Other How to increase vRAM for HD3000 graphics

[mr_fiskare]

I made pre-patched IntelHD3000 gpu kext with any VRAM increase combinations, you can use the zip package uploaded here:

IntelHD3000 VRAM increase pre-patched HighSierra/Mojave/Catalina

they are already tested to work with HighSierra, Mojave and Catalina.

Before replace the patched files, open a Terminal and run this: sudo mount -uw / ; killall Finder

After you replaced the patched files, open Terminal and copy/paste this one line at once:

sudo chown -R 0:0 /System/Library/Extensions
sudo chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions

sudo kextcache -i /
(this will take a while to complete)

sudo reboot

I'm having occasional freezes with High Sierra. Would this hack stop them?

 

[jackluke]

I'm having occasional freezes with High Sierra. Would this hack stop them?

Your issue could be addressed to other things as bad RAM stick, bad hdd SMART, but you could try anyway the vram increase, after you can restore to stock values, I included in that zip folder also an unpatched intelhd3000 driver.

 

[suki2233]

1. Disable SIP on recovery mode;
2. Download https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/osx-integrated-graphics-update-to-1gb-vram-zip.624377/
3. Copy its files on the desktop and run KextBeast
4. Restart the computer
5. Now you will have 1024MB

After doing the above steps, you can increase from 1024 MB to 2048 MB with these terminal script:

1. cd /S*/L*/Ext*/AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext/C*/M*

2. sudo cp AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.backup

3. sudo perl -pi -e 's|\xC7\x45\xBC\x00\x00\x00\x40|\xc7\x45\xBC\x00\x00\x00\x80|g' AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB

4. sudo touch /S*/L*/Extensions

Now restart the computer, and you will have 2048MB

thank you
this works awesome, but there is a way to get 3072?

 

[suki2233]

Use Kext utility to clear clear caches and rebuild the bindings.. then reboot. It should work. Mine shows 1536MB.

how????

 

[Macbookprodude]

I want to add that under Catalina it may cause an issue where your intel graphics will be disabled. I am not sure why it does this. But, I decided to dump 2012 and 2011 and got a new 2015 MacBook Pro.

 

[Aki007]

There is one byte of difference with the main thread post.
I haven't modified any plist nor touching AppleIntelHD3000.kext, patching the SNB Framebuffer will be suffice.

For High Sierra 10.13.x try this method, it will work to increase IntelHD3000 VRAM from 384 MB to 1024 MB:

Launch Terminal then type:

cd /S*/L*/Ext*/AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext/C*/M*
sudo cp AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.backup
sudo perl -pi -e 's|\xC7\x45\xD0\x00\x00\x00\x18|\xC7\x45\xD0\x00\x00\x00\x40|g' AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB
sudo touch /S*/L*/Extensions
sudo reboot

If your stock VRAM is 512 MB, use this other script valid if you have an higher RAM quantity installed:

cd /S*/L*/Ext*/AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext/C*/M*
sudo cp AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.backup
sudo perl -pi -e 's|\xC7\x45\xD0\x00\x00\x00\x20|\xC7\x45\xD0\x00\x00\x00\x40|g' AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB
sudo touch /S*/L*/Extensions
sudo reboot

edit:
Already tested and working even replacing the hex byte 40 in 60 will give you 1536 MB VRAM, HighSierra system graphically is faster and smooth I would say from 30-50fps to 60fps in animation rendering.
Setting the byte in 80 increases the shared VRAM up to 2 GB but I'd won't go over 1536 MB, that seems the maximum limit by apple on IntelHDx000 series.
But if want to increase up to 2048 MB VRAM use instead of 40 the hex byte 80

Firstly thank you for taking the trouble to be so helpful.

I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro 13'' i5 2.3MHz with 8GB 1333MHz RAM. My stock VRAM is 512 MB.

I'm running Mac OS High Sierra (10.13.6).

My SSD is an INTEL SSDSC2CW240A3.

I am an architect and use AutoCAD Mac 2015 and also use RIHNO 6, both CAD.

I'm waiting for Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB 1600MHz) High Performance Laptop Memory Upgrade Kit to arrive in the post shortly.

After reading all the posts on this thread I decided to bump up the VRAM to 1536 MB.

Does your patch incorporate what was discovered in posts #18 and #20?

I don't want to make a mistake and have little experience in using the Terminal, so it help me, immensely, if you just let me know what to do step by step.

Thanks in anticipation!

 

[jackluke]

Use this: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...unsupported-macs-thread.2121473/post-26343097

Even if is written for Mojave, they are kext from HighSierra 10.13.6 .

 

[Aki007]

Use this: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...unsupported-macs-thread.2121473/post-26343097

Even if is written for Mojave, they are kext from HighSierra 10.13.6 .

Thank you - I'm now travelling at Mach 1.5!

 

[Macbookprodude]

Thank you - I'm now travelling at Mach 1.5!

BTW, I am giving you a warning about this hack - if YOU USE Catalina, and your have sip DISABLED, it will not work and under system profiler you will see INTEL 4000 as disabled kext. Personally, I wouldn't even bother as I saw no increase in performance. But, I have moved to a 2015 MacBook Pro where I don't need to do such modification and none exist anyway for my model.
[automerge]1587092709[/automerge]

Use this: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...unsupported-macs-thread.2121473/post-26343097

Even if is written for Mojave, they are kext from HighSierra 10.13.6 .

Still, I think its not worth it under Catalina - remember my issue where sip DISABLED also shut off the kext ? Besides, I am on a 2015 MacBook Pro. Hopefully, Dosdude will make an app which will allow 2015 users when the time comes to run OS X 10.20.
[automerge]1587092768[/automerge]

thank you
this works awesome, but there is a way to get 3072?

The max is 2GB - 2048. Anything higher may cause system problems.

 

[Aki007]

BTW, I am giving you a warning about this hack - if YOU USE Catalina, and your have sip DISABLED, it will not work and under system profiler you will see INTEL 4000 as disabled kext. Personally, I wouldn't even bother as I saw no increase in performance. But, I have moved to a 2015 MacBook Pro where I don't need to do such modification and none exist anyway for my model.
[automerge]1587092709[/automerge]


Still, I think its not worth it under Catalina - remember my issue where sip DISABLED also shut off the kext ? Besides, I am on a 2015 MacBook Pro. Hopefully, Dosdude will make an app which will allow 2015 users when the time comes to run OS X 10.20.
[automerge]1587092768[/automerge]


The max is 2GB - 2048. Anything higher may cause system problems.

Thanks for the note, but I have INTEL 3000 in High Sierra and don't know whether it's the placebo effect . . . but the machine feels a lot more stable with AutoCAD. Yesterday I successfully opened and manipulated a 3D model that I previously could not whilst having a 300 page PDF binder open on Acrobat simultaneously . . . and all being displayed on a 27'' Thunderbolt Cinema Display. It's feels more capable and that is good enough for me. As for the SIP, I've immediately re-enabled it after the script.

The next step is a new machine, but this hack has allowed me to continue doing what I need to do on this 9 year old, which is something!

 

[Macbookprodude]

Thanks for the note, but I have INTEL 3000 in High Sierra and don't know whether it's the placebo effect . . . but the machine feels a lot more stable with AutoCAD. Yesterday I successfully opened and manipulated a 3D model that I previously could not whilst having a 300 page PDF binder open on Acrobat simultaneously . . . and all being displayed on a 27'' Thunderbolt Cinema Display. It's feels more capable and that is good enough for me. As for the SIP, I've immediately re-enabled it after the script.

The next step is a new machine, but this hack has allowed me to continue doing what I need to do on this 9 year old, which is something!

Oh, then you are ok. As the hack goes back to Sierra for 2012 MacBook Pro(HD 4000) and HD 3000 2011 MacBook Pro. But, I tried it on Catalina and it breaks it. But, yes It should be fine on Sierra and High Sierra.

 

[VaZ]

BRILLIANT !!

 

[Aki007]

But do you note any tangible change in performance?

 

[Macbookprodude]

But do you note any tangible change in performance?

No, not really anything substantial.

 

[alexjholland]

BRILLIANT !!
View attachment 919191 View attachment 919192

How did you get Mojave on a 2011 MBP?

And how stable does it run?

I REALLY want dark mode!

 

[VaZ]

How did you get Mojave on a 2011 MBP?

And how stable does it run?

I REALLY want dark mode!

Super stable. Hasn't crashed since √

 

[alexjholland]

Super stable. Hasn't crashed in over a year with it now.
I haven't ran any benchmarks but in vmware i can select more vram to windows now.

Which technique did you use to get Mojave on there?

Can you do system updates and use external gear, like soundcards OK?

I'd love to get Mojave... but given I use my MacBook to run my business I wonder if it's sensible...

 

[Macbookprodude]

If you depend on your computer fir business, use native supported OS X versions.. this is to protect your system and business. Now, for home use ? Go ahead and try to install Mojave or Catalina.

 

[dr.zeissler]

...

 

[Bill ✯ Evans]

Had to join just to say thanks! My late 2011 MBP has served me well with ram and SSD upgrades, but the past few weeks it has been an arse running Logic with anything heavy-duty taking place. I wanted to update the programme as well but it wasn't compatible until I found a way to install Catalina. Catalina is running fine and seemed to help a little with logic lagging but I also wondered about improving the HD3000 and having done it this evening I ran the same project files with zero glitching/crashing etc even at the lowest buffer size! Hopefully, this means I won't be going out to buy a new Mac just yet! Once again a big thank you!

 

[LongVCap]

Macbook Pro 15" Early 2011 - failed AMD GPU - works only Intel HD 3000.

High Sierra 10.13.6 - Intel GPU 512 MB vRAM to 1024 vRAM


1 - Boot Recovery Mode (press Command + R keys at boot)

2 - Menu Utilities -> Terminal

3 - Disable SIP and reboot

csrutil disable

reboot

4 - Boot normal


5 - Make backup AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.

cd /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext/Contents/MacOS/

sudo cp -v AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.backup

6 - Modify AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB executable - 512 MB to 1024 with perl command. Thanks jackluke .

sudo perl -pi -e 's|\xC7\x45\xD0\x00\x00\x00\x20|\xC7\x45\xD0\x00\x00\x00\x40|g' AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB

7 - Make copy Info.Plist and modify AppleIntelHD3000Graphics.kext/Contents/Info.plist with nano editor

cd /System/Library/Extensions/AppleIntelHD3000Graphics.kext/Contents/

sudo cp -v Info.plist Info.plist.backup

sudo nano Info.plist

8 - Add inside Info.plist (AppleIntelHD3000Graphics.kext)

<key>VRAMOverride</key>
<integer>0</integer>
<key>VRAMSize</key>
<integer>1024</integer>


9 - Exit nano editor: press CTRL + X

Message: Save modified buffer (ANSWERING "No" WILL DESTROY CHANGES) ?
Press Y key (YES)

Message: File Name to Write: Info.plist
Press ENTER to save Info.plist


10 - Change timestamp /System/Library/Extensions

sudo touch /System/Library/Extensions/

11 - Verify your system partition name. My example MacOS

ls /Volumes/

MacOS

12- Rebuild kextcache

kextcache -v 1 -u /Volumes/MacOS

12.1 - If it does not work, try this step in Single User Mode:
Boot Single User Mode (Press Command + S at boot)

12.2 - Verify file system

fsck -fy

12.3 - Mount system partition with Read and Write permissions. Do not forget the final Slash "/".

mount -uw /

12.4 - Rebuild kextcache. My example -> system partition name MacOS .

ls /Volumes/

MacOS

kextcache -v 1 -u /Volumes/MacOS

13 - Reboot Macbook Pro

sudo reboot now

14 - Boot normal and see
About this Mac:
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 1024 MB

15 - Install Open GL Extensions Viewer -> App Store and open
https://apps.apple.com/br/app/opengl-extensions-viewer/id444052073?l=en&mt=12

Video Memory: 1091 MB


16 - Reboot Macbook Pro

sudo reboot now

17 - Boot Recovery Mode (press Command + R keys at boot)

18 - Menu Utilities -> Terminal

19 - Enable SIP partially.
You have modified the AppleIntelHD3000Graphics.kext and
AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext. Now you have to disable the High Sierra from using only original kexts.

csrutil enable --without kext

reboot

20 - Boot normal

21 - Verify csrutil enable -without kext (Kext Signing: disabled)

csrutil status

System Integrity Protection status: enabled (Custom Configuration).

Configuration:
Apple Internal: disabled
Kext Signing: disabled
Filesystem Protections: enabled
Debugging Restrictions: enabled
DTrace Restrictions: enabled
NVRAM Protections: enabled
BaseSystem Verification: enabled
This is an unsupported configuration, likely to break in the future and leave your machine in an unknown state.

About this Mac has a false flag about video memory. Always confirm with the Open GL Extensions viewer app.

If you modify AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB.kext with the perl command and do not modify Info.plist (AppleIntelHD3000Graphics.kext):

About this Mac -> Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 1024 MB

Open GL Extensions Viewer -> Video Memory: 512 MB


Enabling parts of System Integrity Protection while disabling specific parts?
https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/17452

Hi guys, new here and having trouble finding confirmation for my set up.

I have a 15 inch early 2011 MBP (8,2) that I managed to revive disabling the AMD GPU (by manually removing the resistor and the EFI variable) like described here: https://realmacmods.com/macbook-2011-radeon-gpu-disable/ . I was wondering if I will still be able to boost my vram to 2gb on Sierra? Because it is clearly stated that the mod I did on my mbp will not survive a NVRAM reset. Btw, I upgraded to 16gb of RAM and have an SSD to boot + HD in optical bay.

Thank you all for the advice!

 

[dionnu]

Macbook Pro 15" Early 2011 - failed AMD GPU - works only Intel HD 3000.

High Sierra 10.13.6 - Intel GPU 512 MB vRAM to 1024 vRAM


1 - Boot Recovery Mode (press Command + R keys at boot)

...

My system:
Macbook Pro 17" late 2011 - failed AMD GPU - works only Intel HD 3000.
High Sierra 10.13.6 - Intel GPU 512 MB vRAM (Trying to get to 1024 vRAM)

Thanks nsgr for this comprehensive post!
I could follow this to the letter.

However, checking my Video Memory with OpenGL Extension Viewer it indicates 0 ...

This was before I tried to upgrade the VRAM.
Also after I tried to upgrade the VRAM, Video memory was still 0.
Which makes sense because I keep getting graphics glitches on my screen, no transparency, etc.

But why is there no VRAM allocated to the used GPU?

I have no idea why this is happening (it might have something to do with increasing temperatures or something, I don't know) but it keeps getting worse.

Was hoping to solve this whole issue with allocating more VRAM to the Intel HD3000 GPU but this does not seem to be the solution. I tried running an Apple Diagnostic which indicates an error with a temperature sensor. Not sure if this is related.

Is there a way to check if the Intel HD3000 GPU is properly working, or does anyone know how to fix this?

 

[VaZ]

My system:
Macbook Pro 17" late 2011 - failed AMD GPU - works only Intel HD 3000.
High Sierra 10.13.6 - Intel GPU 512 MB vRAM (Trying to get to 1024 vRAM)

Thanks nsgr for this comprehensive post!
I could follow this to the letter.

However, checking my Video Memory with OpenGL Extension Viewer it indicates 0 ...

View attachment 943145

This was before I tried to upgrade the VRAM.
Also after I tried to upgrade the VRAM, Video memory was still 0.
Which makes sense because I keep getting graphics glitches on my screen, no transparency, etc.

But why is there no VRAM allocated to the used GPU?

I have no idea why this is happening (it might have something to do with increasing temperatures or something, I don't know) but it keeps getting worse.

Was hoping to solve this whole issue with allocating more VRAM to the Intel HD3000 GPU but this does not seem to be the solution. I tried running an Apple Diagnostic which indicates an error with a temperature sensor. Not sure if this is related.

Is there a way to check if the Intel HD3000 GPU is properly working, or does anyone know how to fix this?

What does it show under your About This Mac and System Information under Graphics?

 

[dionnu]

What does it show under your About This Mac and System Information under Graphics?

Thanks for asking ...

On both it states Intel HD-video 3000 1024 MB VRAM. Which indicates to me the upgrade went oké.
Previously it was 512 MB video memory. Where OpenGL Extension Viewer also indicated: 0 ...

Even with the VRAM on 1024 MB, I keep getting glitches, no transparency, yellow distortion, etc.

 

[McMsc]

Hi, even reading some sucess stories and trying the scripts step by step nothing changes. Ist there an update after apple updates?
Followed:
csrutil ...
backup of *files
patching kext *SNB
patching in kext *HD3000 (shows the correct 1536MB in file)
reboot in single user mode...
kext utility success
...but still no change after reboot (512MB showing)