UtterDisbelief 17 - Z490i Aorus Ultra - i5-10600K - 32GB - GT710 & RX560

[UtterDisbelief]

I've had a lot of luck with AirportItlwm, at least on my AC-9560 in my X1 Extreme. Uses macOS' IO80211Family controller, so it integrates well with macOS. 2.0.0 also added 80211ac support (1.3 just has 80211n).
I myself don't like putting the SSID/Password in plain text, so I'd strongly suggest using HeliPort. It at least puts it into the macOS keychain, same with IO80211Family/AirportItlwm.

If you do add it to the EFI, you probably do want to limit it to just High Sierra (set min kernel to 17.0.0 and max kernel 17.99.9). I realize that this might not be the easiest thing to make generic, but maybe a pointer about it would help.

Thanks for your post. Those are very useful tips and I appreciate you posting them.

It's always a good idea to give people options rather than just stating you have to do it such-and-such way. Nothing is compulsory in the Hackintosh world and use-cases will always vary, but security should be taken seriously.

 

[trs96]

A lot of members seem to need to use an older macOS version and High Sierra remains popular. The reasons are mainly because either they have a Nvidia Pascal GPU they would like to continue using, or they are a Pro or Semi-Pro and need to use certain software which hasn't yet been updated for a later version.

You can also add to this the ability to keep using HFS+ file system instead of APFS. Some people still don't like/trust APFS. High Sierra lets you keep using the now ancient HFS+.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

You can also add to this the ability to keep using HFS+ file system instead of APFS. Some people still don't like/trust APFS. High Sierra lets you keep using the now ancient HFS+.

APFS certainly confuses a lot of us with it's arcane containers and synthesized disks.

I'd also forgotten how much quicker HFS+ is than APFS, just copying files to and fro, nevermind doing serious disk-caching.

 

[trs96]

APFS certainly confuses a lot of us with it's arcane containers and synthesized disks.

I think that Apple must have hired the USB Inplementers Forum to help them make this really confusing to the average consumer.

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/usb_3_2_language_product_and_packaging_guidelines_final.pdf

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I think that Apple must have hired the USB Inplementers Forum to help them make this really confusing to the average consumer.

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/usb_3_2_language_product_and_packaging_guidelines_final.pdf

That reads like someone who is trying to prove their cleverness and importance by writing something really convoluted and complex! USB was intended to simplify things. I think someone has dropped the ball there.

 

[trs96]

It is important that vendors clearly communicate the performance signaling that a product delivers in the product’s packaging, advertising content, and any other marketing materials.

I don't know that ur average consumer knows anything about the Gbps their USB ports are capable of or whether that makes any impact on what devices they buy. Really a confusing mess for the vendors as well. The USB IF seems to be passing on the blame for lack of clarity here.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I don't know that ur average consumer knows anything about the Gbps their USB ports are capable of or whether that makes any impact on what devices they buy. Really a confusing mess for the vendors as well. The USB IF seems to be passing on the blame for lack of clarity here.

Agreed. It didn't help when they decided to call USB3.0 - USB3.1 Gen 1 (or some such. I loose track) never-mind all the new SuperSpeed 10GBPS/20GBPS USB3.2 malarky (although I do like the twin, parallel data channels to double the speed, from a tech viewpoint).

Quite right too. How's the average computer user going to untangle all the specs. and make use of them?

 

[c-o-pr]

Thanks for your post. Those are very useful tips and I appreciate you posting them.

It's always a good idea to give people options rather than just stating you have to do it such-and-such way. Nothing is compulsory in the Hackintosh world and use-cases will always vary, but security should be taken seriously.

I looked this up and there's a sort of logic to it, however perverse:

When USB 3 dual-lane was defined (20Gb) the USB implementors forum defined it as USB 3.2 and dragged USB 3 and 3.1 into the spec as gen1 and gen2, as of all three were always intended to be part of the same spec.

So today it's officially

USB 3 (5Gb) > USB 3.2 gen1
USB 3.1 (10Gb) > USB 3.2 gen2
USB 3.2 gen 2x2 (20Gbs)

USB 3.x does not necessarily include displayport but at 3.1 it usually does which loosely coincides with type-C connector release.

USB4 is backwards compatible with all previous, doubles link speed up to 40Gb for 2x2, and adds at least Thunderbolt 3 minimum, which includes at least a single 4K displayport 1.4 (optionally multiple lower res) plus advanced link reservation capability, and high power.

Thunderbolt 3 may optionally include two 4K displayport or one 8K, plus performance certification at whatever option level and a basic link reservation capability.

(For example, Apple M1 to date are USB4/TB3, with their single external display support.)

In general, USB features and performance levels are optional with no verification nor certification, and implementors have wide discretion on many features and config details, including pins, power, protocols and cable length. It's as good as the vendor makes it.

Thunderbolt 4 is all the above with all options mandated and a performance certification that includes up to 2 meter cables. TB4 is the top-end with no discretion and Intel verifies the implementation to allow the branding. It also includes more secure DMA (board IOMMU won't allow attached devices to access RAM without kernel assist al la "Thunderspy" and "Thunderclap" exploits) and more power/wake options.

Type-C is just a connector, so user must assess what capability lies behind it, with the practical minimum being USB 2.

It's gross, but there's a logic at work, which requires examining the history of the standards and noticing that more rigorous spec attends Thunderbolt and more vendor latitude attends USB, and that the two are slowly converging.

Hopefully I didn't mess up any of the above details — please do your own review when making purchase / config decisions.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

I looked this up and there's a sort of logic to it, however perverse:

When USB 3 dual-lane was defined (20Gb) the USB implementors forum defined it as USB 3.2 and dragged USB 3 and 3.1 into the spec as gen1 and gen2, as of all three were always intended to be part of the same spec.

So today it's officially

USB 3 (5Gb) > USB 3.2 gen1
USB 3.1 (10Gb) > USB 3.2 gen2
USB 3.2 gen 2x2 (20Gbs)

USB 3.x does not necessarily include displayport but at 3.1 it usually does which loosely coincides with type-C connector release.

USB4 is backwards compatible with all previous, doubles link speed up to 40Gb for 2x2, and adds at least Thunderbolt 3 minimum, which includes at least a single 4K displayport 1.4 (optionally multiple lower res) plus advanced link reservation capability, and high power.

Thunderbolt 3 may optionally include two 4K displayport or one 8K, plus performance certification at whatever option level and a basic link reservation capability.

(For example, Apple M1 to date are USB4/TB3, with their single external display support.)

In general, USB features and performance levels are optional with no verification nor certification, and implementors have wide discretion on many features and config details, including pins, power, protocols and cable length. It's as good as the vendor makes it.

Thunderbolt 4 is all the above with all options mandated and a performance certification that includes up to 2 meter cables. TB4 is the top-end with no discretion and Intel verifies the implementation to allow the branding. It also includes more secure DMA (board IOMMU won't allow attached devices to access RAM without kernel assist al la "Thunderspy" and "Thunderclap" exploits) and more power/wake options.

Type-C is just a connector, so user must assess what capability lies behind it, with the practical minimum being USB 2.

It's gross, but there's a logic at work, which requires examining the history of the standards and noticing that more rigorous spec attends Thunderbolt and more vendor latitude attends USB, and that the two are slowly converging.

Hopefully I didn't mess up any of the above details — please do your own review when making purchase / config decisions.

Thank you for taking the time to research and post this information. It just goes to illustrate how obfuscated USB standards have become for the average computer user.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Update 5 - Mojave

There has been forum talk about running Mojave on a Z490 chipset recently, so for this final post of the build, after posting the necessary files for High Sierra in the previous update, I decided to create another EFI ZIP archive with everything needed to run macOS Mojave on this particular Z490 build.

Notes:

1) In config.plist, the serial-number is a dummy. Use your own. The UUIDs are generated dummies too. Use your own.

2) itlwm.kext - The info.plist has the placeholders marked with text to pin-point where you need to edit-in your own router access details. If you do not wish to do this manually you can try using the Heliport app.

There has not been much interest in this build so I don't plan any further updates, but am happy to continue supporting it as well I can going forward, because ...

I am now working on a new machine to replace it, perhaps UtterDisbelief 18. We'll see.

Edit: November 2021. I have decided to stick with this build for the time being. Alder Lake has just arrived and although I do not plan to go that route, this means the Z490 has become a rarity. The Z590 is now more common but is not as friendly to build a hackintosh on.

Thanks for your interest.