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iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade
- Thread starter MichaelDT
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ONLY INFO
(practical solution without benchmark pictures)
I've successfully install the K2100M (1:1 exchange of K1100M)
...for 27" it's recommended to make an exchange !
Why ?
Under Full HD resolution you can jump from about 13-40 frames (K1100M)
to 17-50 frames (K2100M) - Unigine Valley Benchmarks. Important is that
to compare Full HD frame power on 21.5" !
On 27" with 2560X1440 resolution you can push Unigine Valley from about
17 to over 30 frames.
...and at minimum 25 frames / sec are the border to have a flowing view
on most games at 27" in native PAL (50 Hertz) resolution.
Think about the price difference, but much users want to have at minimum
this power at the 27" imac. And the K2100M fits both in 21.5" and 27"...
- K1100M is ideal for 21.5" (45W and normally 47-52°C)
- K2100M is ideal for 27" (55W and normally 48-51°C)
...(in my opinion) - it's worth it (if you have perhaps both cards to try)
- ENERGY EFFICIENT and LESS HEAT DEVELOPMENT
MacsFan Control: all runs constant between 1750 - 2100rpm
HWSensor: 48° - 51° C
KEXT: modified AppleGraphicsControl & AppleBacklightFixUp
Brightness Slider: max. 50% Brightness (without OC Loader)
No external monitor - no OC Loader - no patched macOS -
no NVIDIA Web Driver - no CUDA Driver - no native Brightness -
...for me it's better with less Drivers and software but what runs
(on StartUp) I understand - (so no OC Loader, LILU, WhatEverGreen
or FakeSMC.KEXT, rEFInd Boot Loader or patched macOS)...
👍
(practical solution without benchmark pictures)
I've successfully install the K2100M (1:1 exchange of K1100M)
...for 27" it's recommended to make an exchange !
Why ?
Under Full HD resolution you can jump from about 13-40 frames (K1100M)
to 17-50 frames (K2100M) - Unigine Valley Benchmarks. Important is that
to compare Full HD frame power on 21.5" !
On 27" with 2560X1440 resolution you can push Unigine Valley from about
17 to over 30 frames.
...and at minimum 25 frames / sec are the border to have a flowing view
on most games at 27" in native PAL (50 Hertz) resolution.
Think about the price difference, but much users want to have at minimum
this power at the 27" imac. And the K2100M fits both in 21.5" and 27"...
- K1100M is ideal for 21.5" (45W and normally 47-52°C)
- K2100M is ideal for 27" (55W and normally 48-51°C)
...(in my opinion) - it's worth it (if you have perhaps both cards to try)
- ENERGY EFFICIENT and LESS HEAT DEVELOPMENT
MacsFan Control: all runs constant between 1750 - 2100rpm
HWSensor: 48° - 51° C
KEXT: modified AppleGraphicsControl & AppleBacklightFixUp
Brightness Slider: max. 50% Brightness (without OC Loader)
No external monitor - no OC Loader - no patched macOS -
no NVIDIA Web Driver - no CUDA Driver - no native Brightness -
...for me it's better with less Drivers and software but what runs
(on StartUp) I understand - (so no OC Loader, LILU, WhatEverGreen
or FakeSMC.KEXT, rEFInd Boot Loader or patched macOS)...
👍
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I had a lot of issues in the beginning trying to get things to boot to any USB. The only thing I would advise is the following.
Make sure you format the USB or SD to GUID Partition MAP + MSDOS (FAT). Test it out on another PC and/or Laptop to see if it works after you copy the files over. The formatting got me though so try it out to make sure somehow something did not get screwed from the time you tried with video vs doing it blindly. Sounds weird though. Maybe try a PRAM reset?
You should do the assembly again, or change some elements (heatsink, paste, etc). Your GPU die and GPU heatsink temps are 10 degree different. It should be only 3~4 degree.
If you are using the 2-pipe heatsink, change to a 3-pipe one.
If ambient temp is high, the solution is lowering the AC temp.
Use an external thermometer to check the temp of air-out. If it's high, you can mod a big suction fan at the ventilation, too.
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I will try PRAM reset, the usb stick boot and work fine in a one pc laptop
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you run the test yourself under windows and see how much temperature you will have after 30 minutes of the test and attach an image. let's see what temperature you will have!
I have already written repeatedly that I have two imac 27 2011 with the same problem (the thermal paste is new, 3-pipe, everything is perfect!)
I am sure that this problem for all 880m is in the Windows environment, since only it loads the GPU 100%.
please run tests and attach images with the temperature of all users 880m in Windows
Anyone? I tried using a mini dp/thunderbolt to hdmi female adapter with a hdmi cable and a thunderbolt/mini dp to hdmi 1,8m cable, neither of them work from a win pc to the iMac, pressing cmd f2 does nothing
Are you logged into the iMac when you press CMD+F2?
I am currently using the OpenCore Catalina Loader w/K2100M and on High Sierra, and Target Display Mode does work for me.
Hello! Tried this procedure on my 27 2011, it does not install the AppleIntelHD3000 files in S/L/E if i select options for 2011 imac, is it right? I'd like to get quicksync working
Videoproc and Premiere Pro see no option for hw encoding
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I am connecting my source computer(s) via USB-C to the CalDigit USB-C dock. Out of the back of the CalDigit, I use DisplayPort (reg size) to mini DP on the back of the iMac.
What iMac are you trying to use as monitor?
The iMac early 24" 2009 on your signature surely can not be used in Target Display Mode?
Normally, for Target Display Mode (on iMac 27" 2009/2010), you need a DisplayPort (from PC) to miniDisplayPort(to iMac) cable.
a passive miniDisplayPort to HDMI is for outputting video signal from the iMac to an external monitor with HDMI in.
If you want to connect HDMI outport (on PC) to miniDisplayPort (on iMac 2009 & 2010), you will need an active HDMI to miniDisplayPort cable.
If you want to use the iMac 2011 in Target Display Mode, you will need genuine thunderbolt cable.
AFAIK, there is no HDMI to thunderbolt cable.
I am using the Late 2009 27" iMac.
I'm not sure what you're asking the post above. Target Display Mode is working perfectly for both Mac and PC source computers using the connection method I described.
I also just bought a 2011 27" that I resurrected with a k1100m, and I bought it especially to use as a monitor for my pc, which has ryzen, so no thunderbolt unfortunately :/
The iMac was designed to accommodate a hardware inventory that did not exceed the power supply limits [205/310], but also presumed a partition of power/heat loads among the three major power consumers: 1) the display screen [51/106], 2) the cpu [65/91], 3) the gpu [35/75]. The power consumption, in Watts, is shown in the square brackets, [], with the 21.5"/27". The partition is [0.25:0.32:0.17:0.26/0.35:0.29:0.25:0.11], the fourth number being "everything else" (note that HDDs are power hungry, but so is memory, and going from the 8GB original design to the max 32GB of current implementations represents a substantial increase in power use).
Taken together these three components add to [151/272] which is [0.73/0.89] of the power supply limit. Interestingly, there is more margin in the 21.5" than the 27" iMac, this is largely due to the screen power consumption doubling.
The hardware design, including the power and thermal design, was part of an integrated design which includes the macOS software controlling the computer's internal environment.
These gpu upgrades take place without modifying the thermal design beyond what Apple had already provided for the iMac. And gpu card bios provided here attempt to provide sensible limits to the gpu card performance that keep it within some assumed operational envelop, and finally the macOS is modified with kexts which provide not only the hooks for new systems to use old hardware but also provide the information required to manage the computer environment, such as temperature sensor telemetry from hardware that did not exist or was not supported during the original software development.
The proliferation of hardware options, and of modern software features represents an explosion of possibilities in configuration combinations. The number of configurations, when unconstrained, cannot even be supported by Apple's design team, leading to the abandonment of older systems.
If you add support for Windows systems, on top of everything above, it is clear that the task of providing upgrades, software and hardware, for these old systems is impossible if you want to include every combination of hardware and software available.
For Apple, the cost of support is much greater than the return. In defense of dropping support, Apple provides a way of recycling the old systems so they don't represent an added burden to the prodigious human waste stream (though it would be interesting to see an independent report on how well this program is working).
While maintaining a particular machine past the "dropped support" of Apple might be extremely important for an individual user, that user cannot expect Apple to be so obligated. When a number of users band together to come up with a solution (if one exists) it is totally unrealistic to presume that band is obligated to provide a solution to all the possible configurations that every user might present.
When the first post was written 7 years ago (!) there was no solution to the gpu "problem." There is now a limited set of hardware/software configurations that "solve" that problem (to some extent) providing access to the newer macOS systems and extending the use of these iMac platforms. Continued access to even newer macOS systems depends on Apple's system development, and it would seem with the announcement of the new Apple hardware, that the sun is definitely setting on that possibility.
If you have a specific configuration that does not fit within the constraints of the page 1/post 1 "solution" you should not expect your particular choices to be addressed by the current solution providers. Because this is a "crowd sourced" development project, you have the opportunity to become one of the "crowd" and work through a solution to your particular system configuration and provide it to the community, whose work has already benefited you.
sorry for being a bummer
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Hello,
I have a GTX 765 and a K610M card available for an iMac 27" 2011.
Which card would be best choice? And does a 2-pipe heatsinc perform worse than a 3-pipe for the K610M?
Thanks in advance!
I have a GTX 765 and a K610M card available for an iMac 27" 2011.
Which card would be best choice? And does a 2-pipe heatsinc perform worse than a 3-pipe for the K610M?
Thanks in advance!
The K610M it's okay with 2 pipes heatsink, just remember yo use a 1mm copper shim since it has lower profile and need it to have full contact with the heatsink.
I would go with the (smaller and slower) K610M because it offerers native backlight control. Your LCD will heat up to 60C all the time not having control.
You will need a 15mm x 15mm x 1mm copper plate to install the K610M in any Apple iMac sink to provide contact of GPU and heat sink. The 2 pipe sink is sufficient with 15W TDP.
The GTX 765 will need a modified a 3pipe sink and does not provide the brightness control.
Take a deeper look at post #1 to investigate all your options.
I often hang in this branch, I am surprised by the fact that people almost do not read the first post, I did everything without any knowledge and everything worked fine for me! can someone find and write all the way from and to, that would not read the same questions)) moderators of a branch are hung up! I think a little more and they just won't want to unsubscribe here... maybe if they didn't respond to the same message every time, we would get more updates... and solutions... respect for the patient)
I have a mid 2011 27" iMac and am considering either the Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M for $190 or Nvidia Quadro K4100M for $130. All things being equal, which is the better value? Is either card more "future proof" in your guestimation? Is the performance improvement with the 780 over the 4100 work the extra money? Thanks for your thoughts and opinions!
I've been lurking around a bit this days and since my upgrade in August I've seen a rise in Europe of prices of the mxm cards ( ex k2100M was around 70-90 eur and has rised to 150 eur which is ridiculous ).
There has been a lot of threads about converting the internal MXM to pcie x16 but none had reached a production state, the closer being the Sour Ninja Dual Blade which died after a unsuccessful kickstart, so I lurked around and found this in taobao
I have never bought anything in taobao nor do I know how to do it but I saw that there are several chinese speaking people in this thread that maybe can help us? I personally don't mind buying the adapter, buying another broken imac 2011 ( I love my current one 🥰 ) and testing it with a RX gpu.
I know that with Big Sur all of this is changing and we are running out of time related to kexts but still it may be a cheaper or more powerful option compared to the mxm options, altought it will imply a lot more of DIY.
No internal display will be available forget it.
Note that these cables or adapters are often unidirectional with data flow in one direction unless otherwise stated.
Making a physical connection does not necessarily mean they work.
You have to check their specification.
This is the only HDMI to mDP adapter I found that works from my iMac2007 to iMac2010 via an additional mDVI to HDMI adapter connected to my iMac2007.
QGeeM 4K x 2K HDMI Male to Mini DisplayPort Adapter
HDMI TO Mini DisplayPort adapter/ HDMI to Mini DP/ Ultra HD/ HDMI to Mini Display port converter/ HDMI to Mini DP adapter specifications : - HDTV resolution supported: up to 1080p@120hz, 4Kx2K@30Hz - Audio: 7. 1 Channel surround audio up to 192 kHz sample rated - compliant with VESA Dual-Mode Dis...
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Some motherboard makers (HP, Asus, Gigabyte, Asrock) also manufacture a PCIe add-in-card that provide the thunderbolt connections. It will loop 1 DP port from the graphic card and convert to thunderbolt output. From there, you would need a thunderbolt-2 cable .
Refer to the following link for such devices, if you insisted on using the 2011 iMac as monitor.
testing TB3 AIC with MP 5,1
The good folks at egpu.io have had some encouraging results with the latest Gigabyte TB3 add-in card and will be testing in MP 5,1. Will be very interesting to see the results. Hat tip to @itsage. [edit] to correct link
forums.macrumors.com
Some Intel NUC models have a built-in thunderbolt-2 port, which is convenient.
You can also use the thunderbolt-3 port on recent PCs motherboard, with an Apple genuine TB-3 to Tb-2 adapter as well.