Building a CustoMac: Buyer's Guide 2012

It's an amazing time once again to build a computer. Intel's "Ivy Bridge" CPUs alongside with the latest motherboards are the fastest and most compatible consumer components we've ever tested. There is native support for Thunderbolt, NVIDIA GeForce 6xx "Kepler" graphics cards, and Ivy Bridge in OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.



On the pro front, Apple hasn't updated their Mac Pro since 2010, but

UniBeast 1.5 Update

UniBeast has been updated to 1.5 for Lion and OS X Mountain Lion. We've broken UniBeast out into two versions based on operating system. UniBeast - Lion is the functional equivalent of previous versions of UniBeast. UniBeast - Mountain Lion is the new version that supports 10.8 only.



We also have published a preview of our new installation guide. The method is almost identical to the Lion

Yay! The New Site is Alive! Re-Activate Your Account Today!

After a year of development, the day is finally here- we've updated the entire website. It's a brand new tonymacx86.com designed by our team and powered by vBulletin. There are a ton of amazing new user features we'll be rolling out gradually, literally too many to list. 







The site has been completely redesigned! As part of the re-activation process, all users are required to reset

New and Improved tonymacx86.com - Launching This Sunday!

Off and on over the past year or so, we've been collaborating, designing, testing and setting up a new more modern website and forum. We're happy to announce that the resulting new tonymacx86.com will be launching this Sunday!

We will be importing all current forums, posts, and users and shouldn't be going offline at all during the transition. However, the existing forum will be read-only

Chimera 1.11 Update: Ivy Bridge HD 4000 Graphics

Today MacMan updated Chimera to version 1.11. We've fixed the experimental Ivy Bridge HD 4000 graphics card support. Using the available HD 4000 drivers can be difficult, but we anticipate that updated Mac OS X 10.7.5 or 10.8 graphics drivers will make things much simpler. This is a GraphicsEnabler fix, and NO additional changes should be needed for HD 4000 support. This new version will

Get Ready for OS X Mountain Lion

This week Apple released a GM (Golden Master) Seed of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion to Mac developers. Current rumors have the official launch date on or about July 25th. We thought we'd run down a list of recommended tasks so you can be ready once it's available. Could be any day now!



Necessary for Mountain Lion Update 

Apple has provided a concise rundown of how to update to Mountain Lion

MultiBeast 4.6 Update

Today MultiBeast was updated to version 4.6 for Lion and is now available at tonymacx86.com/downloads.

In this version we've included a patched AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement for Ivy Bridge CPUs from the MacBook Pro 2012 Update. This will enable full power management on non-Gigabyte 7-Series Socket 1155 motherboards and eliminates the need for NullCPUPowerManagment.kext.

Next up

UniBeast 1.4 Update

Today UniBeast has been updated to 1.4. The latest version is available for download at tonymacx86.com/downloads.







Please do not upload or redistribute UniBeast to any other sites.  


Full list of changes:

Updated Chimera to v1.10.0
Added Atheros Ethernet Support - maolj's AtherosL1cEthernet.kext
Removed AppleRTL8139Ethernet.kext (32-bit only)
Added patched AppleACPIPlatform.kext by

New CustoMac Buyer's Guide 2012 Coming Soon

Since the introduction of Ivy Bridge Macs last week, we've been getting lots of requests to update our CustoMac Recommended Builds and Buyer's Guide. Have no fear- it's coming soon! We're holding off on recommending specific Ivy Bridge rigs until the support is truly native and in the general release of the operating system. This will make things much easier for everyone- especially first

BridgeHelper 5.0: Native Ivy Bridge Kernel & Power Management, USB 3.0, and Intel HD 4000

This week Apple refreshed Mac laptops with Intel's new Ivy Bridge CPUs. Support isn't native yet, however much of the functionality is now available to us via an official MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) Software Update.

The process of manually extracting kernels and drivers isn't for everyone, so we put together a new BridgeHelper installer to do all of the heavy lifting. Simply install BridgeHelper

Chimera 1.10 Update: Ivy Bridge HD 4000 Onboard Graphics Support

Today MacMan updated Chimera to version 1.10. We've added initial Ivy Bridge HD 4000 graphics card support and many new NVIDIA 6xx devices. This new version will be included in the next MultiBeast release.









Chimera v1.10 Changes:




Added GraphicsEnabler device ID injection for Ivy Bridge Intel HD 4000 Onboard Graphics


Added GraphicsEnabler detection code for 50 additional NVIDIA

Apple Reveals 2012 Mac Laptops: How This Helps Us

Today at WWDC, Apple unveiled it's next generation MacBook Pro with it's 2880x1800 resolution "Retina" display. They also bumped all of the current MacBook Air and Pro models to Intel's new Ivy Bridge CPUs. This news is not only exciting for people in need of a new Mac, but also for speculative custom computer builders. The changes represent some of the most ever in one day, and will

DSDT Database Update: Gigabyte X58 Motherboards

We've done another round of DSDT Database updates, this time for Gigabyte X58 motherboards. The following DSDTs have been extracted from BIOS, edited using the using minimal edits, and added to the DSDT Database.

Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R-1.6 FK (for 1.6 or 1.7)
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 F13 
Gigabyte GA-G1.Assassin F3 
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R-2.0 FH
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9 F6 



NOTE: All DSDTs are

DSDT Database Update: Gigabyte H67 Motherboards

We're happy to announce another major update for Gigabyte Socket 1155 motherboards is in progress. As part of these updated DSDTs MacMan has included enhanced USB fixes, eliminating USB wake from sleep issues. These new devices fully implement the Rate Matching Hub definitions and Apple specific parameters. For this round, the following DSDTs have been extracted from BIOS, edited using the

DSDT Database Update: Gigabyte Z68 Motherboards

We're happy to announce another major update for Gigabyte Socket 1155 motherboards is in progress. As part of these updated DSDTs MacMan has included enhanced USB fixes, eliminating USB wake from sleep issues. These new devices fully implement the Rate Matching Hub definitions and Apple specific parameters. For the first round, the following DSDTs have been extracted from BIOS, edited using

Update Your Mac OS X Lion App to 10.7.4 [QuickTip]

The original installation media for Mac OS X Snow Leopard was a 10.6 DVD. The DVD was only updated once to version 10.6.3. In order to provide more frequent updates to users, Apple is now slipstreaming the latest version of Lion directly into the download. Upon fresh installation, no updating is necessary!


If you purchased Lion from the App Store prior to May 9th, 2012, you most likely have

UniBeast 1.3 Update

Today UniBeast has been updated to 1.3. The latest version is available for download at tonymacx86.com/downloads.







Please do not upload or redistribute UniBeast to any other sites.  


Full list of changes:

Updated Chimera to v1.9.2
Updated FakeSMC.kext to 4.2






If this utility has helped you, please consider a contribution to support further UniBeast development.  Thanks in

SSDT Editing Guide and Subforum

A few days ago, we released a new MultiBeast featuring SSDT files for Sandy Bridge CPUs. To assist with further SSDT editing and customizing, MacMan has written a guide at his blog called Customizing SSDT: Power Management Optimization on 10.7.4. The guide documents what you need to know about the SSDT so you can optimize your Socket 1155 CPU for an overclock greater then the 4.2 GHz

SR Tools: Kext Management, Undo, & Version Control

One of our moderators StingRay, usually found in the chat, has started to put together a Mac OS X Toolkit called SR Tools. The first item to be available is Kext Tools which allows installs and most importantly undo and rollback. We're excited to announce it's ready for public use.


Download SRTools
What is it?
Well thats easy, it's a kernel extensions (kext) installer and manager with the

BridgeHelper 4.0 - Enhanced 10.7.4 Kernel for Ivy Bridge CPUs

As part of Apple's commitment to Open Source, they make the current Mac OS X kernel source available about a week after releases at opensource.apple.com. As there are no Ivy Bridge Macs yet, MacMan has added support for Ivy Bridge CPUs to xnu-1699.26.8 (AKA the 11.4.0 Darwin kernel shipped in OS X 10.7.4) and we're happy to announce it's release.

BridgeHelper 4.0 will replace your 10.7.4

10.7.4 Power Management and Sandy Bridge CPUs

It's been a week since the 10.7.4 update, and an issue has cropped up with Core i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge CPUs. As part of this release, Apple updated the power management drivers. These new drivers are effecting performance, as some CPUs are stuck at a 16x multiplier, thus limiting them to a maximum clock speed of 1.6 GHz. When we discovered the issue, we released a temporary workaround on the

MultiBeast 4.5 Update

Today MultiBeast was updated to version 4.5 for Lion. The latest version of MultiBeast is now available at tonymacx86.com/downloads.























Please do not upload or redistribute MultiBeast to any other sites. 























What's new in MultiBeast 4.5:

Added Customization -> Boot Options -> SSDT
Added Core i5 to Customization -> Boot Options -> SSDT
Added

Mac OS X 10.7.4 Update

Today Apple released Mac OS X 10.7.4 the fourth major update to Mac OS X Lion. To eliminate any potential issues, we generally recommend to update any supported systems using the standalone Combo installer, and not the built-in Software Update.



Download the Mac OS X 10.7.4 Combo Update



Be sure to back up any important data, and if possible clone your hard drive before applying the

MultiBeast 4.4 Update

Today MultiBeast was updated to version 4.4 for Lion. The latest version of MultiBeast is now available at tonymacx86.com/downloads.























Please do not upload or redistribute MultiBeast to any other sites. 























What's new in MultiBeast 4.4:

Added toleda's patched AppleHDA's to Drivers & Bootloaders -> Kexts & Enablers -> Audio -> Realtek ALC8xx ->

Intel's New Ivy Bridge Socket 1155 CPUs and 7-Series Motherboards Now Available

This past week Intel unveiled and released it's new Ivy Bridge CPUs. These CPUs are compatible with any of the available Socket 1155 motherboards- including Sandy Bridge ones! So users with existing Sandy Bridge compatible H61, H67 and Z68 motherboards have the option to upgrade to new Ivy Bridge CPUs.



Ivy Bridge feature improvements over Sandy Bridge include:



Tri-gate transistor

BridgeHelper 3.0 - Enhanced 10.7.3 Kernel for Ivy Bridge CPUs

This week, Intel announced and released it's next generation of Socket 1155 CPUs, codenamed Ivy Bridge. As part of Apple's commitment to Open Source, they make the kernel source available via opensource.apple.com. MacMan has added support for these new CPUs to xnu-1699.24.23 (AKA the 11.3.0 Darwin kernel shipped in OS X 10.7.3) and we're happy to announce it's release.

BridgeHelper 3.0 will

UniBeast 1.2 Update

Today UniBeast has been updated to 1.2. The latest version is available for download at tonymacx86.com/downloads.








Please do not upload or redistribute UniBeast to any other sites.  


Full list of changes:

Updated Chimera to v1.9.1






If this utility has helped you, please consider a contribution to support further UniBeast development.  Thanks in advance, and enjoy!

rBoot 1.2 Update

Today rBoot, the boot CD for both Snow Leopard and Lion has been updated to 1.2. The standard version, and a laptop edition (rBoot LE) are now available for download at tonymacx86.com/downloads.






Please do not upload or redistribute rBoot to any other sites.  


Full list of changes:

Updated bootloader to Chimera v1.9.1






If this utility has helped you, please consider a 

iBoot 3.3 Update

iBoot has been updated to 3.3. As always, this boot CD facilitates the direct retail installation of Mac OS X 10.6.x Snow Leopard via iBoot + MultiBeast. Pick up the latest version at tonymacx86.com/downloads. 


Updated bootloader to Chimera v1.9.1
For 10.6.x Snow Leopard only






Please do not upload or redistribute iBoot to any other sites.  







If this utility has helped you, please

Chimera 1.9 Update: Multiple NVIDIA Cards, Ivy Bridge and GTX 680 Support

Today MacMan updated Chimera to version 1.9. The most exciting change is the addition of a new bit of GraphicsEnabler code from the Chameleon team to enable multiple NVIDIA graphics cards without any extra DSDT edits necessary! He's also added support for Intel's soon to be released Ivy Bridge CPUs and GraphicsEnabler detection for NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 680. This new version will be

Exclusive: Intel's Unreleased Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K Running Mac OS X Lion

Well it's official- Mac OS X Lion runs great on Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge platform. Here's a few screenshots of the Core i7-3770K running at stock 3.5GHz on a Z77 motherboard submitted to us via an anonymous tip:






 


Because there are no Macs yet with Ivy Bridge, the tipster had to use a modified kernel to boot. We can't wait to test out these chips to see what else they can

Optimizing NVIDIA GeForce 4xx and 5xx Graphics Cards for Mac OS X Lion Using OpenCL and CUDA

Many graphics and video professionals prefer using NVIDIA graphics cards. OpenCL (Open Computing Language) was initially created by Apple to provide applications access to the computing power of the graphics card as well as the CPU. This can dramatically increase the general performance of high-end applications at the OS level, and has become an industry standard. Apple has supported

MultiBeast 4.3 Update

Today MultiBeast was updated to version 4.3 for Lion. We've added a new Combo OpenCL Enabler, which when combined with Chimera 1.8 will enable full QE/CI and OpenCL for all NVIDIA GeForce 4xx and 5xx graphics cards. Two more big additions are the flAked SpeedStepper for UEFI power management fixes, and maolj's Atheros ethernet driver. The latest version of MultiBeast is now available

Chimera 1.8 Update: OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Support

Today MacMan updated Chimera to version 1.8. For Mac OS X developers, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion support has been added. This version will be included in the next MultiBeast release.












Chimera v1.8.0 Changes:




Added OS X Mountain Lion boot support, based on cparm's patch.
Added support for additional ATI video cards.
Added additional default ATI video card configurations.
Fixed

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

Yesterday we were all a bit shocked by Apple's announcement of it's next operating system OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. Everyone's super excited about it, and registered Apple Developers ($99/yr) now have full access to the OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview 1. Initial reports are that the download and installation procedure is just as easy for Mountain Lion as it was for Lion.



Our policy

MultiBeast Overview Video

Here's a nice video intro to MultiBeast: The Ultimate Post-Installation Utility. Produced and narrated by StingRay. 





Related Posts:
All tonymacx86 Video
tonymacx86 Wiki: MultiBeast
MultiBeast Forum
Building a Sandy Bridge CustoMac: Buyer's Guide







































For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!

UniBeast 1.1 Update

Today UniBeast has been updated to 1.1. After a bit of testing, we've optimized this utility for use with the newly updated 10.7.3 Mac OS X Lion App. The latest version is available for download at tonymacx86.com/downloads.








Please do not upload or redistribute UniBeast to any other sites.  


Full list of changes:

Updated Chimera to v1.7.0
USB Fix for 10.7.3






If this utility

rBoot 1.1 Update

Today rBoot, the boot CD for both Snow Leopard and Lion has been updated to 1.1. The standard version, and a laptop edition (rBoot LE) are now available for download at tonymacx86.com/downloads.







Please do not upload or redistribute rBoot to any other sites.  


Full list of changes:

Updated Chimera to v1.7.0
USB Fix for 10.7.3






If this utility has helped you, please consider a