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Can I install an ATI Radeon 6790 2GB in 21.5" iMac?

I would LOVE to know if I can upgrade from my current GPU - AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512MB - to the nicer card offered in the 27" iMac - the AMD Radeon HD 6970M 2GB GDDR5, but I can't find anyone who has accomplished this. Will the 6970M even fit in the 21.5" shell? Is it compatible with the existing hardware? And, most importantly, will installing the 6970M be likely to overheat the system? Please help! Thank you!

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Posted: Jun 1, 2012

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Unfortunately I do not believe it will fit or run inside of the smaller iMac. The card is a little bit longer in the 27" than in the 21.5" and it also needs more power to run. There also may be many firmware issues with the card because it isn't meant to run in that type of iMac. There are also heat concerns. The 27" iMac has more room for heat to disperse and a bigger heat sink to allow more heat to be blown out of the computer. I wouldn't try to upgrade the graphics card and I would instead buy an older Mac Pro, maybe used, to give you graphics upgrade capability. The only things in this iMac that can be changed are the ram, cpu, and hard drive. If it were me I wouldn't try to upgrade the card.

Hope this helps.

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2 Comments:

Well Owen, that wasn't what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the quick response!!

Jun 1, 2012 by Jason

You are both the only one with this question, I have seen many questions that ask the same thing and I have even asked a similar question but unfortunately the answer is no. I wish I could upgrade the graphics card because I love the size of the 21.5" iMacs but I wish they had more power.

Jun 1, 2012 by Owen Cunneely

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iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 2428

Can I install an ATI Radeon 6790 2GB in 21.5" iMac?

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