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

[highvoltage12v]

Ok, there are a few iMac 27" on here that where upgraded to the 765m but you did say the 21.5" had power delivery problems with the 770m, this would presumably affect the 765m as they are rated for the same power draw of 75w? You said in a post higher up that you have a 770m in your 21.5" what exactly happens when the power demand exceeds what the iMac can provide? I also cannot see why a 760m wouldn't work as both the 765m and 770m have never been used in official iMacs either, only 750m, 755m, 775m and 780m have been in offical iMacs.

Let me start out with saying I never personally have used a 765m as mine arrived DOA. The power issues come from the card hitting boost, with my 770m it will only stay in boost at 862mhz for 1-3 seconds before dropping back to 405MHz, if you go back to page 48 (and page 57) you can see my benchmark runs in Windows. Someone here has done a 765m in there 21.5 iMac but hasn't benchmarked it. Just said it runs smooth. I have modified the bios of my 770m is make the memory run constantly at 810MHz to stop the lag issues. You cannot compare the 27" iMac to the 21.5" the 27" iMac was designed for MXM-B cards like the 6970m. The boost states with the 765m aren't as aggressive as the 770m (go look at both bios's from Tech Power up database and look at them with Nvidia Keplar bios tool and see the p-states/boost) so if you really want to cram a MXM-B card into a 21.5" I only recommend the 765m, keep in mind you will be breaking the HDD mounting tabs and plastic in the area, again see my post on page 48. Having said all that, you can see post #1145 where I had shown differences of me modding my cards Rom to get the best performance possible. I can't do this for a 765m, I would need to buy another 21.5" 2011 iMac and a 765m to testing/mod the bios. Maybe buy a 770m and use my bios? I'll do another heaven benchmark for you tomm and post a screenshot of the results. The most important part of doing this at all is to gain Metal Support so we can run Mojave, I solved the sleep issues by re-adding the necessary HD3000 kexts.

TLDR: a 765m will work fine for day to day tasks, wont stay in boost as long as it should, but will still perform better than a k2000m. Can't verify performance.

 

[FlorisVN]

I would say stick with MXM-A cards, and stay with for example K2000m
Don't use MXM-B cards in 21,5" like GTX765-770-780m.

 

[highvoltage12v]

I would say stick with MXM-A cards, and stay with for example K2000m
Don't use MXM-B cards in 21,5" like GTX765-770-780m.

Exactly, That's basically what my long post is saying. The k2000m does everything a 2011 21.5 iMac needs to do. If you really want performance buy a 780ti and put it in an EGPU enclosure+k2000m.

 

[FlorisVN]

Exactly, That's basically what my long post is saying. The k2000m does everything a 2011 21.5 iMac needs to do. If you really want performance buy a 780ti and put it in an EGPU enclosure+k2000m.

little side info, Greg did a GTX765m in his 21,5" iMac.
he shares some benchmarks also :

But i would again like highvoltage12v stated, never put a MXM-B card in a 21,5" model.

 

[highvoltage12v]

little side info, Greg did a GTX765m in his 21,5" iMac.
he shares some benchmarks also :

But i would again like highvoltage12v stated, never put a MXM-B card in a 21,5" model.

Wow this guys content is great, i'm subscribing. I still want to see results in Windows so everything can be monitored with GPU-Z. At 31:30 you can see the huge result gain. It really depends if @Alex227831 is up for the modifications. And knows I personally haven't tried the 765m.

 

[wlagarde]

Ok, there are a few iMac 27" on here that where upgraded to the 765m but you did say the 21.5" had power delivery problems with the 770m, this would presumably affect the 765m as they are rated for the same power draw of 75w? You said in a post higher up that you have a 770m in your 21.5" what exactly happens when the power demand exceeds what the iMac can provide? I also cannot see why a 760m wouldn't work as both the 765m and 770m have never been used in official iMacs either, only 750m, 755m, 775m and 780m have been in offical iMacs.

21.5-2011 iMac has a 205W PS while the 27-2011 iMac has a 310W PS. If you exceed the rated power (i.e. current) draw of the PS it will shut down. If you do the math for your machine (Add up CPU TDP + GPU TDP) you can get a sense of where you are with power.

FlorisVN and highvoltage12v are correct about the K2000M for the 21.5. The larger MXM-B cards are a very difficult physical fit and have higher TDP.

 

[highvoltage12v]

21.5-2011 iMac has a 205W PS while the 27-2011 iMac has a 310W PS. If you exceed the rated power (i.e. current) draw of the PS it will shut down. If you do the math for your machine (Add up CPU TDP + GPU TDP) you can get a sense of where you are with power.

I have a 2600s (65w tdp is all the 21.5 will allow) in mine and never had a shut down with the 770m. Everyone should be removing their hard drives and installing SSD's when doing this, so we get a device off of the 12v rail. My concern is being aware of the heat now generated. I keep my fans anywhere from 2800rpm to 3200rpm.

 

[wlagarde]

I have a 2600s (65w tdp is all the 21.5 will allow) in mine and never had a shut down with the 770m. Everyone should be removing their hard drives and installing SSD's when doing this, so we get a device off of the 12v rail. My concern is being aware of the heat now generated. I keep my fans anywhere from 2800rpm to 3200rpm.

Heat
Power
Form factor

All 3 are important considerations
IMHO K2000M is best overall option for 21. But one certainly can go for MXM-B card as you have.

 

[highvoltage12v]

Heat
Power
Form factor

All 3 are important considerations
IMHO K2000M is best overall option for 21. But one certainly can go for MXM-B card as you have.

I recommend the k2000m myself just so others don't have to go through the modification process. @Alex227831 said he wanted something much more powerful than a 6770m. I recommend a 765m as the only MXM-B option since he wants to go larger.

I would prefer to get more of a performance bump from the 6770m. The 765m has MXM-B and a TDP of 75wh which is the same as the 770m. Would a 760m or 850m work? Both have same or lower TDP as Quadro K2000m in case of 850m its 10whs lower.

 

[wlagarde]

I recommend the k2000m myself just so others don't have to go through the modification process. @Alex227831 said he wanted something much more powerful than a 6770m. I recommend a 765m as the only MXM-B option since he wants to go larger.

Ahh got it.

 

[Alex227831]

Ok, so everyone here seems to be saying get a k2000m... I watched Gregs video and he didn't seem to do any modifications to fit his card and seemed to be pretty plug and play, I understand that there is no guarantee but it seemed to work. @wlagrade said that the PSU might shut off, I don't think that will happen as the MXM-A socket in the iMac can only provide 55w causing the bottleneck to occur there instead of the PSU meaning the PSU is never outputting more than it would for a k2000m. Looking at @highvoltage12v's modifications to fit his 770m, its been a while since I opened up my iMac but it looks like you cut off part of the drive bay to fit the card and then stuck the drive behind the bay to the case? Your second drive is mounted below the DVD drive Im guessing? Anyway I am considering a k2000m mainly due to the price tag over the 765m. If I find a well priced 765m I might go for that... Final question is the K2000m Metal supported?

 

[wlagarde]

Ok, so everyone here seems to be saying get a k2000m... I watched Gregs video and he didn't seem to do any modifications to fit his card and seemed to be pretty plug and play, I understand that there is no guarantee but it seemed to work. @wlagrade said that the PSU might shut off, I don't think that will happen as the MXM-A socket in the iMac can only provide 55w causing the bottleneck to occur there instead of the PSU meaning the PSU is never outputting more than it would for a k2000m. Looking at @highvoltage12v's modifications to fit his 770m, its been a while since I opened up my iMac but it looks like you cut off part of the drive bay to fit the card and then stuck the drive behind the bay to the case? Your second drive is mounted below the DVD drive Im guessing? Anyway I am considering a k2000m mainly due to the price tag over the 765m. If I find a well priced 765m I might go for that... Final question is the K2000m Metal supported?

Yes

 

[highvoltage12v]

Ok, so everyone here seems to be saying get a k2000m... I watched Gregs video and he didn't seem to do any modifications to fit his card and seemed to be pretty plug and play, I understand that there is no guarantee but it seemed to work. @wlagrade said that the PSU might shut off, I don't think that will happen as the MXM-A socket in the iMac can only provide 55w causing the bottleneck to occur there instead of the PSU meaning the PSU is never outputting more than it would for a k2000m. Looking at @highvoltage12v's modifications to fit his 770m, its been a while since I opened up my iMac but it looks like you cut off part of the drive bay to fit the card and then stuck the drive behind the bay to the case? Your second drive is mounted below the DVD drive Im guessing? Anyway I am considering a k2000m mainly due to the price tag over the 765m. If I find a well priced 765m I might go for that... Final question is the K2000m Metal supported?

I actually snapped the bottom right HDD bracket off, it's cheap metal, there was also Black plastic that also sits above the card that I broke away. My SSD's are stacked above each other with the Sata connectors facing opposite directions. (Not in the original picture) The SSD bracket in picture is made by Sabrent and A chunk of it was removed with a Dremel. Yes the k2000 supports metal, It's Kepler based, hence the 'k' in k2000. I wouldn't worry about Shutdown from the PSU. MXM-A is designed to put out a maximum of 55w and can't go over that.

 

[Alex227831]

I actually snapped the bottom right HDD bracket off, it's cheap metal, there was also Black plastic that also sits above the card that I broke away. My SSD's are stacked above each other with the Sata connectors facing opposite directions. (Not in the original picture) The SSD bracket in picture is made by Sabrent and A chunk of it was removed with a Dremel. Yes the k2000 supports metal, It's Kepler based, hence the 'k' in k2000. I wouldn't worry about Shutdown from the PSU. MXM-A is designed to put out a maximum of 55w and can't go over that.

Ok, that pretty cool. I found a 765m at https://www.ebay.com.au/p/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-765m-Gtx765m-2gb-MXM-3-0-B-Video-Graphic-Card-for-iMac/4026578164?iid=323575723697&chn=ps&ul_ref=https%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F705-139619-5960-0%2F2%3Fmpre%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.com.au%252Fp%252FNVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-765m-Gtx765m-2gb-MXM-3-0-B-Video-Graphic-Card-for-iMac%252F4026578164%253Fiid%253D323575723697%2526chn%253Dps%26itemid%3D323575723697%26targetid%3D538829713562%26device%3Dt%26adtype%3Dpla%26googleloc%3D20035%26poi%3D%26campaignid%3D1669165598%26adgroupid%3D68573514390%26rlsatarget%3Dpla-538829713562%26abcId%3D578876%26merchantid%3D113860722%26gclid%3DCj0KCQiAvqDiBRDAARIsADWh5TdH6ZvdnRzzQUQM402Hkjrxsx4HPjBBIJkY39KSCDXCU-ZTR4V1WGgaAkhREALw_wcB%26srcrot%3D705-139619-5960-0%26rvr_id%3D1831414970914%26rvr_ts%3D7dc8ecbf1680aaa2f5a25354fff74f24 it claims to be for an iMac, dose that mean it has a special vbois for EFI or something else? In Greg’s video he said something about MacsVidCards trying to modify the cards for Mac so you can keep stuff like boot screen and brightness control

 

[highvoltage12v]

Ok, that pretty cool. I found a 765m at https://www.ebay.com.au/p/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-765m-Gtx765m-2gb-MXM-3-0-B-Video-Graphic-Card it claims to be for an iMac, dose that mean it has a special vbois for EFI or something else? In Greg’s video he said something about MacsVidCards trying to get a special bois or somthing....

No all that means is the sellers know the alternate purpose for these cards, and have jacked up the price accordingly. If they claim this though, it better have the Dell VBIOS we need. What you're thinking of is something we're waiting for MacVidCards to eventually accomplish which is boot screens/Brightness control.

 

[Alex227831]

No all the means is the sellers know the alternate purpose for these cards, and have jacked up the price accordingly. If they claim this though, it better have the Dell VBIOS we need. What you're thinking of is something we're waiting for MacVidCards to eventually accomplish which is boot screens/Brightness control.

Ok it actually is one of the cheaper cards that I found, and yeah in the discription it was ripped from a dell.

 

[highvoltage12v]

Ok it actually is one of the cheaper cards that I found, and yeah in the discription it was ripped from a dell.

Yeah that converts to ≈$98 US so it's not bad at all. I've seen as high as $130-180 US here.

 

[Alex227831]

With

Yeah that converts to ≈$98 US so it's not bad at all. I've seen as high as $130-180 US here.

With the k2000m is there a specific one I have to find, like on from a dell or any will do?

 

[highvoltage12v]

With

With the k2000m is there a specific one I have to find, like on from a dell or any will do?

It must come from the Dell Precision m4700 with dell part number
DP/N: D30WG, 0D30WG.

 

[FlorisVN]

I recently installed Nvidia Webdrivers and CUDA to test it.
I changed to webdrivers succesfully first time, after reboot web drivers where active and worked great.
Then I switched again to MacOS default driver, but now i cannot change back to Nvidia WebDriver again..

Maybay this problem has been posted here before, so far I cannot find any info here..
But was wondering if somebody got a fix here ?

I already tried with nvram reset, but did not work so far.
And disabled the lock in the nvidia driver pannel within control pannel, to try and switch but stil the option is grayed out to swtich back again to nvidia webdriver.
Is this maybay a buy in the latest version with high sierra ?

running 10.13.6 latest version, and latest webdriver as of this moment with GTX765m and SIP is enabled.

 

[highvoltage12v]

I recently installed Nvidia Webdrivers and CUDA to test it.
I changed to webdrivers succesfully first time, after reboot web drivers where active and worked great.
Then I switched again to MacOS default driver, but now i cannot change back to Nvidia WebDriver again..

Maybay this problem has been posted here before, so far I cannot find any info here..
But was wondering if somebody got a fix here ?

I already tried with nvram reset, but did not work so far.
And disabled the lock in the nvidia driver pannel within control pannel, to try and switch but stil the option is grayed out to swtich back again to nvidia webdriver.
Is this maybay a buy in the latest version with high sierra ?

running 10.13.6 latest version, and latest webdriver as of this moment with GTX765m and SIP is enabled.

I heard there was another security update for 10.13.6, check your build number and google it to see if an updated web driver was released for it. Either way I would still reinstall the web drivers with something such as this https://github.com/Benjamin-Dobell/nvidia-update

 

[FlorisVN]

I heard there was another security update for 10.13.6, check your build number and google it to see if an updated web driver was released for it. Either way I would still reinstall the web drivers with something such as this https://github.com/Benjamin-Dobell/nvidia-update

thx, indeed high sierra update 2019-001 broke Nvidia web drivers.
I got them working again with following script :
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Benjamin-Dobell/nvidia-update/master/nvidia-
update.sh) -f


I found information for this fix here :
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/security-update-2019-001-10-13-6.270120/

Only CUDA drivers are not working anymore, anybody got a fix for this one ?
So far I cannot find a benjamin Dobell like patch for CUDA, or will nvidia release new CUDA and Web Drivers soon, for 2019-001 ??

 

[highvoltage12v]

thx, indeed high sierra update 2019-001 broke Nvidia web drivers.
I got them working again with following script :
bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Benjamin-Dobell/nvidia-update/master/nvidia-
update.sh) -f


I found information for this fix here :
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/security-update-2019-001-10-13-6.270120/

Only CUDA drivers are not working anymore, anybody got a fix for this one ?
So far I cannot find a benjamin Dobell like patch for CUDA, or will nvidia release new CUDA and Web Drivers soon, for 2019-001 ??

Yep my thoughts on what happened, same github script too.

 

[FlorisVN]

With

With the k2000m is there a specific one I have to find, like on from a dell or any will do?

I think you need this one :

Dell NVIDIA Quadro K2000M
VBIOS 80.07.52.00.18.
MXM-A card model
(intended for Dell Precision M4700 laptop)
[doublepost=1548345978][/doublepost]

Yep my thoughts on what happened, same github script too.

Ok thx , but CUDA script is not here yet.. ?

 

[highvoltage12v]

I think you need this one :

Dell NVIDIA Quadro K2000M
VBIOS 80.07.52.00.18.
MXM-A card model
(intended for Dell Precision M4700 laptop)
[doublepost=1548345978][/doublepost]

Ok thx , but CUDA script is not here yet.. ?

I quickly looked into the CUDA kext that's in the installer. I don't see anything in the info.plist that ties it to the build number, I would have to look into this more.