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marian1292

macrumors newbie
May 11, 2015
10
2
Hi! I am thinking about R9 m290x... Its graphic that imac 5k retina have... but i dont know if it had only Bios drivers or no.. Where can i find it? its AlienAlienware/Dell version of card :) thanks ;)
 
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MacVidCards

Suspended
Nov 17, 2008
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I did it. Thanks for all your guidance especially from MacVidCards.

Dude, this is awesome news. I wonder why the other guy who tried it reported no success?

I could more than likely write an EFI rom for it that would enable boot screens and proper monitor support for externals, etc.

Did you take any pics? Could be a major help to others to make this an option.

BTW, you may now be able to install the Nvidia Web Drivers. (They skip machine check if you use a self-init card)

I can't guarantee that Web Drivers will be any better, but if they are worse, you just NVRAM reset to get back to OS X ones.

Please let us know what you did and how you did it.

I'm pretty sure there would be some folks interested in these as an upgrade.
 

MacVidCards

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Hi! I am thinking about R9 m290x... Its graphic that imac 5k retina have... but i dont know if it had only Bios drivers or no.. Where can i find it? its AlienAlienware/Dell version of card :) thanks ;)

You need to find what device id the PC versions use.

The good news is that unlike Nvidia cards it is easy to see which ones are supported in OS X.

You just need to look in the info.plist files of the top (latest) AMD extensions.

They will have a list of IOPCI matches that all contain either 1002 or 0210 (same number in either Endian)
The other number with that is device id of supported cards
 

marian1292

macrumors newbie
May 11, 2015
10
2
You need to find what device id the PC versions use.

The good news is that unlike Nvidia cards it is easy to see which ones are supported in OS X.

You just need to look in the info.plist files of the top (latest) AMD extensions.

They will have a list of IOPCI matches that all contain either 1002 or 0210 (same number in either Endian)
The other number with that is device id of supported cards

But where i find amd extensions? And what i need to find in amd extensions?
 

MacVidCards

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Nov 17, 2008
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If you can't understand what I am typing you will need to go to a forum where people speak your language

I can't make it any simpler without doing all the work for you

Don't be afraid of google and spend some time reading
 

marian1292

macrumors newbie
May 11, 2015
10
2
If you can't understand what I am typing you will need to go to a forum where people speak your language

I can't make it any simpler without doing all the work for you

Don't be afraid of google and spend some time reading

I understand, i just dont know where is amd extensions located...
 

mhafeez

macrumors regular
Oct 30, 2013
103
56
GTX 780m Upgrades

Dude, this is awesome news. I wonder why the other guy who tried it reported no success?

Did you take any pics? Could be a major help to others to make this an option.

BTW, you may now be able to install the Nvidia Web Drivers. (They skip machine check if you use a self-init card)

Please let us know what you did and how you did it.

I'm pretty sure there would be some folks interested in these as an upgrade.

1. I bought the MXM card thru eBay from chooseyourdestiny2012 and as you mentioned earlier the Alienware and Dell versions does uses id of 119F (you can look it in my previous comment).
attachment.php


2. The surgery went well. After assembly with just one push on the power button the iMac did lost it's initial boot screen but quickly enters Yosemite without any delays. Oh yes I did sets up the screen sharing before the surgery just in case.
attachment.php


3. After few observations, I discovered that the iMac can't detect the GPU's diode sensor but the VGA heatsink measures arround 45°C - 75°C. The current VGA heatsink's too small for this monster I guess I have to find a bigger one.
attachment.php


4. I do able to install the Nvidia Web Drivers however when I switched back to default OSX driver the iMac blinds after restart. Luckily I managed to see it thru screen charing from another Mac and sets back to the Nvidia Web Driver.
attachment.php


5. In other observations I noticed that I lost the brightness function but this issue can be solve by installing 2rd party apps like Brightness Slider from AppStore. Also the new GPU cant detect my 2nd monitor using HDMI but it can be solve by using VGA instead.

6. This upgrades it still under my observation and I'll keep on posting for updates from time to time. Sorry for my bad english :D
 

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marian1292

macrumors newbie
May 11, 2015
10
2
1. I bought the MXM card thru eBay from chooseyourdestiny2012 and as you mentioned earlier the Alienware and Dell versions does uses id of 119F (you can look it in my previous comment).
Image

2. The surgery went well. After assembly with just one push on the power button the iMac did lost it's initial boot screen but quickly enters Yosemite without any delays. Oh yes I did sets up the screen sharing before the surgery just in case.
Image

3. After few observations, I discovered that the iMac can't detect the GPU's diode sensor but the VGA heatsink measures arround 45°C - 75°C. The current VGA heatsink's too small for this monster I guess I have to find a bigger one.
Image

4. I do able to install the Nvidia Web Drivers however when I switched back to default OSX driver the iMac blinds after restart. Luckily I managed to see it thru screen charing from another Mac and sets back to the Nvidia Web Driver.
Image

5. In other observations I noticed that I lost the brightness function but this issue can be solve by installing 2rd party apps like Brightness Slider from AppStore. Also the new GPU cant detect my 2nd monitor using HDMI but it can be solve by using VGA instead.

6. This upgrades it still under my observation and I'll keep on posting for updates from time to time. Sorry for my bad english :D

Great! I want to do same... But with m290x :)
But then i wont be able to use Nvidia Web Drivers.. And thats why i am scared :)
 

MacVidCards

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Nov 17, 2008
6,096
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This is fantastic news. Either here or at Netkas someone else tried with the same card IIRC, he had trouble and gave up.

I think the web driver makes the difference. If you look in my previous posts I mentioned that you might have issues with external displays. I have looked at the roms before and know why.

I'm now 90% certain I could make that card perfect, with bootscreens and full external support. Probably can't add the diode however.

If anyone knows an iMac repair shop in SoCal I would be happy to work with them to offer some nice GPU upgrades/replacements for the iMacs that use MXM.

Really glad I could give useful advice. Be careful of future OS updates as they may leave you at black screen again since they will disable Nvidia driver. A NVRAM reset will also turn it off.
 

marian1292

macrumors newbie
May 11, 2015
10
2
This is fantastic news. Either here or at Netkas someone else tried with the same card IIRC, he had trouble and gave up.

I think the web driver makes the difference. If you look in my previous posts I mentioned that you might have issues with external displays. I have looked at the roms before and know why.

I'm now 90% certain I could make that card perfect, with bootscreens and full external support. Probably can't add the diode however.

If anyone knows an iMac repair shop in SoCal I would be happy to work with them to offer some nice GPU upgrades/replacements for the iMacs that use MXM.

Really glad I could give useful advice. Be careful of future OS updates as they may leave you at black screen again since they will disable Nvidia driver. A NVRAM reset will also turn it off.
It should be great... and than i'll buy a 780m to my imac :)
But i am thinking about m290x too... but i dont know if it will work... plsss help me...
 
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Alkivar

macrumors newbie
May 18, 2015
2
0
so if i'm reading this thread correctly...

I should be able to get an MXM B nVidia 660/680M working in my Late '09 i7 27" since i'm running 10.9.5? Currently running the ATI 4850 card that shipped in it and looking to squeeze a bit more oomph out of it for photoshop CS6 filter rendering.

I have no intentions of going to 10.10 anytime soon on my machine, and a new Retina 5k iMac is out of the budget right now.
 

MacVidCards

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Nov 17, 2008
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so if i'm reading this thread correctly...

I should be able to get an MXM B nVidia 660/680M working in my Late '09 i7 27" since i'm running 10.9.5? Currently running the ATI 4850 card that shipped in it and looking to squeeze a bit more oomph out of it for photoshop CS6 filter rendering.

I have no intentions of going to 10.10 anytime soon on my machine, and a new Retina 5k iMac is out of the budget right now.

Here is lesson learned from the recent 780m success.

1. Install Nvidia Web Drivers for Nvidia cards.

2. Enable & test "Screen Sharing". Being able to log in remotely will be crucial if you get a black screen. Also having an external display can't hurt but being able to log in on another Mac is important.

I am still willing to help flash a card, just read the whole thread through. Glad some progress has been made but I'm fairly sure that 100% working card is possible, i just don't have time and space to gut an iMac and work on it.
 
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Alkivar

macrumors newbie
May 18, 2015
2
0
Here is lesson learned from the recent 780m success.

1. Install Nvidia Web Drivers for Nvidia cards.

Web Drivers on Nvidia site say they are only for 10.10.3? Will they work on 10.9.5?

2. Enable & test "Screen Sharing". Being able to log in remotely will be crucial if you get a black screen. Also having an external display can't hurt but being able to log in on another Mac is important.

I've already got this covered, RealVNC server is on my machine and I use it frequently. I use RealVNC because I can go with a stronger level of encryption and use different algorithms than the built in screen sharing VNC.

I am still willing to help flash a card, just read the whole thread through. Glad some progress has been made but I'm fairly sure that 100% working card is possible, i just don't have time and space to gut an iMac and work on it.

I doubt my system would be capable of pushing enough power and cooling the heat that would come from the 780M. I think a 660/680M is probably the absolute limit of what the 2009's cooling system/PSU can handle. Hopefully I can find one of these that doesn't require a bios flash?
 

chudnovsky

macrumors newbie
May 20, 2015
1
0
2. The surgery went well. After assembly with just one push on the power button the iMac did lost it's initial boot screen but quickly enters Yosemite without any delays. Oh yes I did sets up the screen sharing before the surgery just in case.
hi, I just want to know, does it mean that I cannot install Windows using Boot Camp:
1) If I'll change my 6970 like example on 880 (DELL Alienware)?
2) Do I have the same problem if I change 6970 on AMD Radeon R9 M290X (MXM 3.0b - DELL Alienware)?
 

mhafeez

macrumors regular
Oct 30, 2013
103
56
hi, I just want to know, does it mean that I cannot install Windows using Boot Camp:
1) If I'll change my 6970 like example on 880 (DELL Alienware)?
2) Do I have the same problem if I change 6970 on AMD Radeon R9 M290X (MXM 3.0b - DELL Alienware)?

I'm not quite sure regarding BootCamp since I only concentrated on OSXs but I'm guessing that others than previous productions with nVidia you'd be better choose the right GPU with previous success (refer to the early post of success upgrade).
 

mhafeez

macrumors regular
Oct 30, 2013
103
56
Minor upgrades

I had some minor changes and Mods for the on-card memories and the internal air flow ducting, installs a few copper heat pads on it.

Since both of my storage are SSDs and no heat will be produce so I diverted the airflow from the HDD Fan to the MXM card.

Now I have no temperature issue at all especially during video rendering and heavy graphics apps.
 

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amigo74

macrumors newbie
Mar 7, 2015
10
0
Minor upgrades

I had some minor changes and Mods for the on-card memories and the internal air flow ducting, installs a few copper heat pads on it.

Since both of my storage are SSDs and no heat will be produce so I diverted the airflow from the HDD Fan to the MXM card.

Now I have no temperature issue at all especially during video rendering and heavy graphics apps.
hello there
today i have installed an nvidia gtx285m in an imac 27 2009 with yosemite 10.10.3.
It has dell alienware vBios
It boot up normally but no screen with the internal lcd display.
I have installed screen sharing and i have seen that the grafik card is deteced right as a geforce gtx 285m.
I have run some grafik tests like unigine heaven and it completed benchmark test without a problem.
But i want to use the internal lcd display but there is no screen.
I have installed nvidia web driver but the same :No screen with internal lcd.
I have made pram reset :Same result: no screen
Can anybody help ??
The external mini display port i have not tested because i must buy first the mini display port hdmi adapter
Is there a chance to use the gtx285m with internal lcd display ???

Best regards
 
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MacVidCards

Suspended
Nov 17, 2008
6,096
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the display routing in the rom isn't correct

it is fixable, but not easily I'm afraid

Best to stick to cards that appeared in iMacs. I could write great roms for these, just don't have the space.
 

amigo74

macrumors newbie
Mar 7, 2015
10
0
the display routing in the rom isn't correct

it is fixable, but not easily I'm afraid

Best to stick to cards that appeared in iMacs. I could write great roms for these, just don't have the space.
Have anybody an other vbios to flash ???
Perhaps it will function ?
 

Infectum

macrumors newbie
Feb 10, 2015
5
1
Hi everybody! I think, that is possible to remove the airport card and connect this intro mini PCI-e port and use any external video card! Some people was able to connect eSATA Mini-PCIe Card! Somebody wants to try? ;)
 
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