- Joined
- Jan 17, 2013
- Messages
- 35
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte Z390 Gaming X
- CPU
- i9-9900k
- Graphics
- Vega 56
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
Components
Intel Core i9-9900K Processor
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005404P9I/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
Le Grand Macho RT CPU Cooller
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BCLXO7Q/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
Gigabyte Z390 Gaming X Motherboard
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HRZHJ6Z/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
G.SKILL DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000) 64GB (16x4GB) Desktop Memory
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16820232659?Item=N82E16820232659
ASRock Phantom Vega 56 8GB Graphics Card
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16814930006?Item=N82E16814930006
Fenvi T919 Wifi+BT PCI-X Card, Up to 1300Mbps
https://www.newegg.com/p/0XM-00JK-00033?Item=9SIADXZ7GS4848
Crucial MX500 1TB SSD
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077SF8KMG/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
Western Digital Black 6TB Performance Hard Drive
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0792GSD6N/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
Corsair CX650 80 Plus Bronze Modular Power Supply
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B72W1VA/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
NZXT H510 Middle Tower Case
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TC76671/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
Already Owned
ANKER ergonomic wireless mouse
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BIFNTMC/?tag=tonymacx86com-20
LG 27" UD68 4K Monitor
Sandisk 8GB SD Card
USB Card Reader
Griffin iMate ADB-USB Converter (discontinued)
Apple ADB Desktop Keyboard II (discontinued)
Generic Displayport-Displayport Cable
Comments
I have been using Haswell (Devil's Canyon) based Hackintosh for about 3 years and decided to get a new Hackintosh setup as I need stronger computing power for my 4K video projects, definitely i9-9900k-based. Also, my goal was to build a Mac that can be competitive but still way cheaper than the iMac 5K 27".
My concern was mainly about the compatibility among the motherboard, CPU (Intel Core Gen 9), RAM, and the graphics card. I did not want a premium motherboard so Z390 Gaming X was a kind of affordable option for i9 CPU.
For the discrete graphics card, my budget was not able to keep Vega64 on the list so I had to buy Vega56 but it had to be fully compatible with the CustoMac. Gigabyte Vega 56 seemed the cheapest, but there were some mentioned issues with activating all output ports. So I decided to go with ASRock's, which is less popular than Sapphire, but Sapphire got a serious price bump during my purchasing period. So I had to choose the ASRock Phantom Vega56.
Installation Notes
I own a MacBook Pro so I could easily create a UniBeast install stick off of it. However, the installation was kinda slow, and there were a couple of moments where I wasn't 100% sure if this was frozen or not. But I just tried to be patient and it all went smoothly.
BIOS settings
Please see all the green dots I made changes.
If you are willing to use Apple Final Cut, you MUST turn on the internal graphics card option with 128MB even if you had a discrete graphics card. (FCP utilized both chips to render preview and stuff)
MultiBeast Settings
I am just posting this screenshot instead of line by line descriptions.
NOTE: You must remove FakeSMC graphics card kext from the extensions folder later. The kext causes random boot failure during starting ups. (See image below, the graphics temperature info is moved.)
After Installation
I ran Clover Configurator to go through a ton of stuff to slove issues below.
- Final Cut X is not running
- Randomly fails to start up the machine.
What Works
Full graphics acceleration
4k/60hz (via Displayport)
Fenvi BT+Wifi (OOB)
Digital/Analog Audio (analog audio has a bit of white noise overall)
Audio out via Displayport (HDMI was not tested)
USB3
What Don't work
none
Summary
I am very very happy with the outcome I have. Originally, Fenvi BT+Wifi card was a bit skeptical thing to buy (considering its 'knockoff' looking package design), but it works reasonably well. The Bluetooth functions are a bit less impressive than the one in my 2018 MacBook Pro, when it comes to its long-distance connectivity. However, it's not terrible. WiFi works just like genuine Apple Macs. I also experienced some connectivity loss after each reboot with my old Apple Wireless Keyboard (the one that takes 4 AA batteries). However, it might be the keyboard problem so I cannot blame this Fenvi card. FCP took me an hour to get it to work but it overall works perfectly after the patches I mentioned above. Random freezing during boot was really annoying but it was also an easy fix after removing FakeSMC graphics card kext.
Benchmarks
Test results are awesome.