<< Solved >> Z77X-UD5H Audio on Catalina with Clover

[gandalf2003]

Hi all,

Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H - i7 3770K - RX570 - Fenvi T919

I wanted to move to opencore for months.
I just upgraded my Mojave hack under clover with a fresh Catalina install following Dortania's guide and opencore 0.7.6 debug.

Everything went smooth but sound (alc 898). Maybe because I used the prebuilt SSDT-EC-DESKTOP.aml but I'm not sure...
I tried several alcids but was not luckier.

Then I disconnected all OSX hard drives and started a windows session installed on another HDD (without opencore bootloader) to see if the soundchip still works. Under windows it was not better.

Can the bios remember ACPI modifications done with opencore even without booting it ?
What do you think ?

 

[Edhawk]

Did you clear the NVRAM before you booted in to Catalina, from the OC Picker List or GUI boot screen?

If not, then yes old settings can remain in the NVRAM and mess things up. I'm not sure why it would do so for Windows, as that OS uses a different Audio driver. But hey, this is an old Hack so anything can happen.

 

[gandalf2003]

Thx Edhawk, NVRAM already cleared.
I finally think that the soundchip is dead :

Weird crackling noises in windows, in realtek control panel, nothing is working anymore (jack plug detection...).
I will use an external USB soundblaster in place.

 

[Edhawk]

Sorry to hear the Audio device has died on your motherboard.

Be careful with which Sound Blaster device you get/use, they don't all work in macOS, some only work in the older versions.

I know the Sound Blaster G3 work in macOS. Creative provide drivers/installers for macOS for this USB Type-C device (comes with a Type-C to Type-A adapter). https://support.creative.com/Produc...ifiers&prodID=23431&prodName=Sound+Blaster+G3

Creative - Sound Blaster G3 Portable USB Gaming DAC : Creative-Labs: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Buy

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[gandalf2003]

I'm using the mp3+ version bought in 2007 who was sleeping in a box for years.
It works out of the box and sound better than the alc chip.

 

[MilkyTech]

@gandalf2003

I have the same MB, Graphics Card, and Audio running dual boot with Catalina/Win10 on Clover bootloader. Does your RX 580 work in Catalina? Can you send me the kext? I only have the onboard Intel HD 4000 working.
As far as audio, I do get audio through HDMI to my monitor but no luck with the onboard Creative Soundblaster to my external pc speakers.
Also, I was thinking about upgrading to either Monterey or Ventura; have you tried this yet? Also, do you like OpenCore better than clover for the bootloader?

 

[Edhawk]

@MilkyTech USB audio devices work well in macOS, out of the box in most cases. As Apple provide drivers for a number of different external USB devices.

RX400 & RX500 series dGPU's do not need any kexts in order to work in recent versions of macOS, including Catalina.

The most you would need is to ensure that a recent version of WhateverGreen.kext is included in your /EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other or /EFI/OC/Kexts folder. Which you are probably already using for the Intel HD4000 IGPU.

 

[MilkyTech]

@MilkyTech USB audio devices work well in macOS, out of the box in most cases. As Apple provide drivers for a number of different external USB devices.

RX400 & RX500 series dGPU's do not need any kexts in order to work in recent versions of macOS, including Catalina.

The most you would need is to ensure that a recent version of WhateverGreen.kext is included in your /EFI/CLOVER/kexts/Other or /EFI/OC/Kexts folder. Which you are probably already using for the Intel HD4000 IGPU.

So there is no kext for the MB integrated soundblaster audio? I have to buy a USB audio card?
Also, do you know if I need and if there is a kext package out there so I can upgrade Catalina to Monterey or Ventura?

 

[Edhawk]

I didn't say you have to buy anything. I simply stated that most Creative Sound audio cards work better when the USB variant is use in macOS.

PCIe Sound Blaster Audio cards are notoriously funky on macOS, even in real Mac Pro's. There are no standard drivers in macOS as these are a third-party add-on card, not something Apple uses by default. They are never built-in to an Apple system so there are no native drivers.

AppleALC.kext may work with your Motherboard's audio, it all depends on which Audio codec the motherboard uses.

Your Z77X-UD5H motherboard has the Realtek ALC898 codec built-in. It does not use a Creative Sound Blaster audio. Well not if the specification page for your motherboard is anything to go by.

GA-Z77X-UD5H (rev. 1.0) Specification | Motherboard - GIGABYTE U.K.

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ...

www.gigabyte.com

This Realtek Codec works with AppleALC.kext as long as you inject the correct Layout-ID in your config or in your system DSDT.aml, if you have patched the DSDT.


A kext package? What sort of kext package are you meaning?

Each motherboard and system using macOS requires some essential kexts, but no one on this site has created a 'package' for these kexts. You just need to download the latest versions of the kexts your system requires, that is what everyone else does.

 

[MilkyTech]

Yes, the MB has the Realtek ALC898 but also uses a Creative SB X-FI driver in Windows that has a SB Console, Creative Alchemy, Creative Music Server, and THX TruStudio Pro. Anyway, I have sound from my monitor through the HDMI cable but can't find a way to switch to my PC speakers plugged into the rear audio port. Thought maybe the SB software controlled that but it doesn't. I must just be not finding the setting in macOS to switch the output.