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Possible to switch from 6770M to 6970M?
- Thread starter Murl
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I had to register after many years of lurking to point out that this is flat out wrong.
The current generation iMacs use MXM graphics card boards. They *are* changeable. The main obstacle to doing so is finding a Mac-suitable card. If you are taking one out of a donor 27" iMac then this is solved. Just go slow, and be aware that you will need to change the thermal paste on the heatsink.
the biggest issue is EFI being present on the EEPROM for the card.
So it really needs to be a Mac specific one.
(or someone needs to figure out how to flash them like we do desktop cards)
So it really needs to be a Mac specific one.
(or someone needs to figure out how to flash them like we do desktop cards)
If you consider your "reasonably priced 27' iMac" plus what you will have to pay to get your hand on a specific GPU made especially for Mac (which technically exist only in other and more expensive iMacs), i guess you are way better simply paying for a higher spec iMac in the beginning.
There's been a lot of buzz about the 7970M and the 680M on the notebook forums from people with the Alienware laptops that can potentially take them as upgrades - I'd imagine if any EFI flashing was going to be possible those guys would know about it. Of course, this presumes that they even *have* flashable EFIs on them, and the room to take a mac specific one of course. You'd know more about that than I, given your work with the Mac Pro, I assume.
In terms of what's available for now, the only ones that would be guaranteed to work would be cards that had been removed from other iMacs of the same generation (and then potentially ones from future generations, assuming the thermal profile stays similar), so your sources would be Mac parts suppliers or people selling broken iMacs for parts.
I had briefly considered going for a 21" iMac and then looking for a busted 27" with the 6970 to swap it over - I don't really need the giant screen, but I did want the more potent GPU. As it stands I've held off since I'm waiting to see what Apple does with this mythical iMac refresh.
It's certainly possible, but not feasible.
1. The cost: 6970M is not your typical video cards, it's a MXM laptop card. Even if it is equal to 6850 in terms of performance, doesn't mean they cost the same. Typically it would cost you $200 - $300.
2. You have to find a specific 6970M for iMac, not random cards from AlienWare or something.
3. You risk damaging your iMac, it's not just plug in and out like typical PCI-E on a regular tower. Too many cables and screws you gotta open to reach GPU.
So, just go with the highest end iMac possible, it's worth it. Better CPU is a bonus too. Especially the refurbed one since they come with alluring price cut.
1. The cost: 6970M is not your typical video cards, it's a MXM laptop card. Even if it is equal to 6850 in terms of performance, doesn't mean they cost the same. Typically it would cost you $200 - $300.
2. You have to find a specific 6970M for iMac, not random cards from AlienWare or something.
3. You risk damaging your iMac, it's not just plug in and out like typical PCI-E on a regular tower. Too many cables and screws you gotta open to reach GPU.
So, just go with the highest end iMac possible, it's worth it. Better CPU is a bonus too. Especially the refurbed one since they come with alluring price cut.