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

[FlorisVN]

Correction...its a go! I had accidentally left the smaller power cable to the logic board unattached when I reassembled and once corrected it boots. This card works beautifully in (at least in High Sierra) and the form factor fits without any physical modifications. Moving to Mojave now to see if metal is supported...

Thats good news for all 21,5" iMac users out there !!
I say spread the word..

I assume you are using the stock Dell bios ?
It workes OOB, and Nvidia web drivers are also not needed.. ?

It looks like the Quadro K2000m uses 55Wat tdp.
And is based on GK107 , which is I think metal supported.. ?

GK107 is also used in different GTX6xxm series, which I think are used in several 2012 iMac.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_600_series


it looks that there are plenty of sellers out there on eBay for this card..
https://www.ebay.nl/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Dell+Quadro+K2000M&_sacat=0

 

[wlagarde]

Thats good news for all 21,5" iMac users out there !!
I say spread the word..

I assume you are using the stock Dell bios ?
It workes OOB, and Nvidia web drivers are also not needed.. ?

It looks like the Quadro K2000m uses 55Wat tdp.
And is based on GK107 , which is I think metal supported.. ?

GK107 is also used in different GTX6xxm series, which I think are used in several 2012 iMac.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_600_series


it looks that there are plenty of sellers out there on eBay for this card..
https://www.ebay.nl/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Dell+Quadro+K2000M&_sacat=0

Yes - Stock dell VBIOS and works OOB without need for web drivers. Will post update with screenshots shortly...
[doublepost=1544973658][/doublepost]NVIDIA Quadro K2000M installation for 2011 21.5" iMac

Purchased this card on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-M4700-Video-Card-nVIDIA-Quadro-K2000M-2GB-D30WG-0D30WG/123487397348?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649.

Dell NVIDIA Quadro K2000M; Dell Part No: D30WG (intended for Dell Precision M4700 laptop); VBIOS 80.07.52.00.18.

MXM-A form factor fits perfect without any modifications of the heatsink or iMac required. Runs Mojave flawlessly. Expected issues with backlight control and no boot screen. However, the X-bracket that is included with the card is permanently glued to the card and cannot be removed. The X-bracket holes were threaded and needed to be drilled out and enlarged to allow the stock Apple mounting screws to pass through to the heatsink. Started with 5/64" drill, then moved up to 3/32, and finally to a 7/64" drill. Worked perfectly.

 

[FlorisVN]

Yes - Stock dell VBIOS and works OOB without need for web drivers. Will post update with screenshots shortly...
[doublepost=1544973658][/doublepost]NVIDIA Quadro K2000M installation for 2011 21.5" iMac

Purchased this card on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-M4700-Video-Card-nVIDIA-Quadro-K2000M-2GB-D30WG-0D30WG/123487397348?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649.

Dell NVIDIA Quadro K2000M; Dell Part No: D30WG (intended for Dell Precision M4700 laptop); VBIOS 80.07.52.00.18.

MXM-A form factor fits perfect without any modifications required. Runs Mojave flawlessly. Expected issues with backlight control and no boot screen.

View attachment 811118 View attachment 811119 View attachment 811120

Looks great,
this is great news for all 21,5" iMac users out there !!

have you also modded copper heatsinks on the vram chips on the backside ?
And I suppose you had to trim away some of the original x-clamp ?

 

[wlagarde]

Looks great,
this is great news for all 21,5" iMac users out there !!

have you also modded copper heatsinks on the vram chips on the backside ?
And I suppose you had to trim away some of the original x-clamp ?

Didn't add modded copper heatsinks on the backside vram chips yet but plan to. Had to drill out the x-clamp as it wasn't removable and it had threaded holes that are too small for the stock Apple mounting screws to pass through. I detailed the drill sizes I used above.

One other detail to add about both this upgrade (Quadro K2000M) for the 2011 iMac 21.5" and the upgrade (GTX 765M) for the 2011 iMac 27 is that screen sharing doesn't work (Apple TV or another iMac via Thunderbolt cable). The system report shows the devices as present when plugged in by Thunderbolt cable; however, CMD-F2 won't work.

One final detail: The backlight on the 2011 iMac 21.5" when full on does not produce anywhere near the heat that the 2011 iMac 27 does and I find the Brightness Slider App when used alone (without the hardware backlight control mod) to be sufficient so I may not perform the hardware backlight mod on my 21.5.

 

[FlorisVN]

Didn't add modded copper heatsinks on the backside cram chips yet but plan to. Had to drill out the x-clamp as it wasn't removable and it had threaded holes that are too small for the stock Apple mounting screws to pass through. I detailed the drill sizes I used above.

One other detail to add about both this upgrade (Quadro K2000M) for the 2011 iMac 21.5" and the upgrade (GTX 765M) for the 2011 iMac 27 is that screen sharing doesn't work (Apple TV or another iMac vis Thunderbolt cable). The system report shows the devices as present when plugged in by Thunderbolt cable; however, CMD-F2 won't work.

Good description !!

For brightness control, I reccomend you use the following free Mac Appstore App :
https://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/brightness-slider/id456624497?mt=12

You can also concider the hardware mod for this to add also..
Like stated in this topic..

 

[wlagarde]

Good description !!

For brightness control, I reccomend you use the following free Mac Appstore App :
https://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/brightness-slider/id456624497?mt=12

You can also concider the hardware mod for this to add also..
Like stated in this topic..

The backlight on the 2011iMac 21.5" when full on does not produce anywhere near the heat that the 2011 iMac 27 does and I find the Brightness Slider App when used alone (without the hardware backlight control mod) to be sufficient so I may not perform the hardware backlight mod on my 21.5.

 

[FlorisVN]

The backlight on the 2011iMac 21.5" when full on does not produce anywhere near the heat that the 2011 iMac 27 does and I find the Brightness Slider App when used alone (without the hardware backlight control mod) to be sufficient so I may not perform the hardware backlight mod on my 21.5.

I see.

it looks like the vram chips on the backside, as well as two other cheaps can use some extra cooling.
Adding thermal pads, and a hdd fan air tunnel would be usefull over them I think.
See provided picture of the Dell K2000m card backside.

 

[wlagarde]

I see.

it looks like the vram chips on the backside, as well as two other cheaps can use some extra cooling.
Adding thermal pads, and a hdd fan air tunnel would be usefull over them I think.
See provided picture of the Dell K2000m card backside.

Definitely. The good news is that the frontside chips approximate the heatsink perfectly so with the application of thermal paste they are good to go.

Also, I probed around on the 21.5" backlight board and the logic and connections to perform the hardware backlight control mod are essentially the same as the 27 so should be easy if one wants to do it...

 

[FlorisVN]

Definitely. The good news is that the frontside chips approximate the heatsink perfectly so with the application of thermal paste they are good to go.

Also, I probed around on the 21.5" backlight board and the logic and connections to perform the hardware backlight control mod are essentially the same as the 27 so should be easy if one wants to do it...

Yeah, I really reccomend using K5 Pro thermal pasta !
it's the same and better then the stuff Apple uses, its also specially made and tested on imac mxm video cards..
I don't know if you have used that, but I really recommend it !

https://www.amazon.com/CS-LABS-Thermal-replacement-K5-PRO/dp/B01H3D9ZE8
http://www.computer-systems.gr/en/content/product/k5-pro-k4-pro-set

And about the backlight mod, it indeed could be the same if not almost the same as the 27" iMac..

 

[wlagarde]

Yeah, I really reccomend using K5 Pro thermal pasta !
it's the same and better then the stuff Apple uses, its also specially made and tested on imac mxm video cards..
I don't know if you have used that, but I really recommend it !

https://www.amazon.com/CS-LABS-Thermal-replacement-K5-PRO/dp/B01H3D9ZE8
http://www.computer-systems.gr/en/content/product/k5-pro-k4-pro-set

And about the backlight mod, it indeed could be the same if not almost the same as the 27" iMac..

Exactly what I used - its great stuff.
[doublepost=1544980545][/doublepost]Performance of the Quadro K2000M appears to be similar to the original Radeon 6770M: https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-Quadro-K2000M-vs-AMD-Radeon--HD-6770M/m8574vsm7746

TDP is 55W (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/quadro-k2000m.c1424) for the K2000M vs 35W (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-hd-6770m.c323) for the 6770M.

This is a really great match for the 21.5 in terms of form factor, TDP, and performance.

 

[FlorisVN]

Exactly what I used - its great stuff.
[doublepost=1544980545][/doublepost]Performance of the Quadro K2000M appears to be similar to the original Radeon 6770M: https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-Quadro-K2000M-vs-AMD-Radeon--HD-6770M/m8574vsm7746

TDP is 55W (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/quadro-k2000m.c1424) for the K2000M vs 35W (https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/radeon-hd-6770m.c323) for the 6770M.

This is a really great match for the 21.5 in terms of form factor, TDP, and performance.

good !
It looks indeed like a 10-15% increase in performance compared to the HD6770m.
But you have cuda as well, newer architecture and of course metal support.
And no more failing GPU problems like those AMD 6xxxm series...

I'm wondering what the Cinebench OpenGL benchmark gives the K2000m for score result..

 

[wlagarde]

Here are the scores for K2000M-iMac21 (included scores for GTX765M-iMac27 for comparison):

For comparison the score for the Radeon 6770M is 38, Radeon 6970M is 70, and GTX 780M is 72: http://www.cbscores.com
[doublepost=1544985544][/doublepost]

I see.

it looks like the vram chips on the backside, as well as two other cheaps can use some extra cooling.
Adding thermal pads, and a hdd fan air tunnel would be usefull over them I think.
See provided picture of the Dell K2000m card backside.

Where did you source your copper thermal pads from?

 

[highvoltage12v]

Yes - Stock dell VBIOS and works OOB without need for web drivers. Will post update with screenshots shortly...
[doublepost=1544973658][/doublepost]NVIDIA Quadro K2000M installation for 2011 21.5" iMac

Purchased this card on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-M4700-Video-Card-nVIDIA-Quadro-K2000M-2GB-D30WG-0D30WG/123487397348?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649.

Dell NVIDIA Quadro K2000M; Dell Part No: D30WG (intended for Dell Precision M4700 laptop); VBIOS 80.07.52.00.18.

MXM-A form factor fits perfect without any modifications of the heatsink or iMac required. Runs Mojave flawlessly. Expected issues with backlight control and no boot screen. However, the X-bracket that is included with the card is permanently glued to the card and cannot be removed. The X-bracket holes were threaded and needed to be drilled out and enlarged to allow the stock Apple mounting screws to pass through to the heatsink. Started with 5/64" drill, then moved up to 3/32, and finally to a 7/64" drill. Worked perfectly.

View attachment 811118 View attachment 811119 View attachment 811120

Wow this is a great solution. I will buy one just to have as a spare before prices sky rocket because it's 'iMac compatible'. Maybe put it into my 2010 Xeon 21.5 iMac. I would have completely done this instead of the 770m due to the heat output, I also bent my heatsink to make it fit with the 770m.

 

[wlagarde]

I imagine you could always bend your heatsink back...or purchase another on eBay...

 

[highvoltage12v]

So here are my Cinebench Results with trying multiple times to MOD the bios. The 39.73FPS attempt is with the stock 770m bios, Performance is poor. The second attempt 48.28 is Making the card run mostly at its full speed at 867MHz. The third attempt (which i'm uploading) is my last mod attempt which the card runs mostly at 405MHz and sometimes boosts to the 867MHz can obtain a cinebench score or 57.10FPS. It's still a bit below the 765m, not sure why. If anyone has a membership of the TechInferno forum and can get one of the modded 80.06.60.00.01 ROMs from years ago that would be great.
[doublepost=1544990969][/doublepost]

I imagine you could always bend your heatsink back...or purchase another on eBay...

Yes I could bend it back. My 770m is performing closely to the 765m, so again i'm not sure if it's worth installing the k2000m into my 2011 21.5" iMac. I will most likely install it into my 2010 21.5" iMac.

 

[passatgt]

I have a weird issue with my 21.5" 2011 iMac: the gpu died, so i replaced it with a 6770M 512MB(i flashed the bios onto a 1gb card). If i have the iMac's display plugged in, after a while it just stops loading and all i see is a white screen. If i remove the display and plug in an external monitor, it boots up fine. Any ideas?

 

[wlagarde]

I have a weird issue with my 21.5" 2011 iMac: the gpu died, so i replaced it with a 6770M 512MB(i flashed the bios onto a 1gb card). If i have the iMac's display plugged in, after a while it just stops loading and all i see is a white screen. If i remove the display and plug in an external monitor, it boots up fine. Any ideas?

So you flashed a 1GB 6770M card with the EFI from an Apple 6770M 512MB card?

 

[highvoltage12v]

Deleted: completely read wrong model.

 

[FlorisVN]

I have a weird issue with my 21.5" 2011 iMac: the gpu died, so i replaced it with a 6770M 512MB(i flashed the bios onto a 1gb card). If i have the iMac's display plugged in, after a while it just stops loading and all i see is a white screen. If i remove the display and plug in an external monitor, it boots up fine. Any ideas?

I would advise you to upgrade to an Nvidia Card.
For example the Dell Quadro K2000m seems to work fine in the 21,5' !

 

[passatgt]

So you flashed a 1GB 6770M card with the EFI from an Apple 6770M 512MB card?

Yes, exactly. Boots fine just wont start with the internel display. I will pull apart everything, maybe just a connection issue with the mxm slot.

 

[FlorisVN]

Here are the scores for K2000M-iMac21 (included scores for GTX765M-iMac27 for comparison):

View attachment 811152 View attachment 811151

For comparison the score for the Radeon 6770M is 38, Radeon 6970M is 70, and GTX 780M is 72: http://www.cbscores.com
[doublepost=1544985544][/doublepost]
Where did you source your copper thermal pads from?

Have you btw also tested external display output ?
for example my GTX765m works with only 1 display output on the back..
And does sleep work with your K2000m ?

As far as I can remember, sleep with Mojave and the GTX765m did not work..

 

[wlagarde]

Have you btw also tested external display output ?
for example my GTX765m works with only 1 display output on the back..
And does sleep work with your K2000m ?

As far as I can remember, sleep with Mojave and the GTX765m did not work..

Don't have an external display to test; however, target display mode does not work with either the K2000M or the GTX 765M

Display sleep works for both the K2000M and the GTX 765M (backlight goes off when display sleep starts and then relights when display sleep stops); however, computer sleep does not work with either card (once the computer goes into sleep mode, the display backlight won't relight unless you reboot).

 

[FlorisVN]

Don't have an external display to test; however, target display mode does not work with either the K2000M or the GTX 765M

Display sleep works for both the K2000M and the GTX 765M (backlight goes off when display sleep starts and then relights when display sleep stops); however, computer sleep does not work with either card (once the computer goes into sleep mode, the display backlight won't relight unless you reboot).

Ok, thanks for the info !
Display sleep mode works here aswell. but system sleep does not work either.
Have the same problem as you have..

Target display mode won't work , but I'm pretty sure EFI firmware and other mods are needed for this !
As far as i can remember, `Rominator said once I think on netkas forum that some Target display mode implimentation could maybay be done.
And go further than only needing thunderbolt, but make it also work for mini display port.
That would be great if he can figure this one out !

 

[LucasChronicles_]

Yes - Stock dell VBIOS and works OOB without need for web drivers. Will post update with screenshots shortly...
[doublepost=1544973658][/doublepost]NVIDIA Quadro K2000M installation for 2011 21.5" iMac

Purchased this card on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Precision-M4700-Video-Card-nVIDIA-Quadro-K2000M-2GB-D30WG-0D30WG/123487397348?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649.

Dell NVIDIA Quadro K2000M; Dell Part No: D30WG (intended for Dell Precision M4700 laptop); VBIOS 80.07.52.00.18.

MXM-A form factor fits perfect without any modifications of the heatsink or iMac required. Runs Mojave flawlessly. Expected issues with backlight control and no boot screen. However, the X-bracket that is included with the card is permanently glued to the card and cannot be removed. The X-bracket holes were threaded and needed to be drilled out and enlarged to allow the stock Apple mounting screws to pass through to the heatsink. Started with 5/64" drill, then moved up to 3/32, and finally to a 7/64" drill. Worked perfectly.

View attachment 811118 View attachment 811119 View attachment 811120

Does the Dell NVIDIA Quadro K2000M also work with the 2009 27 inch iMac?

 

[FlorisVN]

Does the Dell NVIDIA Quadro K2000M also work with the 2009 27 inch iMac?

I would not advise the Quadro k2000m for a 27" model iMac.
Since it is in an MXM-A form factor.

I would advise people to use the K2000m only in 21,5" iMac models.

I would rather advise you to try the GTX765m, which is a full size MXM-B card, and fits much better with your iMac 27" heatsink..
I think the GTX765m should also work with the 2009-2010 models, but I have not tried this myself.
I believe some 2010 users here have reported it works, but I don't know about the 2009 iMac but I think it will work..