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    iMAC graphics upgrades (replace AMD with the more powerful nVidia)

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by woodzstack, Mar 10, 2016.

  1. woodzstack

    woodzstack Alezka Computers , Official Clevo reseller.

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    has anyone tried using the latest Maxwell Mobile cards to replace the AMD cards found in iMac's ?

    i.e repl acing
    AMD Radeon R9 M395X
    with nVidia GTX 980M.
    AFAIK, they both use the new EFI and should be compatible, only drivers being the difference (aside from being different videocards etc..). Can a driver not be modified base don its hardware ID just the same ?
     
    woodzstack, Mar 10, 2016
    #1
  2. KCETech1

    KCETech1 Notebook Prophet

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    Nope .

    A the GPU's firmware is on the motherboard

    B Not MXM. its soldered on to the board.
    Images here: http://blog.macsales.com/33572-owc-unboxes-tears-down-the-late-2015-27-inch-imac-retina-5k

    clear one from iFixit in step 8 yes its the 290x version but same board
    https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac+Intel+27-Inch+Retina+5K+Display+Teardown/30260

    C can not modify drivers as they are integrated into OSX and startup EFI, add to it I can not get Maxwell cards to even work on my Mac Pro worth a damn.

    Device ID is handled very differently and not changeable its all kext's and have to be certified code from Apple unless you are hackintoshing with bypasses.

    D .... well there are far more but I will stop here. as the mid and high end iMacs are basically RAM upgradable ( MAYBE the CPU ....... but not looking good either ) and SSD upgrades from Apple at this time only, as OWC etc still do not have third party for them.
     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2016
    KCETech1, Mar 12, 2016
    #2
    triturbo and Kent T like this.
  3. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Everything you need to know about iMac 5K hardware upgradability in one video:

     
    saturnotaku, Mar 12, 2016
    #3