SOLVED : Need suggestion for Micro ATX 9th Gen Gigabyte

[oldtimer05]

Hi guys, newbie here, As per title i need a board which would work with least issues, a Gigabyte please. Wish to pair it with i5-9400f. Wish to try the opencore method. Thank you.

 

[Edhawk]

You need to think about the compatible discrete GPU you are going to use as well. As the ‘F’ series CPU’s don’t have an IGPU.

The Gigabyte Z490M Gaming X motherboard might be worth a look.

 

[oldtimer05]

You need to think about the compatible discrete GPU you are going to use as well. As the ‘F’ series CPU’s don’t have an IGPU.

The Gigabyte Z490M Gaming X motherboard might be worth a look.

Hi thanks for your reply. I am looking for a rx 470 or 570 or even a 580, but its a zoo here at the moment. Price is flying sky high for used ones. Will use the r9 280 or a sucky 5770 at the moment.
By the time i am done with open core, i hope i will find a gpu.

The Z490m, will it take 9th gen ? Thanks.

 

[Edhawk]

My mistake, the Gigabyte Z490M Gaming X motherboard supports 10th and 11th Gen Intel CPU's sorry.

Compatible mATX 8th & 9th Gen Gigabyte boards include these two:
Z390M - https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/Z390-M-rev-10#kf and
Z390 M Gaming - https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/Z390-M-GAMING-rev-10#kf

These boards may not be easy to obtain, as most will now be stocking the 400 series. You may need to look for a second-hand motherboard.

The R9 280 dGPU, which is the equivalent of a HD7950 would be the better choice, as you no doubt already know, as it supports Apple's Metal graphics.

I am not sure if the AMD HD 5770 supports metal and is able to run Mojave, Catalina or Big Sur. I am fairly sure macOS support for the AMD 5000 series stopped with the final version of macOS High Sierra.

Your choice of CPU may not be supported in High Sierra, I think the first i9 CPU was supported with the release of Mojave 10.14.4.

With the i9-400F CPU you would need to run the system with a iMac Pro 1,1 SMBIOS.

 

[oldtimer05]

My mistake, the Gigabyte Z490M Gaming X motherboard supports 10th and 11th Gen Intel CPU's sorry.

Compatible mATX 8th & 9th Gen Gigabyte boards include these two:
Z390M - https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/Z390-M-rev-10#kf and
Z390 M Gaming - https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/Z390-M-GAMING-rev-10#kf

These boards may not be easy to obtain, as most will now be stocking the 400 series. You may need to look for a second-hand motherboard.

The R9 280 dGPU, which is the equivalent of a HD7950 would be the better choice, as you no doubt already know, as it supports Apple's Metal graphics.

I am not sure if the AMD HD 5770 supports metal and is able to run Mojave, Catalina or Big Sur. I am fairly sure macOS support for the AMD 5000 series stopped with the final version of macOS High Sierra.

Your choice of CPU may not be supported in High Sierra, I think the first i9 CPU was supported with the release of Mojave 10.14.4.

With the i9-400F CPU you would need to run the system with a iMac Pro 1,1 SMBIOS.

Hey thanks for the info on the motherboards. Will check on it.

Hoping to get them and surely hope that the 10gen mobos have not faced out these 9th gen mobos out. I rather get a 2nd hand Cpu compared to a mobo.

The 5770 does not support metal, i had my lags with it. But i did not know that it would not work beyond H/sierra. Thank you for the info.

I plan to install at least Mojave, Catalina if i can obtain 64 bits version of all the softwares i am using now. Also, the cpu i am looking at is an i5-9400, i cant afford an i9.

So i must be using the iMac Pro 1.1 sim bios, ok noted. Really appreciate your info.

 

[Edhawk]

Matters little between an i5 and an i9 if they are both from the 'F' series, as both will lack an IGPU. So the iMac Pro would be the correct SMBIOS for both.

You may struggle to get a brand new Z390 mATX board. They seem to be around £150-£180 in the UK, which is why I said about looking in the second-hand market. Gigabyte will have stopped releasing them to main stream suppliers as they have released the Z490 series, which they will now be pushing and marketing.

 

[oldtimer05]

Matters little between an i5 and an i9 if they are both from the 'F' series, as both will lack an IGPU. So the iMac Pro would be the correct SMBIOS for both.

You may struggle to get a brand new Z390 mATX board. They seem to be around £150-£180 in the UK, which is why I said about looking in the second-hand market. Gigabyte will have stopped releasing them to main stream suppliers as they have released the Z490 series, which they will now be pushing and marketing.

I see, so there is just a small bridge between i5 and i9. Ok.

I did check locally as soon i saw your recommendation, think i found one or two still left from the old stock !!

Can i ask you about AMD ? i saw that since Amd’s rise recently, people began building amd based Hackintoshes everywhere, but suddenly its so quiet, is there a problem with amd hackintoshes ? Thanks.

 

[Edhawk]

There will be difference between the i5 and i9, but not with regards the IGPU, as neither will have one. So the same SMBIOS can be used.

I don't think there are any problems with AMD Hack's. I run a couple of old FX systems with Catalina installed and they both work just fine.

An AMD Rig will usually be cheaper than an Intel system, for the CPU at least. Motherboards may be similar prices, depends on where you live.

Quiet usually means nothing major is happening and the guides are working for those who use AMD hacks. Lots of posts with problems tends to mean the opposite. Have a look at this site for instance - https://amd-osx.com

 

[oldtimer05]

There will be difference between the i5 and i9, but not with regards the IGPU, as neither will have one. So the same SMBIOS can be used.

I don't think there are any problems with AMD Hack's. I run a couple of old FX systems with Catalina installed and they both work just fine.

An AMD Rig will usually be cheaper than an Intel system, for the CPU at least. Motherboards may be similar prices, depends on where you live.

Quiet usually means nothing major is happening and the guides are working for those who use AMD hacks. Lots of posts with problems tends to mean the opposite. Have a look at this site for instance - https://amd-osx.com

I see. Thank you. It was a good link you gave there, lots of info.

Now i am wondering if i should go Amd. Amd’s performance is good i believe. Its just that i am not familiar with their line of processors.

In a glance at the link, i see that even imessage is functioning.

As an advice to a noob, do you think i should go amd ? 😅😅

 

[Edhawk]

To be honest there isn't much between an AMD and Intel Hack. There used to be a huge difference but with the development of OpenCore that differentiation has shrunk.

You will get a new AMD CPU with 8+ cores and 16+ Threads for a lot less money than an equivalent Intel CPU. You need to use the iMac Pro SMBIOS with AMD CPU's, as even if they have a built-in GPU. As AMD APU's won't ever work in macOS.

If budget is the driving factor for your current build then looking at an AMD Rig would be sensible. You would still be able to use your R9 280 dGPU. Memory would be DDR4 and you can add a compatible WiFi/BT card easily for around £50 or less.

They can still cost a fair bit, I built a decently specified system, to Dual Boot Windows 10 & Catalina, for my nephew for Christmas. It cost my sister around £1,100, as it was a completely new build with no previous rigs to pull things out of to save money. Obviously you can build them cheaper, but he wanted Windows Gaming as one of the main uses, so a decent spec was required.

There is a bit of a steep learning curve when opting for an AMD hack. Simply because you have to use OpenCore and it can take a little getting used to before you get everything up and running. There are some really good guides over at the Dortania site - https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/. With guides for AMD and Intel systems.

 

[oldtimer05]

To be honest there isn't much between an AMD and Intel Hack. There used to be a huge difference but with the development of OpenCore that differentiation has shrunk.

You will get a new AMD CPU with 8+ cores and 16+ Threads for a lot less money than an equivalent Intel CPU. You need to use the iMac Pro SMBIOS with AMD CPU's, as even if they have a built-in GPU. As AMD APU's won't ever work in macOS.

If budget is the driving factor for your current build then looking at an AMD Rig would be sensible. You would still be able to use your R9 280 dGPU. Memory would be DDR4 and you can add a compatible WiFi/BT card easily for around £50 or less.

They can still cost a fair bit, I built a decently specified system, to Dual Boot Windows 10 & Catalina, for my nephew for Christmas. It cost my sister around £1,100, as it was a completely new build with no previous rigs to pull things out of to save money. Obviously you can build them cheaper, but he wanted Windows Gaming as one of the main uses, so a decent spec was required.

There is a bit of a steep learning curve when opting for an AMD hack. Simply because you have to use OpenCore and it can take a little getting used to before you get everything up and running. There are some really good guides over at the Dortania site - https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/. With guides for AMD and Intel systems.

Thank you Sir for the well described input. Your nephew must be all smiles ! Lucky that he has a savvy uncle.

I think i will stick with intel, though cost is an issue, this old man just does not have enough energy to take a rocky path.

Ive found a Z390m Gaming - brand new costing about 101£, the cheapest available. 9400f is in abundance.

Really appreciate all your inputs, has been very helpful for a noob like me. Thank you.

 

[Edhawk]

You are welcome.

Come back when you have the system built, especially if you need any assistance getting macOS up and running.

 

[oldtimer05]

You are welcome.

Come back when you have the system built, especially if you need any assistance getting macOS up and running.

Thats for sure. After assembling the hardware, i am going to be bothering the forummers at the the software section 😀.

I need to bother you for another two more hardware stuff which i am wondering about.

I). Can i directly start with a M2 type of storage or i have to begin the opencore build in a normal 2.5” ssd ?

Ii). I am getting a Kingston Fury ddr4 3200mhz single stick 8gb ram for the moment. Will this be fine with the processor - i5 9400f ?

I am asking because when i checked intel’s page, in the line of the specs of the cpu, it mentioned about memory types being : ddr4 2666 .

This does not mean i cant use 3200mhz, right ? Probably the page meant the minimum speed of the memory type the cpu needs ?

The motherboard should have no issues with this type of ram i believe, but the cpu.

 

[Edhawk]

NVMe M.2 drives work great with macOS. As Apple don't use spinning HDD's anymore.

There was an issue recently with the Samsung 970 EVO Plus drives, due to a poor firmware, but that has been resolved with an updated firmware.

The memory choice should actually be the other way around.

For memory the CPU is not the device to look at, the CPU will work with most if not all DDR4 memory. The Motherboard is the device to look at, as it will have a Supported Memory List, sometimes called a Quality Vendors List (QVL).

Using memory from the QVL sets you up with a fighting chance of the memory working, as the manufacturer will have tested the memory in the QVL on their motherboard in various setups. So the memory choice should be made after reviewing the QVL for your motherboard not based on the CPU.

Here are two links to the Support pages for the two Gigabyte boards lined above

Z390M - https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/Z390-M-rev-10/support#support-doc

Z390M-Gaming - https://www.gigabyte.com/uk/Motherboard/Z390-M-GAMING-rev-10/support#support-doc

These pages have documents listing supported M.2 drives, SSDs and memory. Another page shows the list of supported CPU's with the bios required for the CPU to work.

 

[Edhawk]

Another thing to remember is that the advertised speed of the memory is not usually the same as the 'Base Speed'.

For Example: The 3200MHz RAM probably has a base speed of 1600MHz, with the upper speed gained by utilizing the Bios's XMP function, which provides a speed increase for the RAM. The Double Data RAM (DDR) name means exactly that, the Base Speed can be doubled from 1600MHz to 3200MHz.

So the CPU being able to use 2400MHz RAM does not mean you can't use 3200MHz RAM, as the CPU will be rated against the Base Speed, not the XMP speed.

There are two versions/settings for XMP. XMP1 and XMP2, your RAM will be set to use one or the other usually. The system will apply the highest it can to maximise the RAM speed, when the XMP option is selected in the Bios.

 

[oldtimer05]

Another thing to remember is that the advertised speed of the memory is not usually the same as the 'Base Speed'.

For Example: The 3200MHz RAM probably has a base speed of 1600MHz, with the upper speed gained by utilizing the Bios's XMP function, which provides a speed increase for the RAM. The Double Data RAM (DDR) name means exactly that, the Base Speed can be doubled from 1600MHz to 3200MHz.

So the CPU being able to use 2400MHz RAM does not mean you can't use 3200MHz RAM, as the CPU will be rated against the Base Speed, not the XMP speed.

There are two versions/settings for XMP. XMP1 and XMP2, your RAM will be set to use one or the other usually. The system will apply the highest it can to maximise the RAM speed, when the XMP option is selected in the Bios.

Edhawk, you are the best ! Thank you.