DIY 5k Monitor - success :-)

[paulpijnenborg]

I am in waiting mode.
However does anyone know the number/serie of the fan connector (iMac 2017) female male?

I have found the currency connector : molex 43645-300. but there are x male's: 43640-03001 till 03xx I think 0308 is okay

 

[PaulD-UK]

@paulpijnenborg
The mains power connector is a 3pin Molex Micro-Fit 3.0, which matches your searching.

For the fan connection see my earlier post:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/diy-5k-monitor-success.2253100/post-33563568

There are also 1mm sockets which are slightly different.
The JST SH series has sockets that are slightly narrower, but the 4 pin fan plug will fit in a 6 pin socket if you bend the end pins out of the way.

There is also an AdaFruit system called STEMMA QT / Qwiic, which has JST SH 4 pin sockets that are the same fit, but may need a bit of adjustment to get the plug in.

Adafruit Qwiic / Stemma QT Breakout Board

We got a request from a customer for a board that makes connecting between a breadboard and Stemma QT or Qwiic components easy, and here's what we whipped up!

thepihut.com

Edited slightly.

 

[paulpijnenborg]

Thank you Paul

I saw that post but as it was from nov 24 I hoped someone found it and I missed the (new) post..

I put my phone microscope on the board and saw this marking on the connector
Mxj8c
However searching did not bring me any further. it is a molex but on their site it gives 0 results.

I gave up

 

[Beetrootman]

I have used my display now for about a week and a half playing video games and movies. I have added an P3 color profile and I run it at 10bits HDR over an DP 1.4 cable from my Win 11 PC with an RTX 3080Ti. I am very happy I have the R1811 card with a full 24V power supply as I have no issues with background light or other display anomalies reported by some users.

My setup is; original iMac 2017 speakers, original iMac 2017 PSU. I added a 12V to 24V step-up converter & 15A automatic fuse from Amazon and the cross-over filters that StoneTaskin provides. I also disregarded the "replacement" adhesive kit from Amazon and went for real Chinese made "3M" foam tape which very closely mimics the original Apple foam tape. See a full image of my setup just before I attached the display here: View attachment 2523640

I did re-use the built-in power button as well, cutting its wire just after it leaves the left speaker, then soldering on an extension cable that is then soldered onto the power button on the control board, effectively leaving me with two options for turning on and off the monitor (the original power button and the control board power button).
I also shorted the remaining power switch lead that is connected to the original PSU, effectively faking a continuously pressed power button for the PSU to detect. I wrapped the control board in shrink wrap to avoid any electrical contact and to make it slightly more usable. It hangs down beneath the monitor and is easily accessible where I sit. See a close-up of it here:
View attachment 2523638.

The extension cables for DP, HDMI, USB C and the control board are routed through a hole I dremeled in the ventilation grille. The hole is hidden by the VESA stand (see detail image here: View attachment 2523639)

I used these products:
https://www.amazon.se/dp/B088ZMK5SF Opening tool + completely useless adhesives which I did not use
https://www.amazon.se/dp/B08LBZ8KGL "3M" foam tape
https://www.amazon.se/dp/B0DJT18MGV USB C extension cable
https://www.amazon.se/dp/B0BG76RM65 12V to 24V step-up converter, I oversized it to "480 chinese Watts" because I understood they get very hot if you load them at full capacity, mine does not even heat up the display.
https://www.amazon.se/dp/B09248MY72 15A automatic circuit breaker
https://www.amazon.se/dp/B0D7GY7LZH HDMI 4K extension cable
https://www.amazon.se/dp/B0DMTKGJL5 DP 8K extension cable
various XT60 connectors to make simple the connections between step-up converter and original Apple PSU and the auto fuse.
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0160BQA06 VESA Mount adapter (note require original monitor stand to be removed, see https://ohmypizza.com/2023/06/vesa-mounting-the-imac-5k-external-display for instructions how to fit this VESA adapter)

I would truly recommend the R1811 V4 card as it is silent and a clear winner in display quality using a P3 color profile. Also, the 24V input with a beefy enough PSU eliminates the need for a constant power driver board for the backlighting.

Hello, could you share how you did the splicing from the PSU to the step-up convertor? I have everything to convert a monitor, including a step-up convertor, I'm just hesitant about this step. You mention "various XT60 connectors to make simple the connections between step-up converter and original Apple PSU and the auto fuse", can you elaborate? Thanks

 

[shijan]

It appears that 10.14.6 don't have any HDR settings, so I installed 15.5 to test if HDR works with JRY-W9RQUHD-FA1 board, and here is what i got:
If set board to Auto Detect HDR, it reacts to "Enable HDR" in macOS settings, but seems system outputs something partially incorrect. Board automatically adjusts display to high brightness, but same time all UI elements became oversaturated, like if they used wrong ICC profile.
In this mode all color settings in board menu became inactive.
YouTube HDR videos in Safari seems not shown as HDR because there is no any HDR icon in player.
IINA player seems like ignore all these settings and output HDR content as tone mapped as SDR.

So curerntly, looking at the other discussions about HDR on macOS, seems like HDR just don't works correctly on non Apple displays.
Guess i need to test it on Windows to understand if it is a macOS problem, or bug in board firmware.

 

[paulpijnenborg]

I need help and sorry for bordering.
I have a 3 wire PWM board laying here and following internet guides I could put a 4 wire fan to work with it.
connected ground and 12v. and the Tact to the PWM cable.... as guides say. (tried both PWM to PWM and TACT to PWM)
BUT the iMac fan just runs for 1 sec stops runs again etc.
Tried different setting but nothing gets it started

If this does not works I need a 4 wire PWM board. but now I get confused regarding the S/PG cable? where does that go?

 

[PaulD-UK]

@paulpijnenborg
No, you can't use a 3 wire controller with the iMac fan.
The iMac fan will work with a lower voltage connected to the +/– pins (1 and 2 counting from left), but it stalls at below 5V, and even at the slowest speed it will still be fairly fast and noisy.

You must have a 4 wire PWM controller to get quiet low speed running.
The PC standard for 4 wire PWM is (from the left) – + Speed PWM.
Apple's iMac fans are connected + – Speed PWM, so the power leads are the other way around.

This pic is from the underneath of the fan, yellow is +v, green is Speed, and blue is PWM.

https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/tempimagec0axtt-png.2416671/

 

[paulpijnenborg]

Thanks Paul
suspected this. I have a good basic of home electrical wiring but PC is different

The PWM of my interest has:
4 pins to the fan-> understand how the connections go.
and 3 pins as "input": GND, 12v and a yellow cable marked as S/PG...... It is thisS/PG cable that I dont understand where it goes!

In your attached pic I also see a yellow cable as input......but how where is this one connected?

 

[PaulD-UK]

@paulpijnenborg The S/PG wire is for Speed/PulseGeneration detection, for the motherboard to read how fast the fan is spinning, and vary the power voltage to raise/lower the fan speed.

That doesn't work (well) with Apple's fans, and you need a PWM signal on a 4th wire to the fan to get it to run quietly at low speeds. The Noctua NA-FC1 one in the picture makes it easy, as it just needs 2 power lines in, and has a potentiometer so you can vary the fan speed as you want.

With your controller you can just leave the S/PG wire unconnected and insulated.

As to the fan connector socket, I've got two sockets marked MXJ5G and MXJ3C, so the last two numbers are possibly a date code.
There are only 3 different 1mm pitch systems in the Molex catalogue, and none of them match, but the Pico-Lock 1mm ones are the nearest.
But they are for PCB mounting, and so a socket (male) won't be available with wires attached.

 

[paulpijnenborg]

thank you.
understand

 

[razmanugget]

I have now setup both a JRY-W9RQUHD-FA1 and a JRY-W9CUHD-AA1 with 2017 27" iMacs.

Someone mentioned the picture on the AA1 was better than the FA1, but I really can't tell much difference between the picture quality even though the FA1 is 10 bit and the AA1 is 8 bit.

If I did it over again, I would only use the FA1 since the price difference at the Givifeni aliexpress store was only $10 or so. The AA1 chip gets much hotter than the FA1 (touch test). Also, the AA1 doesn't wake as consistently as I'd like. If I unplug my laptop, when I reconnect, I need to press the power button 2 or 3 times to get recognized again. It's annoying. Also, the firmware on the FA1 card seems newer.

I'm thinking about trying this project next on a 21.5" iMac and using the AA1 card for that one. Maybe it won't get as hot, but I'd have to find a crazy deal to even consider it.

Wishing everyone else luck. In the photo, the left monitor is using the FA1.