[Success] Music Production w/ Sierra + GA-Z170X-GAMING 7 + GTX 1050 Ti + Thunderbolt Guide
- Thread starter insalada
- Start date
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- Dec 1, 2011
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- Motherboard
- Gigabyte z170x Gaming 7
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- i7-6700K
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- RX 480
- Mac
Thanks Insalada (and NickSGuil)! Actually I also switched SMBIOS to 17,1 and it works very well ! Regarding internal audio, no need for now... Maybe I might need it after 5-10 years when I sell the machine 
.
Regarding Apollo I am very pleased with it! It never loses TB connection, which I was mostly afraid of before I decided to build a hackintosh. Actually I use it as external preamp connected to Tascam DM4800 via adat and it works flawlessly, so I don't miss keyboard control over Apollo. Also, I can live without hot plug. Even if I forget to switch it on before the computer, the restart takes 40 seconds, so no panic
.
Thanks !
.Regarding Apollo I am very pleased with it! It never loses TB connection, which I was mostly afraid of before I decided to build a hackintosh. Actually I use it as external preamp connected to Tascam DM4800 via adat and it works flawlessly, so I don't miss keyboard control over Apollo. Also, I can live without hot plug. Even if I forget to switch it on before the computer, the restart takes 40 seconds, so no panic
.Thanks !
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2013
- Messages
- 13
- Motherboard
- GA-Z170X-Gaming 7
- CPU
- i7-7700K
- Graphics
- RX 580
- Mac
Just checking in that I was able to upgrade an older Hackintosh build I had with a GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 board and a i7-7700K and successfully have connected and used an Apogee Element 88 Thunderbolt on High Sierra 10.13.6. The Element software and the Logic integration worked perfectly after flashing the USB Type-C on Windows as instructed (don't know if it would work without flash, I didn't try it first). @insalada 's guide was extremely helpful and still very accurate!
I've seen several posts about UA Apollo Thunderbolt interfaces working but nothing on Apogee, and just wanted to post about my success.
Note: I stayed on High Sierra due to the Nvidia Web Drivers still not supporting Mojave. I might switch to AMD eventually but with current GPU costs I decided to make the GTX 970 work, it's still very capable.
Build:
(New to this build)
MB: GA-Z170X-Gaming 7
CPU: i7-7700K
RAM: Ballistix Sport 16GB 2666mhz
TB: Apple Thunderbolt to USB Type-C Adapter
(Donated from my old build)
GPU: MSI GTX 970
WiFi: TP-Link WDN4800 PCIe - works OOTB
FW: StarTech 1394b PCIe - works OOTB
PSU: Corsair CX750M
Case: NZXT Phantom (USB 2.0, 3.0 and eSATA on front panel header)
SSD: Samsung Pro 850 x2 (Dual boot Windows for gaming)
Build installation notes summary:
Following insalada's guide, everything worked great pretty much on the first try. Had to use -disablegfxfirmware when using the iGPU since my CPU is 7th gen. I did not have the common issue with the Nvidia driver remaining selected so I was able to skip that step. Only issue that I had to address was the USB 3.0 port on the case header wasn't working, I added a kext patch and it works great now (full notes below). I was able to successfully restore my apps and plugins using Time Machine by leaving the "Other Files and Folders" option unchecked in Migration Assistant.
Full build and installation notes:
Before starting, I did a clean install of Windows 10, I was never able to update the boot to UEFI using MBR2GPT so I took the opportunity to build a new install USB, wipe the SSD clean, and re-install with UEFI. I keep all of my game files on a separate drive so nothing except a few drivers and programs were lost. It was worth it as Clover stopped recognizing the drive after a recent update (even with legacy turned on) and I had to change boot order in the BIOS anytime I wanted to get to Windows. After this I unplugged all Windows drives to make life easier.
My old build was running High Sierra 10.13.6. The old build had an i7 3770K and an old Gigabyte Z77 series board, so I elected to do a completely clean install of High Sierra.
I created two backups of my Hackintosh drive - one using CCC and one using Time Machine. My hope was that I could use Time Machine to re-install all of my music production apps (Logic, Pro Tools, Final Cut, plugins etc.) without having to find and re-download them all. More on that later. CCC backup was plan B, and also a bootable backup in case something went wrong.
Disassembled and rebuilt the system without issue. Spent about an hour cleaning out dust and the fans...it had been a while!
I used Windows to test the system. It worked pretty well OOTB, I had some issues with the USB keyboard and mouse not working unless I replugged them. I downloaded the Gigabyte App Center and made sure the drivers were up to date etc, something it updated fixed the USB issue. I also checked that the BIOS was the latest version, it has to be the most updated for full 7th gen CPU support. I then flashed the USB Type-C connector for Thunderbolt, I used the link insalada provided after Gigabyte App Center ran some sort of Thunderbolt update, but only insalada's link appeared to flash the MOBO. FWIW.
After that I did something I always do, which is remove non-natively supported Nvidia GPUs until I've got a stable install booting and running. Using the iGPU on Gigabyte boards always seems to work and I don't waste any time fighting the USB installer or getting that first boot. I removed the GPU and changed all of insalada's recommended BIOS settings EXCEPT for the iGPU, which I left enabled. Connected my ASUS monitor via HDMI to the board and we were off and running.
USB High Sierra installer worked without issue. When I went to boot for the first time, it got stuck with an iGPU error near the end. I did some research and added -disablegfxfirmware via Clover and it booted up just fine (seems to be the i7 7th gen CPU). I went through the setup and ran Multibeast with the insalada's suggested options. FYI that when I was doing some unrelated troubleshooting I found that selecting iMac 17,1 is really important for 6th gen CPUs and above, do not skip that step.
After MultiBeast, I restarted the computer and removed the High Sierra installer USB to see if I'd pulled it off. Success! Clover popped up and I got to the desktop in no time. Time to get the GTX 970 working. I updated to High Sierra 10.13.6 using the Combo update and installed the appropriate Nvidia Web Drivers. Shut down the computer, reinstalled the GPU, disabled iGPU in the BIOS, and successfully booted up again!
I don't how I got lucky, but when I selected the Nvidia driver and restarted, it was the selected driver upon reboot so I didn't have to mess with EmuVariableUefi-64. I had done some research to prepare for the worst so let me recommend that if you are starting from scratch...just get a natively supported AMD card! I also always have issues with background rendering in Final Cut with non-supported Nvidia GPU's, I'm sure an AMD card would make the experience much smoother. I didn't mess with the SSDT for the CPU, might later if I have time.
So...holy ****...did I just have a basically no-issue Hackintosh install with all new hardware on a non-recommended MOBO? I thought for sure that all my Hackintosh karma had been used up for the year and that the Element 88 wouldn't work.
The Element curiously does not have a power button, it receives a signal via Thunderbolt to turn on. I thought this might be a deal killer with the hot-swap TB issues, but it works! I shut the computer down, plugged in the TB cable using the USB Type-C adapter, the Element powered on, and the Element software immediately recognized it. YES! I as able to select it as the Output device in Settings and I had Spotify blaring over my monitors in short order. Audio sounded great, no issues there. The volume buttons on the keyboard even worked to control the headphone output levels. I did test and the Element has to be plugged in before powering on the computer for it to work, you can't hot-swap it in while the computer is on. The USB hardware remote worked great as well.
After that, I tested all of the USB ports and everything on the back worked, but the USB 3.0 port on the case header didn't (USB 2.0 did). AHA! Finally an issue. For some reason that made me feel better, hahaha. I did some research and found out it's a silly issue where the iMac 7,1 doesn't have that many USB ports so it just doesn't recognize them. Increase Max Port Limit and Generic USB 3.0 Support options in MultiBeast didn't do the trick like they do for others. I found this excellent guide and used Clover Configurator to add the appropriate kext patch and the port began working. Total success!
The last and only issue is for some reason the Power LED doesn't come on, but it had stopped working a while ago (I thought it might be the board) so it must be the case instead. Maybe I can fix it, probably won't mess with it since all the fans have LEDs.
I plugged in all of my drives, including Windows drives, and booted 'er up again. Everything worked, and I could get to Windows from Clover. Awesome!
I made a backup of the new Hackintosh drive using CCC and was ready to try and restore apps and my library from Time Machine. I did some research, and it seemed like this can work well if you leave the "Other Files and Folders" unchecked in Migration Assistant. That worked great for me and everything seems to have been moved over, of course some of the plugins licenses and iLok were a pain to get working but that's to be expected on any new machine.
HUGE THANK YOU to @insalada for the guide!!! I hope my post gives others confidence to do similar builds.
Cheers!
I've seen several posts about UA Apollo Thunderbolt interfaces working but nothing on Apogee, and just wanted to post about my success.
Note: I stayed on High Sierra due to the Nvidia Web Drivers still not supporting Mojave. I might switch to AMD eventually but with current GPU costs I decided to make the GTX 970 work, it's still very capable.
Build:
(New to this build)
MB: GA-Z170X-Gaming 7
CPU: i7-7700K
RAM: Ballistix Sport 16GB 2666mhz
TB: Apple Thunderbolt to USB Type-C Adapter
(Donated from my old build)
GPU: MSI GTX 970
WiFi: TP-Link WDN4800 PCIe - works OOTB
FW: StarTech 1394b PCIe - works OOTB
PSU: Corsair CX750M
Case: NZXT Phantom (USB 2.0, 3.0 and eSATA on front panel header)
SSD: Samsung Pro 850 x2 (Dual boot Windows for gaming)
Build installation notes summary:
Following insalada's guide, everything worked great pretty much on the first try. Had to use -disablegfxfirmware when using the iGPU since my CPU is 7th gen. I did not have the common issue with the Nvidia driver remaining selected so I was able to skip that step. Only issue that I had to address was the USB 3.0 port on the case header wasn't working, I added a kext patch and it works great now (full notes below). I was able to successfully restore my apps and plugins using Time Machine by leaving the "Other Files and Folders" option unchecked in Migration Assistant.
Full build and installation notes:
Before starting, I did a clean install of Windows 10, I was never able to update the boot to UEFI using MBR2GPT so I took the opportunity to build a new install USB, wipe the SSD clean, and re-install with UEFI. I keep all of my game files on a separate drive so nothing except a few drivers and programs were lost. It was worth it as Clover stopped recognizing the drive after a recent update (even with legacy turned on) and I had to change boot order in the BIOS anytime I wanted to get to Windows. After this I unplugged all Windows drives to make life easier.
My old build was running High Sierra 10.13.6. The old build had an i7 3770K and an old Gigabyte Z77 series board, so I elected to do a completely clean install of High Sierra.
I created two backups of my Hackintosh drive - one using CCC and one using Time Machine. My hope was that I could use Time Machine to re-install all of my music production apps (Logic, Pro Tools, Final Cut, plugins etc.) without having to find and re-download them all. More on that later. CCC backup was plan B, and also a bootable backup in case something went wrong.
Disassembled and rebuilt the system without issue. Spent about an hour cleaning out dust and the fans...it had been a while!
I used Windows to test the system. It worked pretty well OOTB, I had some issues with the USB keyboard and mouse not working unless I replugged them. I downloaded the Gigabyte App Center and made sure the drivers were up to date etc, something it updated fixed the USB issue. I also checked that the BIOS was the latest version, it has to be the most updated for full 7th gen CPU support. I then flashed the USB Type-C connector for Thunderbolt, I used the link insalada provided after Gigabyte App Center ran some sort of Thunderbolt update, but only insalada's link appeared to flash the MOBO. FWIW.
After that I did something I always do, which is remove non-natively supported Nvidia GPUs until I've got a stable install booting and running. Using the iGPU on Gigabyte boards always seems to work and I don't waste any time fighting the USB installer or getting that first boot. I removed the GPU and changed all of insalada's recommended BIOS settings EXCEPT for the iGPU, which I left enabled. Connected my ASUS monitor via HDMI to the board and we were off and running.
USB High Sierra installer worked without issue. When I went to boot for the first time, it got stuck with an iGPU error near the end. I did some research and added -disablegfxfirmware via Clover and it booted up just fine (seems to be the i7 7th gen CPU). I went through the setup and ran Multibeast with the insalada's suggested options. FYI that when I was doing some unrelated troubleshooting I found that selecting iMac 17,1 is really important for 6th gen CPUs and above, do not skip that step.
After MultiBeast, I restarted the computer and removed the High Sierra installer USB to see if I'd pulled it off. Success! Clover popped up and I got to the desktop in no time. Time to get the GTX 970 working. I updated to High Sierra 10.13.6 using the Combo update and installed the appropriate Nvidia Web Drivers. Shut down the computer, reinstalled the GPU, disabled iGPU in the BIOS, and successfully booted up again!
I don't how I got lucky, but when I selected the Nvidia driver and restarted, it was the selected driver upon reboot so I didn't have to mess with EmuVariableUefi-64. I had done some research to prepare for the worst so let me recommend that if you are starting from scratch...just get a natively supported AMD card! I also always have issues with background rendering in Final Cut with non-supported Nvidia GPU's, I'm sure an AMD card would make the experience much smoother. I didn't mess with the SSDT for the CPU, might later if I have time.
So...holy ****...did I just have a basically no-issue Hackintosh install with all new hardware on a non-recommended MOBO? I thought for sure that all my Hackintosh karma had been used up for the year and that the Element 88 wouldn't work.
The Element curiously does not have a power button, it receives a signal via Thunderbolt to turn on. I thought this might be a deal killer with the hot-swap TB issues, but it works! I shut the computer down, plugged in the TB cable using the USB Type-C adapter, the Element powered on, and the Element software immediately recognized it. YES! I as able to select it as the Output device in Settings and I had Spotify blaring over my monitors in short order. Audio sounded great, no issues there. The volume buttons on the keyboard even worked to control the headphone output levels. I did test and the Element has to be plugged in before powering on the computer for it to work, you can't hot-swap it in while the computer is on. The USB hardware remote worked great as well.
After that, I tested all of the USB ports and everything on the back worked, but the USB 3.0 port on the case header didn't (USB 2.0 did). AHA! Finally an issue. For some reason that made me feel better, hahaha. I did some research and found out it's a silly issue where the iMac 7,1 doesn't have that many USB ports so it just doesn't recognize them. Increase Max Port Limit and Generic USB 3.0 Support options in MultiBeast didn't do the trick like they do for others. I found this excellent guide and used Clover Configurator to add the appropriate kext patch and the port began working. Total success!
The last and only issue is for some reason the Power LED doesn't come on, but it had stopped working a while ago (I thought it might be the board) so it must be the case instead. Maybe I can fix it, probably won't mess with it since all the fans have LEDs.
I plugged in all of my drives, including Windows drives, and booted 'er up again. Everything worked, and I could get to Windows from Clover. Awesome!
I made a backup of the new Hackintosh drive using CCC and was ready to try and restore apps and my library from Time Machine. I did some research, and it seemed like this can work well if you leave the "Other Files and Folders" unchecked in Migration Assistant. That worked great for me and everything seems to have been moved over, of course some of the plugins licenses and iLok were a pain to get working but that's to be expected on any new machine.
HUGE THANK YOU to @insalada for the guide!!! I hope my post gives others confidence to do similar builds.
Cheers!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2019
- Messages
- 4
- Motherboard
- z170x
- CPU
- i5 6600k
- Graphics
- On Board
Hey man, have been trying to get my first build up and I'm having trouble getting past the installer. About 70-80% into the High Sierra installation the system reboots first into the apple logo with text under the bar that reads "About 18 Minutes" a few minutes later I'll get another reboot into a black screen. Any idea what it could be? I'm following the same steps you and the OP posted..
Z170X Gaming 7
i5 6600k
On-board graphics
Samsung Evo 860 SSD
16gb
Antelope Audio Discrete 8
RME Babyface Pro
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2011
- Messages
- 1,256
- Motherboard
- GA-Z77X-UP5-TH
- CPU
- i7-3770K
- Graphics
- GTX 650
- Mac
- Mobile Phone
Hello. Have you upgraded your Machine to Catalina? I am considering doing a new build with this board. Thank you.I want to report (at least it seems for now) "almost" fully working system on Mac OS Mojave 10.14.2 with UAD Apollo x8p Thunderbolt 3 audio interface.
I used the following hardware configuration :
i7 6700k
z170x Gaming 7 Rev 1.0 Bios v20
16 GB (2x8) G.Skill Aegis DD4-3000
GTX 760 MSI Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC
Gigabyte B700H power supply
SSD & HDD (many of them
I was struggling for almost a week but it was worth it.
Just to point out some things that was killing me the most:
- please use GUID partition when doing bootable installation flash drive; yeah, would be good to properly read instructions on tonymac's excellent tutorials
- flash mobo with version v20 bios; I tried to use v22 but did't get proper UEFI-CSM settings in bios; maybe I missed it but anyway v20 works fine;
- in bios I selected firstly Windows 8/10 option with UEFI, then I set CSM to disabled (plus all other options insalada mentioned in the first post);
- I purposely used GTX 760 instead of newer cards (like 1060 or so) because Nvidia still didn't release drivers for Mojave and High Sierra till date; kepler graphic architecure should work out of the box; newer cards like pascall are not supported yet as far as I know
- I couldn't boot with CSM disabled/UEFI (gave me 5 short beeps and black screen) because GTX 760 bios was not UEFI capable; I had to install windows first and install the only available bios from year 2014 which supported UEFI; use nvflash utility in windows; search bios here https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/157185/msi-gtx760-2048-140225
- I had to also flash Thunderbolt port in windows like insalada said; look at first post
- most of the rest installation was pretty straightforward; GTX 760 works out of the box with Nvidia web drivers (Multibeast) and it seems I get acceleration, though I get some glitches in Youtube, but nothing special though;
What works so far:
- graphics with 4 LCD screens 1900 x 1200, seems it is accelerated, with some glitches in youtube
- UAD Apollo Thunderbolt 3 interface (though system says that no drivers are loaded but as far the connected device is powered up before computer starts up, all seems fine and works like charm )
- all USB ports (though I have to fully test USB 3 speeds)
- ethernet (install Atheros E2200 in Mutibeast)
- Firewire card (looks fine, connected old TC Powercore and Tascam DM4800
- UAD 2 Octo Pcie card
What does not:
- internal audio (but didn't even bother, as I have many outboard interfaces)
- probably graphics would work even better with proper Nvidia driver, but even with web drivers it is fine, if you are not dealing with video production
That's it !
Big thanks especially to insalada which helped me to select the right components for my hackintosh. Also to all of you who contributed.
Will post some pictures soon ... bye.
- Joined
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- I do not have yet
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- I do not have yet
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- I do not have yet
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Very useful for me, I have the same audio interface and the same osx in a macbook pro ¨13 2015 and I am thinking of putting together my first hackintosh, thank you very much
- Joined
- May 21, 2017
- Messages
- 25
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte GA-z170X-Gaming 7
- CPU
- i7-6700
- Graphics
- GTX 1050 Ti
- Mac
Because of the issues above and some other reasons, I am planning to upgrade to Catalina.
I didn't do it so far because of some of my old plugins compatibility (some of them are pretty old and not supported by new os x versions)
In case any of you upgraded to Catalina I would be very greatful if you could share your experience.
Cheers.
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2011
- Messages
- 1,256
- Motherboard
- GA-Z77X-UP5-TH
- CPU
- i7-3770K
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- GTX 650
- Mac
- Mobile Phone
This is one of the reasons I haven’t upgraded to Catalina as well. I have a few apps that are older and won’t work past Mojave.
Other than that how’s this machine running? TB3 also working?
- Joined
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buddy, I would like to know if you could run protools 12 and waves 10 and 11 with your configuration, thanks
- Joined
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- intel 17 7700
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Any idea why my Keyscape library fro spectrasonics closes immediately after trying to open. It ran perfectly on Sierra but after upgrading to High Sierra it won’t open. Any ideas.
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