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iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade
- Thread starter MichaelDT
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So a K610M will be nearly twice as fast but only a third of the K2100M - which is as fast as the former top model 6790M. But I assume math is over the Atlantic Ocean the same...Oh ok, i actually have the HD4670 with 256MB![5b996ed60a3392342246eb1bb0df98e5.jpg]()
Thanks for the guidance, i Will go with the K610M , when the time comes and i can get the K2100M i Will swap...i just want to upgrade to Catalina and maybe Bigsur, but not sure if this card Will handle the latest.
You need a 2011 model and any metal card will make it to Big Sur. On the other thread some users confirmed success. Big Sur needs Metal more than any other OS before. No Metal, no Big Sur!
Uh?, so if i don't have a 2011 i can't go Bigsur? This K610 has Metal Support, and i am also upgrading the cpu for i5 or i7...
Damn
Did you follow my posts and did you recently read the first post ???Uh?, so if i don't have a 2011 i can't go Bigsur? This K610 has Metal Support, and i am also upgrading the cpu for i5 or i7...
Bios downloaded from post #8,351, extracted to flash folder on USB stick from #4,363. It was renamed just to make it easier for me.
Sorry, i was too into the hardware specs that i missed the Bigsur info you wrote.
Oh well, i will we able to get Catalina, better than staying on HS.
Thanks for your patience. :')
Okay folks so I decided to crack open my 2011 iMac and install a K2100M but I've run into issues.
1. When initialled powered on with LCD and nothing but a network connection hooked up and Nick's Linux loader stick that the 3rd LED is NOT illuminated. No start up chime or anything. Just fans running on high with LED #1 and 2 lit.
2. I followed the instructions for the USB boot loader - format at GUID partition MacOS journaled and then simply copy over the file in Nick's zip file. Computer doesn't do anything.
3. Hooked up to ethernet connection and I can't see computer on my network.
I'm certain installed the GPU correctly as it was actually quite simple.
What on earth did I do wrong?
Thanks,
1. When initialled powered on with LCD and nothing but a network connection hooked up and Nick's Linux loader stick that the 3rd LED is NOT illuminated. No start up chime or anything. Just fans running on high with LED #1 and 2 lit.
2. I followed the instructions for the USB boot loader - format at GUID partition MacOS journaled and then simply copy over the file in Nick's zip file. Computer doesn't do anything.
3. Hooked up to ethernet connection and I can't see computer on my network.
I'm certain installed the GPU correctly as it was actually quite simple.
What on earth did I do wrong?
Thanks,
to help everyone to help you, please put your system particulars in your signature like almost everyone else here...
You shouldn't expect the 3rd LED to light up as the GPU is probably not communicating pre-flash... no chime is a worry... did you reinstall the RAM? (I didn't do that one time in the many times I was in the machine).
"Nick's Linux loader stick..." sounds like
so guys, I have a little gift for you to give back after such an incredible thread
hope you like it, the headaches to get it running were immens for me as a newb.
I couldn't stand it to use fckin windows to flash the cards and so I prepared this ~350mb drive
I created a Linux Live USB (based on grml.org) Thumb Drive with nvflash_linux and Nicks Bioses preloaded. and its booting by itself so you can work blind with a new unpatched nvidia card plugged in. Also, its starting a ssh daemon and using DHCP to get an IP so you can remote login
Steps
Download
14 days left to download, uploaded here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/cztz4xqj2sru9gj/2011_imac_usb.zip/file
mirror by NOTNICE, thnx: https://cloud.notnlce.com/index.php/s/xkJP34GD6a9WziE/download
Prepare USB Drive or SD Card
so, you take a small usb thumb drive, partition it with disk utility on a Mac: GPT + FAT32
and just unzip the files structure onto the drive, no dd or etcher or something. just copy paste it. folder structure see attached screenshot. (you can remove the .roms I downloaded and download itself if you want to be sure about the correct file size. I did not verify them at all. use/flash at your own risk please)
Test & Try
test your thumb drive with a more or less working GPU/ external Screen or just have faith in me
Swap Hardware
swap your GPU to NVIDIA and (!) disconnect every SSD/HDD, makes it easier to boot blindly from one USB or SD Card, connect the ETH Cable (!)
Find IP
let the iMac boot, everything is black, the boot loader is waiting 20s before booting, so give the whole process 1min time, then head over to your Router Page and find the right IP that the iMac got through DHCP
SSH to the iMac
now fire up your terminal on a Win/Mac/Linux Machine of your choice and ssh to your iMac with
ssh root@YOURIP
Password:flash
Confirm the ssh id with yes and you should be in your iMac
Working Directory
cd /lib/live/mount/medium/flash
read the RADME in there… I will enjoy my brand new k2000m in my 27" 2011 iMac with Catalina 10.15.3
… and because this is so easy, I rebuild it to a K1100M and flashed that also
(someone could write some fancy scripts but I thought its saver that everyone is doing it command by command and don't stop thinking and trusting some scripts)
did you test the stick first? when I used this method I booted my pre-swapped iMac off the stick to get an idea what the environment would look like and to make sure the stick would boot. I also looked at the DHCP assigned to the machine... which can change each time the system asks for the address... and verified I could ssh in from another machine.
...when I went to flash the swapped GPU I searched by pinging the local subnet and finding the address of a machine that wasn't associated with known machines. ssh into that one and continued to the flash procedure.
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okay so in detail:
I bought a K2100M from a eBay seller that claims the card was working when pulled from a Dell laptop.
iMac was running perfectly fine with High Sierra 10.13.6 with all the latest updates and the UEFI was also updated as I don't have any other updates that will take on the system.
Tonight I decided to install my new found K2100M and did everything correctly as far as thermal paste, putty and cleaning of the GPU and GPU heatsink surface. Reinstalled logic board without a hitch. Installed 1 SO-DIMM. I did not reinstall hdd or SSD.
I hook everything back up except the LCD monitor. I turn the computer on and LED 1 and 2 are illuminated but not a trace of LED 3 to be found. This suggests the GPU is NOT communicating with the logic board. There is in fact a startup chime. I recall I had muted the speakers before shutting down the computer so I reactivated it by resetting the PRAM. So there is a chime but no 3rd LED.
The video card does not have the modified flash bios. That was why I created the USB bootable stick as per instructions here from Xanderon (my apologies for quoting Nick). Its been a long night and I'm dead tired.
2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade
so guys, I have a little gift for you to give back after such an incredible thread :D hope you like it, the headaches to get it running were immens for me as a newb. I couldn't stand it to use fckin windows to flash the cards and so I prepared this ~350mb drive I created a Linux Live USB...
forums.macrumors.com
Plugged the USB thumb drive into USB port and turned on. Still no 3rd LED.
Took everything apart again and cleaned the video board contacts with alcohol. I quadrupled checked my thermal paste on the GPU and I definitely didn't put too much on. There was barely any ooze out that would remotely get close to any of the little SMT components on the top surface of the GPU. I reused the thermal putty that I scraped off the old GPU memory chips and applied them to the new GPU memory chips. Reseated the video card a 2nd time and rinsed and repeated the above steps but same results - no 3rd LED.
Thanks.
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You will not get the 3rd LED unless the card has been flashed with the correct new BIOS. This has been explained so many times before...
If you cannot handle (and did not check in advance) the Linux USB flashing tool get a CH341A clip programmer and flash before you install.
You can do a PRAM reset after putting in a new card (post #1).
Talking about sleep: I am deadly tired of repeating the obvious and well documented things again and again.
Read first, make your own “step by step” plan, check all tools before using them and before ripping the iMac apart.
If you cannot handle (and did not check in advance) the Linux USB flashing tool get a CH341A clip programmer and flash before you install.
You can do a PRAM reset after putting in a new card (post #1).
Talking about sleep: I am deadly tired of repeating the obvious and well documented things again and again.
Read first, make your own “step by step” plan, check all tools before using them and before ripping the iMac apart.
as @Ausdauersportler points out, you won't get the 3rd LED until after you've flashed the card. His wise advice is also very useful: Read first, make your own “step by step” plan, check all tools before using them and before ripping the iMac apart.
Xanderon also says to wait some time for the system to boot (a minute or so) before trying to connect via ssh...
I don't know how your local WiFi is setup or what tools you have to query the network. I was using an Airport Extreme Ethernet port, the DHCP assignment was random.
From the external machine in the terminal I pinged the local network, which is 10.0.1.xxx (your's may be different, check the network system pref), 10.0.1.255 gets all the machines on your subnet:
ed-hartounis-imac:~ hartouni1$ ping 10.0.1.255
PING 10.0.1.255 (10.0.1.255): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 10.0.1.7: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.117 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=5.506 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.4: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=195.178 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=504.327 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.11: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=568.082 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.7: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.391 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.4: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=4.401 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=4.895 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=124.896 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.11: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=177.125 ms
If your victim iMac with the swapped card is booted, it will respond to the ping... so you can figure out which of the addresses replying is the machine (by eliminating all the known addresses).
then ssh into the machine with that address and proceed.
Xanderon also says to wait some time for the system to boot (a minute or so) before trying to connect via ssh...
I don't know how your local WiFi is setup or what tools you have to query the network. I was using an Airport Extreme Ethernet port, the DHCP assignment was random.
From the external machine in the terminal I pinged the local network, which is 10.0.1.xxx (your's may be different, check the network system pref), 10.0.1.255 gets all the machines on your subnet:
ed-hartounis-imac:~ hartouni1$ ping 10.0.1.255
PING 10.0.1.255 (10.0.1.255): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 10.0.1.7: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.117 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=5.506 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.4: icmp_seq=0 ttl=255 time=195.178 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=504.327 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.11: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=568.082 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.7: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.391 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.4: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=4.401 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=255 time=4.895 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=124.896 ms
64 bytes from 10.0.1.11: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=177.125 ms
If your victim iMac with the swapped card is booted, it will respond to the ping... so you can figure out which of the addresses replying is the machine (by eliminating all the known addresses).
then ssh into the machine with that address and proceed.
It is! No reason to worry and already mentioned in the "common hardware problems" post...
Ah ok I thought I read somewhere about x8 but couldn't find it again. Thanks
This is a SOIC type chip and really not the normal case. All unmodified K3100M I saw (at home) and in online offers had a WSON type chip. Only a single Chinese eBay reseller offers these "modified" cards (advertised as "new"), had two of them, both did not work or only with artifacts, cards returned. Still waiting for the refund of the second card!
hi! does anyone know how to make final cut x render with a GTX880m video card instead of a processor? very long render(((
First page, read the very first post! Searching the thread is another option.
Hello Ausdauersportler,
Thanks for you reply. Before posting that is exactly what I did: search the whole forum for this card: no results...read the first post: sorry, did not give me give me a clue whether this card could be work...
Thanks again
Thanks for you reply. Before posting that is exactly what I did: search the whole forum for this card: no results...read the first post: sorry, did not give me give me a clue whether this card could be work...
Thanks again
I think that answers your question. Unfortunately if the card is not listed here then it is not known to work.