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

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

would you be able to send information or link about where and type of resistors needing to be soldered on WX4150 I can totally do that and really interested. Also Thank You internetzel for your input

I would. But why should I?
There is a search function on this forum.
You are advised to try it yourself.

 

[JeffInCO]

I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I'm trying to get my 2010 iMac 27" (iMac 11,3), upgraded to a WX4150, to work with any version of MacOS (incl High Sierra, which worked fine with the original HD5750 GPU). I've tried both Ventura and Sonoma, of course with OCLP configured for iMac 11,3.

In my prior post, I mentioned that I can boot into Windows 11 with full acceleration (ran Unigine Valley), or Ubuntu (ran Unigine Valley there also, though the score was lower). GPU temps were fine, as measured by Macs Fan Control running in Windows 11.

For both Ventura and Sonoma, the installer GUI works fine... I am able to format my SSD, start the install process, etc. After about 45 minutes of installing (including multiple automatic reboots where the Apple logo is seen with the progress bar), it does a final reboot, after which the progress bar makes it halfway, then the screen goes black. I never have the opportunity to complete the process.

With High Sierra, the screen goes blank before I enter the installer. Presumably, there is a different problem? I tried connecting the miniDP port to an external HDMI monitor, as I read that there can be an issue with the WX4150 where the screen goes blank unless plugged into another monitor. Plugging into another monitor did not help.

One thing that may be unique is that I am running OCLP on my 2018 Mac mini (supported on Sonoma) to create the installer USB drive. Of course, I configure OCLP for an iMac 11,3. Currently, I cannot run OCLP on the iMac, since it won't boot into High Sierra with the WX4150.

Until today, I was using the WX4150_HyinxAJR_EnableGop.rom VBIOS from GitHub. Today, I changed to WX4150_EnableGop_ALT.rom, which seems to work the same as the Hyinx_EnableGOP rom.

One additional bit of data is that I can ping the iMac when it's in the black screen state, via wired Ethernet (currently with Sonoma installed)... so the OS is presumably alive; just nothing on the display.

Any help would be greatly appreciated; I'm at a loss as to what to try next.

Thanks!

 

[pepepro]

thank you yezhou!
wx4130 and wx4150 are the two cards that i suggested anyway.
do you have any experience with one of them?
which one would fit better to an imac 12,1? compatibility wise. (ideally without any hardware crafting needed)

 

[internetzel]

I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I'm trying to get my 2010 iMac 27" (iMac 11,3), upgraded to a WX4150, to work with any version of MacOS (incl High Sierra, which worked fine with the original HD5750 GPU). I've tried both Ventura and Sonoma, of course with OCLP configured for iMac 11,3.

In my prior post, I mentioned that I can boot into Windows 11 with full acceleration (ran Unigine Valley), or Ubuntu (ran Unigine Valley there also, though the score was lower). GPU temps were fine, as measured by Macs Fan Control running in Windows 11.

For both Ventura and Sonoma, the installer GUI works fine... I am able to format my SSD, start the install process, etc. After about 45 minutes of installing (including multiple automatic reboots where the Apple logo is seen with the progress bar), it does a final reboot, after which the progress bar makes it halfway, then the screen goes black. I never have the opportunity to complete the process.

With High Sierra, the screen goes blank before I enter the installer. Presumably, there is a different problem? I tried connecting the miniDP port to an external HDMI monitor, as I read that there can be an issue with the WX4150 where the screen goes blank unless plugged into another monitor. Plugging into another monitor did not help.

One thing that may be unique is that I am running OCLP on my 2018 Mac mini (supported on Sonoma) to create the installer USB drive. Of course, I configure OCLP for an iMac 11,3. Currently, I cannot run OCLP on the iMac, since it won't boot into High Sierra with the WX4150.

Until today, I was using the WX4150_HyinxAJR_EnableGop.rom VBIOS from GitHub. Today, I changed to WX4150_EnableGop_ALT.rom, which seems to work the same as the Hyinx_EnableGOP rom.

One additional bit of data is that I can ping the iMac when it's in the black screen state, via wired Ethernet (currently with Sonoma installed)... so the OS is presumably alive; just nothing on the display.

Any help would be greatly appreciated; I'm at a loss as to what to try next.

Thanks!

That's a known problem with High Sierra and the AMD Polaris cards. It's mentioned in the first post here and there it says you've got to add "agdpmod=vit9696" to your boot-args; now you'll just need to find out how to do that when booting using OpenCore ...

 

[idenis42]

Experimental AMD Radeon Pro 5500XT 8GB support

This card has been (likely) produced in more than a single variant, currently I have only tested one version as shown and described below. Rumors told me approx. 5000 cards have been produced in China for crypto mining, only.
There will be no such new cards available. Most cards hit the Chinese market last year after a few years of use, most of them were reused by commercial buyers to build or rebuild PCI desktop cards - what a waste if this story is real.

Currently I believe you cannot cross flash a the vBIOS coming with this card to other models. We would have to walk the development path described below with each version, again.

Type	ident	device-id	working
Green PCB	SH149V-0 E248799	7340	yes

It is a big MXM-B card fitting into 27 inch iMac models, only! Card comes with a modern UEFI2 compliant GOP vBIOS. It has been configured to provide 5 DP output channels, OpenCore and WhateverGreen enable the internal screen on macOS login screen with apdpmod=pikera added to boot-args in the config.plist.

With the help of some friends we were able to enable the EFI boot picker using the MacPro7,1 firmware graphics drivers (many thanks to @Nick [D]vB for providing those drivers).

Following another approach with help from @internetzel we were able to modify the original vBIOS and change the 2nd DP connector type to eDP - this way the LCD panel will be recognized as an internal one providing macOS software support from brightness management.

Since one cannot flash any modified vBIOS back onto the BIOS chip we tried to inject the first 64K of the modded vBIOS using OpenCore and the ATY,bin_image property. It is important to fix the checksum of the modded vBIOS although is will be only used via OpenCore. To enable native brightness control you need to add applbkl=3 to the boot-args entry, too.

After some trial and error we thought this approach failed - but on the next morning after a night and a system sleep brightness control suddenly and finally worked - heureka!

Finally I documented the method how to modify and construct the 64K bytes to inject via OpenCore on GitHub (link on the bottom of the page).

Known issues:
- no native brightness control with Apple EG2 vBIOS (injection of modded vBIOS impossible)
- does not enable backlight on boot without wire-mod or this PCB

Known features:
- supports two external displays using both TB2 ports of an iMac12,2
- sleep/wake is working
- boot screen with OpenCore (GOP) or natively (EG2)
- brightness control working (only GOP after first system sleep)
- needs Catalina 10.15.6 or better (AMD support)
- 4K HEVC and 4K H.265 hardware support
- 5K (external) display support when using dual miniDP connection

System Support:
- tested in iMac11,1 and iMac11,3 and iMac12,2

macOS Support:
- Catalina 10.15.6, Big Sur, Monterey (no OCLP support on Ventura for NAVI dGPU)

Performance:
- GeekBench Metal: > 40.000
- GeekBench OpenCL: > 40.000
- Valley: > 65 FPS, > 2729 (is more limited by GPU core and CPU frequency, not so much by resolution)
(resolution 2560x1440, quality low: 2716, medium 2703, high 2429, ultra 2157)
(resolution 1920x1080, quality low: 2729, medium 2729, high 2442, ultra 2396).
- MetalBench: 230 MRays/s
- PowerDraw: 19W idle - 95W max (observed by HWMonitor app)

Notes:
- this card needs a big MXM-B heat sink of the Mid 2011 models and more grinding (check picture for details)
- no Apple X-clamp is fitting, a 3D printed special 1mm bed to avoid contact with small components would be great
(using a Dremel grinding away big parts the big X-clamp from the 2011 HD6970 works, too)
- move the ODD temp sensor to the heat sink!
- adjust CPU fan according to PSU Primary using Macs Fan Control, avoids an over heating PSU
- use copper plate 0,5mm width and 20mm x 20mm size to bridge a gap between GPU and heat sink and avoid deeper grinding

Credits:
- @vmbl for trying the Sonnet card
- @Rainy1989 for helping!
- @lyf314512 for his initial RX5500XT post
- kingo132 for implementing RX5500XT backlight control support into OpenCore
- @Nick [D]vB and @internetzel
- last but not least: @Bmju for helping getting EFI boot screen support

Technical information:
- please check out this page

The video card came - rx5500xt 8 gb.
I set up the opencore for 5500.
I put the video card in imac 2011 27.
The sonoma system is not fully loaded. Panic.
The system is loaded in safe mode. I set up the opencore again. The sonoma system also does not want to load.
What is my mistake?
Windows 11 works great. The accelerator is twice as powerful as the wx7100.

 

[yezhou1225]

The video card came - rx5500xt 8 gb.
I set up the opencore for 5500.
I put the video card in imac 2011 27.
The sonoma system is not fully loaded. Panic.
The system is loaded in safe mode. I set up the opencore again. The sonoma system also does not want to load.
What is my mistake?
Windows 11 works great. The accelerator is twice as powerful as the wx7100.

It is not your mistake, RX 5500 XT is Navi 14 dGPU, just no supported at this time.
In fact, I had the same doubts as you at first. Until I carefully read the instructions for the OCLP. See attached.
OCLP received an AMD RX 6600 donation, hopefullly in the future the project can support AMD Navi with pre-Haswell Macs.
If they succeed with the RX6600, maybe the RX5500 can too.

 

[yezhou1225]

thank you yezhou!
wx4130 and wx4150 are the two cards that i suggested anyway.
do you have any experience with one of them?
which one would fit better to an imac 12,1? compatibility wise. (ideally without any hardware crafting needed)

Sorry for reply later. You should @ me.
Well, in fact, I tested both WX4130 and WX4150 with my iMac11,1 / 11,2 / 11,3 / 12,1 / 12,2 (I have all the 5 iMacs), both cards work properly.
The problem of WX4130 / WX4150 that listed in this thread is the SMC conflict with iMac11,2. But, I think it is the problem of PCB version of WX4130 / WX4150.
The version 109-C98581-00D_02 V343 VER: 1.0 PCB has the temperature sensor IC TMP431B. This IC is connected directly to the iMac's SMC "0" SMBus, and conflict to the TMP423B on iMac11,2 logic board. So, the VER: 1.0 PCB can't work well with iMac11,2
But, the version 109-C98581-00_02 V343 VER: 1.1 PCB doesn't has the IC TMP431B. There is no conflict with iMac11,2.
If you are going to try WX4130 / WX4150, find the 109-C98581-00_02 V343 VER: 1.1 green PCB would be the best choice.

 

[yezhou1225]

I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I'm trying to get my 2010 iMac 27" (iMac 11,3), upgraded to a WX4150, to work with any version of MacOS (incl High Sierra, which worked fine with the original HD5750 GPU). I've tried both Ventura and Sonoma, of course with OCLP configured for iMac 11,3.

In my prior post, I mentioned that I can boot into Windows 11 with full acceleration (ran Unigine Valley), or Ubuntu (ran Unigine Valley there also, though the score was lower). GPU temps were fine, as measured by Macs Fan Control running in Windows 11.

For both Ventura and Sonoma, the installer GUI works fine... I am able to format my SSD, start the install process, etc. After about 45 minutes of installing (including multiple automatic reboots where the Apple logo is seen with the progress bar), it does a final reboot, after which the progress bar makes it halfway, then the screen goes black. I never have the opportunity to complete the process.

With High Sierra, the screen goes blank before I enter the installer. Presumably, there is a different problem? I tried connecting the miniDP port to an external HDMI monitor, as I read that there can be an issue with the WX4150 where the screen goes blank unless plugged into another monitor. Plugging into another monitor did not help.

One thing that may be unique is that I am running OCLP on my 2018 Mac mini (supported on Sonoma) to create the installer USB drive. Of course, I configure OCLP for an iMac 11,3. Currently, I cannot run OCLP on the iMac, since it won't boot into High Sierra with the WX4150.

Until today, I was using the WX4150_HyinxAJR_EnableGop.rom VBIOS from GitHub. Today, I changed to WX4150_EnableGop_ALT.rom, which seems to work the same as the Hyinx_EnableGOP rom.

One additional bit of data is that I can ping the iMac when it's in the black screen state, via wired Ethernet (currently with Sonoma installed)... so the OS is presumably alive; just nothing on the display.

Any help would be greatly appreciated; I'm at a loss as to what to try next.

Thanks!

Did you try the hot-wire-mod, or mayb the add-on PCB cable can solve the problem?
Normally, a VER:1.1 PCB WX4150 can get OC boot display. Have you checked the PCB VER: of your WX4150 card?

 

[pepepro]

Sorry for reply later. You should @ me.
Well, in fact, I tested both WX4130 and WX4150 with my iMac11,1 / 11,2 / 11,3 / 12,1 / 12,2 (I have all the 5 iMacs), both cards work properly.
The problem of WX4130 / WX4150 that listed in this thread is the SMC conflict with iMac11,2. But, I think it is the problem of PCB version of WX4130 / WX4150.
The version 109-C98581-00D_02 V343 VER: 1.0 PCB has the temperature sensor IC TMP431B. This IC is connected directly to the iMac's SMC "0" SMBus, and conflict to the TMP423B on iMac11,2 logic board. So, the VER: 1.0 PCB can't work well with iMac11,2
But, the version 109-C98581-00_02 V343 VER: 1.1 PCB doesn't has the IC TMP431B. There is no conflict with iMac11,2.
If you are going to try WX4130 / WX4150, find the 109-C98581-00_02 V343 VER: 1.1 green PCB would be the best choice.

THANK YOU so much for all this fantastic help and the detailed images, yezhou1225!!

the chinese dealer on ebay is offering exactely the ver: 1.1 of the wx4130 / wx4150 cards. just hope these infos are correct ... i'll try to contact him first and then will take a chance and probably order the wx4150.

one last question - as i already have sonoma running on my 12,1 imac (of course with the help of OCLP) - if i install the new graphics card, do i need to do any software preparations in advance, or does OCLP and sonoma itself just recognize the hardware change and do the apporopriate adjustments (drivers, ...) automatically??

thank you!

best regards, pepepro

 

[Yomaho]

Maybe the Intel HD iGPU driver issue. Some iMacs before 2014 have black screen issue due to Intel HD iGPU driver.
Or, NVRAM, or SMC.
And check the Temp sensor of LCD, when it detects wrong temperature, it will close LCD too.
For these old machines, there are many factors that can lead a black screen under windows. Even apple official has not given an accurate solution.

Thanks for your answer.

Is it possible to have an iGPU driver issue if there is no iGPU in my iMac ?

About NRAM and SMC, do you mean reseting them ?

The strange thing is that if Windows start, everything works well.
And when it goes black screen at start, it's just a long time (around 2 or 5 minutes) to get the loging screen.

I tried to force Nvidia Kepler in OCLP but no changes.

 

[G3llings]

Experimental AMD W5170M 2GB support (AMD Radeon R9 M375 2GB)

This card has been produced in many variants, currently I know of at least three different types and ident strings:

Type	ident	BIOS version	device-id	working
Green AMD PCB	109-C93157-00A_03	W5170M	6820	yes
Blue AMD PCB	109-C42271-01_02	W5170M	6820	most likely

Sometimes this card will be advertised as AMD W5170M 2GB version (AMD re-branding). This will be the Green card.

Tested systems:
- iMac12,2: sleep/wake broken - black screen on cold boot needs PRAM reset each time
- iMac12,1: sleep/wake broken - black screen on cold boot needs PRAM reset each time
- iMac11,1: no problems
- iMac11,2: green AMD card has SMBUS problem, some temp sensor readings are weird, card needs a mod, red Dell card works fine!
- iMac11,3: no problems


- OCLP 0.3.1 and later support this card. So you can update OC using OCLP in future. Nevertheless the boot strap process is complex since you cannot boot the normal macOS unless OC has been installed in advance!

Download:
GitHub W5170M

Hey everyone!

A little confusion on my end.... I picked up a 2011 iMac 12,1. I have a W5170m that I have already flashed (Green PCB) and removed the jumper for the throttling issue, but before installing I wanted to see if the black screen without PRAM reset had been resolved. I see it is colored red now, but the comment about OCLP is confusing. The card is supported but is the issue resolved, or red because it's a big issue that is not fixed with the latest OCLP?

Thanks!

 

[JeffInCO]

Did you try the hot-wire-mod, or mayb the add-on PCB cable can solve the problem?
Normally, a VER:1.1 PCB WX4150 can get OC boot display. Have you checked the PCB VER: of your WX4150 card?

First of all: I tried again and was successful installing High Sierra! (this time with a wired LAN and a different external monitor plugged into the miniDP port.) I then tried Sonoma again, and was also successful with that!

So, thanks to all who have helped me here on this forum, and also those who have put so much effort into documenting everything, creating OCLP, modifying VBIOS's, etc!

To answer your question: I don't have a photo of my WX4150, but it might be a rev 1.1 (at least that's what is in the ebay listing photo). If I open the iMac up again, I will definitely take a photo.

Previously, I had no internet connectivity at all when going through the install process (neither WiFi nor wired). I suspect this was the issue.

The intent of the external monitor was to address the issue that internetzel pointed out a few days ago, which is identified on page 1 as a High Sierra only issue that was resolved by one of the following solutions:

• Use an external display
• Use a miniDP emulator stick
• Hardwire mod
• patch
• agpdmod=vit9696

I haven't yet tried booting with no external display. I may still need to do one of the other options above, since I don't intend to use it with an external display in the long run.

​

 

[Radical78]

Hi,

I purchased a flashed GTX 880M on an iMac 2011 (12,2). I just replaced the old 6970M with this GPU. I got High Sierra previously installed and then I didn't make a fresh install with Big Sur I installed over... just used a couple of days and then this problem with the GTX 880M. (see photos attached).

It could be the GTX 880M or I'm doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ayr_07]

Hello All. I have an iMac Mid 2011 21.5-inch with the i5 2400s and the Radeon HD 6750M 512MB GPU. I am exploring upgrading the GPU to support macos Monterey via OCLP. I have gone through the first post a few times but I am not able to find a graphics card which can help me achieve this goal without any bios mod on the GPU. Can someone suggest which GPU is my best option to run Monterey via OCLP without any bios mod? Thanks in advance.

 

[ricomack]

Well I was hoping to have better news on the GTX 860M GPU upgrade for my beloved 2011 12,2 iMac, However after installing the new GPU and putting the system back together, with a big smile on my face (mistake) I hit the power button and absolutely nothing happens.

So I pulled the display off so I could see the LEDs and what I found out the LED 1 was lite and the HDD fan was spinning at max speed. Since I didn't have the CD or the CD fan installed at the time I can't say anything about that fan. Anyway I performed the basic checks that tech guide suggests:

If second LED is not visible when power button is pressed:
• Verify power button connection to logic board - connection is good
• Verify power button functionality - also good
• Verify cable connection between power supply and logic board - connection is good
• Verify power supply - I would if I knew how. Very hard to find info as how to test the PS. Any ideas?
• Verify logic board - Same answer as above.

I assume the GPU isn't the problem to get the LED 2 to lite up and I assume the CPU has nothing to do with this either, but could be wrong.

So does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should try next. Mostly what I come across on the web is to replace this or replace that. But I would think there would be a way to check out the PS. Since LEDs 2-4 seem to need both the PS & MB working I need more info before I start down the replacement path. Therefore if I can verify the status of the PS I would know where go next. Any ideas, oh knowledgeable ones.

TIA

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Well I was hoping to have better news on the GTX 860M GPU upgrade for my beloved 2011 12,2 iMac, However after installing the new GPU and putting the system back together, with a big smile on my face (mistake) I hit the power button and absolutely nothing happens.

So I pulled the display off so I could see the LEDs and what I found out the LED 1 was lite and the HDD fan was spinning at max speed. Since I didn't have the CD or the CD fan installed at the time I can't say anything about that fan. Anyway I performed the basic checks that tech guide suggests:

If second LED is not visible when power button is pressed:
• Verify power button connection to logic board - connection is good
• Verify power button functionality - also good
• Verify cable connection between power supply and logic board - connection is good
• Verify power supply - I would if I knew how. Very hard to find info as how to test the PS. Any ideas?
• Verify logic board - Same answer as above.

I assume the GPU isn't the problem to get the LED 2 to lite up and I assume the CPU has nothing to do with this either, but could be wrong.

So does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should try next. Mostly what I come across on the web is to replace this or replace that. But I would think there would be a way to check out the PS. Since LEDs 2-4 seem to need both the PS & MB working I need more info before I start down the replacement path. Therefore if I can verify the status of the PS I would know where go next. Any ideas, oh knowledgeable ones.

TIA

If your iMac had been working fine before you replaced the GPU, then only the GPU would be the suspect.
A newly installed GPU may cause short circuit to the whole system, leading to "only LED 1 lit" issue.
Solution: Re-install GPU with some short circuit prevention measure. (Kapton tape, copper sim, etc.)

 

[idenis42]

Experimental AMD Radeon Pro 5500XT 8GB support

This card has been (likely) produced in more than a single variant, currently I have only tested one version as shown and described below. Rumors told me approx. 5000 cards have been produced in China for crypto mining, only.
There will be no such new cards available. Most cards hit the Chinese market last year after a few years of use, most of them were reused by commercial buyers to build or rebuild PCI desktop cards - what a waste if this story is real.

Currently I believe you cannot cross flash a the vBIOS coming with this card to other models. We would have to walk the development path described below with each version, again.

Type	ident	device-id	working
Green PCB	SH149V-0 E248799	7340	yes

It is a big MXM-B card fitting into 27 inch iMac models, only! Card comes with a modern UEFI2 compliant GOP vBIOS. It has been configured to provide 5 DP output channels, OpenCore and WhateverGreen enable the internal screen on macOS login screen with apdpmod=pikera added to boot-args in the config.plist.

With the help of some friends we were able to enable the EFI boot picker using the MacPro7,1 firmware graphics drivers (many thanks to @Nick [D]vB for providing those drivers).

Following another approach with help from @internetzel we were able to modify the original vBIOS and change the 2nd DP connector type to eDP - this way the LCD panel will be recognized as an internal one providing macOS software support from brightness management.

Since one cannot flash any modified vBIOS back onto the BIOS chip we tried to inject the first 64K of the modded vBIOS using OpenCore and the ATY,bin_image property. It is important to fix the checksum of the modded vBIOS although is will be only used via OpenCore. To enable native brightness control you need to add applbkl=3 to the boot-args entry, too.

After some trial and error we thought this approach failed - but on the next morning after a night and a system sleep brightness control suddenly and finally worked - heureka!

Finally I documented the method how to modify and construct the 64K bytes to inject via OpenCore on GitHub (link on the bottom of the page).

Known issues:
- no native brightness control with Apple EG2 vBIOS (injection of modded vBIOS impossible)
- does not enable backlight on boot without wire-mod or this PCB

Known features:
- supports two external displays using both TB2 ports of an iMac12,2
- sleep/wake is working
- boot screen with OpenCore (GOP) or natively (EG2)
- brightness control working (only GOP after first system sleep)
- needs Catalina 10.15.6 or better (AMD support)
- 4K HEVC and 4K H.265 hardware support
- 5K (external) display support when using dual miniDP connection

System Support:
- tested in iMac11,1 and iMac11,3 and iMac12,2

macOS Support:
- Catalina 10.15.6, Big Sur, Monterey (no OCLP support on Ventura for NAVI dGPU)

Performance:
- GeekBench Metal: > 40.000
- GeekBench OpenCL: > 40.000
- Valley: > 65 FPS, > 2729 (is more limited by GPU core and CPU frequency, not so much by resolution)
(resolution 2560x1440, quality low: 2716, medium 2703, high 2429, ultra 2157)
(resolution 1920x1080, quality low: 2729, medium 2729, high 2442, ultra 2396).
- MetalBench: 230 MRays/s
- PowerDraw: 19W idle - 95W max (observed by HWMonitor app)

Notes:
- this card needs a big MXM-B heat sink of the Mid 2011 models and more grinding (check picture for details)
- no Apple X-clamp is fitting, a 3D printed special 1mm bed to avoid contact with small components would be great
(using a Dremel grinding away big parts the big X-clamp from the 2011 HD6970 works, too)
- move the ODD temp sensor to the heat sink!
- adjust CPU fan according to PSU Primary using Macs Fan Control, avoids an over heating PSU
- use copper plate 0,5mm width and 20mm x 20mm size to bridge a gap between GPU and heat sink and avoid deeper grinding

Credits:
- @vmbl for trying the Sonnet card
- @Rainy1989 for helping!
- @lyf314512 for his initial RX5500XT post
- kingo132 for implementing RX5500XT backlight control support into OpenCore
- @Nick [D]vB and @internetzel
- last but not least: @Bmju for helping getting EFI boot screen support

Technical information:
- please check out this page

Why does Openkore write "Failed to find GFX0 Device patch, falling back on known logic" when installing???

I personally set up config.plist in openkore for the rx 5500 xt.

There is a controller in the Monterey system, but the brightness in the display does not change. Watch the video.

The Sonoma system runs only in safe mode. I realized that there is no patch for the graphics card before haswell

I have attached the config.plist file.

Can you send your config.plist to me?

 

[spyrant]

Hi all! Would appreciate a bit of help here.

I have previously upgraded my iMac 11,1 to a GTX880M but unfortunately it died on me after 2 years of continuous use. So while I'm not unfamiliar with the upgrade process, but I'm not an expert at it either.

Recently I bought a GTX770M (unflashed) that was pulled from a MSI GT60 laptop. Last known condition was that it is working. However after installing it (heatsink & x-bracket mod already done from previous upgrade), I'm only getting the first 2 diagnostic LEDs, but not the third..

Question 1: Is it possible that the 3rd LED do not light before flashing the compatible vbios?

Here's the thing, the iMac with this new card actually runs with display in Ubuntu (see attached picture) but not on my known good installations of High Sierra.

Question 2: Does the ubuntu session with the lshw output confirm that the GPU is actually a working one?

When I try using GRML-FLASH (with unplugged harddrive, guaranteed working flashdrive and SD cards across various ports), the machine somehow gets hung up and never actually start the SSH server. I'm very puzzled why this is because there were no problems with this process prior to installing the new card. I also can't seem to find an error log on the flashdisk so I've no clue where to start debugging.

Currently all I get is a boot chime but the screen remains black even on EFI boot screen after package installer. I also seem to be able to log into my High Sierra account without the screen because my TeamViewer shows my account to be online. Unfortunately I cannot remote control for some reason, maybe version incompatibility since I didn't update it for a long time.

I do not have access to other forms of flashing the card except GRML-FLASH, which has worked well for me in the past. I'm not sure if using nvflash on Ubuntu is viable. Couldn't find any viable guide online so if anyone has done that before I would appreciate that too!

 

[idenis42]

I found a way out. I managed to flash the bios through the CH341A programmer using the asprogrammer 2.0.3 program. There were errors with the firmware, the chip refused to flash. But, I opened the Siberia Prog-CH341A program. First of all, I was able to erase the chip. And then, using the asprogrammer program, I was able to flash the bios into the chip successfully. 3.3.v chip

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi all! Would appreciate a bit of help here.

I have previously upgraded my iMac 11,1 to a GTX880M but unfortunately it died on me after 2 years of continuous use. So while I'm not unfamiliar with the upgrade process, but I'm not an expert at it either.

Recently I bought a GTX770M (unflashed) that was pulled from a MSI GT60 laptop. Last known condition was that it is working. However after installing it (heatsink & x-bracket mod already done from previous upgrade), I'm only getting the first 2 diagnostic LEDs, but not the third..

Question 1: Is it possible that the 3rd LED do not light before flashing the compatible vbios?

Here's the thing, the iMac with this new card actually runs with display in Ubuntu (see attached picture) but not on my known good installations of High Sierra.

Question 2: Does the ubuntu session with the lshw output confirm that the GPU is actually a working one?

When I try using GRML-FLASH (with unplugged harddrive, guaranteed working flashdrive and SD cards across various ports), the machine somehow gets hung up and never actually start the SSH server. I'm very puzzled why this is because there were no problems with this process prior to installing the new card. I also can't seem to find an error log on the flashdisk so I've no clue where to start debugging.

Currently all I get is a boot chime but the screen remains black even on EFI boot screen after package installer. I also seem to be able to log into my High Sierra account without the screen because my TeamViewer shows my account to be online. Unfortunately I cannot remote control for some reason, maybe version incompatibility since I didn't update it for a long time.

I do not have access to other forms of flashing the card except GRML-FLASH, which has worked well for me in the past. I'm not sure if using nvflash on Ubuntu is viable. Couldn't find any viable guide online so if anyone has done that before I would appreciate that too!

Could you see anything on the internal display when booting from the GRML Linux USB?
If so, then you can just run the flash command from the Linux desktop, there is no need to SSH or anything.

 

[spyrant]

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately no internal display is available

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately no internal display is available

If you can remote to your Ubuntu session, then it's possible to flash. GRML-FLASH disk is just a simple Linux distro used only for flashing.
You can copy all the VBIOS, nVIDIA flash or AMD flash from GRML disk to your Ubuntu disk and go from there.

 

[jerry86]

Hallo, is there a fully instructions of how to install an S7100X on iMac 2010? which ROM and steps I should experiemently follow? which one will be good to start?
Thanks! LG

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hallo, is there a fully instructions of how to install an S7100X on iMac 2010? which ROM and steps I should experiemently follow? which one will be good to start?
Thanks! LG

Yes, there is.
Spoiler 4 of the first post.

 

[disorderattempt]

hey everyone,
problem: non-responsive tb ports on 12.2
trying to revive thunderbolt ports on iMac 12.2 (bigsur/nvidia gtx780m by nickey/all drives are afps). both ports are not functional, have no idea if they ever been. just never used the equipment. now trying to organize large media library on an external drive and need high speed access via tb.
solution: add highSierra drive, the last to support external display support via tb and seen report that thunderbolt ports may get back alive on this OS. (p.s.i'm aware of efforts to bring back external display via tb port for these mac models, but the ports do not even respond to external hard drives attached...)
question: should the highsierra drive be formatted as HFS+ only even if it will reside on a separate disk?

thanks in advance!

Supported MacOS version can be installed using the original Apple installer. To avoid the black screen issue with NVIDIA cards install this package. To avoid APFS preboot corruption of other Big Sur or Monterey installation use HFS+ for High Sierra!!