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

[Jforte]

I have a second iMac 27 inch mid 2011 (no graphic card, no CPU, no RAM, no discs) to restore.
It's for a coledge student, who have nome...
I'll use some parts that i have (like CPU and RAM), and a graphic card from you...
Kids with low resources will suffer the consequences on their studies because this confinement.
I get a "piece of scrap" working again, instead of getting it to trash, and help somebody's future...

 

[Nick [D]vB]

That is very generous of you, I hope their "studies" go well and they can support themself in these difficult times.

Best of luck with it...

 

[MoreWillFollow]

Do 2GB GTX 765M more powerful than 1GB HD6970M?
The main question is it worth to install 765M in terms of performans?

Specs shows that HD is more powerful, as I understood. Some benchmark websites shows that GTX is like +60% better, others shows that HD is 30% better.

 

[nathansz]

Do 2GB GTX 765M more powerful than 1GB HD6970M?
The main question is it worth to install 765M in terms of performans?

Specs shows that HD is more powerful, as I understood. Some benchmark websites shows that GTX is like +60% better, others shows that HD is 30% better.

in this post were my benchmarks for 770m vs 6970. not sure how 765 compares

2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

want to thank everyone for all of the work that has made this possible just finished successful instal and flash of gtx 770m bought from DES global trading on ali included benchmark comparison with the original 2GB 6970 EDIT: added refind screenshot in case anyone else is wondering it works

forums.macrumors.com

 

[highvoltage12v]

Do 2GB GTX 765M more powerful than 1GB HD6970M?
The main question is it worth to install 765M in terms of performans?

Specs shows that HD is more powerful, as I understood. Some benchmark websites shows that GTX is like +60% better, others shows that HD is 30% better.

in this post were my benchmarks for 770m vs 6970. not sure how 765 compares

2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

want to thank everyone for all of the work that has made this possible just finished successful instal and flash of gtx 770m bought from DES global trading on ali included benchmark comparison with the original 2GB 6970 EDIT: added refind screenshot in case anyone else is wondering it works

forums.macrumors.com

Here is a benchmark of my 765M installed inside a 2011 21.5" 2600S iMac. The score is decent at 1521 which when compared to a k2100m (lets use @snam11 score on page 219) at SCORE:1247 is a decent step up from the k2100m. realistically we cannot compare this benchmark to @nathansz valley benchmark as they are using a 27" 1440p resolution and have their benchmark set to ultra.

What I'll do now is a heaven benchmark comparing my 765m to the 770m as I still have screenshots for them. As you can see there is a considerable difference in heaven benchmarks between the 765m and 770m, and this is with the same iMac with the MXM card swapped a few months later.

I also benchmarked my k2100m which is installed in a 2011 i5-2500S 21.5" iMac. It scored a respectable 316 in heaven, it would probably be closer to @snam11 iMac Score: 326, if mine had a 2600S installed.

BTW @Nick [D]vB this has been the most solid performing/stable my 21.5" iMac has even been OC+iMac Pro board-ID+PowerTimeoutKernelPanic+modified HD3000 board-ID (Mac-7BA5B2D9E42DDD94) has completely stopped this iMac from randomly kernel Panicking with an MXM-B card.

 

[cbosdell]

Sorry if this is obvious but to confirm: for the latest iMac OpenCore Loader.dmg patch to run the usb/SD card must stay inserted into the iMac permanently as it is needed for the boot process? Just making sure before I order a new small USB drive for that purpose. Thanks.

 

[highvoltage12v]

Sorry if this is obvious but to confirm: for the latest iMac OpenCore Loader.dmg patch to run the usb/SD card must stay inserted into the iMac permanently as it is needed for the boot process? Just making sure before I order a new small USB drive for that purpose. Thanks.

Yes, you can order an SD card to keep all your USB ports free.

 

[B0gdan]

First off all big thanks to everyone who is involved in this project. I will be honest I read some pages but not, but based on the first and last 50 pages. I've gathered confidence to go ahead and give the upgrade a go. Thinking about WX 7100. I do want to ask one question related to this card. Sorry maybe it was already answered in clear, but I missed it or didn't get it. When upgrading to WX 7100, my understanding is that all the features functions as expected, or is there something that is required hardware mod? Example native brightness controlling. Hate to be that guy, but honestly I used google and searched past 50 pages, did I missed this info.

 

[kral84]

..... opt out using the menu of the patcher software from the automated post install of recommended patches.

How can i do that ? I have make an new stick with thr patcher and reinstall the os , without legancy check but after finish and reboot.it was checked....

 

[overshoot]

Hi guys,

I am going back and forth to this post to see if there are any improvements made regarding software backlight control on the GTX7XX series. We're not there yet from what I could read.
However I am seeing more posts on this OpenCore and I am wondering if there would be any benefits using it on my 27" 2011 iMac with a GTX765?
From what HighVoltage is saying, I would have to do a mod to avoid KP so that seems like a downside.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

From what HighVoltage is saying, I would have to do a mod to avoid KP so that seems like a downside.

This was a 675 installed in the 21“ model having kernel panics due to power limitaction, you are mixing things up here. The 7xx series runs fine in a 27“ model.
And no, currently no backlight control - you would find this in post 1 shortly after publication. it looks to me only @Nick [D]vB is working on new vBIOS versions, this should be easy to track for everybody here.

 

[Marsupio]

Hi,

in order to install Catalina do we really need to use Dosdude or everything could be done with OpenCore ONLY (and enabling also Catalina automatic updates BTW) ?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hi,

in order to install Catalina do we really need to use Dosdude or everything could be done with OpenCore ONLY (and enabling also Catalina automatic updates BTW) ?

You have to use the dosdude patcher.
[automerge]1586682058[/automerge]

How can i do that ? I have make an new stick with thr patcher and reinstall the os , without legancy check but after finish and reboot.it was checked....

Hey, you installed the dosdude video patches - remake a usb stick and disable auto patching in the options menu of the patcher, reinstall the OS, and add patches later deselecting the video patch. All this could be read on the first page, sorry.

 

[kral84]

@Ausdauersportler you are my hero !!! thank you happy eastern

Installing macOS Catalina
The process for Catalina is similar to Mojave, above. Similarly to Mojave, you could preinstall Mojave before changing your GPU. Use dosdude1's Catalina patcher to do the install: http://dosdude1.com/catalina/
Important: Post-install patching has changed since Mojave. Patching is now automated if your SMBIOS is detected to be an unsupported machine. Currently, only the 2011 iMacs have the "Legacy Video Card Patch" disabled by default. You will want to avoid this patch (since you will using a new, compatible metal graphics card) and will need to modify a plist file if you are using a 2009/2010 iMac with a Metal compatible video card. While building the patcher, you can go to the "Options" menu and de-select "Auto-Apply Post-Install Patches" to avoid this. See next question to manually fix this issue.

****

 

[Marsupio]

Hi,

in order to install Catalina do we really need to use Dosdude or everything could be done with OpenCore ONLY (and enabling also Catalina automatic updates BTW) ?

Ok Dosdude mandatory so. Would OpenCore however allow Catalina automatic updates ?

 

[overshoot]

This was a 675 installed in the 21“ model having kernel panics due to power limitaction, you are mixing things up here. The 7xx series runs fine in a 27“ model.
And no, currently no backlight control - you would find this in post 1 shortly after publication. it looks to me only @Nick [D]vB is working on new vBIOS versions, this should be easy to track for everybody here.

Alright, noted.
Though what about my question regarding OpenCore?! Shall I install it or it won't make any difference? That's what is confusing the most for me for now.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Alright, noted.
Though what about my question regarding OpenCore?! Shall I install it or it won't make any difference? That's what is confusing the most for me for now.

Currently only the K2100M, the K1100M and the AMD 41x0 and 7100 need OpenCore - @highvoltage12v was using it just to address his stability issues - a completely different story.
I tried the original Apple boot image myself assuming OpenCore would allow this, but this version seems to be stripped down to make the GPU work, only.
[automerge]1586685410[/automerge]

Ok Dosdude mandatory so. Would OpenCore however allow Catalina automatic updates ?

It will be a dosdude installation with all benefits and features of it. Did not spend any time in exploring additional features or even trying to combine both OC versions to get what you are asking for. Feel free to check this on your own and share the results

 

[overshoot]

Currently only the K2100M, the K1100M and the AMD 41x0 and 7100 need OpenCore - @highvoltage12v was using it just to address his stability issues - a completely different story.
I tried the original Apple boot image myself assuming OpenCore would allow this, but this version seems to be stripped down to make the GPU work, only.

Thanks!

 

[Pascal Baillargeau]

First off all big thanks to everyone who is involved in this project. I will be honest I read some pages but not, but based on the first and last 50 pages. I've gathered confidence to go ahead and give the upgrade a go. Thinking about WX 7100. I do want to ask one question related to this card. Sorry maybe it was already answered in clear, but I missed it or didn't get it. When upgrading to WX 7100, my understanding is that all the features functions as expected, or is there something that is required hardware mod? Example native brightness controlling. Hate to be that guy, but honestly I used google and searched past 50 pages, did I missed this info.

Using Opencore + WX7100 with latest vbios from Nick [D]vB , there is no more need for hardware mod, you have native brightness and bootscreen.
Opencore is mandatory to have display with this bios. So having hardware mod in place for installation is a good idea.
I have a hardware bootscreen mod (DosDude kit) in my iMac, disconnected for now, but i can reconnect it (opening iMac case) in case of problems with Opencore (misconfiguration) resulting in black screen.
I have too Teamviewer installed and Catalina automatic session triggered, in case i need to work from another computer.
The last thing to resolve, for me, is the existence of some stuttering graphics in (some) games with WX7100. This problem do not exists at all with GTX780M. Except that, everything works well. Sleep/wake, hardware encoding/decoding h264/hevc, sound in windows10 UEFI (via DSDT in Opencore).

2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

No, you won't get a picture on the stock vBIOS without a back-light mod, AMD users should flash the GOP vBIOS attached, you can do it from windows. Then use OpenCore to get boot-screen and brightness control with no other mods! https://www.techpowerup.com/download/ati-atiflash/ Download...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[kral84]

@Ausdauersportler you are my hero !!! thank you happy eastern



****

i have install the os without autopatcher ... after reboot i go to the patcher and patch it for imac 12.2 without legancy .... after reboot i look into the patcher , this say legancy driver installed any one an idea?? @dosdude1 any idea?

 

[tobee1k]

so guys, I have a little gift for you to give back after such an incredible thread
hope you like it, the headaches to get it running were immens for me as a newb.

I couldn't stand it to use fckin windows to flash the cards and so I prepared this ~350mb drive

I created a Linux Live USB (based on grml.org) Thumb Drive with nvflash_linux and Nicks Bioses preloaded. and its booting by itself so you can work blind with a new unpatched nvidia card plugged in. Also, its starting a ssh daemon and using DHCP to get an IP so you can remote login

Steps

Download
14 days left to download, uploaded here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/cztz4xqj2sru9gj/2011_imac_usb.zip/file

mirror by NOTNICE, thnx: https://cloud.notnlce.com/index.php/s/xkJP34GD6a9WziE/download


Prepare USB Drive or SD Card
so, you take a small usb thumb drive, partition it with disk utility on a Mac: GPT + FAT32
and just unzip the files structure onto the drive, no dd or etcher or something. just copy paste it. folder structure see attached screenshot. (you can remove the .roms I downloaded and download itself if you want to be sure about the correct file size. I did not verify them at all. use/flash at your own risk please)

Test & Try
test your thumb drive with a more or less working GPU/ external Screen or just have faith in me

Swap Hardware
swap your GPU to NVIDIA and (!) disconnect every SSD/HDD, makes it easier to boot blindly from one USB or SD Card, connect the ETH Cable (!)

Find IP
let the iMac boot, everything is black, the boot loader is waiting 20s before booting, so give the whole process 1min time, then head over to your Router Page and find the right IP that the iMac got through DHCP

SSH to the iMac
now fire up your terminal on a Win/Mac/Linux Machine of your choice and ssh to your iMac with
ssh root@YOURIP
Password: flash
Confirm the ssh id with yes and you should be in your iMac

Working Directory
cd /lib/live/mount/medium/flash

read the RADME in there… I will enjoy my brand new k2000m in my 27" 2011 iMac with Catalina 10.15.3
… and because this is so easy, I rebuild it to a K1100M and flashed that also

(someone could write some fancy scripts but I thought its saver that everyone is doing it command by command and don't stop thinking and trusting some scripts)

OK so I followed the instructions in the readme file - all fine until I get to step 6 when I get the first attached screenshot. I tried step 7 to verify and got the second screenshot.

Am I right in thinking that the K2000m I was sold is in fact something else - looking at the GF106 chip that’s listed in the verify readout, it looks like that was on a 2013 GeForce 700m. Would this maybe explain why I’m getting no display at all and no joy with flashing.

Thanks

 

[NOTNlCE]

Am I right in thinking that the K2000m I was sold is in fact something else

Thanks

It appears so - that card is a Quadro 2000M, not a K2000M, a Fermi card, not Kepler. That's why you can't flash. NVFlash does identify the card correctly, I would contact your seller and file a complaint if the listing you bought was supposed to be for a K2000M.

 

[ZenSurfeur]

It appears so - that card is a Quadro 2000M, not a K2000M, a Fermi card, not Kepler. That's why you can't flash. NVFlash does identify the card correctly, I would contact your seller and file a complaint if the listing you bought was supposed to be for a K2000M.

This is right, you must be carefull when you buy this kind of graphic card and don't make the mistake between Quadro 2000M and Quadro K2000M sometimes Letter does matter ! K means Keppler this is what you need
Verify K1000M, K1100M, K2000M or K2100M

 

[kral84]

The differents off keppler cards and fermi... Look at the front side ther must have chips (green) !!!!

no guarantee how it looks fake but you can see it from the chips.and the white labels with qr codes...

 

[tobee1k]

Thanks guys. It was an eBay purchase and was listed as K2000m, I’ll have to look out for another one, at least I know what to look for now