Can I replace the ATI Radeon HD4670 x 256MB Graphics Card from my Late 2009 model iMac 21.5" EMC 2308 with a SAPPHIRE ATI Radeon HD4670 Graphics Card PCI-Express 1GB GDDR3 DVI HDMI VGA from a nondescript computer with a MSI Motherboard and AMD4 CPU
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According to Everymac, this iMac shipped only with a NVIDIA GeForce 9400M or a ATI Radeon HD 4670, anything else might give troubles - MacRumors has a thread about this, iMac 2009 to 2011 MXM3 graphics card upgrade, read it carefully. It contains instructions on how to use a generic graphics card on a iMac, ranging from hardware installation to software configuration (it's not a plug n'play process). Do it at your own risk.
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To add to dinoo_fixit’s answer the macOS graphics driver will run in compatibility mode, you won’t get full performance of the better GPU board.
@danj Theoretically it is possible to get better performance than with a "approved" card, but as per the thread above is not trivial
@dinoo_fixit - The rub here is the version of MXM interface the given system has. Using an MXM III board in a MXM I or MXM II system won’t give you the MXM III performance and the Apple driver per the given OS-X or macOS will be a strong factor as well.
Here the 2009 system is running an MXM II board and High Sierra 10.13.x as the highest supported release. And lastly the power supply wattage also limits you (21.5”) and lastly the cooling system would be undersized.
As the OP is sticking to the correct board the bigger hurdle is the cards firmware (ATI Radeon HD4670) as Apple has a custom version.
@danj Yes, it should be possible to flash the card with a firmware for Apple PCs (here the opposite had been done https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/doe...)
@dinoo_fixit - Yep, I’ve done it a few times. Even still it requires an EEROM programmer and access to the needed code.
The OP expectation may have thought this was a simple task.
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