iMac - Using as an occasional monitor with Dell laptop

[69skot69]

Hi All,
New iMac user here, spec as per my signature.
I have read so many forum pages with conflicting views that I am now pretty confused on hopefully a simple matter:-
I need to use a Dell laptop (work purposes) and I would really like to reduce my desk clutter and remove my old monitor. The Dell laptop is used in conjunction with an "E-Port Plus" docking station and has DVI and HDMI outputs. For the times that I am using the Dell laptop, is there any way that I can use the iMac (Mid 2011) as a monitor in these situations? Is it just a simple case of buying a DVI to Thunderbolt cable or is it all much more complicated?
Many thanks in advance.
Steve

 

[DeltaMac]

Simple answer - you can't.
If you want to use Target Display mode on your 2011 iMac, the computer/laptop that you connect needs to have a thunderbolt port, and (more importantly for you) needs to be a Mac.
This has been answered before on these forums: https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-as-external-monitor-for-a-laptop-pc.1894043/
Also, you can see the hardware requirements for Target Display mode here.

 

[Danielsc2010]

I have an iMac 27 from 2010 and I connect my Dell laptop and work laptop through a KVM switch to my iMac through the mini DP connection. You press command, FN, and the F2 key to switch target display. If you have a new iMac with thunderbolt, your PC or older Mac better have thunderbolt too for this to work. I use a Magic Mouse and a Magic Keyboard for my iMac and a wired dell keyboard and mouse to operate both of my PC laptops through a KVM switch.

 

[Icy1007]

If it is a non-Retina iMac then you can use Target Display mode to use it as a monitor, but it is only officially supported when used with another Mac.

 

[69skot69]

Hi All,
Many thanks for your responses, I have to admit that I am more confused than ever. It doesn't take much!
Traditionally I used a Belkin Soho KVM Switch, VGA & USB - 4 Port to control my 2 x PCs and a Dell laptop via a Dell E-Port Plus. The PCs are long retired and only the Dell laptop with the E-Port Plus docking station left now.

So is it right that I cannot use my iMac 27" mid 2011 as a monitor or is it simply never going to work.

I am really tight for desk space and would love to get rid of the monitor connected to the Dell.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes - you are correct. You cannot use your mid-2011 iMac 27-inch as a monitor for your Dell laptop. It is simply never going to work.

No need to continue to be confused here
Just to review the above posts - post #3 lists a 2010 iMac 27-inch, which does not have thunderbolt, and can work through the mini-displayport connection, and (probably) would work with a mini displayport-equipped KVM. But, your 2011 iMac has Thunderbolt, and needs that thunderbolt connection native on the PC's motherboard (which is pretty rare), and may not work even then.
And, then post #4 is sort-of accurate, but incomplete. Retina-screen iMacs don't support Target Display mode at all, and again, 2011 and newer iMacs have that little thunderbolt issue.
So, there's only two iMac models that you might be able to use for your purposes (connecting from a Windows laptop) -- 2009 or 2010 27-inch iMacs. That's it.

 

[69skot69]

That makes absolute sense now, thank you so much for taking the trouble to reply it's much appreciated.