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Reading this on 2017 iMac 27" - is the first 5k iMac that couldn't be used as a monitor after the computer inside is irrelevant. I hope EU will push for some l

Reading this on 2017 iMac 27" - is the first 5k iMac that couldn't be used as a monitor after the computer inside is irrelevant. I hope EU will push for some law that requires all AIO computers to work in monitor-only mode if internal hardware is no longer good enough or no longer supported by software updates. I love the 5k screen on this iMac but the CPU is too old for photo or video editing as software got so much slower over the years. I could have used this screen for many more years, but now it will hit landfill... Apple is only "green" in their presentations - in reality they care more about inifite sales only.

mikeatlas 2y ago
they offer free recycling of old hardware https://www.apple.com/shop/open/free_recycling https://www.apple.com/shop/open/free_recycling when you buy new hw see also https://www.apple.com/me/recycling/ https://www.apple.com/me/recycling/
- mihaaly 2y ago
  I hope they also plant one or two small trees somewhere! And promote the use of refillable water botles on campus!!
  - gljiva 2y ago
    I hope more companies start recycling their own products. It makes me sad to see so much valuable electronics, so many "totalled" cars just thrown away on the same heap as other rubbish (and old cars respectively). Such a waste of resources is surpassed only by war.
    - rvense 2y ago
      Recycling electronics basically means crushing them and extracting some of the minerals inside. A lot of them can't really be recovered, and of course all the electricity that was used to create it is still gone and the water used is still tainted. If you make electronics you should be forced to do everything humanly possible to extend its useful life.
    - jdietrich 2y ago
      Consumer electronics have a negative recycling value - the raw materials are worth significantly less than the extraction cost (in both financial and carbon terms), making recycling nothing but environmental theatre. If electronics manufacturers actually care about sustainability, they must extend the working life of the product by designing for longevity, repair and reuse. Apple have a very mixed track record in this respect. iMacs used to work as an external monitor when the in-built computer became obsolete, but that feature has been removed. Most components in an iPhone are locked to that device, preventing their re-use as spare parts. Apple computers are almost entirely non-upgradeable, greatly limiting their potential useful lifespan.
  - jjtheblunt 2y ago
    Not sure if you're kidding, but around 2014 on campus we all got reusable water bottles, and I still of course have mine, as they're useful (and less wasteful).
    - tsunamifury 2y ago
      [flagged]
    - mihaaly 2y ago
      [facepalm]
  - dagmx 2y ago
    From earlier this year in fact https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2024/03/apples-restore-fund-cultivates-new-roots-in-the-atlantic-forest/ https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2024/03/apples-restore-fun...
  - nozzlegear 2y ago
    I mean, yeah. This but unironically.
- dolni 2y ago
  There is a reason that the old saying is "reduce, reuse, recycle". The effectiveness is in that order: reduce consumption, reuse what you have, and recycle what you can no longer use. There is a very straightforward opportunity here for Apple to enable "reuse". They absolutely should be doing that.
  - dialup_sounds 2y ago
    Can you name an example of an AIO (or laptop) usable as a display?
    - reverius42 2y ago
      I can't even name one other than an iMac that I would want to use. The whole reason to want to use the older 27" 5k iMac is that it's an incredible display. Better than you can buy, other than the 27" Apple Studio Display.
    - dolni 2y ago
      This video describes one: https://youtu.be/UJrdKKmb9tQ https://youtu.be/UJrdKKmb9tQ
Mistletoe 2y ago
Don’t landfill it please sell on eBay or locally. Crazy people like me that love the monitors and just surf the web will buy them. I was awestruck the other day how much I would have to spend to exceed the monitor quality on our ancient iMac. I bought a modern 4k one and it was still worse. They really put the magic in those old 5k monitors.
rzzzt 2y ago
If you have the inclination and skills, it can be converted to an absolutely-zero-smartness display using an LCD driver board (this example conversion log used the A1419's housing with a separately purchased display panel): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/diy-5k-monitor-success.2253100/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/diy-5k-monitor-success....
- jibbers 2y ago
  Absolutely do this. I built one and use it connected to a MacBook Pro. Building it was straightforward and 99% plug-and-play.
  - crazygringo 2y ago
    Someone needs to turn iMac-to-monitor conversion into a small business. At least in major cities, since packing up an iMac for shipping is not easy or fun if you don't have the original box anymore.
  - anthonypz 2y ago
    Very interesting! How much did it cost you?
    - jibbers 2y ago
      It was about $250 all said and done. I got lucky and got the iMac for free, though even if I had purchased the Mac it would still be more affordable than Apple's Studio Display.
hggigg 2y ago
We shovelled 100 of them into a van last year to be shredded. It’s terrible. I had no say or control over that before anyone shits the bed. I bought a studio display to get out of that. That has spares available and is repairable as well. It’s getting its second computer shortly.
jjtheblunt 2y ago
> Apple is only "green" in their presentations - in reality they care more about inifite sales only. needs citation. I say this as someone who worked several years in engineering at Apple, and they were extremely environmentally conscientious years before it was a thing.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- matrix2003 2y ago
  I send all my old stuff for recycling now and get a gift card in return. They just did this for my ancient iPad that won’t even run the latest iPadOS. I go on a site, pop in the serial number, and they ship me a box for free with a return label. I basically got $45 for an incredibly slow brick, so I’d say that’s pretty good incentive for their recycling program. Sure, you could install Linux and upcycle it, but how many people are actually going to do that? I think the recycling program is actually great for the 95%+ of people and how they use their devices.
  - zh3 2y ago
    Not in the UK; my iPad was unreliable from the off, eventually it was crashing 4 minutes after starting it. Trying to trade it in just got a message along the lines of "It can still have a good second life, go find a responsible recycler and give it to them. Have a Nice Day!". Unlikely to ever buy an Apple product again.
    - matrix2003 2y ago
      Are other companies much better in this regard?
      - zh3 2y ago
        It was disappointing to get unreliable hardware from a supposedly premium vendor, but it happens. It was the attitude and service that turned me off Apple though, not the hardware (which really should be more reliable than cheaper alternatives).
seam_carver 2y ago
Please don't landfill it. Recycle it responsibibly once it's lifetime is over by recycling it to Apple or taking it to a local electronics recycler like Best Buy.
- throwaway48476 2y ago
  It's reduce, reuse, recycle. And recycle is last for a reason.
knolan 2y ago
I went from a 2560x1600 27” 2012 iMac to a 5K 2015 iMac. The 2015 model was the first not to offer target display mode, so it’s even worse than you say. For a while I ran the 2012 as a second display for the 2015. The 2012 iMac is long gone, passed to a friend, but I still daily drive the 2015 5K. I’m interested in the new iMac but the 24” screen feels like a downgrade. The 27” studio display seems like a nice option but for similar money I get an extra computer in a smaller screen. Naturally I could buy a cheap monitor but I don’t want to.
- e1g 2y ago
  I used your iMac as the daily driver for years, and now use the 27” Studio Display. I don’t know what’s more frustrating: that it’s still effectively the same panel 10 years later, or that it’s still the best one (for reasonable money).
  - knolan 2y ago
    I was tempted to gut it and stick in a display driver board but that comes with a risk of destroying the thing. It’s still running fine and I could find use for it elsewhere. But you’re right. It’s a damned fine display.
chirau 2y ago
If you have no intent to use it longer, please do let me know. I am always looking for machines, books etc to give to my former high school in southern Africa. I'm in the US and can get it shipped
alexsmirnov 2y ago
In a similar situation ( mine is iMac 2019 ), I just added Linux box with 8x Xeon cores and Nvidia GPU. I use iMac as remote VNC / X11 client for that server. It still good enough for web browsing, email, and heavy tasks offloaded to Linux server. I do mostly ML / software build, no video editing though.
kome 2y ago
please, sell it. don't trash it! a computer from 2017 is still perfect for most people, and especially for hackers. there is a market for computers that are barely 7 years old. i am writing this from a macbook pro from 2012, and it's my daily driver. macs are really amazing machines (i guess there's a bit of luck involved, but they are in general very solid).
jerich 2y ago
Apple should hire a couple hackers to create “end-of-life” firmware for their obsolete devices; give them new life as super-specialized devices. Part green program, part customer delight, even some wacky art projects. Maybe if an iMac doesn’t have a video input—have it boot as an AirPlay-only monitor. I’ve got 2 old EOL appleTV boxes sitting in a drawer—again, one last firmware update to make them dedicated AirPlay receivers. Take my 2011 MacBook Air and make it a dedicated Notes machine/word processor—all it does it run notes and sync with iCloud. Obsolete iPad picture frame is an obvious one. They can work on the “Reuse” side of the 3R’s of waste reduction (with reduce and recycle, right?) PS, I’m available, 9 years embedded SW experience ;)
- prettyStandard 2y ago
  That would be amazing. This reminds me of the offline email client HP built on EFI. Cathode Ray Dude - https://youtu.be/ssob-7sGVWs?si=qjyf5lm_9PrzPPeE https://youtu.be/ssob-7sGVWs?si=qjyf5lm_9PrzPPeE
  - dijit 2y ago
    Oh god, I have one of those laptops on my shelf. Such a wild feature.
- Reason077 2y ago
  > "Apple should hire a couple hackers to create “end-of-life” firmware for their obsolete devices; give them new life as super-specialized devices." They've actually done this in a few cases! There's a whole generation of obsolete Airport Express Wifi base stations that got a final firmware update which gave them AirPlay 2 functionality. Now they're still quite sought after as a device to make old stereos/speakers wirelessly compatible with the latest Apple devices. Especially if you have stereo eqipment that can take optical (TOSLINK) audio input.
  - j45 2y ago
    Handy, I hope I have mine still!
stuartd 2y ago
It can be done, and if my 2016 IMac dies then I am going to do it. An amazing display. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Convert+an+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2639+into+an+HDMI+Monitor/165631 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Convert+an+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+E...
ray__ 2y ago
I solved this with a ~$200 driver board from AliExpress. I love the result because it's thinner than any other monitor that I own and I can swap between my MacBook Pro and my desktop machine (running either Windows or Linux). Obviously this requires a little bit of tinkering and the end result isn't nicely packaged like a factory Apple product would be, but it only took about half an hour to put together and I haven't had any issues with the driver board yet. And it was way cheaper than a "Retina" display from Apple or LG.
- JKCalhoun 2y ago
  I solved it by not updating the OS or apps. I stopped updating at Mountain Lion. My older iMac is my scanning and photo editing Mac. A flatbed scanner is permanently attached and Photos from Mountain Lion is still useable. In fact the retouch tool is actually faster (Photos experienced a serious performance regression for the retouch tool soon after Mountain Lion).
- YooLi 2y ago
  Can you give any details of the driver board or possibly a link? Thanks in advance.
  - chriscjcj 2y ago
    This may help: https://khronokernel.com/macos/2022/03/01/5K-MONITOR.html https://khronokernel.com/macos/2022/03/01/5K-MONITOR.html https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Convert+an+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2639+into+an+HDMI+Monitor/165631 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Convert+an+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+E... https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802134515555.html https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802134515555.html https://blog.lewislovelock.com/turning-an-5k-imac-into-a-monitor https://blog.lewislovelock.com/turning-an-5k-imac-into-a-mon... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203666708700?var=504097344943 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203666708700?var=504097344943 https://mschmitt.org/blog/convert-5k-27-imac-external-display-usb-c/ https://mschmitt.org/blog/convert-5k-27-imac-external-displa... https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802548599862.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802548599862.html?gateway...
  - 2y ago
ruined 2y ago
the first 5k imac was actually a 2014 release. i got mine used much later, and eventually gave it away to a friend a couple months ago this year. i was pretty frustrated by the limitation and did research on converting it, before the kits were widely available. during design and manufacturing of the initial 2014 release, there wasn't any off-the-shelf control board capable of driving the display. so internally, there's a customized controller with a specialized 5k mode that appears as two hardware displays, using two displayport channels for interlaced lines. a custom driver presents it as a single logical display to the OS (this is why windows support required a custom driver, and linux still has no support). so i think primarily the reason they didn't set up target display mode is that they barely got it to work on its own. target display mode would have required significantly more development. consider that DP didn't even announce protocol specs that could support the 5k resolution or tiled displays until a month before the imac release. 5k imac release, oct 16: https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093037/https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2014/10/16Apple-Introduces-27-inch-iMac-with-Retina-5K-Display/ https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093037/https://www.apple... vesa dp1.3 announced, sept 15: https://www.displayport.org/pr/vesa-releases-displayport-1-3-standard/ https://www.displayport.org/pr/vesa-releases-displayport-1-3... but yes, disappointingly, later 5k imac releases didn't restore the feature. at this point they have 'sidecar' and i guess they consider that a solution.
thumbsup-_- 2y ago
I have this 2017 iMac and I hate that I can't use it as an external display. Felt it more during covid since I wanted to plug my work laptop on it and it as an external display. That said, this display is old and I feel it more now when editing/viewing HDR videos. Though it was one of the top displays till a few yrs back
grishka 2y ago
> the CPU is too old for photo or video editing as software got so much slower over the years Unless you need to render 4K or 8K video, why won't you just use older software?
anigbrowl 2y ago
the CPU is too old for photo or video editing as software got so much slower over the years. I could have used this screen for many more years, but now it will hit landfill. It's not really too slow. If you're a professional and must use the latest software to turn jobs around fast and meet client expectations, use the machine for administration, coding, or just wipe it and sell it to someone else. Why would you put a working machine in the trash?
Daz1 2y ago
Why did you stupidly buy a product you KNEW would eventually land you in this situation?
brookst 2y ago
What 2017 era display protocol would you have had them include?
worthless-trash 2y ago
I believe Juicy Crumb (I'm not affiliated) offers an option that may allow you to use that 5k screen. See https://juicycrumb.com/?v=8bcc25c96aa5 https://juicycrumb.com/?v=8bcc25c96aa5
danielfoster 2y ago
Not that this issue is not important, but I hope the EU has more pressing issues to work on.
dwayne_dibley 2y ago
This surprises me I have a 2013 iMac that is solely used as an external monitor. Did they take a step backwards ?
ChildOfChaos 2y ago
I am in the same boat as I have an iMac 2015, although I specced it up from Apple at the time and it's just about holding on. You can buy something like the camlink 4k from elgato which will give it a HDMI via video capture. I'm actually typing this now on a windows laptop that is connected to this. It just means you need to boot the Mac and run the app, put it full screen and then you are done. The fans go like crazy though and obviously you need a working Mac. I love this machine, but when it's time to upgrade, i'm going back to a seperate monitor setup for this reason. Maybe a studio display + mini.
jmull 2y ago
No 5K iMacs had target display mode, I think. If the EU had mandated it, the 5K iMac may not have existed, would have been delayed if it did (to wait for display port 1.3 to be viable), and would have been more expensive. Just understand what you’re asking for. Anyway, why have an AIO if that’s not what you want. Sell the iMac an upgrade to something else.
poulpy123 2y ago
Apple is an US company, it's the role of the US to intervene. There is so much that the EU can do, especially when being less and less relevant technologically
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

mikeatlas 2y ago

they offer free recycling of old hardware https://www.apple.com/shop/open/free_recycling https://www.apple.com/shop/open/free_recycling when you buy new hw see also https://www.apple.com/me/recycling/ https://www.apple.com/me/recycling/

mihaaly 2y ago
I hope they also plant one or two small trees somewhere! And promote the use of refillable water botles on campus!!
- gljiva 2y ago
  I hope more companies start recycling their own products. It makes me sad to see so much valuable electronics, so many "totalled" cars just thrown away on the same heap as other rubbish (and old cars respectively). Such a waste of resources is surpassed only by war.
  - rvense 2y ago
    Recycling electronics basically means crushing them and extracting some of the minerals inside. A lot of them can't really be recovered, and of course all the electricity that was used to create it is still gone and the water used is still tainted. If you make electronics you should be forced to do everything humanly possible to extend its useful life.
  - jdietrich 2y ago
    Consumer electronics have a negative recycling value - the raw materials are worth significantly less than the extraction cost (in both financial and carbon terms), making recycling nothing but environmental theatre. If electronics manufacturers actually care about sustainability, they must extend the working life of the product by designing for longevity, repair and reuse. Apple have a very mixed track record in this respect. iMacs used to work as an external monitor when the in-built computer became obsolete, but that feature has been removed. Most components in an iPhone are locked to that device, preventing their re-use as spare parts. Apple computers are almost entirely non-upgradeable, greatly limiting their potential useful lifespan.
- jjtheblunt 2y ago
  Not sure if you're kidding, but around 2014 on campus we all got reusable water bottles, and I still of course have mine, as they're useful (and less wasteful).
  - tsunamifury 2y ago
    [flagged]
  - mihaaly 2y ago
    [facepalm]
- dagmx 2y ago
  From earlier this year in fact https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2024/03/apples-restore-fund-cultivates-new-roots-in-the-atlantic-forest/ https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2024/03/apples-restore-fun...
- nozzlegear 2y ago
  I mean, yeah. This but unironically.
dolni 2y ago
There is a reason that the old saying is "reduce, reuse, recycle". The effectiveness is in that order: reduce consumption, reuse what you have, and recycle what you can no longer use. There is a very straightforward opportunity here for Apple to enable "reuse". They absolutely should be doing that.
- dialup_sounds 2y ago
  Can you name an example of an AIO (or laptop) usable as a display?
  - reverius42 2y ago
    I can't even name one other than an iMac that I would want to use. The whole reason to want to use the older 27" 5k iMac is that it's an incredible display. Better than you can buy, other than the 27" Apple Studio Display.
  - dolni 2y ago
    This video describes one: https://youtu.be/UJrdKKmb9tQ https://youtu.be/UJrdKKmb9tQ

Mistletoe 2y ago

Don’t landfill it please sell on eBay or locally. Crazy people like me that love the monitors and just surf the web will buy them. I was awestruck the other day how much I would have to spend to exceed the monitor quality on our ancient iMac. I bought a modern 4k one and it was still worse. They really put the magic in those old 5k monitors.

rzzzt 2y ago

If you have the inclination and skills, it can be converted to an absolutely-zero-smartness display using an LCD driver board (this example conversion log used the A1419's housing with a separately purchased display panel): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/diy-5k-monitor-success.2253100/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/diy-5k-monitor-success....

jibbers 2y ago
Absolutely do this. I built one and use it connected to a MacBook Pro. Building it was straightforward and 99% plug-and-play.
- crazygringo 2y ago
  Someone needs to turn iMac-to-monitor conversion into a small business. At least in major cities, since packing up an iMac for shipping is not easy or fun if you don't have the original box anymore.
- anthonypz 2y ago
  Very interesting! How much did it cost you?
  - jibbers 2y ago
    It was about $250 all said and done. I got lucky and got the iMac for free, though even if I had purchased the Mac it would still be more affordable than Apple's Studio Display.

hggigg 2y ago

We shovelled 100 of them into a van last year to be shredded. It’s terrible. I had no say or control over that before anyone shits the bed. I bought a studio display to get out of that. That has spares available and is repairable as well. It’s getting its second computer shortly.

jjtheblunt 2y ago

> Apple is only "green" in their presentations - in reality they care more about inifite sales only. needs citation. I say this as someone who worked several years in engineering at Apple, and they were extremely environmentally conscientious years before it was a thing.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
matrix2003 2y ago
I send all my old stuff for recycling now and get a gift card in return. They just did this for my ancient iPad that won’t even run the latest iPadOS. I go on a site, pop in the serial number, and they ship me a box for free with a return label. I basically got $45 for an incredibly slow brick, so I’d say that’s pretty good incentive for their recycling program. Sure, you could install Linux and upcycle it, but how many people are actually going to do that? I think the recycling program is actually great for the 95%+ of people and how they use their devices.
- zh3 2y ago
  Not in the UK; my iPad was unreliable from the off, eventually it was crashing 4 minutes after starting it. Trying to trade it in just got a message along the lines of "It can still have a good second life, go find a responsible recycler and give it to them. Have a Nice Day!". Unlikely to ever buy an Apple product again.
  - matrix2003 2y ago
    Are other companies much better in this regard?
    - zh3 2y ago
      It was disappointing to get unreliable hardware from a supposedly premium vendor, but it happens. It was the attitude and service that turned me off Apple though, not the hardware (which really should be more reliable than cheaper alternatives).

seam_carver 2y ago

Please don't landfill it. Recycle it responsibibly once it's lifetime is over by recycling it to Apple or taking it to a local electronics recycler like Best Buy.

throwaway48476 2y ago
It's reduce, reuse, recycle. And recycle is last for a reason.

knolan 2y ago

I went from a 2560x1600 27” 2012 iMac to a 5K 2015 iMac. The 2015 model was the first not to offer target display mode, so it’s even worse than you say. For a while I ran the 2012 as a second display for the 2015. The 2012 iMac is long gone, passed to a friend, but I still daily drive the 2015 5K. I’m interested in the new iMac but the 24” screen feels like a downgrade. The 27” studio display seems like a nice option but for similar money I get an extra computer in a smaller screen. Naturally I could buy a cheap monitor but I don’t want to.

e1g 2y ago
I used your iMac as the daily driver for years, and now use the 27” Studio Display. I don’t know what’s more frustrating: that it’s still effectively the same panel 10 years later, or that it’s still the best one (for reasonable money).
- knolan 2y ago
  I was tempted to gut it and stick in a display driver board but that comes with a risk of destroying the thing. It’s still running fine and I could find use for it elsewhere. But you’re right. It’s a damned fine display.

chirau 2y ago

If you have no intent to use it longer, please do let me know. I am always looking for machines, books etc to give to my former high school in southern Africa. I'm in the US and can get it shipped

alexsmirnov 2y ago

In a similar situation ( mine is iMac 2019 ), I just added Linux box with 8x Xeon cores and Nvidia GPU. I use iMac as remote VNC / X11 client for that server. It still good enough for web browsing, email, and heavy tasks offloaded to Linux server. I do mostly ML / software build, no video editing though.

kome 2y ago

please, sell it. don't trash it! a computer from 2017 is still perfect for most people, and especially for hackers. there is a market for computers that are barely 7 years old. i am writing this from a macbook pro from 2012, and it's my daily driver. macs are really amazing machines (i guess there's a bit of luck involved, but they are in general very solid).

jerich 2y ago

Apple should hire a couple hackers to create “end-of-life” firmware for their obsolete devices; give them new life as super-specialized devices. Part green program, part customer delight, even some wacky art projects. Maybe if an iMac doesn’t have a video input—have it boot as an AirPlay-only monitor. I’ve got 2 old EOL appleTV boxes sitting in a drawer—again, one last firmware update to make them dedicated AirPlay receivers. Take my 2011 MacBook Air and make it a dedicated Notes machine/word processor—all it does it run notes and sync with iCloud. Obsolete iPad picture frame is an obvious one. They can work on the “Reuse” side of the 3R’s of waste reduction (with reduce and recycle, right?) PS, I’m available, 9 years embedded SW experience ;)

prettyStandard 2y ago
That would be amazing. This reminds me of the offline email client HP built on EFI. Cathode Ray Dude - https://youtu.be/ssob-7sGVWs?si=qjyf5lm_9PrzPPeE https://youtu.be/ssob-7sGVWs?si=qjyf5lm_9PrzPPeE
- dijit 2y ago
  Oh god, I have one of those laptops on my shelf. Such a wild feature.
Reason077 2y ago
> "Apple should hire a couple hackers to create “end-of-life” firmware for their obsolete devices; give them new life as super-specialized devices." They've actually done this in a few cases! There's a whole generation of obsolete Airport Express Wifi base stations that got a final firmware update which gave them AirPlay 2 functionality. Now they're still quite sought after as a device to make old stereos/speakers wirelessly compatible with the latest Apple devices. Especially if you have stereo eqipment that can take optical (TOSLINK) audio input.
- j45 2y ago
  Handy, I hope I have mine still!

stuartd 2y ago

It can be done, and if my 2016 IMac dies then I am going to do it. An amazing display. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Convert+an+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2639+into+an+HDMI+Monitor/165631 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Convert+an+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+E...

ray__ 2y ago

I solved this with a ~$200 driver board from AliExpress. I love the result because it's thinner than any other monitor that I own and I can swap between my MacBook Pro and my desktop machine (running either Windows or Linux). Obviously this requires a little bit of tinkering and the end result isn't nicely packaged like a factory Apple product would be, but it only took about half an hour to put together and I haven't had any issues with the driver board yet. And it was way cheaper than a "Retina" display from Apple or LG.

JKCalhoun 2y ago
I solved it by not updating the OS or apps. I stopped updating at Mountain Lion. My older iMac is my scanning and photo editing Mac. A flatbed scanner is permanently attached and Photos from Mountain Lion is still useable. In fact the retouch tool is actually faster (Photos experienced a serious performance regression for the retouch tool soon after Mountain Lion).
YooLi 2y ago
Can you give any details of the driver board or possibly a link? Thanks in advance.
- chriscjcj 2y ago
  This may help: https://khronokernel.com/macos/2022/03/01/5K-MONITOR.html https://khronokernel.com/macos/2022/03/01/5K-MONITOR.html https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Convert+an+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2639+into+an+HDMI+Monitor/165631 https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Convert+an+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+E... https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802134515555.html https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802134515555.html https://blog.lewislovelock.com/turning-an-5k-imac-into-a-monitor https://blog.lewislovelock.com/turning-an-5k-imac-into-a-mon... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203666708700?var=504097344943 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203666708700?var=504097344943 https://mschmitt.org/blog/convert-5k-27-imac-external-display-usb-c/ https://mschmitt.org/blog/convert-5k-27-imac-external-displa... https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802548599862.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256802548599862.html?gateway...
- 2y ago

ruined 2y ago

the first 5k imac was actually a 2014 release. i got mine used much later, and eventually gave it away to a friend a couple months ago this year. i was pretty frustrated by the limitation and did research on converting it, before the kits were widely available. during design and manufacturing of the initial 2014 release, there wasn't any off-the-shelf control board capable of driving the display. so internally, there's a customized controller with a specialized 5k mode that appears as two hardware displays, using two displayport channels for interlaced lines. a custom driver presents it as a single logical display to the OS (this is why windows support required a custom driver, and linux still has no support). so i think primarily the reason they didn't set up target display mode is that they barely got it to work on its own. target display mode would have required significantly more development. consider that DP didn't even announce protocol specs that could support the 5k resolution or tiled displays until a month before the imac release. 5k imac release, oct 16: https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093037/https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2014/10/16Apple-Introduces-27-inch-iMac-with-Retina-5K-Display/ https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093037/https://www.apple... vesa dp1.3 announced, sept 15: https://www.displayport.org/pr/vesa-releases-displayport-1-3-standard/ https://www.displayport.org/pr/vesa-releases-displayport-1-3... but yes, disappointingly, later 5k imac releases didn't restore the feature. at this point they have 'sidecar' and i guess they consider that a solution.

thumbsup-_- 2y ago

I have this 2017 iMac and I hate that I can't use it as an external display. Felt it more during covid since I wanted to plug my work laptop on it and it as an external display. That said, this display is old and I feel it more now when editing/viewing HDR videos. Though it was one of the top displays till a few yrs back

grishka 2y ago

> the CPU is too old for photo or video editing as software got so much slower over the years Unless you need to render 4K or 8K video, why won't you just use older software?

anigbrowl 2y ago

the CPU is too old for photo or video editing as software got so much slower over the years. I could have used this screen for many more years, but now it will hit landfill. It's not really too slow. If you're a professional and must use the latest software to turn jobs around fast and meet client expectations, use the machine for administration, coding, or just wipe it and sell it to someone else. Why would you put a working machine in the trash?

Daz1 2y ago

Why did you stupidly buy a product you KNEW would eventually land you in this situation?

brookst 2y ago

What 2017 era display protocol would you have had them include?

worthless-trash 2y ago

I believe Juicy Crumb (I'm not affiliated) offers an option that may allow you to use that 5k screen. See https://juicycrumb.com/?v=8bcc25c96aa5 https://juicycrumb.com/?v=8bcc25c96aa5

danielfoster 2y ago

Not that this issue is not important, but I hope the EU has more pressing issues to work on.

dwayne_dibley 2y ago

This surprises me I have a 2013 iMac that is solely used as an external monitor. Did they take a step backwards ?

ChildOfChaos 2y ago

I am in the same boat as I have an iMac 2015, although I specced it up from Apple at the time and it's just about holding on. You can buy something like the camlink 4k from elgato which will give it a HDMI via video capture. I'm actually typing this now on a windows laptop that is connected to this. It just means you need to boot the Mac and run the app, put it full screen and then you are done. The fans go like crazy though and obviously you need a working Mac. I love this machine, but when it's time to upgrade, i'm going back to a seperate monitor setup for this reason. Maybe a studio display + mini.

jmull 2y ago

No 5K iMacs had target display mode, I think. If the EU had mandated it, the 5K iMac may not have existed, would have been delayed if it did (to wait for display port 1.3 to be viable), and would have been more expensive. Just understand what you’re asking for. Anyway, why have an AIO if that’s not what you want. Sell the iMac an upgrade to something else.

poulpy123 2y ago

Apple is an US company, it's the role of the US to intervene. There is so much that the EU can do, especially when being less and less relevant technologically

deleted 2y ago

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