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Mac-Mini-Killer (Monterey / Ventura)

Hackintosh setup based on i7-8700K | Gigabyte Z370N | RX560 | 32GB RAM

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About this guide

This is a beginner guide to make a Hackintosh based on GIGABYTE Z370N WIFI motherboard. If you are only interested in installing Monterey on your Hackintosh and you have the same Motherboard, go directly to Installation

Current guide optimised for:

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 Hackintosh components

Intel Core i7-8700K.

GIGABYTE Z370N WIFI.

ASUS ROG-STRIX-RX560-O4G

G.Skill Trident Z Neo - DDR4, 32 GB (2 x 16 GB).

Crucial P2 1TB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD. I'm using this disk with a Bootloader partition with Clover and the other partition is the MacOS Monterey OS.

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

Noctua NF-A4x20. The Flex PSU with this fan does not make any noise.

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.

Mini ITX Small Aluminum Case from AliExpress + PCI-e express cable.

Server Flex 500W PSU from AliExpress

BIOS settings for installation and boot (eGPU)

Actually, Hackintosh should boot even with default BIOS settings until Catalina. But for Monterey, I needed to make some additional changes:

Fast boot, Vt-d are important to be DISABLED.

Config.plist

Use ProperTree to edit the config.plist file and change PlatformInfo values to your own machine:

<key>PlatformInfo</key>
<dict>
	<key>Automatic</key>
	<true/>
	<key>CustomMemory</key>
	<false/>
	<key>Generic</key>
	<dict>
		<key>MaxBIOSVersion</key>
		<false/>
		<key>AdviseFeatures</key>
		<false/>
		<key>SystemMemoryStatus</key>
		<string>Auto</string>
		<key>MLB</key>
		<string>BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB</string>
		<key>ProcessorType</key>
		<integer>0</integer>
		<key>ROM</key>
		<data>DDDDDDDD</data>
		<key>SpoofVendor</key>
		<true/>
		<key>SystemProductName</key>
		<string>MacPro7,1</string>
		<key>SystemSerialNumber</key>
		<string>AAAAAAAAAAAA</string>
		<key>SystemUUID</key>
		<string>CCCCCC-CCCC-CCCC-CCCC-CCCCCCCCCCCC</string>
	</dict>
	<key>UpdateDataHub</key>
	<true/>
	<key>UpdateNVRAM</key>
	<true/>
	<key>UpdateSMBIOS</key>
	<true/>
	<key>UpdateSMBIOSMode</key>
	<string>Create</string>
	<key>UseRawUuidEncoding</key>
	<false/>
</dict>

MacOS 12 Monterey Upgrade

sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Monterey.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/USB

git clone git@github.com/kn0wm4d/Mac-Mini-Killer.git

setup_var_3 0x5A4 0x00

Please note that hardcoded value is for F14 BIOS version of the Gigabyte z370N WIFI 1.0 motherboard, if you use another BIOS version or another motherboard, UPGRADE THE BIOS FIRST:

Gigabyte Z370N WiFi BIOSCFG Lock offset
F100x0585
F14Ox05A4

ePGU settings for AMD RX560/570/580

ASUS ROG STRIX RX560 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.

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.

Sleep

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

Captura de Pantalla 2022-08-12 a las 19 19 46

To see your pmset parametrs:

pmset -g

If you want to restore the default factory settings:

sudo pmset -a restoredefaults

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

USB Ports

The included USBMap.kext with USB mapping is for the Gigabyte z370N WiFi 1.0 and MacPro7,1 SMBIOS only with some USB 3 ports, one USB type C and one internal Bluetooth USB port enabled.

Keep in mind that you have to choose what ports to enable, because MacOS has a 15 logical ports limit and each port has 2 logical ports (one physical port has one USB 2 and one USB 3 personality, and USB Type C has different ports for each side... so 2 logical ports per physical port) and you have to reserve a port for Bluetooth card.

Motherboard

List of the 15 ports ENABLED:

LabelNameTypeComment
IHS01, SS010, 3USB 2.0 & 3.1 front 1
IHS02, SS020, 3USB 2.0 & 3.1 front 2
FHS03, SS030, 3USB 2.0 & 3.1 rear 5
GHS04, SS040, 3USB 2.0 & 3.1 rear 6
CHS050USB 2.0 rear 3
DHS060USB 2.0 rear 4
EHS090USB 2.0 only rear Type C
HHS10255USB 2.0 internal (bluetooth)
JHS110USB 2.0 internal (wireless keyboard or mouse dongle)
ESS09, SS1010, 10USB 3.1 only rear Type C (for each side of the connector)

List of ports DISABLED:

LabelPortComment
CSS05Only USB 2.0 active on HS05
DSS06Only USB 2.0 active on HS06
AHS07, SS07Only to power my desklight
BHS08, SS08Only to power my soundbar
JHS12Not used in macOS
hiddenHS13, HS14, USR1, USR2Not used in macOS

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