Upcoming Intel X58 Mobos & Core i7 CPUs

[22HERTZ]

You should remove the IDE card and all HDD except the one you're installing OSX on to remove all possible variables of conflict...KISS

[PoloBear]

The Processor is overclocked to 3.6 GHz, it cooled with single fan Noctua, Tempmonitor is not woorking, Kernelpanics, but under XP i have Temps of only 55 to 65°C load.

This is an average result. If you check the overclocking sites, they get 4 to 4.2 GHz, but I dont want to raise Voltage any higher.

 

here are some pictures of my setup....

 

 

and yes, the box is from another mainboard,

 

 

here is my mainmachine running

 

 

happy hacking to the ukraine...

 

 

 

 

Crappy pictures taken by my fake Iphone

[digital_dreamer]

Noticed that you have an extra fan on the other side of your Ultra-120. Has that made a difference for you?

The [H]ardopc.com forums have quite a few users at or over 4GHz, but not much over. They typically have wc and radical setups, however.

 

And, yeah, temperature monitor does KP. Not nice. Disappointing that there aren't any options in OS X. iStat does nothing, either. All I get is hard drive temps from S.M.A.R.T.

 

Anybody got working audio?! I've been digging deep into the AppleHDA patching.

I've downloaded a supposed ALC889A codec dump, I'm not really sure I got the right codec. The description inside is for the ALC885, even though the file has been named 889A. Anyhow, I got a codecgraph created in decimal, but that's as far as I've gotten for now.

 

regards,

MAJ

[PoloBear]

The new version of noctua comes with dual fans, and yes it makes a difference, but too small to accept the noise.

 

If you check the Hardwareluxx.de. It is a german forum, most of the 4 GHz guys just raise the Voltage high enough, and yes these guys have extreme cooling, and extreme everything....

 

for audio check here

 

http://forum.insanelymac.com/index.php?act...st&id=33757

[johnathandoe]

I don't know if grassroot ever got his i7 running, but I too am in a similar situation.

 

I hate to sound like a sobbing NOOB, but I am at my wits end. I have combed the boards and tried many different install combos ("Kalyway 10.5.2 DVD Intel_Amd", Boot-132 (I do own a Retail Leo DVD), HD install and update (10.5.5) from my real Mac(PPC-G5), etc...) and I cannot seem to get this work. I have been going at this for about 2-weeks now.

 

Here is my setup:

i7 920

Asus P6T Deluxe

3GB ram

EVGA GTX 280 (NVIDIA)

USB DVD (Sony)

IDE DVD (disabled in BIOS)

SATA HD (single dedicated drive, no sharing w/ vista or other OS, no multi/dual-boot)

USB Microsoft Mouse

PS2 keyboard

****nothing else is plugged in, to try to keep this simple****

 

By tweaking my BIOS, I have managed to get further along in the Kalyway boot process, but it still always ends with a panic.

Boot-132 and HD installs always end quickly with a QUICK flash of the light grey OSX boot screen....then it re-boots.

 

When using Kalyway the -x modifier seems to get me further than -v or using nothing. I have tried the mach, kabyl, and modbin kernels (same results w/all).

 

*********************************************

Things seem to slow down when I get to:

 

Jettisioning Kernel Linker

localhost directory service[53].....

CodeSigning: CS_Invalid_Page; p=41[configd] clearing CS_valid.

Localhost diskarbitrational[44]: CoreRAIDserver[43]: 15627 not responding.

Resetting IOCatalogue.

localhost ktext[47]: root filesystem is read-only; skipping kernel link generation.

panic (cpu 0 caller 0x48a04D46): "ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin: : BuildCPUsPSSArray - got _PSS data for CPU index 2, but expected index \n"@SourceCache/IOPlatformPluginFamilly/IOPlatformPluginFamilly-315.0.3/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugi

Debugger called: <panic>

etc...etc...etc...

*****I can supply more text if it is helpful*******

**********************************************

 

My most successful BIOS settings...so far:

Legacy Diskette A - DISABLED

Configure SATA as - AHCI

Intel VT-d - ENABLED

High Definition Audio - DISABLED

Marvell Storage Controller - DISABLED

Marvell SAS - DISABLED

Marvell LAN1 - DISABLED (trying to keep it simple for now)

Marvell LAN2 - DISABLED

Onboard 1394 Controller - DISABLED

Plug And Play O/S - YES

ACPI 2.0 Support - DISABLED

ACPI APCI Support - ENABLED

****These are the BIOS settings I have changed, all other BIOS setting are factory default****

 

I have been tinkering with PC based systems for years, and understand the many parallels (i.e. drivers=ktext, etc...) but after 2 weeks of nightly frustration (I'm sure everyone can relate) I am only about 5 min. further into the boot process, than I was when I started.

 

If anyone has the same setup, similar setup, or ANY other suggestions, PLEASE reply to this post. I really enjoy enjoy the Apple OS and I really enjoy "messing" with my PC hardware, and I welcome the challenge of doing them both at the same time. I realize that I have VERY new hardware, an I am more than willing to be patient, but I am also not afraid to experiment if anyone can offer some suggestions.

 

Thank you in advance for your time and patience.

******BTW-SORRY FOR THE LONG POST********

[wolfienuke]

I just purchased my i7 setup and had it up and running in about 4 hours. There are still a few quirks that I need to iron out, but I will walk through my settings so the next person can learn from my trials and errors.

 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5

Processor: Intel i7 920

RAM: 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333MHz

Graphics: ATI 2600XT (For testing)

Hard Drive: 500GB Maxtor SATA 3Gb (For testing)

 

I will soon install a new graphics card, and I have 2x72GB Raptor 10,000RPM drives and 2x1.5TB Seagate drives which will be made into two separate RAID configurations.

 

Bios Configuration:

-Standard CMOS Features:

--Drive A: None

--Floppy 3 Mode Support: Disabled

-Integrated Peripherals

--SATA RAID/AHCI Mode: AHCI

--SATA Port0-3 Native Mode: Disabled

--USB Keyboard Function: Enabled

--USB Mouse Function: Enabled

--Azalia Codec: Auto

--Onboard SATA/IDE Device: Enabled

--Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode: IDE (Setting this to AHCI prevented boot from hard drive or dvd drive)

 

Mac OS X Installer:

Kalyway 10.5.2

-Kernels

--kernel_922_kabyl

-Graphics Drivers

--[select your graphics driver]

-Audio Drivers

--[Not Required - will install proper kexts later]

-Network Drivers

--Network Cards

---RealtekR1000

--Wifi Cards

---[select your wifi card if installed]

-Mobo Chipsets

--[Leave as default]

-Patches

--Hardcoded SMBIOS

---AppleSMBIOS-27-DDR3-1333

--Time Machine Fix

--Intel Memory Controller

 

Post-Install

ALC889a driver: Gigabyte_GA_EX58_UD5_Audio.zip (Should be fully working - Audio Input/Output all show in System Profiler)

Realtek 8111D compatible driver: Gigabyte_GA_EX58_UD5_Ethernet.zip (Shouldn't be required)

Delete ALCInject from /System/Library/Extensions/

Repair Permissions

 

For some reason, I also had to reset the administrator password from the install disk since the initial user created did not have admin privileges. That may be an issue with the Kalyway installer though.

 

Initial Benchmarks w/o tweaking:

GeekBench: 7443

XBench: 232 (Probably because of the crappy HD and GFX I used to get the machine running)

[ѕӎѳѳ₮ңӌ]

has anybody managed to get the asus p6t to work with leopard?

 

argh, i dont know which board to get now... its just the colour of the gigabyte

[digital_dreamer]

has anybody managed to get the asus p6t to work with leopard?

 

argh, i dont know which board to get now... its just the colour of the gigabyte

 

"The colour" LOL! I hear ya! But, I got over it; it's not bad at all! You're not going to see with the cards in!

 

Got the Retail DVD up and running (EFI v8), so now it's on 10.5.5.

But... no networking or audio, yet. This one will take a little TLC - don't want to touch the vanilla install.

 

Your best options, and the least frustrating ones, is to stick with the most compatible hardware and that includes mobos and graphic cards.

 

Will respond to the other comments or requests when I have time - off to work.

 

regards,

MAJ

 

johnathandoe,

I'm not able to make much of your panic log - sounds like a hard drive communications issue - do you have a RAID setup or RAID enabled? Are you able to install a different OS? Wolfienuke's post has some details that may be helpful.

As for myself, I, like wolfienuke, used the kernel_922_kabyl kernel selection. You're not going to have any drivers available for your Nvidia 280, yet, but you may find some decent 2D acceleration from a generic Nvidia - wouldn't really know. You may have to skip all the drivers for now just to get an install working.

The Boot-132 method isn't going to be much help until you get a working OS install first. It's only then you know what kexts to install, avoid and/or patch.

[ѕӎѳѳ₮ңӌ]

this might be handy for currents p6t users. clicky, its a kext for for the marvel pata controller present on the board.

 

this also appears to be a driver for the ethernet on that board. clicky

[Synaesthesia]

GeekBench: 7443

Wow! An 8-core Mac Pro @ 2.8Ghz gets 7598. This is a Intel Core i7 920 4-core @2.66ghz!!

 

You should try encoding video to H.264 with Handbrake...

[PoloBear]

That is what I do alot....

50 minutes of TV series in AppleTV with more then 100fps, it really rocks.

And I cant wait for apple to release the new Macpro, hopefully The Steve will give us dual quadcore I7 for not more then the actual Macpro...

[walterav]

Got the Retail DVD up and running (EFI v8), so now it's on 10.5.5.

But... no networking or audio, yet. This one will take a little TLC - don't want to touch the vanilla install.

 

...used the kernel_922_kabyl kernel selection ...

 

Hi digital dreamer,

 

Did you get the retail 132 method working on the gigabyte core-i7 board, with vanilla kernel and 10.5.5 or are your running the 922 kabyl kernel?

 

grtz

[Synaesthesia]

And I cant wait for apple to release the new Macpro, hopefully The Steve will give us dual quadcore I7 for not more then the actual Macpro...

I reckon the Macpro will keep its current price, with Dual Quad Core i7's

[grassroot]

i got the ideneb working.. but for some reason....I can only enable 1 core, other wise, system reboots.

[johnathandoe]

i got the ideneb working.. but for some reason....I can only enable 1 core, other wise, system reboots.

 

 

grassroot,

 

did you get any panics simillar to mine? If so, how did you resolve this?:

 

*********************************************

Things seem to slow down when I get to:

 

Jettisioning Kernel Linker

localhost directory service[53].....

CodeSigning: CS_Invalid_Page; p=41[configd] clearing CS_valid.

Localhost diskarbitrational[44]: CoreRAIDserver[43]: 15627 not responding.

Resetting IOCatalogue.

localhost ktext[47]: root filesystem is read-only; skipping kernel link generation.

panic (cpu 0 caller 0x48a04D46): "ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin: : BuildCPUsPSSArray - got _PSS data for CPU index 2, but expected index \n"@SourceCache/IOPlatformPluginFamilly/IOPlatformPluginFamilly-315.0.3/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugi

Debugger called: <panic>

etc...etc...etc...

*****I can supply more text if it is helpful*******

**********************************************

 

Also, did you make any different settings to the BIOS than I did?:

 

My most successful BIOS settings...so far:

Legacy Diskette A - DISABLED

Configure SATA as - AHCI

Intel VT-d - ENABLED

High Definition Audio - DISABLED

Marvell Storage Controller - DISABLED

Marvell SAS - DISABLED

Marvell LAN1 - DISABLED (trying to keep it simple for now)

Marvell LAN2 - DISABLED

Onboard 1394 Controller - DISABLED

Plug And Play O/S - YES

ACPI 2.0 Support - DISABLED

ACPI APCI Support - ENABLED

****These are the BIOS settings I have changed, all other BIOS setting are factory default****

 

I'm really frustrated with this mobo so far, so any information you can share will be appriciated. I can't even boot-up to install.

 

thank you.

[grassroot]

i disabled processor CIE thingy as well as the speed step, turbo. Also disable the option that has to do with the CPUID thing. Also, for installing, u can enable all 4 cores, but after u install, remember to change to enable only 1 core. What i did is to boost up the speed of that one core to get a better performance for now. I disabled a lot of stuff.... Anyways. Get a ideneb 10.5.5 and try it.. I am out of luck with kalyway, and iatok..so.. However I am still trying to resolve the hardware compatibility issues. O well, i will deal with them once the exam is over..

[digital_dreamer]

Hi digital dreamer,

 

Did you get the retail 132 method working on the gigabyte core-i7 board, with vanilla kernel and 10.5.5 or are your running the 922 kabyl kernel?

 

grtz

 

Hi,

I used the Retail DVD Guide, 10.5.5, PC-EFIv8.... and followed the "10.5.x GUIDE v3 FOR THE ADVANCED USER:" instructions.

 

Looking at the "post-patch.sh" script, it installs the 9.2 Speedstep and Reboot Kernel by default and that's what I used. However, the script is easily modified and the package includes: Kernel sleep and Kernel 9.2 Sleep, Speedstep.

 

I need to make a few changes to the script to install networking kexts: It has the RealtekR1000.kext install portion commented out: (I just need to remove the #)

# sudo cp -r kext/RealtekR1000.kext /Volumes/$DESTINATION/System/Library/Extensions/

 

Next will be the audio!

 

Thanks, guys, for those 889A kexts. That 889A kext from wolfienuke is definitely different from what I have. Where did it come from? Mine's more like what PolorBear provided. I'll see if they work for me when I get home.

 

One could go in the script and hand code the necessary changes for whatever kexts you need. Or, you could use Galaxy's Slimbuild creator and just drop the kexts in the appropriate folder to create a ISO to boot from.

 

If one is up to it, using the Boot from EFI partition guide is ultimately the best way to do it, but it's not simple at all.

 

regards,

MAJ

[wolfienuke]

Next will be the audio!

 

Thanks, guys, for those 889A kexts. That 889A kext from wolfienuke is definitely different from what I have. Where did it come from? Mine's more like what PolorBear provided. I'll see if they work for me when I get home.

Now that I have a fairly good working install, I may try to make it a vanilla install using the Boot-132 method. Let's try to make a standard on what kexts/kernels are required/best. I will keep a current list of the kexts I'm using. Since I will be attempting a vanilla install, I will work on one device/problem at a time to determine the required kexts.

 

As for the Audio Drivers, they are Taruga's ALC88X from this thread. I have only one issue with the audio drivers. I seem to have some shutdown issues after I install it (I believe it's the audio kext causing the issue). When I shutdown, the computer shuts down, but partially stays on. I need to hold the power button to turn it off completely. The restart works fine. It was built for another Gigabyte MB that has the ALC889a chipset. So far sound seems clear and crisp. I have not tried digital output or input, but they do show up as available devices.

 

I'm assuming vanilla kernel won't work because of the CPU type? If so, I won't bother attempting.

[kalumbox]

Here is my setup:

i7 920

Asus P6T Deluxe

3GB ram

EVGA GTX 280 (NVIDIA)

USB DVD (Sony)

IDE DVD (disabled in BIOS)

SATA HD (single dedicated drive, no sharing w/ vista or other OS, no multi/dual-boot)

USB Microsoft Mouse

PS2 keyboard

****nothing else is plugged in, to try to keep this simple****

 

Try with another GFX Card since the GTX 280 isn't supported by Mac OS X (also not listed in the wiki HCL). Maybe in the near future there will be some drivers.

[ѕӎѳѳ₮ңӌ]

this is a known issue with some of tarugas patches, and one which had me banging my head against the wall for weeks with my laptop.

 

stickpin has come up with a method which also lets you put your audio kext in the efi partition for those of you using that method, something you cannot do with taurgas patch as it has too many dependencies. link

 

Now that I have a fairly good working install, I may try to make it a vanilla install using the Boot-132 method. Let's try to make a standard on what kexts/kernels are required/best. I will keep a current list of the kexts I'm using. Since I will be attempting a vanilla install, I will work on one device/problem at a time to determine the required kexts.

 

As for the Audio Drivers, they are Taruga's ALC88X from this thread. I have only one issue with the audio drivers. I seem to have some shutdown issues after I install it (I believe it's the audio kext causing the issue). When I shutdown, the computer shuts down, but partially stays on. I need to hold the power button to turn it off completely. The restart works fine. It was built for another Gigabyte MB that has the ALC889a chipset. So far sound seems clear and crisp. I have not tried digital output or input, but they do show up as available devices.

 

I'm assuming vanilla kernel won't work because of the CPU type? If so, I won't bother attempting.

 

has anybody here tried the new voodoo release 1 kernel? mercurysquad has noted that booting with a boot flag of busratio= is necessary.

 

hope this helps

[ruslan120]

K, it's official! Ordered i7 system:

Core i7 920 2.66 GHz LGA1366

MSI Platinum x58 mobo

3 GB (3x 1GB) 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM

650 Watt PSU, Xigmatec, Modular

 

Using old parts:

8600 GTS 256 MB VRAM ====> Upgrading to 9800 GTX+ (DEFINITE)

Two SATA II 7,200 RPM 500 GB Hard disks====>Adding 10K RPM Raptor (MAYBE)

Clear acrylic case

Monitor

Printer ({censored})

IDE DVD Burner=====> SATA DVD Blueray (MAYBE)

Adding Two/Three Hard disk coolers/silencers (DEFINITE)

 

Guys, sorry to report, I'm having second doubts about OS X. I mean, I love it; I have a macbook pro, absolutely love it, but from running it on my nforce 750i, I can determine that it will be long before OSx86 is anywhere near perfectly stable on mildly supported chipsets (ALL chipsets that aren't outdated or OLD), so I'm having thoughts about scrapping OSX. Badaboomit Media Converter (using Nvidia CUDA to accelerate media conversion) seems GREAT; windows only Halo 2: decent game; windows only. Gimp...ah wait...bad example () Firefox...no wait.... And yet, the OS X is so intuitive and feature rich, as well as simple to use. Any advice from those who have also suffered countless errors, kernel panics, and other hair-pulling problems?

[Weavie]

has anybody here tried the new voodoo release 1 kernel? mercurysquad has noted that booting with a boot flag of busratio= is necessary.

 

hope this helps

 

Yes it is working for me, but you are correct the boot flag busratio= is still required or else it will result in a panic. They are hoping to correct this in future releases but I can live with it for now.

[ѕӎѳѳ₮ңӌ]

Yes it is working for me, but you are correct the boot flag busratio= is still required or else it will result in a panic. They are hoping to correct this in future releases but I can live with it for now.

 

do all the cores work with this boot flag?

[luh3417]

Guys, sorry to report, I'm having second doubts about OS X. I mean, I love it; I have a macbook pro, absolutely love it, but from running it on my nforce 750i, I can determine that it will be long before OSx86 is anywhere near perfectly stable on mildly supported chipsets (ALL chipsets that aren't outdated or OLD), so I'm having thoughts about scrapping OSX. Badaboomit Media Converter (using Nvidia CUDA to accelerate media conversion) seems GREAT; windows only Halo 2: decent game; windows only. Gimp...ah wait...bad example () Firefox...no wait.... And yet, the OS X is so intuitive and feature rich, as well as simple to use. Any advice from those who have also suffered countless errors, kernel panics, and other hair-pulling problems?

Yes, advice is, don't push it too far, stick to proven hardware, like Gigabyte motherboards with Intel chipset and CPU. osx86 supports a lot more hardware than Apple, but why go looking for trouble? My system, and most of us, its 100% stable, rock solid. You can run your windows stuff under VMWare fusion. For games dual boot into windows or get an xbox. No platform is perfect, welcome to Earth, third rock from the sun. Other advice is, this thread is about i7.

 

My Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 i7 920 is up and running on XP. Core temperatures vary by 10 degrees C so I think I gotta re-seat the Thermalright U120-A. Found some reviews about OC this board here http://www.testseek.com/computers/mainboar...bf0161776e.html Looking for simple BIOS settings for OC. This article seems pretty helpful http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/15908

[Weavie]

do all the cores work with this boot flag?

 

yes, all cores seem to be recognized and working fine. A few other things are not recognized correctly yet.