CPU Upgrade iMac Mid 2011

[StephN999]

With an EEPROM Flash BIOS USB Programmer it is possible to reflash the EEPROM of the mac it seems to me.

Edit:
I modified my rom to add the microcode of the Xeon, thanks to the Apple Microcode Tool application of dosdude1, it overwritten the microcode of the Core i7 (too bad I preferred to keep everything).

I wanted after this mod to flash my iMac I never succeeded, I just know that the rom is protected.

BIOS_CNTL: 0000 (e00f80dc)
FLOCKDN:   e008 (fed1f804)
PR0:       00000000 (fed1f870): RW 00000000-00000000 (0 0)
PR1:       86d70181 (fed1f874): R!W 00181000-006d7000 (0 0)
PR2:       9fff06fc (fed1f878): R!W 006fc000-01fff000 (0 0)
PR3:       00000000 (fed1f87c): RW 00000000-00000000 (0 0)

There it did not scare me but for the other modifications, I would use an external programmer.

Like that I could test the "codes" of the iMac 2012 (I have to find the rom for that matter) for the brightness control because this machine has an Nvidia card close to what we have.

Edit2: @highvoltage12v Excuse me for insisting, but otherwise I still did not understand your message #22 despite a translation into my language.

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

EEPROM programmer pourchased, I just hope that we should not desolder the EEPROM to reprogram it as I read that it was the case on other mac...

So I will also be able to test other hacks "safely".

 

[arctictropic]

Hi!
Ive been following this thread for a while with great interest as i am about to start a refurb project with my old 2011 21.5 imac.
I already ordered a 770m and a SSD but have not yet seen the value of upgrading the 2.5 I5 as the difference in performance to the 2600s i7 isnt really motivating it enough.
Now, with the potential of the xeons it makes it makes it much more meaningful so it would be great to hear your input on how well it works currently?

Im not sure if I understood the steps you took above, did you flash the eeprom of the CPU? did that fix sleep issues?

Im probably planning to mainly run Win10 on it, do you have sleep issues in win10 as well?

I can sacrifice DVD and other drives if power economics is important, any tips or suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks for an interesting thread! keep it going!
/A

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour, Bonsoir,

I was absolutely not sure that it works but the idea of the hack I liked very much, it cost me with the shipping costs less than 40€, I already had thermal paste before. ?

Advantage compared to the i7 2600: the price (me in addition it was new), 95W the i7 2600, 80w the Xeon E3 1270 and I plan to test the ram in ECC 1600Mhz for 32 GB, or 64GB no ECC? (lol)?

The same benchmarks, see a little bit better, should be seen on a completely new system, because there are too many small programs that work in the background. ?

Whether it is under MacOS or Windows no hibernation for the moment (black screen and fans that wake up), I could not flash the UEFI directly from my machine concerning the microcode CPU, I have Elsewhere send a MP to @dosdude1 about this because I tested 2 of its programs for that (DUMP and modifications) and I would like to have more details on certain things , because I also intend to modder the UEFI to have natively the brightness adjustment. ?

I'm waiting for my chip programmer to inject the new features, which will allow me to go back if it doesn't start any more. ?

For Windows 10 do not forget to use my DSDT, that of the 2011 topic iMac Graphics Card Upgrade no longer works and Windows does not start anymore. ?

Otherwise as with my 27" iMac my "SuperDrive" was HS on my 21.5" so the change by a hard drive (which I would also change by not one but two SSDs) did not bother me, I have an external DVD Burner and only use it at most 4 times a year. ???

Voilà, voilà!
???

 

[StephN999]

I have an i7-2600 in a 21" 2011 and it works ok but it's right on the edge.

Hello,
Just on this first line in MacCPUID, do you have the exact same checkbox?

I do not know if it is useful but on my wife's iMac 2015, ADX and AVX2 are checked (see other things I did not watch everything).

I'll see what it is when I put the right microcode at the same time eh!

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

I tested and even added another bootcode (206A4 it seems to me), it doesn't see the microprocessor as a Xeon, still a quad core i5, I may not have the right .bin for my processor, I do not know.

In any case it was fun, the manipulation in itself works perfectly, so who knows support for Ivy Bridge suddenly, if the chipsets of the motherboard support them.

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour / Bonsoir,

False joy for the moment, from time to time when powerup the big beep type update of the EFI, test reset PRAM and the second dong re-big beep. ?

I gave the original firmware more problem, so it will require more investigation and especially that I have a better understanding of all this, because I am not a programmer, but I love to learn, so I continue.

Bonne journée / Soirée.

Edit: if not just for info, as soon as I research the EFI of Macs I more often come across password hack of Apple machines.

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

I tried another approach, I directly use a Hexadecimal editor, delete the 2019 microcode then put that of 2013 (20617), I try to flash it and there I was reset because the size did not match more to the original .rom file, so I put lots of empty (F) until it was exactly the same size and it worked and OUF! no more bugs, I think the dosdude1 program should not be suitable for all Apple machines.

Rest now to test the rest, in any case if I come across an Ivy Bridge I would add its microcode and test, for the moment it's not current, unless I am offered one.

It reassures me because I see that we can do a lot of things, on the other hand afterwards we will probably need one or more adapted programs, I think we can do more.

Mod with the Apple Microcode Tool program

mod with Hexa Hand editing.

Bonne Journée.

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

My machine did not appreciate my last test, no more boot, when it is connected, the fan launches directly, stops and then restarts eternally...

if you have an idea to help me !?

Will try to find a solution, I reflash while waiting for the original firmware, I hope it has nothing to burn on the motherboard.

I want to continue the project anyway!

Have a good day!

ps: If there really is nothing to do I will see if I find a replacement motherboard, but I can't spend too much either.

 

[highvoltage12v]

Bonjour,

My machine did not appreciate my last test, no more boot, when it is connected, the fan launches directly, stops and then restarts eternally...

if you have an idea to help me !?

Will try to find a solution, I reflash while waiting for the original firmware, I hope it has nothing to burn on the motherboard.

I want to continue the project anyway!

Have a good day!

ps: If there really is nothing to do I will see if I find a replacement motherboard, but I can't spend too much either.

Re-flash the original firmware, I had similar results when swapping Microcode for Core 2 quad

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

This is obviously what I did, I would do other tests, see would look if it did not kill my processor, it would be weird anyway, anyway I have already found motherboards used for around 70€ on Ebay I would wait to buy an i7 Ivy bridge, I would even take 2 mother cards (but I have no unlimited means for now) so I can continue my tests serene.

I will have the means soon (in less than a year if all goes well), even to pay me a Mac Pro 2019 full option, but it does not interest me I want to keep my machine as bizarre as it is for some people.

Otherwise I don't know if I already said it but the microcodes on the imac 2011 are in 2 places.

My friendships.

Edit: I have the impression of being cursed by dismantling the Mac Pro 2008 to change the processors, I managed to twist the pins of the 2 sockets so machine unusable, in addition the shame is still my job !!!

 

[StephN999]

Re, well according to my wife I would have made a juice course by touching the motherboard with the programmer connected (it was on a hub, it swings more juice, that would like)

I am ordering a new motherboard next week (68€).
and the adventure continues, suddenly I'm going to take advantage of it to find radiators for the rear memory chips of the Quadro K2100M, if someone has info on the size and especially the maximum thickness, I would also change, the thermal pads for memory on the other side (remember the name more).

We'll see next month or if I have some donation help to buy an the Ivy Bridge I7 3770S (I need 90€).

Good night.

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

Motherboard ordered, I would have it at best on June 03.

Have a good day.

 

[jricks92]

I just tried this method in hopes of getting an Ivy Bridge Xeon E3-1245 V2 up and running in my 2011 iMac 27". No dice. Microcode was added to the bootrom with dosdude1's Apple Microcode Tool and flashed via CH341A programmer to the board. Upon bootup, there is one long beep, then nothing. Looks like I may have to find an i7-2600 to complete an upgrade. I was really hoping for something Ivy Bridge, but oh well!

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

Merci!

I do not know if dosdude1's Apple Microcode Tool, be provided for all Apple machines, I continue my research and I think that we must transfer all the other microcodes then put that of the Ivy Bridge and as I said there are 2 microcodes and logically the architecture of the imac is perfectly compatible ... I would try again when I also have an Ivy Bridge, it really makes no sense that it does not work for me.

Maybe someone with very good knowledge in mac rom, could we explain?

Have a good day.

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

Back with my iMac 2011, well I understood that it was necessary to avoid the hubs and other machines, especially under Windows to reprogram the epromm.

I'm waiting next month to retest the Ivry bridge processors hack.

Have a good day. ?

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

As my current card has faults, 2 USB port, IR and non-functional SD card reader,
I pushed my tests (just to not have the huge Beep at startup),
I ended up having the same failure as the other and I finally understood what it was, as the clamp never held up well,
I tended to force on the rom, and quite simply the legs end up breaking, as well as the place where it is welded so almost (because I imagine that pro could repair that) irreparable,
voila I finally had an answer.

I am waiting for my new motherboard next week, I will have to find a clamp which grips the chipsets better, meanwhile I prepare my new blutooth Wifi card as indicated in a topic on this forum, will miss much more evolutionary level.

Have a good day.

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

I found that, it looks more reliable and branded, much more expensive than the full kit (about 22 € excluding shipping costs).

Have a good day.

Edit: My pliers no longer hold at all, super galley to reflash whatever it is.

 

[robsanteliz]

Hello!
I have 2 iMacs 2011 21.5'' with i7 2600 3.4Ghz
Also 512GB SSD and 1Tb 2.5'' HDD + The CD Drive.
So, Working very good, but i need sell one
The question is Could this be a problem for the buyer?
Really is stable keep the imacs with this processor?
Because most people only accept Apple standards.

Thank You!

 

[USB3foriMac]

Hello!
I have 2 iMacs 2011 21.5'' with i7 2600 3.4Ghz
Also 512GB SSD and 1Tb 2.5'' HDD + The CD Drive.
So, Working very good, but i need sell one
The question is Could this be a problem for the buyer?
Really is stable keep the imacs with this processor?
Because most people only accept Apple standards.

Thank You!

You are highjacking this thread, so I'll make it short: be honest and when you advertise your product, describe what you did, and you and your buyer won't have any issues.
Probably (!) there won't be any issues, but if buyer maxes out all connections and features, there could be a problem, as the supply is only 215W, not 310W as with the 27". So simply be host and say that this is upgraded to an unsupported CPU with higher power consumption, which you partially compensated by changing to 2.5" HDD. You could also consider removing the HDD and DVD RW entirely.

 

[DoctorZoidberg]

Hello everyone! It's time to beef up my old trusty 21.5" 2011. Planning on upgrade the GPU to a K2100M (and boot Mojave or Catalina via OpenCore), read this thread and get really excited to see a Xeon CPU could be in place of my stock i5 2400s @2.5 GHz.
The machine is currently loaded with a 3 TB HDD on the 3.5 bay, a 240GB SSD on logicboard's auxiliary SATA III bus, and a second 240GB SSD in place of the optical drive bay.
It boots Sierra on the lower speed SSD, the fast bus SSD is used as a scratch disk, and the big HDD is hosting my files.
I would like to take advantage of dissasembling the iMac (in order to change GPU) to change CPU as well, and was planning to do an i7 swap until I found this thread.
Fact is, I've been exploring Intel's Ark and found the Xeon E3-1220 to be pin-compatible on the 1155 socket, the TDP is 80W instead of 65W (my current i5 or the 2600s offered by Apple back in the day).
Is it possible for my PSU to manage the 15 extra watts, power the new GPU, and preserve my HDD/double SSD setup?
What do you think? I suppose the K2100 needs more power than the stock 6750.
Thanks for reading, and apologises for the "rookie" question. I learned a lot reading this forum.

Edit: I googled the stock GPU power consumption, 35W vs 45W for the k1100 and 55 for the 2100. I am willing to "downgrade" to a 1100, looks like a good idea, in order to lower PSU power requests.

 

[robsanteliz]

You are highjacking this thread, so I'll make it short: be honest and when you advertise your product, describe what you did, and you and your buyer won't have any issues.
Probably (!) there won't be any issues, but if buyer maxes out all connections and features, there could be a problem, as the supply is only 215W, not 310W as with the 27". So simply be host and say that this is upgraded to an unsupported CPU with higher power consumption, which you partially compensated by changing to 2.5" HDD. You could also consider removing the HDD and DVD RW entirely.

Thank You!
I was also wondering if anyone else had something similar and if it is working just as well.
Thank You!

 

[StephN999]

1. (and boot Mojave or Catalina via OpenCore)

2. Fact is, I've been exploring Intel's Ark and found the Xeon E3-1220 to be pin-compatible on the 1155 socket, the TDP is 80W instead of 65W (my current i5 or the 2600s offered by Apple back in the day).

3. Is it possible for my PSU to manage the 15 extra watts, power the new GPU, and preserve my HDD/double SSD setup?
What do you think? I suppose the K2100 needs more power than the stock 6750.
Thanks for reading, and apologises for the "rookie" question. I learned a lot reading this forum.

Bonjour,

1. And considering what we can do with beta now you can even go to Big Sur without problems.

2. Might as well take the same as me since it at the same TDP.

3. We must not forget that for all the peripherals we talk about maximum consumption, at best and if that reassures you just change the HDD with an SSD.

If not I just made a test with CineBench, my processor does not exceed 55 Watt because as on many configuration it is not sufficiently cooled therefore will never function to the maximum, well I think.

 

[DoctorZoidberg]

Monsieur @StephN99 thanks a lot for the answer!!

3. We must not forget that for all the peripherals we talk about maximum consumption, at best and if that reassures you just change the HDD with an SSD.

I decided to exchange a SSD in place of the current HDD, in order to save on power reserve.

Might as well take the same as me since it at the same TDP.

That's true! I chose the lower speed, assuming the TDP was also lower. Beign the same, I will opt for your choice.

Again, thanks a lot!!!

 

[StephN999]

Hi,
You're welcome! ?

As a bonus, if that speaks to you, capture Intel Power Gadget while I do nothing special and the other with CineBench.