ASRock X300M-STX - Sonoma

[Edhawk]

I bought a second-hand ASRock X300M-STX barebones system on eBay, cost £100 + £5 postage.
I added these already owned components to flesh out the system:

• 32GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM (2 x 16GB SODIMMS)
• AMD Ryzen 7 5700G CPU, with low profile cooler.
• An Intel AX210NGW WiFi/BT card, with 2 x antenna cables and external aerials fixed to rear of the case.
• 2 x WD SN770 Black 1TB NVME drives.

Still have space for 2 x SATA SSD's if I need storage or want to add another OS in to the mix.

Once booted I checked the Bios setup (v1.8.0) and made the necessary edits for macOS to run on the system, with 8GB RAM set for the AMD IGPU.

I installed Windows 11 (23H2) in UEFI mode (GUID/GPT) on one of the WD SN770's.

1. Configured/generated the custom SSDT's for macOS with the system DSDT and Corpnewt's SSDTTime script.
2. Configured/generated a UTBMap.kext using USBToolBox-Tool.

I followed the standard OC Ryzen installation process for macOS Sonoma.

1. I created an OpenCore 1.0.1 EFI for the system, including SSDT-CPUR.aml on one of my AMD B550 Hacks.
2. Booted from the macOS USB installer on the X300M-STX system, and got Sonoma 14.6.1 up and running.
3. Enabled NootedRed.kext once macOS was installed and I had copied the EFI folder to the EFI partition on the new macOS drive.

I had no issues during either installation.

All told it probably took around 8 hours to build the system, get macOS Sonoma and Windows 11 installed (and updated), and then running to my satisfaction.

Also just to confirm this is a link to the system I Hack'd.

ASRock X300M-STX

Supports AMD AM4 Socket CPUs (Renoir, Picasso, Raven Ridge, up to 65W); Supports Overclocking Option with X300; Dual Channel DDR4-3200MHz SO-DIMMs, Max. 64GB (non-ECC); Triple Video outputs: DisplayPort, HDMI & D-Sub<span style=color:red;>*</span>; 2 x Ultra M.2 (NVMe), - M2_1 M.2 (2280) – PCIe...

www.asrock.com

Only downside I see to this ITX system and case is the limited number of USB ports:

• Externally 2 x USB3, 1 x USB2 & 1 x Type-C (9).
• Internally 1 x USB2 Header (ports 4_5) & 1 x internal BT USB port via the M.2 WiFi connector.

External USB2 port and Internal BT connection are served from a HUB!
Not tried using the motherboard Header.

EFI is attached.

 

[craighazan]

Good find sir, that would fit snugly inside a 2012 Mac mini shell!.

 

[Edhawk]

I've updated the ASRock X300M system to Sonoma 14,7 and then to Sequoia 15.0 using the OC 1.0.1 EFI below.

Using the following:

1. iMac20,1 SMBIOS
2. Latest kexts from Dortania Builds site
3. Latest NootedRed.kext release
4. Itlwm.kext & Heliport for Intel WiFi
5. Latest release of AMD Kernel Patches

 

[Cynthia125]

Main part: Nice job getting both macOS and Windows 11 running on that barebone.For such a setup, it’s really solid.The lack of USB ports could be annoying, but maybe try adding an external USB hub, Also, check if the motherboard supports PCIe expansion for more options.Supplement: Regarding NootedRed.kext – I had some issues with WiFi on a similar setup.How’s it working for you?It might be worth checking the latest versions of kexts and drivers

 

[Edhawk]

I am using the latest 'Nightly' builds for the essential kexts. Downloaded from the Dortania Builds site.

Builds

WiFi from an AX210NGW and AX200NGW card works OK. No issues when using NootedRed.kext, well none that have been in anyway detrimental to the WiFi signal.

Intel Bluetooth is the main issue I have with this system.
I am using the latest builds for the Intel Bluetooth, i.e. BlueToolFixup.kext v 2.6.9, IntelBluetoothFirmware.kext & IntelBTPatcher.kext both v 2.5.0. All three kexts are shown as 'Loaded' in Kextstat

The M.2 connector, which the Intel WiFi/BT card connects through, uses a port on the XHC USB2 HUB (HS02), along with the physical USB2 port on the rear of the case. I have tried setting this port as 'Internal' (255) and as USB2 (0) with no joy getting the BT module working in Sequoia.

Hackintool > USB tab with the 7x USB ports shown, with XHC > HS02 set as USB2 (0).

Hackintool > USB tab with the 7x USB ports shown, with XHC > HS02 set as 'Internal' (255).

Both WiFi & BT worked OK in Sonoma 14.6 & 14.7.

The Bluetooth module shows in System Information > USB report, as Bluetooth USB Host Controller, under the USB2 Hub, as shown below.

Bluetooth USB module.

Bluetooth module shows as BCM_4350C2 in System Information > Bluetooth. & Hackintool > System > Peripherals tab.

System Information > Bluetooth report

Hackintool > System > Peripherals tab.

The latest config.plist contains Bluetooth entries in the NVRAM section for Sequoia.

NVRAM > Add & Delete sections in config.plist.

Kextstat details attached showing the three Bluetooth kexts for Monterey+ are loaded.

Not sure I have done everything correctly, or if this issue is purely down to Sequoia changes to the bluetooth stack by Apple.

 

[laurent]

hello edhawk why did you choose the simbios imac 20.1
I installed sequoia 15 I find that the speed of the usb ports is a little slower have you noticed this

 

[Edhawk]

I chose iMac20,1 SMBIOS because that was one that was recommended by the NootedRX.kext developer.

No, I haven’t noticed a slowdown on the USB ports. How is this showing on your system?

 

[laurent]

it takes 17 minutes to copy an EFI folder with 625 files of 16.5mb into a usb2 key and deleting its contents is also long

here I copied a zip file so it's faster
but I find it very long

 

[Edhawk]

It depends on which Pen Drive I use.

1. If I use a HFS+ formatted pen drive I see no issues when copying or moving files from my Hack to the pen drive.
2. If I use a FAT32 formatted pen drive, then I see the copy/move of the files slow to a standstill with repeated delays.
3. Using a USB3 or Type-C pen drive works as normal for a HFS+ formatted drive.
4. I see issues when Ejecting the FAT32 formatted Pen drive. Long delays, having to use the Force Eject option (on occasion).

This is how my USB ports are currently configured. The USB3 and Type-C ports are all as expected.
The HUB is currently set as Internal (255), it may work better being set a USB2 (0), as there is a physical USB2 port forming part of the HUB.



I am going to have a look through the BIOS settings to see if anything needs to be changed for the USB2 ports to work faster with the FAT32 drives. But it is probably an issue ASRock need to resolve, if it occurs when running Windows. They won't give a monkeys if it only happens when we are running macOS.

Have you thought about adding the 2 x USB2 port adapter, which connects to the Internal USB2 header?

Available from eBay.co.uk for £11.99 (or best offer) see link below.

ASRock DESKMINI USB CABLE USB2.0 port additional cable for DESKMINI 2XUSB2.0 UK | eBay

<li> Picture For Reference Purpose Only. </li> <li> </li> <li></li> <li> Publisher ASROCK EAN Does not apply UPC 4988755045957 MPN DESKMINI 2XUSB2.0 CABLE Brand ASRock Type SDRAM</li>.

www.ebay.co.uk

I have ordered one of these adapters (today), but won't get it for a few weeks, as it is coming from China. It will add 2 x USB2 ports to the Top of the X300M's case.

 

[laurent]

I found this adapter in the bottom of a drawer but it was not detected