I suggest you read the 1st Page of this thread well before you start upgrade. It will answer most of your questions.
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iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade
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I made a bit of a discovery with my WX7100, if you add agdpmod=vit9696 to the boot args in oclp you can boot High Sierra without needing an external monitor! Yay! However, this will reverse the problem and make it so booting Big Sur will just result in a black screen once acceleration kicks in. I still need to mess around with some more WEG boot flags, but there is light at the end of the tunnel for likely all 2 people who suffer from this issue. If there is a way to have opencore only apply that boot flag to High Sierra then that would be an easy fix, but I don't think that's possible.
For those wondering why I am doing all this, I am trying to use High Sierra to get stable TDM since it doesn't work very well in Big Sur.
For those wondering why I am doing all this, I am trying to use High Sierra to get stable TDM since it doesn't work very well in Big Sur.
Here's a follow up to my tests of @internetzel 's latest AMD VBIOSes: After weekend-long sleep all machines with WX4150/WX4170 GPUs woke up to full performance state. I also filed that heatsink during the weekend and mounted the WX4170 card with Samsung K4G80325FB-HC25 RAM ICs onto it for a test. As expected there were no issues with either
Great, great job on those ROMs. Thank you!
A side note: With
WX4170_GOP.rom or WX4170_GOP_ALT_VRAM.rom. (It seems that the _ALT_VRAM.rom variants are more universal as they work with wider range of memory types. Although I'm basing this on a single card with SKHynix RAM ICs I have - all other cards in my possession have Samsung RAM ICs and are indifferent to either .rom variant...)Great, great job on those ROMs. Thank you!
A side note: With
WX4170_GOP_ALT_VRAM.rom and WX4170 on that (filed) 2-pipe heatsink from iMac11,1 the GPU temperature did go up to 60ºC, while the temperature difference between GPU die and GPU heatsink did not exceed 3-4ºC. With WX4150_GOP_ALT_VRAM.rom things run cooler (and closer to my preference): around 54-55ºC on the GPU die and 2-3ºC difference.
You can try this solution to manage more than one OC config on a single system. Have never used it myself.
Thanks for the tip, I was trying to do something similar with refind but instead going OC1 > refind > OC2, which wouldn't work since opencore doesn't like to boot opencore, even indirectly. I think that the igfxonln=1 flag might just do the trick, but if not I will try out refindplus it'll just be too bad I can't have the clean boot picker experience opencore provides. I assume refindplus works on gpu's without boot screen like how OC does?
Using the internal temperature sensors of
Toshiba SSDs in 2009 and 2010 iMacs
Some 2010 and 2011 iMacs were equipped with SSDs by Apple. These SSDs are pretty slow, the performance is much less than the SATA III (6 Gb/s) interface of the 2011 machines is capable of. Yet, these original SSDs are valuable because they have Apple firmware and a connector for temperature sensors. They are fast enough for the 2009 and 20010 iMacs, which have only a SATA II (3 Gb/s) interface anyway. With these SSDs there is no need for an additional temperature sensor or software to reduce fan speeds.
The original HDD temp sensor cables came with different connectors, depending of the manufacturer of the HDD. In the attached pictures I have used the cables of Hitachi HDDs. There are two variants of the cable: a shorter 593-1017 for 21.5" and a longer 593-1063 for 27" iMacs.
When connected as shown in the pictures, the HDD fan is being controlled by the internal temperature sensor of the SSD.
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Speaking of temperature sensors, I think almost all temperature sensors on 2009 - 2011 iMacs can be replaced (in case of failure) by a cheap (around $0.10) 2N3904 NPN transistor.
Base and Collector are connected toghether to black cable, and Emitter is connected to grey cable (this way it works as a diode).
I've only used this once to replace an Ambient temperature sensor, and it worked fine.
I know this is off-topic, but let me 'chime in':
That's what I use as a HDD temp sensor in 2009-2010 iMacs: Clip off the HDD-side connector, solder a 2N3904 onto it, put a small dab of K5 onto that transistor and attach it with aluminium tape onto (3rd party) replacement HDD/SSD. ODD temp sensor is similar - it uses a MMBT3904 (a 2N3904 in SMD SOT-23) - there is probably not enough clearance between ODD and LCD panel for the 2N3904.
This HDD temp sensor trick, of course, does not work in 2011 iMacs.
From today's experience - I used an iMac11,1 heatsink in an iMac12,2, the one from 27' 2011 iMac should fit into iMac11,1. (Do keep in mind that it is only suitable for MXM-A cards.)
Another Success Story
A big thanks to everybody involved in this project. Thank you all so much for your massive efforts in helping us keep our iMacs running. Everything went well, I was on latest High Sierra and did a backup, set up the Win7 Bootcamp with the excellent @jowaju package, swapped the card and flashed it over TeamViewer, then finally set up a USB OCLP (Catalina Loader) to get brightness control & startup menu. Everything working great, I then installed latest Big Sur in a separate APFS container, everything working in there too, brightness control, start menu, etc. The only thing is its blocked access to BootCamp now! Oh well, can't have everything.
Thanks again everyone.
Question for you guys on OCLP and installing
I've got a handful of machines that I'm going to try to put Big Sur onto them, they are listed as supported. There are about 4 different variants.
so I download and build the Big Sur DMG file and then use the createinstallmedia command. I then use OCLP to fix up that volume so that it'll boot on the older machines and install Big Sur. (I've done this successfully on a 2009 20" imac)
When I go to the next machine can I just run OLCP again on that same disk to set it up for the other machine type or do I need to create the install media again? (which takes a reasonable amount of time to do)
I've got a handful of machines that I'm going to try to put Big Sur onto them, they are listed as supported. There are about 4 different variants.
so I download and build the Big Sur DMG file and then use the createinstallmedia command. I then use OCLP to fix up that volume so that it'll boot on the older machines and install Big Sur. (I've done this successfully on a 2009 20" imac)
When I go to the next machine can I just run OLCP again on that same disk to set it up for the other machine type or do I need to create the install media again? (which takes a reasonable amount of time to do)
Ausdauersportler - Thanks for putting this in here! I can confirm that it worked for me after an "unintentional" PRAM reset left me with the black screen on startup. I used your instructions and those in the linked post to create a Recovery CD for my 27" 2011 iMac. I used my MacBook Pro to create the appropriate EFI and Boot files for an iMac 12,2. I added a couple of steps to your process above to Change the Model from MacBook Pro to iMac 12,2. This has saved me a bunch of time since I didn't need to disassemle the iMac to disconnect the internal drives and force it to boot from an external USB stick.
Having a recovery CD like this will save a lot of time for those of us with the AMD GPUs! Thanks again.
Hi all - I am upgrading my Mid 2010 27" iMac with new CPU and GPU (WX 4150) and Big Sur via Open Core Legacy Patcher. The iMac boots succesfully and I can access the iMac from another Mac via Screen Sharing but the iMac's LCD is not working. Using Screen Sharing to access the iMac I can see that the CPU and new GPU as well as the display is recognized (see screenshots). Which seems totally weird to me. But like I said the display does nothing, not even a flicker. Can you please suggest diagnosis from here? Should I check that the display cables are correctly attached? Should I do a Pram reset (wasn't sure if this would break open core)? BTW I did not upgrade the GPU Bios. Grateful of your help please.
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First thing first:
(1) Connect your iMac to a second monitor to see if it can display anything.
(2) Check on System Preference -> Display setting to see if the OS recognize the internal LCD.
If you have (2), but the internal LCD is still black, then check for knock-off components q9001 on the logic board near the lower right conner of the metal fram which hold the GPU+heatsink.
Imac black screen, external works fine
Hello, I have a problem with my imac. what have I done: I have a imac 27" late 2009. I had the famous white screen, so my videocard was broken. I ordered a new one. installed that one, imac works fine. I reïnstalled with Sierra and tested the imac for about a week. Today I decided that...
forums.macrumors.com
You answer yourself - "BTW I did not upgrade the GPU Bios".
Your GPU(WX4150) comes with PC vBIOS. It won't activate your iMac internal LCD display.
That's why specific Mac vBIOS for different GPUs are provided in the 1st post of this thread for flashing.
Most of these PC vBIOS do support external display.
So, if you attach an external monitor to your iMac, you should be able to see the Big Sur screen on your external display, but not in your internal LCD panel.
I thought you have read through the 1st post carefully for all the necessary steps before you did the upgrade ?
Hi Nguyen Duc Hieu and KennyW - thank you for your fast and informative replies. I can see now that flashing the Bios is mandatory. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll try that. Thankfully the q9001 is intact, Nguyen Duc Hieu. Grateful of both your help. Looking forward to the next steps on this upgrade.
Strange iMac 11,2 (2010 21.5") and AMD WX41x0 incompatibility
Last week I managed to get hold of an AMD WX4130 to upgrade my ancient K610M. Upgrade went smooth and on first look all worked fine, but noticing iMac was working way slow, I took a look at CPU/GPU boosting and temperature sensors. While new installed GPU boosts fine, the CPU does not boost and three (!) temperature sensors were giving wrong readings (ambient temperature here is over 30ºC):
Wrong ambient sensor readings makes SMC not boost CPU (it got stuck at x9). Besides resetting SMC, I thought I forgot something or broke something on install I reinstalled and examined all cabling and tested all sensors with multimeter. Even inspected logic board for missing coils or components I may have damaged during install. Also flashed card with latest vbios from @internetzel, but same results: card works great but wrong temperature readings and no CPU boost.
I was thinking I damaged logic board during install, but at the same time @dfranetic told me (thanks!) he had experienced same symptoms on iMac 11,2 while testing some WX4150 card, so I reverted card to old nvidia, and to my surprise temperature readings returned to normal and CPU now boosts fine.
I have attached below pictures of card.
What can be causing this strange incompatibility ????
Maybe it's some kind of I2C os SMBus device address collision between card and logic board (this is speculation, I don't know exactly how this works on the iMac, but it's common that temperature sensors communicate with SMC over these kind of serial buses). Also this could be somehow related to the problem of some cards not POSTing on the 2011 iMacs (@dfranetic thinks this card won't POST on the 12,2 iMac, yet to be tested when I get time).
Ideas are welcome!
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Hi everyone,
my iMac 27 2009 late Mac 11,1 with Radeon HD 4850 is died.
so I bought a 765m from eBay (the card had bios flash already by Nick[D]vb )for replacement, but I have a couple issues:
first the heat sink don’t fit flush, two coil are touching the upper edge of the heat sink. So does it mean that I have to hack it off to make clearance?
second it can boot to high Sierra but it will randomly restart after 5 minutes of used. So it’s any driver problem or the card is overheating (in Mac fan control can't read die temp)? Or I did something wrong in the process?
my iMac 27 2009 late Mac 11,1 with Radeon HD 4850 is died.
so I bought a 765m from eBay (the card had bios flash already by Nick[D]vb )for replacement, but I have a couple issues:
first the heat sink don’t fit flush, two coil are touching the upper edge of the heat sink. So does it mean that I have to hack it off to make clearance?
second it can boot to high Sierra but it will randomly restart after 5 minutes of used. So it’s any driver problem or the card is overheating (in Mac fan control can't read die temp)? Or I did something wrong in the process?
So I flashed the WX4150 and the iMac will boot to the Open Core Legacy picker (hooray) but when I choose Big Sur: Apple logo and progress bar appear until it gets to half way, then the screen goes blank (iMac is still on but not accessible via screensharing from another Mac).
This version of Big Sur successfully booted prior to upgrade and also during upgrade via screensharing from another Mac when the iMac's display wasn't working.
Pram reset will break open core settings, right?
Should I partition and add Catalina?
You should try all different versions of the WX4150 VBIOSes. New ones were uploaded recently - so if you downloaded some weeks ago, please recheck the links in post#1.
You might try isolating the LVDS_DDC, SMBus and maybe even the OEM contacts of the board, which according to the MXM specifications might be used for communication and hence could interfere.Strange iMac 11,2 (2010 21.5") and AMD WX41x0 incompatibility
Last week I managed to get hold of an AMD WX4130 to upgrade my ancient K610M. Upgrade went smooth and on first look all worked fine, but noticing iMac was working way slow, I took a look at CPU/GPU boosting and temperature sensors. While new installed GPU boosts fine, the CPU does not boost and three (!) temperature sensors were giving wrong readings (ambient temperature here is over 30ºC):
View attachment 1822630
Wrong ambient sensor readings makes SMC not boost CPU (it got stuck at x9). Besides resetting SMC, I thought I forgot something or broke something on install I reinstalled and examined all cabling and tested all sensors with multimeter. Even inspected logic board for missing coils or components I may have damaged during install. Also flashed card with latest vbios from @internetzel, but same results: card works great but wrong temperature readings and no CPU boost.
I was thinking I damaged logic board during install, but at the same time @dfranetic told me (thanks!) he had experienced same symptoms on iMac 11,2 while testing some WX4150 card, so I reverted card to old nvidia, and to my surprise temperature readings returned to normal and CPU now boosts fine.
I have attached below pictures of card.
What can be causing this strange incompatibility ????
Maybe it's some kind of I2C os SMBus device address collision between card and logic board (this is speculation, I don't know exactly how this works on the iMac, but it's common that temperature sensors communicate with SMC over these kind of serial buses). Also this could be somehow related to the problem of some cards not POSTing on the 2011 iMacs (@dfranetic thinks this card won't POST on the 12,2 iMac, yet to be tested when I get time).
Ideas are welcome!
A PRAM reset shouldn't hurt if you have OCLP installed on internal boot drive. In the last two weeks, while I was testing various WX4150/WX4170 VBIOSes, I got many blank screens and/or stalled Apple loading bars after flashing a different VBIOS. For 'good' VBIOSes a PRAM reset solved that problem.
I know this may be a long shot, but I have a favor to ask. As some of you have already guessed, I am trying to find a hardware mod for the VER:1.0 WX7100 and/or V1.0 RX480, which would make these cards POST and run in 27' 2011 iMacs. This time I only have a single (non-POSTing) RX480 and images of VER:1.1 WX7100 (but no actual POSTing cards) to compare. Before making changes (and possibly destroying the RX480 in my hands), I'd prefer to know the values of certain 0201-sized resistors (which V1.0 cards lack).
So does anybody have a VER:1.1 WX7100 'lying around' (ie. possibly not mounted into an iMac)? If so, would you be so kind and use a multimeter to measure the resistances of 6 0201-sized SMD resistors - circled in blue rectangles in attached pictures (3 on top layer, 3 on bottom layer)? I (and perhaps others) will be eternally grateful.
So does anybody have a VER:1.1 WX7100 'lying around' (ie. possibly not mounted into an iMac)? If so, would you be so kind and use a multimeter to measure the resistances of 6 0201-sized SMD resistors - circled in blue rectangles in attached pictures (3 on top layer, 3 on bottom layer)? I (and perhaps others) will be eternally grateful.
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hi everyone, I bought a k610m 1gb with bios nikey22, I installed it on an imac 27-2009. at startup nothing is visible. if I turn it on I take shift at the start it can be seen and it goes without graphic drivers I think doing stripes, should I flash the firmware? I don't know how to do it. this and what you see in safe mode I see it recognizes it though
