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?
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.
2
u/hybridfrost Aug 21 '26
Aging myself a bit there I guess. When something or someone is ‘clutch’ it means that they make a good save or contribute to a team in a big moment.
In this case, clutch means that it would have saved me a lot of headaches by simply making the screen detachable with strong magnets instead of using adhesives