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

[xxbeefydjxx]

So I have done some Digging around and after around a WEEK of googling and going in circles I have stumbled across this post over on netkas.
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,11598.html

Basically, @Rominator and @Fl0r!an have managed to share their knowledge and Fl0 managed to get a GTX660m card to run with EFI (although it's scrambled) on the iMac screen, and externals to work, I believe this was with the Dell 660m 2gb card.
The appropriate display output table is listed however the EFI bit is not. It was kept private.

I cannot register on the netkas forums, @netkas no activation email received both Gmail and Hotmail!

I URGE those who know a little about these Vbios mods to get in touch with me, I want to be able to contribute where I can and think I have gotten somewhere as to EFI injections into PC Vbioses using a donor card.

(Please do not message me asking for EFI Vbioses. I do not have one (Yet) and your message will be ignored))

 

[JPamplin]

So I have done some Digging around and after around a WEEK of googling and going in circles I have stumbled across this post over on netkas.
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,11598.html

Basically, @Rominator and @Fl0r!an have managed to share their knowledge and Fl0 managed to get a GTX660m card to run with EFI (although it's scrambled) on the iMac screen, and externals to work, I believe this was with the Dell 660m 2gb card.
The appropriate display output table is listed however the EFI bit is not. It was kept private.

I cannot register on the netkas forums, @netkas no activation email received both Gmail and Hotmail!

I URGE those who know a little about these Vbios mods to get in touch with me, I want to be able to contribute where I can and think I have gotten somewhere as to EFI injections into PC Vbioses using a donor card.

(Please do not message me asking for EFI Vbioses. I do not have one (Yet) and your message will be ignored))

As a proud owner of a 2011 27”, I’m especially interested in replacing my GPU - what can we do to help?

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

As a proud owner of a 2011 27”, I’m especially interested in replacing my GPU - what can we do to help?

I'm looking for the assistance of Vbios modders so that I can create a Vbios for Nvidia cards on Macs, Especially MXM cards which aren't particularly modified for apple products.
If you have any EFI Vbioses for apple products please dump them and pm me, on the other hand if you don't mind being a guinea pig and testing firmware with me then also drop me a pm!

 

[svaningelgem]

You can find a lot of VBIOS's already dumped here: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/.
Don't know what that would help though

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

You can find a lot of VBIOS's already dumped here: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/.
Don't know what that would help though

There is no Apple Certified Vbioses uploaded for the newer graphics cards, only the original Nvidia gt series.

There are some uncertified ones claiming to be apple vbioses but they cannot be trusted. especially since I do not know for sure what the EFI code injection looks like, nor the modified video outputs.

Thanks though!

 

[svaningelgem]

Hereby a verified ROM . I'm using it ;-).
Too bad it's not nVidia, but maybe the UEFI bits will help?

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

Hereby a verified ROM . I'm using it ;-).
Too bad it's not nVidia, but maybe the UEFI bits will help?

View attachment 739868

I believe the uefi and EFI code differs, because you can put a PC (Thats UEFI code in newer cards) into a mac and it will work without boot screen and brightness, but if you put a non uefi one in it will not work at all. Thats because UEFI is Universal, whereas apples EFI is apple standard.

Like I said in my pms the cards are completely different in terms of architecture however your time is appreciated.

 

[Zeitkind]

Some progress
My 670MX with 3GB RAM, unknown origin, now has a more Mac-friendly BIOS. I get a picture once OS X loads the driver, no bootup screen as expected (missing EFI BIOS part) and nothing in Windows. Well, that's better than no picture at all.. OpenCL/Geekbench gives almost 18k, which is more than expected and surely enough for my needs. No output on the 2 DP ports with an DP-to-DVI-adapter, but this prob. could be fixed by altering the DCB table a bit, no idea, I don't really need it. Don't have a DP monitor to test DP output, they prob. will work.
I got this card quite cheap some months ago, but one need to alter the heatsink for a NVidia card, need a bootable Windows with remote control, some knowledge of altering a BIOS and the right flashing tools. Not to mention you need to disassemble the iMac, which is a no-go for non-tekkies, the power supply has some nasty capacitors with the potential of killing (~280V) if not discharged properly.
I used a spare heatsink, so I still have a - revived by reflowed - ATI original card. I'm quite happy with the NVidia now, runs stable as far as I could test it for some hours.
Would be nice to get a working EFI-part and thus a bootscreen, but well, today I'm just happy to get a picture at all..

 

[Zeitkind]

Addendum:
One external DP now gives a DVI signal out and Windows needed the NVidia driver installed. Windows' default driver is unable to use the card at all, screen is black. But with the drivers installed (needed to alter the installers inf) it also uses both displays (internal and external DVI). With help from Fl0r!an I will try get EFI fixed and thus a boot display.
So, well, still not a full replacement, but hey, I have a picture on OS X 10.11.6 and Windows 7..

 

[svaningelgem]

Thanks for your update Zeitkind!
The question I have is this:
I have a Radeon HD6970M 2GB. This is rated at 23% (compared on gpuboss against the Geforce 1080 Ti).
Your card (the 670M) is rated at 22%...

Why didn't you buy a stock Radeon card then? You'll get the benefits of Apple stuff?

 

[Zeitkind]

There is nothing to buy nowhere. Apple has no more spare parts (and well, an original replacement was very expensive anyway) and all "original" second hand cards on eBay are either faked or reflowed (and therefor will last only a few weeks or months) or beyond $400. Even if there are some new ATI 216-0811000 chips around, you won't see them with a reasonable price tag, at least not below $100 per chip. And per chip, not per card, so without a reflow oven and experience with BGA soldering you still have nothing.
So: Either invest more than $400 (for a - hopefully - good card) for a 6 years old iMac or try to mod a different card for around $150 or below.

 

[svaningelgem]

Hear hear mate .

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

Some progress
My 670MX with 3GB RAM, unknown origin, now has a more Mac-friendly BIOS. I get a picture once OS X loads the driver, no bootup screen as expected (missing EFI BIOS part) and nothing in Windows. Well, that's better than no picture at all.. OpenCL/Geekbench gives almost 18k, which is more than expected and surely enough for my needs. No output on the 2 DP ports with an DP-to-DVI-adapter, but this prob. could be fixed by altering the DCB table a bit, no idea, I don't really need it. Don't have a DP monitor to test DP output, they prob. will work.
I got this card quite cheap some months ago, but one need to alter the heatsink for a NVidia card, need a bootable Windows with remote control, some knowledge of altering a BIOS and the right flashing tools. Not to mention you need to disassemble the iMac, which is a no-go for non-tekkies, the power supply has some nasty capacitors with the potential of killing (~280V) if not discharged properly.
I used a spare heatsink, so I still have a - revived by reflowed - ATI original card. I'm quite happy with the NVidia now, runs stable as far as I could test it for some hours.
Would be nice to get a working EFI-part and thus a bootscreen, but well, today I'm just happy to get a picture at all..

Nice one @Zeitkind ! Indeed, it sounds like you need some DCB bios mods and then the EFI mod too.
Glad it was just drivers on the Windows side.
did you also lose your brightness settings or can you use those?

Since you have bootcamp, you can software flash the Vbios of your graphics card so long as it is known that you are using a good Vbios dump or mod that won't brick the card, if it does you will need to bridge some pins if it's soft bricked, which can be tricky, especially since you should use mac to recover bricked cards!

Thanks for your update Zeitkind!
The question I have is this:
I have a Radeon HD6970M 2GB. This is rated at 23% (compared on gpuboss against the Geforce 1080 Ti).
Your card (the 670M) is rated at 22%...

Why didn't you buy a stock Radeon card then? You'll get the benefits of Apple stuff?

@svaningelgem That's like comparing a Titan to a GT series card (Not GTX, GT.) The two are on completely new levels.

The Apple Original ATI cards are outdated, and though some say the suffice, it's not good enough for those looking for some extra "oof" in their macs especially considering their longevity. You can indeed buy a PC radeon card and EFI mod it using the Apple vbios which has been dumped, but why do that when you could simply plop a much better gpu in?

 

[Zeitkind]

Giving up for now. We were able to get some EFI going, I now have a scrambled boot screen (white, but logo is distorted). Still no boot screen on Windows, but well, I don't really use Bootcamp at all - despite flashing NVidia ROMs.. ^^
No brightness control, but I could prob. use the calibration to reduce the max brightness for now. Might take a look at the schematics, prob. there is a way to mod the PWM signal otherwise.
So, well, better than a dead iMac that I had before.
Despite the original cards - are there any other really working? I know that some folks started soldering "wrong but close enough to kinda-work" ATI chips on the bad cards, but even they fail to show eg. the Windows boot screen.

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

Giving up for now. We were able to get some EFI going, I now have a scrambled boot screen (white, but logo is distorted). Still no boot screen on Windows, but well, I don't really use Bootcamp at all - despite flashing NVidia ROMs.. ^^
No brightness control, but I could prob. use the calibration to reduce the max brightness for now. Might take a look at the schematics, prob. there is a way to mod the PWM signal otherwise.
So, well, better than a dead iMac that I had before.
Despite the original cards - are there any other really working? I know that some folks started soldering "wrong but close enough to kinda-work" ATI chips on the bad cards, but even they fail to show eg. the Windows boot screen.

Dude can I also get in touch with you about this efi stuff? I plan on getting a GTX 6/700 series to replace the current radeon 6000 series in my mid 2011 iMac and If I can learn the basics I can venture/help you out too!

 

[frets]

What it worked to me to get into recovery mode is, at the moment I turn on the iMac, I press the next startup keys command + option + O + R

I managed to get this running using the command u mentioned above...I consequently tried to update to Mac os high sierra and I no longer am able to use the commands in high sierra to get to the recovery page like before - do u know any other commands to get to safe mode recovery or if I can revert back to the old os?

 

[archer75]

I sent my video card off for repair earlier this year. They replaced the GPU on it and sent it back and it worked for 7 months but now it's dead again. Oh it boots and I get a desktop but after about 5 minutes the screen starts flickering and eventually it reboots. Then it's stuck in a reboot loop and won't go back to the desktop unless I unplug it and plug it back in.
Haven't been able to get the restore to load before it reboots again.
So now i'm thinking of how I want to go forward. I can either buy a replacement card, new, or just junk the whole thing. I don't need the imac, I have other computers, I just like it.

 

[Zeitkind]

Good luck finding a *new* one...

 

[archer75]

Finding new ones is easy. Paying the ridiculous prices for them, that's a different story.

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

Good luck finding a *new* one...

did you receive my message kind sir?

 

[Liqrisquicker]

I sent my video card off for repair earlier this year. They replaced the GPU on it and sent it back and it worked for 7 months but now it's dead again. Oh it boots and I get a desktop but after about 5 minutes the screen starts flickering and eventually it reboots. Then it's stuck in a reboot loop and won't go back to the desktop unless I unplug it and plug it back in.
Haven't been able to get the restore to load before it reboots again.
So now i'm thinking of how I want to go forward. I can either buy a replacement card, new, or just junk the whole thing. I don't need the imac, I have other computers, I just like it.

This sounds alot like the issue I was having. Surprisingly my 6570m in my mid 2011 21.5 imac is working fantastic, never any issues in the 6 years I've owned it. My issue was system overheating. The screen would flicker, then the restart and boot loop. For a short time I ran it with no display inside, and a fan blowing on it. Eventually I put it in storage, and forgot about it. Yesterday I decided to give it one more once over. This time I tore it down for a completely interior cleaning. I found that even though I air dusted the inside twice a year, I had a large amount of build up on the heat sinks, both graphic and cpu. 2 hours of cleaning and reassembly and the old girl is alive and kicking. I've formatted the hdd. Reinstalled OSX high Sierra, and have not had any issues since.

This thread has me interested in upgrading my gpu. My thing is I don't want to mess with Vbios modding, honestly I would just like a gpu I can pop in, has 2gb ram, and just works. I don't really play games on the computer, but something like a radeon HD 7870, which is a model apple current uses.

 

[archer75]

I get the green stripes on the screen on every boot up now. It will not load the desktop. The bios loads up until the point of displaying the desktop but then I just get a darker shade of grey on the screen and nothing. I ran diagnostics and nothings wrong it says. Though there's green lines down the screen as it's running.
Recovery will download what it needs from the internet and then hang at a grey screen after that. I can't ever actually get to any kind of recovery. I cleared the PRAM and that didn't work.

When I replaced the video card I did vacuum out the dust though it wasn't bad. All the fans work.

At this point i'm thinking of pulling the hard drive and selling it for parts. And then waiting on an updated mac mini. Some day. Maybe.

 

[Alexiukas]

Hi guys, have anyone of you got the nvidia gtx980m to work? I pulled it from a dell alienware, the mac boots, but just black screen, even on the external screen...
is there any chance to get it alive with this card? I have no knowledge how to change bios and all that talk, but i could send it somewhere to get that done though...
Really tired of my amd 512 mb... cant do much fun with that card..

 

[xxbeefydjxx]

Hi guys, have anyone of you got the nvidia gtx980m to work? I pulled it from a dell alienware, the mac boots, but just black screen, even on the external screen...
is there any chance to get it alive with this card? I have no knowledge how to change bios and all that talk, but i could send it somewhere to get that done though...
Really tired of my amd 512 mb... cant do much fun with that card..

One of 2 things, either the Pc card does not support EFI (Unusual for 900 series), or the Output tables in the bios are ser up in such a way that it does not output to the iMacs external displayport and internal displayport.

 

[Alexiukas]

One of 2 things, either the Pc card does not support EFI (Unusual for 900 series), or the Output tables in the bios are ser up in such a way that it does not output to the iMacs external displayport and internal displayport.

So how can i find out any one of those two? I have the same imac as topic says, and i bought the card from a recommended dell alienware, specified here in the thread.
How do i check these two suggestions? Really keen to get it working.