JDW | 2009-2011 iMac Video Card Bake FAQ & 6970M Update @JDW- | Uploaded September 2020 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
I present a FAQ about the iMac graphics card ♨️BAKE using questions from the Comments. I close with a Radeon 6970M update.

🤔 Think the bake is crazy? Note the NeXT motherboard was also baked (31m56s):
youtu.be/92NNyd3m79I?t=1916

🔎 INDEX
0:00 Intro
2:42 Q1: Preheat Oven?
4:10 Q2: Why are Fans Full Blast?
7:36 Q3: Why do Parts Fall Off while baking?
13:25 Q4: SAFE to bake card in a Food Oven?
18:03 Q5: Why a Black Screen after the bake?
21:08 Q6: How to Cool card after the bake?
23:30 Q7: What's the best Thermal Paste?
27:54 Q8: Why not buy a K2100M or similar?
32:10 Is my 6970M really a flashed PC card?
34:10 Update on my 6970M
37:58 4850 & 6870M Heatsinks
39:26 Closing Words

♨️ All my BAKE videos: bit.ly/2UEOf4o

🔥 THERMAL PASTES I strongly recommend:
• K4 & K5 Pro Kit: amzn.to/38WkEZO
-or-
• K5 Pro (for chips other than GPU): amzn.to/33OIDJ6
• & Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut (for GPU only): amzn.to/36NMQwu

😎 Fan Control & Temperature Viewer Apps to keep your iMac running cooler -- I can vouch for all of these:
• Macs Fan Control: crystalidea.com/macs-fan-control
• smcFanControl: eidac.de
• iStat Menus: bjango.com/mac/istatmenus

🍎 Apple Forum Discussion about replacement video cards that work in the late 2009 27" iMac: discussions.apple.com/thread/3029120

💳 EBAY listing of the 6970M I purchased from Hong Kong:
ebay.com/itm/163991633495

🏥 Defective Video Card Symptoms. In my case, the iMac wouldn't boot fully and would freeze at the Apple logo screen with the progress bar only 50% finished, sometimes with screen artifacts. At times when it would boot to the desktop, there were artifacts that made using the computer impossible. In the case of my 3rd and 4th bakes though, the problem was the screen would stay dark. Some people in the comments have reported stripes. If after reinstalling MacOS you still have iMac trouble, it's almost assuredly the graphics card if you have a 2009 to 2011 model, whether 27" or 21.5".

🛠 TOOLS to open/close your iMac:
• 2 strong suction cups for front glass removal: amzn.to/2tkcmvJ
• Torx T10 for LCD removal (T9 works but T10 is best) & T9 for video card removal. The following kit contains more than needed for the iMac, but it's highly rated, has grippy handles and magnetic tips, and no 1 month+ wait from China: amzn.to/2UCaurK
-or-
Alternative kit, WRENCH style (cheaper): amzn.to/2wIgWWe
-or-
Alternative kit, BIT style (you'll need a handle): amzn.to/2vRkUeC

🔦 OTHER ITEMS needed or recommended:
• Anti-static wrist strap (connect wire to earth ground): amzn.to/2uSTy74
• Dust blower - Giottos Rocket Blaster Large: amzn.to/2OgHHXt
• ISO Alcohol 99% (to remove old thermal paste): amzn.to/2YsK8v3
• Microfiber cloth (for cleaning the screen/glass)
• Flashlight (to peer into the dark spaces inside the iMac)

► I used a Samsung EVO 850 1TB SSD to replace the stock Apple hard drive, but the 860 EVO or Crucial MX500 are equivalent. To use an SSD in 2009-2011 27" iMacs, you'll also need a special mounting bracket and a separate temperature sensor:
• Bracket: amzn.to/37Zn4qg
• Sensor for 2009-2010 iMacs: amzn.to/3b3knWU
• Sensor for 2011 iMacs: amzn.to/361Q9Dp
• EVO 860 (1TB): amzn.to/2RKem9M
-or-
• Crucial MX500 (2TB): amzn.to/3bxHybf
► You should also get either a drive dock or drive enclosure so you can use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone your internal drive to the SSD BEFORE you install the SSD:
• CCC: bombich.com
• 2.5" Drive Enclosure: amzn.to/2G8Fhsp

🔌 IF NEEDED: Replacement Ribbon Cables:
• BIG (Amazon): amzn.to/32Ygv7s
• SMALL (Amazon): amzn.to/33ZEvX4
Alternate links if you can't buy from Amazon US...
• BIG (AliExpress🇨🇳): bit.ly/2AdHvCV
• SMALL (AliExpress🇨🇳): bit.ly/2zRDbIC

💵 NOTE: Your price on Amazon (US only) is the same even if you don't click the "amzn.to" Affiliate links above, but if you do kindly click and purchase within 24 hours, Amazon may pay me a small commission on all qualifying items in your Cart (even items not linked above).
⚠️ IMPORTANT! If you add above items to your Cart but wait more than 24 hours to purchase, I receive no commission. You can click one of my links above again to refresh the cookie.

🎥 My 2015 MacBook Pro 15" Repasting Video: youtu.be/_XQNGNAwrLw

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#Apple #Macintosh #iMac #VideoCard #JDW