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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
Thanks Ausd. Your suspicion was correct. As soon as I connected an external monitor, it worked. There are some nuances on this though. I’ll update my post above when all sorted out so that anyone doing this in the future can more easily search. I’m upgrading to Monterey now, so hopefully the dual monitor issue disappears.

Thanks again!
It is part of the known issues section with AMD cards on the famous first post - put it in myself some months ago....
 
I've been trying to upgrade to Monterey, but I can't get the boot screen to pop up. I've been assuming it's because I needed to play tricks with my iMac so the screen will work, but I'm wondering if there's something more fundamental going on here. I just looked at "About this Mac", and this is what came up:
Screen Shot 2021-11-07 at 1.42.41 PM.jpg


Is a "Radeon Polaris" the same as a WX4150? If not, then the ebay vendor sent me the wrong card and explains a couple of things. If it is the same, do you have any idea how I can upgrade or downgrade out of high sierra without using a boot screen?
 
I've been trying to upgrade to Monterey, but I can't get the boot screen to pop up. I've been assuming it's because I needed to play tricks with my iMac so the screen will work, but I'm wondering if there's something more fundamental going on here. I just looked at "About this Mac", and this is what came up:View attachment 1904940

Is a "Radeon Polaris" the same as a WX4150? If not, then the ebay vendor sent me the wrong card and explains a couple of things. If it is the same, do you have any idea how I can upgrade or downgrade out of high sierra without using a boot screen?
That's exactly the expected behaviour, so all is well!
 
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I've been trying to upgrade to Monterey, but I can't get the boot screen to pop up. I've been assuming it's because I needed to play tricks with my iMac so the screen will work, but I'm wondering if there's something more fundamental going on here.
Fundamentally you should now start to read the docs on post #1, again. The next stop would be this section.

Spoiler: Installing macOS Mojave/Catalina/Big Sur/Monterey using OpenCore (unsupported)

Install OCLP and reboot into a boot screen.
 
Condensed this is the optimal patch to walk.

You may try the M5100 within the 2010 models - I tested this card in both the Late 2009 27, Mid 2010 21.5 and 27 models and it works flawlessly. Complex to setup but really nice cards.

For the Mid 2011 there are no better working cards than the (invisible) WX4130& and WX4150 cards.

You should install and adapt (for the M5100) OpenCore through OCLP before installing the new cards. Should not harm your old ATI cards.

So I tried to find the M5100 in post 1, which isn't there correct? I only could find something like this here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/post-30424274. that is a good suggestion, these cards are much cheaper. My dad loves AliExpress (don't ask), and we could get this one: Dell Red card

So basically, install OC first and change some stuff on it and then install the card. Afterwards can upgrade to OCLP (or can we go straight with OCLP?). (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/post-30564216).

1) But I don't understand where to find another config for other iMacs for
<key>rebuild-device-tree</key>
You gave an example for iMac12,2, where to find the other configs?

2) There is also a warning about vBIOS:
- do not use this vBIOS on the Red DELL card, it will cause a bad flash and will make the card unusable
Does that mean if you get this card, one doesn't need to flash? In that post you attached a file for the m5100 blue cards, so that is only for the 'other' cards.

Sorry if this sounds dumb, just want to make sure I don't go to a rabbit hole that I can't handle.
 
I've been trying to upgrade to Monterey, but I can't get the boot screen to pop up. I've been assuming it's because I needed to play tricks with my iMac so the screen will work, but I'm wondering if there's something more fundamental going on here. I just looked at "About this Mac", and this is what came up:View attachment 1904940

Is a "Radeon Polaris" the same as a WX4150? If not, then the ebay vendor sent me the wrong card and explains a couple of things. If it is the same, do you have any idea how I can upgrade or downgrade out of high sierra without using a boot screen?
You are good to go. Once your iMac can chime and boot and activate the external display, it means your GPU is working. The name displayed could vary by the vBIOS used that may change the card's identity with no effect on performance.

With the flashed GOP vBIOS, the logon screen would show itself only late in the boot process when the OS graphic drivers are loaded. Thus, it is always good to prepare an OCLP Loader SD card for the initial booting which will bring up the OCLP BootPicker for you to choose the macOS in your internal SSD/HD. But if you still have a functional internal DVD connected, burning a OCLP Loader CD/DVD as suggested by Ausdauersportler will ease you lots of trouble. Just press the C key on restart to boot from the OCLP Loader CD/DVD which will then give you the OCLP BootPicker. That could be a life-saving tool for trouble-shooting. Afterwards, you can make a OCLP Loader SD card or install the OCLP onto your macOS volume to always enable the OCLP BootPicker. That's the current limitation of the GOP vBIOS of the AMD GPUs without a native Apple BootPicker.
 
So I tried to find the M5100 in post 1, which isn't there correct? I only could find something like this here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/post-30424274. that is a good suggestion, these cards are much cheaper. My dad loves AliExpress (don't ask), and we could get this one: Dell Red card

So basically, install OC first and change some stuff on it and then install the card. Afterwards can upgrade to OCLP (or can we go straight with OCLP?). (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/post-30564216).

1) But I don't understand where to find another config for other iMacs for

You gave an example for iMac12,2, where to find the other configs?

2) There is also a warning about vBIOS:

Does that mean if you get this card, one doesn't need to flash? In that post you attached a file for the m5100 blue cards, so that is only for the 'other' cards.

Sorry if this sounds dumb, just want to make sure I don't go to a rabbit hole that I can't handle.
On the first post there is a section about AMD cards and within this section there is a table about GCN cards, within the table there is a row about the M5100 card (which is the red Dell card). It has the correct vBIOS and all the instructions needed.

The OpenCore add on settings are the the same for both the W5170M and the M5100 and all iMacs - you just need to find the DeviceProperties and add the lines below the still existing lines generated by OCLP automatically,
 
On the first post there is a section about AMD cards and within this section there is a table about GCN cards, within the table there is a row about the M5100 card (which is the red Dell card). It has the correct vBIOS and all the instructions needed.
I can see why I don't remember it, because it said 'experimental'. it also seem like a bit more 'work' and some stuff don't work. I don't mind to tinker at time, but with my parents / family machines it might be better to do the 'easy' way. Thanks for the responses. Although more expensive, I will try to go with the WX4130/4150 route.
 
Im sure im being daft here. I have read the opencore section on page 1 (I just want the brightness fix for my k2100m card I have installed) but I can only see the catalina Loader and when I have put that on a SD card it will not let me select it as boot drive and when I do the manual boot selecter by holding alt etc it boots up but I dont have any brightness control. Am I missing something? I tried downloading the iMac OpenCore Loader from Nick's post but it says that the file is infected and cant be downloaded. Please help :)
 
So your first post was simply misleading. To get the backlight control working you need OpenCore. This is mentioned on the same first post, too.
Thanks for your comments. It wasn't misleading, the instructions I found were for a linux machine (which I don't have access to). I got a Mac laptop from work for this to give it a go and it worked; so at the time of typing, it was very much correct.
 
Thanks for your comments. It wasn't misleading, the instructions I found were for a linux machine (which I don't have access to). I got a Mac laptop from work for this to give it a go and it worked; so at the time of typing, it was very much correct.
What did you do to get the brightness controls working? I cant seem to get Open Core to work correctly and load the hacked files at boot for the controls to work. I know its me missing something or just being an idiot :D Please help
 
What did you do to get the brightness controls working? I cant seem to get Open Core to work correctly and load the hacked files at boot for the controls to work. I know its me missing something or just being an idiot :D Please help
Which iMac model and which target macOS version?

Try OCLP - it contains all patches needed for these iMacs. It is the only supported option for all Late 2009 and Mid 2010 models and for all Mid 2011 as long as you plan to use Big Sur or Monterey.

Using Catalina on Mid 2011 there are two ways: Catalina Loader or OCLP (which disables the iGPU and so disables Airplay).
 
Which iMac model and which target macOS version?

Try OCLP - it contains all patches needed for these iMacs. It is the only supported option for all Late 2009 and Mid 2010 models and for all Mid 2011 as long as you plan to use Big Sur or Monterey.

Using Catalina on Mid 2011 there are two ways: Catalina Loader or OCLP (which disables the iGPU and so disables Airplay).
Its a mid 2010 21.5 iMac and im running Sierra atm because of software restrictions that I have to use for work. I will try OCLP and see if that works :)
 
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I cant seem to get it working. I have downloaded the opencore patcher and installed it on a SD card through the terminal patcher program. When I reboot to select it as the main boot it boots into it and then displays the no HDD symbol. I know that I can get it working fine through the iMac OpenCore Loader.dmg but for some reason its infected and wont download
 
I cant seem to get it working. I have downloaded the opencore patcher and installed it on a SD card through the terminal patcher program. When I reboot to select it as the main boot it boots into it and then displays the no HDD symbol. I know that I can get it working fine through the iMac OpenCore Loader.dmg but for some reason its infected and wont download
Please install OpenCore through OCLP onto your main internal SSD/HHD!

The SD Card story was meant for AMD GOP vBIOS users in the early days back in January 2020. You have an EFI boot screen and can always decide to boot without OC just in case.
 
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Please install OpenCore through OCLP onto your main internal SSD/HHD!

The SD Card story was meant for AMD GOP vBIOS users in the early days back in January 2020. You have an EFI boot screen and can always decide to boot without OC just in case.
Ahh (y) Ive installed it on the internal on a seperate FAT partition and when I boot to it it does the same thing, not sure what Im doing wrong. Seems that this mac is destined to have not brightness controll haha
 
Ahh (y) Ive installed it on the internal on a seperate FAT partition and when I boot to it it does the same thing, not sure what Im doing wrong. Seems that this mac is destined to have not brightness controll haha
Delete this FAT partition (Who told you to create one??) and install OpenCore to your internal SSD/HDD EFI partition discovered by OCLP in the #2 install dialog.

Honestly I am curious what exceptional new idea you are going to post next time.
 
Delete this FAT partition (Who told you to create one??) and install OpenCore to your internal SSD/HDD EFI partition discovered by OCLP in the #2 install dialog.

Honestly I am curious what exceptional new idea you are going to post next time.
I think as you can tell Im new to this type of thing. I have tons of experiance on the hardware sides of things and im not too bad with windows and mac os for normal things but this is the first thing ive done altering uefi things. Sorry if im being a noob and a pain, I appreciate the help
 
Hi.. it's since 3 days i read threads about upgrade GPU.. i've a Imac 27 mid 2011 with a broke Radeon HD6970 1gb ddr.. last year i try to reballing GPU but after 4 months.. green stripes and black screen.. now i'm very interesting to make this upgrade.. i'm not a Pro but i made some hackintosh.. for my use i think to replace the old AMD card with a Quadro K4100M, i've find one at 120€. My first question is, with my Heatsink, what type a mod have to do? When you talk about 3 pipe, what do you mean? Really 3 pipe along the Heatsink to GPU? I'dont' remeber how many i have.
Second, i know i made the usb stick with linux to flash video bios, hope i find the ip address but after process done i mount the card into imac, turn on.. the display show boot screen? In this moment i haven't macos, the ssd is empty. I ask this question beacuse in the first thread "know issue and problems", mentioned that K4100M run only without the internal LCD connected.. what?? I have to connect another display to use? Sorry i'm confused, i read hundreds of post.. maybe i'm fuse..
 
Hi guys, what do you think, is it worth getting the WX4150 ( 110 USD ) insted of the WX 4130? ( 60 USD ) I'm referring strictly to the value of the price gap.
 
Hi guys, what do you think, is it worth getting the WX4150 ( 110 USD ) insted of the WX 4130? ( 60 USD ) I'm referring strictly to the value of the price gap.
yeah... but this card is AMD.. i understand that nvidia quadro k4100m is natively supported.. right? Is better amd than Nvidia?
 
Hi guys, what do you think, is it worth getting the WX4150 ( 110 USD ) insted of the WX 4130? ( 60 USD ) I'm referring strictly to the value of the price gap.
Both cards share the same GPU (die), so they offer the same (Metal) performance. (All shaders on the WX4130 are unlocked with @internetzel 's VBIOS.) I'd say go with the cheaper card unless you have real use for extra VRAM (3 or more monitor setup...).
 
Hi.. it's since 3 days i read threads about upgrade GPU.. i've a Imac 27 mid 2011 with a broke Radeon HD6970 1gb ddr.. last year i try to reballing GPU but after 4 months.. green stripes and black screen.. now i'm very interesting to make this upgrade.. i'm not a Pro but i made some hackintosh.. for my use i think to replace the old AMD card with a Quadro K4100M, i've find one at 120€. My first question is, with my Heatsink, what type a mod have to do? When you talk about 3 pipe, what do you mean? Really 3 pipe along the Heatsink to GPU? I'dont' remeber how many i have.
Second, i know i made the usb stick with linux to flash video bios, hope i find the ip address but after process done i mount the card into imac, turn on.. the display show boot screen? In this moment i haven't macos, the ssd is empty. I ask this question beacuse in the first thread "know issue and problems", mentioned that K4100M run only without the internal LCD connected.. what?? I have to connect another display to use? Sorry i'm confused, i read hundreds of post.. maybe i'm fuse..
In some cases the replacement GPU simply refused to work when the internal LCD has been connected. In most cases it worked fine.
These are potential issues which may happen and in this case no fix can be offered.
 
In some cases the replacement GPU simply refused to work when the internal LCD has been connected. In most cases it worked fine.
These are potential issues which may happen and in this case no fix can be offered
Understood
So i have to buy a wx4130? Instead a quadro? Which have less problem and good performance for use to lcd display and Catalaina.. or Big Sur..? Only one monitor, no Game.. just sometime minecftaft..
 
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yeah... but this card is AMD.. i understand that nvidia quadro k4100m is natively supported.. right? Is better amd than Nvidia?
Depends on the card, of course an K4100M will perform better than a WX4130, but generally AMD cards have better support on mac due to them being used in the latest macs.
Both cards share the same GPU (die), so they offer the same (Metal) performance. (All shaders on the WX4130 are unlocked with @internetzel 's VBIOS.) I'd say go with the cheaper card unless you have real use for extra VRAM (3 or more monitor setup...).
Okay then, I'll stick to the WX4130M, also, does anyone know if sleep will work on the WX4130M? Since it doesn't work on Big Sur and Monterey because the iGPU is disabled via opencore on the Nvidia GPU.
 
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