Which X870 motherboard has the best Ryzentosh compatibility?

[Reigen]

Hey everyone, I'm building a new pc and I'm planning to dual boot macOS (preferably Sequoia) and windows 11, each on its own drive. I have a 6900XT GPU and 9800X3D CPU, and now I’m down to choosing the motherboard and RAM.

Any suggestions for X870 boards with good Ryzentosh compatibility, ideally one that works cleanly out of the box, with minimal patches and no USB mapping headaches? ASUS ROG STRIX X870-F has caught my eye, any thoughts on this one?

 

[leesurone]

Hi @Reigen welcome to the forum. The X870 boards are all very similar in terms of overall compatibility. Unfortunately if the board has the newer Wifi 7/ Bluetooth M2 card, like the Asus board you are interested in, neither will work. The only fix is to replace the onboard card or add a Pcie card to one of the open slots.
Ethernet can also be an issue but The X870-F board has an intel controller that should be compatible, some of the newer Realtek solutions aren't.

"ideally one that works cleanly out of the box, with minimal patches and no USB mapping headaches?"
I did a quick search here as so far no one has posted a success story for that board so you would get to be the pioneer. USB mapping is pretty much always a pain with only a few exceptions and unique ACPI patches maybe required for that board to boot, same as the 600 series boards.

The Proart version, while a little more expensive, could be a good option for you as it would be well supported here. @fabiosun has one and he has been very helpful here.

 

[fabiosun]

@leesurone i had an ASUS proart, now I HAve a X870E Hero
both are well supported
Proart has both ethernets supported, Hero only ones (intel 2.5Gbit)
I prefer Hero, better dissipation, better slot distribuition for dual GPU system, more NVME Slot
Hero needs ACPI patch for now
Proart doesen't need it
Proart has a working 10 Gbit aquantia ethernet
Both are rock solid when well configured
in both i have used Broadcom replacement wifi and OCLP if OS is greater than Ventura
Proart needs for audio to use AppleAlc kext, Hero has usb internal audio ( i Prefer this one) and it doesnt use any kext for this
both need of a good USB mapping

 

[Reigen]

Hey @leesurone, I really appreciate your insight. I'm fine if Wifi and Bluetooth don't work as long as Ethernet does, but given that it took me nearly a week just to get my current Hackintosh up and running, I'm not sure I'm cut out to blaze a new trail!

I'm leaning towards the ProArt version. It's a bit pricey, but I'd rather have something that works from day one than spend weeks tinkering with USB mapping and tweaks. I'll wait a few days to see if anyone suggests a more budget-friendly board and if not, I'll pull the trigger on the ProArt. Thanks again for all your help!

EDIT: @fabiosun, thanks for chiming in! Unfortunately the Hero is even more expensive than the ProArt and out of my budget, so I’ll stick with the ProArt unless a more affordable option pops up.

 

[fabiosun]

@Reigen ASUS ROG STRIX X870-F seems to me it has USB audio so i would prefer it (i like its layout)
The only variables are if it needs of a proper ACPI patches (as Hero and other many motherboards) and USB mapping to see audio (if it is confirmed it is USB one (4080)

 

[Reigen]

Hello again! I've done a lot of research this past week and realized there's no perfect out of the box board for a Ryzentosh setup like I'd hoped. I first eyed the ASUS STRIX X870-F, then considered leveraging @fabiosun's work with the ProArt, but in the end I decided to get my hands dirty and go with the Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE. It’s much cheaper than the STRIX and still ticks all my boxes without being overkill. I’m ready to do the USB mapping and any needed ACPI patches myself, especially now that I've found this awesome community to turn to if I hit any walls.

My final question before ordering: are there any known red flags with this board I might have missed? I see it uses the ALC1220 audio codec (supported here: https://github.com/acidanthera/applealc/wiki/supported-codecs) and Realtek 2.5 Gbit Ethernet (supported by LucyRTL8125Ethernet), so they should work right? For WiFI and Bluetooth I plan to add a Fenvi T919 card later on.

 

[fabiosun]

Realtek 2.5 Gbit Ethernet (supported by LucyRTL8125Ethernet),

In new X870 board there is a different version..it could be a problem (in this forum a user with a realtek 2.5 (and gigabyte board had problem (i dont know if he solved with Lucy or buying an USB ethernet)

 

[leesurone]

In new X870 board there is a different version..it could be a problem (in this forum a user with a realtek 2.5 (and gigabyte board had problem (i dont know if he solved with Lucy or buying an USB ethernet)

I don't believe that has been solved, Mieze who crafted the original kext has said it would take a complete rewrite. The current work around is an add in supported Pcie ethernet card, there are several options, or use a USB to Ethernet adapter.

 

[Reigen]

Somewhat ironically I was torn between the MSI X870E TOMAHAWK and the Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE, and I chose the AORUS because its RTL8125 Ethernet seemed to be supported by Lucy (whereas the Tomahawk's RTL8126 5 Gbit isn't). Thanks for the heads up, I'm glad I asked before ordering!

So it looks like my options now are either to spend the extra $100 on the ASUS STRIX X870-F with its Intel controller, or stick with a more affordable board and grab a USB to Ethernet adapter as @leesurone suggested (I won't have space for a PCIe one since I'll be using a sound card along with the Fenvi). Does that adapter need a very specific chipset (like the Fenvi T919), or would any decent USB-Ethernet adapter work?

 

[Edhawk]

Just make sure the motherboard you end up buying has sufficient PCIe slots for the components you want to use, as the ASUS X870-F is very limited in the number of PCIe components you can use.

 

[leesurone]

Somewhat ironically I was torn between the MSI X870E TOMAHAWK and the Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE, and I chose the AORUS because its RTL8125 Ethernet seemed to be supported by Lucy (whereas the Tomahawk's RTL8126 5 Gbit isn't). Thanks for the heads up, I'm glad I asked before ordering!

So it looks like my options now are either to spend the extra $100 on the ASUS STRIX X870-F with its Intel controller, or stick with a more affordable board and grab a USB to Ethernet adapter as @leesurone suggested (I won't have space for a PCIe one since I'll be using a sound card along with the Fenvi). Does that adapter need a very specific chipset (like the Fenvi T919), or would any decent USB-Ethernet adapter work?

Most USB to ethernet adapters work natively, I bought this one a couple years ago and it worked fine.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWC7D78?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_13&th=1

 

[Reigen]

Just make sure the motherboard you end up buying has sufficient PCIe slots for the components you want to use, as the ASUS X870-F is very limited in the number of PCIe components you can use.

Yeah no worries, if I went with the ASUS X870-F I'd skip the Fenvi card and just use the onboard Ethernet when I'm on macOS.

Most USB to ethernet adapters work natively, I bought this one a couple years ago and it worked fine.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KWC7D78?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_13&th=1

Perfect, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear! I'll go with the USB to Ethernet adapter then, especially since it's so affordable. Thanks again @leesurone and @fabiosun for steering me in the right direction, I really appreciate all your help!