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Change graphics card iMac 2011

V

Valentingood

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 2, 2015
2
0
Hello, i have an iMac 27 of 2011 with a HD 6770m with 512MB, and i wanted to change it to another graphic card, my what is compatible?? i have think in a gtx 870m, it is compatible?

PD:sorry if my english is not so god :(:(
 
You cannot, the GPU is not upgradable on the iMac. For intents purposes, the iMac is like a laptop in that most of the components are soldered onto the logic board.
 
Yes, the graphics card must be changeable because 2011 iMacs were on recall for graphics cards.

However I am unsure about compatibility
 
The graphics card is on an MXM module, but it's not intended to be upgradable after purchase. You'd have to find another module designed to work with Apples EFI specification.

Try the search function, someone brave might have tried it before.
 
maflynn said:
You cannot, the GPU is not upgradable on the iMac. For intents purposes, the iMac is like a laptop in that most of the components are soldered onto the logic board.
Click to expand...

The 2011 iMacs still have the GPU soldered onto a separate board, so in principle they are replaceable. But I'm not sure how easy it is to find compatible parts in practice, and whether OS X has drivers for those.
 
thundersteele said:
The 2011 iMacs still have the GPU soldered onto a separate board, so in principle they are replaceable. But I'm not sure how easy it is to find compatible parts in practice, and whether OS X has drivers for those.
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but where will you buy one? While you can remove it the part you cannot put in a new better GPU.
 
thundersteele said:
Not that I recommend buying this, but ebay has parts:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-661-596...668?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item27eb5d9e44

I don't know how compatible MXM's by other manufacturers are - my guess would be that they are not compatible.
Click to expand...

Yep, HD 6970M is probably the highest you can go which isn't a huge upgrade by today's standards, I've read on MR a while ago on a thread of someone upgrading the GPU on an iMac. Wouldn't recommend it in 2015!
 
There's this thing called Google, see, and it has everything in the world you could ever want to know. You might try it next time. :p

In the meantime, here's a video on changing your card:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bieECkvOH4k

It may not be that helpful (I didn't watch it), but there are a lot of other results, so better you spend your time checking them out than wasting a few days waiting for a helpful reply here.
 
So any card that is on a MXM module should be compatible, no? But the thing is that the card must be compatible with the EFi, no? and what will hapen if the card is not compatible with the EFI, because i will give it use on windows (for games)?? Thanks for the information currently
 
Valentingood said:
So any card that is on a MXM module should be compatible, no? But the thing is that the card must be compatible with the EFi, no? and what will hapen if the card is not compatible with the EFI, because i will give it use on windows (for games)?? Thanks for the information currently
Click to expand...

This graphics card will work - http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-661-596...-2GB-for-iMac-27-Mid-2011-a1312-/171452505668
It is the part that Apple supplied for the top end iMac that year. High price, however. The heat sink attached makes the part a proprietary item just for the iMac.
 
maflynn said:
Perhaps, but where will you buy one? While you can remove it the part you cannot put in a new better GPU.
Click to expand...

Yes you can, I've done it (as well as upgraded the dual core i3 chip to a quad core i7 with just swapping the chip).

You can only upgrade the graphics card (which is on a daughter or sister board) by swapping it out with a graphics card that was offered on the same year/model iMac. For example, if you have the entry level iMac, you would be able to shove in a graphics card from the highest end model and it would work. You can find used ones on eBay, but they're pricey for sure. It's usually easier and more cost effective to sell your current iMac on eBay, then use it to buy a new iMac.
 
someone on ebay 'fixes' your broken 2011 mac video card for $109. 90 day warranty. Anyone out there have any luck with that ? He is socalmacs on ebay. 661-5968. My friends 2011 MacBook 17" just pooched its second (the repair one) video card. I thought macs were superior machines.
 
The 2011 MacBook Pro video is a known issue (remember "radeongate"?), and Apple was providing free service repairs for a couple of years. However, the replacement logic boards still had the same bad design, and those replacements would often fail, too. The various methods for self-repair - reflowing, etc, have had varying degrees of success (or not).
Best plan, on a now 7-year-old hardware, is to move on to a different laptop.
 
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