Before I do anything silly, I thought I would seek out the wisdom of MacRumors community for feedback. I'm wondering if its possible to convert an M1 iMac (and that gorgeous 4.5K screen) into an external display, similar to how some others have converted both 27" and 21.5" iMacs into external displays using third party control boards and power supplies. iCloud locked M1 iMacs can already be had for $500-$600 on eBay. I think it might be possible to cut a small hole in the back of the chassis, run the LVDS cable from the screen to an external control board/power supply, then mount that control board on the back of the iMac. The additional hardware may not fit internally but at least I wouldn't be able to see anything from the front.
Does anyone know what the pinout diagram of the LVDS cable in the iMac is, and if that cable could be used with an external driver board? Then, which control board on the market that would work with the M1 4.5K display? Would a board meant for a 5K display work fine, or does it need to be for a 4.5K That's tough, because there aren't any more 4.5K displays on the market as far as I know.
I would love to have a matching external display next to my M1 iMac, but is this just an exercise in stupidity?
Does anyone know what the pinout diagram of the LVDS cable in the iMac is, and if that cable could be used with an external driver board? Then, which control board on the market that would work with the M1 4.5K display? Would a board meant for a 5K display work fine, or does it need to be for a 4.5K That's tough, because there aren't any more 4.5K displays on the market as far as I know.
I would love to have a matching external display next to my M1 iMac, but is this just an exercise in stupidity?