An OpenCore EFI for Gigabyte Z370n Wifi mini-ITX motherboard, with Coffee Lake processor. See compatible macOS versions in my releases. I'm using this build as a workstation. It is my fourth hackintosh build so far.
Though this is a ready to use EFI, it is for my own system, so use at your own risk. I truly recommend everyone to read Dortania's OpenCore install guide. It's comprehensive, but take your time and have patience, there are no shortcuts to a perfect build.
I'm releasing it here to reference my own configuration, and to share my EFI with others, for a little help on the way. I will not publish releases every time I update OpenCore and drivers, but I will try to publish if I have enough spare time. Do not forget to generate SMBIOS info if you are planning on using this EFI in your build, since my releases does not include this information, for obvious reasons.
- This build runs on a dedicated GPU, alongside the integrated GPU, which is only used for computing tasks and does not drive a display. If you are not using a dGPU you need to follow the GPU patching guide.
- No beauty treatments were done in this build, that means no OpenCore GUI and no boot-chime. I want to keep everything simple and minimal. You can enable all of this by following the beauty treatment guide.
- Wireless card for bluetooth and wifi is not replaced. I'm using the default motherboard Intel card. If you wish to swap the wireless card, remember to read wireless buyers guide first.
Remember to read the anti-hackintosh buyers guide if you're planning on buying components for a new build.
| Item | Brand | Model | Driver | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | Gigabyte | Z370n Wifi | OpenCorePkg Lilu |
|
| CPU | Intel | Core i7 8700K 3,7GHz | VirtualSMC | Coffee Lake |
| RAM | Corsair | Vengeance LPX DDR4 2133MHz 16GB x2 | built-in | |
| iGPU | Intel | UHD Graphics 630 | WhateverGreen | Headless mode |
| dGPU | Asus | RX 6600 DUAL V2 8GB | WhateverGreen | |
| SSD | Samsung | 970 EVO 500GB M.2 x1 840 EVO 250GB x1 |
NVMeFix | macOS Windows |
| HDD | WD | Green 3TB 3.5" x1 | built-in | |
| Wifi | Intel | AC 8265NGW | AirportItlwm | |
| Bluetooth | Intel | AC 8265NGW | IntelBluetoothFirmware BlueToolFixup |
|
| Ethernet | Intel | I219-V bottom port I211-AT top port |
IntelMausi | Only using I219-V |
| Audio | Realtek | ALC1220 | AppleALC | Layout-ID 5 |
| PSU | Corsair | RM750X V2 750W | ||
| Case | Fractal Design | Define Nano S | ||
| CPU cooler | Cryorig | H7 | ||
| Display | Dell | U2723QE 27" P2722DE 27" P2422H 24" |
Begin by loading optimized default options, then make sure settings are as below.
Version F14
| Menu | Name | Option | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Save & Exit | Load Optimized Defaults | Yes | Begin with default settings |
M.I.T. Advanced Memory |
Extreme Memory Profile | Profile1 | Personal preference |
| BIOS | Boot Option #1 | UEFI OS | Disable all other boot options |
| Fast Boot | Disabled | Recommended * | |
| Windows 8/10 Features | Windows 8/10 | Recommended * | |
| CSM Support | Disabled | Recommended * | |
Secure Boot |
Secure Boot | Disabled | Recommended * |
| Peripherals | Initial Display Output | PCIe 1 Slot | This build has a dGPU |
| Above 4G Decoding | Enabled | Recommended * | |
| Re-Size BAR Support | Disabled | ||
| RGB Fusion | Off | Personal preference | |
| Intel Platform Trust Technology | Disabled | Recommended * | |
| SW Guard Extens. (SGX) | Disabled | Recommended * | |
Trusted Computing |
Security Device Support | Disabled | Recommended * |
USB Configuration |
Legacy USB Support | Enabled | |
USB Configuration |
XHCI Hand-off | Enabled | Recommended * |
USB Configuration |
USB Mass Storage Driver Support | Enabled | |
USB Configuration |
Port 60/64 Emulation | Disabled | |
Network Stack Configuration |
Network Stack | Disabled | |
SATA And RST Configuration |
SATA Mode Selection | AHCI | Recommended * |
| Chipset | VT-d | Disabled | Recommended * |
| Internal Graphics | Enabled | For computing tasks only | |
| DVMT Pre-Allocated ** | 64M | Recommended * | |
| DVMT Total Gfx Mem ** | 256M | ||
| IOAPIC 24-119 Entries | Enabled | ||
| Save & Exit | Save & Exit Setup | Yes | Save BIOS and reset |
* As recommended in OpenCore install guide, Coffee Lake: Intel BIOS settings.
** You need to set Internal Graphics > Enabled, then Save & Exit Setup before these options are available. Enter BIOS setup again and confirm settings.
For USB mapping I enabled seven physical ports, and bluetooth. Remember that you can have a total of 15 ports per USB controller, this board has only one controller. USB 3.1 counts as two ports for backward compatibility. USB-C port on this motherboard is a non-switch variant, it counts as three ports. See image and table below which ports are available and which I chose to map in USBPorts.kext. Use USBMap or Hackintool if you wish to create your own USB map.
| Port | Type | Name | Enabled | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | USB 3.1 Type-A | HS07 + SS07 | ||
| B | USB 3.1 Type-A | HS08 + SS08 | ||
| C | USB 3.1 Type-A | HS05 + SS05 | ||
| D | USB 3.1 Type-A | HS06 + SS06 | Only 2.0 enabled * | |
| E | USB 3.1 Type-C | HS09 + SS09 / SS10 | Without switch | |
| F | USB 3.1 Type-A | HS03 + SS03 | ||
| G | USB 3.1 Type-A | HS04 + SS04 | ||
| H | Bluetooth | HS10 | ||
| I | USB 3.1 Header | HS01 + SS01 / HS02 + SS02 | Front panel | |
| J | USB 2.0 Header | HSxx + HSxx | PCI bracket ** |
* To max out all 15 ports I only enabled USB 2.0 on port D. I use it for a keyboard/mouse wireless dongle, which only uses USB 2.0.
** I have no PCI bracket for the USB 2.0 Header, so I could not recognize the names for those ports.
For audio layout i used layout-ID 5, it seemed most appropriate. Layout-ID 3 works as well, with the same exact functionality*. All other compatible layouts for this audio chipset were tested and did not work fully.
Blue audio jack acts as
Line In
Green audio jack acts as
Internal Speakers
Red audio jack acts as
Internal Microphone
Front panel left audio jack acts as
Headphones (switches from Internal Speakers if plugged in)
Front panel right audio jack acts as
Line In (switches from Internal Microphone if plugged in)
* The only difference between these layouts is that layout5.xml has the key MaximumBootBeepValue, value 64. It also has different PathMapID for SPDIFOut. To use S/PDIF with this motherboard however, you need to connect an expansion card, which I don't have, so I can't test it.
Almost everything works. Wifi and bluetooth (using the internal Intel card), dGPU + iGPU acceleration, HDMI audio, wake up from display sleep. Bottom Ethernet port, all USB ports (only some are enabled) including USB-C, all Audio ports. Sleep, AirDrop/Handoff/Continuity, iMessage, FaceTime and other iServices. Only a few minor things does not work fully.
- TRIM during boot takes a long while if it's activated.
Samsung SSD's are not macOS TRIM-supported. Fixed by setting key SetApfsTrimTimeout to 0. Build now boots instantaneously.
- AirDrop/Handoff/Continuity does not work after Sonoma update.
macOS no longer natively supports any wireless cards at all. Perhaps future drivers will solve issue?
- Continuity Camera does not work wirelessly, only works with USB connection.
macOS no longer natively supports any wireless cards at all. Perhaps future drivers will solve issue?
- Using wifi and bluetooth simultaneously can be buggy with current drivers.
Especially if you turn on/off bluetooth or wifi, so I just leave them on. Perhaps future drivers will solve issue?
- I211-AT top ethernet port is not working after Monterey update. It shows up in Network settings, but can't connect to anything.
I don't mind this, since I'm only using one ethernet port. There are some pre-releases of kexts to get the second port working, but I chose not to use them due to instability.
- System hangs with Windows Memory integrity enabled.
Running dual OS system, macOS + Windows, enabling Device security > Memory integrity in Windows, system hangs during startup, at the BIOS logo. You will never get past the logo to the OpenCore boot picker. BE AWARE to not enabling this setting in Windows.
- Line-out audio gets distorted when turning volume to max.
Audio from Internal Speakers gets distorted when volume is set to max 100% in macOS. I've read somewhere it has to do with the motherboard integrated "smart audio amp". Perhaps a deep dive in the fixing audio guide will solve issue?
Quick guide on how to debug OpenCore with my releases.
My releases are prepared for easy dubugging, all you have to do is download the DEBUG version of OpenCorePkg. Reminder, it's a good idea booting the debug EFI from a USB stick.
Swap the following files:
EFI > BOOT > BOOTx64.efi
EFI > OC > OpenCore.efi
EFI > OC > Drivers > OpenRuntime.efi
Change to the following values in config.plist:
Misc > Debug > AppleDebug > True
Misc > Debug > ApplePanic > True
Misc > Debug > DisableWatchDog > True
Misc > Debug > Target > 67
NVRAM > Add > 7C436110-AB2A-4BBB-A880-FE41995C9F82 > boot-args > -v keepsyms=1
Restart computer and make sure you boot from the same volume you made the changes in. Verbose mode is now active and log files will be saved to the same volume. When you're done and everything works, swap back files from the RELEASE version and revert the values in config.plist.
Reference: https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/troubleshooting/debug.html
Visit my Quick Reference Guide for more macOS and OpenCore commands, guides, fixes and features.
A collection of apps that may come handy when configuring your build. Reminder, if you wish to use this EFI in your own build, you need to generate SMBIOS info first. System will not boot without it. Use EFI at your own risk.
GenSMBIOS for generating SMBIOS
MountEFI for mounting EFI partitions
ProperTree for editing config.plist
OCConfigCompare for comparing config.plist with new releases
USBMap for USB port mapping
Hackintool for USB port mapping and more
IORegistryClone for browsing IO registry
Apple for macOS
Acidanthera for OpenCore
dortania for guide
CorpNewt for software
OpenIntelWireless for drivers
khronokernel for drivers
headkaze for Hackintool
xzhih for HiDPI
And everyone from the OpenCore community