Xeon E3-1270 in iMac 2011s?

[nathan991]

Hey!

I'm wondering if anyone has tried installing a Sandy Bridge Xeon E3-1270 in an iMac 2011. Benchmark-wise, performance seems to be better than the highest Apple-offered i7-2600s.

Both units are LGA1155, but the TDP on the Xeon chip is 80W as opposed to 65W of the 2600s. Wondering if this will work because to my knowledge, iMacs do not use the intel onboard graphics (of which the Xeon chip has none) and also because the TDP is only 25% higher, compared to the confirmed non-working 2600K and 2700K which demand 95W.

Wondering if this might work. Anyone have any insight?

Thanks!

 

[StephN999]

Hi,
the only test I saw was on a 27 "and it seems to work.

Being very curious, I ordered one for my 2011 21"5 iMac,

I would not fail to give the results of the test, otherwise I could,
but much later test on my 2011 iMac of 27 "(it is not at my place for the moment) if it does not work on the 21"5.

Have a good day!

 

[nathan991]

Thanks @StephN999 I would really appreciate that. Please let me know what you find, I will make the plunge shortly after!

 

[StephN999]

Hi,
installed, my Windows 10 installation no longer works, but I don't care! (No IGPU in the Xeon?).
Very happy!!! 😁

Edit: "comme quoi il n'y a que les imbeciles qui ne change pas d'avis" I remade it specially for I imagine all the Xeon E3 DSDT.aml, Windows 10 Boot well.

 

[nathan991]

@StephN999 Thank you so much! How does it compare benchmark wise? Have you been able to test?

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

With Cinebench 1167 before 530.

 

[rikoari]

View attachment 912905View attachment 912904
Hi,
installed, my Windows 10 installation no longer works, but I don't care! (No IGPU in the Xeon?).
Very happy!!! 😁

Edit: "comme quoi il n'y a que les imbeciles qui ne change pas d'avis" I remade it specially for I imagine all the Xeon E3 DSDT.aml, Windows 10 Boot well.

Hi @StephN999

This is so cool!

I also have iMac 21.5" 2011, but in Mojave.
1. Could you please let me know what was the purpose for the DSDT? Is it only for CPU naming?
2. Will the iMac work out of the box without it?
3. How's the iMac now? Is it stable? Fan spins loud?

Sorry for looots of questions, I'm so hyped to get this thing done in my iMac as well. 😄

Thanks.

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

I thought that the SSDT would allow me to have a hibernation again, it is useless, on the other hand the DSDT is essential for Windows, not for macOS.

Otherwise ventilation level, no changes, even pushing the benchmarks, there is perhaps even better because the thermal paste must be better than the original (thermal grizzly kryonaut).

So stable, yes, but no more hibernation, at least for now.

Bonne journée.

 

[rikoari]

Bonjour,

I thought that the SSDT would allow me to have a hibernation again, it is useless, on the other hand the DSDT is essential for Windows, not for macOS.

Otherwise ventilation level, no changes, even pushing the benchmarks, there is perhaps even better because the thermal paste must be better than the original (thermal grizzly kryonaut).

So stable, yes, but no more hibernation, at least for now.

Bonne journée.

Bonjour, 😊

do I need to flash rom/microcode to use the CPU?
Or does it work out of the box?

Thanks!

 

[StephN999]

Re,

No, it is recognized natively just it will be marked as an i5 quad core in about this mac, as I use OpenCore for my graphics card, I just ticked a box (Update SMBIOS in platformInfo) and it is seen normally, but it is purely cosmetic and does not change anything.

 

[rikoari]

Re,

No, it is recognized natively just it will be marked as an i5 quad core in about this mac, as I use OpenCore for my graphics card, I just ticked a box (Update SMBIOS in platformInfo) and it is seen normally, but it is purely cosmetic and does not change anything.

Thanks for the prompt response.
Can't wait to try that.

Hopefully I can record a video while doing that (for documentation purpose). 😁

 

[StephN999]

Bonjour,

I'm taking you, it's a pleasure.

I do not know if you had seen but we continued this on topic.

Have a good day.

 

[Curtis Gross]

I just went through a Xeon install in my 2011 iMac.

Few notes:

1. I used the 1240, which does not have the iGPU and it works great. Multi-core performance is up 30% from my old i5 2500s
2. I used a chip that does not have the igpu. So that should open up everything from the 1230 on up to the 1290 for usage in a 2011 imac.
3. I am running into the sleep bug that impacts Sandy Bridge chips because of their HD3000 igpu... but my chip doesn't have an igpu!
4. Outside of the sleep bug (I just have my computer turn off every day) the performance is fantastic going to a cheaper alternative to the i7 2600.

 

[JohannusNL]

I just ordered a 1275 Xeon for about €50,- I’ll keep you posted

 

[JohannusNL]

went away from the idea of the Xeon. Canceled the order, the seller wasn't realy responsive btw.
I just upgraded the i5 to an i7-2600.

 

[pi_surfer]

I just went through a Xeon install in my 2011 iMac.

Few notes:

1. I used the 1240, which does not have the iGPU and it works great. Multi-core performance is up 30% from my old i5 2500s
2. I used a chip that does not have the igpu. So that should open up everything from the 1230 on up to the 1290 for usage in a 2011 imac.
3. I am running into the sleep bug that impacts Sandy Bridge chips because of their HD3000 igpu... but my chip doesn't have an igpu!
4. Outside of the sleep bug (I just have my computer turn off every day) the performance is fantastic going to a cheaper alternative to the i7 2600.

I have both a 21.5" and 27" iMac that was given to me because they were "useless", and I almost threw them out until
I watched your video on YouTube 3 days ago and immediately purchased two Xeon 1245s. Now I'm on the lookout for an inexpensive GPU for both machines. I'll be watching your videos until this upgrade project is completed.

 

[Redox785]

**deleted

 

[Firmez]

I have a Xeon E3-1290 running in my iMac 2011 27" with a HD 6970 2GB. I have to say i works great and fast. Currently i installed a Gigabyte Gaming Box with a RX Vega 56 Nano but get lagging Workflow in the Finder. maybe because of that. If somebody has an idea or tested a eGPU on the TB 1 i would be glad to hear about.

 

[im_to_hyper]

I just went through a Xeon install in my 2011 iMac.

Few notes:

1. I used the 1240, which does not have the iGPU and it works great. Multi-core performance is up 30% from my old i5 2500s
2. I used a chip that does not have the igpu. So that should open up everything from the 1230 on up to the 1290 for usage in a 2011 imac.
3. I am running into the sleep bug that impacts Sandy Bridge chips because of their HD3000 igpu... but my chip doesn't have an igpu!
4. Outside of the sleep bug (I just have my computer turn off every day) the performance is fantastic going to a cheaper alternative to the i7 2600.

Did you ever get a chance to test out the 1290?

I can send you my 2011 27” that needs a GPU replacement anyway, and charge whatever your repair service is and just make a video out of it! xD.

I’m thinking a WX4150 instead of the 7100 or RX 480 to avoid weird issues, though either would be great there.

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

Did you ever get a chance to test out the 1290?

I can send you my 2011 27” that needs a GPU replacement anyway, and charge whatever your repair service is and just make a video out of it! xD.

I’m thinking a WX4150 instead of the 7100 or RX 480 to avoid weird issues, though either would be great there.

If a couple hundred bucks is no big deal for you, then go for it!
WX4150m are quite rare now.
Search for WX4170 (will run as same specs), or to be on the safe side, the quadro Kx100m family.

 

[im_to_hyper]

If a couple hundred bucks is no big deal for you, then go for it!
WX4150m are quite rare now.
Search for WX4170 (will run as same specs), or to be on the safe side, the quadro Kx100m family.

The guide seemed to indicate that the WX4170 cards are harder to find and missing BIOSes. Whoops.

Guess I will have to do some extra research soon.

I do have a Xeon for my 2010, so maybe an RX 480 for that? And then save the 2011 upgrade for later 🤔

 

[Nguyen Duc Hieu]

The guide seemed to indicate that the WX4170 cards are harder to find and missing BIOSes. Whoops.

Guess I will have to do some extra research soon.

I do have a Xeon for my 2010, so maybe an RX 480 for that? And then save the 2011 upgrade for later 🤔

The Quadro cards are more available.
RX480 is somewhat near the price of the WX7100 already.
My advice is don't spend too much on old machines like iMac 2011 or earlier. Just get something to fix the GPU and go with it.

The WX4150 in my signature was purchased from the notorious ebay offer 59$, which has far gone now, most of them were allegedly consumed by people writing/reading this forum.

WX4170 is 119$~129$, plus expense for some easy modification. (need micro soldering skill). RX480m, how much a piece did you find?

MXM type B cards are harder to sell, so they tend to be cheaper than the MXM type A card. If you own the 27" iMac, look for MXM type B card.

Or if you have the patience, just memorize the compatible list from post # of the below thread, and search around your local market/shops for parts salvaged from old gaming/workstation laptops.

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

 

[Eugen Mezei]

Around how much more (computational) power is to be expected from these Xeons compared to the i7?

 

[bijianWu]

View attachment 912905View attachment 912904
Hi,
installed, my Windows 10 installation no longer works, but I don't care! (No IGPU in the Xeon?).
Very happy!!! 😁

Edit: "comme quoi il n'y a que les imbeciles qui ne change pas d'avis" I remade it specially for I imagine all the Xeon E3 DSDT.aml, Windows 10 Boot well.

is the power supply enough for both Xeon E3 and K2100m? have you ever encountered any power supply issues?

 

[Glencouls]

is the power supply enough for both Xeon E3 and K2100m? have you ever encountered any power supply issues?switch to ssd, and the drop in required power to spin the hard drive should be

Switch the hdd and optical drive for ssds and any power issues should melt away. The constant power drain from spinning disk and burdened i5 with fans full of dust was resulting in very shakey power supply performance the machine would randomly shut off. Switching to ssds for both the spinning disk and the hdd eliminated the power issue for me entirely, no need to purchase a $60 power supply. Fans were cleaned out too. I'm sorry I don't have xeon just the i7 2600.