which GPU do i need?

[zoran]

My 27" mid 2010 corei7 iMac is down and out. It prolly needs a new GPU but im not sure which one is needed nor can i find the iMacs serial No to make a correct order. What can i do?

 

[wilberforce]

My 27" mid 2010 corei7 iMac is down and out. It prolly needs a new GPU but im not sure which one is needed nor can i find the iMacs serial No to make a correct order. What can i do?

Serial number is usually on the underside of the stand.

 

[Foobus]

Unlike almost any iMac newer than your 2010 iMac - you can actually replace the GPU in that unit with both original apple BIOS cards, or as long as you are in there, and have a bit of skill, replace it with a Metal capable card, allowing newer OS versions (such as Catalina etc.)

This forum is rather lengthy, but can walk you through the process. Something like a Nvidia Quadro K2100M would be a relatively easy install, and can be found on eBay, etc. (read the forum well before purchasing/attempting install)

2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade

iMac 2009 to 2011 MXM3 graphics card upgrade (Lastest update 10/13/2023 - this is the official documentation page - you found it finally!) This is the single and only documentation post. During the last years we constantly updated this post to reflect the lastet development of vBIOS and OCLP...

forums.macrumors.com

I stuck a K2100M into my 2009 27" iMac - and I've got the original non metal slowpoke ATI Radeon HD 4850 sitting around here somewhere which likely would also fit right into yours....

 

[zoran]

GPUs that need scripting/terminal skills are not easy choices for me so I guess I’ll pass such options, unless I haven’t understood what exactly you mean.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

GPUs that need scripting/terminal skills are not easy choices for me so I guess I’ll pass such options, unless I haven’t understood what exactly you mean.

HD 5670m for core i3 model
HD 5750 for higher model

Or you can use the card from iMac 2011, with some minor issues (sleep wake etc.)
HD 6770m
HD 6970m

Just Google the keywork. Normally it will lead you to the notorious Ebay, Aliexpress websites.

 

[zoran]

I prefer to use the same as the stock, but i dont think it can be found anywhere.The iMac is a 27" mid 2010 core i7 model, SerialNo:CK0410H8DNR EMC:2390

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

I prefer to use the same as the stock, but i dont think it can be found anywhere.The iMac is a 27" mid 2010 core i7 model, SerialNo:CK0410H8DNR EMC:2390

It can be found in China.
It can be found in Vietnam.
It can be found in the US.
It can be found everywhere people have been using the iMacs.