Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iMac as Cinema Display?

T

Tomikawa1995

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 16, 2012
3
0
I've used an old model of the iMac for ages, but it was extremely tedious due to its slow processing power, so i bought a refurbished MacBook Pro. The new macbook is simply great and i love it.

Then this crazy idea hit me...
would it be possible to use my iMac as a cinema display and also bump up my processing power of my MacBookPro by making use of the RAM and stuff on my iMac?

There may have been a post or question like this earlier, but I couldn't find any answers so yeah, I've decided to post my query here.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
Tomikawa1995 said:
I've used an old model of the iMac for ages, but it was extremely tedious due to its slow processing power, so i bought a refurbished MacBook Pro. The new macbook is simply great and i love it.

Then this crazy idea hit me...
would it be possible to use my iMac as a cinema display and also bump up my processing power of my MacBookPro by making use of the RAM and stuff on my iMac?

There may have been a post or question like this earlier, but I couldn't find any answers so yeah, I've decided to post my query here.

Thanks for the help guys.
Click to expand...

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4469?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
There you go! :)
 
Which old model your iMac is? Not all iMac can be used as Target Display. I believe 2009 and 2010 unibody 27" iMac can be used as DisplayPort (also compatible with Thunderbolt MBP) monitor while 2011 iMac can only receive Thunderbolt connection.
 
Thanks for the link BruceiD. Looks great.

iSayuSay: yeah...i was wondering the same thing. my mac is pretty old.. i'd have to get back home and find out the exact model (I'm on vacation right now), but its about...4 years old i think.. do you think i'd still be able to use is as a extra display?

EDIT: And just another thought. Is it possible to continue using my iMac as an extra display when I'm in bootcamp? or do things get a bit messy..
 
Last edited:
Tomikawa1995 said:
Thanks for the link BruceiD. Looks great.

iSayuSay: yeah...i was wondering the same thing. my mac is pretty old.. i'd have to get back home and find out the exact model (I'm on vacation right now), but its about...4 years old i think.. do you think i'd still be able to use is as a extra display?
Click to expand...

No, only late 2009, mid 2010 and mid 2011 can be used for that. And only the 27" model. Also, the 2011 one can only take Thunderbolt input while the other 2 models also handle mini DisplayPort.

If your iMac is 4 years old then you certainly can't use it as a display.
 
oh patooey, that sucks.

4 years is just a guess though.. is there any way i can be sure?
e.g. what would the Model ID have to be above and such?

EDIT: I know i also may be going off topic here, but does anyone else suggest a certain product as an alternate display? Since i can't use my iMac, I'm probably gonna by an extra display for the photo/movie edits. Apple's cinema display is a bit too pricey for me, and i know asking for a non-apple product on mac rumors is kinda dodgy, but yeah, anyone suggestions out there?

(and yeah, I'm still wondering if these alternate displays could be used while I'm on bootcamp for games and such)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back