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

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

But I thought you have the iMac 2010 the same as mine in your signature ?

The screws are outside for easy access, unlike the 2011 which are under the logic board beyond simple reach.

There is a distinct cling/clutch to push the last few mm of the GPU card into the MXM slot.

To make room for the 3 pipe heatsink more comfortably, I have trimmed the horizontally lying plastics passing the bundles of SATA cables right underneath the GPU to allow more manipulation of the GPU.

Mine is the iMac 2010, which is easier to remove the GPU. I just don't fell very confident to insert the MXM card with a lot of force, fearing that I would break something and render it totally useless.
Like yesterday when trying to remove the CMOS battery without having to remove the logic board, I pried off the CMOS battery and successfully broke the tiny plastic piece that hold it in place. Had to tape the whole unit to keep the CMOS battery and it looks terribly ugly.

 

[KennyW]

These FakeSMC extensions have been modified to be Apple save long time ago.
I am not responsible for any potential damage, but right now these are working still with Big Sur injected by OC.
Since we cannot get the RX480 posting in an iMac 2011 you should be happy to own the 2010. I organized such a system for this reason.

With regards to the sensors in iMac, I noticed that iStat Menus gives more or less the same readings as those FakeSMC extensions. It might be more stable with less kext injection into the system. It even shows the voltages, currents and power consumption, though it costs 4 bucks.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Mine is the iMac 2010, which is easier to remove the GPU. I just don't fell very confident to insert the MXM card with a lot of force, fearing that I would break something and render it totally useless.
Like yesterday when trying to remove the CMOS battery without having to remove the logic board, I pried off the CMOS battery and successfully broke the tiny plastic piece that hold it in place. Had to tape the whole unit to keep the CMOS battery and it looks terribly ugly.

If you need a 2011 system ready for fast GPU exchange dismount the front metal holder - then you can dismount and mount a new GPU with the same effort as in 27“ 2009/2010 iMac.

Of course you have to dismount the logic board one time to do so.

 

[MACGENUISDUDE]

Well Kenny
I MANUALLY set the IP address on the 2011 3.4
Then put the NVIDIA K3100M back in
I checked it
LED 1 & 2 light up & it bongs
I left the screen off & plugged in an external monitor
All hooked up to ET & USB FLASH CARD
Turned it on
When to my main iMAC > Terminal
Typed in ssh root@192.168.0.20
NOTHING
I hit enter
Still NOTHING
I typed FLASH
Then it timed out
BUT DID NOT CONNECT
BTW
Can you upgrade the 2010 27" I3 ?
I have a 3.2 GHz with a 512 Card in it
If so what is the proceedure
& what cards work ???
Thank everyone
But I am getting nowhere with this
2011 3.4
TOTALLY FRUSTRATING !!!

 

[Vaoske]

Well Kenny
I MANUALLY set the IP address on the 2011 3.4
Then put the NVIDIA K3100M back in
I checked it
LED 1 & 2 light up & it bongs
I left the screen off & plugged in an external monitor
All hooked up to ET & USB FLASH CARD
Turned it on
When to my main iMAC > Terminal
Typed in ssh root@192.168.0.20
NOTHING
I hit enter
Still NOTHING
I typed FLASH
Then it timed out
BUT DID NOT CONNECT
BTW
Can you upgrade the 2010 27" I3 ?
I have a 3.2 GHz with a 512 Card in it
If so what is the proceedure
& what cards work ???
Thank everyone
But I am getting nowhere with this
2011 3.4
TOTALLY FRUSTRATING !!!

Can you ping the iMac?
Try LanScan to find the iMac's ip-adress within your network.

 

[theo-tasi]

Well Kenny
I MANUALLY set the IP address on the 2011 3.4
Then put the NVIDIA K3100M back in
I checked it
LED 1 & 2 light up & it bongs
I left the screen off & plugged in an external monitor
All hooked up to ET & USB FLASH CARD
Turned it on
When to my main iMAC > Terminal
Typed in ssh root@192.168.0.20
NOTHING
I hit enter
Still NOTHING
I typed FLASH
Then it timed out
BUT DID NOT CONNECT
BTW
Can you upgrade the 2010 27" I3 ?
I have a 3.2 GHz with a 512 Card in it
If so what is the proceedure
& what cards work ???
Thank everyone
But I am getting nowhere with this
2011 3.4
TTry with another keyboard maybeOTALLY FRUSTRATING !!!

Try with another keyboard maybe?

 

[MACGENUISDUDE]

Try with another keyboard maybe?

Have 2 hooked up DUDE

 

[ezugaru]

Have 2 hooked up DUDE

Mmmm is the ethernet Port linking? There should be green/Orange flashes in the sides of the Port .... Maybe your eth on your Mac is faulty....also check the wires inside the Port arent twisted....

 

[theo-tasi]

Have 2 hooked up DUDE

I tried SSH yesterday and my wired didn’t respond to ENTER, but my wireless did. I don’t now why.

 

[Cordonblu]

Well Kenny
I MANUALLY set the IP address on the 2011 3.4
Then put the NVIDIA K3100M back in
I checked it
LED 1 & 2 light up & it bongs
I left the screen off & plugged in an external monitor
All hooked up to ET & USB FLASH CARD
Turned it on
When to my main iMAC > Terminal
Typed in ssh root@192.168.0.20
NOTHING
I hit enter
Still NOTHING
I typed FLASH
Then it timed out
BUT DID NOT CONNECT
BTW
Can you upgrade the 2010 27" I3 ?
I have a 3.2 GHz with a 512 Card in it
If so what is the proceedure
& what cards work ???
Thank everyone
But I am getting nowhere with this
2011 3.4
TOTALLY FRUSTRATING !!!

Well lets get some things straight cuz I feel you are mixing up things:
If you are booting from @xanderon usb image it doesn't matter which static ip you assign in your already working macos installation, once you boot from the USB, to simplify, all those settings are gone
So, what can you do? These are a couple of suggestions:
- Check your DHCP lease table in your isp or custom router and search for your to be flashed imac hostname(grml or something like that) or the mac address
- Angry IP Scanner is a tool you can use from your working mac to scan your network to find the ip assigned by your router if you can't access the management interface

 

[KennyW]

Well Kenny
I MANUALLY set the IP address on the 2011 3.4
Then put the NVIDIA K3100M back in
I checked it
LED 1 & 2 light up & it bongs
I left the screen off & plugged in an external monitor
All hooked up to ET & USB FLASH CARD
Turned it on
When to my main iMAC > Terminal
Typed in ssh root@192.168.0.20
NOTHING
I hit enter
Still NOTHING
I typed FLASH
Then it timed out
BUT DID NOT CONNECT
BTW
Can you upgrade the 2010 27" I3 ?
I have a 3.2 GHz with a 512 Card in it
If so what is the proceedure
& what cards work ???
Thank everyone
But I am getting nowhere with this
2011 3.4
TOTALLY FRUSTRATING !!!

If your iMac connected to your router has an IP address, that means it is well connected to the network.
If you have assigned a fixed IP by using the DHCP with manual address mode and re-utilize its allocated address, it should work.
I can only suggest to off the wifi in case it might interfere as priority connection.
Also I suppose both computers should be in the same subnet to work ? I am not a network guy and also a newbie.
I am not certain whether there is any setting in your router that may prevent ssh or have the ports closed for that.
Don't ask me that since I am also ignorant on setting these ports in router.
If your Linux USB drive has access light, it helps to visualize it is loading.
I find this very helpful in our situation without internal and external display when working mostly "blind".
The password is needed only when you are asked after the logon is initiated.
I suggest to test your Linux USB drive first in your other Mac to see whether it works.
Alternatively, you can put back your old GPU, boot the Linux USB in you iMac to see all the output, and try to ssh from your other iMac to see any issue.
The booting of the Linux USB drive doesn't depend on a functioning GPU provided your iMac can boot with a chime with POST and that is why you can still work from a remote one to flash it.
Also remember that the Linux USB drive has to be formatted as GUID partition + FAT32 format.
Just copy the unzip files to the flash drive in the same folder structure. No DiskCopy or Balena Etcher.

Other than that, I have no cue on whether it is the network connection problem or the Linux USB drive problem.

Besides, can you type up your own signature in Profile to reflect the Mac config you are using for our better understanding of what you are dealing with at hands?

 

[MACGENUISDUDE]

Mmmm is the ethernet Port linking? There should be green/Orange flashes in the sides of the Port .... Maybe your eth on your Mac is faulty....also check the wires inside the Port arent twisted....

NO ALL WORKS FINE

 

[Sserna14]

Hello guys if anyone can help me I would be appreciate : did anyone buy an k5100m from amazon through this Link? I didn't found any comments in the search about this and in Ebay costs like 700usd .THKS

Tarjeta gráfica de vídeo de 8 GB para ordenador portátil Dell Precision M6700 M6800 Mobile Workstation Notebook PC, NVIDIA Quadro K5100M GDDR5 8 GB N15E-Q5-A2, MXM VGA, piezas de repuesto

Tarjeta gráfica de vídeo de 8 GB para ordenador portátil Dell Precision M6700 M6800 Mobile Workstation Notebook PC, NVIDIA Quadro K5100M GDDR5 8 GB N15E-Q5-A2, MXM VGA, piezas de repuesto

www.amazon.com

 

[KennyW]

Hello guys if anyone can help me I would be appreciate : did anyone buy an k5100m from amazon through this Link? I didn't found any comments in the search about this and in Ebay costs like 700usd .THKS

Tarjeta gráfica de vídeo de 8 GB para ordenador portátil Dell Precision M6700 M6800 Mobile Workstation Notebook PC, NVIDIA Quadro K5100M GDDR5 8 GB N15E-Q5-A2, MXM VGA, piezas de repuesto

Tarjeta gráfica de vídeo de 8 GB para ordenador portátil Dell Precision M6700 M6800 Mobile Workstation Notebook PC, NVIDIA Quadro K5100M GDDR5 8 GB N15E-Q5-A2, MXM VGA, piezas de repuesto

www.amazon.com

In my opinion, doesn't worth it. Too expensive for your iMac though you can shed further $50 off in AliExpress.
I would say just get an AMD WX4130 (less variation, often work, close performance to WX4150 or even 4170) at 1/3 the price and comparable OpenGL performance but much better Metal scores. If you are willing to pay more, the RX480 in development is a good choice (not work in iMac 2011 yet, but much cheaper than WX7100, and higher availability). One important consideration is that there is no need to mod your heatsink to fit them as compared to those high end expensive nVidia cards. But certainly to each his own. My opinion is biased as I played with both and had a nVidia K4100M in testing.

 

[xanderon]

@MACGENUISDUDE ​

please lower your voice

no one can help you on that level, its your router, your network, your responsibility. get to know your router, its a good one, you will have the possibility to get a DHCP IP and an overview for you on the router page to find out what IP your blind iMac got.

that's as essential to figure out by yourself, as essential as to be sure that you, and only you, disconnected the drives. we can't look into your iMac. we only can tell you what to do. you have to actually do it (correctly).

us in this forum can only assist with best practices, but can't drive / fly / or screenshare to your machine to help with every bit and bolt.

if this is too much to ask, to be here with a baseline of understanding how the tutorials are written and for whom, than please find someone who can assist you sitting near you. or this GPU switch and iMac revive achievements are simply nothing for you.

hope you understand and don't take that personal.

 

[Schprecher]

Can anyone help with k3000m and memvendor id to fix right vram size.

where in bios fix this?

 

[MACGENUISDUDE]

XANDERON
Thank you for responding
Sorry for sounding LOUD !!!
The IP address does seem to be the issue
I ran Angry IP SCANNER
It does not find the Blind 2011 3.4
However it does find the 2011 3.1
So I am installing another NVIDIA K3100 M in it
With no HDS or SSD & the USB card & ET
Hopefully it will be seen & I can SSH &
FASH THE CARD > Finally
Thanks for the ENLIGHTENMENT
Peace MR MIKE

 

[Punteillos]

Hi again, im install a nvidia K610M on mi 2011 21,5" imac and dont work, i put the gpu carefully and all seems to be ok, but when i power on nothing happens.

- If i power on the imac without screen the fans go full speed and no boot.
- If i power on the imac woithout ram... no beeps.
- If i plug the power cord i see only 1 green light, and when i power on... nothing, no beeps without ram, full speed fans without screen...

My idea is power on without any disk and boot to a linux usb live with the new rom to flash it, but i cant even boot.

Any idea? Thanks.

 

[MACGENUISDUDE]

Hi again, im install a nvidia K610M on mi 2011 21,5" imac and dont work, i put the gpu carefully and all seems to be ok, but when i power on nothing happens.

- If i power on the imac without screen the fans go full speed and no boot.
- If i power on the imac woithout ram... no beeps.
- If i plug the power cord i see only 1 green light, and when i power on... nothing, no beeps without ram, full speed fans without screen...

My idea is power on without any disk and boot to a linux usb live with the new rom to flash it, but i cant even boot.

Any idea? Thanks.

BAD VIDEO CARD OR INCOMPATIBLE
You should see 2 lights & hear a bong
Then you can SSH & flash the card

 

[Punteillos]

BAD VIDEO CARD OR INCOMPATIBLE
You should see 2 lights & hear a bong
Then you can SSH & flash the card

And there’s nothing i can do? I know the card its ok, but i dont know if is compatible, this card its from a hp notebook and i read for some days all and the only thing i see is to flash the bios to make it compatible.

maybe if i use a pcie conversor/extender i can flash it from other computer and... this must work?
Thanks

 

[Ausdauersportler]

And there’s nothing i can do? I know the card its ok, but i dont know if is compatible, this card its from a hp notebook and i read for some days all and the only thing i see is to flash the bios to make it compatible.

maybe if i use a pcie conversor/extender i can flash it from other computer and... this must work?
Thanks

Disconnect all internal disks, put in at least one memory module and plug in the Linux USB flash drive. Connect no internal and no external display but a keyboard and do a PRAM reset (CMD ALT P R) at least one time, better three times.

It should boot with chime and give at least two green LED. Then follow the guide @xanderon posted with his tool ....read post one. We have documented the flashing very well. You need a second Mac or PC to access the Linux tool remotely.

Without flashing no working display - it is that easy.

 

[BadBiscuit]

I'm having an issue playing Apple Music videos within iTunes on two of my iMacs with K2100M cards. The videos won't play (launches a black screen but then no sound, video or progress), while YouTube videos and non-video iTunes music play fine on them. I believe this might indicate an issue with HDCP. I'm testing this with all booted to latest Mojave using OC 0.6.3 and same Nick[D]vB ROM on the K2100M cards. If others have experienced this and can direct me to what I have (or haven't) done right I would much appreciate the help.

For further details, see my signature; SHAGGY and DAPHNE are the ones working fine, while SCRAPPY and VELMA are the ones that don't. SCOOBY also works, but is sporting a WX7100 so apples and oranges in that case.

UPDATE: I may try swapping memory between working and not working, for perhaps it is as simple as a need for more than 8GB, and has nothing to do with the video card or its related patches. Seems unlikely, but perhaps.

 

[ezugaru]

I'm having an issue playing Apple Music videos within iTunes on two of my iMacs with K2100M cards. The videos won't play (launches a black screen but then no sound, video or progress), while YouTube videos and non-video iTunes music play fine on them. I believe this might indicate an issue with HDCP. I'm testing this with all booted to latest Mojave using OC 0.6.3 and same Nick[D]vB ROM on the K2100M cards. If others have experienced this and can direct me to what I have (or haven't) done right I would much appreciate the help.

For further details, see my signature; SHAGGY and DAPHNE are the ones working fine, while SCRAPPY and VELMA are the ones that don't. SCOOBY also works, but is sporting a WX7100 so apples and oranges in that case.

I just wanted to say that i love the way You name your imacs xD

 

[Miamipanther]

Thanks all for the informations provided here, this is amazing thread, I would like to share my experience, hopefully it can help others too; Our 2011 iMac was already upgraded with AC wifi card, scored a $65 K2100M from ebay and installed it this time to get into some features in the new OS, installed Catalina successfully with the following methods.
1. K2100M installed without any heat sink modifications.
2. BIOS version made by @Nick [D]vB; followed THIS POST to flash video card with ssh which makes the process really easy
3. Fresh installed high High Sierra first, applied all security patches, a couple of time firmware update failure, keep trying finally got through
4. In high sierra, installed this patch to prevent black screen, installed fan control, set ODD to GPU die temp
5. Used dosdude1's Catalina patcher to upgrade to Catalina.
6. Install this package to address sleep problems, then system kept rebooting, get into safe mode and saw panic message regarding H3000 video card etc; Fixed the panic with another sleep method this post which obviously overwrite the problematic components.
7. Setup Opencore 0.6.3 usb, set it as startup disk. iMac can boot as usual now.

Tested all these features working perfectly.
1. Sleep, wake up.
2. native brightness control, max brightness seems right.
3. Bluetooth, LTE hotspot works; WIFI download can sustain 100MB/s on large file transfer, it's the max speed this card can get.
4. Airdrop, Hand off, Continuity works perfectly.
5. Apple watch unlock_mac/confirm password/payment all works.
6. H264, hardware acceleration works, metal benchmark in normal range. 20+GB 4k video play is smooth. little choppy on 60GB 4k video, but probably exceeds the capability of video card.
7. The fan is dead silent most of time. In regular use GPU stays about 45C with fan at 1150rpm

Only thing I found not working properly is the target display mode. CMD+F2 can enter target display mode as external monitor, but CMD+F2 again won't bring back to iMac screen, unplug the cable make no difference, the only way to get it back is to force reboot. I am wondering whether others have similar experience, I would highly appreciate if there is solution since I used target display mode at work everyday

 

[Punteillos]

Disconnect all internal disks, put in at least one memory module and plug in the Linux USB flash drive. Connect no internal and no external display but a keyboard and do a PRAM reset (CMD ALT P R) at least one time, better three times.

It should boot with chime and give at least two green LED. Then follow the guide @xanderon posted with his tool ....read post one. We have documented the flashing very well. You need a second Mac or PC to access the Linux tool remotely.

Without flashing no working display - it is that easy.

Hello, thanks for answering, but I have tried everything. I am an IT professional and I open about 4 or 5 imacs a month, this is my girl's imac.

I have read everything about changing the gpu and how to flash, I have been reading about 1 month. I am used to using linux, osx, unix, windows, etc ...

I have done what you tell me but the problem persists, I am going to try to explain what the imac does with the new GPU without connecting a screen or ssd or dvd:

1- I connect 1 ram module, the keyboard, the network cable and the usb with linux prepared.

2 - Immediately when connecting the power cable, only led 501 (the one on the far right) lights up.

3 - I press the power button, and the same led remains, it does not move, the usb has a led and I see that it turns on, nothing happens for 3 seconds, the fans do not even turn on.

4 - After approximately 3 seconds, I see that the usb led turns off and after 4 or 5 seconds it turns on again, after 5 seconds the fans start to turn normally, but the usb led does not move (it should blink when read).

5 - After 28 seconds, the fans start to turn at full power.

I can't solve it, I have tried to reset PRAM many times and always the same result. A curious fact is that if I remove the ram it does exactly the same, I do not have the famous 3 beeps without RAM.

Any other idea? Thanks again.