Bluetooth/WiFi card. Almost everything worked out of the box. The only thing that is somewhat not working is Unlock with Apple Watch. If I wake up the computer and not enter the password and let it go back to sleep and once the screen turns off, I wake it up again, and it unlocks with apple watch. I guess it has something to do with how fast the WiFi/Bluetooth card wakes up.

 

[chenga732]

No issues with sleep/shutdown. At the beginning I had some issue where the monitor would not turn on, then I had to unplug the HDMI cable and plug in another slot on my video card, but that issue seems to be gone now.

Sure, I'm just not 100% sure how I can do it. I copied and attached it, not sure if that's the right one.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[freituk]

What slot did you use to connect your WiFi/BT PCI card?

 

[m4a]

What slot did you use to connect your WiFi/BT PCI card?

PCI express