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Sort of. You will still need an actual monitor, keyboard and mouse on the Mini to set everything up initially. After setup of Sunshine/Moonlight combo (or Parsec if you find that easier), you should be able to remove the monitor and connect into the headless Mac Mini from the iMac. It would work just like I did with the gaming PC, except you would be doing Mac to Mac.

Yup, these old Mac Pros idle around 200W if I recall. That's fine for toying around with, but would be insane as a daily driver!

You're totally right on pricing; you really gotta know market value before you go shopping for one of those. My understanding is the 5,1 is considered the baseline these days for people buying; the majority of people these days consider the 3,1 "too old", and I'd probably agree there. The biggest benefit of the 5,1 over the 3,1 is getting to use all your cores, which certainly will yield good performance gains... And not to mention the newer, faster cores. Interesting idea on the 2020 vs 5,1; too bad I have neither systems on-hand. Not sure if it would win, but I think a fully loaded top spec iMac would be a worthy contender. At least until it hits full heat saturation and the thermal throttling kicks in, lol.

@ good thought with the heat saturation those iMacs don’t breathe well compared to the wind tunnel that is the Mac Pro , Also 5,1 is just better from an open core / firmware / general usability standpoint.

Thanks!! Until more recent builds, you could actually run Windows 11 on certain Pentium 4 systems (I did a video on that here: th-cam.com/video/qVWK8SCZOuk/w-d-xo.html). The C2D era is probably my favourite CPU era; in my mind these chips are really what kicked off "modern" computing. And so many of them still in service today in various odd places! It's too bad they stopped making the Xserve, that would rack up nicely... Although even the cheese graters are rack mountable with the right brackets, tools and determination ;)

@@rebootretroP4 and C2D are my kind of ick too😀 A few years ago I tried finding the slowest possible system to run Windows 10 on - which I imagined to be something like a P3/P4 or so (Had already Windows 7 running a "Tyan Tiger 133" dual P3 with 2GB of RAM and that was already dogshit slow...). But in reality an Atom Netbook was way worse 😛 I've got an iBase MB800 P4 with ISA-slots capable of oldschool DMA and also a C2D variant (also capable of ISA-DMA) waiting for further usage but my free time is just too limited to do something "usefull" with that hardware 😞

Thank you, I truly appreciate it! :)

Maybe there are patents involved.

@@50-50_GrindYes, I think Lian Li did try to duplicate the external look of the Mac Pro but still Apple is not the only company to have drives that slide out. Many servers have them. Granted most people do not upgrade their PCs but there are a ton of custom cases for PC builds.

Thanks for the comment! If you don't need full speed video, your best method would be to use AirPlay. You would enable AirPlay Receiver on the iMac and then it will show up as a monitor on the M4 Mini. The AirPlay method will work as a main display, or extended display. If you need full speed video, then you would need to use either the Sunshine/Moonlight method, or a similar alternative like Parsec. These methods will only work to use the iMac as the Mini screen. No matter which method though, you will need some old monitor initially to set everything up which you can unplug afterwards.

Your 3x LED spots are probably enough load that the current leakage is so small it is not noticeable. I've noticed this is the same for 9W LEDs too, but it depends on the specific LED and how many are on the load side as to whether there is a glow. The X10 switches are effectively a digital TRIAC, so in theory dimmable LEDs should work best. Not sure what the downsides would be if using a non-dimmable LED on a TRIAC. Anyways, in your case you must see huge power savings from 150 to 17W bulbs!

Yes, but it looks more difficult in the 10,1 because the graphics are internally wired differently. The link in the video description, scroll down to Spoiler: 2. Working AMD Graphics Cards and then down to Spoiler: AMD LVDS for iMac9,1 24 inch early 2009 or iMac10,1 21.5 inch late 2009. I think it requires a different vBIOS. Read through that post, and it will explain how to make it work :)

@@rebootretro I Bought FirePro M5100 on ebay cant wait to recieve it but now i have two question: 1 where do i get OCLP TUI Version? Cant get that terminal screen that is on your video 2.which VBIOS should I downlad for my mac? as there are 4 different version

@ They don’t release the TUI version anymore, but my understanding is this is all included and automatic in the latest GUI version (although I haven’t personally tested). The vBIOS version depends on which card you have and which memory modules it has. You have to read the docs in that thread to match your card to the correct ROM.

Yes, it should work with Sunshine/Moonlight method. The other methods (AirPlay and direct DisplayPort cable) will not work for a 2008.

@@rebootretro What will work w/Sunshine/Moonlight ?

@ Using the 2008 iMac as a monitor for a 2014 Mac Mini. It can be done with Sunshine/Moonlight software, like shown in the video. Parsec is an alternative similar software, which might be easier to set up.

@@rebootretro Your post and website are very optimistic about upgrading my 20008 iMac. Ive got to study this very carefully. If youre right, I wasted $325 on a used Mini and Mac monitor. I sold the too big monitor and bought a smaller one. I was concerned about my old software being blocked by new security at various sites. But, so far, only my bank and a lottery. And my newer smartphone accesses them. I bought my iMac about 5 yrs ago used for $325 and replaced only the HD. It works perfectly and I like its 24" screen size/aspect for my small computer table. Some TH-cam vids stall but my Mac might not be the cause. If Monterey could be installed and work perfectly, that would be excellent (except that it seems overly complex). I also have a perfectly working 2006 iMac bought new years ago. It even gets online to an extent. I started computing in 1992 w/a used 400k floppy Mac Plus and dot-matrix(?) printer to aid my free-lance writing. And Ive traded up mnany times since then. If I had known about your site, I could have saved money and useless thinking.

@@rebootretro Your website seems to say that Monterey can replace my Yosemite, thus keeping my 2008 iMac w/its excellent screen size/aspect. That seems better than using my 2014 Mini and ViewSonic monitor w/the S/M or Parsec software. A pic of Steve Jobs is on the wall above my computer. I have 2 books and a DVD on him.

The Photos app requires a Metal-compatible GPU. If you have the same 2008 iMac in the video, I don't think any Metal GPUs exist - so you would need a different app for photos (or a web-based one like iCloud Photos, Google Photos, Immich, etc). If you are interested in GPU upgrades instead, I have a video about GPU upgrades on the 2009-2010 iMac here: th-cam.com/video/n9koG8p9Ch0/w-d-xo.html . The 2008 upgrade is the same way, but the 2008 uses older slot type so you need to see if there is a compatible card existing for your slot type.

@ I have a 2010 iMac 🖥️ and Im pretty sure that in BigSur it works but I cannot make it work again. Thanks for answare.

I think Mojave works with OpenCore. If not, look up Dosdude1 on YT or Google. He made a patch way back. OpenCore is probably the better option if it works. TBH, unless you have a specific reason for such an old OS, I'd probably run something newer - The security patches alone will be ancient for Mojave these days.

iPads do not support extension monitor at all, you can only mirror iPad screens. You can mirror your screen wirelessly with AirPlay, but the 2011 iMac would require an upgraded WiFi card and OCLP upgrades and patches which is not a simple upgrade. There are no cables or adapters to connect the iPad directly; there is only a way to do this with a 2009/2010 27 inch model and the right adapters. Your best bet might be to look into a 3rd party AirPlay Receiver utility, like AirServer or LonelyScreen (I haven't tried either of them so I can't vouch for them, I merely suggest to investigate them because I'm aware they claim the functionality you're looking for).

@ I appreciate your kind and detailed explanation.👍

@ No problem, hopefully you can get it working :). If you are ok with only mirror and don't need extended, I'm pretty sure you can make it work with a 3rd party app. Good luck with your project :)

@@SteveRoadcp I have not done it yet on this Mac, but yes people have gone further. With necessary mods it should go all the way to Sequoia. I will do a video at some point updating it.

You can use the 2009/2010 27 inch models for an Xbox using the correct adapters. The others you can’t, unless you use an HDMI capture adapter which will likely add significant latency.

Thanks for the comment! I know, the seal kits seem like such a waste (and a pain!). This iMac for many years had electrical tape holding the screen, but after years of heat it eventually let go and almost destroyed the screen. Although to be fair, many people have had the seal kits do the same thing. I always leave the screen tilted slightly upward as a precaution. About the VMWare, yes, I was really surprised they are releasing it free! Doesn't seem like a typical VMWare/Broadcom corporate move... Although with Parallels being such a dominant competitor in the consumer space, I suspect they're trying to wedge themselves in a little more market share.

I know, this was a huge disappointment for many people. Sadly if you want a large screen and Apple Silicon, it looks like the option is only a Mac Mini. You're right, after 3 years it doesn't look like Apple will be releasing a 27" version. I was under the impression that it was a good seller; I'm not really sure why they discontinued it. Myself, like many others, assumed it was just going to be a staggered release like usual.

A perfect use!

Correct, it doesn’t support extend. I’m working on a method to do this with “extended” screens that is just as smooth and works for video or gaming as well. I’m behind on a number of projects, but hopefully I’ll have a video on this within a few months!

@ I’ll be sure to subscribe then. Because I really don’t want to take this Mac apart LOL.

My goal is always to make videos that are entertaining, that people can enjoy without necessarily trying to accomplish the task themselves. Thanks for watching!

Based on your setup, your 2008 MacBook Pro does not support DisplayPort input and (unless upgrading the WiFi card) also does not support the AirPlay method. If you want to use a single screen, you can use the Sunshine/Moonlight or Parsec method. If you want to use both screens (dual monitors), then you probably need a 3rd party solution - something like Luna Display or Duet Display. Luna Display has been reviewed (a long time ago) by Linus Tech Tips and is available at www.astropad.com, however it looks like they've discontinued the older model adapter which you would need to hunt down or contact them. I'm actually working on another method that works with ALL Macs as a secondary display, with full smooth video. Assuming it's successful, I'm probably a few months before I get it fully sorted out and a video guide released, unfortunately.

Thanks so much for the sub and the kind comment! Sorry for the slow reply, I do try to respond to as many comments as I can but sometimes get behind. Yes, the 2012 should be able to run up to Sequoia with the latest OCLP. I know it runs great on a 2012 iMac (my most recent video), so I imagine it should run fairly smooth on a 2012 MacBook as well. There will be an upcoming video where Sequoia runs on a 2008 Mac Pro. It’s really amazing how far back it can go, although the older system do have some issues. I do plan eventually to do an updated video for the 2012 generation MacBook Pro, but just so many things to get done and not enough time! Haha.

I would keep the plastic battery hole to maintain the OEM "look", but remove the metal tabs entirely. I know it might not be popular opinion, but I feel a battery in a vintage computer is a huge liability. It's easy to forget about it, and it causes so much damage when they leak. If you want it to work "like original", there are replica update kits online. I saw one at airtalk.nl (no affiliation, haven't tried them - only found by googling) which has an OEM look/feel but takes modern batteries.

Hey, I'm really sorry - YT blocked your comment (probably due to some character combo in the Traceback). I just saw it now. It looks like you're on an old build of OC. Sequoia needs to have a more current version; as of this comment, v2.2.0 is the latest. OC works beautifully with Sequoia on a 2012 iMac, I did a video on it here - th-cam.com/video/zpjcKx8t2VM/w-d-xo.html If you're still having trouble, post back here or on the 2012 video and I'll watch for your comment and try to help. I try to stay on top of comments, and try to respond to questions in less that a week. Usually I get to them in a day or two; but if it's been a month, it usually means YT blocked it or I didn't see it. Again, apologies! Feel free to message back if you still need help! :)

I just upgraded an almost identical 2012 iMac in a recent video! Very decent computer still!

Yes, you are correct. If you want your Mac to be wired for both, they make USB to Ethernet adapters. It is possible to use only 1 network adapter and have both computers on the same network switch too. The benefit of 2 network cards is less network congestion - you can have a dedicated link with static IP between the two computers for Sunsine/Moonlight only, so you have less network congestion.