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

[xanderon]

soo guys, I'm also back with my (now) main machine iMac 27" 2011 with upgraded: everything.
ram, Nvidia 770m nicks bios, ssd+hdd=fusion, max CPU, Bcm94360cd WiFi + BT card, so basically everything.

but now I'm unhappy :/

my temps are awful. not only for the GPU but for the whole system. the iMac is untouchable. is there anything I can do except controlling the fans by Macs fan control and deal with loudness by the fans?

right now I have to use an active corner to get only the screen to sleep, so that the machine can do stuff and now melt away.

hope @Nick [D]vB and others can get 770m to work with core boot. I think its only because the display runs 100% or?

greetings to the community, keep it up.

 

[highvoltage12v]

soo guys, I'm also back with my (now) main machine iMac 27" 2011 with upgraded: everything.
ram, Nvidia 770m nicks bios, ssd+hdd=fusion, max CPU, Bcm94360cd WiFi + BT card, so basically everything.

but now I'm unhappy :/

my temps are awful. not only for the GPU but for the whole system. the iMac is untouchable. is there anything I can do except controlling the fans by Macs fan control and deal with loudness by the fans?

right now I have to use an active corner to get only the screen to sleep, so that the machine can do stuff and now melt away.

hope @Nick [D]vB and others can get 770m to work with core boot. I think its only because the display runs 100% or?

greetings to the community, keep it up.

Honestly, I can tell you a lot of the heat comes from the display backlight being at 100%. The correct answer would be to tell you to buy a dying light module to slightly dim the display a bit, but everything is so uncertain right now. I know exactly how hot/noisy the iMac is as I have the exact same config. But my dying-light module does help the situation.

A lot of the noise comes from the small HDD fan you can lower that one a bit to help.


Here is a kext which can help MXM powemangement. "AGPMInjector" will add your iMac's board ID and your 770M device ID (11E0) to AppleGraphicsPowerManagement which in theory should help your card idle and boost properly, please try it and let me know. I'm trying this kext literally right now as I type this.

 

[periergos]

is there any plan/ chance to make native brightness work for k2000m card?
[automerge]1588110407[/automerge]

Honestly, I can tell you a lot of the heat comes from the display backlight being at 100%. The correct answer would be to tell you to buy a dying light module to slightly dim the display a bit, but everything is so uncertain right now. I know exactly how hot/noisy the iMac is as I have the exact same config. But my dying-light module does help the situation.

A lot of the noise comes from the small HDD fan you can lower that one a bit to help.

I see that you also use K2000m with your mid2010 21.5" imac do you find it getting hot? are you using this dying light module that you mentioned?

 

[highvoltage12v]

is there any plan/ chance to make native brightness work for k2000m card?
[automerge]1588110407[/automerge]

I see that you also use K2000m with your mid2010 21.5" imac do you find it getting hot? are you using this dying light module that you mentioned?

Uh, no not currently using the k2000m,
I've been playing 'musical chairs' with my MXM cards. my k2100m came out of my 2011 21.5" and went into my 2010 21.5" and my 21.5" iMac now has a 765M in it. I won't update my profile to reflect this as I don't want anyone to have the burden of an MXM-B card in a 21.5" iMac. With a k2100m on full brightness it does get quite warm, but if you look at temp stats it's always "power-Heatsink 1" that runs the warmest often hitting 65C-74C, also I live in a warm climate its often 76F (24.5C) inside/ambient.

 

[periergos]

Uh no not currently,
I've been playing 'musical chairs' with my MXM cards. my k2100m came out of my 2011 21.5" and went into my 2010 21.5" and my 21.5" iMac now has a 765M in it. I won't update my profile to reflect this as I don't want anyone to have the burden of an MXM-B card in a 21.5" iMac. With a k2100m on full brightness it does get quite warm, but if you look at temp stats it's always "power-Heatsink 1" that runs the warmest often hitting 65C-74C, also I live in a warm climate its often 76F (24.5C) inside/ambient.

how about the lcd temp?

 

[rodolfo.araujo]

After upgrading to K2100m and Catalina, I checked the HWMonitor and was a little surprised to see the 129ºC for the GPU Proximity. Touching the back of the iMac doesn't feel hot whatsoever. Anything to worry about?

 

[nathansz]

After upgrading to K2100m and Catalina, I checked the HWMonitor and was a little surprised to see the 129ºC for the GPU Proximity. Touching the back of the iMac doesn't feel hot whatsoever. Anything to worry about?

View attachment 910299

I'll defer to wiser folks
but I'd guess that's just the default number the software reports if it has no reading

 

[periergos]

After upgrading to K2100m and Catalina, I checked the HWMonitor and was a little surprised to see the 129ºC for the GPU Proximity. Touching the back of the iMac doesn't feel hot whatsoever. Anything to worry about?

View attachment 910299

can you post the results of macs fan control as well? you are using the 27 or 21 imac?
[automerge]1588119224[/automerge]
what bothers me while using the k2000m in my imac 21 mid2010 is the lcd temp which is constant 46-50 celcius... has anyone else notice that kind of temp in the lcd (while casual usage)?

 

[nathansz]

what bothers me while using the k2000m in my imac 21 mid2010 is the lcd temp which is constant 46-50 celcius... has anyone else notice that kind of temp in the lcd (while casual usage)?

do you have brightness control with that card?

my lcd proximity stays even a bit hotter than that if I leave fans system controlled. but I assume it's just because brightness is full so I just have to accept it. either let it be hot or turn the fans up

 

[periergos]

do you have brightness control with that card?

my lcd proximity stays even a bit hotter than that if I leave fans system controlled. but I assume it's just because brightness is full so I just have to accept it. either let it be hot or turn the fans up

well if it doesnt kill over time the lcd i am fine with that temp... Unfortunately my k2000m doesnt have brightness control... because when i bought it there was not in the schedule even for the now supported k1100 and k2100!

 

[Ausdauersportler]

After upgrading to K2100m and Catalina, I checked the HWMonitor and was a little surprised to see the 129ºC for the GPU Proximity. Touching the back of the iMac doesn't feel hot whatsoever. Anything to worry about?

You see here probably only the initial value of variable set by the program. There is no sensor available or readable so no new values. This is a guess...
I see the same artefact...

 

[NOTNlCE]

After upgrading to K2100m and Catalina, I checked the HWMonitor and was a little surprised to see the 129ºC for the GPU Proximity. Touching the back of the iMac doesn't feel hot whatsoever. Anything to worry about?

No - this is expected behavior as 129º is the default for an unmeasurable sensor, so nothing to panic about if you are concerned something is melting. Does it report differently in any other OS? It may be that the sensor cable is unplugged on the GPU heatsink.

 

[xanderon]

@highvoltage12v i installed the "AGPMInjector" kext. how can I monitor the power consumption for my card 770? thanks

 

[highvoltage12v]

@highvoltage12v i installed the "AGPMInjector" kext. how can I monitor the power consumption for my card 770? thanks

You can download OpenCore take all the FakeSMC/temp kexts and install them to S/L/E.
Just know when it comes time (if ever) to use OpenCore, these kexts would need to be removed as they would be redundant.

WARNING: This OpenCore copy of "FakeSMC" kext has been modified by Nick to be stripped of any actual Hackintosh purposes making it safe for real Mac Use, it's main purpose now is to give readings for the GPU-DIE and CPU temps.
Please do not ever confuse it with a copy of "FakeSMC" used for hackintoshing, as this could actually damage your iMac's EFI ROM.

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

use HWMonitor included in the OpenCore image to monitor temps. It also has the wattage consumption at the bottom.

Always make sure you have a backup copy of your Mac's EFI-ROM using ROMtool ROMTool.zip pwd underlined. (works best with 10.13)

 

[overshoot]

You can download OpenCore take all the FakeSMC/temp kexts and install them to S/L/E.
Just know when it comes time (if ever) to use OpenCore, these kexts would need to be removed as they would be redundant.

WARNING: This OpenCore copy of "FakeSMC" kext has been modified by Nick to be stripped of any actual Hackintosh purposes making it safe for real Mac Use, it's main purpose now is to give readings for the GPU-DIE and CPU temps.
Please do not ever confuse it with a copy of "FakeSMC" used for hackintoshing, as this could actually damage your iMac's EFI ROM.

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

use HWMonitor included in the OpenCore image to monitor temps. It also has the wattage consumption at the bottom.

Always make sure you have a backup copy of your Mac's EFI-ROM using ROMtool ROMTool.zip pwd underlined. (works best with 10.13)

Sorry I am getting confused...
Are you saying that we can get backlight control to work if we install OpenCore with our NVidia GTX7XX series?

If so, I am really happy to become a tester as well.
My iMac is also burning hot and I have to turn the fans full speed at some time to cool it down.

Please let me know.
I am an advanced Mac user so pretty confortable with Kext installation and command line.

 

[xanderon]

no its not working yet, its just a kext to power manage the 770w and the open core stuff is to monitor the GPU and see if its working. @highvoltage12v I don't have 10.13 so the ROMtool is not working on my 10.15.4 right now.

any other way to extract and safe the EFI rom for all Time as a backup before I start to fiddle with opencore or the kext

 

[atomizasser]

Honestly, I can tell you a lot of the heat comes from the display backlight being at 100%. The correct answer would be to tell you to buy a dying light module to slightly dim the display a bit, but everything is so uncertain right now. I know exactly how hot/noisy the iMac is as I have the exact same config. But my dying-light module does help the situation.

A lot of the noise comes from the small HDD fan you can lower that one a bit to help.


Here is a kext which can help MXM powemangement. "AGPMInjector" will add your iMac's board ID and your 770M device ID (11E0) to AppleGraphicsPowerManagement which in theory should help your card idle and boost properly, please try it and let me know. I'm trying this kext literally right now as I type this.

Sounds interesting. Would be possible adapt to and Imac 27 2010 and GTX765? Or could you tell me which file to edit to add mi Board's ID?
Thanks!

 

[xanderon]

photos doing import and metal stuff on my gpu and I think the iMac will not survive this

 

[overshoot]

no its not working yet, its just a kext to power manage the 770w and the open core stuff is to monitor the GPU and see if its working. @highvoltage12v I don't have 10.13 so the ROMtool is not working on my 10.15.4 right now.

What's the AppleBackLightFixUp kext for then? AMD cards?

 

[jborko]

Good morning all - I have made several updates to the WikiPost for more clarification. @jborko has taken the time to make a chart, as many have requested, which will be added to the first post once it is complete.

While the AMD cards are scarce, they are by far the most compelling option for many people. I've tried to rework the language on the page to less-alienate them, since they are now working well.

We are also trying to aggregate UNIGINE VALLEY scores across different GPUs. Many users want to know performance numbers in order to make an informed decision. In order to keep the thread clean, please fill out this Google Form to the best of your ability. Please run the benchmark at 1080P MEDIUM for standardization.

Hope this is helpful - stay safe.

-N

@NOTNICE Perhaps we can put the link to the form on the 1st post? I wanted to add a result today, so I had to search it... It will be easier for the new implementers to use it to post their results.

 

[NOTNlCE]

@NOTNICE Perhaps we can put the link to the form on the 1st post? I wanted to add a result today, so I had to search it... It will be easier for the new implementers to use it to post their results.

I put it at the very top of the page, in small text, when I posted the form. Perhaps I should make it bigger? I didn't want to obscure the Wiki with the form link.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

What's the AppleBackLightFixUp kext for then? AMD cards?

No, there is currently no new vBIOS available and everything depends on @Nick [D]vB. There is no OpenCore support to get backlight control with Kepler 7xx cards available. The post #1 is up to date.

Open the OC configurator and read the comment coming this the kext in the KERNEL section.

 

[overshoot]

No, there is currently no new vBIOS available and everything depends on @Nick [D]vB. There is no OpenCore support to get backlight control with Kepler 7xx cards available. The post #1 is up to date.

Open the OC configurator and read the comment coming this the kext in the KERNEL section.

Alright. Thanks for the info.

 

[highvoltage12v]

Sounds interesting. Would be possible adapt to and Imac 27 2010 and GTX765? Or could you tell me which file to edit to add mi Board's ID?
Thanks!

You can download that kext added above for @xanderon , open the info.plist with textedit. Go to the Graphics section of System Profiler. Find your device ID and use the 4 digits after "0X" so "0x0fd5" would be "0FD5" then change the iMac12,2 to whatever model iMac you have.

The original developer/kext is here:https://github.com/Pavo-IM/AGPMInjector/releases however they don't have any mobile GPU's in their list, so we have to manually add them.

 

[sparky720John]

in the opencore.dmg file is a readme file. in doc's that is included in side the DMG
the only thing you have to do is
flash the dmg to a SD card.
show hidden files (Shift+CMD+.) will show you the hidden file's.
follow the instructions you'r see in the read me file.
after that you should be oke with OpenCore.


About flashing the bios to the Card.
you have 2 option's

1. install windows 7. as windows 10 will not work native or you want to struggle with the partition stuff like i did. and mod bootcamp to make a USB drive.
and remote acces via teamviewer. or native windows remote acces.

2. second option is to buy the clip programmer. and install the bios via the CH340 clip programmer. you can buy this via alie. for a few euro.
and flash this via a windows program. or you are flashing your card via the mac terminal with a add-on to the Terminal.
and a few commando's
and then put your AMD Radeon PRO wx7100 in the imac. and boot via the opencore.
ill go that way. i gong to flash the bios via my 2011 imac. and then going to insert the WX7100.

if you want to go this way as well i followed this video to get it

it not so hard to find out how to flash. and also don't forget to make a back-up of original bios.

I have a Misunderstanding are your saying in point 1 to install windows 7 on bootcamp partition or make bootcamp windows 7 install on an external?

If I take my current 2011 install and am preparing it before the card arrives,

its running Sierra, I will upgrade to high Sierra, create bootcamp partition and install windows 7

then load TeamViewer on windows side, or just install win7 and have computer boot into 7 download and install the AMD/ATi flash tool and acquire the vbios tools from open core to flash from windows?

kind of lost on that now, if you could help a moment, I won't be doing the clip programmer as I don't have the parts for that, it may seem easier but hmmmmm not even sure which routes better.

any advice is helpful

thanks a million.