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Model A1311 / Late 2009 / 3.06 or 3.33 GHz Core 2 Duo processor

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NVIDIA GeForce 9400 256MB Upgrade? Or Replacement Still Available?

Yes, I know my poor iMac is ancient at this point but, I'm hoping to give it just a little more life anyway. I've been told by apple that the graphics card is on it's way out. It's been slowing down and choking on my Adobe programs. I was blaming the hard drive but that apparently wasn't the issue.

I don't know anything about the inside of an iMac - does anyone know if the NVIDIA cards are replaceable? If they even come out? I guess my next question is IF it's removable, is there anything compatible that I can upgrade to? If not, I'd be just as happy getting a refurb if anyone knows where they still exist.

Sorry for what might be obvious questions - I just don't know much. I DO know that the above model, and EMC #'s are correct. I've confirmed them on the bottom of the foot and checked that my version does, in fact, have the NVIDIA not the ATI that some models of the same year had.

Thanks so much in advance!

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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my imac works fine except for the fuzzy coloured lines on the screen, its a late 2009 imac

2 graphic cards are listed the nvidia 9400M and the ATI radeon 4670

Is the graphic card joined to the mother board?

which one should I buy?

Thanks

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@colour dreads No one will give you a better answer than a specialized service

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Apple created two versions of the logic board. One with a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor that shares memory with the system or an ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256 MB of dedicated GDDR3 memory.

The ATI Radeon HD 4670 would be a better logic board to get.

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What can you upgrade to if you already have the ATI Radeon HD 4670?

I have a Late 2009 21.5"

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Not really ;-{

You really need to move up to an i Series CPU (i5 or i7) based system.

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what about the mxm cards

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@Levi Dance - You are limited by the systems cooling design on what will work effectively. To add to it the systems CPU will hold you back as the Core 2 Duo CPU's are not powerful enough for any serious graphics work. as well as the systems SATA ports limitations.

I would strongly recommend look at getting a newer used system if you need more powerful graphics.

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