X299 MSI High Sierra Build - Stable system. Looking for 4K monitor

[petrikleynhans]

Hi petrikleynhans:

I am having trouble doing any DSDT editing/patching with MacIASL, because the disassembly of the unpatched DSDT does not compile. I open MacIASL, it extracts the default DSDT and, without patching anything, I press compile. I get compile errors.

Did you also got these and were you able to solve them? This stops me from fixing the USB ports, because I can't compile the DSDT with the ports renamed.

Hey Paulo,

I followed the guide from Rehabman to create my DSDT patch. I edited the file using text editor. In MacIASL, I opened the file I edited, and then just compiled it. Here's the link.

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/guide-creating-a-custom-ssdt-for-usbinjectall-kext.211311/

And here is the conversation between me and Rehabman if it helps.

https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/dont-have-any-usb-controllers.231145/#post-1581720

I have decided to use VoodooHDA for sound, since it works without any DSDT patching. It is not perfect (I can't control the volume of the HDMI output on the Mac, have to do it on the monitor), but it is good enough.

I haven't tested the Ethernet ports yet, don't know if they work without any patching. Have you tested them?

Have you installed the VoodooHDA preference pane plugin? Here it is, it gave me full control. Ethernet is working OOB. I have IntelMausi kext in other folder, that's it.

And on power management: The default power management after the installation was already good. The machine sleeps and wakes fine, and the idle was not too bad. A bit noisy around 15W, but ok.

However, I decided to ssdtprgen to generate a SSDT. This allowed me to have a very clean Clover config (just AppleIntelCPUPM in binary patches, and just enable C6 in CPU; ACPI flags are all off), and very good idle power (10W). This also seems to stop some random restarts that I was having. None since implementing this SSDT (fingers crossed).

Can you tell me how many speedsteps you're getting? Did you change anything in BIOS? I've done mine as well and everything looks fine, except I don't know if it is, or if there is something I can do to improve it? Maybe if we compare notes we can find the best setup.

 

[petrikleynhans]

Update 09/20

I've had a stable system now for the last week or so. Only a last few small things to iron out, then I will be happy with my system. If anybody can provide advise, it will be appreciated.

1. I finally managed to get my USB ports working. A huge thank you to Rehabman for his guidance. But now, (I'm assuming it's after the USB patching) I'm getting strange sleep cycles where my system freezes. It will sleep fine for one or two times, but then occasionally it will become entirely unresponsive (on the motherboard I'm getting a 00 error signal. It won't wake. I also can't simply restart, I have to unplug the system before the error goes away.
   
2. My USB devices also disconnects on sleep.
3. I'm unsure if my power management is optimised. Problem is, I don't know how to check. See the screengrabs in the previous post. Can it be improved upon?

After this, I just need to clean up my clover plist, and clean up the bootloader, then I'm officially done.

Thanks again for everyone's input thus far. I'll try and write a guide once everything is in place.
All the best.

 

[petrikleynhans]

So I managed to get rid of most of the boot options using the hide option in the GUI tab of clover configurator. I'm left with four. Windows EFI, Microsoft EFI, Mac OS, Prevault Mac.

Ideally I would like to have only Mac OS and Microsoft EFI. Problem is, they seem to work in pairs. Both either appears or disappears. Is there a way of hiding just one?

Then I would like to know:

I'm going to sell my Imac once my system is absolutely steady and reliable, and then replace it with a 4K monitor. What would be the best option for motion graphics / video creation? My budget will be around R8,000 ($750). Also, are there any red flags I should be aware of regarding a 4K monitor and my setup?

 

[paulotex]

Hi:

Here is my power management with the 7820X. 6 states, idle at 15W. I've been able to get idle at 10W, but I think I messed that up in one of Clover boot options. I still have to find out which.

I got this power management with ssdtprgen.sh, clover config is very minimal:

• I have all ACPI things off, except the Windows7 thing.
• C6 enabled, halt enabled, all rest is off
• AppleIntelCPUPM enabled, all rest off
• SMBIOS iMac18,3
• Kexts: FakeSMC and VoodooTSCSync, configured for 16 threads.

I used ssdtprgen.sh to generate a SSDT.aml, which is loaded by Clover.

I will check some of the options, to see if I can get my 10W idle mode back...

However, note that my system is not stable. I get random reboots without warning. I think they are related with 3D acceleration, so probably not related with power states. I have a Nvidia GT710 (from MSI) which seems to be supported. No Clover configuration (patch, kext injection, anything) done. Perhaps that is the issue for the random restarts.

 

[flyinsym]

pic few days old, got similar idle power consumption, don't like the core freq. "hopping" ...

I had these reboots too, I've set the vcore fixed to 1.100V... since then no reboots.

Except if I play a video in safari and open chrome... 10sec later system shuts down. Don't know why. If I just use Safari System is stable 100%.

 

[paulotex]

Except if I play a video in safari and open chrome... 10sec later system shuts down. Don't know why. If I just use Safari System is stable 100%.

First I thought that Chrome was causing the reboots, because they happened more often when I used Chrome. But since then I have disabled Chrome from the startup applications, and I have switched to Safari. The reboots still occur, sometimes even when it is showing the login window. I have a program in Python that uses OpenGL for 3D acceleration and it causes a reboot. That's why I think it is related with 3D acceleration. Although Unigine tests run fine (Heaven and Valley)...

I will try fixing the vcore...

 

[paulotex]

Hi. Since it seems I am the only one with a Nvidia card with this Mobo, I just want to say that the new Web drivers work with the installation, BUT I needed to use the NVWebDriverLibValFix.kext, otherwise the boot process would get stuck at gIOScreenLockstate 3.

Note that I also tried Lilu+NvidiaFix, but it did not solve the IOScreenLockstate issue.

So now I have as Kext (in Clover):
NVWebDriverLibValFix.kext,
FakeSMC.kext
IntelMausiEthernet.kext
VoodooTSCSync.kext

And for audio:
VoodooHDA

I must confess I haven't finished the USB installation yet.

And I still get random reboots, even with the Nvidia drivers. So more work to do on that part.

 

[paulotex]

I had these reboots too, I've set the vcore fixed to 1.100V... since then no reboots.

Yes! Changing the vcore fixed that for me too. But I have it higher than yours.

I was doing some OC on Windows and I got to 4.4GHz with 1.21V. Hardly any gain from the stock 4.3GHz but since the system is air cooled (Noctua D15) on a quiet case (Fractal Design Define C), it just shows the issues with the X299 thermals.

Anyway, out of curiosity I booted in macOS with this, and it seems stable enough. I can now launch some OpenGL programs that I have been writing, and they don't cause any reboots anymore. Yay! Also Prime95 ran for 30 min without any issues.

I still have to be careful with sleep though. If PowerNap is enabled and the system wakes up on its own, it tends to cause a reboot. So I have PowerNap disabled for now.I can wake up the system manually without any issues.

So this seems to be a workable system now

 

[petrikleynhans]

Do you all have clean audio? I'm getting a lot of hiss from my speakers?

 

[paulotex]

Sorry, repeated post. See below.