Gigabyte Z490 Vision G Hackintosh OpenCore

5T4TU5: Completed 100%. Added Clover EFI as well.
IMPORTANT: Concerning macOS Monterey 12.0 beta: installs without issues, but the I225 Ethernet Controller is currently not working…

Introduction

EFI folder for the Gigabyte Z490 Vision G mainboard I've been working on and refining constantly since September 2020. It's based on Dortania's OpenCore Install Guide, ACPI Hotpatches from Daliansky's "OC-Little" Repo and my own research. I've dumped the system DSDT, analyzed it and added missing components to fine tune the config.

This is a genuine Z490 Vision G EFI unlike most EFIs posted on Forums, Repos and the newly released HackinDROM App. These EFIs are either based on a generic patched DSDT by Olarilla (please stay away from those!) or on SchmockLords EFI for the Gigabyte Z490 Vision D, which contains unnecessary DeviceProperties for Tunderbolt, an I219 1 Gig Ethernet Controller, a Wifi/BT Module and won't pass validation sucessfully.

My EFI Folder does not contain any of this unnecessary ballast. It also doesn't require FakePCIID.kext to get the Intel® I225-V 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Controller working. I think this is the most sophisticated Z490 Vision G EFI folder on Github yet! And just for fun, I added Clover, too.

Sucessfully tested with macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey (work in progress).

NOTE: For best results, read and follow the install instruction carefully and thoroughly.

Build Info

Hardware Components

System Specs

Component	Details
Mainboard	Gigabyte Z490 Vision G
BIOS	F20. F5 or higher is required to disable `CFG Lock`. Otherwise use Kernel Quirk `AppleXcpmCfgLock`
CPU	Intel® Core i9 10850K (Codename Comet Lake)
RAM	32 GB DDR4 2400 Crucial Basllistix Sport LT
iGPU	Intel® UHD 630. Configured `headless` for computational tasks only. If you need to drive a display use this Framebuffer-Patch instead
GPU	MSI Geforce GTX 760 Twin Frozr Gaming
Audio	Realtek® ALC1220-VB (Layout-id: `28`)
Ethernet	Intel® 2.5GbE LAN chip. Incompatible with macOS High Sierra

BIOS Settings

BIOS Settings

Tweaker [TAB]
- Extreme Memory Profile (XMP): Enabled (if supported by RAM)
- Advanced CPU Settings
  - VT-d: Enabled (disabled in config.plist anyway, so only relevant to Windows)
  - Intel Speed Shit: Enabled
Setings [TAB]
- Platform Power
  - Platform Power Management: Enabled
  - PEG ASPM: Enabled
  - PCH ASPM: Enabled
  - DMI ASPM: Enabled
  - ErP: Enabled (so USB Power turns off, after PC is shut down)
- IO Ports
  - Internal Graphics: enabled (if CPU has integrated graphics). NOTE: The config.plist uses dGPU for Display(s) and iGPU for computational tasks only by default. If you want to use the iGPU to drive a display you need a different Framebuffer Patch (see "EFI Install Instructions" for details).
  - OnBoard LAN Controller: Enabled
  - Audio Controller: Enabled (if On-Board Sound Card is used)
  - Above 4G Decoding: Enabled
  - Re-Size BAR Support: Disabled
  - IOAPIC 24-119 Entries: Enabled
  - Super IO Configurtaion
    - Serial Port: Disabled
  - USB Configuration
    - Legacy USB Support: Disabled
    - XHCI Hand-off: Enabled
  - Network Stack Configuration
    - Network Stack: Disabled
Boot [TAB]
- CFGLock: Disabled (Option only available on newer BIOS versions)
- Windows 10 Features: Windows 10
- CSM: Disabled (to get rid of legacy code from DSDT)

OpenCore and Config Details

OpenCore Details

Version: 0.7.3 (check comments in config.plist for details)
Compatible macOS: 10.14 (Mojave), 10.15.7 (Catalina), 11.5+ (Big Sur), 12.0 beta (Monterey)
System Definition: iMac20,2 (SMBIOS Infos need to be added with GenSMBIOS). Using a different SMBIOS may require remapping of USB Ports, since the info.plist inside the USBPorts.kext refers to iMac20,2 as model.
ACPI Patches: SSDT-AWAC, SSDT-EC-USBX, SSDT-PLUG, SSDT-SBUS-MCHC, SSDT-PPMC
OpenCanopy Enabled: yes
Iconset: modern
Chime: no
FileVault: no
SecureBootModel: Disabled
USB Ports Mapped: yes. Details here
car-active-config: HighSierra: FF030000, Catalina: FF070000, Big Sur: 67080000
Issues: Intel(r) I-225 Ethernet Controller does not work with macOS Versions prior to macOS Catalina and macOS Monterey (as of now).

Note about Kexts

The following Kexts are disabled by default since I don't know which CPU, GPU you are using:

CPUFriend.kext and CPUFriendDataProvider.kext
- If you use a different CPU model, create your own DataProviderKext using CPUFriendFriend, replace it and reenable the kext as well as CPUFriend.kext)

AGPMInjector.kextdisabled. Generate it or delete config entry and kext. See Section "Enable AGPM"

EFI Folder Content

EFI Folder Structure

EFI
├── BOOT
│   └── BOOTx64.efi
└── OC
    ├── ACPI
    │   ├── SSDT-AWAC-DISABLE.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-EC-USBX.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-PLUG.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-PPMC.aml
    │   └── SSDT-SBUS-MCHC.aml
    ├── Drivers
    │   ├── HfsPlus.efi
    │   ├── OpenCanopy.efi
    │   └── OpenRuntime.efi
    ├── Kexts
    │   ├── AGPMInjector.kext
    │   ├── AppleALC.kext
    │   ├── CPUFriend.kext
    │   ├── CPUFriendDataProvider.kext
    │   ├── Lilu.kext
    │   ├── SMCProcessor.kext
    │   ├── SMCSuperIO.kext
    │   ├── USBPorts_iMac191.kext
    │   ├── USBPorts_iMac202.kext
    │   ├── VirtualSMC.kext
    │   └── WhateverGreen.kext
    ├── OpenCore.efi
    ├── Resources (NOTE: removed files of sub-folders from tree view to reduce clutter)
    │   ├── Font
    │   ├── Image
    │   │   └── Acidanthera
    │   │       ├── Chardonnay
    │   │       ├── GoldenGate
    │   │       └── Syrah
    │   └── Label
    ├── config.plist
    └── config_iMac19,1.plist

Installation

How to install macOS

Installing macOS

If you already have macOS installed but want to perform a clean install, you can either download macOS from the App Store or use ANYmacOS. It's a hassle-free app than can download macOS High Sierra, Catalina and Big Sur. It also can create a USB Installer for you. And if you create multiple HFS partitions in the correct sizes, you can use it to create a multi macOS Installer USB Stick as well.

If you are on Windows or Linux, follow the guide provided by Dortania

EFI Install Instructions

EFI Install Guide for OpenCore

Download latest OC EFI Release and unpack it
Select the config of your choice and rename it to config.plist
Change the value for csr-active-config based on your macOS version to disable SIP: EF0F0000 for Monterey, 67080000 for Big Sur and FF070000 for Catalina/Mojave
- AMD GPUs may require additional boot-args. Check WhateverGreen repo to find out which you need.
- If you want to use the Intel UHD 630 integrated graphics to drive a display, download this Framebuffer-Patch. Open it with a plist editor and copy the dictionary PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x2,0x0) to DeviceProperties > Add (comment-out the existing entry with "#" first, to disable the existing entry).
Getting the Intel(R) I225-V Ethernet Controller to work:
- macOS Big Sur Users (macOS 11.4 or later) don't have to change anything here since this is the currently active config! But for completeness sake, this is what you would have to do otherwise:
  1. Disable (comment-out) DeviceProperties > PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1C,0x1)/Pci(0x0,0x0)
  2. Go to Kernel > Patch and disable I225-V Patch.
  3. Add boot-arg dk.e1000=0
- macOS Catalina and Big Sur Users (up to macOS version 11.3 ≤ Kernel 20.4) need to do the following:
  1. Enable (un-comment) DeviceProperties > #PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1C,0x1)/Pci(0x0,0x0)
  2. Go to Kernel > Patch and enable I225-V Patch.
  3. Delete/disable boot-arg dk.e1000=0
- macOS Monterey beta 2 Users (should supossedly work like this):
  1. Disable (comment-out) DeviceProperties > PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1C,0x1)/Pci(0x0,0x0)
  2. Go to Kernel > Patch and disable I225-V Patch.
  3. Add boot-arg dk.e1000=0
  4. In Network Settings, manually assign an IP Address and set it up as a 1 gig connection (base1000T). I can't confirm this since I only have a base100T router and I can't get a connection to the internet going for reasons unknown to me.
NOTE: In fact, you could leave the Device Property, Kernel Patch and boot-arg enabled for both macOS Catalina and Big Sur altogether. But I think it's cleaner to just enable what's necessary for each OS unless you run a multiboot setup with both Catalina and Big Sur. Then it's probably easier to leave the Device Property, the Kernel Patch and boot-arg enabled. See this discussion for more insight: dortania/bugtracker#213
Create SMBIOS infos for iMac20,2 to the config.plist and save it.
Copy the EFI Folder to a FAT32 formated USB Stick
Reboot from USB Stick
Perform an NVRAM Reset
Boot macOS
If your system boots successfully, mount your ESP and copy over the EFI Folder to you HDD/SSD and reboot.
Continue with Post-Install!

Post-Install

Strengthen Security

Once you got macOS running, change the following settings to make your system more secure:

Change UEFI > APFS: MinDate and MinVersion from -1 (disabled) to the correct values for the macOS version you are using. A list with the correct values for macOS High Sierra up to Big Sur can be found here.

BACKGROUND: OpenCore 0.7.2 introduced a new security feature which prevents the APFS driver from loading if it does not match OS-specific Date (MinDate) and Version (MinVersion). If left at their default value 0 (as set in the sample.plist), the macOS partition will not show up in the Boot Picker unless Big Sur or newer is installed. For ease of use (and since I don't know which macOS you will be using) I've deactivated this feature. If you plan to setup a multiboot system running various iterations of macOS you probably should leave it at -1. Otherwise you won't be able to boot older macOSes.
Change SecureBootModelfrom Disabled to j185f (for iMac20,2) or j185 (for iMac20,1). NOTE: Only applicable to macOS Catalina and newer. You should test these settings first using a USB Bootstick since it can prevent the system from booting. Disable it for installing macOS Monterey if you have issues.

Optimizing CPU Power Management

Use CPUFriendFriend to generate a CPUFriendDataProvider.kext to optimize the CPU Power Management for a more efficent overall performance. You can follow this Guide to create your own. Once you're done, reboot. Have a look at the CPU behavior using Intel Power Gadget. The CPU idle frequency should be lower now:

Enabling Apple Graphics Power Management (AGPM) for dedicated GPUs (NVDIA and AMD)

Generate AGPMInjector.kext for your GPU using AGPMInjector and
Copy it to EFI\OC\Kexts
Enable the entry in the config.plist
Save and reboot.
Open IORegistryExplorer and search forPR00. If it look like this, CPU Power Management and AGPM are working correctly:

NOTE: For more Post-Install tweaks and tips, check out my small collection of Config Tweaks

Calculating Scan Policy (optional)

The items displayed in the Boot Picker Menu are based on a combination of bits representing kinds of devices (SATA, NVME, USB, etc.) as well as Filesystems (APFS, HFS, NTFS, etc.). There are 24 bits which can be turned on and off to modify what's displayed in the Boot Picker. The combination of selected bits create what's called the ScanPolicy. It's located under Misc > Security in the config.plist. The default value of my EFI is 0 which means "scan for everything which is bootable on the system". Although this is great for compatibility, it will also display EFI Folders on drives which are not the boot drive as well.

To change the ScanPolicy to your liking, you can make use of this online calculator: https://oc-scanpolicy.vercel.app/. I am using 2687747 for example which hides EFI Folders and NTFS Drives. If I need windows I just boot it from the BIOS Boot Menu (F12).

IMPORTANT: Calculating a wrong ScanPolicy can lead to the Boot Picker beeing empty, so you can't boot into macOS. So make sure to test the value first by booting from FAT32 formatted USB Stick containing your EFI Folder with the new value for "Scan Policy".

CPU Benchmark

SEE ALL RESULTS

Credits and Thank yous

Acidanthera and Team for the OpenCore Bootloader
Dortantia for OpenCore Install Guide
SergeySlice for Clover Bootloader
Corpnewt for SSDTTime, GenSMBIOS and ProperTree
daliansky for OC Little ACPI Hotpatch Collection
Pavo-IM for APGM Injector and OC Gen X
SL-Soft for Kext Updater and ANYmacOS
jsassu20 for MacDown Markdown Editor

voltechs / gigabyte-z490-vision-g-hackintosh-opencore Goto Github PK