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

[z33capt13n]

I've been reading this forum for about an hour now. And I see a lot of toing and froing since 2016 about whether this works but sod it, here we go:

I have me a 2011 27" iMac with a stock Radeon 6970m. Obviously, I want to swap it to one that's not going to crap out because it's a decent computer, more than capable for the design work and light video editing i use it for.

I'm running High Sierra, it's a quad core, 3.4ghz i7 model with 16gb ram.

I've upgraded to an SSD and I should have the right heatsink an MXM-B card without too much of an issue.


I've found a Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M 2GB (that's what it says it is but **** knows what it will actually be) on eBay for not stupid money. I've got a windows laptop (sorry) for flashing the ROM on the card.

I'm not massively bothered about upgrading the OS yet, but I figure I'll use dosdude's method, and OpenCore.

Is this a recipe for disaster? Has anyone had any success with this card? I've obviously had my machine apart before for the SSD swap and have been playing around with, and building windows machines since I was 13 (so over 17 years, yikes) so I'm not a total noob at this.

My real question is should I attempt this or just sell it on eBay to some sucker lucky bidder who wants a high spec old mac but doesn't know about the AMD cards? Is it actually likely to die if it's been going for nearly 10 years and still shows no glitches or artefacts?

 

[NOTNlCE]

Might be the wrong thread, but do you know what chip I need to add to a WX4170 to flash the vBios? I'm looking at an ebay card without the chip but I don't have any fear soldering one on myself. I'm using a late 2009 iMac.

MX25L2005 is coming at most of the AMD cards. if i do a search in this thread.

This has been attempted and it seems there is more missing than just the EEPROM. Several resistors also are needed, and I am not sure it's been pinpointed what exactly is required.

 

[highvoltage12v]

Might be the wrong thread, but do you know what chip I need to add to a WX4170 to flash the vBios? I'm looking at an ebay card without the chip but I don't have any fear soldering one on myself. I'm using a late 2009 iMac.

@Nick [D]vB said there was a resistor network missing along with the EEPROM. Not sure how you would get the values of resistors to solder on.

 

[TIinPA]

This has been attempted and it seems there is more missing than just the EEPROM. Several resistors also are needed, and I am not sure it's been pinpointed what exactly is required.

Makes sense but that it's too bad. The WX7100 is too pricey right now to risk it. Guess I'll just hold out and hope someone figures out the resistors too.

 

[jowaju]

Anytime you clear the NVRAM you lose the startup disk preference. Since your startup disk was the SD card, it no longer boots correctly. Hold down the option key, boot to your OS, and use the startup disk preference pane to choose the SD card. Every time you clear the NVRAM you will need to do this, as it will default back to the Built in Hard Drive for boot. It also creates a 30 second delay while it searches for boot devices, which goes away once you choose a startup disk. Again, this happens EVERY TIME you reset the NVRAM.

Good news. A new SD card and image download and it has started working as it should.
Thanks for patiently helping me thru this.

I spoke too soon. Now it is back to the black screen if I don't press the Option key at the first boot.
I wanted to run the 1.4 Patcher Post Install again so I removed the Core Configuration SD card rebooted and cleared the NVRAM, rebooted again from the 1.4 Patcher and ran the Post Install. Shut down and replaced the Core Configuration SD. Rebooted and now at black screen.
If I boot with Option key pressed and check the Startup disk and Core Configuration settings, they are the same as posted. What am I doing wrong here?

 

[snam11]

I've been reading this forum for about an hour now. And I see a lot of toing and froing since 2016 about whether this works but sod it, here we go:

I have me a 2011 27" iMac with a stock Radeon 6970m. Obviously, I want to swap it to one that's not going to crap out because it's a decent computer, more than capable for the design work and light video editing i use it for.

I'm running High Sierra, it's a quad core, 3.4ghz i7 model with 16gb ram.

I've upgraded to an SSD and I should have the right heatsink an MXM-B card without too much of an issue.


I've found a Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M 2GB (that's what it says it is but **** knows what it will actually be) on eBay for not stupid money. I've got a windows laptop (sorry) for flashing the ROM on the card.

I'm not massively bothered about upgrading the OS yet, but I figure I'll use dosdude's method, and OpenCore.

Is this a recipe for disaster? Has anyone had any success with this card? I've obviously had my machine apart before for the SSD swap and have been playing around with, and building windows machines since I was 13 (so over 17 years, yikes) so I'm not a total noob at this.

My real question is should I attempt this or just sell it on eBay to some sucker lucky bidder who wants a high spec old mac but doesn't know about the AMD cards? Is it actually likely to die if it's been going for nearly 10 years and still shows no glitches or artefacts?

i would go for the upgrade, and for sure this machine can easily manage hd video editing (even 4k, but if you use external disk as master, you could have some issues due to slow transfer rate), and some intensive task.
you will not regret it

 

[RRPC]

i would go for the upgrade, and for sure this machine can easily manage hd video editing (even 4k, but if you use external disk as master, you could have some issues due to slow transfer rate).

Should be no problem. If you edit of a NAS with 1gb switch.
Or better a thunderbolt HDD

 

[z33capt13n]

i would go for the upgrade, and for sure this machine can easily manage hd video editing (even 4k, but if you use external disk as master, you could have some issues due to slow transfer rate), and some intensive task.
you will not regret it

I actually use my internal SSD for boot and external SATA through USB3 as a storage. Not perfect but it works for what I need. Its literally the GPU issue hanging over me. It's just the minefield of finding the correct GPU when you're looking for 10 year old, out of manufacture cards that worries me.

 

[snam11]

Should be no problem. If you edit of a NAS with 1gb switch.
Or better a thunderbolt HDD

thunderbolt is fine, everything slower than usb3 will be a problem (i mean with 4k)

 

[z33capt13n]

thunderbolt is fine, everything slower than usb3 will be a problem (i mean with 4k)

Good, I'm a graphic designer by trade so I use my mac mainly for that. The video editing is for my band so is very much not gonna be 4K

I'll try and find a card that's not labelled a 'replacement' from china though. That's just ASKING for trouble.

 

[ich558]

I flashed a K2100m and installed Catalina today but it shows only 1GB VRAM. Did i miss anything?
Performance seems ok. Half of the 6970m

 

[inck243]

Hi

I paid mine without ram, hdd, keyboard and mouse.... 50€ noticed for parts... I changed the 3.3v battery to repaired it a quite good plan for this config see my signature​

I have gotten them for around $75 USD with dead GPU, but often pay another $40-50 in shipping.

Nice!! There are a few online now that I'm thinking of buying. One is $150 with a failing GPU and the other is $100 with no glass. Thinking about it

 

[RRPC]

Good, I'm a graphic designer by trade so I use my mac mainly for that. The video editing is for my band so is very much not gonna be 4K

I'll try and find a card that's not labelled a 'replacement' from china though. That's just ASKING for trouble.

I'm also want to buy a card from alie. Or eBay. I suspect that probably the cards are comming from the same sources. I just try to find the right one.
I think that the card must be working for Dell.
Because in the past, the Dell Cards, with Dell bios worked
I think that might raises the change that the card work in the imac.

I want to buy a wx7100 card

so for me check marks are,
- compatible for Dell. ( Because I think of the BIOS)
- buyers reviews at the listing.
- someone that have a reliable source.

 

[z33capt13n]

Ali Express yo. There's a LOT of Dell/Alienware ones.

Ebay is full of overpriced Nvidea cards (200gbp+ for a ****** 512mb card) and radeon 'refurbished' replacements.

I saw a listing for one of 900+ Dell XPS/Alienware cards (!) for about £60gbp.

I'll try my luck with one of them next pay day.

I'm also want to buy a card from alie. Or eBay. I suspect that probably the cards are comming from the same sources. I just try to find the right one.
I think that the card must be working for Dell.
Because in the past, the Dell Cards, with Dell bios worked
I think that might raises the change that the card work in the imac.

I want to buy a wx7100 card

so for me check marks are,
- compatible for Dell. ( Because I think of the BIOS)
- buyers reviews at the listing.
- someone that have a reliable source.

 

[TIinPA]

Ali Express yo. There's a LOT of Dell/Alienware ones.

Ebay is full of overpriced Nvidea cards (200gbp+ for a ****** 512mb card) and radeon 'refurbished' replacements.

I saw a listing for one of 900+ Dell XPS/Alienware cards (!) for about £60gbp.

I'll try my luck with one of them next pay day.

Can I get a link to that listing? On the hunt for a good AMD card.

 

[z33capt13n]

Can I get a link to that listing? On the hunt for a good AMD card.

It's AliExpress, so 'good' may be a relative term, and I'm not totally sure this one will work but it's a Nvidia 680GTX : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/330...4.0&pvid=7560889b-d725-441d-b1e7-203ca3e5f106

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Might be the wrong thread, but do you know what chip I need to add to a WX4170 to flash the vBios? I'm looking at an ebay card without the chip but I don't have any fear soldering one on myself. I'm using a late 2009 iMac.

Got this message from the flashrom software when loaded Nick's BIOS on my WX4170:

Found GigaDevice flash chip "GD25Q40(B)" (512 kB, SPI) on ch341a_spi

 

[RRPC]

Got this message from the flashrom software when loaded Nick's BIOS on my WX4170:

Found GigaDevice flash chip "GD25Q40(B)" (512 kB, SPI) on ch341a_spi

were did you get the card.

 

[TimeOrMoney]

After reading enuf posts to make my eyes bleed, I think I am ready to join you all. I bought a K2100M for cheap, and plan to install this and a SSD into a 21.5” 2011 iMac loaded with High Sierra. I would like to only open my computer once, so I’d like to verify my plan to make it as painless as possible. Going off page 1 of this thread(at the time of this writing), this is my plan:

1. Image the SSD in a USB enclosure to the contents of the current hard drive.
2. Using a CH341 programmer, flash the K2100M BIOS to the one linked to on page one of this thread using one of my many Windows computers.
3. Open the iMac; install the SSD and video card.
4. Boot the system. Install an SSD trim program.
5. Run OpenCore to get screen brightness, etc. working.
6. Load Catalina.

I know there are other ways to program the K2100M. But I have never remoted into the Mac before, and am not a Linux guy (nor really a Mac expert). I am a relative expert on Windows. The Linux boot USB sounds like a good way to program it, but I’m a little leary of what I don’t know, and it sounds like one has to keep the computer open because the existing drive has to be disconnected. If I’m wrong about this, please speak up. Flashing via the CH341 sounds easy enough.

I also have questions about the best way to upgrade to Catalina. Is it smarter to load a new copy to the SSD and then use Time Machine to get all the programs and data back, or do as stated above(image the HD, then upgrade).

BTW, thanks to the people here who have scripted and tested.

Wonder if anyone can answer this? Am I on the right track?

 

[RRPC]

Wonder if anyone can answer this? Am I on the right track?

the steps seems right.

but the live USB is not that hard. you need a USB drive. BalenaEtcher.
and a second Computer. or even a Android phone (yes you can do SSH via a app on android)
on a mac. SSH is build in Terminal .
commando at mac is SSH, and than "user@ip of the linux live usb" the right user name and Password is written in the document's.

at windows will be the same. but you need PUTTY. to run the SSH commando.
you can put the PC back together, with SSD connected. but you have to "Blind" pick the USB as boot Device.

if you go this way. try to boot it before you open and swop the GPU. i remember that the credentials also are written on the screen.

and putting the screen back on. is IMHO not so bad on the 2011 imac. but if you feel more comfortable with the clip programmer. sure, like we say in holland "There are more roads / way's that lead to Rome" or "All Roads Lead to Rome" what version you prefer or know. the meaning is the same .

 

[Jforte]

Let me tell you my experience with a second hand imac 27 mid 2011:

I bought this machine regarding some important points that i've found here:
1. A 27 mid 2011 one (not 2010, not 2009) cheap;
2. With the i7 2600 CPU (no need to upgrade it);
3. With a 6970 (mxm-b) card working (this card comes with the bigest and the best gpu heatsink;
4. with a ssd kingston a400 480gb.

I bought a nvidia mxm-b 780m card. Be carefull taking off the x-bracket, use a hair dryer to "unglue" it.
Used a drill to mod the heatskink (i also bought a second one) and the x-bracket to open holes for the screws. Don't use the x-bracket from 6970m (it is to big).
The card didn't work at all, it was from a clevo, but i bought a ch341a programmer with the clip, install drivers and software on a windows pc, flash the bios (kepler beta 3 for 780m). After this the card worked has expected. Sometimes someone will buy a card that doesn't boot, but the vbios is the important key here. Flash it first!
Until someone create another modded vbios, i don't have auto brightness, but i use brightness slider app (the #1 post it is very important ot read, remember).
I also upgrade RAM, with 4 pc3l 12800 (1.35v) crucial 8GB each (32gb total).
I also bought a second ssd (another kingston a400 480gb) a caddy for dual ssd on the hdd space, a cable to connect the second ssd (remember, imac 27 mid 2011 has 3 sata ports, Sata 0 and Sata 1 (6gbps) and sata 2 (3gbps for the superdrive). installed macos catalina (use dosdude1 pach) and now i have a raid 0 system (double sdd speed) with 960GB.
I teardown ALL to clean, to put termal paste on CPU, and thermal paste and thermal pads on GPU.

I now have this spare parts (1 3 copper pipe GPU heatsking; 1 mxm-b 6970m card 1GB GDDR5; 1 nvidia 675mx card 4GB GDDR5 (also metal support and with boot image); 2X 2GB RAM pc3 10600 DDR3.
I'm from Portugal, if someone want some of this parts (i'm selling those) or if someone needs some help from a newbie, pm me. I'm on social isolation with my family, nothing much to do...

Great machine!

 

[TimeOrMoney]

but the live USB is not that hard. you need a USB drive. BalenaEtcher.
and a second Computer. or even a Android phone (yes you can do SSH via a app on android)
on a mac. SSH is build in Terminal .
commando at mac is SSH, and than "user@ip of the linux live usb" the right user name and Password is written in the document's.

at windows will be the same. but you need PUTTY. to run the SSH commando.
you can put the PC back together, with SSD connected. but you have to "Blind" pick the USB as boot Device.

Thank you for your considered response. I do have a recent iPad. I suppose I could download Terminus or some other SSH Program. I don’t understand “blind pick”, however. Would I scroll down, then enter? Only macOS loaded now.

if you go this way. try to boot it before you open and swop the GPU. i remember that the credentials also are written on the screen.

and putting the screen back on. is IMHO not so bad on the 2011 imac. but if you feel more comfortable with the clip programmer. sure, like we say in holland "There are more roads / way's that lead to Rome" or "All Roads Lead to Rome" what version you prefer or know. the meaning is the same .

My best friend from work many years ago was from the Netherlands. One of his jobs while here in the US was as an editor in our marketing department, if you can believe that. Gave me a good appreciation for Dutch language skills; they are better at multiple languages than any other country, IMHO.

 

[jonwatso]

It's currently 1:30am Eastern time for me, but i'll answer this. Right click in Config.plist and "Open with" Open Core Configurator. Then click the enable checkbox for 2011 iMac. click File>Save before closing.

Also make sure you are working from the Actual SD card/flash drive and not the disk image that could still be mounted.

Ah! that makes much more sense. Thanks for that Windows 10 is now running with audio. Still haven't had any luck with installing Catalina, even with the boot loader. Will attempt again in the not so distant future, but can confirm this working great with windows 10.

 

[TimeOrMoney]

Let me tell you my experience with a second hand imac 27 mid 2011:
.....
Great machine!

Sounds like a winner!

 

[nekton1]

Thank you—that's logical BUT this morning it is back to booting to list of boot disks (attachment)

after about 6 seconds and to Finder after another 6 seconds after selecting boot disk.
I have done NOTHING between shutting down last night (when reboots were taking as long as 60 seconds from RAM post to appearance of boot disk icons) and restarting this morning.
I've no rational explanation.
The ONLY difference between last night and this morning is temperature. Last night after runing all day, the iMac was hot (HW Monitor on the Catalina Loader showed temps of 45° to 50°C on many dies and 70°C on the GPU die—have to do something about that with some heatsink adjustments). After 12 hours off, everything is in the 30°C range; could this be causing the different times in appearance of above screen?

Anytime you clear the NVRAM you lose the startup disk preference. Since your startup disk was the SD card, it no longer boots correctly. Hold down the option key, boot to your OS, and use the startup disk preference pane to choose the SD card. Every time you clear the NVRAM you will need to do this, as it will default back to the Built in Hard Drive for boot. It also creates a 30 second delay while it searches for boot devices, which goes away once you choose a startup disk. Again, this happens EVERY TIME you reset the NVRAM.