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

[FlorisVN]

My upgrade to quardo K2100m is done.Lucky i was to get Dell version of k2100m card.Simply installed win 10 before and changed the card.
I used heat gun to get quardos x clamp off to card and pushed out these screw holes with small screw driver and mini hammer.I put heat pads to every memory chip and also power chips.It was plug and play.I didnt have to grind anything.View attachment 896070View attachment 896072View attachment 896073View attachment 896074View attachment 896075View attachment 896076View attachment 896077In Windows i used Nvflash and cmd to flash card.But after flash my screen remains dark.So i waited 15mins.And turned off imac.After switching on and pressed alt key all worked.Now i can run Mojave.
Thank you Nick(D)vB!
Nick(D)vB can you make bios to Mac Pro Videocard also in future?Rx 580 4gbs?View attachment 896070View attachment 896072View attachment 896073View attachment 896074View attachment 896075View attachment 896076View attachment 896077

after flashing an pram/nvram reset is needed/recommended as far as I know.

also keep in mind the vbios is still in beta stage, and the efi bootscreen does have a delay time showing up.
It’s not an instant bootscreen atm, like the original cards..
[automerge]1582702561[/automerge]

Good call - I will comb through and try to link some of the more common ones.



HP cards should be fine with Nick's VBIOS. I've removed the "Dell / Alienware" verbage from the first post (except where applicable) to prevent future confusion.

im not 100% sire every model will work.
Since there are different bios eeprom sizes chips on cards, and also different memory chips used.
Maybe nicks rom for nvidia is working on all of them not sure.

maybe Nick can give us some answers on this one, or perhaps he already did.. ? 🤪

 

[tgaillar]

General Questions
[...]

2009-2011 27” iMac MXM card upgrade Q/A
[...]

Q: Are there any internal modifications needed for an MXM-B swap?
A: There are 2 mods needed to make the MXM B card fit. First you must grind down your heatsink in the area where two large coils sit, this way the card will sit flush with the heatsink. Second, you must drill out or tap out the rivets on Dell’s X-Clamp or grind away Apple’s X-Clamp so no capacitors or components touch the X-Clamp or sit under it. Skipping this step can fry or damage your card.

Q: Are there any internal modifications needed for an MXM-A swap?
A: For an MXM-A swap (the shorter/less power draw cards) there are no modifications that are needed for the heatsink on both the 21.5" and 27" model iMacs. The X-clamp still needs be removed from the back of the card and have the screw posts drilled out in order to fit the heatsink's screws. If you've cleaned your heatsink, be sure to re-apply thermal pads around the GPU VRAM to prevent contact with the bare metal of the heatsink.

2010-2011 iMac 21.5" iMac MXM card upgrade Q/A
[...]

Q: Are there any internal modifications needed for an MXM-A swap?
A: For an MXM-A swap (the shorter/less power draw cards) there are no modifications that are needed for the heatsink on both the 21.5" and 27" model iMacs. The X-clamp still needs be removed from the back of the card and have the screw posts drilled out or tapped out in order to fit the heatsink's screws. If you've cleaned your heatsink, be sure to re-apply thermal pads around the GPU VRAM to prevent contact with the bare metal of the heatsink.

[...]

Guys, there's no need to remove the X-clamp nor to have the "screws" tapped/drilled out!

Just notice:

• the inner-filet of the nut in a MXM card's X-clamp matches an M2 threaded rod (first picture below)
• the captive nuts in the heatsink have a hole in them that's wide enough for M2 (second/third picture below)

Then you'll need (what matters here is the MXM type of the heatsink, not the board!):

• 4 x 10mm M2 bolts for an MXM-A heatsink (pictures below)
• 4 x 15mm M2 bolts for an MXM-B heatsink

And that's it (pictures below are worth a thousand words)!

 

[SKYNET-1]

Guys, there's no need to remove the X-clamp nor to have the "screws" tapped/drilled out!

Just notice:

• the inner-filet of the nut in a MXM card's X-clamp matches an M2 threaded rod (first picture below)
• the captive nuts in the heatsink have a hole in them that's big enough for M2 (second picture below)

Then you'll need:

• 4 x 10mm M2 bolts for an MXM-A heatsink (pictures below)
• 4 x 15mm M2 bolts for an MXM-B heatsink

And that's it (pictures below are worth a thousand words)!
View attachment 896151View attachment 896152View attachment 896153View attachment 896154

urgh... be careful, because without the springs the pressure can be to high n u can crack the DIE of the GPU...

 

[nols]

I have a Late 2009 iMac. Changed the AMD/ATI HD4850 with a Nvidia GTX780m. Had installed Mojave with patcher before and Windows10 on USB-HDD.

the Mojave is booting, but there is black screen all the time. Only with displaysharing I can see, that the imac is running.
When I reboot to USB-HDD out of iMac (because I have no screen by booting with ALT), I have the text on the internal iMac Display: "no bootable device insert boot disk and press any key"

Can I flash the vbios with the mac? Or I have to get a Notebook an flash it with a Windows-Notebook?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I have a Late 2009 iMac. Changed the AMD/ATI HD4850 with a Nvidia GTX780m. Had installed Mojave with patcher before and Windows10 on USB-HDD.

the Mojave is booting, but there is black screen all the time. Only with displaysharing I can see, that the imac is running.
When I reboot to USB-HDD out of iMac (because I have no screen by booting with ALT), I have the text on the internal iMac Display: "no bootable device insert boot disk and press any key"

Can I flash the vbios with the mac? Or I have to get a Notebook an flash it with a Windows-Notebook?

View attachment 896164

Read post #4363 and it's Linux usb stick/sd card flash method to write the vBIOS directly from the iMac. It will use a text mode only and I did it in this way with my 780m.

You can also login in via SSH from another machine to your iMac and enter the commands remotely. All is well documented in this post. You need a USB stick or a SSD card to prepare the bootable device. The image provided for download has the latest published Nvidia vBIOS versions, the latest AMD versions you and others may find one page back...

 

[nols]

Thank you! This works like a charme...Perfekt.
Now I have the internal Monitor is working. But with "ALT" I have no screen to chose the booting HDD.
Now I have to undo the dosdude Mojave Video patch.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Thank you! This works like a charme...Perfekt.
Now I have the internal Monitor is working. But with "ALT" I have no screen to chose the booting HDD.
Now I have to undo the dosdude Mojave Video patch.

Press option (aka alt) while pressing the power button - the vBIOS has still a 5s delay and screen will be black until that. If you do not press the button at the right time you are already through the selection phase....

 

[FlorisVN]

Thank you! This works like a charme...Perfekt.
Now I have the internal Monitor is working. But with "ALT" I have no screen to chose the booting HDD.
Now I have to undo the dosdude Mojave Video patch.

also do pram/nvram reset after bios flash.
And keep in mind bootscreen has a delay time, for a few seconds keep holding that alt button on startup !

best also to use original apple keyboard, and not a windows based keyboard..

 

[nols]

Thanks. Everything works. My old Mojave Install and i did a fresh Mojave Install...but.

After 30 Seconds the iMac reboots. I dont know, maybe the power supply. The temperatures looks good. Under

65 degrees.

 

[nols]

Looks like I managed the instability and kernel panics: deleted GeForce.kext from the hackintosh community, used by hwmonitorsmc

looking good. Only issue is the external monitor. Any ideas?

I have the same problems. You have a solution for me? Which .kext Ihave to change?

 

[FlorisVN]

Thanks. Everything works. My old Mojave Install and i did a fresh Mojave Install...but.

After 30 Seconds the iMac reboots. I dont know, maybe the power supply. The temperatures looks good. Under View attachment 89625765 degrees.

also having these same problems on MacOS High Sierra, and or bootcamp.. ?
I would also advise you to deselect the legacy AMD drivers for your 09 iMac, still using that patch could perhaps give a conflict on your machine with an upgraded nvidia gpu..

 

[kazar]

Hi guys, i'd like to know which is the correct temperature of k2100m.
in my case 21" imac 2011
ambient 18C / 64F
GfxBench Gl Max 66C / 150F
Idle 50-54C / 122-129F

used cool master standard thermal paste + thermal pad Arctic 6W/mK

 

[FlorisVN]

Hi guys, i'd like to know which is the correct temperature of k2100m.
in my case 21" imac 2011
ambient 18C / 64F
GfxBench Gl Max 66C / 150F
Idle 50-54C / 122-129F

used cool master standard thermal paste + thermal pad Arctic 6W/mK

as far as I know, currently it's still not possible to get GPU temperature reading under MacOS atm.
Perhaps this GfxBench software is the first tool which makes it possible to read it under MacOS.. ?

Somebody here can perhaps confirm this.. ?

 

[kazar]

as far as I know, currently it's still not possible to get GPU temperature reading under MacOS atm.
Perhaps this GfxBench software is the first tool which makes it possible to read it under MacOS.. ?

Somebody here can perhaps confirm this.. ?

not gpu die but gpu heatsink with istat

 

[nols]

also having these same problems on MacOS High Sierra, and or bootcamp.. ?
I would also advise you to deselect the legacy AMD drivers for your 09 iMac, still using that patch could perhaps give a conflict on your machine with an upgraded nvidia gpu..

High Sierra installes from USB, 1st reboot and booting to finish the install. Than after 25% blackscreen...nothing more.

Windows 10 install works, Dekstop is shown. Windows 10 says it has to install Graphics driver and then...black screen and nothing more.

 

[SKYNET-1]

Thanks. Everything works. My old Mojave Install and i did a fresh Mojave Install...but.

After 30 Seconds the iMac reboots. I dont know, maybe the power supply. The temperatures looks good. Under 65 degrees.

most ppl where i seen makes always a huge mistake, they put pads and/or thermalgrease on the power chokes, but there nothing is required, but the VRMs really need to be cooled:

green need to be cooled, red NOT!

1 = GPU VRMs(needs to be cooled in every way)
2 = Memory VRMs(only required when u want overclock ur card)

 

[FlorisVN]

most ppl where i seen makes always a huge mistake, they put pads and/or thermalgrease on the power chokes, but there nothing is required, but the VRMs really need to be cooled:

green need to be cooled, red NOT!

1 = GPU VRMs(needs to be cooled in every way)
2 = Memory VRMs(only required when u want overclock ur card)
View attachment 896356

yes, and please everyone use K5 Pro !
See first wiki post for more info.

K5 Pro is the best to put on your card on these places.
see my pictures on this thread, and from others as examples..

 

[tgaillar]

urgh... be careful, because without the springs the pressure can be to high n u can crack the DIE of the GPU...

Look (closer) again: the springs are still there and contact to the PCB is (safely) made the same (but with the screws just going the other way)!

Long story short: it works and it's SAFE!

 

[SKYNET-1]

yes, and please everyone use K5 Pro !
See first wiki post for more info.

K5 Pro is the best to put on your card on these places.
see my pictures on this thread, and from others as examples..

I prefer high performance stuff, not the casual things, best u can get for money is "alphacool eisschicht" for VRMs and Memory ☺

 

[Dextar]

Hello everyone , i have a question about the Quadro K610 Upgrade
Will this card work without the VBIOS mod ?
And is it possible to build the VBIOS mod for this card ?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hello everyone , i have a question about the Quadro K610 Upgrade
Will this card work without the VBIOS mod ?
And is it possible to build the VBIOS mod for this card ?

On the very first post of this thread all "supported" cards listed. A cheap K1100M costs around 30 USD, it will work, and there is a vBIOS available. It took only six years from the first post until the Advent of the incredible work by Nick[D]vB

 

[jowaju]

Here is the sourcecode and an updated version, now it will display the built-in OSD when you press the brightness keys on your apple keyboard.

https://github.com/passatgt/imac-pwm-control (you can download the app from the Releases tab).

View attachment 894309

Very elegant solution, almost looks stock except it doesn't stick when logged out or rebooting. I tested it with an apple keyboard and it worked great. I also used Karabiner Elements to map the brightness keys to F1 and F2 on a generic Dell USB keyboard, which worked perfectly. You can also choose Options - Misc in Karabiner and use the "Copy to the system default configuration" option to make the Up/Down brightness function keys work even when at the login screen, before logging in. This was tested on MacOS Mojave, but appears that it should work with Catalina as well.

 

[passatgt]

Very elegant solution, almost looks stock except it doesn't stick when logged out or rebooting. I tested it with an apple keyboard and it worked great. I also used Karabiner Elements to map the brightness keys to F1 and F2 on a generic Dell USB keyboard, which worked perfectly. You can also choose Options - Misc in Karabiner and use the "Copy to the system default configuration" option to make the Up/Down brightness function keys work even when at the login screen, before logging in. This was tested on MacOS Mojave, but appears that it should work with Catalina as well.

Thanks, i already fixed that issue a couple of days ago, but theres still the old version under the releases tab(but if you build it from source code with xcode, it will work). But i will update the release soon.

 

[bokkow]

Thank you to all contributors to this great thread!

Saw a deal I couldn't pass on, a 27" 2011 i7 with the white screen issue going for €125,-. A steal because working examples go for at least €500,- around here still.

So picked it up, ordered a HP K2100M for €80,- (couldnt find cheaper K1100M's) and while waiting for parts and equipment to arrive I came across another one with even better specs (factory 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD) but different issue (shutsdown at random). So picked that up as well for €120,-. More of a gamble but I figured it most likely to be the PSU being faulty in that one.

Yesterday all parts where in except for a new PSU (first want to troubleshoot that one a bit more) and I started on both machines. I absolutely love the tinkering around with these things so that is an added bonus

Started with swapping out PSU units since that was easy to do and fastest to troubleshoot, but also with the other PSU the second iMac has the same shutdown issues. This needs more investigation but will do that later. Could ofc be that both PSU's are faulty but we'll see, ATH didn't come up with anything even not after the longer test.

So on to the GPU replacement, that went easy, with the biggest issue being drilling out the rivets on the bracket of the replacement K2100M. After that is was smooth sailing especially with the Linux on USB stick SSH-ing flash.

-BREAKING NEWS- (literally)

As I was waiting for the fresh HS install to finish I was typing all the above and what do you know; no image, no bong nothing...

So after a lot (LOT) of troubleshooting and taking the whole thing apart 3-4 times I came to this point:
I broke my replacement K2100M with the card in only diag LED 1 is on and the fans ramp up. Without the card in the first 3 LEDs turn on and a bong sound, old broken card back in; first 3 LEDs and the bong.

This whole process of checking, RAM, CPU seating, PSU swap, multiple GPU swaps took the better part of my evening and made me at that point regret saying "I absolutely love the tinkering" blabla.

I'm hoping it is safe to assume that the replacement card is causing this. Truth be told; I dropped the card and some of the connector pins (the wide ones) were a bit bend but bending them back the card did function for about an hour or so in total. I think that my not so good tightening or overtightening of the bracket screws in combination with 1mm thick thermal pads instead of compound caused quite some stress to the MXM card and caused it to fail at the end. So if you guys are looking for someone that can physically torture GPU's; I'm your man!

So now I'm down 2 GPU's and an iMac of which I'm not completely sure if it is the PSU or something more exotic causing random reboots 😅

Ah well, all good fun.

Tomorrow a fresh free day, let's try swapping over the still functioning HD6970 2GB from the other machine just to have one working unit. And then order a new K2100M / K1100M.

-BREAKING NEWS END-

Anyway, I came here to ask if it would still be wise to invest in a DyingLight mod since there is a lot of chatter about closing in on making the brightness control work from the software side?

Just to make sure; I want to thank everyone who even made this remotely possible consider yourself mentioned by this sentence since I do not want to risk stepping on someone's toes by not being listed haha
Cheers!

 

[NOTNlCE]

Thank you to all contributors to this great thread!

So after a lot (LOT) of troubleshooting and taking the whole thing apart 3-4 times I came to this point:
I broke my replacement K2100M with the card in only diag LED 1 is on and the fans ramp up. Without the card in the first 3 LEDs turn on and a bong sound, old broken card back in; first 3 LEDs and the bong.

I had a LOT of this experience with the K2100M and K1100M greymarket. I very much doubt that you broke the card - 3 out of 5 of the cards I purchased did the same exact thing. One thing to check is that the card isn't being shorted on the heatsink. I usually (before installing the heatsink!) just clip the card in free-hanging and connect power to make sure I get 2 lights.

Anyway, I came here to ask if it would still be wise to invest in a DyingLight mod since there is a lot of chatter about closing in on making the brightness control work from the software side?

Just to make sure; I want to thank everyone who even made this remotely possible consider yourself mentioned by this sentence since I do not want to risk stepping on someone's toes by not being listed haha
Cheers!

Since you went with the K2100M, I would NOT invest in the DyingLight module. A few folks here have brightness control working with OpenCore and we are expecting this to be released very soon™ to all users. Just ironing out the kinks. Hang tight!