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

[Curtis Gross]

r6mile - I have always found it easier to remove the new xbracket and use the old bracket on my replacement video card. Just be aware that it doesn't put too much pressure on any of the resistors (do a test fitment) and sand away any areas that might be on top of a resistor. Seems easier than trying to get new hardware? Although new hardware works too.. different strokes!
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Short question about: which cpu to choose.

I have have:
2700k
E3 1270
E3 1280
E3 1290

I see on ark intel they all would fit in the socket and have the same TDP as the Processor himself. I saw some articles where they could insert an e3 1270 but basically would the 1280/1290 also fit no?

I would like to order then the 1290 at first hand to try this out the 4 GHz would be a bit of a boost.

Do I run in thermal issues ? I guess no ?

Kind regards,

Fourk - Please keep us updated. The only information I have had about the 2700k upgrade is that it worked in some versions of Mac OS, but I haven't seen it used in any of the newer editions. Would be cool if the higher TDP chips don't run into issues!

 

[r6mile]

Thanks, I should be able to try the longer screws tomorrow though. Assuming this is works, hopefully I won't need to sand anything. I'd rather just get new screws than risk messing something else up!

 

[Ausdauersportler]

hi nick

can you make a nvidia imac vbios for a Nvidia G-force GT 240M 1GB N10P-GS-A2

Wrong thread! This is a card used in older iMacs.

 

[Vego17]

if i don't get mine working, maybe i'll need to send your friend mine to test as well, then i can rule out it being a dud card, or my iMac

look forward to hearing your results

So it took a little bit longer that i promised, but the dell starts with the GPU. That said I wanted to test if anything else works on gpu, but when i tried to flash back the vBIOS from GOP to the original one I couldn't do it. For some reason EVERY time I'm trying to clip the chip the programmer disconnects from the PC, when i take off the clip it turns on again, anyone have any idea how to fix it? It looks like the programmer is lacking power to run or something, same thing happens on other laptop even when i first clip the chip then connect programmer to the usb.

 

[roscho]

Hi!

We were observing the same lock to the base core frequency of our WX7100 and WX4170 after system sleep. We could solve the problem by adding this two lines to the OC->DeviceProperties section (in fact only the first one is probably needed).

Adding this two lines brought me the same valley performance before and after sleep, only limited by the vBIOS settings.

Key*	Value	Type
PP,PP_EnableLoadFalconSmcFirmware	1	NUMBER
PP,PP_WorkLoadPolicyMask	4	NUMBER

The same goal can be achieved by adding the attached extension to the OC->Kernel section and reboot, too.

The extension was boiled down by @Pascal Baillargeau from the original RadeonBoost...

Hope this helps with your "slow" but working WX7100 (using the WX7100_GOP.ROM, I guess).

PS:
I managed once you "pulling SD card disaster" just by replugging and and pressing both alt/option + T on boot. For unknown reasons the system began to search all external attached boot devices and booted finally from the only available SD card. The same works with USB devices, managed to boot off my Linux flash stick that way.

Maybe somebody could confirm this option T thing??

Sorry for my late reply again, Catalina got Stuck shutting down and by pressing power button the system got corrupted somehow. Took me some time to reinstall catalina, at least I have 10.15.5. running now thanks to dosdude...

Anyway, unfortunately neither adding the keys to Device Properties nor PAscals kext to the KExt section solved my issue.
With the EnableLoadFalconSmcFirmware, GeekBench Metal and OpenCL Scores even dropped from around 37000 to 10000, as it did with the original RadeonBoost kext.

Pascals Kext rendered my sys unbootable with white screen after selecting OC Bootloader. I noticed that in his config-plist within his kext he set the PP_WorkLoadPolicyMask to 16 instead of 4 in your example. Might this be the reason?

Cheers,
R.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Sorry for my late reply again, Catalina got Stuck shutting down and by pressing power button the system got corrupted somehow. Took me some time to reinstall catalina, at least I have 10.15.5. running now thanks to dosdude...

Anyway, unfortunately neither adding the keys to Device Properties nor PAscals kext to the KExt section solved my issue.
With the EnableLoadFalconSmcFirmware, GeekBench Metal and OpenCL Scores even dropped from around 37000 to 10000, as it did with the original RadeonBoost kext.

Pascals Kext rendered my sys unbootable with white screen after selecting OC Bootloader. I noticed that in his config-plist within his kext he set the PP_WorkLoadPolicyMask to 16 instead of 4 in your example. Might this be the reason?

Cheers,
R.

Hi!
While I was checking the WorkLoad on 4170 and could not see any difference @Pascal Baillargeau tested the 7100.
You are better of than others having working cards in Dell laptops while not bootable in an iMac.
I bet there must be parameters to inject which will make your card working. This cannot be a hardware problem. Most help I found on the github pages of whatevergreen and hackintosh sites.
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So it took a little bit longer that i promised, but the dell starts with the GPU. That said I wanted to test if anything else works on gpu, but when i tried to flash back the vBIOS from GOP to the original one I couldn't do it. For some reason EVERY time I'm trying to clip the chip the programmer disconnects from the PC, when i take off the clip it turns on again, anyone have any idea how to fix it? It looks like the programmer is lacking power to run or something, same thing happens on other laptop even when i first clip the chip then connect programmer to the usb.

You chose the correct chip, the upper one near the VRAM?

 

[jborko]

So it took a little bit longer that i promised, but the dell starts with the GPU. That said I wanted to test if anything else works on gpu, but when i tried to flash back the vBIOS from GOP to the original one I couldn't do it. For some reason EVERY time I'm trying to clip the chip the programmer disconnects from the PC, when i take off the clip it turns on again, anyone have any idea how to fix it? It looks like the programmer is lacking power to run or something, same thing happens on other laptop even when i first clip the chip then connect programmer to the usb.

This is a step forward. If Dell is working you should probably be able to flash from windows, or with the Linux usb on the Dell (I assume you have picture there?) If you are in Dell can you please check if the card runs in PCIe 2 or PCIe 3 mode and how many lanes does it use. (You can use GPU-Z to easily view this)

Pascal if you have Windows can you also please check the same for you card in GPU-z?

Since I think that we can safely rule out power issue, I am starting to think the problems with the wx7100 is the compatibility between Sandy Bridge and the number of PCI lanes that one or another card model uses. (I am not sure if this is something defined in the BIOS or the card electronics), but I am observing the same behavior of RX580 on a 1155 board of that generation (the card will not POST on x16 lane PCIe Slot (x8 lane slot works without issues).

 

[ddi666]

how to edit the nvidia dcb tables in a rom file to get other cards working what part in the vbios is the dcb table

 

[MikkelF]

I'm uploading a patched AppleGrapahicsControl.kext that is now necessary as of 10.15.4, the symptoms after this update are a blank screen but system sounds are heard when holding down the Escape key, as well a loss of any Displayport output.

I'm going to install Catalina now...but how can I follow the procedure to install the patched kext without a working screen?

Should I install Catalina directly over my Mojave and hope that remote login still works after the update?

Cheers, Mikkel

 

[highvoltage12v]

I'm going to install Catalina now...but how can I follow the procedure to install the patched kext without a working screen?

Should I install Catalina directly over my Mojave and hope that remote login still works after the update?

Cheers, Mikkel

When booting you need to Hold Alt/Option to bring up the AppleBootPicker, then select the Catalina partition. Since the iMac's Screen is on when using AppleBootPicker the Macs screen will remain on the entire boot process allowing you to log in and then proceed to install the Patched AppleGraphicsControl Kext. Hope this helps.

 

[bigmario]

hi, if you search this numbers" CBBDDC4E" you find dcd table in hex fiend,

here is dcd from 680 Mac and pc
680//
000053CB BDDC4E23 41754605 56C55795 5AA55C10 000EF550 20100013
00002000 00100020 00000008 21201083 00002006 22402021 0000200B
B6388304 1000420F 72380304 10000200 0F00
680pc//
083252CB BDDC4E7F 527352BC 53C853D5 530654C1 00004B54 20F00013
00002000 00F00020 00000008 21F01083 00002006 22F02021 0000200B
63F83041 1000420F 723F0304 10000200 0F00

 

[Vego17]

You chose the correct chip, the upper one near the VRAM?

Yes, can you send me the photo with programmer connected to the usb port? Maybe i placed that plate in the wrong direction.

 

[tgaillar]

Guys,
Helpful post but M2*10mm screws are too short if you're trying to install a MXM-A card in the 27" 2010 iMac. I thought I was going mad when trying to fit a K2100M onto the heatsink as it kept coming out, and realised that the screws were just too short! I wonder if the measurements above are the wrong way around... I am waiting for delivery of some M2*16mm, hopefully these will work...

What MXM type was the previous board you're trying to replace? My guess is MXM-B (which would make the heatsink MXM-B size too), so:

• you're likely trying to fit an MXM-A videocard onto an MXM-B heatsink
• my post said to use 15mm M2 screws for an MXM-B heatsink...

PS: could you post a picture of your heatsink, please?

 

[Pascal Baillargeau]

This is a step forward. If Dell is working you should probably be able to flash from windows, or with the Linux usb on the Dell (I assume you have picture there?) If you are in Dell can you please check if the card runs in PCIe 2 or PCIe 3 mode and how many lanes does it use. (You can use GPU-Z to easily view this)

Pascal if you have Windows can you also please check the same for you card in GPU-z?

Since I think that we can safely rule out power issue, I am starting to think the problems with the wx7100 is the compatibility between Sandy Bridge and the number of PCI lanes that one or another card model uses. (I am not sure if this is something defined in the BIOS or the card electronics), but I am observing the same behavior of RX580 on a 1155 board of that generation (the card will not POST on x16 lane PCIe Slot (x8 lane slot works without issues).

Infos from Windows10 and MacOS.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Yes, can you send me the photo with programmer connected to the usb port? Maybe i placed that plate in the wrong direction.

Did you check my first answer 😇

 

[Vego17]

Did you check my first answer 😇

Can't find it, only photo I see is the one with the gpu and a clip connected to it, what I wanted to see is the programmer itself with the diode lights connected to the usb port.

As you can see from the photos when I don't connect programmator/connect it to the wrong chip it's powered on, when I try to connect it to the right one it powers off/flash with red/green diode for a while and then powers off.

 

[r6mile]

What MXM type was the previous board you're trying to replace? My guess is MXM-B (which would make the heatsink MXM-B size too), so:

• you're likely trying to fit an MXM-A videocard onto an MXM-B heatsink
• my post said to use 15mm M2 screws for an MXM-B heatsink...

PS: could you post a picture of your heatsink, please?

You're right, I must have misread the post. Here is the old and new boards together (replacing an HD5750 with K2100M), and heatsink.

 

[r6mile]

Ok, it seems to have worked with the 16mm screws (couldn't find 15mm, but 16mm seems to fit as long as you don't overtighten). Now onto hoping I didn't accidentally damage something inside the iMac, and onto flashing the card

 

[SubDriver]

Can't find it, only photo I see is the one with the gpu and a clip connected to it, what I wanted to see is the programmer itself with the diode lights connected to the usb port.

As you can see from the photos when I don't connect programmator/connect it to the wrong chip it's powered on, when I try to connect it to the right one it powers off/flash with red/green diode for a while and then powers off.

I'm not an expert in this, but I think you may have the adapter board connected to the incorrect section of the usb programmer. From what I have seen elsewhere on this forum and online (here is a video link

), the adapter board should be in the 25XX pin connectors on the usb programmer. From your picture, it appears yours is in the 24XX pin connectors. See the video for clearer explanation. I am only basing this off the fact that I have yet to see any video or pictures showing a video card being flashed with the adapter board in the 24XX connector position.

 

[tgaillar]

Ok, it seems to have worked with the 16mm screws (couldn't find 15mm, but 16mm seems to fit as long as you don't overtighten). Now onto hoping I didn't accidentally damage something inside the iMac, and onto flashing the card

Wishing you luck, but it's gonna be allright!

 

[racegen]

Hi guys, on thursday I wrote to all of you and thanked for all the help in the forum because I got my 2011 iMac with K2100M working!
But I think I need your personally help right now ;-)

So everything worked well yesterday and today until now. When I (re)start the iMac with the OpenCore loader I can see the Apple icon and loading bar. At about 75 % at the loading bar the backlight lowers (I think because of loading the kexts for backlight control). But after another 2 seconds the display turns black. I can hear that Catalina is loaded because of the system sounds at the login screen (for example tapping ESC).
Does anyone know what kind of problem it is or can be? PRAM and SMC reset was tried multiple times.

 

[Pascal Baillargeau]

Hi guys, on thursday I wrote to all of you and thanked for all the help in the forum because I got my 2011 iMac with K2100M working!
But I think I need your personally help right now ;-)

So everything worked well yesterday and today until now. When I (re)start the iMac with the OpenCore loader I can see the Apple icon and loading bar. At about 75 % at the loading bar the backlight lowers (I think because of loading the kexts for backlight control). But after another 2 seconds the display turns black. I can hear that Catalina is loaded because of the system sounds at the login screen (for example tapping ESC).
Does anyone know what kind of problem it is or can be? PRAM and SMC reset was tried multiple times.

It seems to be an ApplegraphicsControl.kext problem. Which version of Catalina?

Post 7008

 

[khindemit]

Hey folks! I have hard time to flash the AMD WX4170 HP card.
I try to flash it on Win 10 using CH341. I have no idea what are the right settings for the:
Type, Manu and Name. On the BIOS are three lines, I tried to google it, but no luck. Here are the lines:
HH1702
25Q4OCT
APOT218
You can find a photo of the BIOS in attachment. (1.jpg)
What I should select in the CH341A Programmer program to read from and write to the card? (6.png)

 

[nikey22]

Hey folks! I have hard time to flash the AMD WX4170 HP card.

Your setup looks correct.
That AMD card uses a "Gigadevice" Flash Rom. It is 4M bit.
The correct reading on it is: 25Q40CT.
Try using manu:"GIGADEVICE" and try: "GD25D40".
The "Q" just means 3V.

 

[Tomvreugdenhil]

Thank you very much for this thread. My 2011 27" iMac works awesome after replacing the dead AMD 6970M 2GB with an Nvidia GTX 770M 3GB. I flashed the VBIOS with the linux usb as stated on the first page of this thread and macOS aswell as bootcamp work great! Thank you to nick [D] vB for your awesome work on the VBIOS.