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

[madvinegar]

I would like to experiment with the config.plist parameters and EFI kexts etc. in order to maybe improve the functionality of the m5100 GPU, however I cannot find any way to boot back to the desktop and fix/revert things (or just put back my last working EFI) in case I run into trouble.

The recovery CD is just not working. I just get into a black screen.

Is there any other way to boot back to desktop if I mess up the opencore EFI?

 

[guitar_head]

And here are my GFX Metal Benchmark Results with an iMac 11.3, SSD and the Nividia QUADRO K2100M 2GB Elpida Version (Big thanks to nikey22)!

 

[Ausdauersportler]

And here are my GFX Metal Benchmark Results with an iMac 11.3, SSD and the Nividia QUADRO K2100M 2GB Elpida Version (Big thanks to nikey22)!

On the first post we listed some benchmark tools which may be used to compare results. Check the settings used, especially with Ungine Valley.

 

[curioussurfer]

I would like to experiment with the config.plist parameters and EFI kexts etc. in order to maybe improve the functionality of the m5100 GPU, however I cannot find any way to boot back to the desktop and fix/revert things (or just put back my last working EFI) in case I run into trouble.

The recovery CD is just not working. I just get into a black screen.

Is there any other way to boot back to desktop if I mess up the opencore EFI?

Same here, no cd OC boot, but but even if clear the PRAM multiple times, OC in my ssd EFI always gets detected and boots. I save the EFI folder to GPT portioned USB Stick for emergencies. I am using no other boot loader.

 

[Mamorru]

hello, got this - iMac 12,2 i7 2600k 14gb ram AMD S7100X + AMD W6170M visible in ubuntu linux but Mac OS won't start(reboots all the time) nvram/pram reset does not works(
Monterrey OS

 

[Ausdauersportler]

hello, got this - iMac 12,2 i7 2600k 14gb ram AMD S7100X + AMD W6170M visible in ubuntu linux but Mac OS won't start(reboots all the time) nvram/pram reset does not works(
Monterrey OS

Both cards do not really work in the iMac12,2 - please check out the very first post on the very first page of the thread.
The W6170M should at least boot into macOS High Sierra without problems. You need to adjust OpenCore whenever you change the card.

If both cards fail after flashing you may have got broken ones. I own four such S7100X cards, two are dead, one is half working, another 80%. These cards all came from bitcoin/ether farms and may be as dead as the famous Nvidia GTX 780M/880M cards we talked a lot about here a year ago. Every 2nd report came in with a broken card.

 

[fluffyredlobster]

Hi everyone,

Firstly thanks to everyone involved in the work here, my mid-2011 21.5" is still going strong thanks to all the efforts

I am sorry to bother with a question but I could not find an answer on this specific point.

I was using a K2100M with nikey22's firmware very successfully in Catalina. I have just upgraded to Monterey and everything is great except no hardware video acceleration due to Sandy Bridge iGPU support being dropped in Big Sur. Ausdauersportler kindly explained in the OCLP Discord that the way to get hardware video acceleration back was to switch to a Polaris AMD GPU or go back to Catalina.

I have been reading up on the WX4130 / WX4150 and I believe I understand all the caveats around getting one working in a 21.5" 2011. I see a pre-flashed card on Ebay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374233617312) and from the write up the seller appears to understand what he is selling, however there is a line in the listing that says "VDA Decoder Failed". I have asked the seller for more information - I suspect that line has come from Hackintool.

So my question is, should I expect a (fully working and properly installed!) WX4130 / 50 to give me hardware video encode / decode in Monterey? I would just like to be as sure as possible before dropping £100+, given everything apart from this is already perfect on my K2100M.

Thanks again!

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi everyone,

Firstly thanks to everyone involved in the work here, my mid-2011 21.5" is still going strong thanks to all the efforts

I am sorry to bother with a question but I could not find an answer on this specific point.

I was using a K2100M with nikey22's firmware very successfully in Catalina. I have just upgraded to Monterey and everything is great except no hardware video acceleration due to Sandy Bridge iGPU support being dropped in Big Sur. Ausdauersportler kindly explained in the OCLP Discord that the way to get hardware video acceleration back was to switch to a Polaris AMD GPU or go back to Catalina.

I have been reading up on the WX4130 / WX4150 and I believe I understand all the caveats around getting one working in a 21.5" 2011. I see a pre-flashed card on Ebay (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374233617312) and from the write up the seller appears to understand what he is selling, however there is a line in the listing that says "VDA Decoder Failed". I have asked the seller for more information - I suspect that line has come from Hackintool.

So my question is, should I expect a (fully working and properly installed!) WX4130 / 50 to give me hardware video encode / decode in Monterey? I would just like to be as sure as possible before dropping £100+, given everything apart from this is already perfect on my K2100M.

Thanks again!

Try looking for a 2nd Mac Mini M1 for £300+. It's much better and safer than the £100+ WX4130.

 

[fluffyredlobster]

Try looking for a 2nd Mac Mini M1 for £300+. It's much better and safer than the £100+ WX4130.

Hi, thanks for the thought. I realise there are other options, but I’m particularly attached to this iMac so want to keep it going. Plus the spot it occupies in my home really needs an all-in-one of some sort, so a Mac Mini wouldn’t work well here. Thanks again for the suggestion though!

 

[jay508]

Upload a copy of iMac19,1 2019 27" 5k DarwinDumper with IORegistryExplorer for your reference

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi, thanks for the thought. I realise there are other options, but I’m particularly attached to this iMac so want to keep it going. Plus the spot it occupies in my home really needs an all-in-one of some sort, so a Mac Mini wouldn’t work well here. Thanks again for the suggestion though!

I've read the ebay link you quoted above. It seems to me that the seller has successfully exploited all the resources from this thread and done all experiments. You'd better ask the seller for your particular question about a particular item (it's clearly stated in the seller description that the card hardware was modified for iMac 12.1). If there are anyone who has purchased from that seller, he/she may has the answer to your particular question, but the chance that person come across your question is very low.

 

[froiRIVERA]

Good day! I am very new here as I am trying to find a fix for my iMac 2011 27". with a quadro k3100m. I have it installed by a tech/repair person because my old (original) GPU was dying. For the first few weeks the iMac was running good with the K3100m. But few weeks later the Imac's LCD screen is not functioning well. At the start up the LCD would light up OK during the apple boot up, but will go black after a few seconds and will not turn on. I tried to put an external display via thunderbolt-HDMI and the external display would is not having any trouble. The iMac boots up but the display is just staying black, I can only use the extended display. I tried reseting the PRAM but it did not change anything, I still have a black screen on the iMacs LCD plus the brightness control was no longer there on the display's settings.

What could be wrong with my iMac?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Experimental AMD RX480 4GB Windows 10 support

Running Windows 10 with the Polaris cards did not allow to install the most recent AMD drivers and so no video acceleration was available on Windows (running benchmarks like Valley simply fails).

Lately I found another vBIOS version based on the 67DF device-ID which I modded based on work published by @internetzel. It uses a different header, allows the installation of AMD drivers in Windows 10 but fails to run properly with the famous Error 43.

Patching the Windows 10 driver running this tool I was able to get video acceleration enabled on Windows 10, iMac11,3, RX480. You need to download the tool and rename it according to the post to atikmdag-patcher-bios.exe, run it with administrator rights, this way it will patch out the BIOS signature check only. After a reboot I experienced accelerated Windows for the very first time using this card.

I do not know if this Windows patch will work with other published (AMD) vBIOS versions, please check and report back in case it works...

Note:
It works with all macOS versions (Monterey, Big Sur) installed on this machine, too.

Edit:
09/27/2022 - updated vBIOS with adjusted BL control bit.

 

[fluffyredlobster]

I've read the ebay link you quoted above. It seems to me that the seller has successfully exploited all the resources from this thread and done all experiments. You'd better ask the seller for your particular question about a particular item (it's clearly stated in the seller description that the card hardware was modified for iMac 12.1). If there are anyone who has purchased from that seller, he/she may has the answer to your particular question, but the chance that person come across your question is very low.

Yeah the listing seems knowledgable. I came to the conclusion that for ~£130 I would take a punt on it, but the price has jacked up to £170 so that's too rich for me to take the chance.

Should I ever source one, I'll report back on whether hw video encode / decode works - based on more reading I'm pretty confident it will.

Thanks again for your input 👍

 

[jay508]

Problem iMac 12,2 model Using OpenCore Legacy Patcher version 0.4.10 to boot wx4130 graphics card to install 12.6 system.

Several usb ports connected to the printer hp p1007 printing no response, remove add are the same. The printer prints fine on other macOS devices.

iMac several USB ports connected u disk keyboard and mouse applicable everything is also normal, this to find the reason from there?

Another problem is that after upgrading the bcm94360cd AirDrop overhead delivery iPhone can transfer photos to iMac, iMac can search for iPhone but the transfer is not responsive. The Magic Trackpad Magic Keyboard unlocked with the watch is also normal.


It is AirDrop. iPhone can transfer to iMac. iMac can search iPhone but cannot transfer photo files to iPhone. How to solve this problem?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Problem iMac 12,2 model Using OpenCore Legacy Patcher version 0.4.10 to boot wx4130 graphics card to install 12.6 system.

Several usb ports connected to the printer hp p1007 printing no response, remove add are the same. The printer prints fine on other macOS devices.

iMac several USB ports connected u disk keyboard and mouse applicable everything is also normal, this to find the reason from there?

Another problem is that after upgrading the bcm94360cd AirDrop overhead delivery iPhone can transfer photos to iMac, iMac can search for iPhone but the transfer is not responsive. The Magic Trackpad Magic Keyboard unlocked with the watch is also normal.


It is AirDrop. iPhone can transfer to iMac. iMac can search iPhone but cannot transfer photo files to iPhone. How to solve this problem?

Hi Jay,

these are all local problems you have to solve on your own.

- all USB ports work perfectly here on Monterey 12.6 and OCLP latest
- AirDrop to iPhone from iMac12,2+WX4150 to iPhone XS works perfectly

Edit: slightly off topic here

 

[jay508]

Which version of OpenCore Legacy Patcher are you using to boot the wx4150?

Using the 12pro Max 13pro Max AirDrop feature iMac can search for iPhone can not transfer without any response

Hi Jay,

these are all local problems you have to solve on your own.

- all USB ports work perfectly here on Monterey 12.6 and OCLP latest
- AirDrop to iPhone from iMac12,2+WX4150 to iPhone XS works perfectly

 

[dorninko]

Hi all, I have a question: I installed a M6000 card in an iMac12,2. was a bit tricky but with the great tutorials of Ausdauersportler it worked. BUT, the metal performance is about half of what it should be (15 instead of 30). Do you have any idea what might be wrong?

 

[Marche90]

Hi all, I have a question: I installed a M6000 card in an iMac12,2. was a bit tricky but with the great tutorials of Ausdauersportler it worked. BUT, the metal performance is about half of what it should be (15 instead of 30). Do you have any idea what might be wrong?

From what I've learned whenever there is a hit to the penalty in that model it has to do with the user knocking off a very small chip. Do your fans go crazy when you're in the OS?

 

[dorninko]

From what I've learned whenever there is a hit to the penalty in that model it has to do with the user knocking off a very small chip. Do your fans go crazy when you're in the OS?

Interesting. Do you have a picture of the potential chip? And yes, the fans act up...

 

[Marche90]

Interesting. Do you have a picture of the potential chip? And yes, the fans act up...

Search this page, Common Hardware Issues. Basically, the system gets throttled down to its lowest limits because of a sensor missing.

 

[BertHiddink]

Hello,

I changed the video card on an iMac 2011 27", have done this procedure before with success but now, after reassembling everything, the iMac does not boot up anymore, only the fans spin for a short time and second led fails.
What could be wrong? How to debug?
Please look at the video which shows the issue:

 

[dfranetic]

Hello,

I changed the video card on an iMac 2011 27", have done this procedure before with success but now, after reassembling everything, the iMac does not boot up anymore, only the fans spin for a short time and second led fails.
What could be wrong? How to debug?
Please look at the video which shows the issue:

This is a common no POST issue with some cards in iMac12,x (2011 iMacs). Which card?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hello,

I changed the video card on an iMac 2011 27", have done this procedure before with success but now, after reassembling everything, the iMac does not boot up anymore, only the fans spin for a short time and second led fails.
What could be wrong? How to debug?
Please look at the video which shows the issue:

Check the first post and the known issues list within each GPU table since only YOU know which GPU has been installed and lookup the common hardware issues page. You will find a lot of tools and docs to read….

 

[BertHiddink]

Check the first post and the known issues list within each GPU table since only YOU know which GPU has been installed and lookup the common hardware issues page. You will find a lot of tools and docs to read….

Hello,
It is the Quadro K2000M...