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

[liquidtwitch]

My new clamp arrived and I'm currently attempting to to the flash. How long should it take?

Mine seems to be hanging on "Reading old flash chip contents" with flashrom, I'm just not sure if there's an issue or it's something that takes a long time.

EDIT: It worked - just took about 15-20 minutes all up.

Now I have bootscreen ... just having some issues with one of my sensors as the fans are going full blast.

 

[Roman78]

The Bootrom took hmmm 30-45 Seconds to read. But i saw a progress bar on my software.

 

[FlorisVN]

My new clamp arrived and I'm currently attempting to to the flash. How long should it take?

Mine seems to be hanging on "Reading old flash chip contents" with flashrom, I'm just not sure if there's an issue or it's something that takes a long time.

EDIT: It worked - just took about 15-20 minutes all up.

Now I have bootscreen ... just having some issues with one of my sensors as the fans are going full blast.

Great, I would advise you to check all your fan connections, and lcd sensor connections.
Make sure they are connected properly, and try again.

If tools like Macsfancontrol report an 129c on a specific hardware item, then you know that the sensor is not working.
For example if your lcd temperature is displayed as 129c that sensor is not connected properly, or perhaps broken..

 

[FlorisVN]

Even without an EEPROM MacOS should detect the PCI Device ID,
but it will not show anything on screen so you must have set up
remote access first with a working card (VNC, TeamViewer etc)
You can try erasing the chip using the clip instead of removing it,
but I would try the tape fix first and see if the iMac can start.

EDIT - Sadly it looks like your card really has been damaged!
It is missing capacitor C708 (next to the triangle heat symbol)
that component is on the eBay photo so I think it should be there!
Luckily it looks like a bypass / decap so it might be ok without it?

perhaps a command like : ioreg within the terminal could help us finding the ID's and info of our hardware.. ?
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i'm still looking for a way to get the GPU Die tempereature visible within macOS.
So far I have also not been able to do so on my 5,1 MacPro with a flashed GTX680 graphics card.
Almost same as with our upgraded iMac's, running kepler aswell.

Is it just not possible to read kepler gpu die temperature, I find this strange..
There must be some kind of way.. ?

running tools like GPU-Z within bootcamp Windows can read it fine..

 

[Natan.Torres]

Good morning everyone this is my p first post. I would like to know if it is possible to install an AMD HD8970 graphics card on my imac 2010 21.5" model A1311 core i7 870 16gb RAM. Follow the model link below

Original AMD HD8970M 4 GB GDDR5 Alienware

R$ 783,07 | Original AMD HD8970M 4 GB GDDR5 Alienware MXM PLACA de Vídeo Game Card R9 290X M17X M18X

s.click.aliexpress.com

 

[guest00x]

i have few questions.
1. will this bootrom mod work imac 27” 2009. (i tried romtool but it is 4MB and structures not same as in video)
2. with ch341a programmer. what can i use to backup/flash imac moded bootrom
3. i have gtx 770m. do i just flash the bios from nick? or any modification to vbios?
4. anything i missed?

5. why can’t boot into windows with 770m installed.
thank you

 

[FlorisVN]

i have few questions.
1. will this bootrom mod work imac 27” 2009. (i tried romtool but it is 4MB and structures not same as in video)
2. with ch341a programmer. what can i use to backup/flash imac moded bootrom
3. i have gtx 770m. do i just flash the bios from nick? or any modification to vbios?
4. anything i missed?

5. why can’t boot into windows with 770m installed.
thank you

Yes bootrom is confirmed to work with 2009 iMac aswell.

You need a flasher like the CH341A indeed, can be used for both video card for the vbios mod, and the eeprom clipper with CH341A for the bootrom patch for the eeprom located on the logic board.
I more prefer to use nvflash with bootcamp.
But i guess several ways are possible..

Gtx770m is supported, flash it with nicks custom vbios.
You also need to patch the iMac bootrom, in order to get an EFI bootscreen.

You can boot into bootcamp by default, but withouth any mods you will have a blackscreen on the internal imac display.
There are sleep/wake tricks to get it to work again.
Or use external display, which also works within bootcamp.
[automerge]1569603440[/automerge]

Good morning everyone this is my p first post. I would like to know if it is possible to install an AMD HD8970 graphics card on my imac 2010 21.5" model A1311 core i7 870 16gb RAM. Follow the model link below

Original AMD HD8970M 4 GB GDDR5 Alienware

R$ 783,07 | Original AMD HD8970M 4 GB GDDR5 Alienware MXM PLACA de Vídeo Game Card R9 290X M17X M18X

s.click.aliexpress.com

Why on earth go with this card ?
Just go for rx580 and use Nicks efi mod !
This way you have are sure it works, have a efi bootscreen and is way cheaper.. !

 

[jchang7]

Yes bootrom is confirmed to work with 2009 iMac aswell.

You need a flasher like the CH341A indeed, can be used for both video card for the vbios mod, and the eeprom clipper with CH341A for the bootrom patch for the eeprom located on the logic board.
I more prefer to use nvflash with bootcamp.
But i guess several ways are possible..

Gtx770m is supported, flash it with nicks custom vbios.
You also need to patch the iMac bootrom, in order to get an EFI bootscreen.

You can boot into bootcamp by default, but withouth any mods you will have a blackscreen on the internal imac display.
There are sleep/wake tricks to get it to work again.
Or use external display, which also works within bootcamp.
[automerge]1569603440[/automerge]


Why on earth go with this card ?
Just go for rx580 and use Nicks efi mod !
This way you have are sure it works, have a efi bootscreen and is way cheaper.. !

RX 580(WX7100) is cheaper?? I thought it is at around $320

 

[FlorisVN]

RX 580(WX7100) is cheaper?? I thought it is at around $320

At least cheaper than 800$ from the link Natan posted.. 😉

 

[Natan.Torres]

Ok understand. thanks for the tip. Is this RX580 just install and use or have a lot of configuration to do? If you need to configure is there a tutorial? Sorry I'm not fluent in English

 

[Nick [D]vB]

EDIT: It worked - just took about 15-20 minutes all up.

Now I have bootscreen ... just having some issues with one of my sensors as the fans are going full blast.

Great, really glad to hear that new Pomona clip has done the trick at last!
Flashrom might have taken longer than normal because of that missing resistor??
Once you've checked the sensors try a NVRAM reset to fix the fans (is it just the CPU fan?)

perhaps a command like : ioreg within the terminal could help us finding the ID's...
i'm still looking for a way to get the GPU Die tempereature visible within macOS.

PCI IDs are shown in System Information, but you can use IOreg or something like DPCI Manager.
I have never found a tool that can monitor real-time clocks / temps with our Nvidia cards,
if fact I am not even sure the Nvidia driver exposes this information under MacOS. 8(

RX 580(WX7100) is cheaper?? I thought it is at around $320

I have seen them on eBay for as around $150 before.
Did you try adding that tape to fix the start-up problem yet?

Is this RX580 just install and use or have a lot of configuration to do?

For new AMD cards you must also do a hardware back-light mod,
the Nvidia cards do not need this so they might be easier for you.

 

[jchang7]

I have seen them on eBay for as around $150 before.
Did you try adding that tape to fix the start-up problem yet?

Yea, I have tried with the tape, but did not work.
I have contacted the seller regarding the missing resistor. Not sure what are my options left. T.T

 

[Nick [D]vB]

You can try soldering the pads together in the white box near Q6

they are connected on my card with R1342 (a zero ohm resistor)

that is probably the last thing to try before returning the card.

 

[jchang7]

You can try soldering the pads together in the white box near Q6

they are connected on my card with R1342 (a zero ohm resistor)

that is probably the last thing to try before returning the card.

Got it. will try that and let you know.
Also, for back light, I reflowed my 6970M while I waited just to save it for emergency,
the backlight does still flickers. Should I just tap the 3.3v from SD card?
Not sure why it still flickers.

 

[Nick [D]vB]

That mod works fine on my iMac with no flicker, do you have the Vsync cable connected? Apple used two different OEM designs for both the PSU & backlight driver board, so maybe you have different ones to mine? Taking 3.3v from the SD cable should fix it, and if you want real brightness control you could also install a $2 PWM module.

 

[jchang7]

That mod works fine on my iMac with no flicker, do you have the Vsync cable connected? Apple used two different OEM designs for both the PSU & backlight driver board, so maybe you have different ones to mine? Taking 3.3v from the SD cable should fix it, and if you want real brightness control you could also install a $2 PWM module.

Didn't know iMAC uses vSync cable. lol. Well, removing Vsync cable did not fix flickering.
tapping R1342 did not work unfortunately. I did buy the PWM module, but did not want to bother since I only need backlight working, no need for control.
I will now desolder the FLASH chip and try returning the card. Maybe I should try to find a WX7100 for good price?

 

[Nick [D]vB]

The vSync pins are not connected on my 2011 iMac, I think that cable is just a temp sensor now? It's sad that bridging the R1342 pads did not fix it, I'm sure that is needed to enable the EEPROM. Maybe the card is really damaged? You could try moving C670 to replace C708 but I think the chance of it working is small. I would start looking for a cheap WX7100, there is one here but it has expensive shipping and it could also be damaged. These RX480 cards for $250 might be another option, but I would need to make a new vbios. I would get a 6970M heat-sink to. If you have the PWM module anyway it really is worth using it because it reduces the temperature a lot, so the GPU can run faster.

 

[jchang7]

The vSync pins are not connected on my 2011 iMac, I think that cable is just a temp sensor now? It's sad that bridging the R1342 pads did not fix it, I'm sure that is needed to enable the EEPROM. Maybe the card is really damaged? You could try moving C670 to replace C708 but I think the chance of it working is small. I would start looking for a cheap WX7100, there is one here but it has expensive shipping and it could also be damaged. These WX7100 cards for $250 are probably a safer option, but I would get a 6970M heat-sink to. If you have the PWM module anyway it really is worth using it because it reduces the temperature a lot, so the GPU can run faster.

What heatsink does WX7100 would use? I think I lost the 6970M heatsink... Do you know where I would be able to buy one?

 

[Joe2019]

Hello, Nick [D] vB My 2011 21.5 imac uses the Dell K2000m, I updated the 2019-005 High Sierra security update. After imac log in system, the screen will start to flicker, normal screen, black screen to switch back and forth.

 

[Nick [D]vB]

...the screen will start to flicker...

Unplug any external displays, and you could try installing the latest Nvidia web-drivers?

What heatsink does WX7100 would use? I think I lost the 6970M heatsink... Do you know where I would be able to buy one?

You can buy the 6970M sinks here, but they are cheaper on eBay.
I just noticed those $250 cards above were really the 4GB RX480.
They might work but I would probably need to make a new vbios.

 

[Roman78]

@Nick [D]vB could i send you the vBios of a K1100M for modification? Or is there already a modified vBios for that?

On one of my iMac i have the K1100M on an other one the GTX 765M and there the modifications work quite well. Great work! Only thing is that the Bootscreen has to be triggered somehow. Mojave works great (i suppose because of the dosdude patcher) but older OS like Sierra and El Cap won't give a Bootscreen, only when i press -ALT- while booting.

Now we only need some software mod for the brightness control.

 

[FlorisVN]

High sierra security update 2019-005 has been released.
Anyone here ? can confirm if this will update or remove the bootrom patch from Nick ??

I personally doubt Apple will release newer bootrom versions for these iMac's, but you never know..

 

[FlorisVN]

@Nick [D]vB could i send you the vBios of a K1100M for modification? Or is there already a modified vBios for that?

On one of my iMac i have the K1100M on an other one the GTX 765M and there the modifications work quite well. Great work! Only thing is that the Bootscreen has to be triggered somehow. Mojave works great (i suppose because of the dosdude patcher) but older OS like Sierra and El Cap won't give a Bootscreen, only when i press -ALT- while booting.

Now we only need some software mod for the brightness control.

the bootscreen has a small delay when it comes on, this is a known issue and has been posted here by Nick in the past.
If you run an SSD for example, most of the times you will have a screen at the end of the bootprocess.

when you start with holding ALT key, usually takes about 4-5 seconds when you see the bootscreen.
This is the delay time..
Also a reboot could sometimes not give a bootscreen at all, doing a shutdown and cold startup will give a EFI bootscreen.

These are some of the known bugs atm, which perhaps could be fixed someday..

 

[Zulus555]

Happened! After three days of suffering, I did it! Thanks Nick! So, I only have Windows 10 installed on the iMac. Seven dumps taken using different programs (CH341A Programmer, AsProgrammer 1.4). But! An attempt to flash these programs, as well as flashrom, did not lead to anything. The same result is an error checking the recorded chip. What I've done:
1. Replaced the USB 3 connector on the USB 2
2. Disconnected all USB devices (except for the mouse and keyboard)
3. Used AsProgrammer 1.4.1 (before that I used 1.4 and the firmware took more than 4 hours).
4. Pushed the clothespin pins so that they are flush with the clothespin.
Everything turned out the first time, the firmware took about 50 minutes. I see the Windows boot screen and I have a boot selection menu. Thanks again to Nick and everyone who did this! You are best!

 

[Nick [D]vB]

@Nick [D]vB ...could i send you the vBios of a K1100M for modification?

Mojave works great (i suppose because of the dosdude patcher)

As I said before, sadly I can not mod these Quadro vBIOS without cards to test with, it is too easy to brick them. Even with a card it will take many hours of testing for each one, I will try and look at them when I get time.

I don't know why Mojave / Catalina are better at keeping the boot-screen, I did not use DosDudes1's patcher for my Mojave install so it is not related to that. I am still looking into an NVRAM var fix for the bootscreen delay.

High sierra security update 2019-005 has been released.
Anyone here ? can confirm if this will update or remove the bootrom patch from Nick ??

I just installed that update and it did not touch my bootrom version, but I have said that before...

Happened! After three days of suffering, I did it! Thanks Nick!
I only have Windows 10 installed on the iMac...
4. Pushed the clothespin pins so that they are flush with the clothespin.

Thanks, I am very glad to hear you got it working in the end!

USB 3 power management can cause problems so use USB 2 instead.
With those cheap clips flashing can be slow or fail if the pins are not all level,
if you have problems you can push them in, being careful not to bend anything.

If you have UEFI Windows on SSD you should install the BootCamp control panel,
after you select the boot drive you will get the instant boot-screen every time,
I would be grateful if you could post a short video of this faster boot time for us?