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

[Ausdauersportler]

I'm writing through a translator, and that's probably why you didn't understand what I was talking about) I don't have a DWD drive in my imac, as it was thrown away by the previous owner) and started Opencore from a USB flash drive, and told that if someone has the same situation as me, so that they know that there is a way out)

Possibly YOU should cross check the translations you are using?

I will cite your post:

"Hi to all) I created a RESCUE DISK, I want to check it, but when I turn off the imac, turn it on and reset the PRAM, start with the C button pressed, the Opencore that is on the SSD and not on the SD starts, to check, do I need to remove Opencore from my SSD? Tell me who knows)"

This message clearly indicates you were trying to boot a rescue CD using the C button (which will only force optical media to boot from an internally or externally USB connected DVD drive).

Edit:
1. We proposed the CD solution to avoid disconnecting internal drives.
2. You can use an external DVD, too.
3. You can EG2 mod your firmware and get an EFI picker with AMD cards, too. No need for the CD any longer.
4. Read the first post of this thread, it is really tiresome to correct wrong claims made here and remind users to check the docs before posting. You can also start a complete translation to help other users speaking your tongue. Most needed for languages not using roman letters.

 

[sashkin_bro]

Possibly YOU should cross check the translations you are using?

I will cite your post:

"Hi to all) I created a RESCUE DISK, I want to check it, but when I turn off the imac, turn it on and reset the PRAM, start with the C button pressed, the Opencore that is on the SSD and not on the SD starts, to check, do I need to remove Opencore from my SSD? Tell me who knows)"

This message clearly indicates you were trying to boot a rescue CD using the C button (which will only force optical media to boot from an internally or externally USB connected DVD drive).

OK

 

[antpjc]

Good morning and thanks for the work on this post in general, I have an iMac 21.5 2011, I upgraded the cpu to 2600s, the ram to 32gb and the gpu to wx4150, in monterey everything is correct thanks to OCPL, I upgraded to Ventura (I know I still It's not compatible, but according to what I read it's because of the stock gpu) everything was fine until I got to the desktop interface, once I reboot, everything starts fine but when I go to load the interface it stays black, and it's supposed to be the wx 4150 having the vBIOS of an RX 560 should be native, as in monterey, but it is not the case, what could be failing?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Good morning and thanks for the work on this post in general, I have an iMac 21.5 2011, I upgraded the cpu to 2600s, the ram to 32gb and the gpu to wx4150, in monterey everything is correct thanks to OCPL, I upgraded to Ventura (I know I still It's not compatible, but according to what I read it's because of the stock gpu) everything was fine until I got to the desktop interface, once I reboot, everything starts fine but when I go to load the interface it stays black, and it's supposed to be the wx 4150 having the vBIOS of an RX 560 should be native, as in monterey, but it is not the case, what could be failing?

No, you misread the Ventura support information. Please go back to the OCLP page and read the technical information provided about Ventura on pre 2013 systems in detail. You will be surprised.

 

[madvinegar]

Use the OCLP tool to create a macOS USB Installer and read the great OCLP online docs how to do this. Follow all steps described there!

@Ausdauersportler I have created a USB flash drive by installing opencore on it (using the OCPL tool). Didn't work.
I also tried to arrange the folders inside it as per your guide about the rescue CD (creating the Boot folder, moving the bootx64.efi inside it etc). Didn't work.

What you are suggesting now is that I have to create a USB installer via the OCLP tool? i.e. I have to download the 12GB of the OS? Is my understanding correct?

I just need a way to get back to the desktop if the OC installation of the internal hard drive is messed up and I have to fix it.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

@Ausdauersportler I have created a USB flash drive by installing opencore on it (using the OCPL tool). Didn't work.
I also tried to arrange the folders inside it as per your guide about the rescue CD (creating the Boot folder, moving the bootx64.efi inside it etc). Didn't work.

What you are suggesting now is that I have to create a USB installer via the OCLP tool? i.e. I have to download the 12GB of the OS? Is my understanding correct?

I just need a way to get back to the desktop if the OC installation of the internal hard drive is messed up and I have to fix it.

I am pretty sure you missed the next step on the next page after creating the USB Installer - you need to build and install OpenCore and write it onto the USB EFI partition.

Do not mix and match completely different descriptions - like building a rescue CD and building an OCLP USB installer. Just follow a single guide and from dusk till dawn.

Kalo Chimona!

 

[sashkin_bro]

Возможно , ВАМ следует перепроверить переводы, которые вы используете?

процитирую ваш пост:

"Привет всем) Я создал ДИСК СПАСЕНИЯ , хочу его проверить, но когда я выключаю имак, включаю и сбрасываю ПРАМ, старт с зажатой кнопкой С , тот опенкор, который на SSD, а не на запускается SD, для проверки нужно ли удалять Opencore с SSD? подскажите кто знает)"

Это сообщение ясно указывает на то, что вы пытались загрузить загрузочный компакт-диск с помощью кнопки C (что заставит оптический носитель загружаться только с внутреннего или внешнего DVD-привода, подключенного через USB).

I reread what I wrote, and there really was a mistake, I wrote usb flash and the translator wrote it as SD, so I apologize)

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I reread what I wrote, and there really was a mistake, I wrote usb flash and the translator wrote it as SD, so I apologize)

No need to apologize here - I was as confused as you since the C button method works only with DVD/CD drives, not with any other USB or SD card you connect.

Think about doing the EG2 mod in case you have a AMD GPU installed. End of suffering...

 

[madvinegar]

Kalo Chimona!

Danke !!! 😀

 

[sashkin_bro]

help needed ( I do everything according to the instructions and when I get to the disk selection, the error "We could not create a new or existing partition. For more information, see the installer log files" - followed all the steps in the Windows 10 installation guide via Opencore

 

[sashkin_bro]

No need to apologize here - I was as confused as you since the C button method works only with DVD/CD drives, not with any other USB or SD card you connect.

Think about doing the EG2 mod in case you have a AMD GPU installed. End of suffering...

thanks for the advice, can you share the link to the instructions on how to do it?) I would try so that there are no problems in the future)

 

[SEJU]

thanks for the advice, can you share the link to the instructions on how to do it?) I would try so that there are no problems in the future)

You will find the info about the EG2 mod of the bootROM here. It is all described in the last two paragraphs. It works only with the AMD GPU cards. I also included an illustrated description about it in my report under 'chapter' II..

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Has anyone (except the usual suspects) noticed that Target Display Mode is back with Monterey?

Just connected two iMacs with a Thunderbolt 2 cable and triggered a connection with CMD+F2. Source was an iMac12,2 with RX5500XT and target another iMac12,2 with WX4170 - both EG2 EFI vBIOS.

- starting the session with CMD+F2 on WX4170 iMac
- no sound output on target system, although target was listed as iMac in system prefs sound
- brightness control from source keyboard on target system worked (small time delay, though)
- finishing the session needed the same command, but on the target the screen went black (backlight off)
- temporarily connected an external display to the target machine, the sync process triggered the backlight on, again.

Could repeat the process several times before the target ignored new requests.

In case you have older iMacs (2009-2010 with display port connection) or more recent hardware (thunderbolt 3) can you test this with your iMacs and MacBooks and report back? In any case you need the correct cable! The target system decides, so iMac 2011 with TB2 ports needs a TB2 cable, iMac 2010 with miniDP ports needs a miniDP cable. You cannot mix and match as you like.

Same rules will possibly apply to more recent iMac hardware.

 

[joevt]

Has anyone (except the usual suspects) noticed that Target Display Mode is back with Monterey?

Just connected two iMacs with a Thunderbolt 2 cable and triggered a connection with CMD+F2. Source was an iMac12,2 with RX5500XT and target another iMac12,2 with WX4170 - both EG2 EFI vBIOS.

- starting the session with CMD+F2 on WX4170 iMac
- no sound output on target system, although target was listed as iMac in system prefs sound
- brightness control from source keyboard on target system worked (small time delay, though)
- finishing the session needed the same command, but on the target the screen went black (backlight off)
- temporarily connected an external display to the target machine, the sync process triggered the backlight on, again.

Could repeat the process several times before the target ignored new requests.

In case you have older iMacs (2009-2010 with display port connection) or more recent hardware (thunderbolt 3) can you test this with your iMacs and MacBooks and report back? In any case you need the correct cable! The target system decides, so iMac 2011 with TB2 ports needs a TB2 cable, iMac 2010 with miniDP ports needs a miniDP cable. You cannot mix and match as you like.

Same rules will possibly apply to more recent iMac hardware.

I don't think Target Display Mode ever stopped working. It may take a few keypresses or some messing around to get a picture in some cases.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...imac-27-mojave-catalina.2333926/post-30837571
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/post-31109030

The GPU being used in the iMac shouldn't matter since it doesn't get used for Thunderbolt Target Display Mode.

For Thunderbolt Target Display Mode to work, the iMac needs to be able to switch the input of its display from the output of the GPU to the DisplayPort Output Adapter of the iMac's Thunderbolt controller. I think this is done with a separate DisplayPort mux. After switching the display to the DisplayPort Output Adapter of the Thunderbolt controller, the two Macs need to setup a Thunderbolt cross domain tunnelled DisplayPort path from the 2nd Mac's Thunderbolt host controller's DisplayPort Input Adapter (which is connected to the 2nd Mac's GPU) to the DisplayPort Output Adapter of the iMac's Thunderbolt controller.

 

[sunrisedx]

hello, I replaced the imac 11.3 video card with amd m6100, I installed macos 11.7.1 by following the instructions, but I can open the opening cd, when I eject the cd, it stays on the black screen and does not boot, can you help? thanks

 

[Starryest]

Has anyone (except the usual suspects) noticed that Target Display Mode is back with Monterey?

Just connected two iMacs with a Thunderbolt 2 cable and triggered a connection with CMD+F2. Source was an iMac12,2 with RX5500XT and target another iMac12,2 with WX4170 - both EG2 EFI vBIOS.

- starting the session with CMD+F2 on WX4170 iMac
- no sound output on target system, although target was listed as iMac in system prefs sound
- brightness control from source keyboard on target system worked (small time delay, though)
- finishing the session needed the same command, but on the target the screen went black (backlight off)
- temporarily connected an external display to the target machine, the sync process triggered the backlight on, again.

Could repeat the process several times before the target ignored new requests.

In case you have older iMacs (2009-2010 with display port connection) or more recent hardware (thunderbolt 3) can you test this with your iMacs and MacBooks and report back? In any case you need the correct cable! The target system decides, so iMac 2011 with TB2 ports needs a TB2 cable, iMac 2010 with miniDP ports needs a miniDP cable. You cannot mix and match as you like.

Same rules will possibly apply to more recent iMac hardware.

It's quite exciting to hear that the rx5500xt could running on iMac12.2, great works! I have heard that the vbios of this particular card is hard to modified, so I wonder if this situation will lead to a few problems, like loss of brightness control or etc?

 

[B0URNE]

The temporary black screen delay when Windows 10 loads Nvidia drivers is a known problem with some Kepler cards (k3100m is one of them), and there is currently no way around it.

I've encountered the same black screen delay (~45 sec) with my iMac12,2 and Nvidia GTX880M install. This build has OCLP (0.5.1) and a UEFI install of Windows10 on a separate SSD (ODD replacement). Currently there is no internal speakers working but that should be resolved using a DVD (MBR) Win install setup.

@nikey22 did you ever try the 880M under Windows 10?

 

[Kouiderdream]

Hi every body
I am blocked with my s7100x made soldering on the small cad holder and put it in the black usb programmer ch341a but it does not read i think its dead can we replace it with an other one is the size important ? And why some vbios have only 128 kb instad of other one with 512 kb i have one pulled from not working mainboard but with 64 mb need some support thanks

 

[internetzel]

Hi every body
I am blocked with my s7100x made soldering on the small cad holder and put it in the black usb programmer ch341a but it does not read i think its dead can we replace it with an other one is the size important ? And why some vbios have only 128 kb instad of other one with 512 kb i have one pulled from not working mainboard but with 64 mb need some support thanks

128 kB is the minimum size you need for an AMD card, I think. But that's sufficient only for specially prepared VBIOSes - which don't exist for many types of cards.
For that reason most AMD cards need at least 256 kB for the entire VBIOS to fit.

The bigger cards, like especially the S7100X, need at least a 512 kB EEPROM for the VBIOS.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

I've encountered the same black screen delay (~45 sec) with my iMac12,2 and Nvidia GTX880M install. This build has OCLP (0.5.1) and a UEFI install of Windows10 on a separate SSD (ODD replacement). Currently there is no internal speakers working but that should be resolved using a DVD (MBR) Win install setup.

@nikey22 did you ever try the 880M under Windows 10?

The sound issue with UEFI Windows 10 is resolved by OpenCore (SSDT patch) and it does not depend on the dGPU you are using. In fact I am moving a single (UEFI Windows 10) SSD around between all my systems.

If your sound is broken check which hardware is selected in system prefs. EFI capable systems can of course still use legacy installations, but why would you do this when recent Windows packages do not fit any longer on a DVD and you have to use OpenCore for macOS anyway?

 

[Kouiderdream]

Hi
I flashed the eprom from s7100x but no led on tge imac 2011 27 inch before i was able to make it working with imac 2009 27 inch

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Hi
I flashed the eprom from s7100x but no led on tge imac 2011 27 inch before i was able to make it working with imac 2009 27 inch

The card will not work properly in the iMac12,2 2011 anyway. Did you read the initial posts about the experimental support. Be happy you got it working in the iMac11,1 2009 !

 

[disorderattempt]

hey everyone!
successfully upgraded 2011 iMac with gtx780M. 3-pipe setup, had to grind the heatsink a bit.
Brightness controls are working and all is well.
Unigine Valley (FHD, Medium settings, no anti-aliasing) FPS/Score=59.4/2481 running nVidia webdrivers on HighSierra.

Though,

the problem: neither iStats or Macfancontrols show GPU Die temp...​

ODD fan responds properly and kicks in when GPU heatsink temp >=80C 😰 [adjusted via fancontrols]
the issue has been encountered before, but not resolved.
Have i lost some connector on the way? or maybe ripped off a resistor like this (it resulted in an unreadable display though), any ideas? or is it just the way GPU behaves without bothering to report its temp?

 

[Ausdauersportler]

hey everyone!
successfully upgraded 2011 iMac with gtx780M. 3-pipe setup, had to grind the heatsink a bit.
Brightness controls are working and all is well.
Unigine Valley (FHD, Medium settings, no anti-aliasing) FPS/Score=59.4/2481 running nVidia webdrivers on HighSierra.

Though,

the problem: neither iStats or Macfancontrols show GPU Die temp...​

ODD fan responds properly and kicks in when GPU heatsink temp >=80C 😰 [adjusted via fancontrols]
the issue has been encountered before, but not resolved.
Have i lost some connector on the way? or maybe ripped off a resistor like this (it resulted in an unreadable display though), any ideas? or is it just the way GPU behaves without bothering to report its temp?


View attachment 2123462



View attachment 2123467

The solution:
You do not need any webdrivers to run a Kepler card on High Sierra and you should pay the docs page of this thread a visit. Could have helped before installing the card.

 

[disorderattempt]

sorry, i didn't get your point.
this card runs irrespective of nvidia webdrivers.
the issue is about card not reporting its die temp.