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

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

ha! you made me laugh, friend. it's on my list but hey: figured I'd ask if it was a common enough thing as this is my first run-through.

With nearly 20 jacks/connectors to the logic board, it's common for any first-timer to forget re-connecting a coulple of them.
I myself knocked-off a critical component on the logic board while trying to remove the GPU. Got to bring the machine to a nearby mobil phone repair shop for re-soldering job.
The other day, I attempted to pry off the CMOS battery without taking the logic board out. The result was a broken battery holder...
All things happen, my friend.

 

[m0bil]

I guys, I saw some posts that you have this adapter working. I tried two if them with different nvidia quadro M cards in generic skylake PC and video card not detected at all. Adapter have 3 red leds (signed as 3.3v 5v 12v) on and video chip itself starting to heat. Hovewer PCIe device not detected at all, I can't see it in windows or linux using tools like lspci and hwinfo. I tried to enable "Above 4G Decoding" but nothing chaged. Only one picture where it is working is aliexpress ad and I see that its leds are green and AMD card installed (it has warning sign on it but at least it is detected). Is it possible that AMD card had different pinout than nvidia card? Do I need specal MXM support bios? I thought MXM is just a physical standard of PCIe?

These adapters are quite crappy, as far as I know they don't work at all with most nvidia cards.

 

[jMack5]

With nearly 20 jacks/connectors to the logic board, it's common for any first-timer to forget re-connecting a coulple of them.
I myself knocked-off a critical component on the logic board while trying to remove the GPU. Got to bring the machine to a nearby mobil phone repair shop for re-soldering job.
The other day, I attempted to pry of the CMOS battery without taking the logic board out. The result was a broken battery holder...
All things happen, my friend.

Right. I've built a number of PCs in my day, replaced about 100 iPhone screens, and....well, $#!t still can happen. Hopefully, I won't have to do anything as much as what you went through but hey, anything is possible. If I end up being successful with this effort I may also tear it apart again and perform a CPU upgrade as well, for kicks.

 

[nikey22]

The K5000M works well in:
iMac 12,2 (mid 2011)
iMac 11,3 (mid 2010) and
iMac 11,1 (Late 2009) (thank you to @Ausdauersportler for testing)

However, as @dfranetic pointed out there is a small modification that needs to be made to the pressure-wall piece to clear the larger 3-pipe heat sink (notice there is an extra step-down providing more clearance in the 2011 model):

Once that is done, the K5000M is recognized:

 

[georgeimac]

Thanks to everyone who has worked on this project. Updated to the K3100M on a Mid 2011 12,2 iMac 27 inch with 16 GB Ram and 1 TB SSD. Mac OS 11.5.2 Big Sur with OCLP working well for the last 3 weeks. Stable platform. However, I have no Airplay or airdrop. Any hope to get this back?

 

[natus.w]

Thanks to everyone who has worked on this project. Updated to the K3100M on a Mid 2011 12,2 iMac 27 inch with 16 GB Ram and 1 TB SSD. Mac OS 11.5.2 Big Sur with OCLP working well for the last 3 weeks. Stable platform. However, I have no Airplay or airdrop. Any hope to get this back?

Airdrop you need BT 4.0 or 4.2 and at least a Wifi 5 grade compatible network adapter, a guide to upgrade your stock card to a later Broadcom unit can be found here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/imac-mid-2011-bluetooth-4-0-internal-upgrade.1780242/

Airplay will not work as you will need the HD3000 iGPU to be working as well (which can't be done with Big Sur)

 

[The_Croupier]

Ok. silly question.

I'm in the middle of flashing my K2100M (notice the "M) on my 12,2 27" iMac mid-2011 and according to the @The_Croupier link found on post #4363 I have these ROMS (screenshot below). Have I downloaded an older build or do I use the K2100.rom??


root@grml / # find / -type f -name "*.rom"
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K5000M_UGA.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K2000.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K3100M_BFR.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K4100M_UGA.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K2100.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K3100M_AFR.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K5100M_UGA.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K1000.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/k5000mUGA_S.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K4100M_BR.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K4000M_UGA.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K610M_EG2.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K1100.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/AMD/560X_OC.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/AMD/580X_SAFE.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/AMD/580X_OC.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/GTX/880M_BR.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/GTX/870M_Clevo_BR.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/GTX/860M_2GB_UGA.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/GTX/870M_6GB_UGA.rom
/lib/live/mount/persistence/sdb2/flash/Backups/Original_Vbios.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K5000M_UGA.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K2000.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K3100M_BFR.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K4100M_UGA.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K2100.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K3100M_AFR.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K5100M_UGA.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K1000.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/k5000mUGA_S.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K4100M_BR.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K4000M_UGA.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K610M_EG2.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/QUADRO/K1100.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/AMD/560X_OC.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/AMD/580X_SAFE.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/AMD/580X_OC.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/GTX/880M_BR.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/GTX/870M_Clevo_BR.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/GTX/860M_2GB_UGA.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/GTX/870M_6GB_UGA.rom
/run/live/persistence/sdb2/flash/Backups/Original_Vbios.rom


2011 27" iMac A1312, i5-2400, K2100M High Sierra 10.13.6

It’s the correct rom.
When Nick created and named the rom he omitted the “M”

 

[JohnPascololo]

Since you're using Opencore, have you ever tried using an SSDT to inject the VBIOS for eeprom-less WX cards?

It could prove to be as simple as loading the attached SSDT under ACPI in OC.

Or if the ROM needs adjusting/replacing/updating with a new ROM, you just replace the info on the SSDT (with MaciASL)

Food for thought

I have a WX4170 lacking EEPROM and for unknown reasons the mod to solder a chip did not work. However without any further modding it boots a headless linux and amdvbflash can find the card.

Practically this could be a solution to my problem. Has this ever been done by someone?

 

[internetzel]

I have a WX4170 lacking EEPROM and for unknown reasons the mod to solder a chip did not work. However without any further modding it boots a headless linux and amdvbflash can find the card.

Practically this could be a solution to my problem. Has this ever been done by someone?

You should investigate how to inject a VBIOS from here using OpenCore, Clover or Refind(Plus). That might be sufficient for the macOS drivers to work.

 

[m0bil]

I have a WX4170 lacking EEPROM and for unknown reasons the mod to solder a chip did not work. However without any further modding it boots a headless linux and amdvbflash can find the card.

Practically this could be a solution to my problem. Has this ever been done by someone?

Before we developed the eeprom mod on this card, I tried that approach for some time with great help from @hugodlc, however we never succeeded on making it work. All I got was kernel panics on boot (using high sierra), and a very difficult experience trying to debug it (no screen, and having to remove card to access panic dump). I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's a PITA to debug...

How is the mod to add eeprom on WX4170 failing for you? Usually it's related to faulty RP1 soldering, once eeprom is recognized by amdvbflash all should be good...

 

[JohnPascololo]

Oh. Thats a pitty.

It was just not recognizing the eeprom chip.

RP1 was presoldered on that card, I added the jumpers and the eeprom chip but it did not work out. So I tried to solder a different eeprom and ripped off the contact pads when removing the failing one 🤷‍♂️

Since the card is still recognized I thought that may be a path. But I probably should not waste my time if you Pros with tons of experience failed on this…

 

[m0bil]

Oh. Thats a pitty.

It was just not recognizing the eeprom chip.

RP1 was presoldered on that card, I added the jumpers and the eeprom chip but it did not work out. So I tried to solder a different eeprom and ripped off the contact pads when removing the failing one 🤷‍♂️

Sorry to hear that, depending on how you ripped pads, there are contact pads on the back of the card for eeprom pins (it's a pull/up down network), maybe you could route thin wire from missing pads to back of the card pads:

But I would first test that RP1 is well soldered, there are pads easily found to to the left of RP1 and on the pull/up down network to check that (there must be 33 ohm between legs and no shortcuts). Not an easy job, however...

edit: more detailed network pic:

 

[Andrés Díaz]

Second build, this time k2100m and i7. thanks to all the dev's and creators!!

 

[JohnPascololo]

Oh. Thats a pitty.

RP1 was presoldered on that card, I added the jumpers and the eeprom chip but it did not work out. So I tried to solder a different eeprom and ripped off the contact pads when removing the failing one 🤷‍♂️

Since the card is still recognized I thought that may be a path. But I probably should not waste my time if you Pros with tons of experience failed on this…

Sorry to hear that, depending on how you ripped pads, there are contact pads on the back of the card for eeprom pins (it's a pull/up down network), maybe you could route thin wire from missing pads to back of the card pads:
View attachment 1829487

But I would first test that RP1 is well soldered, there are pads easily found to to the left of RP1 and on the pull/up down network to check that (there must be 33 ohm between legs and no shortcuts). Not an easy job, however...

edit: more detailed network pic:

View attachment 1829581

Great 👍 I think I gonna try that!

 

[Mesh_Hun]

hello，who can help me？
k3100m can't work well under catalina
nonononono

 

[internetzel]

hello，who can help me？
k3100m can't work well under catalina
nonononono

Well, I guess you had the graphics patches for the older graphics card applied by the dosdude patcher?
You'd then have to disable that specific patch in the dosdude patcher when reinstalling Catalina.

 

[Mesh_Hun]

Well, I guess you had the graphics patches for the older graphics card applied by the dosdude patcher?
You'd then have to disable that specific patch in the dosdude patcher when reinstalling Catalina.

what should i do?

 

[The_Croupier]

what should i do?

Backup, reinstalled Catalina, uncheck legacy video patch when applying post install patches.

 

[Mesh_Hun]

ok,i well try it soon

 

[ZenSurfeur]

Thanks to everyone who has worked on this project. Updated to the K3100M on a Mid 2011 12,2 iMac 27 inch with 16 GB Ram and 1 TB SSD. Mac OS 11.5.2 Big Sur with OCLP working well for the last 3 weeks. Stable platform. However, I have no Airplay or airdrop. Any hope to get this back?

hello
you must upgrade your Bluetooth module to get these functions

 

[Mesh_Hun]

i have reinstall the catalina
it counldnt work well

 

[Ausdauersportler]

i have reinstall the catalina
it counldnt work well

The @dosdude1 patcher simply does not support metal modded iMacs. Please check the instructions on the first post in the Catalina section. This can happen only with a 2009/2010 system. Use OCLP instead or just follow the instruction if you want to stick with @dosdude1 patching (unsupported by this thread).

Repeating posts of "it does not work" won't make it work. Reading docs might do it.

 

[G3llings]

So, once again I have updated an iMac with Xeon E3-1270 and M4000M GPU. It's running great under Windows 10 and I'm benchmarking just above 1050 TI desktop performance. Unfortunately I forgot to install TeamViewer under High Sierra before swapping the card in. Is there any way to install NVIDIA web drivers without image output? Internal screen is off and external monitors will not display. Is there typically an image output without web drivers, just no acceleration? I have updated a 2011 with 780m but flashed that with @nikey22 rom so I had native boot screen. I also have a Mac Pro 5,1 but have only updated with AMD Polaris cards and was able to get boot screen with RefindPlus. Not sure how Nvidia works under macOS.

 

[jMack5]

Right. I've built a number of PCs in my day, replaced about 100 iPhone screens, and....well, $#!t still can happen. Hopefully, I won't have to do anything as much as what you went through but hey, anything is possible. If I end up being successful with this effort I may also tear it apart again and perform a CPU upgrade as well, for kicks.

Sheesh.

I've taken this iMac apart, completely, 3x now. the only way to get audio now is through a USB-audio device. All known connections are connected. All I've done is flashed the new K2100M. No idea what happened.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Sheesh.

I've taken this iMac apart, completely, 3x now. the only way to get audio now is through a USB-audio device. All known connections are connected. All I've done is flashed the new K2100M. No idea what happened.

Audio cable/jack was broken/jammed?