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

[GreppMichaels]

Hey guys, been running a quadro k2100m for over a month now and haven't had any issues (beyond installing opencore but that so far seems unrelated to this) for some reason my 2010 27 iMac stopped working with my second display an LG b7p OLED, the tv works with everything else. I also tried a 21 in DVI pc monitor i've used with it in the past, no detection either, any ideas?!

I also tried opencore and when I start it up with the USB drive as my startup disk after using balena etcher, it stalls here (This has happened every time i've tried to use it) screen shot attached

 

[Amsterdamned]

Anyone has tried the NVIDIA k4000m? I just found one for 30£... not sure if I could use vbios of the k4100m or if this would cause damage?!

A wise man once told me, “...Buy a card, install it, check it out and post the results...”.

The K4100m bios is unlikely to work and you’ll likely have zero brightness control but for 30 quid it’s got to be worth a go.

@Ausdauersportler

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I also tried opencore and when I start it up with the USB drive as my startup disk after using balena etcher, it stalls here (This has happened every time i've tried to use it) screen shot attached

This looks like you booted off the OpenCore USB and than - at the OpenCore boot selector choose to start from the same USB, again. Instead you should try to select at this stage the internal boot disk you have.

Try to press alt/option on boot to see the native Apple boot selector (apple boot disk icons on a white background), choose the Catalina Loader there first by pressing ONCE the enter key and than at the second (OpenCore) boot selection (slightly different disk icons on a black background) choose the real boot disk - the OpenCore should work and the brightness control, too. Read the guide @herrdude made and linked on page one.
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Unexpected Black screen with Quadro K2000M

after cross-reading I have partially some issues I can't explain myself !

My configuration is 27" iMac 2011, Core i5 3.1Ghz, 250GB SSD & 500GB HDD (Caddy, no DVD)
with HighSierra 10.13.6 and Nvidia Web Driver / Nvidia CUDA Driver / Brightness Slider and
Nicks (DvB) K2000M ROM.

Starting machine as admin and booting from internal SSD. If I want to open a "non-admin file"
on the other Drive (HDD - separate "User folder" - Pictures) my machine is going to get a
black screen (think that hardware components got a power peak) !

After thinking about user action with non admin file and hardware power peak
because of user interference I try to use following:

1.) enable the Apple original Driver and disable Nvidia Driver on Web Driver
2.) disable "Developer / every user" in Driver Manager and turn back to "Admin User"
2.) thinking about disabling / deinstall CUDA Support because of incompatible GPU tasks ?

After several rebooting with Black Screen (!) and no start sound I deinstall the
Caddy HDD 500GB because of the unknown boot sequence (normally SSD),
reset VRAM with ALT-CMD-P-R and after that i become my macOS system back...

The machine runs well for whole week with internet, (Metal) games, Unigine Valley
and the temperatures (Macs Fan Control) looking good so far, but for rare system
interactions which are not compatible (differences between AMD and NVIDIA cards)
the system is going down...

Puh, if making various (forbidden) user interaction the GFX card don't like,
there can be some unexpected results - does anybody have same problems ?

Think about that other components (power supply, Logic board etc) are +10 years
or older and gave oldering level of hardware & power peaks to other system components ?

Hopefully I'm not too boring, sorry of my language level...

Hmm... I wait for ARM IMac 👀

My machine natively support High Sierra, but after that I think about to use
Dosdudes Patch Updater of 10.13.6

Update:
I have yet install AppleGraphicsControl.kext via KextDrop and I hope this
was the solution, but also I deinstall CUDA Driver - check it now long-term...

No, you do not need the @dosdude1 patcher to get High Sierra running. The latest update of May, 2020 brought the black screen issue for Nvidia card users probably on all MacOS versions and why you are using the Nvidia web drivers?

From the first post:

Q: OK, so I need to use the NVIDIA web drivers, right?
A: No - all cards outlined in this guide use the included NVIDIA drivers in macOS. No additional GPU drivers are needed.

 

[GreppMichaels]

This looks like you booted off the OpenCore USB and than - at the OpenCore boot selector choose to start from the same USB, again. Instead you should try to select at this stage the internal boot disk you have.

Try to press alt/option on boot to see the native Apple boot selector (apple boot disk icons on a white background), choose the Catalina Loader there first by pressing ONCE the enter key and than at the second (OpenCore) boot selection (slightly different disk icons on a black background) choose the real boot disk - the OpenCore should work and the brightness control, too. Read the guide @herrdude made and linked on page one.
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No, you do not need the @dosdude1 patcher to get High Sierra running. The latest update of May, 2020 brought the black screen issue for Nvidia card users probably on all MacOS versions and why you are using the Nvidia web drivers?

From the first post:

Q: OK, so I need to use the NVIDIA web drivers, right?
A: No - all cards outlined in this guide use the included NVIDIA drivers in macOS. No additional GPU drivers are needed.

awesome thank you, without holding in alt I never have that option to select a different disk etc.... is that something that I have to do everytime then? And on another note, any idea why I lost my secondary display? I've tried using two different mini DV adaptors and my TV recognizes it's getting an HDMI connection but it does not work nor does my imac recognize anything, I even tried a clean install of osx and it didn't help.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

No, after selecting the start up item you have the OpenCore booter visible on every boot, but please read the guides available.

No idea on your display adapter. Sometimes hardware just fails.

 

[GreppMichaels]

No, after selecting the start up item you have the OpenCore booter visible on every boot, but please read the guides available.

No idea on your display adapter. Sometimes hardware just fails.

ok awesome, yeah I can now boot select every time, and you're likely right, it's a 10 yr old imac, it's been used a lot and it seems the mini display port has just failed as my adaptors work with my macbook

 

[Pacific1972]

Some Infos about GFX Cards:


ATI HD6750M - 21.5" IMac 2011

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

ATI HD6970M (1GB) - 27" IMac 2011

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NVIDIA K2000M - 27" IMac 2011

Compare K2000M and have an alternative look at NVIDIA K1100M (- 9% Speed)
and NVIDIA K2100M (+ 28% Speed). Maybe K2100M is the fastest solution for
21.5" IMac (because of the max. TDP of 55W).

Scaleable GPU Power to CPU Frequencies ? Results should be interesting for
21.5" IMac with Low Power Xeon CPU or Core i7 (Socket 1156 - iMac 2010) or
other configuration (Socket 1155 - iMac 2011).

- Information ONLY !

 

[Paunoliini]

Hello! I have a 27" iMac and I replaced the gpu with 765M card. All went well and I had a good working computer for over six months. I have not flashed the card. I have been fine without a boot screen or brightness controls. One day I was trying to have my iPad as a second monitor with Air Display. Air Display needed a driver and I stupidly installed it. After rebooting the result was black screen.

I could boot in recovery mode and I tried to clean install the OS. Still black screen. I took the hard drive out and installed the web drivers and finished the OS installation process with a second Macbook. Still the screen is black and now I cannot even boot in recovery mode. Doesn't work with an external monitor either. I know that it definitely boots to OS because sometimes I can hear Apples error messages when pressing keys randomly. Also the voice assistant started talking when the OS installation went on.

Do you have any ideas what I should try? Buy a genuine Apple gpu? 😳

And if I'm in a wrong thread or place, let me know! Thanks for your help!

 

[Pascal Baillargeau]

Hello! I have a 27" iMac and I replaced the gpu with 765M card. All went well and I had a good working computer for over six months. I have not flashed the card. I have been fine without a boot screen or brightness controls. One day I was trying to have my iPad as a second monitor with Air Display. Air Display needed a driver and I stupidly installed it. After rebooting the result was black screen.

I could boot in recovery mode and I tried to clean install the OS. Still black screen. I took the hard drive out and installed the web drivers and finished the OS installation process with a second Macbook. Still the screen is black and now I cannot even boot in recovery mode. Doesn't work with an external monitor either. I know that it definitely boots to OS because sometimes I can hear Apples error messages when pressing keys randomly. Also the voice assistant started talking when the OS installation went on.

Do you have any ideas what I should try? Buy a genuine Apple gpu? 😳

And if I'm in a wrong thread or place, let me know! Thanks for your help!

Which Mac OS version? Which iMac, 2009, 2010, 2011? you need to be precise.

 

[Paunoliini]

Which Mac OS version? Which iMac, 2009, 2010, 2011? you need to be precise.

Sierra 10.12.6, iMac 27" mid 2011.

 

[Pascal Baillargeau]

Sierra 10.12.6, iMac 27" mid 2011.

Installing macOS Sierra
Some users might see a black screen on macOS 10.12 "Sierra" after swapping to an NVIDIA card.
Link to information on getting macOS Sierra running with non-apple Nvidia graphics cards:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/page-25#post-24105622

 

[Paunoliini]

Thank you for answering! I have actually tried this already, but I did it with a different machine because I cannot boot in safe mode with the actual iMac. I could give it another shot though. I just Googled the Board ID. Apparently the Board ID is the same with every model.

 

[Oadbylad]

CH341 Black Edition

does any user tried other AMD & Nvidia Cards flashing with original Apple BIOS and
CH341A Programmer successful ? Sometimes I must reinstall CH341A Driver on my
HP 8300 USDT "MXM Patch Machine" ...

View attachment 929805

After trying "GPU-hardware-compatible" cards together with TheMacElite ROMs and
TechPowerUps VGABIOS ROMS (Apple & unverified Uploads) my success was not
really recognizeable !

I try a GTX260M (Mobile GPU is like GTX9800M), an ATI HD5850M (want to flash to Apple
HD5870M), an ATI FirePro M5950 (compatible with HD6770M ?)...

Another question: has anybody got a 3rd Party Mobile GFX Card (except page 1 of this posts)
run with original Apple BIOS ROM ? Readout some VGA BIOS for 2012 iMacs and above...

Are MXM 3.0 and PCI-E 16x compatible or the same ? Sometimes I don't think so (because
of the TDP and there was no PCI-E (16x) to MXM 3.0 Adapter on international ebay or AliExpress
(I don't mean the PCI-E 1x to MXM Adapter for Bitcoin Mining)

Some GFX Cards have BIOS Chips, others don't need because the Laptop BIOS
supply the internal MXM cards with information - but you can't exchange MXM cards
between Laptops like GFX cards on PC (without the correct BIOS and the TDP)...

"I'm looking for a 100cm MXM Riser Cable 😁 with full power supply !"

Watch out for the "incredible form factor" ASUS Republic of Gamers MXM Cards which
some are buying for 50$ to 85$ - further infos follow after delivery, I want to put a GTX 765M
from ASUS ROG into my 27" iMac ! Perhaps I must solder some "TDP Support cables" 😄😄
and connect this **** to regular power supply...

View attachment 929806

An iMac 21.5" have limits for the MXM Port / TDP power supply, so you can't get a GFX Beast
in a little iMac - except changing the (TDP 65W - 73W) CPUs to Low Power Xeon
1260L (45W) - got MXM from 45W / 55W to 75W - anyone tried to do that ?

P.S. I don't need yet Mojave or Catalina !

Just done mine after a lot of messing about with the wires in the clip all good now Nivida Quadro K2100m its now for sale

 

[highvoltage12v]

Hey guys, been running a quadro k2100m for over a month now and haven't had any issues (beyond installing opencore but that so far seems unrelated to this) for some reason my 2010 27 iMac stopped working with my second display an LG b7p OLED, the tv works with everything else. I also tried a 21 in DVI pc monitor i've used with it in the past, no detection either, any ideas?!

I also tried opencore and when I start it up with the USB drive as my startup disk after using balena etcher, it stalls here (This has happened every time i've tried to use it) screen shot attached

Not sure if this has been solved yet,
But replacing AppleGraphicsControl with the patched one will fix your MiniDisplay/Thunderbolt port output.


Also if OpenCore becomes stuck like in the picture, boot normally and then choose CatlinaLoader as the startup disk, for some reason will stall on looking for APFS disks, I built myself an OpenCore 0.59 but not using OpenCanopy, i'm not sure if 0.59 has fixed this issue, but I can post it if you want me to.

 

[GreppMichaels]

Not sure if this has been solved yet,
But replacing AppleGraphicsControl with the patched one will fix your MiniDisplay/Thunderbolt port output.


Also if OpenCore becomes stuck like in the picture, boot normally and then choose CatlinaLoader as the startup disk, for some reason will stall on looking for APFS disks, I built myself an OpenCore 0.59 but not using OpenCanopy, i'm not sure if 0.59 has fixed this issue, but I can post it if you want me to.

Thank you very much, I already fixed the opencore issue from a similar suggestion but genuinely appreciate the reply, i'd made the same post a month ago and no one replied so I'm realy happpy to finally have native brightness controls (was going blind at night editing this cartoon)

How do do I go about patching AppleGraphicsControl? If i'm able to get my minidisplay port back I will be thrilled, I did some searching on here and looks like I gotta inject a new kernel for it, i'm running high sierra for what it's worth.

 

[highvoltage12v]

You need to unlock the system partition using Kext Utility in the "gatekeeper" section of the app. Then take the Kext and drag it onto Kext Utility. To be abundantly cautious open terminal and enter "sudo reboot" this will prevent Mac OS from stalling at an empty desktop when rebooting.

You can find my guide on the First page for the 2011 sleep kexts that have similar instructions. patched AppleGraphicsControl can also be found on the first page.

 

[Loner92]

Hello. I have been following this forum thread for a long time. It so happened that I acquired imac 2011 27. I am very happy with this computer and I do not want to part with it at all. Having studied many pages here, I want to ask a few questions (I will be very glad if I get an answer to them):
1. Which video card should I choose WX7100 or 780m? I do not plan to update imac above high sierra (I use 32 bit applications - my biggest disappointment on Catalina on my macbook 15 2013).
2. Is it possible to flash the video card BIOS by running imac on windows?
3. Is it possible, when updating imac to the WX7100 or 780m, to allow myself to play games from 2012-2020?
I know that with a little study of this issue, the easiest way is to buy the original AMD 2 gb and not think about super-performance, but I have a great desire to fulfill my dream and add some fresh to this beautiful working machine.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hello. I have been following this forum thread for a long time. It so happened that I acquired imac 2011 27. I am very happy with this computer and I do not want to part with it at all. Having studied many pages here, I want to ask a few questions (I will be very glad if I get an answer to them):
1. Which video card should I choose WX7100 or 780m? I do not plan to update imac above high sierra (I use 32 bit applications - my biggest disappointment on Catalina on my macbook 15 2013).
2. Is it possible to flash the video card BIOS by running imac on windows?
3. Is it possible, when updating imac to the WX7100 or 780m, to allow myself to play games from 2012-2020?
I know that with a little study of this issue, the easiest way is to buy the original AMD 2 gb and not think about super-performance, but I have a great desire to fulfill my dream and add some fresh to this beautiful working machine.

You will find all news in page one and in post #1. Currently I would go with the K4100M if you are looking for the best performing Kepler card offering all features. Even a performance chart has been linked...

 

[GreppMichaels]

You need to unlock the system partition using Kext Utility in the "gatekeeper" section of the app. Then take the Kext and drag it onto Kext Utility. To be abundantly cautious open terminal and enter "sudo reboot" this will prevent Mac OS from stalling at an empty desktop when rebooting.

You can find my guide on the First page for the 2011 sleep kexts that have similar instructions. patched AppleGraphicsControl can also be found on the first page.

Was able to successfully do this however I'm having the issue of laggy graphics/no transparency and I still don't have my display port and have lost native brightness control from opencore. I need to reinstall some other graphics kexts correct?

 

[GreppMichaels]

Jesus I'm an idiot I'm running sierra not high sierra my apologies, fixing that now

 

[GreppMichaels]

You need to unlock the system partition using Kext Utility in the "gatekeeper" section of the app. Then take the Kext and drag it onto Kext Utility. To be abundantly cautious open terminal and enter "sudo reboot" this will prevent Mac OS from stalling at an empty desktop when rebooting.

You can find my guide on the First page for the 2011 sleep kexts that have similar instructions. patched AppleGraphicsControl can also be found on the first page.

Ok updated to High Sierra and dropped all the plugins in the 10.13.6 plugin folder into kext utility and ran em all, not sure if it does or doesn't matter but I don't see one in that folder or anywhere for the AppleGraphicsControl, can I run the first kext download or again is that specifically for catalina?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Ok updated to High Sierra and dropped all the plugins in the 10.13.6 plugin folder into kext utility and ran em all, not sure if it does or doesn't matter but I don't see one in that folder or anywhere for the AppleGraphicsControl, can I run the first kext download or again is that specifically for catalina?

I would start reading before patching...the first post and each post linked there.

 

[GreppMichaels]

I would start reading before patching...the first post and each post linked there.

I would start reading before patching...the first post and each post linked there.

I'm not following? I've done extensive reading, been on this forum for months, I haven't patched anything as I can't figure out what's the right kext for high sierra as the specific kext I need doesn't seem to be there. That's my only question really.

 

[highvoltage12v]

I'm not following? I've done extensive reading, been on this forum for months, I haven't patched anything as I can't figure out what's the right kext for high sierra as the specific kext I need doesn't seem to be there. That's my only question really.

Hello,
It's late for me so I'll do this from my phone. If you go to the 10.15.4 downloads section there is a Kext for the 2020-003 security update with the correct build number for 10.13.6 hindsight 20/20 I should have added the version number to the zip file. I have highlighted the correct Kext you need. Since you are on High Sierra just install it with kext utility, no need for Hackintool.

Also I feel like I need to tell you this, boot into the Mac OS recovery/install USB, open Terminal and enter CSRUtil Disable. Just to make sure you can load modified kexts.

 

[GreppMichaels]

Hello,
It's late for me so I'll do this from my phone. If you go to the 10.15.4 downloads section there is a Kext for the 2020-003 security update with the correct build number for 10.13.6 hindsight 20/20 I should have added the version number to the zip file. I have highlighted the correct Kext you need. Since you are on High Sierra just install it with kext utility, no need for Hackintool.

Also I feel like I need to tell you this, boot into the Mac OS recovery/install USB, open Terminal and enter CSRUtil Disable. Just to make sure you can load modified kexts.

No worries I appreciate the reply, I was able to get catalina loaded and was doing the dosdude "undoer" so my graphics weren't laggy, for some reason i got an error when trying to copy over the open GL files, slowly I started losing access to finder etc... basically had to reboot (I know it says not to) for awhile I was atleast able to get my imac to load to an apple logo but now I have a blank screen entirely after resetting pram, I can't access a boot picker or anything to load another OS from my USB, is my imac toast?