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

[Ooze]

Are you sure you want to do that? The 1060M is an MXM-B card, i don't think that fits correctly with the small heatsink in this iMac(cooling will not be good). I don't saw anyone successfully running the 1060M in any iMac though. Also You could try installing Windows and see if that works(make sure you enable remote desktop, so you can still use it even if you don't have video output). You could try installing different firmwares on the card, you can find other 1060M versions on techpowerup. You can do a bios update from Windows i believe.

I am interested in changing the firmware later once I've run it through a ringer of tests first (never replaced a vbios before, don't truly know where to start so I want to exhaust my options first.) Cooling is actually acceptable on the smaller heatsink (with some minor modifications) since some of the 1060 variants have pretty acceptable thermals and lower TDPs. I have set up some small changes involving using the extra space I'm given when removing the CD drive for some extra help, I also have plans for upgrading the cooling further in the future, but those are irrelevant for the time being as I'm left with a black screen for now. I do appreciate the genuine concern though, I'm super aware I might X/o the card by accident. This is all for the sake of... I guess personal curiosity. I haven't seen anyone do it either, which is why I pounced on the option as fast as I could once I thought of it.

 

[jmilan0302]

I am interested in changing the firmware later once I've run it through a ringer of tests first (never replaced a vbios before, don't truly know where to start so I want to exhaust my options first.) Cooling is actually acceptable on the smaller heatsink (with some minor modifications) since some of the 1060 variants have pretty acceptable thermals and lower TDPs. I have set up some small changes involving using the extra space I'm given when removing the CD drive for some extra help, I also have plans for upgrading the cooling further in the future, but those are irrelevant for the time being as I'm left with a black screen for now. I do appreciate the genuine concern though, I'm super aware I might X/o the card by accident. This is all for the sake of... I guess personal curiosity. I haven't seen anyone do it either, which is why I pounced on the option as fast as I could once I thought of it.

If you're really worried about cooling and you've removed the DVD drive, as long as you also have an SSD in there you could make an air guide to blow air from the HDD fan to the GPU. I think someone on this thread has already done something similar actually. Attached is a picture I made in mspaint of what shape it should be.

 

[Ooze]

Well, we have liftoff, fellas. Late 2009 Imac and a GTX 1060
Still black screen, no external display support. But I can in fact log into it, and it does in fact recognize it. I installed webdrivers and cuda drivers besides those, and enabled them, but still no display. Got any more ideas?

-update, here are both screens-

 

[Ooze]

Well, we have liftoff, fellas. Late 2009 Imac and a GTX 1060
Still black screen, no external display support. But I can in fact log into it, and it does in fact recognize it. I installed webdrivers and cuda drivers besides those, and enabled them, but still no display. Got any more ideas?

-update, here are both screens-

Man I really do hope there is some kind of kext-y, .plist-y something I can try. I even got it to run benchmarks and it does quite well.

 

[liquidtwitch]

One more Question: is Target Display Mode working with these cards?

Unfortunately no.

 

[Arthondar]

Hi everyone,

Quick question that's been bugging me: I’ve been looking into changing the GPU on my 2011 iMac, not really to get more performance (I don’t really need that much for what I use this machine for) but for the possibility that it may allow me to update to Mojave and keep getting software updates and support. Can anyone confirm if updating to a Metal 2 compatible graphics card (i.e. Kepler and beyond or anything GNC based) allows you to update the OS to Mojave?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Ooze]

Hi everyone,

Quick question that's been bugging me: I’ve been looking into changing the GPU on my 2011 iMac, not really to get more performance (I don’t really need that much for what I use this machine for) but for the possibility that it may allow me to update to Mojave and keep getting software updates and support. Can anyone confirm if updating to a Metal 2 compatible graphics card (i.e. Kepler and beyond or anything GNC based) allows you to update the OS to Mojave?

Thanks a lot!

Upgrading the GPU doesn't allow you to upgrade to Mojave, you need a patcher to make something like that happen. Even thought the GPU supports metal doesn't mean the model will according to Apple's "official" listing. And because of that, you'll be stopped in your tracks upon attempting to install without any software trickery.

 

[Arthondar]

Well, that's a bummer, but pretty much what I suspected. I had a feeling that, Apple being Apple, the installer would just run the model identifier against a white list or something instead of checking for actual hardware compatibility...

Thanks a lot anyway.

 

[monofase]

But he wants to use a 2011 year power supply in an 09 iMac. Have you tried that before?

Hi,
I also tried to swap PSUs but the PSU was not the issue. The machine keep shutting down without the sensor (and heatsink)
At the end, the graphics card was defected! I tried with another GTX 675 M and it worked!
[doublepost=1556224707][/doublepost]

My mac wouldn't boot at all with a HP Quadro K3000m, there didn't look like there was any shorting or anything the card was just faulty as far as I could tell.

HP cards are not working because they have no BIOS. HP notebooks are using no VBIOS, the vBIOS is contained in the the main BIOS of the machine.

 

[AndrewMcBride96]

I have looked through the thread, sorry if I missed it.
But was there ever a more up to date list of confirmed working cards other than post #1357.

My Late-2009 27" i5 iMac graphics card died, and I am thinking of replacing it with a K3000. The computer is used by my parents so graphics needs are minimal, just basic youtube. Figured it made sense to put a more reliable card in, instead of reflowing or finding a replacement.

I really appreciate this thread, I have been following from afar from awhile. AMAZING WORK HERE. Thank you to everyone

 

[some_apple]

I have 2x 2011 27 inch with i7s waiting for a great solution, and I think its almost here! Hope we can get the 1000 series working !

 

[DManno3]

Can somebody who has successfully installed windows please tell me what I need to to to install windows onto my upgraded Mac??

2011 iMac 27” gtx 780m 4gb.

 

[FlorisVN]

I have 2x 2011 27 inch with i7s waiting for a great solution, and I think its almost here! Hope we can get the 1000 series working !

don't get high hopes on 1000 series nvidia cards.
just stick with known working dell/alienware kepler cards..
[doublepost=1556274458][/doublepost]

Hi,
I also tried to swap PSUs but the PSU was not the issue. The machine keep shutting down without the sensor (and heatsink)
At the end, the graphics card was defected! I tried with another GTX 675 M and it worked!
[doublepost=1556224707][/doublepost]
HP cards are not working because they have no BIOS. HP notebooks are using no VBIOS, the vBIOS is contained in the the main BIOS of the machine.

great and good that you fixed your iMac after all !

 

[Ooze]

don't get high hopes on 1000 series nvidia cards.
just stick with known working dell/alienware kepler cards..
[doublepost=1556274458][/doublepost]

great and good that you fixed your iMac after all !

No high hopes on the 1000 series YET. I'm gonna try my best to get mine up and running, best I can. After all, the only thing not functioning on my Late 2009 iMac with a 1060 in it is the internal screen / mini display output. Literally everything else works so far in HS with NVIDIA drivers.

 

[monofase]

don't get high hopes on 1000 series nvidia cards.
just stick with known working dell/alienware kepler cards..
[doublepost=1556274458][/doublepost]

great and good that you fixed your iMac after all !

I tried to run a benchmark (Heaven) and the machine shuts down after 5 minutes!
With the new card...

I manually set the fan speed using MacsFanControl:
HDD fan based on SSD sensor
DVD fan based on GPU heatsink sensor

Can be a cooling issue?

 

[highvoltage12v]

I tried to run a benchmark (Heaven) and the machine shuts down after 5 minutes!
With the new card...

I manually set the fan speed using MacsFanControl:
HDD fan based on SSD sensor
DVD fan based on GPU heatsink sensor

Can be a cooling issue?

When running heaven can you plug a second d monitor in and move your temperature monitor (Macs fan control) over to that window and watch temps? You will never have an Actual GPU die temp, only CPU. But is 62C your CPU's idle temp? I see your ODD fan speed is 3200RPM. Still thinking could this is power related? Check CPU temps.

Also I'm not sure if you actually went through with the PSU swap or not?

 

[passatgt]

I have looked through the thread, sorry if I missed it.
But was there ever a more up to date list of confirmed working cards other than post #1357.

My Late-2009 27" i5 iMac graphics card died, and I am thinking of replacing it with a K3000. The computer is used by my parents so graphics needs are minimal, just basic youtube. Figured it made sense to put a more reliable card in, instead of reflowing or finding a replacement.

I really appreciate this thread, I have been following from afar from awhile. AMAZING WORK HERE. Thank you to everyone

The first post is a wiki post which lists known compatible cards. Those work for sure at the moment.

 

[monofase]

When running heaven can you plug a second d monitor in and move your temperature monitor (Macs fan control) over to that window and watch temps? You will never have an Actual GPU die temp, only CPU. But is 62C your CPU's idle temp? I see your ODD fan speed is 3200RPM. Still thinking could this is power related? Check CPU temps.

Also I'm not sure if you actually went through with the PSU swap or not?

Yes I can do it!
As I can see, the max temp of GPU heatsink while running Heaven is 65C, I think is good. When I set Heaven to the maximum resolution and higher settings the machine keeps shutting down.
Yes, CPU in idle is 62C.

Tried to swap the PSU, but with the oder PSU the machine did behave the same, so I put back the original PSU.

In the meanwhile, I received another 2009 to be fixed with the broken AMD card, I will try the same card in this machine, but I think it will do the same...

 

[highvoltage12v]

Yes I can do it!
As I can see, the max temp of GPU heatsink while running Heaven is 65C, I think is good. When I set Heaven to the maximum resolution and higher settings the machine keeps shutting down.
Yes, CPU in idle is 62C.

Tried to swap the PSU, but with the oder PSU the machine did behave the same, so I put back the original PSU.

In the meanwhile, I received another 2009 to be fixed with the broken AMD card, I will try the same card in this machine, but I think it will do the same...

Could it be somehow 675m related? IIRC you did have new k5 Pro on your VRAM? Or is it something else? Have you redone thermal paste on the i7 830 CPU? There isn't much else I can think of.

 

[LightBulbFun]

Well, we have liftoff, fellas. Late 2009 Imac and a GTX 1060
Still black screen, no external display support. But I can in fact log into it, and it does in fact recognize it. I installed webdrivers and cuda drivers besides those, and enabled them, but still no display. Got any more ideas?

-update, here are both screens-

I think your issue for the internal screen at least is because, the iMac 21.5 inch late 2009 uses an LVDS LCD

where as later Models use an eDP LCD, and the GTX 10xx cards do not support LVDS sadly

 

[passatgt]

Anyone has Bootcamp Windows 10 running on a 2011 27" iMac with 780m? I'm looking for a winclone image to install. I tried @FlorisVN's Windows 7 image, but sadly it won't boot(it crashes on the first boot, and just black screen after that). Tried to figure out what might be the issue from the Windows log files, i think its a driver issue but can't seem to find out what exactly.

 

[DManno3]

I’ve successfully upgraded my iMac 2011 27 with a gtx780m. I’ve just Tried to install windows 8.1 and the Mac restarted firstly and the windows startup chime can be heard. I have connected my iMac to an external display but there is no image. Somebody help?

 

[FlorisVN]

Anyone has Bootcamp Windows 10 running on a 2011 27" iMac with 780m? I'm looking for a winclone image to install. I tried @FlorisVN's Windows 7 image, but sadly it won't boot(it crashes on the first boot, and just black screen after that). Tried to figure out what might be the issue from the Windows log files, i think its a driver issue but can't seem to find out what exactly.

As far as I can remember @highvoltage12v has made Windows 10 work succesfully on his GTX780m iMac.
He has done a EFI install of Windows 10, created on an other Mac ?
Maybay he can create a Winclone Image for us all, or please explain again how he did it.
If I know how, I'm happy to create a new Winclone Image based on Windows 10 for everybody

 

[Ooze]

I think your issue for the internal screen at least is because, the iMac 21.5 inch late 2009 uses an LVDS LCD

where as later Models use an eDP LCD, and the GTX 10xx cards do not support LVDS sadly

Yeah, I found that out while reading about the 10 series. What a bummer. Now I'm aiming for a 980m

 

[LightBulbFun]

Yeah, I found that out while reading about the 10 series. What a bummer. Now I'm aiming for a 980m

it is very cool to see that a modern card will initialized and somewhat work however

as most of the Graphics card upgrades done here have been on 2010-2011 iMacs, so I was no sure how compatibility was with something like an iMac10,1

im still not sure if iMac9,1s are MXM2 or MXM3

I know the Early 2009 Xserve3,1 is MXM3 as modern graphics cards work in its MXM slot