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

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
Nguyen Duc Hieu said:
There would be no "fully supported" GPU for iMac 2009~2011 and OS newer than High Sierra.
Apple original GPUs => High Sierra.
Quadro K*100m => OS supported but H264 encoding is broken (not a big deal to many, just some extra workload dumped to the CPU)
AMD WX41*0 => No native boot screen, internal LCD need kick-starting (for High Sierra). Work nicely on Big Sur (not Mojave, not Catalina, just Big Sur).
There are other options as well: GTX 680m, 780m, 880m. They are just pricey and aged.

Meanwhile, I'm awaiting my WX4170m to be delivered from China. Not very sure to install it right away or wait until my HD4850m start dying.
Still struggling with the question whether to buy a M4000m and switch off Mac OS forever on my iMac 2009.
Click to expand...
As mentioned in another post I'm not interesting at the option " switch off Mac OS forever" at all, so taking to account: "AMD WX41*0 => ... Work nicely on Big Sur..." which potentially means to work on Monteray - sounds like this is my option.

Last question to you here, please (if you will): you personally have k1100 & wx4150 and we are talking specifically about Big Sur: which one would you chose if you should stick to one of them?

Thanks.
 
snakesm said:
As mentioned in another post I'm not interesting at the option " switch off Mac OS forever" at all, so taking to account: "AMD WX41*0 => ... Work nicely on Big Sur..." which potentially means to work on Monteray - sounds like this is my option.

Last question to you here, please (if you will): you personally have k1100 & wx4150 and we are talking specifically about Big Sur: which one would you chose if you should stick to one of them?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

They are not in the same league, my friend. Everyone wants the WX4150m, but it's not available now. Such cards are extremely rare and listed at exotic price of $200.

In the end, it all depends on what you can get, and at what price.
Paying 400$ for a WX7100m is crazy, when a new mini M1 is only 699$, which runs Big Sur smoothly, and beat up most of the cards in the compatible table.
Paying 200$ for WX4150m? No way.

I would just buy a cheap K1100m and use my iMac as a monitor for the mini M1.

But throwing in 100$ for an M4000m, I would have a nice Windows gaming AIO, 27" 2k LCD... and graphic perfomance is acceptable.
 
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Thanks again.
So I'll take "wx4150" as a formal answer on my question :)
and yeah, I see your point about economical part of this deal
 
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Last edited:
snakesm said:
Thanks again.
So I'll take "wx4150" as a formal answer on my question :)
and yeah, I see your point about economical part of this deal
Click to expand...

You are not interested in WX4170m?
New vBIOS was alread cooked, and it's price maybe more reasonable than the mighty WX4150m.
I bought mine for 119$.
Not yet delivered, though, I can't confirmed it's working or not.
 
Nguyen Duc Hieu said:
You are not interested in WX4170m?
New vBIOS was alread cooked, and it's price maybe more reasonable than the mighty WX4150m.
I bought mine for 119$.
Not yet delivered, though, I can't confirmed it's working or not.
Click to expand...
You are not interested in WX4170m? - I'm definitely interested in it (and I did use WX4150 just as an example of the whole series as you have specifically that model)

Any thoughts why 4170 was 119$ and you mentioned above "Paying 200$ for WX4150m? No way." ???
Theoretically 4170 should be more expensive that 4150 unless I'm missing something (again)
 
snakesm said:
You are not interested in WX4170m? - I'm definitely interested in it (and I did use WX4150 just as an example of the whole series as you have specifically that model)

Any thoughts why 4170 was 119$ and you mentioned above "Paying 200$ for WX4150m? No way." ???
Theoretically 4170 should be more expensive that 4150 unless I'm missing something (again)
Click to expand...

The market sets the price, not the theory. Here we are talking about the second-hand market.

WX4170m is MXM type B card, which is bigger => Less compatible in the Windows laptop world.
WX4150m is MXM type A card, => far more compatible, not many pieces are available for sales.

Same principle applied for other card
Quadro M2000m is rarer and more expensive than M3000m & M4000m, just because of the size.
Quadro K2100m price is about the same as K3100m.
The exotic prices award goes to top specs card like K5100m, M5000m, WX7100m

Although many readers to this thread own one or several WX4150ms, they are all came from a mysterious ebay seller, which for some reasons, sold a couple hundred brand new HP WX4150m for 59$/unit flat rate. After the WX4150m is confirmed to function well in iMac 2009 and 2010, it was sold out quickly, even before the mod for iMac 2011 came out.
 
Last edited:
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WX 4130 2GB is also a good option for these 10+ yrs old iMac.
Despite it is considered "low end", it has descent performance to match the 2009-2011 iMac.
It is also cheaper, ~US$110 currently (though still expensive) and more available than its other siblings.
These newer AMD cards support Catalina and above with OCLP.
My iMac has 3 separate internal SSDs of Catalina, Big Sur and Monterey individually.
They all work great.
 
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G3llings said:
I'm very happy with the results! Nearly 21,000 points at 56c on the GPU temp and 60c CPU core temps. I used a 2 pipe MXM-B heatsink from my 2010 iMac instead of the MXM-A that came in this 2011 and applied some thermal pads.

View attachment 1830188View attachment 1830191View attachment 1830192
Click to expand...

That is great performance and low temperature for a 2 pipe heatsink. I guess with the 3 pipe heatsink card can be slightly overclocked without problems (I read on some forums that this M4000M cards are very overclock friendly).

I already got my M4000M, looks brand new, just waiting to find a suitable cheap 2011 iMac to test it on.

Regarding boot screens, maybe we could try moving available GOP drivers to @jay508 vbios (which I think does not have UEFI GOP driver included).
 
m0bil said:
That is great performance and low temperature for a 2 pipe heatsink. I guess with the 3 pipe heatsink card can be slightly overclocked without problems (I read on some forums that this M4000M cards are very overclock friendly).

I already got my M4000M, looks brand new, just waiting to find a suitable cheap 2011 iMac to test it on.

Regarding boot screens, maybe we could try moving available GOP drivers to @jay508 vbios (which I think does not have UEFI GOP driver included).
Click to expand...
After @jay508 edited the bios to use standard web drivers he sent it over to me to adjust clock speeds. It is stuck at maximum P5 P-state (my stock bios had the same issue). I was able to edit P5 clock speed up to the 1013mhz boost speed that the card normally hits but cannot get it to go any higher. The memory I was able to increase to 1350mhz per his request. I would love if we could go higher on the core clock speed, but it seems like the card isn't fully recognized by the iMac.

Maybe GOP would fix that? Maybe it's an issue with PCI-E 1.1? In RefindPlus there is a specific fix due to PCIE 2.0 cards running on the Mac Pros PCIE 1.x slots, I'm not sure if the fix stops at boot screen or also with how the card is recognized after boot.

Screenshot_20210916-075738.png
 
iMac Quadro M4000M rom:

- Enables the internal display
- Enables GOP boot-screen
- Brightness control with OpenCore
- Full Boost clocks in MacOS & Windows
- Can overclock to 1148MHz in Windows

Must be flashed from WINDOWS using remote access and this hacked nvflash:

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

You should be able to install un-modified Windows drivers,
or the correct Web Drivers for your exact MacOS build:

http://www.macvidcards.com/drivers.html

https://dortania.github.io/GPU-Buye...ia-gpu.html#maxwell-series-gtx-9xx-745-750-ti

Booting from OpenCore will now enable the display even without drivers,
so you can actually boot newer MacOS versions with no web driver support,
(obviously with no acceleration but basic 2D works, even Youtube videos etc)

Brightness control in MacOS requires OpenCore to do three things:
Load the web drivers using nvda_drv_vrl=1 (add to OpenCore's boot args)
Spoof the "shiki" or Board ID to iMac 14,2 (Mac-27ADBB7B4CEE8E61)
Inject some additional Device Properties, just add them to your config.plist:

Code: 
<key>DeviceProperties</key>
<dict>
<key>Add</key>
<dict>
<key>PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)</key>
<dict>
<key>@0,backlight-control</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
<key>@0,built-in</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
<key>@0,display-cfg</key>
<data>/////w==</data>
<key>@0,display-connect-flags</key>
<data>BAAAAA==</data>
<key>@0,pwm-info</key>
<data>AhgAZHhpAAAQJwAAjAoAAAAEAAAAAAAA</data>
<key>APPL,backlight-control</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
<key>agdpmod</key>
<string>vit9696</string>
<key>applbkl</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
<key>shikigva</key>
<integer>40</integer>
</dict>


External displays are disabled and will NOT work with this vBIOS.
Don't update the GOP, this one is patched to load on Apple EFI 1.10
so can work with older OpenCore / rEFInd+ (prior to @joevt 's fixes)

Going off-topic, those Dell Quadro P3000 / P4000 cards could also be good options.
Sadly there's no hacked nvflash for Pascal, so patched roms need flashing with a clip,
the CH341A will also need the 1.8v EEPROM adapter - don't forget or you'll fry the card!

🎅
 

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Santa's Little Helper said:
iMac Quadro M4000M rom:

- Enables the internal display
- Enables GOP boot-screen
- Brightness control with OpenCore
- Full Boost clocks in MacOS & Windows
- Can overclock to 1148MHz in Windows

Must be flashed from WINDOWS using remote access and this hacked nvflash:

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

Enjoy!

🎅
Click to expand...
Awesome! When you say flashed from WINDOWS do you mean the Linux USB ssh method will not work? If I already have internal display on Windows can I just NVFlash without remote access?
 
Santa's Little Helper said:
iMac Quadro M4000M rom:

- Enables the internal display
- Enables GOP boot-screen
- Brightness control with OpenCore
- Full Boost clocks in MacOS & Windows
- Can overclock to 1148MHz in Windows

Must be flashed from WINDOWS using remote access and this hacked nvflash:

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

You should be able to install un-modified Windows drivers,
or the correct Web Drivers for your exact MacOS build:

http://www.macvidcards.com/drivers.html

https://dortania.github.io/GPU-Buye...ia-gpu.html#maxwell-series-gtx-9xx-745-750-ti

Booting from OpenCore will now enable the display even without drivers,
so you can actually boot newer MacOS versions with no web driver support,
(obviously with no acceleration but basic 2D works, even Youtube videos etc)

Brightness control in MacOS requires OpenCore to do three things:
Load the web drivers using nvda_drv_vrl=1 (add to OpenCore's boot args)
Spoof the "shiki" or Board ID to iMac 14,2 (Mac-27ADBB7B4CEE8E61)
Inject some additional Device Properties, just add them to your config.plist:

Code: 
<key>DeviceProperties</key>
<dict>
<key>Add</key>
<dict>
<key>PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1,0x0)/Pci(0x0,0x0)</key>
<dict>
<key>@0,backlight-control</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
<key>@0,built-in</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
<key>@0,display-cfg</key>
<data>/////w==</data>
<key>@0,display-connect-flags</key>
<data>BAAAAA==</data>
<key>@0,pwm-info</key>
<data>AhgAZHhpAAAQJwAAjAoAAAAEAAAAAAAA</data>
<key>APPL,backlight-control</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
<key>agdpmod</key>
<string>vit9696</string>
<key>applbkl</key>
<data>AQAAAA==</data>
<key>shikigva</key>
<integer>40</integer>
</dict>


External displays are disabled and will NOT work with this vBIOS.
Don't update the GOP, this one is patched to load on Apple EFI 1.10
so can work with older OpenCore / rEFInd+ (prior to @joevt 's fixes)

Going off-topic, those Dell Quadro P3000 / P4000 cards could also be good options.
Sadly there's no hacked nvflash for Pascal, so patched roms need flashing with a clip,
the CH341A will also need the 1.8v EEPROM adapter - don't forget or you'll fry the card!

🎅
Click to expand...

WOW!!!!!!!! 😳 😳
Awesome work!!! Thank you very much for this !! I can't wait to try it :)))

Agree about the Pascal cards, sadly prices are trough the roof now for this cards.

@G3llings attached is a linux version on nvflash that should bypass certificate check (Not tested by me, have no idea if this would work).
 

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Success! Thank you so much! I now have boot screen using RefindPlus! I haven't tried strictly OpenCore boot screen because I would like native macOS and use OpenCore only for UEFI Windows. I took a video of it booting but I'm not sure how to upload video on here. I will run a few benchmarks and see what kind of results this vbios achieves!
 
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m0bil said:
WOW!!!!!!!! 😳 😳
Awesome work!!! Thank you very much for this !! I can't wait to try it :)))

Agree about the Pascal cards, sadly prices are trough the roof now for this cards.

@G3llings attached is a linux version on nvflash that should bypass certificate check (Not tested by me, have no idea if this would work).
Click to expand...
I believe that is the version I had to use to flash your vbios with GOP. I was able to flash @Santa's Little Helper vbios under Windows.
 
With GOP fix at stock clock vs GOP fix at 1147mhz. Temp increases by about 10c and wattage increases by about 10w. @Santa's Little Helper are you able to bump the memory from 1250 to 1350mhz like it is in @jay508 rom? If I do so with the Maxwell II bios editor will it mess with the GOP settings?

With GOP mod at stock clocks
GOP Stock.PNG


GOP +135mhz
GOP +135mhz.PNG
 
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G3llings said:
With GOP fix at stock clock vs GOP fix at 1147mhz. Temp increases by about 10c and wattage increases by about 10w. @Santa's Little Helper are you able to bump the memory from 1250 to 1350mhz like it is in @jay508 rom? If I do so with the Maxwell II bios editor will it mess with the GOP settings?
Click to expand...

Have you tried NVIDIA Inspector on this vbios?. If vbios is "unlocked" it may work to change memory and clock.

Also, I don't think Maxwell II bios editor changes the EFI/GOP area.
 
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Very great progress Really great, I will be looking for a new m4000m p3000 p4000 for testing.

m3000m m4000m I unlocked the highest frequency on the PC is 1350mhz sometimes unstable will drop the driver, 1266mhz is very stable can pass all tests.

This is my debugging on a Windows PC multiple frequency vbios as follows.
 

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m0bil said:
Have you tried NVIDIA Inspector on this vbios?. If vbios is "unlocked" it may work to change memory and clock.

Also, I don't think Maxwell II bios editor changes the EFI/GOP area.
Click to expand...
You can directly unlock the modified vbios and then write, you can directly perform the frequency of vbios without any other auxiliary tools it.
 
m0bil said:
Have you tried NVIDIA Inspector on this vbios?. If vbios is "unlocked" it may work to change memory and clock.

Also, I don't think Maxwell II bios editor changes the EFI/GOP area.
Click to expand...

jay508 said:
You can directly unlock the modified vbios and then write, you can directly perform the frequency of vbios without any other auxiliary tools it.
Click to expand...

Nvidia inspector and MSI afterburner will both allow for core clock increase +135mhz but will not allow for any memory clock increase. How do I unlock the vbios?
 
Maxwell II Bios Tweaker can unlock the core frequency and memory frequency, overclocking the memory frequency does not make any sense, there is no improvement in performance.

I have tested multiple overclocked memory frequency for various tests without any performance improvement, only the overclocked core frequency will have performance improvement.
 
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jay508 said:
Maxwell II Bios Tweaker can unlock the core frequency and memory frequency, overclocking the memory frequency does not make any sense, there is no improvement in performance.

I have tested multiple overclocked memory frequency for various tests without any performance improvement, only the overclocked core frequency will have performance improvement.
Click to expand...
I tried increasing the core clock to 1266mhz in Maxwell II vbios tweaker but it will still not go above 1013 MHz and afterburner will only increase it by 135mhz. Is there a way to unlock the bios so that I can increase core clock more using afterburner?
 
Maxwell II Bios Tweaker unlocked vbios core frequency memory frequency without any restrictions as long as stable, in Windows pc test is so in iMac what results I am not sure, before m3000m m4000m I unlocked various frequencies in iMac can only run at the lowest frequency.
 
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