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iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
Roman78 said:
Just did a test with my 2011 iMac and the original HD6970M 2GB. And i must say, i am impressed about that card. Still have to test the GTX 765M, and maybe my W10 Game PC.

View attachment 853925
Click to expand...

This is also weird because with a 780m, i got just a slightly better score on my 27" 2011:

Screenshot 2019-08-20 at 21.36.00.png


But on paper it should be a lot faster: https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-780M-vs-AMD-HD-6970M/m7760vsm8552

If someone is running Windows with a 780m(or similar) card, please post a Valley score. Just to check if this is a driver issue for example.
 
FlorisVN said:
this looks better than the results from @passatgt ,

You are running El Capitan here ? (darwin kernel 15 as it looks)

Also using Nvidia web drivers.. ?
Running a 21,5" 2011 iMac ?
Click to expand...

El Captian is on my Daily Use Mac with the HD 6790M. On the testmac I have the K1100M installed and i run all OS's, just have to switch the hard disk.

@passatgt that is indeed strange. I'll test test GTX765 i have later this week. Also can test in on Windows 10. By the way, in a 2010 iMac there should be a HD5 Series dGPU installed and not a HD4.

An according to this site the K1100M should be 62% faster as a HD 4670: https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/ATI-Radeon-HD-4670-vs-Nvidia-Quadro-K1100M/m8077vsm10244
 
maybe these poor kepler performance, is due to crappy integraded kepler drivers from MacOS.. ?
Apple does not like Nvidia so far, as it seems...

Maybe Nvidia web drivers with HS for example, will resolve this poor performance.. ?
 
After upgrading to a 770m my imacs starts only after pressing the power button for 2 or 3 times. Any idear why?
 
Hello! I bought a 770m 3GB. Behind the sticker with the BIOS version is 80.06.60.00.01. I have only the windows system installed. After installation - a black screen. Several reboots and the desktop booted. At the same time, I do not see the Windows boot screen, only the welcome window and the desktop. After installing the latest Nvidia drivers, the black screen again. The computer boots up with a black screen and responds to keystrokes. When you press the power button, it turns off. What am I doing wrong? And is it normal that I do not see the Windows boot screen? (This is where the point revolves)
 
Zulus555 said:
Hello! I bought a 770m 3GB. Behind the sticker with the BIOS version is 80.06.60.00.01. I have only the windows system installed. After installation - a black screen. Several reboots and the desktop booted. At the same time, I do not see the Windows boot screen, only the welcome window and the desktop. After installing the latest Nvidia drivers, the black screen again. The computer boots up with a black screen and responds to keystrokes. When you press the power button, it turns off. What am I doing wrong? And is it normal that I do not see the Windows boot screen? (This is where the point revolves)
Click to expand...


I think this black screen is normal.
like @max86 posted before in this topic, he used this work arround :

If you have working superdrive.Then you have to install windows 7 dvd version with bootcamp.After this you install windows 10 in windows 7.Then you have Legacy(bios) version windows 10.After this bootcamp software. (run this in compability mode win7)
And after this i swapped radeon to gtx765.You have to put external monitor to 2nd thunderbolt.When picture is coming to monitor then in power settings you put power button to sleep.Then push it it going to sleep mode.And move a mouse...and magic happends!!Sry english is not my main language.Win 10 version is 1607 and nvidia drivers are 391.25 windows 10 automatically installs graphics drivers.


I would advise you first to try running an external display, you should get picture in this running bootcamp.
Then enter sleep mode, and wake from sleep and then the internal iMac display should work I think..
He mapped his power button to map to sleep mode within Windows.
This is a good workarround I think, I have not tested this myself yet.
 
I formatted the ssd, installed everything in the same order, but when installing the latest drivers, Nvidia did not perform a clean installation. As a result, everything is ok.
Before replacing a video card, install a teamviewer! After the first boot with a new video card, Windows downloads and installs 770m drivers for a long time, and you need a teamviewer to control this process. Regarding UEFI - it seems to me that the concept of UEFI firmware in the BIOS of a video card is not entirely true. Windows starts issuing a picture ONLY after initializing the video driver. In order for the Windows boot picture to be visible on the screen (boot window, start the system diagnostics, etc.), it is necessary that the EFI imac (firmware) recognize the video card and start displaying an image on the screen. It seems to me that for this it is necessary to make changes in the EFI iMac and possibly in the BIOS of the video card in terms of compliance with the requirements of the UEFI driver. Sorry for the English (
I look at the MSI Afterburner data, the temperature is idle 60 degrees. This is normal?
 
Last edited:
Now for something odd... I did the Valley-test on that same iMac but now running W10 and the latest Nvidia Drivers. Result is... hmmm...

DSC_6014_DxO.jpg

On OpenGL it even was less. only 25 fps

But at least on W10 the Valley test gives the right temperature of the GPU. On Mojave it always says 129°C, on W10 it went from 42°C to 56°C
 
Roman78 said:
Now for something odd... I did the Valley-test on that same iMac but now running W10 and the latest Nvidia Drivers. Result is... hmmm...

View attachment 854166

On OpenGL it even was less. only 25 fps

But at least on W10 the Valley test gives the right temperature of the GPU. On Mojave it always says 129°C, on W10 it went from 42°C to 56°C
Click to expand...

interessting, btw I dont think heat will be a problem at all with these kepler cards.
 
Roman78 said:
No, but at the moment i read 129°C .... see avatar picture at the left :D
Click to expand...

this is normal.
129C is only because MacOS is not able to read this GPU die sensor.
and therefor always will report 129C or nothing.

Nothing to worry about I would say.
Also if Windows bootcamp says 42°C to 56°C it will be ok in my opinion..
 
Bad score for an 770m under High Sierra and Mojave. something is wrong....
 

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mhafeez said:
Minor upgrades

I had some minor changes and Mods for the on-card memories and the internal air flow ducting, installs a few copper heat pads on it.

Since both of my storage are SSDs and no heat will be produce so I diverted the airflow from the HDD Fan to the MXM card.

Now I have no temperature issue at all especially during video rendering and heavy graphics apps.
Click to expand...


Hey everyone! Longtime lurker, recent official forum member.

I recently acquired a Mid 2011 iMac 21.5 running OSX 10.10 16GB RAM, Intel Core i5 w. 500GB HDD.

I will be undertaking the GPU upgrade as detailed in this forum and purchased an NVidia GTX 770M pulled from an Alienware laptop.

@mhafeez I am interested in your implementation of what appears to be a funneling apparatus diverting airflow from the fan across the GPU. I will also be replacing the HDD with an SSD so like you, I feel the fan's cooling efforts would be better served elsewhere. Can you provide more information about what you did, as I can't really make sense of it from the pictures. Did you build a custom part and then use a 3D printer to make it?

Thanks!
 
FlorisVN said:
maybe these poor kepler performance, is due to crappy integraded kepler drivers from MacOS.. ?
Apple does not like Nvidia so far, as it seems...

Maybe Nvidia web drivers with HS for example, will resolve this poor performance.. ?
Click to expand...

I tried with nvidia drivers, same score.

IMG_1305.JPG


I'm also trying to test using Catalina, but i'm unable to boot into that with this card. I was able to install it with the original ati gpu, but after i swap it out, the fans spin but no picture at all, caps lock not working either on the keyboard.
 
I think there is something odd with the iMac. We should also do some other tests. On Geekbench the K1100M had a little better score than the HD6790M, and the GTX765 was twice as fast as the HD6790M.
 
Roman78 said:
I think there is something odd with the iMac. We should also do some other tests. On Geekbench the K1100M had a little better score than the HD6790M, and the GTX765 was twice as fast as the HD6790M.
Click to expand...

I feel like its some kind of a driver issue or a bottleneck somewhere. Because we are basically getting the same scores as you would get from the best available original gpu in the machines. In my case, 4670 or 5670. I'll try to install ubuntu and check the geekbench scores, i think thats the only cross-platform benchmark we can do.
 
Hello, All.

A few years ago I upgraded the processor in my mid-2010 iMac from an i3 3.2ghz (2 Core) to a 2.93 i7 (4 Core). In addition to the processor upgrade, I added an SSD and maxed out the ram to 32GB. I recently purchased an Nvidia QuadroK2000M (2GB) Card off eBay for $40. I swapped the old card Raedon HD 5670 (512MB) and everything went alright. Of course I have the "no-boot" start up screen which is alright (just takes a bit longer to boot). Instead of thermal paste, I used thermal pads and it seems to be running at about the same temperature of the old card, a little warmer (105F - 115F degrees).

Note: I broke the heat sensor on the heatsink trying to reconnect it so, the heat sensor is not connected.

Here's my issue...

When I go to the AppStore and try to down Mojave it says (of course) "This version of macOS 10.14.6 cannot be installed on this computer". Of course Apple doesn't make it this easy and yes, I am aware that my iMac (11,3) is an unsupported Mac for Mojave. I downloaded the macOS Mojave Patcher, downloaded Mojave (through the patcher), formatted my USB drive, all went well. A few questions.

1. How do I install the patched Mojave from my USB flash drive if I cannot get into the boot option screen?

2. Is there a different way for me to boot from the USB drive considering I cannot just restart and press/hold the 'option' button?

3. Can I get my boot loader screen back? I understand the K2000M was pulled out of a Dell Precision M4700 so its a PC Card and its not a Mac EFI flashed card.

Has any fixes come out to solve this issue and for those who've upgraded GPU's, particularly to the K2000M, what issues have you run into (if any) and what is your experience so far from performance, temps, etc...?

Thanks!


Ray

Specs:
Mid-2010 27" iMac MC510LL/A
High Sierra 10.14.6
2.93ghz Intel Core i7
Nvidia Quadro K2000M 2047 MB
32GB DDR3 1067 MHz DDR3
 
passatgt said:
I feel like its some kind of a driver issue or a bottleneck somewhere. Because we are basically getting the same scores as you would get from the best available original gpu in the machines. In my case, 4670 or 5670. I'll try to install ubuntu and check the geekbench scores, i think thats the only cross-platform benchmark we can do.
Click to expand...

I don't believe it are the drivers, on Windows the Score is even 50% lower running Valley. And i did used the latest Drivers. Strangely using Geekbench the scores of the GTX are much higher compared to the HD 6790M.
 
Raymel said:
Hello, All.

A few years ago I upgraded the processor in my mid-2010 iMac from an i3 3.2ghz (2 Core) to a 2.93 i7 (4 Core). In addition to the processor upgrade, I added an SSD and maxed out the ram to 32GB. I recently purchased an Nvidia QuadroK2000M (2GB) Card off eBay for $40. I swapped the old card Raedon HD 5670 (512MB) and everything went alright. Of course I have the "no-boot" start up screen which is alright (just takes a bit longer to boot). Instead of thermal paste, I used thermal pads and it seems to be running at about the same temperature of the old card, a little warmer (105F - 115F degrees).

Note: I broke the heat sensor on the heatsink trying to reconnect it so, the heat sensor is not connected.

Here's my issue...

When I go to the AppStore and try to down Mojave it says (of course) "This version of macOS 10.14.6 cannot be installed on this computer". Of course Apple doesn't make it this easy and yes, I am aware that my iMac (11,3) is an unsupported Mac for Mojave. I downloaded the macOS Mojave Patcher, downloaded Mojave (through the patcher), formatted my USB drive, all went well. A few questions.

1. How do I install the patched Mojave from my USB flash drive if I cannot get into the boot option screen?

2. Is there a different way for me to boot from the USB drive considering I cannot just restart and press/hold the 'option' button?

3. Can I get my boot loader screen back? I understand the K2000M was pulled out of a Dell Precision M4700 so its a PC Card and its not a Mac EFI flashed card.

Has any fixes come out to solve this issue and for those who've upgraded GPU's, particularly to the K2000M, what issues have you run into (if any) and what is your experience so far from performance, temps, etc...?

Thanks!


Ray

Specs:
Mid-2010 27" iMac MC510LL/A
High Sierra 10.14.6
2.93ghz Intel Core i7
Nvidia Quadro K2000M 2047 MB
32GB DDR3 1067 MHz DDR3
Click to expand...

First, can you please do a Valley(https://benchmark.unigine.com/valley) and Geekbench(https://www.geekbench.com/download/mac/) Compute benchmark? It would be really helpful to compare the scores. You can see the settings we used for the benchmark on the screenshots previously shared.

You could try to select the installer drive under Settings / Startup Disk, while you are booted into High Sierra. I'm not sure it will work though. Even if it does, you would still need to boot back into the installer again to apply the patches, so its recommended to keep High Sierra installed, so you can select the startup disk option again. But i think the easiest way is to do the install on another iMac and swap the SSDs. I'm afraid theres no way to get back the boot screen(at least yet...).

I've used a k2000m in a 2011 iMac before and temps were fine, no issues at all. I still recommend running the fans at a bit higher speed using Macs Fan Control.
 
@Roman78

I think maybe these quadro cards suck at these 3d game benchmarks.. ?
GTX cards are perhaps way better in this one..

I suppose these quadro cards are better at other workloads...
 
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