Please add signature field. A 2010 iMac CPU is not compatible with 2011 iMac logic board. And this is really off topic...
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iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade
- Thread starter MichaelDT
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Anyone who used OCLP to update to big sur, do you have problem running the intel power gadget?
It installs fine but when I open it, the terminal opens instead, showing an error.
Does this have anything to do that I updated the cpu to i7 2600s?
Or that I updated the gpu to k2100m?
It installs fine but when I open it, the terminal opens instead, showing an error.
Does this have anything to do that I updated the cpu to i7 2600s?
Or that I updated the gpu to k2100m?
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hello
i have this imac 2011 and installed k3000m nvidia card the os is high serria i get 3 leds but for some reason the moment i connect the display and power it on the fans spins for a sec and shutsoff but with another display card which i mod 216-0810000 to 215-07980006 that card works absolutely alright no problem.
I want to install the K3000m is there any panel id or some other firmware to be done.
thanks
i have this imac 2011 and installed k3000m nvidia card the os is high serria i get 3 leds but for some reason the moment i connect the display and power it on the fans spins for a sec and shutsoff but with another display card which i mod 216-0810000 to 215-07980006 that card works absolutely alright no problem.
I want to install the K3000m is there any panel id or some other firmware to be done.
thanks
Hi!
I have the same Amd M6100 card. But mine is using BFR memory chips, so i used second BIOS to flash.
I have a problem with system boot. Sometimes it starts, sometimes just bong and nothing else...
I want to try your way of starting the iMac with switching after NVRAM reset.
How do you do that?
Just make reset by pressing ALT(OPT)+Command+P+R on boot and then switching off with power button behind the iMac?
Thank you.
I have to say that i was able to start iMac with this card several times. But much more is without success - i hear a boot chime and the display is remains black. However when it not starts it gets an IP-address from my router and i able to ping it, but nothing more.
I tried with connecting and disconnecting system SSD. Also tried boot only from bootable usb stick made with OCLP.
The result is always unpredictable.
My installed OS is High Sierra now and I noticed another problem when i was able to boot.
I used an Unigine Valley benchmark to see how card works. But after some period of time (10-15 minutes) i saw an artifacts in Valley scenes, like some polygons was in wrong place and in this way it looks like falling trees or mountian peaks. After some period iMac just hangs and displays only black screen or the last picture.
PS. My iMac is 12,2 (27" 2011) with 3-pipe radiator. I did not used any copper plates between GPU chip or memory and radiator.
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Hello!
How is your problem? Is it gone?
If you fixed it than how?
My problem looks similar with yours...
If I understand you correctly: your iMac works with the original/Apple GPU, but not with the K3000M? If so, this behavior is documented in post 1 (NVIDIA Cards -> Known issues).
Hello,
Is it normal that i get an Blackscreen when installing an MacOS update and the Mac reboots?
I got an 2011 21.5 inch Imac with an i7 2600s and K2000m.
OCLP installed and it does not showing the apple logo with the loading Bar only Blackscreen but its clearly running.
The K2000m has the custom BIOS with Backlight.
Is it normal that i get an Blackscreen when installing an MacOS update and the Mac reboots?
I got an 2011 21.5 inch Imac with an i7 2600s and K2000m.
OCLP installed and it does not showing the apple logo with the loading Bar only Blackscreen but its clearly running.
The K2000m has the custom BIOS with Backlight.
This happens only when installing an update?
What happens when you boot normally?
I have similar setup (i7 2600s + K2100m), I updated to big sur via OCPL and I get normal boot with apple logo and bar. But I have not tested this during an update yet.
Oh, you are still during the update. Ok, yes, wait and let us know how it goes.
This is why the support has been called experimental. Basically nearly all GCN 1-3 cards cause these problems in the iMac12,x systems, therefore I cannot recommend using this iMac model.
Nearly all these cards run fine in the older iMac11,x systems (if they fit).
AMD S7100X support (AMD Radeon S7100X 8GB)
This GPU will be identified by the macOS as AMD FirePro R9 285 8GB - this is purely cosmetic!
Tested systems:
- iMac12,2: sleep/wake broken - black screen on cold boot needs PRAM reset each time
- iMac11,1: no problems
- iMac11,3: no problems
- iMac10,1: not tested, but should work
Memory support:
Samsung
Known problems:
- does not run reliably in the iMac12,2
- flashing using the GRML amdvbflash failed consistently - had to use the CH341A clip to avoid problems
Known features:
- Airplay is working until Catalina as with any other AMD metal card on iMac11,x and iMac12,2 (without using QuickSync)
- high metal scores
- boot screen with OpenCore
- GPU power management working
- still full Monterey support (no root patching needed unlike Kepler)
- DRM support (even with Ventura und OLCP 0.6.4+)
- card needs iMac12,2 MXM-B heat sink and the same Dremel modifications as the W6170M/W7170M cards.
- GPU chip was called a barn heater once here, it is dissipates the most heat of all cards ever tested
- failing to control the FANs or ignoring the ODD sensor replacement will burn the card to death in a few months!
Performance:
- High GeekBench Metal (28.922) and OpenCL (24.715)
- Valley: 40 FPS, 1820 Score on i3 550 CPU (58.1 FPS and 2430 Score on i5-2400)
- MetalBench: 85MRays/s
- CoreClock: 725 MHz
- Memory: 1250 MHz
- TPD: 75W (this is a 100W card, but during tests it never drew more than 75W, which is the limit of the MXM slot)
- no 4K HEVC or 4K H.264
Setup:
- boots macOS High Sierra even without OpenCore support, DRM and more recent macOS need OpenCore
Development:
- Thanks to @nikey22 and @internetzel for their dedication and time helping to get the card working!
Download:
- Please check out this site!
| Type | ident | BIOS version | device-id | working |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red AMD PCB | 109-C769A1-00_02 | S7100X | 6939 | yes |
This GPU will be identified by the macOS as AMD FirePro R9 285 8GB - this is purely cosmetic!
Tested systems:
- iMac12,2: sleep/wake broken - black screen on cold boot needs PRAM reset each time
- iMac11,1: no problems
- iMac11,3: no problems
- iMac10,1: not tested, but should work
Memory support:
Samsung
Known problems:
- does not run reliably in the iMac12,2
- flashing using the GRML amdvbflash failed consistently - had to use the CH341A clip to avoid problems
Known features:
- Airplay is working until Catalina as with any other AMD metal card on iMac11,x and iMac12,2 (without using QuickSync)
- high metal scores
- boot screen with OpenCore
- GPU power management working
- still full Monterey support (no root patching needed unlike Kepler)
- DRM support (even with Ventura und OLCP 0.6.4+)
- card needs iMac12,2 MXM-B heat sink and the same Dremel modifications as the W6170M/W7170M cards.
- GPU chip was called a barn heater once here, it is dissipates the most heat of all cards ever tested
- failing to control the FANs or ignoring the ODD sensor replacement will burn the card to death in a few months!
Performance:
- High GeekBench Metal (28.922) and OpenCL (24.715)
- Valley: 40 FPS, 1820 Score on i3 550 CPU (58.1 FPS and 2430 Score on i5-2400)
- MetalBench: 85MRays/s
- CoreClock: 725 MHz
- Memory: 1250 MHz
- TPD: 75W (this is a 100W card, but during tests it never drew more than 75W, which is the limit of the MXM slot)
- no 4K HEVC or 4K H.264
Setup:
- boots macOS High Sierra even without OpenCore support, DRM and more recent macOS need OpenCore
Development:
- Thanks to @nikey22 and @internetzel for their dedication and time helping to get the card working!
Download:
- Please check out this site!
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Ah, thank's for your comment. Changing it to iMac 11,x is not an option for me, at least right now. Will have to wait, maybe something will change.
thank you for the reply. The card came already with the apple bios.
Yes, I know that the computer works in some kind of low power safe mode if all fans and sensors are not attached.
I installed windows 10 afterwards and the card was showing error code 43 and was not working at all.
I returned the card. I hope I get a full refund, but aliexpress customer support is becoming worse each day. Lost 100€ there last month buying used RAM, which was all dead and aliexpress refused my refund many times saying the evidence was invalid until I could not provide more evidence and they released the money to the seller...
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Okay so the problem is when you disconnect the SMB_ALS_scl and sda from j4700 everything works fine . I am guess there is a vector conflict with the new gpu cards and the ALS which is connected to smc at add 0x52 and 0x53 but I have just disconnected it and working great np
That's a nice find! Can you please elaborate it for me: Did you disconnect ALS signals from the J4700 on the logic board or are there equivalent signals on the K3000M, which you managed to disconnect from the MXM pads of the card?
No i have not been able to fix it. I reslotted the card just in case it was not properly seated but that was not the problem. I ordered another of the same card just in case the first one is faulty. The iMac always chimes, i can see the OCLP bootpicker for 5 seconds and the the screen goes dark. Will install the new one when it arrives and report back.Hello!
How is your problem? Is it gone?
If you fixed it than how?
My problem looks similar with yours...
Please forgiver me if this makes sense to everyone but me. 😞. I have the red Dell card and installed open core with the required AMD settings. However, I am unsure if I am supposed to flash the vBIOS attached in the thread.
It says at the top to use "it." But then says not to use "this" vBIOS on the Red Dell card.
I have booted the Mac with the video card installed and the LCD would not come on (LEDs all on except third), but I had previously enabled screen sharing. Therefore, it allowed me to remote in and I was able to see that it recognized an AMD card with 7mb. So something is working, but I wanted to make sure that flashing the BIOS attached in the post wouldn't make my card unusable. Thanks for any assistance!
System:
Original: 21-inch iMac 2.5 GHz Core i5 mid 2011
Upgraded CPU: core i7 2600S
Upgraded GPU: AMD FirePro 5100M
Experimental AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 4GB support
This card exists in both a Dell and HP variant, however, at the time of writing, only the HP (Blue PCB) card appears to be available on eBay.
It is important to note that because this is an HP card, it requires the resistor mods outlined here by @dfranetic in order to POST in 2011 and/or 21.5" iMacs. Please note, at the time of writing, I am the only one to have tested this card and have only tested it in a 21.5" 2011 iMac.
Warning:
The goal of working with this card was to find a lower cost Polaris-based GPU. While these cards can be had for $100 US, the available stock require soldering which not all may be comfortable doing. They also run a Polaris 23-based Lexa XT GPU Core which is not natively supported by macOS and requires a device-id spoof in OpenCore for acceleration.
Important:
With the help of @Ausdauersportler and @internetzel, a VBIOS has been created that allows use of OpenCore for internal display, brightness control, and external display. Additionally, OpenCore is required with the below device-id spoof for QE/CI in macOS as the Lexa core is not natively supported.
The default VBIOS on the card does allow boot screen on external monitor only with OpenCore, so pre-installation of OCLP is optimal if possible.
To set this up:
Run OLCP to create an AMD (metal) config and add the lines starting with the <key>rebuild-device-tree</key> into the DeviceProperties section (this is an iMac12,2 example):
These settings are equivalent with adding -unfairvga shikigva=128 to the boot-args AND performs the work of a "SSDT-SPOOF-GPU.aml" by modifying the device-id to a supported, Baffin-based RX 550.
Additionally, "AMDGOP.efi" will need to be added to the UEFI > Drivers section of OpenCore and added to the "Drivers" folder in EFI. Currently, this is required, and the system behaves strangely without this driver.
This GPU type has not and will never be used in a "real" Mac, thus the need for the device-id spoof.
Tested systems:
- iMac12,1: Requires above resistor mods.
No other systems have been tested presently.
Known issues:
- If system is booted with both the internal LCD AND an external monitor, the external monitor receives the OpenCore boot screen instead of the internal LCD.
- Currently, VDA Decoder is broken. I am actively working on a fix.
Known features:
- boot screen with OpenCore
- brightness control working
- GPU power management working
- needs High Sierra or better (AMD support)
- still full Monterey support (no root patching needed unlike Kepler)
- More feature testing TBA
Performance:
TBA
Warnings:
- As mentioned several times above, this card requires resistor mods to work in the tested iMac12,1.
- At the time of posting, this card has ONLY been tested in an iMac12,1. Use other systems at your own risk.
- In the iMac12,1 there is no heatsink modification needed.
- If you have a no-power situation, mask off the exposed capacitors on the card to avoid shorts when installing the GPU in the heatsink.
This card exists in both a Dell and HP variant, however, at the time of writing, only the HP (Blue PCB) card appears to be available on eBay.
| Type | ident | BIOS version | device-id | working |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue HP PCB | 109-C98581-10_02 | WX3200 | 6981 | Yes (with mods) |
It is important to note that because this is an HP card, it requires the resistor mods outlined here by @dfranetic in order to POST in 2011 and/or 21.5" iMacs. Please note, at the time of writing, I am the only one to have tested this card and have only tested it in a 21.5" 2011 iMac.
Warning:
The goal of working with this card was to find a lower cost Polaris-based GPU. While these cards can be had for $100 US, the available stock require soldering which not all may be comfortable doing. They also run a Polaris 23-based Lexa XT GPU Core which is not natively supported by macOS and requires a device-id spoof in OpenCore for acceleration.
Important:
With the help of @Ausdauersportler and @internetzel, a VBIOS has been created that allows use of OpenCore for internal display, brightness control, and external display. Additionally, OpenCore is required with the below device-id spoof for QE/CI in macOS as the Lexa core is not natively supported.
The default VBIOS on the card does allow boot screen on external monitor only with OpenCore, so pre-installation of OCLP is optimal if possible.
To set this up:
Run OLCP to create an AMD (metal) config and add the lines starting with the <key>rebuild-device-tree</key> into the DeviceProperties section (this is an iMac12,2 example):
Code:
<key>PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)</key>
<dict>
<key>device-id</key>
<data>/2c=</data>
<key>model</key>
<string>AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200</string>
<key>shikigva</key>
<integer>128</integer>
<key>unfairgva</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
</dict>These settings are equivalent with adding -unfairvga shikigva=128 to the boot-args AND performs the work of a "SSDT-SPOOF-GPU.aml" by modifying the device-id to a supported, Baffin-based RX 550.
Additionally, "AMDGOP.efi" will need to be added to the UEFI > Drivers section of OpenCore and added to the "Drivers" folder in EFI. Currently, this is required, and the system behaves strangely without this driver.
This GPU type has not and will never be used in a "real" Mac, thus the need for the device-id spoof.
Tested systems:
- iMac12,1: Requires above resistor mods.
No other systems have been tested presently.
Known issues:
- If system is booted with both the internal LCD AND an external monitor, the external monitor receives the OpenCore boot screen instead of the internal LCD.
- Currently, VDA Decoder is broken. I am actively working on a fix.
Known features:
- boot screen with OpenCore
- brightness control working
- GPU power management working
- needs High Sierra or better (AMD support)
- still full Monterey support (no root patching needed unlike Kepler)
- More feature testing TBA
Performance:
TBA
Warnings:
- As mentioned several times above, this card requires resistor mods to work in the tested iMac12,1.
- At the time of posting, this card has ONLY been tested in an iMac12,1. Use other systems at your own risk.
- In the iMac12,1 there is no heatsink modification needed.
- If you have a no-power situation, mask off the exposed capacitors on the card to avoid shorts when installing the GPU in the heatsink.
Hi I had the same
Problem just disconnect the 2 wires on j4700 smb_als_scl and data and your issue is solved this is a memory conflict with the card and smc address on 0x52 and 0x53
It is the correct vBIOS and I removed the irritating lines.
Although I cannot promise it will run without hiccups in the iMac12,x. Recently I had some hit and miss experiences, i.e. some systems fails to reboot, did not wake from sleep while others where running fine using the exact same GPU. On the other hand all those GCN version 1-3 cards rund fine in the older 2009 and 2010 iMacs.
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Hello!
This seems to be a crucial (and until now missing) piece of information when using NVIDIA cards in iMac12,2 systems. Do you have the time to upload a picture showing the mod you are describing in text. Most users here will not be able to follow your description and I would like to add your discovery to our documentation. Check this post to get what I am looking for.
Thanks in advance!
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Sure I will upload a pic of the wire disconnected and I want to thanks everyone for their valuable time to make this thread active and all the hard work you guys have put to make this cards work
Thank you again all much appreciated
Thank you very much for the clarification and the warning! Let’s hope mine is one that will run fine!
I have a 27” late 2009 that I might install it in, if I start having issues with this one.