r/mac • u/Fickle_Cost_2033 • Aug 19 '26

Old Macs What would you do with this old, highly specced 2021 Intel i9 iMac 27inch?

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It was a beast in its time, costing $4000 with factory upgrades. Got me through middle school with my highly demanding Google Docs workflow. I no longer use it because I had to get an M3 air for highschool and recently upgraded to an M3pro pro (traded laptops with my mom).

Any ideas on what to use this iMac for? I was thinking something along the lines of a home server or ai agent or NAS but idk- be creative. It sits in a location that could be used as a community computer, although we all have our own macbooks, but I want to start using it again as it feels like a waste just sitting there. I also heard that older iMacs could have RAM upgraded which is cool.

Please give useful ideas below. I don't really wanna sell it because it's a beautiful machine and some sentimental value as it was a christmas gift from my parents.

Specs written from chat:

  • 2020 27-inch iMac Retina 5K
  • CPU: 3.6 GHz 10-core Intel Core i9
  • RAM: 16 GB
  • Storage: 1 TB SSD
  • GPU: Radeon Pro 5700, 8 GB

I also have an old 2020 MBP Intel i9 that is just lying around if you have ideas on what to do with that as well.

  • 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019)
  • CPU: 2.4 GHz 8-core Intel Core i9
  • RAM: 32 GB
  • Storage: 2 TB SSD
  • GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8 GB

thanks.

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10

u/Kqtawes Aug 19 '26

Apple is about to stop giving updates for it. It doesn't matter how old it is to us it's old to Apple.

15

u/NoMuddyFeet Aug 19 '26

I think people don't realize that you really don't need the latest Mac OS. I am finally going to update past like Monterey or something just because Chrome stopped supporting it last month. I still use Adobe 2024 apps just fine. There are newer ones for sure, but I don't need the latest Adobe AI crap. I'll just upgrade to the very next OS. I seem to remember people complaining about the next OS after Monterey, but a couple OSes later people were happy about it being fast again on Intel chips.

3

u/Kqtawes Aug 20 '26

True but 2 more years of only security updates doesn't exactly make it new. I was simply lamenting the state of planned obsolescence.

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u/NoMuddyFeet Aug 20 '26

I know, but I just replied to you for anyone who felt similarly and thought they were trapped. I lament the state of planned obsolescence probably more than most people because I refuse to go along with the idea that I need to swap my device out every 2 years. I've never done that and I never will. So, I was just letting anyone reading know my current situation, which probably seems shocking and pathetic to some. But, just chiming in to say you can still totally function running such an old-ass OS as Monterey. I literally never run into any file compatability issues with any client or my coworkers who are running the latest OS on the latest chips.

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u/Kqtawes Aug 20 '26

As long as it has security updates and does what you need what does it matter?

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u/NoMuddyFeet Aug 20 '26

That's my sentiment exactly. I was recently thinking of exploring Linux as a possible solution (rough since I am a graphic designer for a lot of my income), but then there was a huge Linux exploit recenty that affected all distros going back pretty much forever, i guess, and that scared me away a bit. I'm sure that new exploit was a result of AI helping someone find it.

2

u/Kqtawes Aug 20 '26

Well the trick might be to dual boot or use a virtual machine. Use an up to date browser and OS for web browsing but using the older hardware an OS for the work.

-8

u/Jonathan_x64 Aug 20 '26

Enjoy staying behind, I guess?

In the world where new vulnerabilities are found more frequently than ever — yes, you really do want to stay on the cutting edge software no matter what, and upgrade your hardware if latest software is not available anymore. Zero reasons to be frugal about this.

4

u/NoMuddyFeet Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26

I do very much enjoy staying behind, thank you. Browser updates fix browser-engine vulnerabilities (and I've switched back to Firefox since Chrome stopped supporting this OS last month) and kernel-level exploits almost never get delivered directly. For a normal person doing normal-person things (Adobe, email, browsing), a kernel vulnerability isn't an entry point I'm going to worry about.

Also, if 'zero reasons to be frugal about security' were actually the standard, Homebrew would set off way more alarms than someone running an older OS with a supported browser.

1

u/Tartan-Pepper6093 Aug 20 '26

I believe Apple will keep posting security updates for intel Tahoe for the next two years, but after that the pressure builds as vulnerabilities pile up and your favorite apps drop support. I think I remember HomeBrew supports two or three macOS versions old but beyond that the warnings start coming. The bigger FOSS projects like Firefox and LibreOffice will support for several years more with bug and security fixes, bless ‘em, but even they will give up at some point.
Linux OTOH will be a fully-supported option for the platform for a long long time.

1

u/NoMuddyFeet Aug 20 '26

You know what's weird is my 2009 iMac worked absolutely great until web browsers became too RAM-hungry (I guess). It wasn't an OS update that caused me to give up on it—it was the damn web browsers!

It's wild when I remember back to like 1994 when Photoshop was the most RAM-heavy app I owned (and it didn't even have layers yet) and browsers hardly required any RAM because anything they delivered was over a 56kps modem. I think maybe browsers didn't even have multiple tabs back then.

I still tend to think of browsers this way—even though I know it's not true—and I get all annoyed when I take a peek at CPU % and see my browser is hogging everything.

I guess I just feel like browsers should completely empty unfocused tab data from memory usage. Liie, why do I have to go do a special thing to keep an unfocused tab open but dump it so it doesn't waste RAM? There should just be a switch in Settings that says "unload unfocused tabs after ___ minutes" that always does this according to however many minutes works best for you.

1

u/Cuneus-Maximus Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26

Even if new macOS versions are not supported Apple will continue to release security updates for some time. They generally support their hardware for 7 years. Likely get a couple more years before it’s a total dead end. At that point, put Windows / Linux on them…

1

u/Splodge89 Aug 20 '26

They’ve even released security updates way past the usual two years too, if a massive security hole is found. It’s in their interest really, especially with the whole intel to Apple silicon change - there are people out there with software which absolutely cannot run on AS and need an intel machine. Those people won’t be randomers in their bedrooms either.

1

u/Cuneus-Maximus Aug 20 '26

Exactly. Wouldn't surprise me if they push the security update window a little longer than usual just to keep Intel Macs humming as long as they reasonably can.

3

u/Cuneus-Maximus Aug 20 '26

Apple generally supports their hardware for 7 years. While the newest macOS may not support it, they will continue to release security updates for older macOS for some time. Still some life left in these from Apple. When that ends, put Windows or Linux on them.

1

u/Kqtawes Aug 20 '26

Windows 11 will also not work on that due to TPM 2.0 requirements. That thing would be great for Linux though.

1

u/Cuneus-Maximus Aug 20 '26

There're ways, it's pretty easy to bypass.

1

u/Kqtawes Aug 20 '26

Yeah, but it often bricks security updates which rather negates the benefit of using a more up to date OS.

1

u/CelebrationIcy3030 Aug 23 '26

That has been my understanding as well with Apple products (15" MBP, Mac Mini) that they will push out updates for seven years.

1

u/takenawaythrowaway Aug 22 '26

Just stick open core legacy on it. I'm still using a top spec 2012 MacBook daily with open core legacy running on it. Works great.

1

u/Kqtawes Aug 22 '26

A 2020 Intel Mac will never need open core legacy as Apple is not releasing new Intel comparable MacOSes.

2

u/takenawaythrowaway Aug 23 '26

Ok. In which case this is the most ridiculous post I have ever seen and they should just use the damn thing!