iM 4,1-14,4 iMac 2011 Maxwell and Pascal GPU upgrade

[JohnPascololo]

@m0bil Worked out of the box! I'm sticking with the 115 Watt Bios as I figured out the CPU is already a limiting factor and giving the GPU more power simply makes no sense.

So after all, I'm amazed how well this worked out (after a little milling on the heatsink of cause)! However more modern Games like Fornite or GTA 5 Online still do not reach the stable 60 FPS in crowded scenarios. Im wondering if the i7-2600 would give some notable FPS increase? I'm running on a i7-2600s at the moment. Guess this is really the last thing I'm going to invest in this machine. I occasionally find myself wondering why I even put so much money into a totally outdated iMac running Windows . Probably because it's possible.

Thanks to all the gurus and their endless efforts!

 

[Charcoalwerks]

There is a long thread how to replace the graphics card to repair the black boot problem you have. But there is no real market because all these models suffer the same problem and you may find such systems even in a dumpster for free (depending on the part of the world you live in).

Mine doesn’t have that problem. It’s just too slow for what I need it for. Even with 12g of ram. I’m gonna keep it though. Might install an ssd. That thing has been my work horse since Fall of 2011. I’m attached to it haha

 

[m0bil]

@m0bil Worked out of the box! I'm sticking with the 115 Watt Bios as I figured out the CPU is already a limiting factor and giving the GPU more power simply makes no sense.

So after all, I'm amazed how well this worked out (after a little milling on the heatsink of cause)! However more modern Games like Fornite or GTA 5 Online still do not reach the stable 60 FPS in crowded scenarios. Im wondering if the i7-2600 would give some notable FPS increase? I'm running on a i7-2600s at the moment. Guess this is really the last thing I'm going to invest in this machine. I occasionally find myself wondering why I even put so much money into a totally outdated iMac running Windows . Probably because it's possible.

Thanks to all the gurus and their endless efforts!

Great it worked for you!

You should turn on GPU Hardware Scheduling to offload a bit of CPU work to the GPU. Also use Afterburner to overclock GPU and memory (a value of 150 on both should be safe but maybe your card can reach higher values).

If you take a look at PerfCap reason you'll see the card is hitting max power throttle often under stress, so I've been using the 125W bios for a couple of months now with no issues. Don't expect high gains if you try it, for some reason I mostly notice it on D3D11 games, and around 4% at most.

CPU bottleneck is very game dependant, I too saw it on a few newer games on crowded areas. Probably not worth to upgrade a 2600S for a 2600, but I'm now testing an i7-2700K. For now it tops at 36x multiplier as the iMac bios has no overclocking options, but I'm confident this can be changed using Opencore to load SSDT or efi module to enable higher multipliers (should reach 40x easily).

 

[JohnPascololo]

Great it worked for you!

You should turn on GPU Hardware Scheduling to offload a bit of CPU work to the GPU. Also use Afterburner to overclock GPU and memory (a value of 150 on both should be safe but maybe your card can reach higher values).

If you take a look at PerfCap reason you'll see the card is hitting max power throttle often under stress, so I've been using the 125W bios for a couple of months now with no issues. Don't expect high gains if you try it, for some reason I mostly notice it on D3D11 games, and around 4% at most.

CPU bottleneck is very game dependant, I too saw it on a few newer games on crowded areas. Probably not worth to upgrade a 2600S for a 2600, but I'm now testing an i7-2700K. For now it tops at 36x multiplier as the iMac bios has no overclocking options, but I'm confident this can be changed using Opencore to load SSDT or efi module to enable higher multipliers (should reach 40x easily).

Did you feel you get a noticable benefit from the 2700k? Does it run the 3.9GHz without any further tweaks? Overclocking the CPU of an iMac sounds like impossible to me. Does not mean that some guru is capable of doing it of cause...

The ultimate max CPU upgrade would be the xeon e3 1290v1 right?

 

[m0bil]

Did you feel you get a noticable benefit from the 2700k? Does it run the 3.9GHz without any further tweaks? Overclocking the CPU of an iMac sounds like impossible to me. Does not mean that some guru is capable of doing it of cause...

The ultimate max CPU upgrade would be the xeon e3 1290v1 right?

Very slightly increase from a 2600, but according to benchmarks you should get around 20% speed increase from a 2600S. The 2700K runs on my iMac without tweaks at 3.9 GHz when using a single core (the way "standard" turbo works on this CPUs is that it clocks 36x@4cores, 37x@3cores, 38x@2cores and 39x@1core). However on "K" cpus cores can be clocked independently and should reach 40x4 cores when properly set up. This is normally done from bios, but not possible currently on out iMac.

This kind of overclocking has been unlocked before on Xeon cpus using an EFI driver loaded from Opencore, and I think it may be even possible to do it on our K cpus using a properly crafted Power Management SSDT. I will be testing this on the following weeks, but no promises it will work

Actually the best performer would be an overclocked K cpu, there are many people happily running them at 40x4 cores and up to 44@4 cores (The Xeon cpu will only reach 4 GHz on 1 core).

 

[JohnPascololo]

Very slightly increase from a 2600, but according to benchmarks you should get around 20% speed increase from a 2600S. The 2700K runs on my iMac without tweaks at 3.9 GHz when using a single core (the way "standard" turbo works on this CPUs is that it clocks 36x@4cores, 37x@3cores, 38x@2cores and 39x@1core). However on "K" cpus cores can be clocked independently and should reach 40x4 cores when properly set up. This is normally done from bios, but not possible currently on out iMac.

This kind of overclocking has been unlocked before on Xeon cpus using an EFI driver loaded from Opencore, and I think it may be even possible to do it on our K cpus using a properly crafted Power Management SSDT. I will be testing this on the following weeks, but no promises it will work

Actually the best performer would be an overclocked K cpu, there are many people happily running them at 40x4 cores and up to 44@4 cores (The Xeon cpu will only reach 4 GHz on 1 core).

I ordered a i-2700K and check out the difference in Fortnite and GTA. 20% in multicore should be noticable in FPS. Feel free to tag me about your findings on overclocking the K. I would be highly interested in this as well.

Despite that, I hardly remember I came across a Youtube Vid some weeks ago where someone claimed to have a solution to install the nvidia web drivers on monterey. Do you know if this is possible? Will see if I can find it again...

 

[zoran]

Hi, its the 2nd time that i need to replace my ATI Radeon HD 5750 GPU in a 4-5months period cause of the issues (display freezes and system shutdowns).
I replaced the original GPU after a decade, with a 2nd hand but after 4-5months im getting the same problems.
Was very glad to be suggested to this thread, but im a novice and cannot really get my hands on these kind of stuff.
I have seen Curtis's video but i dont know if its different to what is suggested here in this thread.
Plz give me your suggestions on what to do... i have a mid2010 27" corei7 iMac, love it and want to continue using it

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Hi, its the 2nd time that i need to replace my ATI Radeon HD 5750 GPU in a 4-5months period cause of the issues (display freezes and system shutdowns).
I replaced the original GPU after a decade, with a 2nd hand but after 4-5months im getting the same problems.
Was very glad to be suggested to this thread, but im a novice and cannot really get my hands on these kind of stuff.
I have seen Curtis's video but i dont know if its different to what is suggested here in this thread.
Plz give me your suggestions on what to do... i have a mid2010 27" corei7 iMac, love it and want to continue using it

My suggestion is you quit the idea.
It's too difficult for you, because you don't seem to care about reading the previous post, just post question and waiting for others to answer.

iMac 2011 Maxwell and Pascal GPU upgrade

The HD4850 on one of my iMac 2009 failed last week. Finally I've got the chance to use the M4000m. Although I've done things wrong here and there, I still managed to get it work (sort of) in High Sierra. Finished installing nVidia web driver...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[zoran]

I appreciate all of your help, you have been a great friend in my GPU issue, but im very very disappointed by the fact that its broken, that ive spent a lot of money for the replacement GPU, that the replacement is at its end... again, and the fact that the path to fix it seems uncertain.
Im in the search to find all the help i can get for this task... please dont judge me harsh ?

 

[m0bil]

I appreciate all of your help, you have been a great friend in my GPU issue, but im very very disappointed by the fact that its broken, that ive spent a lot of money for the replacement GPU, that the replacement is at its end... again, and the fact that the path to fix it seems uncertain.
Im in the search to find all the help i can get for this task... please dont judge me harsh ?

Take a look at the main GPU replacement thread, specially post #1, where you'll find detailed info about you options. It's not a plug and play solution and depending on your needs you'll have to choose a card and learn about flashing it, modifying heatsink and using Opencore/OCLP boot to make it work properly.
This thread is more about making some high performance Maxwell/Pascal cards work on windows and MacOS up to High Sierra only, while on the main thread you'll find cards that will work up to Monterey.

 

[m0bil]

Despite that, I hardly remember I came across a Youtube Vid some weeks ago where someone claimed to have a solution to install the nvidia web drivers on monterey. Do you know if this is possible? Will see if I can find it again...

As far as I know, Nvidia web drivers will not work beyond High Sierra. Some people managed to "install" them on later OS modifying the installer requirements but that will not make the drivers work, not even on Mojave.
Will keep you posted about my 2700k efforts.

 

[Ilikepancakes]

Pardon my confusion, but the steps listed in this thread/forum should work with a m3000m, or no? I know that the m4000m and the m5000m work, alongside gpu's, I don't think it states that the m3000m works. As mentioned in the 1st post thing, I can see that it says the m3000m has the same p5 issue, which could mean it "works". But the words "As of now, there are vbios for Quadro M4000M, M5000M, P3000 (+ overclocked version), P4000 and GeForce GTX1070" makes me uncertain. Again, pardon my confusion, and forgive if I misread anything. (english isn't my native language, so this might not make sense)

 

[m0bil]

Pardon my confusion, but the steps listed in this thread/forum should work with a m3000m, or no? I know that the m4000m and the m5000m work, alongside gpu's, I don't think it states that the m3000m works. As mentioned in the 1st post thing, I can see that it says the m3000m has the same p5 issue, which could mean it "works". But the words "As of now, there are vbios for Quadro M4000M, M5000M, P3000 (+ overclocked version), P4000 and GeForce GTX1070" makes me uncertain. Again, pardon my confusion, and forgive if I misread anything. (english isn't my native language, so this might not make sense)

All cards need a patched vbios to enable the internal screen on the iMac, and there is currently no M3000M patched vbios for iMac, so it will not work. This is because no one has tested that card before, as the card should work with a properly patched vbios.
I have pending update the first post on thread to make things clearer

If you have one and are willing to try it I can try to patch the vbios for you to test, but be warned that testing is not an easy task and some previous experience with flashing Nvidia cards and Opencore/OCLP is needed.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Pardon my confusion, but the steps listed in this thread/forum should work with a m3000m, or no? I know that the m4000m and the m5000m work, alongside gpu's, I don't think it states that the m3000m works. As mentioned in the 1st post thing, I can see that it says the m3000m has the same p5 issue, which could mean it "works". But the words "As of now, there are vbios for Quadro M4000M, M5000M, P3000 (+ overclocked version), P4000 and GeForce GTX1070" makes me uncertain. Again, pardon my confusion, and forgive if I misread anything. (english isn't my native language, so this might not make sense)

My bad, I forgot that the M3000m is MXM-type B. I'm a totally idiot. Just ignore my mistaken post below.

For second hand parts, M3000m is more expensive than M4000m (at this time)
M3000m is smaller and weaker than M4000m.
So, for the 27" iMac, using M4000m will get you better graphic performance and cheaper price.

 

[Ilikepancakes]

Thanks, I appreciate the clarification, and m0bil, I do not currently have one as I was planning on upgrading my old 2011 imac if the m3000m works. Reasoning for the m3000m is because (in my area) the m3000m is cheaper than the m4000m

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Thanks, I appreciate the clarification, and m0bil, I do not currently have one as I was planning on upgrading my old 2011 imac if the m3000m works. Reasoning for the m3000m is because (in my area) the m3000m is cheaper than the m4000m

Do you mind to disclose the price you can buy for an M3000m?
I bought my M4000m for 95$ (free international shipping) from China.

 

[Ilikepancakes]

Do you mind to disclose the price you can buy for an M3000m?
I bought my M4000m for 95$ (free international shipping) from China.

the m3000m cost $75 cad (roughly $60 usd) 7$ shipping from china
total in cad = $82ish
total in usd = $65ish

 

[m0bil]

the m3000m cost $75 cad (roughly $60 usd) 7$ shipping from china
total in cad = $82ish
total in usd = $65ish

I'd buy the M4000M as we have vbios and is already tested. Also make sure card has eeprom chip, as some cards made for HP laptops lack the eeprom chip and are sometimes sold at lower prices.

 

[Ilikepancakes]

I'd buy the M4000M as we have vbios and is already tested. Also make sure card has eeprom chip, as some cards made for HP laptops lack the eeprom chip and are sometimes sold at lower prices.

I see, that being said, should I upgrade my 2 pipe heatsink MXM-A to a 2(potentially 3) pipe heatsink MXM-B or will it be enough to cool the m4000m.

As well as this, if possible, could one of you do a video on how to install(the steps) of upgrading the Mac(worried I might break mine) - if you have time and if you want to

 

[davidg5678]

I see, that being said, should I upgrade my 2 pipe heatsink MXM-A to a 2(potentially 3) pipe heatsink MXM-B or will it be enough to cool the m4000m.

As well as this, if possible, could one of you do a video on how to install(the steps) of upgrading the Mac(worried I might break mine) - if you have time and if you want to

If you do a search online, there are already lots of videos on YouTube about this GPU replacement process, detailing the steps for taking the iMac apart and putting it back together. In addition, ifixit.com also has pretty good instructions, and the original computer service manual may be available somewhere as well, which would be a great resource. There is also another thread on macrumors about iMac GPU replacement and it has an extensive documentation post with lots of useful information.

 

[Ilikepancakes]

If you do a search online, there are already lots of videos on YouTube about this GPU replacement process, detailing the steps for taking the iMac apart and putting it back together. In addition, ifixit.com also has pretty good instructions, and the original computer service manual may be available somewhere as well, which would be a great resource. There is also another thread on macrumors about iMac GPU replacement and it has an extensive documentation post with lots of useful information.

I see, if possible, what video would be recommended(which one would be best fit for the m4000m upgrade)

 

[davidg5678]

I see, if possible, what video would be recommended(which one would be best fit for the m4000m upgrade)

None of the videos I know about specifically concern the m4000m GPU (this topic would be much too niche) --what I was referring to are the instructional videos on YouTube that can help you take your iMac apart and put it back together safely. This video should contain the relevant dis/reassembly information:

For specific information about the iMac GPU upgrade process (software fixes, vBIOS flashing, etc), see this thread (the first post specifically): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2011-imac-graphics-card-upgrade.1596614/

 

[m0bil]

I see, that being said, should I upgrade my 2 pipe heatsink MXM-A to a 2(potentially 3) pipe heatsink MXM-B or will it be enough to cool the m4000m.

As well as this, if possible, could one of you do a video on how to install(the steps) of upgrading the Mac(worried I might break mine) - if you have time and if you want to

You will need the 3 pipe heatsink for all currently supported cards on this thread. In fact I got higher temps on the M4000M than on the Pascal cards.

 

[Ilikepancakes]

You will need the 3 pipe heatsink for all currently supported cards on this thread. In fact I got higher temps on the M4000M than on the Pascal cards.

Ok

 

[JohnPascololo]

Hm. Unfortunately my card has error 43. Its probably dead. I want to try a bios reflash first but am very hesitant to dissamble the iMac because I simply did it almost 1000 times in the last year. Is it possible to flash the bios using a modified version of nvflash with bypassed signature check?

https://www.techpowerup.com/download/nvidia-nvflash-with-certificate-checks-bypassed/

It is not working for me, but I'm not sure if that is related to a problem with my possibly defective card or a problem with nvflash.