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

[gauchomac]

Has anyone upgraded to Mojave without reverting back to the AMD video card?
I can't figure out how to boot to the USB to install to the partition with no boot option screen.

I figure I could probably pull the SSD and us another mac to install it, but I'm not excited about opening this thing again. At some point I'll break something, given my history and whatnot.

 

[luiarhs]

Hello @Astelith,

I've a Mid 2011 27" iMac that I fitted with one Nvidia GTX 780M 4GB and it worked perfectly in Mac OS 10.9.X the moment I upgraded to Mac OS 10.10 it stopped working. I can access my computer using screen Sharing and I notice that it shows "NVIDIA Chip Model 256 MB" and no Longer detects the card as "Nvidia GTX 780M" I've tried reinstalling the card and nothing. I also installed the CUDA drivers and the last build of the Nvidia Web Drivers and and so far nothing has worked.

I'm also thiking in getting the new 27 5K imac and don't invest any money on this machine any more although it's a shame since I recently fitted a Samsung 850pro SSD and it was screaming fast.

If someone has a clue on what could be happening with my card I will appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

Hi @Npalamidis

I've a Mid 2011 27" iMac too that I want to upgrade with the Nvidia GTX 780M 4GB too. It works with a newest Mac OS version?. Did you try anything else?

Thanks in advance.

 

[luiarhs]

seems like that card model is incompatible with your iMac.
I would advise you to stick with known working cards, please read opening post of this topic for more info.
Stick for example with Dell/Alienware Nvidia kepler cards, like GTX765/770/780m.

Hi @FlorisVN

I want to upgrade my iMac 2011 27" (i7 2600 3.4 GHz and High Sierra) with the Dell/Alienware Nvidia GTX 780M if everything works fine I'm going to install Mojave. Any advice or tip that you can tell me? Please.

Thanks in advance

 

[plato67]

I replaced my original graphics card a month ago with a AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2048 MB. Worked great for a while but whenever I launch Mail I get artifacts all over the place. I can play COD2 all day long with no ill effects but as soon as I launch Mail and sometimes Chrome. Improper install (i'm guessing, as I'm a noob) or a software issue?

 

[greg35]

Has anyone upgraded to Mojave without reverting back to the AMD video card?
I can't figure out how to boot to the USB to install to the partition with no boot option screen.

I figure I could probably pull the SSD and us another mac to install it, but I'm not excited about opening this thing again. At some point I'll break something, given my history and whatnot.

Hello, same issue for me... I bought & install the card before the migration to mojave :-( & now I don't want to open the iMac a new time...
I tried in blind mode booting the usb key but it seems my keyboard combo was not good (left arrow enter enter .... )

If someone has an idea without changing the graphic card.

 

[Roman78]

Ooohhh my 765M just arrived. Well that was quickly from outside the country, only one day.

@greg35 why do you have to boot from USB? Isn't it possible to start the Mojave installation from the current OS? Or select another Bootdevice in the Optionspanel. Or press ALT on boot, wait about 1 minute and try 2 times rights cursor and enter. If you have more partitions with other operatingsystems try several more time left cursor.

 

[FlorisVN]

Hello, same issue for me... I bought & install the card before the migration to mojave :-( & now I don't want to open the iMac a new time...
I tried in blind mode booting the usb key but it seems my keyboard combo was not good (left arrow enter enter .... )

If someone has an idea without changing the graphic card.

like @highvoltage12v said before in this thread.
best and safest way is to have HS installed on small partition 1 for example, this way you can always boot back into HS, and use startup disk from to select the Mojave installer or Mojave OS partition.

When running a pram reset, your mac will then always boot back to HS.
This way you never have to deal with blind booting from a usb stick for example..

I have a netboot server running, so i can always boot into an MacOS installer, when using command+N key at boot up.
this is also a good alternative solution I think..
[doublepost=1559817124][/doublepost]

Hi @FlorisVN

I want to upgrade my iMac 2011 27" (i7 2600 3.4 GHz and High Sierra) with the Dell/Alienware Nvidia GTX 780M if everything works fine I'm going to install Mojave. Any advice or tip that you can tell me? Please.

Thanks in advance

I would advise you to first install HS on partition 1, so your iMac can always boot back into HS.
doing a pram reset will always boot from first partition with HS.
You can use HS's startup disk selection to change to Mojave or Mojave installer partition with dosdude1 patcher inside.

I would reccomend you create a Mojave installer partition next to Mojave, so if needed you can run the patcher again if a update or mojave upgrade breaks your patched installation..
[doublepost=1559817185][/doublepost]

I replaced my original graphics card a month ago with a AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2048 MB. Worked great for a while but whenever I launch Mail I get artifacts all over the place. I can play COD2 all day long with no ill effects but as soon as I launch Mail and sometimes Chrome. Improper install (i'm guessing, as I'm a noob) or a software issue?

I would still advise you to get rid of you crappy AMD card, and use an compatible Nvidia card.
Sounds like your AMD is half fixed, and not working correctly.
you can try an nvram/pram reset of course and smc reset but I doubt it will work..
[doublepost=1559817289][/doublepost]

Hi @Npalamidis

I've a Mid 2011 27" iMac too that I want to upgrade with the Nvidia GTX 780M 4GB too. It works with a newest Mac OS version?. Did you try anything else?

Thanks in advance.

I think all Nvidia kepler cards will still work fine even in the new MacOS Catalina.
Since imac's from 2012 and up are still supported, Apple is still making kepler drivers into MacOS.
I think even 2014 iMac's still use Nvidia kepler cards, so we are covvered at least for a few years.
(have to check Mactracker for this)

Of course a guy like dosdude1 or someone else have to crack and patch the MacOS for us..
[doublepost=1559817339][/doublepost]

Has anyone upgraded to Mojave without reverting back to the AMD video card?
I can't figure out how to boot to the USB to install to the partition with no boot option screen.

I figure I could probably pull the SSD and us another mac to install it, but I'm not excited about opening this thing again. At some point I'll break something, given my history and whatnot.

best and safest way is to have HS installed on small partition 1 for example, this way you can always boot back into HS, and use startup disk from to select the Mojave installer or Mojave OS partition.

When running a pram reset, your mac will then always boot back to HS.
This way you never have to deal with blind booting from a usb stick for example..
[doublepost=1559817462][/doublepost]

Are those cards Plug and play, or do i need Nvidia Webdrivers? I wanted a card with a low power consumption. The 765/770/780 are all in the higher segment. Are there other cards in the low-mid segment compatible with the iMac? Like the GT610-GTX660? These are all Kepler? Or maybe GT705-GT750?

But why is the iMac not booting?

these cards are basicually plug and play.
all nvidia kepler cards do not need Nvidia Web Drivers.
They can use build MacOS Metal drivers.

Of course you still need to mod your heatsink a little, to make te card fit inside your iMac.

 

[greg35]

Ooohhh my 765M just arrived. Well that was quickly from outside the country, only one day.

@greg35 why do you have to boot from USB? Isn't it possible to start the Mojave installation from the current OS? Or select another Bootdevice in the Optionspanel. Or press ALT on boot, wait about 1 minute and try 2 times rights cursor and enter. If you have more partitions with other operatingsystems try several more time left cursor.

I followed the process & it explained to create an USB disk to boot on... No idea if you can run the patch version of mojave installer from HS.
bootdevice => mmm perhaps my USB Key is not bootable... I'll check if I missed something.

 

[Roman78]

like @highvoltage12v

these cards are basicually plug and play.
all nvidia kepler cards do not need Nvidia Web Drivers.
They can use build MacOS Metal drivers.

Of course you still need to mod your heatsink a little, to make te card fit inside your iMac.

Well, not all Kepler works out of the box. I have a GT 730 with a Kepler GK208 chip, that one is not working in my MacPro, only with Nvidia Webdrivers. I came to the conclusion, that Kepler of the 2nd series are not working. But can't prove it at this moment.

 

[highvoltage12v]

Ooohhh my 765M just arrived. Well that was quickly from outside the country, only one day.

@greg35 why do you have to boot from USB? Isn't it possible to start the Mojave installation from the current OS? Or select another Bootdevice in the Optionspanel. Or press ALT on boot, wait about 1 minute and try 2 times rights cursor and enter. If you have more partitions with other operatingsystems try several more time left cursor.

I never could get the EFI screen to work blindly; on the Mac Pro that's another story. I did not add that to the post on the first page, whoever did, are they sure it actually works?

* This means that when you start your iMac, you will have a blank screen until macOS boots up. So you cannot see the boot menu and the Apple logo during boot. The boot menu still works, so you can navigate it blindly if you are lucky.

 

[Roman78]

Just started to install the 765M, but i have to modify the Cooler first.

How do i cool the 4 Ram-chips on the backside of the card?

 

[highvoltage12v]

Generally it's not a concern for the ones on the back. If you are concerned, I saw a mod where someone used plastic (@FlorisVN ?) or cardboard to route the airflow from the HDD fan towards the MXM card to help cool things. But I'd only consider that if you're running all SSD storage.

What I do is keep keep the fans at a higher RPM on my 780m 2011 iMac. I haven't had any issues with temps on my card.

 

[Roman78]

First attempt to boot.... Holding breath... Display dark... holding breath... Display white.... Still holding breath (freaking HDD is slow).... Behold.... the login screen

 

[FlorisVN]

Generally it's not a concern for the ones on the back. If you are concerned, I saw a mod where someone used plastic (@FlorisVN ?) or cardboard to route the airflow from the HDD fan towards the MXM card to help cool things. But I'd only consider that if you're running all SSD storage.

What I do is keep keep the fans at a higher RPM on my 780m 2011 iMac. I haven't had any issues with temps on my card.

Nope,
That plastic cardboard mod was not mine.
Still have intentions to make one, someone else here had already made 3d printer model to print it out.

I do however put 1mm coper chimes with 3m thermal tape on it on the vram chips backside.
Combine this with an plastic air cover, and you have great cooling for the backside aswell in ny opinion..

 

[Roman78]

Do they got hot? The GPU stays cool at least. 43C atm.

 

[passatgt]

Do they got hot? The GPU stays cool at least. 43C atm.

You can only see the heatsink temp though, because it won't display vram temp, only in windows.

 

[highvoltage12v]

Do they got hot? The GPU stays cool at least. 43C atm.

Did you use K5 Pro on the componets under the heatsink? 43C isn't terrible. Mine usually sits at 42C while in use. Keep in mine that's the heatsink surface temp, so you won't see it fluctuating like the GPU core will.

 

[Raod]

Nope,
That plastic cardboard mod was not mine.
Still have intentions to make one, someone else here had already made 3d printer model to print it out.

I do however put 1mm coper chimes with 3m thermal tape on it on the vram chips backside.
Combine this with an plastic air cover, and you have great cooling for the backside aswell in ny opinion..

I'd left the 3D printed duct files on this post, It's working great for me!

 

[FlorisVN]

I think future for us iMac users with upgraded video card looks good.
Dosdude1 said, catalina needs a metal card, and should work fine with MacPro's upgraded with metal cards, and he also mentiond iMac's with upgraded video cards..

So even more reason to upgrade your the crappy AMD cards, to compatible Dell/Alienware GTX cards..

 

[Roman78]

Did you use K5 Pro on the componets under the heatsink? 43C isn't terrible. Mine usually sits at 42C while in use. Keep in mine that's the heatsink surface temp, so you won't see it fluctuating like the GPU core will.

I used Artic MX-4. But i noticed something strange. I just installed Windows 10 for a test and i noticed MSI Afterburner gives a lower Temperature on the GPU than Macs fan Controll on the PECI. For example: here i do a Little stress test, you see GPU 48°C in MSI Afterburner and GPU PECI of 55°C. Could this come from the heat of the RAM modules from the back?

Strangely Windows 10 is Cooler than OSX... i mean the temperature

 

[FlorisVN]

I'd left the 3D printed duct files on this post, It's working great for me!

View attachment 841735

nice, and thx for sharing again !

I was wondering, would it maybe be a good idea, to extend the air cover going to the MXM video card backside ?
So it will reach also the bottom vram chips better ?

And I was also wondering, how about creating some holes in the design for extra HDD/SSD airflow.. ?
Am I correct that I think, it looks like the airflow going to HDD/SSD is now almost completely gone/blocked.. ?
correct me if i'm wrong of course, just want to share my thoughts..
[doublepost=1560013320][/doublepost]

I used Artic MX-4. But i noticed something strange. I just installed Windows 10 for a test and i noticed MSI Afterburner gives a lower Temperature on the GPU than Macs fan Controll on the PECI. For example: here i do a Little stress test, you see GPU 48°C in MSI Afterburner and GPU PECI of 55°C. Could this come from the heat of the RAM modules from the back?

Strangely Windows 10 is Cooler than OSX... i mean the temperature

View attachment 841799

did you also used K5 for the vram chips aswell has the capacitors.. ? (like @highvoltage12v said)
k5 looks and functions the same as apple's own original white thick thermal pasta..

As example see my example, K5 pro and MX4 used here..
I ended up also putting k5 on the capacitors, marked in red !
(Dell/Alienware gtx765m)

Apple's original AMD cards, also cover all these parts for cooling, as far as I can remember..

I also use MX4 on the GPU Die, you can also use K4 for this..

I was btw wondering, how did you get the iMac internal screen to work with your GTX765m ?
Maybe i've missed your post here..

 

[Roman78]

I use Thermal Pads on the VRAM and the other 3 hmmm what are those... i did not used any on the capacitors you marked red. That K5 looks like a mess....

How did i get the card working... Well just install the card after i used the Dremel to modify the heatsink. And it worked out of the box. Now i am cloning the hardest to install Mojave.

 

[passatgt]

I used Artic MX-4. But i noticed something strange. I just installed Windows 10 for a test and i noticed MSI Afterburner gives a lower Temperature on the GPU than Macs fan Controll on the PECI. For example: here i do a Little stress test, you see GPU 48°C in MSI Afterburner and GPU PECI of 55°C. Could this come from the heat of the RAM modules from the back?

Strangely Windows 10 is Cooler than OSX... i mean the temperature

View attachment 841799

Did you installed Win10 in parallel with MacOS? And how?

Btw, i used thermal pads on my 780m, 0,5mm and 1mm thick versions instead of the messy thermal paste. Temps look fine, but i'm guessing the thermal paste performs better even though it looks weird.

 

[Allistah]

Question about this GPU mod...

I have a 2011 iMac 3.4 i7-2600 27”. Trying to get an idea of how much of a hassle this will be every time an update comes out.

1) If I upgrade to any newer video card that is known to “work”, should I assume that installs of future updates will require me to do additional steps before or after every update?

2) Or will it be just once with a major update like going from Mojave to Catelina? Are there video cards that work better than others in regard to being more friendly to future updates?

Thanks for any info anyone has..

 

[passatgt]

Question about this GPU mod...

I have a 2011 iMac 3.4 i7-2600 27”. Trying to get an idea of how much of a hassle this will be every time an update comes out.

1) If I upgrade to any newer video card that is known to “work”, should I assume that installs of future updates will require me to do additional steps before or after every update?

2) Or will it be just once with a major update like going from Mojave to Catelina? Are there video cards that work better than others in regard to being more friendly to future updates?

Thanks for any info anyone has..

Installing a new macOS will be tricky, but normal updates for an existing OS is fine, at least i didn't had any issues with Mojave updates so far. All cards mentioned in the first post work exactly the same, so no difference there.