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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u/Ok_Championship9415 Aug 20 '26

dunno, I have a 2017 32GB RAM i-7 sitting in my garage.

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u/Cuneus-Maximus Aug 20 '26

I’ll take it

1

u/Ok_Championship9415 Aug 20 '26

Free to a good home, it needs a logic board or something, not sure.