Core i7 LGA1156 + GA-P55-UD3 + 10.6.2 + CPU = mouse freeze/choppy, etc [workaround]

[Anders1]

Update: NullCPUPowerManagement.kext resolves the mouse issue, but the other issues remain.

 

Hi,

 

Let me get to the point.

 

Hardware:

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 w/ RTL8111D network

Core i7 (Lynnfield)

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz

ATI Radeon 4870 512 MB Sapphire

SATA HDDs

 

/Extra:

com.apple.Boot.plist relevant options: arch=i386 GraphicsEnabler=Yes

 

/Extra/Extensions:

IONetworkingFamily.kext (R1000, as AppleRTL8169Ethernet did not load. something about probeHardware fail.)

PlatformUUID.kext (with generated UUID)

OpenHaltRestart.kext (I know, Psystar fail but yeah. I think this is necessary as I don't know yet how to patch DSDT for rebooting. If you know, please tell me how )

fakesmc.kext (latest from netkas)

 

Installation procedure:

 

USB stick with Chameleon

Patched kernel for SSE2/AMD (since vanilla doesn't work until 10.6.2 for Lynnfield)

External USB SATA enclosure, installed on top of this with GPT. Two partitions, one with OS X install DVD restored onto it.

 

Some error at the end, about not being able to bless the boot volume but it works fine, except that there's a temporary OS X installation folder in the root.

 

With patched 10.6 kernel installed (replaced mach_kernel in OS X install DVD and after installation in root), I patched my DSDT for HPET etc. Then I upgraded to 10.6.2. It did not boot without HPET patch (Apple Intel power management kext panic)

 

Installed PC_EFI 10.5 and GraphicsEnabler=Yes. Graphics work great. Audio doesn't, but that's on my TODO list.

 

Problems:

At first, the clock was WAY too fast. This also made audio skip on YouTube with a USB headset, and various USB audio warnings in dmesg. This is because PC_EFI / Chameleon rc3 doesn't support Lynnfield Nehalem yet. I found a post by Kabyl with a patch that makes it recognize this new CPU, and that helped a lot. The post is here: http://forum.voodooprojects.org/index.php?topic=861.0

 

After compiling a custom PC_EFI 10.5 with this patch, I can boot and audio doesn't skip as much, but it still does. Similar dmesg errors. Sometimes the mouse locks up.

 

The major issue:

This happens when the CPU is being loaded. For example, run four infinite loops using PHP and the mouse is EXTREMELY choppy! I have no idea why, and the guys on IRC didn't know either.

 

Minor issues:

I would rather use Apple's own Realtek driver than R1000, because it worked for my old GA-P35-DS3 mobo which has the same chipset AFAIK. The GIGABYTE site doesn't tell.

 

Also, audio would be nice (ALC889A). It didn't really work all that smooth on my old PC, but I think it is possible to fix. Ideally using DSDT only! But I don't think anyone has actually achieved this yet.

 

Any help is much appreciated!

[Anders1]

I should add that I have all the various CPU power management functions enabled in BIOS, but also Turbo Boost etc.

 

Tried busratio=22, fsb=133, among other things with no luck.

[goldenaustin]

I should add that I have all the various CPU power management functions enabled in BIOS, but also Turbo Boost etc.

 

Tried busratio=22, fsb=133, among other things with no luck.

 

Have you tried the i5 boot file that's talked about here:

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...p;#entry1333400

[Anders1]

Have you tried the i5 boot file that's talked about here:

 

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php...p;#entry1333400

Yes, see:

This is because PC_EFI / Chameleon rc3 doesn't support Lynnfield Nehalem yet. I found a post by Kabyl with a patch that makes it recognize this new CPU, and that helped a lot. The post is here: http://forum.voodooprojects.org/index.php?topic=861.0

 

I compiled a PC_EFI with the patch for i5/i7. This is probably the same as that i5boot, except that it's based on PC_EFI rather than Chameleon.

 

It works now with NullCPUPowerManagement, but it isn't really a great fix. I would like to understand why the Intel power management kext does not work.