Mid 2011 Imac Graphics Compatability

[Joakes02]

Hello everyone! My Imac's graphics card recently just went and I see very few options for upgrades. There are the AMD graphics which are known to fail, Which I am not trying to replace mine with. There are the 4gb Nvidia K4100M's and I am about to pull the trigger and buy it. I would like to be able to edit 4k videos and play newer video games on it with ease. My mac currently has the i7 2600K 3.4Ghz, Amd 1gb graphics, and 12 gb of ram. When I purchase a graphics card I am getting 32gb of ram,ssd superdrive swap, and a new hdd for mac os (I am using bootcamp to install windows to the 1tb ssd. I may also get the i7 2700k and put the i7 in my mid2011 21.5". I see mxm B graphics cards everywhere and I am very curious. Could I buy lets say a 6gb,8gb,16gb mxm B graphics card, Could I flash them to work for my mac? Ive never flashed before but I am willing to learn with youtube as a sidekick. Thank you for viewing my post!

 

[Hughmac]

You might be better asking this question on the iMac forum as yours, being an i7, doesn't qualify as an early Intel machine by the definition of this forum.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[Joakes02]

It was an I5 but I am new here! Thanks for the advice I will see if I can find the right fourum. Im still finding my way though the website! Thank you again!

-Joseph

 

[retta283]

2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

Read the first post, please. It has clearly described such issue and the solution for all nVidia GPUs. Either you sleep and rewake your iMac, or use some app devised by user here to perform the same during startup automatically.

forums.macrumors.com

If you haven't found this already, this is the thread. This thread is absolutely huge and filled with a lot of information, if you have questions these people should be able to answer them.

 

[dolphinberserk]

Three questions about GPU choice (for Mid 2011 iMac 27"):

The first feels stupid to ask but I have to ask

1. Is there any difference between cards for sale labelled "for iMac" and those labelled "for Zbook" or "for Dell" etc? The price difference for me in Australia is a 30% price mark up and the "for iMac" items are often used, marked something like "This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used" (?!). (See links below to compare two cards K3100 cards)
Is there a firmware/flash difference or are they just the same thing with labelling just for marketing/search hits?
It may be a stupid question, but I really want to avoid purchasing an incompatible card and then needing to buy another.


2. Is there much advantage in future OS and software compatibility in buying say a K4100M in comparison to a K3100? I can see the difference in performance in the table about all the GPU's on the wiki (thank you all very much btw - you are legends for doing this and helping us prevent good computers retiring early) but wondering if say a K3100 would reduce compatibility with future software.

3. Having asked that question I must concede, I am looking to start a 3D animation course and will be using this iMac for a year or two until I can afford a more recent Mac - would the K4100 be the clear choice here (does it have a downside you have found)?


Background: Mid-2011iMac 27" High Sierra for home office daily use, the GPU failed in 2020 June and I baked it in a toaster oven, replaced the thermal paste with GELID GC Extreme paste (and cleaned dust etc from around the case/intakes/fans). It has been running very well since without a glitch, but I have an OS update to consider. I need to update to Mojave Catalina for boring reasons - due to compatibility of software updates (for Office 365 and a whole bunch of other stuff for work, no updates are available for High Sierra!), and so I need to make the jump to a Metal compatible GPU.

"For iMac" (apparently used)

For iMac 27" A1312 Mid 2009 2010 2011 upgrade NVIDIA K3100M 4GB GPU Video Card | eBay

Condition:100% work. All products are marked with warranty label.

www.ebay.com.au

"For book" (labelled new)

New Nvidia Quadro K3100M 4GB DDR5 MXM B For Zbook 17 8760W 8770W M6700 M6800 | eBay

League, France, Russia for about 2 weeks. the image is only a reference.

www.ebay.com.au

 

[Applicator]

@dolphinberserk
Please have a look at the thread that @retta283 linked before. Everything you ask for has been discussed at least 10 times before. We are here to help each other, but it's not our job to write summaries for you.

 

[dolphinberserk]

Thank you for clarifying sorry to ask questions already covered. I had done a number of searches but my search skills/effort clearly need improvement. I'll head to that thread then and look for the answers there.
Thank you again.