Any ideas for upcycling a dead 27" iMac?

[pavinder]

I have a 27" 2015 iMac which needs a screen replacement, and the fusion drive is also not working. The Apple Store quoted me $600 for repair, which I'm not interested in doing. I also can't sell the machine for more than a few bucks in its current state. But rather than just leave it for recycling at the Apple Store, I figured I could upcycle it and maybe turn it into some other piece of useful furniture.

I've searched many pages like this, looking for ideas: https://www.pinterest.jp/litotan/apple-computers-upcycling-ideas/

There seem to be plenty of imaginative uses for older iMacs, but I can't find any uses for the flatscreen version that I have.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[Fishrrman]

$600 for a 5-year-old iMac?
My opinion only:
Not worth the expense.

Take the $500 and put it towards a new one, or perhaps a 2018 Mini.

 

[topcat001]

Since you have nothing to lose, you might consider buying a screen from ebay and replacing it yourself (or get a local computer shop to do it), as well as the drive.

 

[pavinder]

$600 for a 5-year-old iMac?
My opinion only:
Not worth the expense.
Take the $500 and put it towards a new one, or perhaps a 2018 Mini.

Yes, this is what I've done. The new iMac is great, it's just a question of what to do with the old one.
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Since you have nothing to lose, you might consider buying a screen from ebay and replacing it yourself (or get a local computer shop to do it), as well as the drive.

Good suggestion.
I saw some YouTube videos which explain how to do this, and checked going this route. But it seems that even screens from eBay are $300 or more. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a "broken"/"junk" machine from which I could salvage a LCD, but they seem to be thin on the ground.

So I figured that in the meantime rather than drop $350+ for a replacement LCD and drive, I could upcycle into some other useful object.

 

[JessieComputes]

Many new TVs now have legs at their corners, which means that it is possible to snuggly fit an iMac behind the TV. So, remove the existing broken screen and throw it away. Fix the fusion drive, or just use the drive that works. Connect your TV to the iMac with a DisplayPort->HDMI cable. Boot screen etc should appear on the TV. If you use an active DisplayPort->HDMI adapter then you should get 4k@30Hz on the TV.

 

[Wando64]

How about extracting the internals and placing them in a PC case for use as a server.

As for the iMac case itself, you could replace the screen with a mirror, or using it as a pin board for old photos and/or reminders.

 

[pavinder]

How about extracting the internals and placing them in a PC case for use as a server.

As for the iMac case itself, you could replace the screen with a mirror, or using it as a pin board for old photos and/or reminders.

An iMac mirror...nice idea.
As far as the internals go, I will attach a new SSD and perhaps put them in an unusual ”container”. Wood might be nice. Obviously I’d need to ensure it doesn’t overheat.