Nobody tried this before. You are welcome to start this experiment and report back. We are happy to add each new result to the wiki on the first post.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade
- Thread starter MichaelDT
- WikiPost WikiPost
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
Same answer as usual: Please check the wiki on the first post. It is the hidden documentation. The 460M is a Fermi based GPU, you could spend months on developing a BIOS just to figure out at the very end that Apple does not provide drivers for those GPU types - too bad.
I'm really grateful to this community for making it possible to upgrade my iMac 27" with GTX 780m by now. haha!
Actually, I had struggled alot on this upgrade like buying unsupported 870m or no dhcp issue with wrml image and so on.
I used to be a network engineer for a decade and I know what's wrong when DHCP not working. But as some suffered before, my iMac couldn't get an IP from my router at all even if the same usb stick can perfectly get an IP when it's used with my other laptops.
So I was about to set the wireless up from iMac after trying a lot of linux images like slax, lubuntu, kali linux, linux mint, puppy linux, mx linux and failing on static IP in usb live linux until Ubuntu Server is tested. (Persistence feature sometimes was the issue and no images could actually help in booting up with static or dynamic ip addr in iMac)
Here's my experience with Ubuntu Server in iMac with static IP settings. (You don't have to look up your router for the IP assignment any more!)
1. You need a new SDD to install Ubuntu server in iMac. (128G or 64G is enough) & USB stick with ubuntu-20.04.2-live-server-amd64.iso imaged. (Rufus will do)
2. Remove the existing SDD/HDD inside the iMac and install the new SDD to install Ubuntu.
3. Boot from USB and install Ubuntu server (server name, id/pw, static ip, sshd, etc..) and finish the installation.
4. reboot it to see if the Ubuntu booting from ssd is ok. and check if ssh from another PC to iMac is working.
5. now replace the default GPU to GTX 780M and reassemble everything.
6. Boot up the iMac via internal SSD and you will see the booting screen!!!! Ubuntu server can show the text-based screen and you can log in via your keyboard at iMac! I'm not sure how it's possible but I can confirm this works.
7. you can upload your bios file and bios program via winscp using your ssh id/pw.
8. run the bios updater and back up your original gpu image and update it with proper bios. (Me updated my 780M with 780M_WINFIX.rom and it's working fine!)
9. reboot and bingo!
If you can see the booting screen from your iMac from now on, every gpu upgrade is going to be really easy!
Actually, I had struggled alot on this upgrade like buying unsupported 870m or no dhcp issue with wrml image and so on.
I used to be a network engineer for a decade and I know what's wrong when DHCP not working. But as some suffered before, my iMac couldn't get an IP from my router at all even if the same usb stick can perfectly get an IP when it's used with my other laptops.
So I was about to set the wireless up from iMac after trying a lot of linux images like slax, lubuntu, kali linux, linux mint, puppy linux, mx linux and failing on static IP in usb live linux until Ubuntu Server is tested. (Persistence feature sometimes was the issue and no images could actually help in booting up with static or dynamic ip addr in iMac)
Here's my experience with Ubuntu Server in iMac with static IP settings. (You don't have to look up your router for the IP assignment any more!)
1. You need a new SDD to install Ubuntu server in iMac. (128G or 64G is enough) & USB stick with ubuntu-20.04.2-live-server-amd64.iso imaged. (Rufus will do)
2. Remove the existing SDD/HDD inside the iMac and install the new SDD to install Ubuntu.
3. Boot from USB and install Ubuntu server (server name, id/pw, static ip, sshd, etc..) and finish the installation.
4. reboot it to see if the Ubuntu booting from ssd is ok. and check if ssh from another PC to iMac is working.
5. now replace the default GPU to GTX 780M and reassemble everything.
6. Boot up the iMac via internal SSD and you will see the booting screen!!!! Ubuntu server can show the text-based screen and you can log in via your keyboard at iMac! I'm not sure how it's possible but I can confirm this works.
7. you can upload your bios file and bios program via winscp using your ssh id/pw.
8. run the bios updater and back up your original gpu image and update it with proper bios. (Me updated my 780M with 780M_WINFIX.rom and it's working fine!)
9. reboot and bingo!
If you can see the booting screen from your iMac from now on, every gpu upgrade is going to be really easy!
Last edited:
If you are already using Open Core Legacy Patcher, to the best of my knowledge, all you'll need to do is download the Big Sur installer from the Mac App Store as if you had a supported 2020 iMac. It should just update correctly without any additional work. (There have been occasional reports of some minor hiccups, but I think they have been resolved with multiple forced reboots of the computer...)
He's not using OCLP. He is using OpenCore and a patched version of Catalina with Catalina Loader. He needs to install OCLP and then download the latest version and use the install media command on his Mac to prepare the USB installer.
The following is a rom for brightness control for the people who own a K2000M card.
You will still need to use Opencore to do the necessary ACPI injections.
Appreciate @BadBiscuit for doing the initial testing and confirmation. His hardware and OS support is below.
Vram support:
Hynix H5TQ2G63DFR (tested)
Bootloader/OS support:
OCLP v.0.1.2, BigSur 11.3.1 (tested)
Machine support:
iMac 12,1 ( 21.5-inch Mid 2011) Mac-942B5BF58194151B (tested)
iMac 11,2 ( 21.5-inch Mid 2010) Mac-F2238AC8
iMac 11,1 (27-inch Late 2009) Mac-F2268DAE
iMac 11,3 (27-inch Mid 2010) Mac- F2238BAE
iMac12,2 (27-inch Mid 2011) Mac-942B59F58194171B
Again, now that @Ausdauersportler and the others are working to refine OCLP to our generation iMacs, these cards should be more easily compatible. Much appreciation for that. A reminder, they are not for power users because of their DDR3 ram and clock limitations. Enjoy!
Insanely Great!
-Steve Jobs
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing this!
Most people start with a dead GPU. Because of this one guy came up with this GRML solution. We have ongoing discussion about those network issues with a few uses. If one does the big statistics and put my countless uses of the stick into it I am still refusing to see a general network problem.
A fraction of users (less than the half) start with HP cards (the NVIDIA cards are identical, but HP does not use the BIOS on the chip). So your solution will not give them a screen output at all. These cards have no BIOS loaded, just a stub file. The real vBIOS is stored in the HP laptop firmware.
And to drive your solution completely into the wilderness: IF a new GPU is showing a text screen with your ubuntu SSD it will surely do the very same with the GRML, too. This is the first thing I (would) try using an external display or by reassembling the internal LCD.
If you get no working screen and no working connection from your router you can also study the GRML docs and you can blindly enter the steps necessary to enable the WiFi connection (using your key).
In reality I own a looted 2009 iMac without internal display, DVD etc just to flash new GPUs using the GRML flash utility all the time.
Last edited:
Simply the GRML package downloaded from here or the latest GRML iso downloaded from its own site, both didn't bring me any video output at all. Only Ubuntu Server did that.
I disassembled and reassembled iMac numerous times for each Linux packages that I listed above and no Linux except Ubuntu server could do that. (Actually, no other Linux were installed in iMAC and they were all USB live Linux.)
Maybe the difference would be installing those Linux packages to iMac SDD/HDD and simply running via USB stick? So if GRML supports installation like the other Linux, I think it's worth trying.
Btw, to compare the networking results between the two different logic boards, I ordered one more logic board from eBay so I can confirm if the 2nd board can get IP easily or not via GRML stick. And I'll update again later.
Last edited:
When I am home next week I will share a picture of the video output. Until then you have to believe me.
I have not only disassembled and reassembled a single iMac numerous time, I did this with numerous of each of the supported 5 different systems and some unsupported ones.
It is a well known fact that mostly Dell (NVIDIA and AMD) cards can hold a PC BIOS offering video output from the start (but without all the features (search the seven problems on post #1) users today would expect to work out of the box).
The first author on this thread posted this nearly 8 years ago.
Been hesitant to roll over to BS on OCLP, I use my iMac for work (MacOS) and play (win10). I fear data loss of my Win10 partition if OCLP is used. To my perception, I may be in the minority when using legacy windows 10 (installed from DVD, booting MBR not UEFI). I'm not an area expert, but I believe I may be using a hybrid MBR GPT scheme.
When I install OCLP on a SD card, will it obliterate the boot scheme on the SSD? Or if I take out the SD card, can I boot my Win10 using the normal Bootpicker?
Thanks people.
When I install OCLP on a SD card, will it obliterate the boot scheme on the SSD? Or if I take out the SD card, can I boot my Win10 using the normal Bootpicker?
Thanks people.
I bought it and installed the K4100M boot loop on iMac 2011 but it doesn't work.
Symptoms boot loop Loud fan noise Black screen I can't boot USB to flash ROM. And then turn off
I didn't remove the HDD cable. Why is it? How can I fix the problem?
Two LED on
Symptoms boot loop Loud fan noise Black screen I can't boot USB to flash ROM. And then turn off
I didn't remove the HDD cable. Why is it? How can I fix the problem?
Two LED on
Last edited:
Hi Everyone,
I'm new to this forum and I've read through the majority of this thread and I'm completely lost.
I have iMac 2009 27 i7 2.8ghz with 16GB ram, 1tb SSD. It's currently running the stock AMD 4850 GPU and I want to upgrade in order to use Big Sur. I know how to use Open Core and modify any Kexts.
I know this has been asked many times, however I want to buy a GPU with budget of $200. I mainly use the iMac for work, so word excel, emails and the occasional photo editing. I do not game at all on there.
I've looked through the first page of all the Nvidia GPU's, which again has confused me even more. Which is the best one to get and easiest to install with regard to it working. So native boot, brightness. I'd like to have at least 4GB, what the one used more commonly than others without any issues, like sleep etc.
Thanks in advance.
I'm new to this forum and I've read through the majority of this thread and I'm completely lost.
I have iMac 2009 27 i7 2.8ghz with 16GB ram, 1tb SSD. It's currently running the stock AMD 4850 GPU and I want to upgrade in order to use Big Sur. I know how to use Open Core and modify any Kexts.
I know this has been asked many times, however I want to buy a GPU with budget of $200. I mainly use the iMac for work, so word excel, emails and the occasional photo editing. I do not game at all on there.
I've looked through the first page of all the Nvidia GPU's, which again has confused me even more. Which is the best one to get and easiest to install with regard to it working. So native boot, brightness. I'd like to have at least 4GB, what the one used more commonly than others without any issues, like sleep etc.
Thanks in advance.
If you want to run BigSur then dont worry about native boot/brightness as you need OC anyway. Go a K3100 for best bang for buck in the 4gb range.
Hi, Thanks for the quick reply, I'll look into the K3100. When using OpenCore with the K3100, will sleep work too?. Is there a particular model of K3100 I need to buy? I presume I also need the 3 pipe iMac 2011 heatsink too? as mine the stock 2 pipe in my 2009 27 iMac
Many thanks
Everything working except apple tv for me.
Yes 3 pipe a must.
My K3100 looked brand new but your results may vary.
Message me for card details if you like, i dont want to post links to items in this thread, especially GPUs it a touchy thing.
Yes 3 pipe a must.
My K3100 looked brand new but your results may vary.
Message me for card details if you like, i dont want to post links to items in this thread, especially GPUs it a touchy thing.
You could as well run Big Sur with the 4850. Graphics acceleration in beta state for the 4xxx should be available via OCLP, although with some glitches (but that will still be improved). OTA updates will not work then.
Is this an experiment with a single card of each type or did you check multiple?
My few K3000M with Hynix AFR worked in 2009/2010/2011 27 iMac systems.
We never recommend to use a MXM-B card in small 21.5 inch models. I would even say - no support - since I refuse to answer when people posting their problems doing this.
For what it's worth, the first time I tried the grml USB I finally figured out that for some reason my router was handing the Mac only an IPV6 address and not an IPV4 address so I had to use that address to get into it.
For your needs, a 2GB card should be more than enough regarding performance. Maybe consider the K1100M or K2100M, or any other 2 pipe compatible card. Which will fit easily in your budget.
Did you flashed the card with the modded vbios (ser post 1)?
Can you share a picture of the card chip and the vram?