Gigabyte Z490 Vision G Hackintosh OpenCore

About

EFI folder for the Gigabyte Z490 Vision G mainboard I've been working on and refining since September 2020. It's based on Dortania's OpenCore Install Guide and analysis of an .ioreg file from a real iMac20,1. I've dumped the system DSDT, analyzed it and added missing components and features via SSDT Hotpatches from Daliansky's "OC-Little" Repo to get it as close to a real Mac as possible. USB Ports are mapped via ACPI, so no USBPort kext is required. I think this is the most sophisticated Z490 Vision G EFI folder available on Github.

This is a genuine Z490 Vision G EFI, built from scratch. Unlike most pseudo Z490 Vision G EFIs posted on Forums and Repos, which are either based on generically patched DSDTs by Olarila/MaLDon (stay away from those!) or on SchmockLords EFI for the Z490 Vision D, which contains unnecessary DeviceProperties for Tunderbolt, an I219 Ethernet Controller and on-board WiFi/BT. My EFI Folder doesn't contain any of this junk.

Tested successfully with macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey.

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

Build Info

System Specs

BIOS Settings

OpenCore Details

EFI Folder Structure

EFI
├── BOOT
│   └── BOOTx64.efi
└── OC
    ├── ACPI
    │   ├── DMAR.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-AWAC-ARTC.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-DMAC.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-EC-USBX.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-FWHD.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-I225V.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-PLUG.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-PMC.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-PORTS.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-RX580.aml
    │   ├── SSDT-SBUS-MCHC.aml
    │   └── SSDT-XSPI.aml
    ├── Drivers
    │   ├── HfsPlus.efi
    │   ├── OpenCanopy.efi
    │   ├── OpenRuntime.efi
    │   └── ResetNvramEntry.efi
    ├── Kexts
    │   ├── AGPMInjector.kext
    │   ├── AppleALC.kext
    │   ├── CPUFriend.kext
    │   ├── CPUFriendDataProvider.kext
    │   ├── FeatureUnlock
    │   ├── Lilu.kext
    │   ├── NVMeFix.kext
    │   ├── RestrictEvents
    │   ├── SMCProcessor.kext
    │   ├── SMCSuperIO.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
    │   │   ├── Blackosx
    │   │   │   └── BsxM1
    │   │   └── velickovicdj
    │   │  	└── EnterTwilight
    │   └── Label
    ├── config.plist
    └── config_iMac19,1.plist

About included ACPI Tables

My EFI Folder contains additional ACPI Tables besides the usual, which you won't find in the OpenCore Install Guide. Some of them are board-specific, some of them are modified versions of the regular tables, some are just cosmetic (and therefore disabled by default).

Here's what the extra tables do:

• DMAR (optional): DMAR replacement table without Reserved Memory Regions. Useful in cases where 3rd party LAN/Wifi/BT cards won't work when the Intel I225-V controller is enabled (macOS Big Sur and newer).
• SSDT-AWAC-ARTC: Special variant of SSDT-AWAC. Disables AWAC Clock and enables RTC as ARTC instead. Also disables legacy HPET device.
• SSDT-PORTS: OS-agnostic USB Port Mapping Table for the Z490 Vision G. No additional USB Port kext or quirks are required. Since the USB ports are mapped via ACPI they will work in any version of macOS. Check this pdf for a detailed list of mapped ports.
• SSDT-DMAC (optional): Adds a fake Direct Memory Access Controller to the device tree of I/O Registry. Disabled by default since it's cosmetic.
• SDT-FWHD (optional): Adds fake Firmware Hub Device (FWHD) to I/O Registry. Used by almost every intel-based Mac. Disabled by default since it's cosmetic.
• SSDT-PMC (optional): Adds fake Apple-exclusive PCMR Device to ACPI. Required for 300-series mainboards but optional on 400-series and newer. Disabled.
• SSDT-RX580 (disabled) → Improves Metal Performance on Radeon RX580 cards. See the test results
• SSDT-XSPI (optional, enabled): Adds PCH SPI Controller to IORegistry as XSPI. So it's not a fake device but probably only a cosmetic change.

NOTE: More info about additional ACPI Tables can be found on my OC Little Repo

Disabled Kexts

The following Kexts are disabled by default since I don't know which CPU, GPU, Hard Disk and SMBIOS you will be using:

• AGPMInjector.kext → Injects Apple Graphics Power Management for the GPU into I/O Registry
• CPUFriend.kext and CPUFriendDataProvider.kext. Create your own DataProvider kext using CPUFriendFriend, replace the existing one and enable both
• NVMeFix.kext: recommended for all 3rd party NVMe SSD drives
• FeatureUnlock: see comments for details
• RestrictEvents: Only required when using MacPro7,1 SMBIOS. Needs revpatch=auto boot-arg to disable Warning about unpopulated RAM slots.

Installation

Installing macOS

Coming from Windows/Linux: If you are on Windows or Linux, follow the guide provided by Dortania. NOTE: No support from my end for issues related to UBS Installers created in Windows or Linux!

Coming from macOS: If you already have access to macOS, you can either download macOS from the App Store or use ANYmacOS instead. It's a hassle-free app than can download any macOS from High Sierra up to Monterey and create a USB Installer as well.

EFI Install Guide for OpenCore

1. Download latest OC EFI Release and unpack it
2. Select the config of your choice and rename it to config.plist
3. Open config.plist with OCAT and adjust the following parameters according to your hardware and software configuration:
   • Change csr-active-config based on the macOS version to disable SIP (when using GeForce Kepler Patcher, you have to disable SIP):
     • For Big Sur and newer:
       • 67080000 (0x867)
       • EF0F0000 (0xFEF) if you need to completely disable SIP (required for GeForce Kepler Patcher)
     • For Mojave/Catalina: EF070000 (0x7EF)
     • For High Sierra: FF030000 (0x3FF)
   • If you want to use the Intel UHD 630 integrated graphics to drive a display, do the following in DeviceProperties > Add:
     • Disable PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x2,0x0)(put ## in front of it)
     • Enable #PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x2,0x0) (delete the #)
4. Getting the Intel(R) I225-V Ethernet Controller to work: read this
5. Generate SMBIOS data for iMac20,1 or iMac20,2.
6. Save the config.plist
7. Copy the EFI Folder to a FAT32 formatted USB Stick
8. Reboot from USB Stick
9. Perform an NVRAM Reset (hit Space Bar to reveal Tools)
10. Boot macOS
11. If your system boots successfully, mount your ESP and copy over the EFI Folder to you HDD/SSD and reboot.
12. Continue with Post-Install!

:warning: IMPORTANT

• Using csr-active-config EF0F0000 also disables incremental system updates on macOS 11 and newer. So everytime an update is available, the full installer will be downloaded. To avoid this, either enable SIP temporarily from the OpenCore GUI or use 67080000 instead.
• AMD GPUs may require additional boot-args. Check WhateverGreen's documentation for details.

Post-Install

Optimizing CPU Power Management (recommended)

You can follow my guide to use CPUFriendFriend to generate a CPUFriendDataProvider.kext which works alongside CPUFriend.kext to optimize CPU Power Management for a more efficient performance. Have a look at the CPU behavior using Intel Power Gadget. The CPU idle frequency should be lower after adding the kexts:

Strengthen Security (recommended)

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

1. Change csr-active-config to 00000000 to enable System Integrity Protection (SIP)
2. Under UEFI/APFS, change MinDate and MinVersion from -1 (disabled) to the correct values for the macOS version you are using. A list with the correct values for can be found here.
3. Change SecureBootModel from Disabled to j185 (for iMac20,1) or j185f (for iMac20,2).

:warning: You should have a working backup of your EFI folder on a FAT32 formatted USB flash drive since changing these settings can prevent the system from booting. You may have to disable them for installing macOS Monterey if you have issues.

NOTES

• SecureBootModel is only applicable to macOS Catalina and newer.
• Since SMBIOS iMac20,x is for an iMac with a T2 Security Chip, you won't be notfied about System Updates if SecureBootModel is Disabled. To workaround this either select the correct SecureBootModel for your SMBIOS or enable the following Patches in the config.plist:
  • Skip Board ID check (→ Booter/Patch)
  • Reroute HW_BID to OC_BID (→ Booter/Patch)
  • Force IOGetVMMPresent (→ Kernel/Patch)
  • Reroute kern.hv_vmm_present patch (1) (→ Kernel/Patch)
  • Reroute kern.hv_vmm_present patch (2) (→ Kernel/Patch)

Calculating a Scan Policy (optional)

The items displayed in the Boot Picker Menu are based on a combination of bits representing supported devices (SATA, NVME, USB, etc.) and file systems (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 (everything). 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).

:warning: IMPORTANT: Calculating a wrong ScanPolicy can lead to the Boot Picker being empty, so you can't boot into macOS. So make sure you have a working Backup of your EFI folder.

Patching-in NVIDIA Kepler Drivers

Apple removed support for NVIDIA GeForce Cards from macOS Monterey beta 7. So users of GPUs from the Kepler family need to patch them back in in post-install using Geforce-Kepler-Patcher.

Requirements

• Set Misc/Security/SecureBootModel to Disabled
• Set csr-active-config to EF0F0000

Changing Themes

Besides the included themes from Acidanthera which provide the standard macOS look and feel, I've added 2 additional ones: BsxM1 (default) and EnterTwilight. To change them, do the following:

• Open config.plist
• Go to Misc > Boot and change PickerVariant to: Blackosx\BsxM1 or velickovicdj\EnterTwilight
• Save and reboot

To revert these changes, enter Acidanthera\GoldenGate as PickerVariant and change the Flavour of the NVRAM Reset Tool back to Auto.

NOTE: For more config tips and tricks, you can check out this.

CPU Benchmark

SEE ALL RESULTS

Credits and Thank yous

• Acidanthera and Team for the OpenCore Bootloader
• Dortania for OpenCore Install Guide
• Corpnewt for SSDTTime, GenSMBIOS and ProperTree
• daliansky for OC Little ACPI Hotpatch Collection
• SL-Soft for Kext Updater and ANYmacOS
• Chris1111 for GeForce Kepler Patcher
• jsassu20 for MacDown Markdown Editor