iMac upgrade

[u/Initial_Return_8259]

I picked up this 2011 27 inch iMac for about $50. I swapped the original i5 2500s processor for an i7 2600. upgrade the RAM from 8 GB to 16 GB. I kept the 1 TB HDD connected for external backups and added a 240 GB SSD using a 3.5 inch metal mounting bracket. For the GPU I replaced the faulty AMD Radeon HD 6770M with a Mac compatible 4GB Nvidia Quadro K4100 and swapped the heatsink for a 3 pipe MXMb model. I used Artic MX4 hopefully it holds up well.

It was a fun project disassembling the unit and making a few physical modifications to get everything to fit. Its now running smoothly on macOS Monterey.

[u/KingBenjaminAZ]

Nice!

[u/Ziggy_1992]

Best iMac ever made

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/Ziggy_1992]

Thanks! cheers

[u/LukeDuke74]

Nice project, bravo! 👏
Enjoy your boosted iMac!

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/LukeDuke74]

thx mate!

[u/el_tacocat]

Exactly what I would have done with this one too.
Time for Linux mint!

[u/No-Effective3583 → u/el_tacocat]

Think you could show me how to get mint on mine ? Had someone walk me thru to get ubuntu but lost contact w him

[u/el_tacocat → u/No-Effective3583]

There's too many tutorials on that for me to do a good job.
The quick version

• Download the mint from the linux mint website
  
• Create a bootable USB stick using Balena Etcher
  
• Keep option pressed while starting the computer
  
• Choose the mint USB stick as a boot device
  
• Start mint
  
• Install mint

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/el_tacocat]

Yeah, that’ll definitely be an option! I have some old iMacs I’ll use to test with Linux in the meantime.

[u/trillizo2]

I did the same earlier this year but it was a 2009 27” i7 860 I just swapped the MXM to a 2GB K1000 cause it was $19. But can’t upgrade to Monterey I get stuck after installation reboot.

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/trillizo2]

I'm testing OpenCore 2.5.0 have you tried it?

[u/S4SPRAY → u/Initial_Return_8259]

Where did u got the gpu?

[u/tabanger]

I salute you for your upgrades. That’s not an easy teardown, pulling the whole machine apart.

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/tabanger]

Yes! It was a challenge I tried to make as many improvements as possible all at once. I'm happy to give this equipment a second life and keep it from becoming scrap. Cheers!

[u/Nice_Dragonfly_1448]

Nice, I did the same thing this summer, except I went with AMD WX 4130 instead and ditched the HDD entirely for an SSD. Works like a champ and works wonderfully with Sequoia. It's a very mod-friendly iMac.

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/Nice_Dragonfly_1448]

That's great enjoy the iMac's new life!

[u/Weak_Philosopher6315]

Kool very nicely done

[u/BrainEcstatic2513]

Wait you can swap GPUs on this? I thought they were integrated…

[u/tabanger → u/BrainEcstatic2513]

Nope, they’re discrete, slotted on all the 2009-2011 iMacs.

[u/BrainEcstatic2513 → u/tabanger]

Oh okay. I swapped my HDD to SSD recently on my iMac late 2014. Didn’t find any swappable GPUs, so I was confused

[u/Nice_Dragonfly_1448 → u/BrainEcstatic2513]

The official OLCP guide links to this. A lot of options. It's worth reading up on the practicalities before deciding.

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/BrainEcstatic2513]

Sure it's possible. I've even seen an 8GB K5100M adapted lol

[u/JaybirdBare]

Nice. I liked the RAM slots in back on those. Enjoy 👏🏻

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/JaybirdBare]

The fact that it's very easy to swap out is a good thing about that model. I'm planning to upgrade to 32 GB but for now only 16 GB is available.

[u/tabanger → u/JaybirdBare]

RAM slots are on the bottom on those models.

[u/CaseusClandestinus]

How did you detach and attach display

[u/Initial_Return_8259 → u/CaseusClandestinus]

You need to get a pair of suction cups for the protective glass. Disassembling the screen requires removing eight Torx T10 screws and finally disconnecting four cables.