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

[boombari]

Good evening everyone.

I just bought and assembled an Nvidia K3000, as page#1 guide and with bios here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/post-29668992. I followed the procedure by booting from linux USB + ssh, the flash was successful. After the flash, however, the imac does not turn on anymore, only 1 green LED. Only by trying and trying again, even holding down for several seconds, every now and then it starts but with the fans at maximum. What can it be?

 

[Jforte]

Good evening everyone.

I just bought and assembled an Nvidia K3100, as page#1 guide and with bios here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/post-29668992. I followed the procedure by booting from linux USB + ssh, the flash was successful. After the flash, however, the imac does not turn on anymore, only 1 green LED. Only by trying and trying again, even holding down for several seconds, every now and then it starts but with the fans at maximum. What can it be?

Did you flash the k3000m vbios by mistake?

 

[ChrisCaro]

@Ausdauersportler @The_Croupier thanks for the Heads-Up guys. I see.

I have read here and there about setting up macFan properly. I used the following:
ODD Fan is controlled by GPU Heatsink probe with min 32°c max 65°c
HDD by OWC cable with temp sensor with 38°c max 65°c
CPU by CPU Heatsink with 30°c max 80°c

Do you think it's adequate ?

Honestly, I also found it effective to set my fans to 1800-2000 steady during browsing and general low load use. I don't hear them so much and things stay cool. I max em out under load, I usually wear headphones or have sound going during load conditions in my use case.

When I use auto I set the max fan speed to 60c. With my ssd I always keep the middle at a constant 1800-2000

 

[The_Croupier]

my personal settings
ODD - GPU heatsink - min 55 - max 65 (mod sensor, moved to GPU heatsink)
HDD - GPU heatsink - min 55 - max 63
CPU - CPU heatsink - min 45 - max 55 (gives more air to the power supply / power heatsink)

I like this setup moving the sensors, also im so happy that 770m now has OC solution to brightness control its making a huge difference overall. 👍

 

[boombari]

Did you flash the k3000m vbios by mistake?

What do you mean? No I have flash according to the guide

 

[The_Croupier]

Good evening everyone.

I just bought and assembled an Nvidia K3100, as page#1 guide and with bios here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/post-29668992. I followed the procedure by booting from linux USB + ssh, the flash was successful. After the flash, however, the imac does not turn on anymore, only 1 green LED. Only by trying and trying again, even holding down for several seconds, every now and then it starts but with the fans at maximum. What can it be?

If it occasionally starts (start from cold?) Perhaps you applied insufficient heat transfer paste, connectors are not secured properly, or even second hand K3100m is faulty, remember this is an 8yr old gpu you are talking about.

I also have a K3100m currently in transit from.China to Australia from AliExpress its stated as NEW but i have my reservations....
The software and hardware methods in this forum are sound IMO, its the user error and specifically sourced hardware that is the real issue to having a seamless experience when modding a decade old non supported Apple iMac.

I'm sure all the experts, and there's not many here, have experienced the same issues with bad hardware or accidents due to user error.
Best advice is to double check everything, and if you can, swap your hardware between multiple iMacs, its essential to help diagnose the issue.

I have also learnt to do as much testing and diagnostic work as you can before posting for HELP,, the more variables you can eliminate yourself will better help the experienced people here to assist you with the issue.
Document everything, explain exactly what processes you have done, relay all you hardware specs etc and maybe together we can work it out.

 

[boombari]

If it occasionally starts (start from cold?) Perhaps you applied insufficient heat transfer paste, connectors are not secured properly, or even second hand K3100m is faulty, remember this is an 8yr old gpu you are talking about.

I also have a K3100m currently in transit from.China to Australia from AliExpress its stated as NEW but i have my reservations....
The software and hardware methods in this forum are sound IMO, its the user error and specifically sourced hardware that is the real issue to having a seamless experience when modding a decade old non supported Apple iMac.

I'm sure all the experts, and there's not many here, have experienced the same issues with bad hardware or accidents due to user error.
Best advice is to double check everything, and if you can, swap your hardware between multiple iMacs, its essential to help diagnose the issue.

I have also learnt to do as much testing and diagnostic work as you can before posting for HELP,, the more variables you can eliminate yourself will better help the experienced people here to assist you with the issue.
Document everything, explain exactly what processes you have done, relay all you hardware specs etc and maybe together we can work it out.

The board is K3000M not K3100M ... The card was new, and sealed, purchased from Germany

I applied the thermal paste (the best, Artic MX-4) ... I have to try to disassemble and reassemble. Now starting from cold (after 10 hours of being turned off) it turns on more easily (1 time out of 4) and the fans still don't go to maximum ... let's try.

 

[The_Croupier]

The board is K3000M not K3100M ... The card was new, and sealed, purchased from Germany

I applied the thermal paste (the best, Artic MX-4) ... I have to try to disassemble and reassemble. Now starting from cold (after 10 hours of being turned off) it turns on more easily (1 time out of 4) and the fans still don't go to maximum ... let's try.

Sorry K3000m is actually 9 years old, I would be sceptical that it is new, Anyone can clean and reseal a gpu in a antistatic bag, (purchased from Germany - via China) I hope for your sake that a reinstall and reapplication MX-4 helps, but what about the ram chips? I hope you are cooling all aspects of the card and adjusting fan speed appropriately to your temps.

 

[Jake F.]

Hi everyone!

I'm having some issues lately. I successfully changed the graphics card last January 2020 with a Quadro K1100M 2GB and patched it with Nick[D]vB patch. I'm running Mojave using dosdude1 patcher.

The thing is since a couple of weeks now, sometimes when I start up the system, I can hear the chime, but the screen does not work. I know it gets to the login screen since I press enter it has that sound of wrong password, but the screen does not turn on. So I have to tun off the computer by pressing the power button and start all over again. Sometimes the chime doesn't sound and nothing occurs after power it on again... I need several tries to get the system work properly again.

Does anybody have this issue too? Do you know anything I can do to fix it? 🙏

Thank you so much!

Jake

 

[The_Croupier]

Hi everyone!

I'm having some issues lately. I successfully changed the graphics card last January 2020 with a Quadro K1100M 2GB and patched it with Nick[D]vB patch. I'm running Mojave using dosdude1 patcher.

The thing is since a couple of weeks now, sometimes when I start up the system, I can hear the chime, but the screen does not work. I know it gets to the login screen since I press enter it has that sound of wrong password, but the screen does not turn on. So I have to tun off the computer by pressing the power button and start all over again. Sometimes the chime doesn't sound and nothing occurs after power it on again... I need several tries to get the system work properly again.

Does anybody have this issue too? Do you know anything I can do to fix it? 🙏

Thank you so much!

Jake

Sounds like your card is failing, are there any recent updates to your OS that might have affected anything? Any other hardware changes to your mac? Have you tried the gpu in a different working mac to test?

 

[boombari]

Mi dispiace che K3000m abbia in realtà 9 anni, sarei scettico sul fatto che sia nuovo, chiunque può pulire e richiudere una gpu in un sacchetto antistatico, (acquistato dalla Germania - tramite la Cina) Spero per il tuo bene che una reinstallazione e riapplicazione di MX-4 aiuta, ma per quanto riguarda i chip ram? Spero che tu stia raffreddando tutti gli aspetti della scheda e regolando la velocità della ventola in modo appropriato alle tue temperature.

Provo a smontare e rimontare. I chip RAM purtroppo hanno poco contatto con il dissipatore di calore. Pensi che questo possa essere il problema anche semplicemente per far partire l'auto a freddo?

 

[The_Croupier]

Provo a smontare e rimontare. I chip RAM purtroppo hanno poco contatto con il dissipatore di calore. Pensi che questo possa essere il problema anche semplicemente per far partire l'auto a freddo?

This is definitely a problem if your ram chips on the GPU are not dispersing heat through the heatsink because of poor thermal contact.

Did you thoroughly read the wiki?

Heatsink Modification = YES
We still have no idea of you setup for all I know you could be on a 21" iMac?

relay all you hardware specs etc and maybe together we can work it out.

 

[boombari]

This is definitely a problem if your ram chips on the GPU are not dispersing heat through the heatsink because of poor thermal contact.

Did you thoroughly read the wiki?
View attachment 1745889
Special install for your card = YES
We still have no idea of you setup for all I know you could be on a 21" iMac?

Thanks so much for the support.
I'm on an iMac 27" late2011 12,2 with i5-2500S@2.7Ghz ... my heatsink has 2 pipe.
BIOS ROM 87.0.0.0.0
I just order thermal pads 2mm ... let's see

 

[Umarx]

Sorry to interrupt.

- Sierra works out of the box.
- the black screen issue is an NVIDIA only problem. I never install this patch on AMD systems.
- on page one there is a section about installing macOS and a section about Sierra, too. You just need to read it! There is even a link to an installer package including the AGC patch, which you do not need....

If your/an external screen is working than we can conclude the macOS has started properly. If you still have a black intern screen, than

- the inverter board may be broken
- the system board may have a defect (do you see a faint glow of the backlight in the dark or is it really black?)
- the display connector cable is broken
- no working vBIOS has been loaded
- card is broken
- card has been installed badly

If the first post is too long, too complex organised or if you believe to see contradicting recommendations please take notes while reading it. The whole process is complex and and cannot be described as a simple step by step. There are by far too many options (>5 macOS versions, ~ 20 cards, 5 iMac models makes approximately > 500 different possible configs).

I have been reading extensively for last 4 days the 1st page and its corresponding links related to WX4130 and making a list of 'to do', after installing my stock HD6970 back and updating the system to High Sierra with security update 202-006 10.13.6. In the end, I came back to this response of yours and it reconfirms that I should try again reinstalling the wx4130 to see if it gives screen or no. I am preparing the OC CL USB in case I need it.

One problem though is my file/screen sharing, remote login turns off after a restart, I tried every possibility but to no avail. SIP is deactivated.

Need advice

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Thanks so much for the support.
I'm on an iMac 27" late2011 12,2 with i5-2500S@2.7Ghz ... my heatsink has 2 pipe.
BIOS ROM 87.0.0.0.0
I just order thermal pads 2mm ... let's see

You need to use the bigger MXM-B heat sink, just in case you missed this nifty detail.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I have been reading extensively for last 4 days the 1st page and its corresponding links related to WX4130 and making a list of 'to do', after installing my stock HD6970 back and updating the system to High Sierra with security update 202-006 10.13.6. In the end, I came back to this response of yours and it reconfirms that I should try again reinstalling the wx4130 to see if it gives screen or no. I am preparing the OC CL USB in case I need it.

One problem though is my file/screen sharing, remote login turns off after a restart, I tried every possibility but to no avail. SIP is deactivated.

Need advice

Dear, this is basic macOS administration and you might start using a bigger search machine....

 

[Torginator]

This is a huge thread, following a large post.
I have a mid 2011 27" iMac, and I have lot of questions.
As I understand it, the process is (roughly):

1. Get a new card
2. Flash it.
3. Install/patch macOS
4. Change old to new card.
5. Enjoy

Right?
So, which card should I use?
I want to run Catalina or Mojave on my machine, and the built in AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2048 MB won't let me.

I also wonder why the table of NVidia cards doesn't have a MET column.
Are these unsuitable for Catalina?

To do the flashing, I'd try Windows notebook.
Will this work?

Regards,

Gerhard

 

[boombari]

È necessario utilizzare il dissipatore di calore MXM-B più grande, nel caso in cui ti sei perso questo dettaglio elegante.

oh damn! How can I search for it online? Thanks...
PS: On the guide I understood that the 2 pipes was fine ...

 

[spacebiscuit]

Ok i am 6 days in since upgrading my card, having given it a good run in this past working week I think I can now start to release and call it a successful mission. I just wanted to say a big thank you to those who made the vbios available and the help and support here. If you have been lurking considering this upgrade I can only say do it - it really is worth it and it has given an extra lease of life to my 27" imac, not to mention the sense of achievement.

For those who might be searching K2100M with Hynix VRAM this is for you, the card is great, only downside has been issues waking from deep sleep but I am still hopefully of a resolution still.

The advice I would offer is, do the tear-down on one day, write down the location of the screws as you remove them and stick them to your sheet of paper so you know exactly what goes where. Then do the flashing on day 2 with a fresh head.

Thanks again.

 

[internetzel]

oh damn! How can I search for it online? Thanks...
PS: On the guide I understood that the 2 pipes was fine ...

There are 2-pipe heatsink in both MXM-A and MXM-B size, but the 3-pipe heatsink is MXM-B only.
Make sure you've got the bigger MXM-B type. The 3-pipe version is better but the 2-pipe version might be sufficient in you case - listing the 2-pipe version on post 1 might as well have been an oversight.

 

[boombari]

There are 2-pipe heatsink in both MXM-A and MXM-B size, but the 3-pipe heatsink is MXM-B only.
Make sure you've got the bigger MXM-B type. The 3-pipe version is better but the 2-pipe version might be sufficient in you case - listing the 2-pipe version on post 1 might as well have been an oversight.

I am going to put thermal pads on the covered rams, while for the chips that remain uncovered I will put individual heatsinks, what do you think? But is this the problem that causes the imac to turn on 1 time in 10? (from cold)

 

[internetzel]

I am going to put thermal pads on the covered rams, while for the chips that remain uncovered I will put individual heatsinks, what do you think? But is this the problem that causes the imac to turn on 1 time in 10? (from cold)

My iMac turns on even without a heat sink on the graphics card at all - that's the way I used to test whether my card was broken when it didn't turn on with the heat sink installed; I then had to revise the installation on the heat sink until it turned on with the heat sink installed as well.
Without heat sink I turn the iMac off after the start sound.

 

[dksp]

The K2100M finally arrived… … after a Tour de France. I ordered one from my country in order to get it quickly, but this was a fail (15 days of shipping). I am still glad it didn't get lost.

I will try to install it this week-end. It would have be nice to know if I understood everything correctly, but I haven'd had any confirmation of my summary below.

Hello to all.
Long time Mac user, I installed and a flashed Radeon 8500, then the 9800XT and finally a Geforce 6200 for my G4. But that was a long time ago.

Several years later, I now have an aging iMac 21.5" Mid-2010 (iMac11,2), i3 3.06 GHz, ATI Radeon HD 4670 256 MB which I bought new. I already swapped the CPU for the Intel i7-860S 2x2.53 GHz a few months ago. And I swapped the display since the original had a lot of stains. I has 16GB of RAM and a Samsung EVO 860 1TB SSD. I currently have High Sierra 10.13.6 installed.

The last weeks I have been reading and watching as much as I can regarding swapping, flashing and installing Open Core in order to install a more recent and capable GPU. I ordered a NVIDIA Quadro K2100M (with SK Hynix chips according to the sellers photo) from a Dell Precision 4800 and still waiting for it to arrive. But I wanted to make sure that I have understood every step in this process and I have some questions, so I won't bother you afterwards

1. Physical installation: So I have a 21.5" 2010 iMac and want to install the K2100M MXM-A. Am I right that the heatsink will fit plug&play? Only need to swap the X-bracket. I have Arctic Silver thermal paste for the GPU chip, and I ordered some K5 Pro for the VRAM chips.

2. Preparing the iMac: No need to update the iMacs firmware, since I am already running High Sierra.

3. First boot: Once installed, the card won't work without flashing the ROM (even after resetting PRAM). I need to flash the modified ROM first for the K2100M to work in the iMac.

4. Flashing the ROM: I plan to use the USB/Linux method and everything seems clear to me.

5. Choosing the right ROM file for the K2100M: There is only one version of the modified ROM available, the one dating from 5 december 2019 by Nick(D)vB included in the "Quadro_Beta1.2.zip" file.

6. Open Core: Only needed for the brightness control to work. Boot screen should work without it.

7. If and everything works fine, I would like to update to Mojave, but only if it stable and able to receive security updates. Otherwise I would stay with High Sierra. Can you recommend running Mojave on a 2010 iMac with these spec?

Thanks in advance and greetings form France

 

[gunner451]

Well upgraded my 2011 21.5" iMac with the K3000M card and since I was in there also changed out the i5-2400s with a Xeon E3-1260L and put in an SSD (can't get the larger card in this machine without getting rid of the 3.5" HDD, had to snap off one of the HDD mounts and also had to add a 40mmx40mmx0.5mm copper shim to raise the card enough to allow one of the inductors to clear the heat pipes). Have to say all those little connectors and cables drove me crazy but it went pretty smoothly. Flashed the ROM using the bootable linux with the flash utility and PTTY on a windows laptop no problem. Booted up right away got the boot screen and brightness controls no problem on unmodified High Sierra (no open core anything or kexts).

Ran Unigine Heaven bench mark 4.0 at 1080P medium full screen and got a score of 23.5 FPS and Score of 593. This seems lower than what was reported on the new ROM post so not sure what is going on there. Also the fans don't seem to be ramping up when the GPU is under load so the GPU gets kind of toasty. Will have to dig through the posts to figure out if there is a fix for that. I raised the fan speed to max and got maybe 1 FPS increase so no thermal throttling as far as I know.

As far as the Xeon E3-1260L it works good, Cinebench 15 gave me a score of 382 for multi-core test which is around 80 points higher than I was getting with the i5-2400S. Again no fan ramp up when under load. Surprisingly sleep seems to work ... kind of, it will go to sleep and wake up but once it wakes up the GPU performance is cut in half. So yes sleep works but probably will turn it off.

Update: Fan control started working after rebooting, not sure why but appears that it is ramping up when under load now so all is good. Also with sleep the cursor disappears for a while when it wakes up but reappears after about 30 seconds.

 

[The_Croupier]

I also wonder why the table of NVidia cards doesn't have a MET column.
Are these unsuitable for Catalina?

To do the flashing, I'd try Windows notebook.
Will this work?

Regards,

Gerhard

It does now 😉

As long as your notebook has a MXM slot then yes you should be able to use it to flash otherwise just use you notebook to remotely flash it in the iMac.