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

[m0bil]

OMG you are right! When I've read those directions I must have read erroneously "use the standard settings" instead of "use these standard settings". I never compared the resolution. I was convinced doing everything right by not changing anything and running the benchmark on default settings. 🤦‍♂️

Thank you for finding my error!! Now the results are fine! Thank you!!!!

Also note that for the 780M, you can use the _BR2 rom with a slight overclock or the _BR3 with standard clock settings. My card works fine with the _BR3 rom, but if I use the _BR2 it ends up overheating under very heavy gaming sessions on windows (also I have now around 30ºC ambient temperature).
In order to use the _BR2 rom and enjoy the slight overclock I have disconnected the odd temperature sensor as this enables odd fan to ramp up to 3800 rpm, enough to keep the card cool at all times.

 

[RioRio]

Also note that for the 780M, you can use the _BR2 rom with a slight overclock or the _BR3 with standard clock settings. My card works fine with the _BR3 rom, but if I use the _BR2 it ends up overheating under very heavy gaming sessions on windows (also I have now around 30ºC ambient temperature).
In order to use the _BR2 rom and enjoy the slight overclock I have disconnected the odd temperature sensor as this enables odd fan to ramp up to 3800 rpm, enough to keep the card cool at all times.

Where can I find the _BR2 rom? In the first post I can only find 780_BR3 and 780_WINFIX with even lower clockspeeds.

Another question, I boughed four GTX 780M from China. Three of them work fine, but one is crashing as soon as I open Unigine Valley. Another 780 works fine in the same iMac. Tried it with WINFIX rom but still the same problem. The seller said they tested all cards before shipping. Any idea how to make that card work? Or is it most probably trash?

 

[Radical78]

This looks a little bit like you have a K3000M with a different and currently not supported memory type, there is another K3000M version for download. Give it a try. Would be interesting to get a high res picture of the card to identify the memory type (always recommended to take those pictures before installing the card).

It’s an HP card, I’ve seen that this card worked in other posts. I’ll install the @stephle rom. If that doesn’t work I’ll flash back to the original rom. Thanks for uploading the original rom.

Here are the pictures (took them before installing).

The stephle rom works with:

VRAM type: Hynix H5GQ1H24BFR T2C 322A

This card is:

VRAM type: Hynix H5GQ1H24BFR T2C 228A

Maybe works with this variant.

Thanks for uploading the original rom.

 

[Paramods]

I have had a read through most and im still abit stuck...

Im having trouble with Vbios

Ok so ive put in a K1000M in my 21" Mac 2011. Its all back together minus the screen.

I fire it up with just the usb stick in and ethernet.
I get all the noises and fast fans etc which is meant to be correct

I can ssh into the mac from my pc no problems, user,password and key etc is all fine but when I put in any commands it says files or directory not found??

Im sure this is just a rookie error but im stumped??

Thanks for any help

 

[Mischa85]

I have had a read through most and im still abit stuck...

Im having trouble with Vbios

Ok so ive put in a K1000M in my 21" Mac 2011. Its all back together minus the screen.

I fire it up with just the usb stick in and ethernet.
I get all the noises and fast fans etc which is meant to be correct

I can ssh into the mac from my pc no problems, user,password and key etc is all fine but when I put in any commands it says files or directory not found??

Im sure this is just a rookie error but im stumped??

Thanks for any help

You have a lot of words in front of your success in SSHing into your iMac. Which is all that matters.

Now you neglect to tell us exactly which command fails and what the computer responds with

(are you even in the correct directory?)

 

[herrdude]

I have had a read through most and im still abit stuck...

Im having trouble with Vbios

Ok so ive put in a K1000M in my 21" Mac 2011. Its all back together minus the screen.

I fire it up with just the usb stick in and ethernet.
I get all the noises and fast fans etc which is meant to be correct

I can ssh into the mac from my pc no problems, user,password and key etc is all fine but when I put in any commands it says files or directory not found??

Im sure this is just a rookie error but im stumped??

Thanks for any help

#15,039

 

[m0bil]

Where can I find the _BR2 rom? In the first post I can only find 780_BR3 and 780_WINFIX with even lower clockspeeds.

Another question, I boughed four GTX 780M from China. Three of them work fine, but one is crashing as soon as I open Unigine Valley. Another 780 works fine in the same iMac. Tried it with WINFIX rom but still the same problem. The seller said they tested all cards before shipping. Any idea how to make that card work? Or is it most probably trash?

Here is my copy of the _BR2 rom, it sure is somewhere on this thread, but faster to attach it here.

About the card that fails, when you start Valley benchmark the card enters P0 state (highest performance) and that makes it crash... check ram chips to see if they're different from other cards. Some of this cards taken from old laptops sometimes have some missing or faulty components...

 

[georgeimac]

Thank you to all who help those in this website. Just upgraded to a K3100M. Followed instructions on page 1. Purchased a preflashed card on eBay. Modified heat sink with Dremel tool. Put K5 on it and temp at 61. Took 4 hours to boot up. Have to get more brightness with Kext file fix, but not sure exactly how to do that or open core. I’ve read it but not familiar with that.
I plan to run some numbers to post.

 

[marcian0]

iMac11,3 - (27-inch Mid 2010) Mac-F2238BAE (Tested machine)
- BootROM: 99.0.0.0.0. Please use High Sierra to update your BootROM to latest version.


- GPU variant: N14E-Q1-A2
- VRAM type: Hynix H5GQ1H24BFR T2C 322A

@stephle

​

"insanely great!"
-Steve Jobs

Wow, guys (and girls and everyone)!
Thanks for this amazing job!
I have bought an iMac 27 2010 a couple of years ago, when I read about upgradability.
Then I read about the complications and procrastinated the GPU upgrade for a while. Some months ago I found a K3000M out of a Gaming laptop in the classifieds here not far away. Wasn't too cheap, but claimed working (replaced due to upgrade) and not from China....
Stil I needed to wait some time to e.g. order some copper sheet and also to have a day with no kids around the house.

I upgraded the BIOS the hard way (desolder, flash in TL866, reflow into place). The card works very very well. All this work you put into the topic made it an easy job for me.
Thanks again so much for all the work that everyone put over the course of years... This way I will keep the iMac out of the e-waste for a couple more years. After all it's still a nice machine.

 

[Paramods]

You have a lot of words in front of your success in SSHing into your iMac. Which is all that matters.

Now you neglect to tell us exactly which command fails and what the computer responds with

(are you even in the correct directory?

Sorry yes nothing was

#15,039

Thanks all sorted now

 

[RioRio]

Thank you to all who help those in this website. Just upgraded to a K3100M. Followed instructions on page 1. Purchased a preflashed card on eBay. Modified heat sink with Dremel tool. Put K5 on it and temp at 61. Took 4 hours to boot up. Have to get more brightness with Kext file fix, but not sure exactly how to do that or open core. I’ve read it but not familiar with that.
I plan to run some numbers to post.

In my experience the easiest way is to install BigSur with OCLP. Then you don't have to worry about the Kexts. It works like "out of the box".

 

[Radical78]

It’s an HP card, I’ve seen that this card worked in other posts. I’ll install the @stephle rom. If that doesn’t work I’ll flash back to the original rom. Thanks for uploading the original rom.

Here are the pictures (took them before installing).

View attachment 1795602View attachment 1795603

The stephle rom works with:

VRAM type: Hynix H5GQ1H24BFR T2C 322A

This card is:

VRAM type: Hynix H5GQ1H24BFR T2C 228A

Maybe works with this variant.

Thanks for uploading the original rom.

I did the test and had the same result @Ausdauersportler. Probably the RAM in this variant is causing the issue.

VRAM type: Hynix H5GQ1H24BFR T2C 228A

It doesn't work. Here's how it looks when it boot, then the eternal chime loop.

I'm also confused, the sticker on the GPU says: N14EQ1 M is the same as GPU variant: N14E-Q1-A2 that actually works?

I flashed back to my AMD HD 4850 with the rom you uploaded, thanks. The old GPU freezes (that's why I wanted to upgrade) I might try to find another compatible GPU with a reasonable price.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I did the test and had the same result @Ausdauersportler. Probably the RAM in this variant is causing the issue.

VRAM type: Hynix H5GQ1H24BFR T2C 228A

It doesn't work. Here's how it looks when it boot, then the eternal chime loop.

View attachment 1796075

I'm also confused, the sticker on the GPU says: N14EQ1 M is the same as GPU variant: N14E-Q1-A2 that actually works?

I flashed back to my AMD HD 4850 with the rom you uploaded, thanks. The old GPU freezes (that's why I wanted to upgrade) I might try to find another compatible GPU with a reasonable price.

Take a close look at your own front side picture of the GPU and you will find the GPU variant. It is the one your were looking for, unfortunately it does not work. I have seen such pictures from failing cards, too. Unless someone comes up with another vBIOS version the best way would be to check the card in an older Dell laptop (using the fitting Dell vBIOS).

 

[Paramods]

Ok I hope someone can give some advice as ive made a muck up.

Replaced my GPU to a Nvidia K1000M and Flashed it etc.
It was running in High Sierra and all running ok.

I had NO Opencore etc installed so no Boot picker and black screen on startup.

I wanted to update to a later OS and I tried using Catalina Loader doing a direct install to hard drive.
All seemed ok but it restarted and was black screen - Waited an hour or so just incase but nothing

Basically I now cant see anything booting do to the gpu.

Any ideas?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Ok I hope someone can give some advice as ive made a muck up.

Replaced my GPU to a Nvidia K1000M and Flashed it etc.
It was running in High Sierra and all running ok.

I had NO Opencore etc installed so no Boot picker and black screen on startup.

I wanted to update to a later OS and I tried using Catalina Loader doing a direct install to hard drive.
All seemed ok but it restarted and was black screen - Waited an hour or so just incase but nothing

Basically I now cant see anything booting do to the gpu.

Any ideas?

The first idea would be to add a signature to your account showing your hardware. We are literally blind when a new user starts to write about a system we have never heard of before.

The K1000M vBIOS offers the EFI boot screen at least according to the first post. The Catalina Loader was meant to install on the SD card to avoid such trouble with cards having (unlike yours) no EFI boot screen.

I would start reading the first post and the FAQ and the issues and links listed there…

 

[Paramods]

The first idea would be to add a signature to your account showing your hardware. We are literally blind when a new user starts to write about a system we have never heard of before.

The K1000M vBIOS offers the EFI boot screen at least according to the first post. The Catalina Loader was meant to install on the SD card to avoid such trouble with cards having (unlike yours) no EFI boot screen.

I would start reading the first post and the FAQ and the issues and links listed there…

I flashed latest Vbios to the K1000M and I too thought it should allow the EFI boot screen but no.

I will unplug the SSD and reflash the card with one of the other revisions of the bios to see if the EFI boot screen returns.

Thanks

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I flashed latest Vbios to the K1000M and I too thought it should allow the EFI boot screen but no.

I will unplug the SSD and reflash the card with one of the other revisions of the bios to see if the EFI boot screen returns.

Thanks

EFI boot screen returns on your iMac when pressing alt/option on boot. The black screen on boot vanishes using the same trick - on your system. Everything is mentioned on the first post.

Reading must be somewhat boring but - believe me or not - it is the most important cultural technology we have. This way we can share experiences even over time…

 

[Paramods]

EFI boot screen returns on your iMac when pressing alt/option on boot. The black screen on boot vanishes using the same trick - on your system. Everything is mentioned on the first post.

Reading must be somewhat boring but - believe me or not - it is the most important cultural technology we have. This way we can share experiences even over time…

I have read the first post several times and I was under the impression that the vbios would have the EFi boot screen on that model.
Its just black screen on boot and no efi boot picker etc even with pressing option.
It was the may 21 update I flashed it with so I may just go back flash with the default bios which comes in the Quadro beta driver pack and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Radical78]

Take a close look at your own front side picture of the GPU and you will find the GPU variant. It is the one your were looking for, unfortunately it does not work. I have seen such pictures from failing cards, too. Unless someone comes up with another vBIOS version the best way would be to check the card in an older Dell laptop (using the fitting Dell vBIOS).

Thanks. Yes, try to add this so future people purchase the right GPU for the iMac Late 2009.

Once again thanks for your help.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I have read the first post several times and I was under the impression that the vbios would have the EFi boot screen on that model.
Its just black screen on boot and no efi boot picker etc even with pressing option.
It was the may 21 update I flashed it with so I may just go back flash with the default bios which comes in the Quadro beta driver pack and see if that makes a difference.

1. Black Screen: After complete installation of the iMac the internal LCD can stay black, only three status LED light up. This is the black screen software issue. Normally you can get around it (temporarily) by pressing alt/option on boot. With Late 2009 system you will face (only there) a more severe variant. After a PRAM reset the LCD gets and remains black. To fix this for all iMacs a kernel extension needs to be patched at best in advance. Only after booting into this patched macOS the screen will come back. Use this package installer to achieve this with all ++ cards on all systems up to macOS Catalina. Do not use this package on Big Sur. Important: OpenCore (OCLP) with agdpmod=vit9696 in the boot-args fires up the LCD after a PRAM reset or GPU change, too.
2. Your K1000M has a boot screen with both vBIOS versions, the newer one provides brightness control with OpenCore.

No boot screen, no working card or not really a successful flash.

 

[rse]

Dear MacRumours community,

Another success story flashing my GTX765M with GRML linux and SSH method here.

The only hurdle was to find the right working directory that a little different than the given example. Mine was:

$ cd /lib/live/mount/persistence/sda1/flash

I installed OC legacy to enable Native brightness control.

Target display mode is also working using a Thunderbold cable.

Thank you again.

 

[york026]

I finally took the time to start the next chapter. After running the GTX 880M for a few months now on High Sierra without big issues, I now managed to get Catalina running! Big thanks to all the tweakers here.

Anybody here who has experience with running both Catalina and Big Sur, who can tell me if its stable to upgrade my iMac to Big Sur right away or should I keep Catalina? 🤔

 

[johnghadimi]

Hi. I just had my iMac 2011 upgraded to the following GPU: NVIDIA Quadro K3100M by nikey22 4096 MB

Machine boots up fine (High Sierra 10.13.6), but I'm noticing the brightness is VERY dim!! I have it at max brightness, and definitely not very bright. Is there something that needs to be done to resolve this? Appreciate any insight. Thank you.

 

[herrdude]

I finally took the time to start the next chapter. After running the GTX 880M for a few months now on High Sierra without big issues, I now managed to get Catalina running! Big thanks to all the tweakers here.

Anybody here who has experience with running both Catalina and Big Sur, who can tell me if its stable to upgrade my iMac to Big Sur right away or should I keep Catalina? 🤔

OCLP + Big Sur all day long!

Hi. I just had my iMac 2011 upgraded to the following GPU: NVIDIA Quadro K3100M by nikey22 4096 MB

Machine boots up fine (High Sierra 10.13.6), but I'm noticing the brightness is VERY dim!! I have it at max brightness, and definitely not very bright. Is there something that needs to be done to resolve this? Appreciate any insight. Th

I am 100% SURE you can give us more information. We are not mind readers.

 

[johnghadimi]

OCLP + Big Sur all day long!

I am 100% SURE you can give us more information. We are not mind readers.

Happy to. What else do you need?