iMac 2010 - intel i3

[RandomHero804]

I have an intel i3 iMac 2010 that i rarely use. Something I would like to do is modify it to either (if possible) run a newer MacOS (might be a dumb thought) or somehow modify it to utilize its 21.5 in display as an external monitor. Are either of these things possible? And if so how difficult would it be to do?

[OddOod]

Welcome to the forums!
No and no.
There is no way to mod a mac to make it compatible with a new gen of OS that Glorious Apple has deemed it will not support
Unfortunately, based on the info you've given it's not Target Display Mode compatible.

[BondiBlue]

Here's answers to your two questions:

 

1) Yes, you can run newer versions of macOS on it. That's not a dumb thought or idea at all, and it's not hard to do. I'd suggest looking into OpenCore Legacy Patcher - from what I've heard it works very well on older Macs. You don't have to do any hardware modifications to use OCLP outside of very specific situations, but I don't think those apply to the 2010 21.5" iMac. It's mainly the GPU that causes some problems with later versions, but your iMac should be fine. 

 

2) Unfortunately you can't use that iMac as an external monitor by itself. It doesn't support Target Display Mode functionality - that was only available on the 27" 2010 iMac. You can use software to make use of it as a monitor (I've used Parsec to use older iMacs as secondary monitors in the past), but they can be hit or miss. The only reliable way to use it as a monitor is to gut the iMac and install a display controller board inside, which would render the computer part useless. Honestly I'm not sure if it would be worth it to spend much money on a controller board just to use an old 1080p display. 

 

10 minutes ago, OddOod said:

No and no.
There is no way to mod a mac to make it compatible with a new gen of OS that Glorious Apple has deemed it will not support

This is completely incorrect. Patching utilities have existed for many years now that allow older Macs to run later versions of macOS, and for the most part they work just fine. These days OCLP (OpenCore Legacy Patcher) is the way to go, and it should work without issue on the 2010 21.5" iMac that OP has. Here's a picture of a 2010 21.5" iMac that a friend of mine owns. It's running macOS Catalina, which is not supported by Apple on this iMac.

 

And here's a picture of a 2011 27" iMac running macOS Monterey:

[RandomHero804]

12 minutes ago, BondiBlue said:

Here's answers to your two questions:

 

1) Yes, you can run newer versions of macOS on it. That's not a dumb thought or idea at all, and it's not hard to do. I'd suggest looking into OpenCore Legacy Patcher - from what I've heard it works very well on older Macs. You don't have to do any hardware modifications to use OCLP outside of very specific situations, but I don't think those apply to the 2010 21.5" iMac. It's mainly the GPU that causes some problems with later versions, but your iMac should be fine. 

 

2) Unfortunately you can't use that iMac as an external monitor by itself. It doesn't support Target Display Mode functionality - that was only available on the 27" 2010 iMac. You can use software to make use of it as a monitor (I've used Parsec to use older iMacs as secondary monitors in the past), but they can be hit or miss. The only reliable way to use it as a monitor is to gut the iMac and install a display controller board inside, which would render the computer part useless. Honestly I'm not sure if it would be worth it to spend much money on a controller board just to use an old 1080p display. 

 

This is completely incorrect. Patching utilities have existed for many years now that allow older Macs to run later versions of macOS, and for the most part they work just fine. These days OCLP (OpenCore Legacy Patcher) is the way to go, and it should work without issue on the 2010 21.5" iMac that OP has. Here's a picture of a 2010 21.5" iMac that a friend of mine owns. It's running macOS Catalina, which is not supported by Apple on this iMac.

 

And here's a picture of a 2011 27" iMac running macOS Monterey:

Oh cool! I never knew about that. I'll have to check it it, thank you!

[E-waste]

On 1/27/2023 at 4:43 PM, OddOod said:

There is no way to mod a mac to make it compatible with a new gen of OS that Glorious Apple has deemed it will not support

NOT correct!

 

There are ways around this, look into patching mac os to run the newer software but also keep the drivers currently on the computer to work with the hardware that's abandoned by Apple with newer OS versions.

[OddOod]

On 1/27/2023 at 3:57 PM, BondiBlue said:

Yes

 

On 1/28/2023 at 8:09 PM, E-waste said:

NOT correct!

Thanks peeps!