Mid 2011 27" iMac gpu upgrade

[Obioban]

I'd like to upgrade the GPU in my mid 2011 iMac. It currently has the 6770M, which isn't great. Clearly it's possible to go to the 6970.... but is there any better (not necessarily Apple sanctioned) options out there? Every time I find a thread talking about it, there's never a final success/failure post by the OP

No interest in going to the new iMac version as I don't want to lose the built in optical drive (mine is bluray and I use it for disk ripping) or user serviceability. Warranty expired, so no concerns there, either.

 

[mmomega]

You would need to get a video card that was either brand new or removed from an iMac with a "Mac" firmware loaded on it.

I've had the same thoughts since my '09 iMac but the $500 sticker price on a higher end video card kept me diving.

I may have been researching wrong but I haven't seen anyone yet, take a MXM card and stick it in an iMac and it just work. They've all ended up ordering a used 6970 from ebay or a Mac parts dealer.