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

[SYNERGEIST]

X Bracket Issues - Quite Important

All the AMD Metal card's original X bracket has the pressed on inner sleeve at each of the 4 holes that prevents iMac heat sink's bolts from mounting. So most people removed the bracket by a heat source (hair dryer, I use hot air station @ 140C + spudger gently at the bolt holes where there are no components) and replaced with the original X bracket.

However, the AliExpress M5100 I received has the bracket inner sleeve pressed out by the seller. Buyer might think this is nice and can just install. But there is a big problem.

These X brackets with inner sleeve pressed out isn't beveled like the original. So the bolt 's beveled head will not sink as deep and extends out extra 1+ to 2mm.

Depending on the heat sink you have, this height extension can come very close the underside of the logic board and maybe even touching it ( all the MXM interface are there. Maybe even some probe points are exposed underneath the logic board which can contact the X bracket mounting bolts ) I believe this was likely my random hang which seems to have been resolved by

1. Install in different iMac with more clearance
2. Removed metal GPU X bracket and use original along with Kapton tape
3. drill bevels to metal GPU's bracket holes so bolt sinks deeper and apply Kapton tape over the 2 X bracket bars that goes under the board. Note drilling a bevel will produce metal shavings which must be all cleaned off and messy with cutting oil. Also constant pressure begins the weaken the insulator under the X bracket.

So if ever use these card's X bracket with the inner sleeve pressed out, need check the clearance for increased height carefully under the logic board.

Here is how much clearance M5100 has under my 11,1 using OEM X bracket. Very very tight. Now imagine the X bracket bolt raise by 2mm with a no bevel bracket. Note I added Kapton tape over the bars under the logic board even with original X bracket since gap is so small.

View attachment 2348251

Here is a metal GPU card bracket with pressed out sleeve and hole beveled for lower bolt height and installed on a M4000. If want to do this, should make a more precise pressing jig than this picture

View attachment 2348260
View attachment 2348252View attachment 2348253

So always check the X bracket clearance on install and probably should always add Kapton tape on the 2 legs that goes under the logic board.

Heat up the bracket and press out from the bottom!

 

[ChrizLoud]

Someone know if this could solve the boot black screen problem ?

And is OCLP natively set on that boot args or do I need to change it ?
Thanks in advance

Yes, how to add boot flags for OCLP. Im so tired of the random 2 min black screen 50% of the time i boot Windows.

 

[Herver]

Finally done with upgrading the GPU and it's working well. I'm happy with the performance and the temperature management. I hope this 880m will live a long life.

The flashing was the most painful part and was done with what I had at hand : 1 external display, 1 usb stick with ubuntu and the imac. It was complicated and I had all sorts of problems. I'm not even sure how I did it.

The X-bracket is from the original hd 6970m and had been modified to fit the 880m. I had to tape it entirely otherwise shorts would happen and the system would shutdown.

The ODD temp sensor is epoxy glued onto the gpu heatsink. The ODD fan starts spinning at around 50°C now and that keeps the gpu from overheating. Thanks Ausdauersportler for this post.


Thanks for the help on this thread and thanks for the vbios provided by nikey22.

 

[GPope]

I upgraded my 12,2 27" iMac with oclp to Ventura and used the original GPU (HD6770M). If at some point in the future, if I install an AMD 4130 that is flashed, will the system just recognize it? Or will I have to do something with oclp.
thanks

 

[howardc64]

I upgraded my 12,2 27" iMac with oclp to Ventura and used the original GPU (HD6770M). If at some point in the future, if I install an AMD 4130 that is flashed, will the system just recognize it? Or will I have to do something with oclp.
thanks

Great you’ve done OCLP install already. Reduces learning complexity on the Metal GPU upgrade.

Read my signature link for 12,2 wx4130 install

• Basically same process as my 11,1 m5100 summary (don’t use m5100 for 12,x of course)
• Follow precisely my m5100 summary on building the OCLP install USB stick. Really important to get this right for smooth OCLP install.
• Use AMD Polaris for Graphics Override.

 

[internetzel]

I upgraded my 12,2 27" iMac with oclp to Ventura and used the original GPU (HD6770M). If at some point in the future, if I install an AMD 4130 that is flashed, will the system just recognize it? Or will I have to do something with oclp.
thanks

You'll have to remove the currently installed post install patches, as they contain the drivers for your 6770M, which "disable" the drivers for later AMD GPUs (not sure which drivers exactly are affected, but the Polaris drivers for sure are).
After that you've got to reinstall the post install patches, which will then contain the drivers for the WX4130.

 

[mchlr]

I have a 2011 iMac 21.5" and have installed a M5100.
I'm unsure what settings I need for OC.
I was running Sonoma prior to install.
After installing new GPU -
reverted root patches then repatched.
Booting normal doesn't work, just got a yellow screen with pointer working after some time, so booted safe mode and reverted root patch again.
What do I do?

 

[internetzel]

I have a 2011 iMac 21.5" and have installed a M5100.
I'm unsure what settings I need for OC.
I was running Sonoma prior to install.
After installing new GPU -
reverted root patches then repatched.
Booting normal doesn't work, just got a yellow screen with pointer working after some time, so booted safe mode and reverted root patch again.
What do I do?

In fact OCLP should autodetect your hardware configuration quite reliably.
Did you also "Build and install" again (in addition to reinstalling the post install patches)? If not, try doing that.

 

[mchlr]

In fact OCLP should autodetect your hardware configuration quite reliably.
Did you also "Build and install" again (in addition to reinstalling the post install patches)? If not, try doing that.

Actually I don't know if I did, will try that

 

[mchlr]

So tried build and install no change (but does seem to get to the yellow screen faster)
Sorry if it's a dumb question but because I can't hold option to select Opencore/Boot EFI's option, is that a problem?

 

[howardc64]

So tried build and install no change (but does seem to get to the yellow screen faster)
Sorry if it's a dumb question but because I can't hold option to select Opencore/Boot EFI's option, is that a problem?

I had yellow screen problem on boot with M4000 on 11,3 and numerous problems without following precise sequence to build the OCLP USB stick

iMac+Metal GPU - OCLP

Warning - OCLP Reinstall Likely Must do SMC Reset Can come back to this if just learning how to install the first time. But after gained installation experience and wants to install other OCLP macOS. Then need to learn

sites.google.com

2011 (12,x) will have sleep/wake problems with M5100. See post #1

 

[mchlr]

I had yellow screen problem on boot with M4000 on 11,3 and numerous problems without following precise sequence to build the OCLP USB stick

iMac+Metal GPU - OCLP

Warning - OCLP Reinstall Likely Must do SMC Reset Can come back to this if just learning how to install the first time. But after gained installation experience and wants to install other OCLP macOS. Then need to learn

sites.google.com

2011 (12,x) will have sleep/wake problems with M5100. See post #1

Thanks yeah I'm aware the sleep wake issues, decided to go ahead and install anyway as I'd already purchased and there seems to be some good outcomes. I'll ditch it if it doesn't work out and get a WX 4130/50 or something. Don't want to give up without trying though.

Thanks for the help I'll give that a shot

 

[Johnny Sanzimippi]

Hi everyone,

long time OCLP user, happy owner of a modded iMac11,2, I'm here asking if someone can help me figuring out a solution on a rather strange problem I'm facing with my other iMac11,2 Mid 2010 21,5":

Current machine specs:
A1311 EMC 2389

• Stock Intel Core i3-540;
• Mac-Flashed NVIDIA Quadro K1100M;
• 512GB SiliconPower SSD;
• 12GB 1333MHz DDR3;
• Stock Wi-Fi, bluetooth removed (ATM, long story, BCM94360CD on the way from China)
• OCLP 1.3.0

Problem:
in anything past High Sierra, if I send iMac internal display to sleep or send system to stop, when I wake it display's backlight briefly powers on (less than a second), then backlight completely turns itself off.
If an external display is connected, no problem on that one, it wakes gracefully.
If I use a torch I can see that the internal display is actually on, if I navigate to send the iMac to sleep and wake it again, the behavior repeats itself (no backlight).
Only way to solve the problem is to turn the machine off and on again, and never let the display powering itself off (screensaver is ok), which is... not ideal, as this iMac is meant to be gifted to a non-tech-savvy user.

The real problem? In High Sierra, without OCLP installed, the internal display works flawlessly: I can put the iMac to sleep and when I wake it, backlight kicks on as expected.
In Big Sur (last macOS that doesn't need root patches for Kepler GPUs) still with OCLP installed (tried also with v0.4.11) no backlight on wake from sleep...

That's even stranger as I remember using Big Sur in 2022 on my other iMac11,2 with this very GPU (now upgraded on that one with an AMD FirePro M5100) without any problem.
If I select in OCLP settings "Hibernation Workaround" (which as I remember correctly is meant for Mid-2011 iMacs) only thing I get is that on first reboot the system will not "bong" and just stays black with fans spinning until I shut it off and do a PRAM reset. Then it turns on, with backlight problem still there...

I would really appreciate any hint on where to go from here as I'm a bit lost... I'm also a bit hesitant on just buying an M5100 and slam it in, as it's not guaranteed that that will solve my problem...

Thanks in advance to anyone who will respond!

 

[Pacific1972]

Hi everyone,

long time OCLP user, happy owner of a modded iMac11,2, I'm here asking if someone can help me figuring out a solution on a rather strange problem I'm facing with my other iMac11,2 Mid 2010 21,5":

Current machine specs:
A1311 EMC 2389

• Stock Intel Core i3-540;
• Mac-Flashed NVIDIA Quadro K1100M;
• 512GB SiliconPower SSD;
• 12GB 1333MHz DDR3;
• Stock Wi-Fi, bluetooth removed (ATM, long story, BCM94360CD on the way from China)
• OCLP 1.3.0

Problem:
in anything past High Sierra, if I send iMac internal display to sleep or send system to stop, when I wake it display's backlight briefly powers on (less than a second), then backlight completely turns itself off.
If an external display is connected, no problem on that one, it wakes gracefully.
If I use a torch I can see that the internal display is actually on, if I navigate to send the iMac to sleep and wake it again, the behavior repeats itself (no backlight).
Only way to solve the problem is to turn the machine off and on again, and never let the display powering itself off (screensaver is ok), which is... not ideal, as this iMac is meant to be gifted to a non-tech-savvy user.

The real problem? In High Sierra, without OCLP installed, the internal display works flawlessly: I can put the iMac to sleep and when I wake it, backlight kicks on as expected.
In Big Sur (last macOS that doesn't need root patches for Kepler GPUs) still with OCLP installed (tried also with v0.4.11) no backlight on wake from sleep...

That's even stranger as I remember using Big Sur in 2022 on my other iMac11,2 with this very GPU (now upgraded on that one with an AMD FirePro M5100) without any problem.
If I select in OCLP settings "Hibernation Workaround" (which as I remember correctly is meant for Mid-2011 iMacs) only thing I get is that on first reboot the system will not "bong" and just stays black with fans spinning until I shut it off and do a PRAM reset. Then it turns on, with backlight problem still there...

I would really appreciate any hint on where to go from here as I'm a bit lost... I'm also a bit hesitant on just buying an M5100 and slam it in, as it's not guaranteed that that will solve my problem...

Thanks in advance to anyone who will respond!

Long term follows...

perhaps the best choice is to buy a GCN4 GPU like Radeon Pro WX4130 for your
systems (this is - together with WiFi & Bluetooth Upgrade - most future compatible)
It's not only because of partially missing macOS Ventura / Sonoma driver support.

However, that is just speculation (!) - but in newer OCLP versions the contributors have
dropped support (together with missing macOS drivers) for a variety of metal capable GPUs
- so further most users can put different MXM-A and MXM-B cards (Kepler based NVIDIA
Quadro, GTX 7/8 series, same as upcoming AMD GCN 1-3 GPUs in following OCLP versions,
I believe) to recycling process... intended ?

I don't have the impression that the developers of OCLP agree on which graphics card support
will be saved there in the future, and that doesn't seem to be due to the development of macOS
alone !

Different AMD cards (M5100 - partially with W5170 BIOS, W6170, S7100 - all GCN 1-3 GPU) need
an older OCLP version (!) to run with full acceleration in A1311 or A1312, but only useable from
High Sierra to BigSur, partially Monterey everything else after routes to dead end with
these GPUs...

For further compatibility with macOS Ventura & Sonoma the only way is to buy a AMD GCN4 GPU
which fits in A1311 - and the WX4130 / WX4150 / WX3200 (with restrictions) is the most future
compatible solution. For A1312 the same cards are useable (together with cards like WX7100
or RX5500 XT, should be version 1.1 for compatibility without soldering).

Don't forget WiFi & Bluetooth, perhaps you can buy as a GPU ++Bundle on Ali or eBay... ☺️

"As I know nobody tells here and there I can already hear the voices which often want to fool users
giving wrong background information. You're a conspiracy theorist, read the ****ing OCLP manual !"

 

[mchlr]

In fact OCLP should autodetect your hardware configuration quite reliably.
Did you also "Build and install" again (in addition to reinstalling the post install patches)? If not, try doing that.

I had yellow screen problem on boot with M4000 on 11,3 and numerous problems without following precise sequence to build the OCLP USB stick

iMac+Metal GPU - OCLP

Warning - OCLP Reinstall Likely Must do SMC Reset Can come back to this if just learning how to install the first time. But after gained installation experience and wants to install other OCLP macOS. Then need to learn

sites.google.com

2011 (12,x) will have sleep/wake problems with M5100. See post #1

Just want to update from 24hrs ago what's happened with my AMD Firepro M5100(SKhynix BFR) in my "mid 2011 21.5" iMac".

Created a new installer following the above advised guide, partitioned a new volume with disk utility on my SSD and installed Sonoma on that along with OCLP using the same guide.

Again I was having the same issue, booting normally didn't work, safe mode worked but unstable, useable but worse than my original GPU running Sonoma. The card was recognised as : AMD Radeon HD 7xxx 2 GB

Having given up on the new install I booted back into my usual OS and everything was working.
-Correct GPU displayed
-Brightness control - working
-Sleep/wake - working

Geekbench test :

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011)AMD Radeon R9 M370X	Metal	macOS 64-bit	13080
iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011)AMD Radeon R9 M370X Compute Engine	OpenCL	macOS 64-bit	9965

Happy about that, was about to order a WX 3200

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi everyone,

If an external display is connected, no problem on that one, it wakes gracefully.

So in your case, there is a work around solution, which is called a dummy load combo (simulated as a 1080p display attached to the miniDisplayPort).
You will need:
1. 01 miniDP to VGA (D-SUB) adapter
2. 02 VGA (D-SUB) dummy load.

 

[ChrizLoud]

Has someone with K4100 GPU with black screens after WINDOWS boot tried using agdpmod=vit9696 in boot-args?
If it works it would be awesome if it was added automaticly with OCLP if it sees Nvida GPU or does it have any downsides?

 

[mchlr]

Could anyone please tell me what this means? :

PPFSStart:1389: Mounting with apfs_efi_osx-2235.80.4.0.1
efi_fusion_pairing:672: Container 85ea0c07-d3ab-46bf-h6fe-14686741648f
efi_fusion_pairing:677: fusion uuid: 00000000-0000-8888-8888-888868800808
efi_container _create:1189: -efi_container_create, Status = 8000080000000003
0(B: load/start unsupported ordering, 89C52A98 != 8CEE6C18
Halting on critical error

 

[VS APT]

WILL this mxm card HP AMD MXM Radeon Pro WX 3200 4GB GDDR5 Video Card L59367-001 for Z2 Mini G4 G5 work for 2011 iMac and how do I flash it? I need help please. I have it in my mac but no display

 

[Stefanox2410]

For Nvidia Users booting with OpenCore(k1100M/k2100M/ETC)/ native booting K3100M/K4100M & 780M

I have Updated the ApplebacklightFixup.kext to include the proper Backlight stepping-levels for the 2009-2011 27" iMac. You can replace the one in your OpenCore loader with this or install it Natively to System/Library/Extensions. This actually makes my Previous guide irrelevant unless you really like the Native Kext feeling.

Lilu.kext will be needed for the kext to be listed as 'loaded' but it's still working for me without it.
Usual Verbiage below....
If installing to System/Library/Extensions. Catalina users need to Unlock their System Partition using Hackintool first. Then install with Kext Utility. Finally Open Terminal and enter "sudo reboot" as sometimes Catalina will hang on the Desktop.

Hello with k3100 and opencore i need thiss??
Thanks

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

WILL this mxm card HP AMD MXM Radeon Pro WX 3200 4GB GDDR5 Video Card L59367-001 for Z2 Mini G4 G5 work for 2011 iMac and how do I flash it? I need help please. I have it in my mac but no display

You can find your help in post #1

2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

iMac 2009 to 2011 MXM3 graphics card upgrade (Lastest update 10/13/2023 - this is the official documentation page - you found it finally!) This is the single and only documentation post. During the last years we constantly updated this post to reflect the lastet development of vBIOS and OCLP...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[Dead_Logo]

I reworked the rom to allow it to work in Windows 10 some time ago. The board IDs were incorrect and windows drivers were rejecting it or trying its best to find a match:
View attachment 2232534
As you can see above, this is a problem. It doesn't recognize the card correctly.

After making the proper Device ID modification:-
Finally, Windows 10 will work nicely with its own built-in Crimson 17.Q4.1 video drivers and detects the card as the proper M6100 and not a HD8530 or other sub-variant:
View attachment 2232542
Now, Windows 10 correctly identifies the card and loads the drivers with full accelerators.
Please try the .rom attached and let me know.

Thank you

I flashed bios and installed same driver as you,but gpu is working max on 300mhz on overload.Can you tell why,please?

 

[howardc64]

WILL this mxm card HP AMD MXM Radeon Pro WX 3200 4GB GDDR5 Video Card L59367-001 for Z2 Mini G4 G5 work for 2011 iMac and how do I flash it? I need help please. I have it in my mac but no display

My steps for WX4130 on 12,x (based on steps for M5100 on 11,x) which should be same as WX3200

iMac+Metal GPU - 12,x

Main Info Source All the info is gleamed from the big macrumor's thread post #1. Be sure to consult the following sections. No way to link to these sections so perhaps open 2 browser windows to read side by side this site and these sections Spoiler: 2 Working AMD Graphics Cards Spoiler: AMD GCN v4

sites.google.com

 

[mchlr]

Is it possible to build opencore USB for mac using windows ?

 

[xibuh]

Is it possible to build opencore USB for mac using windows ?

Yes. Here is the tutorial. https://dortania.github.io/OpenCore-Install-Guide/installer-guide/windows-install.html