Setting Up macOS on a Gigabyte B760 Hackintosh – A Beginner’s Guide

Guide Step-by-Step:

This guide will walk you through setting up macOS on your Gigabyte B760 Gaming X DDR4 motherboard with Intel i7-13700KF and AMD RX5700XT. Follow these steps carefully to create a successful Hackintosh setup.

1. Preparing the USB Installer

• macOS Version: Choose macOS Ventura or Monterey for best compatibility with your hardware.
• USB Drive: Format the 32GB USB drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with a GUID Partition Map.
• Create Installer:
  • On a macOS machine, use CreateInstallMedia in Terminal to create the bootable USB installer:

    bash
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    sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Ventura.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyUSB
    

• Download OpenCore bootloader and extract it to your desktop.

2. Download Essential Kexts

Place the following kext files into the EFI/OC/Kexts folder:

• Lilu.kext and WhateverGreen.kext for compatibility and graphics support.
• AppleALC.kext for audio support.
• IntelMausi.kext for Ethernet compatibility.
• VirtualSMC.kext (required for macOS to run).
• NVMeFix.kext for better NVMe SSD support.

3. Configure BIOS Settings

• Update BIOS: Make sure you are using the latest BIOS for your motherboard.
• Enter BIOS settings and adjust the following:
  • Load Optimised Defaults.
  • Enable Above 4G Decoding (found under Peripherals).
  • Disable CFG-Lock (found under CPU Config).
  • Set VT-d to Disabled.
  • Set Secure Boot to Disabled.
  • XHCI Hand-off: Enabled.
  • SATA Mode to AHCI (if available).

4. Configuring OpenCore (config.plist)

• Open the config.plist file using ProperTree or OpenCore Configurator and make the following adjustments:

  PlatformInfo

  • Set SystemProductName to iMacPro1,1 (ideal for i7-13700KF and RX5700XT).
  • Use GenSMBIOS to generate a serial number and UUID to use in PlatformInfo > Generic.

  Boot Arguments

  • In NVRAM > Add > boot-args, enter these arguments for initial setup:

    text
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    -v keepsyms=1 debug=0x100 alcid=1
    

    • -v: Enables verbose mode.
    • keepsyms=1 debug=0x100: Useful for debugging if something goes wrong.
    • alcid=1: Sets the layout for audio (try alternative values like 2 or 11 if audio isn’t working).

  Kernel Quirks

  • Go to Kernel > Quirks and set:
    • AppleXcpmCfgLock: True (important for Intel CPUs).
    • DisableIoMapper: True (required if VT-d cannot be disabled in BIOS).
    • PanicNoKextDump: True (reduces verbose output in case of kernel panic).

  Graphics

  • The AMD RX5700XT is natively supported by macOS, so ensure WhateverGreen.kext is included.
  • No additional configuration is required for GPU, but make sure iGPU is enabled in BIOS, which improves hardware acceleration for certain tasks.

  USB Configuration

  • Use USBInjectAll.kext temporarily, but plan to create a custom USB map using USBMap or Hackintool for stability.

  SSDT Patching

  • Download SSDT-EC-USBX.aml and SSDT-PLUG.aml and place them in EFI/OC/ACPI.
  • In config.plist > ACPI > Add, add entries for both SSDTs:
    • SSDT-EC-USBX.aml: Required for power management and USB support.
    • SSDT-PLUG.aml: Needed for CPU power management.

5. Finalise OpenCore EFI Folder Structure

• Your EFI folder should look like this:

  arduino
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  EFI
  └── OC
      ├── ACPI
      │   ├── SSDT-EC-USBX.aml
      │   └── SSDT-PLUG.aml
      ├── Kexts
      │   ├── Lilu.kext
      │   ├── WhateverGreen.kext
      │   ├── AppleALC.kext
      │   ├── IntelMausi.kext
      │   ├── VirtualSMC.kext
      │   └── NVMeFix.kext
      ├── Drivers
      │   ├── OpenRuntime.efi
      │   └── HfsPlus.efi
      └── config.plist
  

6. Boot and Install macOS

• Insert the USB installer, boot into the OpenCore bootloader, and select Install macOS.
• Open Disk Utility and format your target NVMe drive as APFS with a GUID Partition Map.
• Follow the installation instructions.

7. Post-Installation Steps

• Once macOS is installed, copy the OpenCore EFI from your USB to the EFI partition on your NVMe drive.
• Verify system functionality:
  • Graphics: AMD RX5700XT should work natively with full acceleration.
  • Audio: Check system preferences to confirm audio output. Adjust alcid if needed.
  • Ethernet: IntelMausi.kext should enable Ethernet connectivity.

8. Troubleshooting Common Issues

• Kernel Panics: Check verbose output for errors; common fixes involve adjusting boot-args or kernel quirks.
• USB Issues: Create a custom USB map once the system is stable.
• Audio Issues: Try different alcid values if audio does not work.

Example Config.plist Snippet

xml
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<dict>
    <key>PlatformInfo</key>
    <dict>
        <key>Generic</key>
        <dict>
            <key>SystemProductName</key>
            <string>iMacPro1,1</string>
        </dict>
    </dict>
    <key>NVRAM</key>
    <dict>
        <key>Add</key>
        <dict>
            <key>boot-args</key>
            <string>-v keepsyms=1 debug=0x100 alcid=1</string>
        </dict>
    </dict>
    <key>Kernel</key>
    <dict>
        <key>Quirks</key>
        <dict>
            <key>AppleXcpmCfgLock</key>
            <true/>
            <key>DisableIoMapper</key>
            <true/>
        </dict>
    </dict>
</dict>

This guide should get your Hackintosh up and running on the Gigabyte B760 Gaming X DDR4. Let me know if you encounter specific issues or need further adjustments!