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Anyone know a source for the big 6970M heatsinks?
- Thread starter JPamplin
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Hey I was looking today on eBay and I saw one for sale, have a look on there ...
[doublepost=1463293566][/doublepost]
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=182073095458&globalID=EBAY-AU
You're welcome x
[doublepost=1463293566][/doublepost]
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=182073095458&globalID=EBAY-AU
You're welcome x
Your first mistake was buying the 6970m which was known to have issues so stay with the 6770m and why bother on a wasting money on a 2011 iMac? You could've at least save for a 2012 or better iMac without the gpu issues, screen issues that came with the 2011 and earlier.
Well, since you asked, I prefer the 2011 models because I can upgrade them easily. I've already put a Core i7-2600S and 2 SATA3 Samsung SSDs in place of the hard disk in RAID0, and still have a 3rd SSD in the DVD bay for VMs and BootCamp. You can't get into the 2012+ iMacs without heat guns and a lot of effort.
As far as the 6970M is concerned, it's the fastest card I can put in the iMac which has boot screen support and multiple monitor support (other MXM cards don't have that compatibility). If you know of a faster card which allows full functionality in a 2011, I'm all ears.
Is it fast enough? Well, it's running 8 cores and the RAID throughput is excellent (see attached).
[doublepost=1463406770][/doublepost]
I appreciate the link! I saw that as well - but I'm looking for the 3-pipe model shown in the original post. Maybe people have heat trouble, I figure, because the 2-pipe heatsink doesn't carry heat away fast enough. If you spot one for sale, please let me know thanks. I've got feelers out to the guys that sell the card + heatsink to see if they have extra 3-pipe models lying around.
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Well you could've maybe save some cash go for the 2010 model instead since if you are concerned about upgrading since 1) you could use it as any other display with mini display port 2) No gpu recalls 3) No hdd temperature sensor problem if you try to change the main hdd. Since you are still insisting on getting the hd 6970m it is still not worth the hassle to have a card that will last very little due to its reliability problems and spending $200+ on a 5 year old card for a 5 year old computer is very unwise in my case. On the 2012+ imacs you just need a plastic pizza cutter from ifixit and some replacement strips and pretty much you are inside of the machine. Or use thunderbolt ssds if you don't want to open it up you know and also I'm not sure how long you will be planning to use it anyways before considering upgrading to a newer imac......
We will be hopefully finding a partner who works on iMacs in LA so that we can offer 680M/780M and even maybe 980M for iMac. Faster/cooler and longer lived than 6970M. And have CUDA.
Have everything in place but an iMac place who does repairs upgrades in LA/Hollywood area.
Having already spent $230 on a 6970M, this news is getting to me a little late - but is still encouraging, as I want Metal support on this 2011. Do you have access to Mac-flashed cards with external dispay support? I am very interested if so.
Thanks!
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Thanks for your thoughts - I picked the 2011 model because it has Thunderbolt (which allows high speed ports via docks), the ability for 3 internal drives (do the 2012+ models allow this?), and the ease of upgrading the drives, video, etc. with access that doesn't involve glue. Every time you open a 2012+ up, it's another set of adhesive strips - no thanks.
I've already purchased the temp sensor from OWC for the primary SATA3 HD connection, so it's still silent. I understand it's dated tech, but I'm a hardware geek and enjoy getting in there to make it better. The RAID0 numbers already make it current with modern iMacs.
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You can always connect the drives externally via thunderbolt and so far if one hdd fails then doesn't all of them get corrupt? I'm pretty sure that you can use long very thin sticky magnetic strips as alternative or use tiny magnetic sticky pads and plant them in each corner which could have worked. So are you planning to maybe get a future iMac if your current one dies?
If one HD fails in a RAID0, then yes, the volume is lost - that's why I have an external Time Machine backup. I'd rather have my drives on the internal SATA3 bus - trying to create volumes with a mixture of internal and external devices gets tricky (what if the power goes out on the external?) I'm very happy with my 2011, so if this one died, I'd probably get another one! Or just build another Hackintosh.
Well then either go for the Mac pro instead since maybe the iMac isn't for you for those who like to upgrade. Or go for the hackintosh route since in the future don't waste your money for another one since the machine itself is already dated and would be better to get a used mac pro in the future or get the newest mac pro. Also some drives are powered are relied on thunderbolt instead so it would be no different than your computer losing power randomly. Plus you can very easily upgrade the drives without even taking apart the whole computer with out breaking seals or risk damaging internal cables.
I have been using the smaller heatsink (6770M) for my GTX780M with my mid-2011 27" iMac for almost a year now, so far no serious overheating problem except for the normal issue of a non-Apple EFI gpu. Now I really hope for MVC in succeeding the custom 780M rom. Please keep us updated.
FOUND IT. Cheap too!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iMac-...358455?hash=item1a13eb9ef7:g:~ZsAAOSwbPxXP4hR
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iMac-...358455?hash=item1a13eb9ef7:g:~ZsAAOSwbPxXP4hR
Hey there, fellow 2011 iMac 27" owner!
I guess I'm not surprised that the 6770M heatsink is working for you, since the 780M is supposed to run cooler (does it?) If your external displays don't work, have you tried using the Thunderbolt ports for networking (Thunderbolt Bridge) - does that still work?
How much faster is your 780M for the stuff you normally do? GPUBoss says it's about 15-50% FASTER than the 6970M, but do you see / notice Metal come into play with any apps?
I guess what I'm trying to ask is - is it worth it? I've already put about $1400 into this beast, and this 6970M was going to be one of my final upgrades to it (the other might be an 802.11AC/BT 4.0 combo card), but if it's a game changer, then I'll think about it.
JP
Edit: when I first tried to mount the 6770M heatsink on the 6970M, I ran into problems with how it fit. Specifically, it seemed to hit a capacitor at the top of the board and bend it slightly - plus the RAM wasn't being cooled at all. See pictures.
You not running into that problem, even though your 780M is similarly shaped?
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Hi JPamplin
Both TB ports works. External/Dual display can only be use with miniDisplayPort-HDMI cable. I use my other TB port with a TB Docking Station for my other peripherals.
My 780m do operates faster than my previous 6770m and Metal does its job remarkably well. I do feel the performance different especially in Adobe apps, FCPX and gaming also.
The smaller heatsink fits the MXM card well, no bends needed. You only have to add additional copper shims on the top memory which not covered by the heatsink. I also add some copper shims on the memory behind the MXM.
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You can refer my airport upgrades here
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...internal-upgrade.1780242/page-3#post-20379814
One more thing:
You're new here. So I'm not going to ding you for statements like the above. But please understand that people have what they have, and like what they like. If I've already bought something, and upgrading something I've already bought... it's not very polite to tell people "you're made a bad decision!" when the decision is already made.
Try to address the question, instead of just commenting on whether you think the person did the right thing. People don't post here to get that from other users. OK?
Last night I discovered that a 7970M shows up in drivers as "Wimbledon XT". No screen output on my test machine but more work to be done. (haven't even started on EFI stuff) Did work for OpenCl so has driver support.
The iMac guy that contacted me hasn't gotten back in touch. Anyone have friends at Melrose Mac or another Mac repair center in LA/Hollywood?
The iMac guy that contacted me hasn't gotten back in touch. Anyone have friends at Melrose Mac or another Mac repair center in LA/Hollywood?
Well it depends since you already have an hackintosh but Apple have made the iMac non upgradeable and since you stated that you are buying another one in the future I hope not the same model but why not a hackintosh in the future like you said? And obviously there are people like me who thinks its questionable to spend that amount on an old iMac but in my suggestion is build a hackintosh which is more future proof and would likely last longer overtime over a almost half decade used computer that can die anyday.......
So if anyone wants to install a 6970M or other heavy-duty video card in an iMac, it's important to use the proper heatsink for it. Here are pictures of the 3-pipe heatsink I located on eBay, that is much more substantial than the 2-pipe model that comes with the 6770M.
Note where the thermal pads were located, if you need to reproduce which chips were originally protected with thermal pads on a clean card. I have ordered a sheet of 100 pads for $6 on eBay as well, and will post pictures of the process when I do it.
Note where the thermal pads were located, if you need to reproduce which chips were originally protected with thermal pads on a clean card. I have ordered a sheet of 100 pads for $6 on eBay as well, and will post pictures of the process when I do it.
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Just ignore him. He's been conditioned by Apple to not appreciate an upgradable computer.
You mean an 5 year old computer with known problems? I said if you want a good upgradeable computer then it doesn't hurt to get a 2012 mac pro even though you are losing thunderbolt 1 which is already replaced by thunderbolt 3. And people like you are should learn to read first.Just ignore him. He's been conditioned by Apple to not appreciate an upgradable computer.
[doublepost=1464834526][/doublepost]Plus I have already given you advice to keep using the current video card instead of the 6970m due to its known problems but I do want to see how far you get.
Well said!!! I enjoy my 2011 27" i7 iMac with 2 SSDs... I can easily open it and "tinker" with it.
My iMac suffered from the dreaded graphics card problem. Apple fixed it for free when they issued the recall.
The only thing that I noticed was that they added a wire/cable to from the card to a heat sensor(?) to the logic board.. It's been running like a champ for the past 2.5 years since the fix!!
Still not as easily as the 2012 mac pro which is already designed to be upgradable. Plus its a lot easier in upgrading the graphic card which you are only losing is the boot screen compared to the iMac's video cards which are very rare and expensive for what you get. My point still stands the mac pro is a better and easier if you want to open and tinker with it compared to the iMac.Well said!!! I enjoy my 2011 27" i7 iMac with 2 SSDs... I can easily open it and "tinker" with it.
My iMac suffered from the dreaded graphics card problem. Apple fixed it for free when they issued the recall.
The only thing that I noticed was that they added a wire/cable to from the card to a heat sensor(?) to the logic board.. It's been running like a champ for the past 2.5 years since the fix!!