Jump to content

iMac 2010 - intel i3

RandomHero804
 Share
Posted

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?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

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.

5950X/3080Ti primary rig  |  1920X/1070Ti Unraid for dockers  |  200TB TrueNAS w/ 1:1 backup

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

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.

2010iMacCatalina.thumb.jpg.66863ebb2ce507c63dcbf4a4fff250b3.jpg

 

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

2011iMacMonterey.thumb.jpg.eb387851be3781bef6890424aa970aaa.jpg

Phobos: AMD Ryzen 7 2700, 16GB 3000MHz DDR4, ASRock B450 Steel Legend, 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070, 2GB Nvidia GeForce GT 1030, 1TB Samsung SSD 980, 450W Corsair CXM, Corsair Carbide 175R, Windows 10 Pro

 

Polaris: Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2, 32GB 1600MHz DDR3, ASRock X79 Extreme6, 12GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, 6GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, 1TB Crucial MX500, 750W Corsair RM750, Antec SX635, Windows 10 Pro

 

Pluto: Intel Core i7-2600, 32GB 1600MHz DDR3, ASUS P8Z68-V, 4GB XFX AMD Radeon RX 570, 8GB ASUS AMD Radeon RX 570, 1TB Samsung 860 EVO, 3TB Seagate BarraCuda, 750W EVGA BQ, Fractal Design Focus G, Windows 10 Pro for Workstations

 

York (NAS): Intel Core i5-2400, 16GB 1600MHz DDR3, HP Compaq OEM, 240GB Kingston V300 (boot), 3x2TB Seagate BarraCuda, 320W HP PSU, HP Compaq 6200 Pro, TrueNAS CORE (12.0)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
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.

2010iMacCatalina.thumb.jpg.66863ebb2ce507c63dcbf4a4fff250b3.jpg

 

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

2011iMacMonterey.thumb.jpg.eb387851be3781bef6890424aa970aaa.jpg

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
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.

: JRE #1914 Siddarth Kara

How bad is e-waste?  Listen to that Joe Rogan episode.

 

"Now you get what you want, but do you want more?
- Bob Marley, Rastaman Vibration album 1976

 

Windows 11 will just force business to "recycle" "obscolete" hardware.  Microsoft definitely isn't bothered by this at all, and seems to want hardware produced just a few years ago to be considered obsolete.  They have also not shown any interest nor has any other company in a similar financial position, to help increase tech recycling whatsoever.  Windows 12 might be cloud-based and be a monthly or yearly fee.

 

Software suggestions


Just get f.lux [Link removed due to forum rules] so your screen isn't bright white at night, a golden orange in place of stark 6500K bluish white.

released in 2008 and still being improved.

 

Dark Reader addon for webpages.  Pick any color you want for both background and text (background and foreground page elements).  Enable the preview mode on desktop for Firefox and Chrome addon, by clicking the dark reader addon settings, Choose dev tools amd click preview mode.

 

NoScript or EFF's privacy badger addons can block many scripts and websites that would load and track you, possibly halving page load time!

 

F-droid is a place to install open-source software for android, Antennapod, RethinkDNS, Fennec which is Firefox with about:config, lots of performance and other changes available, mozilla KB has a huge database of what most of the settings do.  Most software in the repository only requires Android 5 and 6!

 

I recommend firewall apps (blocks apps) and dns filters (redirect all dns requests on android, to your choice of dns, even if overridden).  RethinkDNS is my pick and I set it to use pi-hole, installed inside Ubuntu/Debian, which is inside Virtualbox, until I go to a website, nothing at all connects to any other server.  I also use NextDNS.io to do the same when away from home wi-fi or even cellular!  I can even tether from cellular to any device sharing via wi-fi, and block anything with dns set to NextDNS, regardless if the device allows changing dns.  This style of network filtration is being overridden by software updates on some devices, forcing a backup dns provuder, such as google dns, when built in dns requests are not connecting.  Without a complete firewall setup, dns redirection itself is no longer always effective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
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!

5950X/3080Ti primary rig  |  1920X/1070Ti Unraid for dockers  |  200TB TrueNAS w/ 1:1 backup

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Laptops and Pre-Built Systems

×