UtterDisbelief
Moderator
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2012
- Messages
- 9,618
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte B760 Gaming X AX
- CPU
- i5-14600K
- Graphics
- RX 560
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
Components:
Gigabyte Z490i Aorus Ultra Motherboard Intel LGA1200
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087DD82HT/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813145188
Intel Core i5-10600k 4.1GHz Comet Lake Processor
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0883NTLXM/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16819118124
MSI GT710 2GB GDDR3 Graphics Card
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AY78MLM/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16814127933
CORSAIR Vengeance LP 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3000 Memory
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07B2Y6H1M/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16820236346
Crucial MX500 250GB SATA SSD
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0764WCXCV/?tag=tonymacx86-21
CORSAIR CX500M 500W 80-PLUS BRONZE Semi Modular PSU
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16817139050
NZXT H210 Mini-ITX Gaming case
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SDB15JS/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811146310
UpHere CPU Fan Cooler 5 Direct Contact Heat Pipes 120mm PWM Fan
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08MX66LDQ/?tag=tonymacx86-21
Noctua NF-P12 redux 1300RPM PWM 120mm Fan 4-Pin
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CG2PGVG/?tag=tonymacx86-21
https://www.newegg.com/p/1YF-000T-000K2
ARCTIC P12 PWM - 120 mm Case Fan with PWM
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07GB6SJHW/?tag=tonymacx86-21
1 Port SATA to eSATA Slot Plate Bracket - similar to:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000GX4C7I/?tag=tonymacx86-21
Already Owned
Apple Magic Mouse 1 - No longer available new but …
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016MUCHTS/?tag=tonymacx86-21
Apple Wired USB Keyboard - No longer available new
Acer 24” HD Monitor - No longer available new
Hitachi 500GB SATA 2.5” Hard-Disk - No longer available. BYO.
Comments
This is a hybrid new build aiming to be more powerful, but also more compatible with macOS than my previous B560 i3 build, using this time a 400-series Intel motherboard and an i5 Comet Lake CPU.
Because there are still no AMD GPUs available at reasonable prices, we used a natively compatible NVidia card instead as we did before, this time from MSI.
As you can see from the parts-list above a few of the components were salvaged from the B560 PC.
Installation
Sections below are repeated from the previous build to save you swapping between, but added-to or changed to match the new components where necessary.
OpenCore 0.6.8 is the bootloader used for this build.
Partition and format a 16GB or 32GB USB memory stick with the GUID scheme and HFS+ file system:
With the Big Sur installation package in your Applications folder run the following Terminal command to create a USB installer stick:
Code:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app --nointeraction
Once done you need to mount the hidden EFI partition on the USB stick using EFI Mounter v3.1 from our Downloads section. To make sure you are mounting the correct partition, check with Disk Utility. In this example the disk has the identifier of disk3 so the EFI partition we want to mount is disk3s1 and you will see this in the EFI Mounter selection window:
The EFI partition will probably already contain an Apple folder, ignore it, and either copy the EFI I have attached to this post into it or add your own.
BIOS settings:
1. To access Setup, press and hold Delete on a USB Keyboard while the system boots. At the BIOS screen Press F2 to toggle Advanced mode. Then -
2. Settings / Internal Graphics = Auto
3. Settings / Above 4G Decoding = Enabled
4. Settings / USB Configuration / XHCI Hand-off = enabled
5. Tweaker / Advanced CPU Settings / VT-d = disabled
6. Boot / CSM Support = Disabled
7. Boot / Secure Boot Mode = Disabled
8. Save and exit.
Now on reboot, by pressing the BIOS boot selector key (F12) when the Aorus splash screen comes up, you can choose and boot the installer. Select your destination drive and let it run its course.
Post Installation
The work has already been done in the EFI I have uploaded but I’ll run through what’s there so you know a little more if you wish to create your own.
ACPI:
SSDT-AWAC.aml - needed to boot reliably
SSDT-EC-USBX.aml - dummy embedded controller with power
SSDT-PLUG.aml - CPU power management
Kexts:
IntelMausi.kext - LAN Ethernet support
itlwm.kext - Intel Wireless support **
Lilu.kext - Vital plug-in manager
Whatevergreen.kext - Graphics plug-in for Lilu.
SMCProcessor.kext
SMCSuperIO.kext
USBPorts.kext - USB port configuration file
VirtualSMC.kext
AppleALC.kext - Audio chipset activation
FakePCIID/FakePCIID_Intel_i225-V kexts - To enable the onboard Ethernet 2.5GbE ***
IntelBluetoothFirmware/Injector kexts - To enable the AX201 Bluetooth
** To make the itlwm.kext work with your wireless network you need to manually add in the SSID name and password you wish to log on to. Highlight the kext, right-click on it and “Show Package Contents”. Edit the Info.plist with a plain text editor. Search for “WiFi_1” and overwrite the placeholders with your password and SSID. Save and exit the kext. There is an app available from the developer called Heliport which handles the connection if you would rather use that.
*** For Big Sur 11.4+ there is apparently now limited support for the Intel i225-V, but this depends on which "revision" it is 02 or 03. Revision 03 seems to be native now so you would not need the two kexts or the Device Properties I've included in the config.plist. This is new information and I haven't double-checked it yet.
A Few notes about USB
The Z490 has 14x USB ports of which 10x can be USB3. The included USBPorts.kext configures them down to 15.
There are two Type-C USB ports, one via a the new-style front-panel header, the other on the back panel. If you use the same case you won't need an adapter cable for the header because one is included in the case. These ports are “switchable” ones.
The LED RGB connector takes up USB port HS13.
The Bluetooth wireless uses port HS14.
Here is the result of the USBPorts.kext included in the EFI folder:
What Works:
Audio - Line out
Ethernet(Catalina onwards).
WiFi & BT
Sleep/Wake
What Doesn’t Work:
Continuity and Handoff
The serial-numbers in the attached EFI folder are dummies. Please generate and use your own unique ones.
Edit: 22nd June 2021 - to add Intel i225-V updates at *** above.
Edit: 17th Aug 2021 - New EFI folder added for Big Sur 11.5.2 - see post #7.
Attachments
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