cl0nebot / mac-mini-killer

Hackintosh setup based on Intel i7-8700 | Gigabyte Z370N WiFi | Radeon RX560 | 16GB RAM | macOS Mojave

Mac-Mini-Killer

Hackintosh setup based on i7-8700 | Gigabyte Z370N | RX560 | 16GB RAM

About this guide

This is a beginner guide to make a Hackintosh based on GIGABYTE Z370N WIFI motherboard. It focused on post-install setup. If you don't know how to make a bootable macOS Mojave flash drive and install the macOS Mojave, google it. There is a lot of detail instruction on YouTube.

Current guide optimised for:

• macOS Mojave 10.14.3
• F10 BIOS for z370n
• FileVault 2 encryption
• AMD RX560/RX570/RX580/RX5900 graphics (iGPU only is not supported)

I tried to make this guide as simple as possible. Some parts are still a little bit techy, but I'm going to rewrite them soon.

How to ask for help

If you have troubles during migrating to my EFI and settings, please attach «problem reporting» files to your post. The easiest way is to install and run this script.

My Hakintosh components

Intel Core i7-8700 non K.

GIGABYTE Z370N WIFI.

G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200MHz.

250GB Samsung 970 EVO M.2. I'm using two of this disk: one for macOS and one for Windows 10 (gaming).

250GB SanDisk Ultra II SATA III 2.5-Inch. I'm using this disk for a bootable clone of macOS Mojave.

Noctua NH-L9I. Great low profile cooler that fits my SFF case.

WiFi adapter from MacBook Air (BCM94360CS2). Before that, I've tried BCM943602BAED and BCM94352Z. Both of this cards require some kexts to work in macOS, and they will not let your BT keyboard work in BIOS and Clover.

Flex 4.5L case and SeaSonic 300W 80+ Gold PSU. This is the custom made SFF case that comes with moded server PSU.

BIOS settings for installation and boot (eGPU)

Actually, Hackintosh can boot even with default BIOS setting. But I made some additional changes:

• Peripherals ▸ Initial Display Output = PCIe 1 Slot
• Chipset ▸ Wake on LAN Enable = Disabled

Fast boot, Vt-d and other options that usually recommended to disable not affect my system.

Config.plist

I have a few DSDT patches, darkwake=2, tweaks for Power Management and Hardware Acceleration with iGPU. SMBIOS is iMac18,3.

I've managed to figure out about all Config.plist settings and I keep them as minimal as possible. The same with drivers64UEFI folder and all efi's.

Kexts

I moved kexts to /Library/Extensions/, and left in Other only essential kexts that I might be needed during recovery mode. You can find all my kexts from /Library/Extensions/ in the attachment below.

When you copy kexts to /L/E/, don't forget to:

• config.plist ▸ System Parameters ▸ Inject Kexts = Detect
• config.plist ▸ RT Variables ▸ CsrActiveConfig = 0x01 (enable unsigned kexts).

Don't copy kext with Finder, use terminal:

1. Navigate to downloaded Kexts for L/E folder in Terminal;
2. Run command to copy kexts from to L/E;

sudo cp -R *.kext /Library/Extensions

2. Update kext cache:

sudo kextcache -i /

Otherwise, they will not be injected properly.

ePGU settings for AMD RX560/570/580

MSI RX560 Aero working great with WhateverGreen.kext. iGPU for hardware acceleration working great too. I applied a few patches in config.plist and turned iGPU on in BIOS.

BIOS settings for Hardware Acceleration with iGPU

• Сhipset ▸ Internal Graphics = Enabled
• Сhipset ▸ DVMT Pre-Allocated = 128MB
• Сhipset ▸ DVMT Total Gfx Mem = 128MB

How to test Hardware Acceleratio.

Sound

Works great with AppleALC.kext and some necessary tweaks in config.plist.

Networking

Left LAN port works smoothly with IntelMausiEthernet.kext. For right LAN you will need SmallTree-Intel-211-AT-PCIe-GBE.kext.

BT and WiFi work without any kexts. All related futures work too: unlock with Apple Watch, Connectivity, Hands-off, Airdrop, iMessege etc. Bluetooth keyboard and touchpad work in Clover, BIOS and during FileVault login.

Here are the BCM94360CS2 WiFi/BT drivers for Windows.

The only problem is that MacBook Air card doesn't fit the standard metal case on the motherboard. So I just removed this case. Also with included internal antennas, I have a weak BT signal. I ordered two external antennas, hope they will fix my problem.

UPD: Actually it should fit the standard case, so you can use it to hold the card in place. Build in antenna connectors should work too.

Sleep

Sleep and wake work with darkwake=2. Here is my actual pmset info:

To see your pmset parametrs:

pmset -g

To disable any parametr:

sudo pmset parametr_name 0

To match my config you need to:

sudo pmset standby 0

sudo pmset womp 0

sudo pmset proximitywake 0

sudo pmset powernap 0

sudo pmset disksleep 0

sudo pmset sleep 10

sudo pmset autopoweroff 0

If you want to restore defoult parametrs, go to:

/Library/Preferences

and delete all the com.apple.PowerManagement.* files.

USB

USB ports configured with Hackintool. it is a simpler way to configure USB than RehabMan's custom SSDT. Especially for beginners.

Hackintool generates two files: USBPorts.kext and SSDT-EC.aml.

1. USBPorts.kext goes to /Library/Extensions/
2. SSDT-EC.aml to /EFI/ACPI/patched/

Be aware, that I made my config only for motherboards USB. It will not work with front USB on your case. If you use a front panel USB or connect anything to internal USB-port on the motherboard, you should make USBPorts.kext and SSDT-EC.aml by ourself.

This method provides full USB power for my devices. I tried to charge my iPad Pro, and amperemeter shows that iPad now draws 1.6A. Before it was 500 mAh max. No additional kexts and config needed.

Clover Boot options

I have 3 internal drives: System, Clone and Windows. Clover boot screen is a bit messy because of that. So I made FileVault compatible Custom boot entries to have only 3 icons. Other boot options are Hide. I can access them with F3 button.

You should reconfigure this Custom boot entries all just remove all of them.

Also, my system automatically boots to macOS. If you want the same behaviour, you should change my disk UUID to yours.

Thermals

CPU is delidded and undervolted to 1.135V. I used 3D printed tool and Thermal Grizzly liquid metal.

The result is excellent: 34–37°C in idle and 66–69°C in the Blender Benchmark or Prime95 (24°C ambient). Before it easily hit 90+°C with my cooler.

What Works

Everything: WiFi, BT, LAN, Audio, iMessage, Wake & Sleep, Universal Clipboard, USB 3, USB-C, DP-audio, Hands-off, AirDrop, Hardware Acceleration, Shutdown, Unlock with Apple Watch, you name it.

What Doesn't Work

• PowerNap is turned off, so no apps update during sleep. Maybe it works, I just not tested it.
• If I enable XMP profile in BIOS for automatic RAM overclock or overclock RAM manually, I have a warning «Disk not ejected properly». after waking from sleep. You need to reconnect external drives to make it work again. It can be critical for people who use external drives on a daily basis. There is three solution for that:
  • Prevent sleep with free Amphetamine app. I like it because it let monitor fall asleep and/or enable screensaver. It’s crucial if you want your Hackintosh to lock automatically.
  • Disable XMP. Fixes the problem entirely, but harms general performance.
  • Use Jettison app that unmount drives before sleep. I don’t test it personally.