What have you done with an early Intel recently?

[TheShortTimer]

Make sure you get the right stepping of 5365s - I think SLAEG is the one you want. They idle at a lot lower wattage than the other two.

SLAED is the recommended G0 stepping.

So which one do I need, SLEAD or SLEAG?

What have I done with an early Intel today? I tested a Sapphire active miniDisplayPort-to-DVI adapter I found in my parts bin. AGDCDiagnose revealed it uses two lanes of HBR so up to 180 MHz pixel clock at 8bpc RGB is theoretically possible.

* 3: kAGDCPortCapability is not supported on the current platform
[DP 1.1 2 x HBR ]      Status: [2 x HBR  77 0]      caps [features 0x0, p_encoding 0x0]      DVI/HDMI Branch OUI:000-028-248 161AB3 [049-054-049-065-066-051] HW Version: 0    FW Version: 149.24

That's more than enough for single-link DVI's 165 MHz maximum... or so I thought. But it wouldn't even do 1920×1080 60 Hz using HDMI timings (148.5 MHz). Further testing revealed it dies after 146.1 MHz pixel clock. 146.2, 146.3, 146.4, 146.5, 146.6, 147 etc. produced either a totally black screen or lots of dropouts.

What a dud.

If it's any consolation, you're not alone today with duds.

Yosemite? I tried that too but it boot-looped at the Apple logo and on reflection, I probably slipped up somewhere with the modifications.

I wanted another crack at Yosemite and this time I ensured that I had the right boot.efi file. The modification process was exactly the same as with Mavericks: I connected the Mac Pro's HDD caddy to a USB enclosure and made the appropriate modifications on my MBA under Snow Leopard. However this time I had a brainwave and also did something that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned elsewhere.

Instead of worrying about the boot.efi being rewritten by updates when Yosemite is running on the Mac Pro and then needing to go through the hassle of restoring them all over again - or running a patcher to protect it, for that matter - I let the MBA download and install all the updates for Yosemite and then I carried out the modifications to the fully updated installation.

Once that was finished, I returned the HDD to the Mac Pro - booted to Mavericks and chose Yosemite as my startup disk so that it would boot to that. I had to do it this way because my PC graphics card doesn't allow me to see the boot menu. Time for the moment of truth...

Success!

To an extent. My USB 3.0 card wasn't picked up automatically - so I installed the driver just as I had previously with Mavericks but even then it still wouldn't detect my USB drives. Yosemite it appears, suffers from the same USB stack issues as El Capitan.

Close but no cigar - and a very disappointing state of affairs by Apple.

I might as well get rid of Yosemite and El Capitan and use the drive space for Windows 10 and perhaps a Linux distro. The only niggle with Mavericks (and Yosemite is also affected by this) is a display glitch on my LED TV when connected to the Mac Pro using HDMI or DVI where the image of automatically zoomed, causing areas of the display to vanish and I have to repeatedly tick and untick the overscan option before they return - but with the penalty of a smaller screen area. With VGA, everything is fine.

It didn't occur with El Capitan on the same TV and the zoom issue with Mavericks doesn't happen when the Mac Pro is connected to my other TV. Odd but it's not the end of the world and VGA is ok anyway.

 

[Amethyst1]

So which one do I need, SLEAD or SLEAG?

SLAED

---

I tested a Sapphire 100925 active miniDisplayPort-to-DVI adapter I found in my parts bin. AGDCDiagnose revealed it uses two lanes of HBR so up to 180 MHz pixel clock at 8bpc RGB is theoretically possible.

* 3: kAGDCPortCapability is not supported on the current platform
[DP 1.1 2 x HBR ] Status: [2 x HBR 77 0] caps [features 0x0, p_encoding 0x0] DVI/HDMI Branch OUI:000-028-248 161AB3 [049-054-049-065-066-051] HW Version: 0 FW Version: 149.24

Addendum: It looks to use a Parade PS161 converter.

 

[TheShortTimer]

SLAED

Noted.

 

[bobesch]

Installed and tested OCLP Monterey and Ventura during the last two weeks.

early-intel late2008 15" 2,9GHz c2duo-MBP5,1:
- OCLP_Ventura: multiple fails to install. no go
- OCLP_Monterey: macOS performs ok. Maps-/TV-App do not work. Overall MBP does struggle - not really much reserves for demanding Apps/tasks.

'late' early-intel mid2012 15" i7 quad2,3GHz MBP9,1:
- OCLP_Ventura/Monterey: performance is great. Felt no difference compared to Mojave so far.
Managed to reactivate BassJump-Subwoofer on Ventura #1 . Happy to have Aperture/iPhoto back on board with the help of "Retroactive"

Next step: running backup/restore-routines on Ventura before thinking about upgrading from Mojave.
Looking forward to another 6y of (un)official support.

 

[joevt]

I tested a Sapphire 100925 active miniDisplayPort-to-DVI adapter I found in my parts bin. AGDCDiagnose revealed it uses two lanes of HBR so up to 180 MHz pixel clock at 8bpc RGB is theoretically possible.

* 3: kAGDCPortCapability is not supported on the current platform
[DP 1.1 2 x HBR ]      Status: [2 x HBR  77 0]      caps [features 0x0, p_encoding 0x0]      DVI/HDMI Branch OUI:000-028-248 161AB3 [049-054-049-065-066-051] HW Version: 0    FW Version: 149.24

That's more than enough for single-link DVI's 165 MHz maximum... or so I thought. But it wouldn't even do 1920×1080 60 Hz using HDMI timings (148.5 MHz). Further testing revealed it dies after 146.1 MHz pixel clock. 146.2, 146.3, 146.4, 146.5, 146.6, 147 etc. produced either a totally black screen or lots of dropouts.

What a dud.

Any DisplayPort to HDMI adapter should be able to do up to 340 MHz (3 lanes TMDS). They should be able to work with DVI using a HDMI to DVI adapter (same signals, different connector). HDMI 2.0 adapters can do 600 MHz. HDMI 2.1 adapters can do the same and also do HDMI 2.1 modes (4 lanes FRL 6 with DSC).

 

[rampancy]

A short while ago my dealer texted me with some new product he'd just brought in: a 2 Ghz MacBook that he'd set aside just for me, which he was offering for $50 with a decent hard drive tossed in. The price at first seemed a little on the high side for my liking, but since he'd always gotten me good Mac stuff in the past, I figured it'd be worth it.

I bring it home and much to my surprise it's not a MacBook 1,1 2,1, or 3,1, but actually a MacBook 5,2 - one of the more rare (in my experience; I seem to usually run across the later 2.13 Ghz version) models that actually used DDR2-667 RAM; I'd forgotten that only the 2.13 Ghz version used DDR2-800.

I gave it my usual treatment, thoroughly cleaning out the insides, refreshing the thermal paste and replacing the optical drive with a drive caddy for its original 250 GB hard drive; in the main drive position I put in a brand new 240 GB ADATA SU630 SSD. Not the best SSD by any means (it still strikes me as odd, using QLC flash in a budget-level smaller capacity SSD when large drive sizes were one of its selling points), but it's cheap and seemingly both faster and more resilient vs. my usual budget SSD of choice, the Kingston A400. I also put in my prized 4 GB DDR2 SO-DIMM that once ived in a MacBook 4,1, taking my 5,2 to a stratospheric 6 GB of RAM.

 

[ChrisA]

I have a 2014 Mac Mini (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) I think it is running El Cap. On top of that, it is running both Docker and Virtual Box. Inside those containers are some light wight servers. The Mac Mini is running headless, and I use screen sharing to access it. It is a nice small package, and they sell for about $160.

One of the servers is "Home Assistant". It is Home Kit's big brother and is used for home automation. It talks to just about "everything" and then makes them available to HomeKit, and Google and the others.

Another is "PiHole" that is a network-wide ad blocker.

There is also a backup server, too, that pushes data from my network to the cloud.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

This is the oldest member of my iMac family, the 24 inch early 2009 iMac9,1 after a MXM graphics card transplantation using an AMD 5100 2GB GPU replacing the GT120. OCLP provides the necessary boot loader, but Big Sur and Monterey run fully accelerated and even with HW DRM support.

Works even better on 21 inch late 2009 iMac10,1 - here you have even EFI Boot screen support. Older iMacs do not support any MXM metal GPU.

Anyone here with the same model running the ATI 4850 card - need a IORegistryExplorer dump from this machine for final adjustments. Thanks in advance!

Edit: added EFI boot screen support....(and yes, the iMac uses OpenCore)

 

[B S Magnet]

OK, here we go…

Now it just needs a better battery and a bigger SSD for installing, idk, Mojave on a second partition, via OCLP.

And a real nice-to-have: a 17-inch Crumpler School Hymn laptop case for it (maybe that one with the orange interior). If only…

EDIT: Apparently, uploading GeekBench 2 scores to Primate Labs is no longer possible. It 404s out.

 

[coolrock1]

play Minecraft!

 

[TheShortTimer]

Time to put on your thinking toque!

Heck, do it. We ought to start a “dumpster dive finds” thread for Macs. Within that, once it takes off, toss in a couple pics of food finds alongside more Mac/computer finds.

It took me a while to devise something which would work but I got there in the end.

Here's some collages from just a handful of the photos that I take during my weekly anti-food wastage expeditons in which I target a five mile radius on foot and rescue unsold items that supermarkets and other places have discarded. Some of the spoils, I keep for myself and the remainder are distributed to people around me who can benefit from them.

The aim behind this activity is to do what I can to help reduce shopping bills - which is particularly important at a time when the cost of living is soaring in the UK and to also lessen the amount of perfectly edible food and drink that goes to waste due to poor stock management, inefficient pricing and downright indifference.

I used the free version of PhotoScape X on my 2011 MBP with High Sierra to put the collages together.

It’s extremely illogical to find unsold, still un-perished, edible (if not legally “saleable”) foods in bins and not, say, at a nearby food bank. I find it infuriating, antithetical to reducing our species’ carbon footprint, and also just plain broken and ill-willed. Worse, there are places in the U.S. where people get arrested for retrieving said food from bins (it’s actually not that uncommon there, and I wouldn’t be shocked to learn it also happens here in Canada). Of course, the linked incident had a fortuitous ending, but it doesn’t take much imagination to piece together how many more folks with even fewer resources (or non-monetary affordances) get saddled with much harsher outcomes.

There was a similar incident in the UK with people facing prosecution for this activity. The company concerned didn't even want criminal proceedings to ensue in the first place. This topic is particularly jarring for my mother because she grew up on a farm in the Caribbean and her family sold their produce to representatives from Western multinationals for a pittance. For that reason she's particularly aggrieved when I show her the masses of bananas which I rescue because she's aware first-hand of the toil that was involved and the scant remuneration and it incenses her to see them end up thrown away in the West.

It's been suggested to me that I should write an article about my experiences with this activity and that's something I really need to explore.

 

[mortlocli]

Isn't local govt trying to sort this sort of thing.
Its been quite a process in NZ:

Reducing food waste

environment.govt.nz

Theyve got the supermarkets on board too...with food donations to social needs groups.

 

[mortlocli]

Over heated the GPU in my Imac 10,1 yesterday...that vertical lines or bands thing.
Guess Ive gotta get in there and remove and bake the GPU in the oven - 7 minutes at 200 degrees.
And redo the thermal paste...which I guess (now) is something I should have done.

..unless someone knows a more recent fix..?

 

[mortlocli]

Just been copying data from the HD onto an external SSD via terminal, and oddly enough the vertical bars disappeared...though how long for is the question. I find probs that disappear by themselves usually come back again at some time.

I rather dislike going into iMacs...but I better get in there and get it sorted...good clean up and renew the thermal paste if nothing else.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

Over heated the GPU in my Imac 10,1 yesterday...that vertical lines or bands thing.
Guess Ive gotta get in there and remove and bake the GPU in the oven - 7 minutes at 200 degrees.
And redo the thermal paste...which I guess (now) is something I should have done.

..unless someone knows a more recent fix..?

I read that you can replace the 2009 10,1 gpu with the 2011 iMac series 6 gpu. I’ve not done it myself but may be a good “permanent” fix. Once the gpus start artifact-ing IME the gpu ultimately fails within 6-24m period. The gpu on my white imac6,1 had the same behavior and while the bake+repaste & newTpads did give about 12m additional life, it did ultimately fail at which point I swapped in a functioning one.

Here’s a ifixit I found on the gpu swap process.

iMac Intel 27" (Late 2009 or Mid 2010) Graphics Card Replacement

If you are using the iMac 27" late 2009 or 2010 model for games, you might want to upgrade your graphics card to the 6 series of the last 2011 model.

www.ifixit.com

Best of luck to you.

 

[Amethyst1]

I read that you can replace the 2009 10,1 gpu with the 2011 iMac series 6 gpu.

There would be no point since the GPUs from the 2011 iMacs are dropping like flies. Much better to use a newer and more reliable GPU.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Just been copying data from the HD onto an external SSD via terminal, and oddly enough the vertical bars disappeared...though how long for is the question. I find probs that disappear by themselves usually come back again at some time.

I rather dislike going into iMacs...but I better get in there and get it sorted...good clean up and renew the thermal paste if nothing else.

Check this thread out - every iMac with MXM3 slot can be upgraded with a modern AMD metal capable GPU easily to run Monterey and possibly even Ventura. Absolutely not need to re-use the dying HD4000-HD6000 series any longer.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

There would be no point since the GPUs from the 2011 iMacs are dropping like flies. Much better to use a newer and more reliable GPU.

Assuming op has the terminal/Unix admin wheelhouse to get a metal capable gpu up and running on his 09 imac, I absolutely agree with you. If he doesn’t however, this does not help him, so leveraging a functioning identical replacement or series 6 gpu which would be plug n play would be the way forward for him.

 

[Ausdauersportler]

Assuming op has the terminal/Unix admin wheelhouse to get a metal capable gpu up and running on his 09 imac, I absolutely agree with you. If he doesn’t however, this does not help him, so leveraging a functioning identical replacement or series 6 gpu which would be plug n play would be the way forward for him.

Most cards can be plug and play if you get a flashed and prepared one. If you want the full package and do everything yourself some terminal commands help you faster around all road blocks than wasting time on Windows flashing, so your milage may vary.

 

[mortlocli]

I read that you can replace the 2009 10,1 gpu with the 2011 iMac series 6 gpu. I’ve not done it myself but may be a good “permanent” fix. Once the gpus start artifact-ing IME the gpu ultimately fails within 6-24m period. The gpu on my white imac6,1 had the same behavior and while the bake+repaste & newTpads did give about 12m additional life, it did ultimately fail at which point I swapped in a functioning one.

Here’s a ifixit I found on the gpu swap process.

iMac Intel 27" (Late 2009 or Mid 2010) Graphics Card Replacement

If you are using the iMac 27" late 2009 or 2010 model for games, you might want to upgrade your graphics card to the 6 series of the last 2011 model.

www.ifixit.com

Best of luck to you.

thanks heaps, cert...that is excellent reading!!

 

[mortlocli]

Thanks chaps... I see Ive got some research to do.
The Imac is working this morning without vertical lines..theyre like bars really. Added a temperature gauge 'Menumeters' and set it on GPU die cooked temp: 54.5C

Oddly enough yesterday before this happened I discovered I had a copy of the Apple iMac Official Training doc on my old mini iPad. Not sure where I got that from? Ha...maybe my Ipad mini was trying to tell me something.

Computers - I know..kinda like witchcraft!!!

 

[mortlocli]

oh..and by the way - I turned 70 this year
..and I tend to be a bit lazy.

so simple and easy is the best for me...
but do like reading bout how some guys find solutions.

 

[lepidotós]

I haven't done this personally, at least not yet, but I have been contemplating that someone could use a 27", 2011 iMac as a smart TV that can play video games if they put Linux Mint and Kodi on it. One of my older desktops was an i5-2400 and its main bottleneck even with "new" titles (e.g. Garry's Mod, Fallout 4, Portal 2) was the GT 640 GPU I had. Put in an RX 5500 XT, an SSD, and 32GB RAM in there instead and it should max out the monitor's refresh consistently, especially in older and indie titles.
The main reason someone would do this is that smart TVs are insecure, predatory privacy nightmares and also $2,500 but still contain ads. A 2011 iMac is by comparison like $100 if you don't already have one, with all the mods maybe $400 at most, and it would probably fit better in especially some of the laughably small studio apartments out there. I would do this when I got my first apartment if not for my amd64 sunset in 2025 (though I did leave an exception in for "interesting" machines mainly for a K8 build)... so if anyone else wants to pick the idea up and go with it feel free.​

 

[bobesch]

Installed and tested OCLP Monterey and Ventura during the last two weeks.

early-intel late2008 15" 2,9GHz c2duo-MBP5,1:
- OCLP_Ventura: multiple fails to install. no go
- OCLP_Monterey: macOS performs ok. Maps-/TV-App do not work. Overall MBP does struggle - not really much reserves for demanding Apps/tasks.

'late' early-intel mid2012 15" i7 quad2,3GHz MBP9,1:
- OCLP_Ventura/Monterey: performance is great. Felt no difference compared to Mojave so far.
Managed to reactivate BassJump-Subwoofer on Ventura #1 . Happy to have Aperture/iPhoto back on board with the help of "Retroactive"

Next step: running backup/restore-routines on Ventura before thinking about upgrading from Mojave.
Looking forward to another 6y of (un)official support.

From desert to seafront - on my way from Mojave to Ventura ...

This weekend I thoroughly tested OCLP_Ventura on my 2013 11"MBA and after all my productivity-stuff* did perform well on the test-partition I finally fully upgraded the MBA from BigSur to Ventura.

*(ScanSnap ix500, DEVONthink, VMware Fusion13 with Win98/2k/XP/7/10; iPhoto&Aperture with Retroactive, , PDF-Tools, Faxbot&FritzBox; VPN&MS_RDP-Client to Office-Network, AppleMaps.App, AppleTV.App, SoundSource&BassJump-Workaround etc.) Fits all pretty nice onto the 250GB SSD.

I always carry an encrypted CCC-copy (plug&copy) of selected data of the user-folders of my local machines at home (intel and PPC) stored on an SSD within a cheap but sturdy 10€ inatec-USB3-case. Works fine.

Edit: found out, that on a 15"MBP VMware Fusion requires the dGPU to be switched on permanently (#1).
Otherwise any VM quits booting ("Error (VMDB) -14: Pipe connection has been broken")
So biggest problem has been sorted out to make OCLP_Ventura-upgrade a real option for my mid2012 15"MBP9,1.

 

[mortlocli]

I use both my iMacs (5,1 and 10,1) as my tvs.
We still have Freeview tv in NZ. I've a eyetv hybrid connected to both of them Love the programmed recording option for making a movie collection and recently found an app that edits out the advertising.

They're running unsupported Mavericks and high Sierra But recently after discovering sorbet been thinking of installing that as the eyetv is for leopard up. Using that for tv and going in Linux for online needs

Currently looking into the 64/32 bit problem factor with iMac 5,1s re booting from a usb stick...though booting from an external usb SSD works well