The $100 iMac: still good in 2019?

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In today's video I set out to buy an iMac for just 100 dollars to see if I could find something that was not only a good value, but usable in 2019 and beyond. Today we'll unbox my cheap iMac and see if I got a good deal or not, as well as introduce an upcoming project with this machine!
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[@risingembersgaming7740]

The hoovies garage of eBay computers

[@iMadrid11]

It’s not a fair comparison. Luke makes money flipping MacBooks. Hoovies losses money for every car he buys, fix and sold.

[@BehradDavoudi]

hahahaaa

[@twelveatnight]

Next video: I buried my $100 iMac!?!?!

[@DjDestinyChicago]

😂

[@diegobragado50]

Karma Police 😂😂😂😂😂

[@jackrogers7292]

Haha your eucalyptus oil joke 😂😂😂

[@thespkrYT]

yeah I found that funny too... I watch Psi (i can´t spell his username right now lol)

[@brianzerorc]

Psivewri's ref

[@ofromdamo]

Props to Psivewri’s, his videos are equally entertaining 🚀 and the thing really seems to work... I’m going to buy a gallon of it :)

[@psivewri]

I got that reference as well ;)

[@thespkrYT]

@@psivewri haha hello dude ^^

[@clunkclunk2099]

My 27" 2011 iMac's graphics card died for the second time. Last time I got about 8 months from baking it. Your love for these era Macs makes me want to consider replacing the graphics card and CPU in mine and resurrecting it. It was such a good machine. Longest Mac I've ever owned as my daily driver, and my first Mac was in '93.

[@meloD30]

You need to challenge Linus to a Mac 'bang for the buck' contest. Also, ask him to build you a server, he's really into that lately.

[@Sonic6293]

Just don't abandon the server for something else.

[@kellypaws]

Much as I like Linus, he’s phoned in a few lately. Basically shit that needed done in the office, so I videoed it and now you’re watching it. With adverts. Yay.

[@meloD30]

@@kellypaws I actually like those. Server room updates are my fave videos. It's the videos hosted by others that are hit and miss for me (except Anthony who can do no wrong). But they're still learning the ropes.

[@cocoshort6528]

@@meloD30 also brandon is pretty good on the camera.

[@MrRelevance02]

3:42 Good Psivweri reference

[@ericsim2387]

Excited for this build. Having a iPhone for years. I wanted to test out a imac instead of buying another pc. Purchased this same 2011 iMac but with 8gb for $140. I’ve been very impressed so far.

[@shadelight310]

Do you like it ? I want one but idk of itll do hood for videos

[@raydeen2k]

What you have there packing wise are the ancient remnants of Foamhenge.

[@EJYu]

Luke, I've been watching a TON of your videos lately, and I freaking love them!! Thank you for your amazing content.

[@gabrielfelizp4520]

HAHAHAHHA The eucalyptus oil omg 🙃

[@thespkrYT]

yesss!

[@WantBadtime]

How they say it: "Elucalypis Soil"

[@adonysmercadal3119]

Jaajja

[@tobfos]

Psvewri

[@johnnybegood8049]

I have upgraded my 27” 2011 with the 3.4 Core i7, 250GB SSD and a GTX765M Works like a charm except no boot screen but super capable computer. I love my old 27” iMac

[@stevelee9707]

Johnny BeGood because u don’t know how good is the news. And u poor. That’s why

[@johnnybegood8049]

Trump Nigga your life must sucks seriously. Mama bought you a new iMac and you’re proud?! Now what?! Got get friends and show off with them because we don’t care.

[@bogalejerry]

You could’ve just bought a new iMac. :/

[@nonegone7170]

@@stevelee9707 Why would a hobo such as yourself call someone poor? Pot & kettle much?

[@henkkrijtenberg5711]

Nice purchase! Looking forward to see more content from this project😊

[@xandercloet7467]

iMac: costs 100$ is used for basic web browsing 2020 MacBook Air: costs 1000$ is used for web browsing also 100$ iMac: has more io ports

[@rottanekru69]

Xander Cloet Ofcourse it has more i/o ports if it’s a fucking desktop computer.

[@Aquarirus]

@@rottanekru69 m1 imac:

[@midleno8364]

@@rottanekru69 m1 iMac but ok Reddit Suomi

[@omgiamliving3047]

You do not know about tech

[@HistoryandReviews]

@@rottanekru69 pfft laptops used to have 4 ports, now they linger between 2-4 mostly 2

[@doctorskodtsjunkdrawer5970]

"...the stand for no extra charge!" THAT'S CLASSIC! Dude, I actually chuckles out loud, seriously, so thank you.

[@MACBoricua]

Agree and can’t wait for the next video.... wish I have one and your videos inspired me to start learning more about computing and hardware upgrades... doing those myself now! Thanks Luke!

[@macmaniac3080]

I bought the same imac for £300 early 2018, still running strong and working! Granted it can’t handle intensive work but daily use it’s perfect! Max put the RAM and swap to a SSD and it feels like a new machine!

[@Techieguy93]

Excited to watch this one!

[@athebaar]

Great project! Totally support you. Looking forward to see the next phases and how it is going to be at the end.

[@WarriorsPhoto]

Good LUCK! I hope you are able to complete this build as you desire. That last iMac was unfortunate. Let's cross those fingers for this build to work out correctly.

[@marcusespinoza2961]

Your videos are so unlike any others out there, it’s so refreshing. You’re the only channel I watch where I don’t get the feeling I’m just watching the rich kid in the neighborhood open up his Christmas presents and brag about them to everyone. They’re different, informative and useful, you’re not here to show off the fact that you have every gadget and I imagine you genuinely help people realize they don’t need the latest and greatest. Most of us can’t buy the newest Mac Pro, but we still want to have nice stuff and you show us what’s out there and how to get it. Well done. Awesome channel man, keep it up.

[@Alecexo]

I love this editing style I’ve already chuckled a few times and usually the video is all business which I love but this is a nice refresh ❤️😭

[@Alecexo]

And the eucalyptus oil joke 🤣

[@djross95]

I love these iMac videos, Luke! Keep them coming...

[@uyasey8082]

With $99 you could buy 1/2 airpods

[@THEFIRE360]

Uyasey well wouldn't it just be airpod at that point?

[@mickyleR]

You could get the two ear pieces but not the case, or you can just get the wireless charger case for like $20 less

[@uyasey8082]

My God people who have commented it's a *joke*

[@THEFIRE360]

Uyasey my God get sarcasm

[@CaramelColored]

*gen 1

[@Rodacre]

I have this exact computer and have been wanting to upgrade it. I’m looking forward to see what you’re able to do!

[@BeesonsCars]

1. Love the eucalyptus shout out. 2. You’re like the Mac version of Hoovie’s garage.

[@MelanieJoules]

my refurbished iMac turns 10 in September. I‘m breathing new life into it via ssd thanks to your ‚30$ upgrade video‘. Can‘t wait to fall in love with it all over again! ❤️✨🥂

[@JohnPamplin]

Great deal! My parents would love that unit. I want to see what parts you can find for a total of $100 though.

[@detailsmove]

still got my 2009 iMac and it holds a special place in ma heart

[@djackson5229]

I just bought a 2009 one I can’t wait to use it

[@LukasSkate2]

love it! Got myself a mid 2011 iMac 21 inch, upgraded the ram to 20 GB and put a Evo750 500GB SSD into it, runs like a champ since. but two things are missing, a second thunderbolt port for a second external display or an adapter to get usb 3. Man these adapters are expensive.. 110€ for an thunderbolt 1 to usb 3 + eSATA. I'm excited what you're going to do with it!

[@nimrod67]

Awesome deal and project!!!

[@lefty_lazer]

what a cliff hanger! i want to see the upgrades and outcomes. darn you's Miani!!!!

[@aubrietrotter3695]

I did the same thing! I needed a computer for the house that would get light use and mostly internet browsing and picture storage so I bought an imac for $100. It has an upgraded hard drive and 10 gigs of memory and it is perfect for what we need!

[@itsandyfs]

Hahaha, I knew you would not resist to bring back the project, I'm exciteeeeeeed

[@AlexPizarro]

Yes!!!! Thank you for these videos keep them up!

[@Noaddedsalt01]

My family has the 27inch version of this iMac we have had it since June 2012 and only started having issues recently with the os being slow but we got that sorted now it works great, waking from sleep takes ages though

[@RowdyGeronimo]

Yay another projected! Super excited. Thanks for the amazing content. Can’t wait to see what happens. Will Noah make a appearance.....?🤔

[@rh8216]

I literally just got the same deal you did here. I had to make a bootable flash drive to install from. First Mac and Im impressed so far.

[@CB-kt7qd]

I've never seen this iMac that cheap on eBay, how do you get these. I had this machine and I can certify that this is a great machine, the graphic failure is rather known on the 27 inch, but not really known on the 21 inch. This iMac can have 32 gb of ram 1600Mhz (or maybe 1833 but did not test it), and can have 1 HDD+ 2ssd (if you remove the super drive) or 1 HDD+ 1 SSD + super drive. I never had any problem on this machine and I was using it daily, I highly recommend it for that price, even up to 150$. And it is still a powerful machine...

[@solasoul33]

Thank you for the reassurance, lol

[@GomerPyleM14]

Typing this on a mid 2011 27" Imac that i picked up for $100 on Ebay. Impressed how nice this thing is for it being that old!

[@pigsydney]

I look forward to this project,I would pay $100 for this imac.I wish you much success on this new venture.

[@lesliegraham8478]

Love your sense of humour. Thanks

[@Videoleitung]

I bought this thing when it came out. I sold it when the 2019 iMac came out and gave the think via the Apple Give Back Programm. They gave me 350€ for the same model that is shown in the Video. My 2011 iMac worked well but after eight Years i bought the 27 Inch 2019 Modell. I was really surprised that Apple gave me 350€ for that old Computer it was a good Deal! Currently i am using the 2019 iMac and the 2018 MacBook Air. Thats a good Combo! Greetings from Germany! BTW your Channel ist really cool! Keep doing that!

[@ZephyrKV]

Wow like! You've put so much into your videos. They are so high quality and the have inspired me to Beg for a MacBook for my bday

[@aminotarobot7486]

was waiting to see if would upgrade it lol can’t wait to see

[@BrianStephensOfficial]

I’ve got one sitting here (used to be my Wife’s) and have been thinking about sinking a little money into it and doing some upgrades. Looking forward to seeing what you find doable with it.

[@barriemoorcroft534]

A simple and cheap RAM upgrade to 16gb and reset to factory settings, and it will fly better than new. SSD upgrade would be nice but also not really neccasary once booted up, but very nice.

[@ThisGuyAngelR]

Please make tutorials on the entire project. I recently bought the exact same iMac and was planning on doing the same upgrades. My inspiration to do this was your original iMacenstien project. 🙏🏽✌🏽😁

[@Ghostzy01]

You sir have been awarded with notifications powers having gone on a video marathon after just finding your channel.

[@unimatrix82]

I paid 110 for my mid 2011 imac, it came with the i5 and 12gb ram, i put an i7 2600s into it and maxed it to 16gb ram and a 1tb ssd.

[@ambientshane]

Very good, I own a mid 2011 imac that I bought off someone who optimised it for gaming, mine is maxed out at 32g, it handles music production tasks with ease. Only I paid £400 mine 2 years ago.

[@MarkHyde]

Really hope this goes well this time - My Early iMac 2008 still serves me well as a browser/office docs box - plus a cool DVD player when needed too. But looking to find a newer model - that supports the METAL graphics engine at a reasonable price up front.

[@Flojoe6274]

Great video and I love the cameo by your cat

[@yorgeabbottart]

dude youre such a bad ass youtuber im hype for this macinstine likte

[@fessellsahmed2587]

You are a genius. I love all your videos.

[@jakobolsson3582]

I have a late 2008 27in iMac and that still works great

[@alliejr]

I am still rocking my 2009 iMac. It’s my daily driver at home along with 2016 MacBook (keyboard 100% fine). It’s had 16GB RAM for years now and swapped the iMac spinning disk for an OWC SSD. It flies. I’m happy.

[@alliejr]

@Bobby Brady It runs High Sierra just fine, although I won't be able to upgrade past that. It's secure (enough).

[@guyonabudget5209]

I just got a 2009 27” iMac for $100 I upgraded to an ssd and added an additional 8 gb of ram to top it at 16gb ram. Works fine no issues primarily I’ll be using it to type up documents and watch youtube and browse the web.

[@LeeStewart]

I had this iMac in 2016 and eventually upgraded to a slimline iMac with no SuperDrive. For my needs, it wasn't good but it was better than my 2008 20-inch iMac I had before it. I eventually upgraded to a 2015 iMac but even that didn't match my power needs, which is why months later, I got a 27-inch 2017 5K iMac, which I still use to this day and is still reliable on macOS Mojave.

[@PauloParreira]

Love your projects, now you made me want to find a budget iMac in ebay. And i sold a 2009 24" iMac two years ago :-)

[@aironwhite6533]

I bought and am still using a 2011 mid iMac. I bought it 2 years ago with the memory maxed out at 32gb. Everything works on it and it has been a dependable computer. I am even currently day trading options on it and it has never let me down. I currently have high Sierra installed and this is the highest it will go because the video card is not compatible. After watching some videos I found the video card can be upgraded and it isn’t that hard being right in front. I now have hope of gtting some more time out of this iMac. I even plan on putting a ssd in for the os, taking out the dvd drive and also adding a storage drive of at least 2tb.

[@rohit-gk5lr]

You deserve 1 million subscriber bro !!!

[@twiztidsidfreak13]

You should do a video on showing people how to update their older core 2 duo to the newest OS they can run. Some of us REALLY need to know this!

[@nheisserer13]

I’m excited for iMacenstein Lite!

[@bgn200]

You got a good deal. I upgraded an identical machine earlier this year (2011 21.5" i5 imac) with some additional ram and a samsung ssd i had lying around. Ram, ssd and it'll be more than enough computer for 90% of the people who buy mac products (browsing, office/productivity tasks). The hdd has an internal temp sensor, to replace it entirely requires a $50 sata adapter from OWC (otherwise your fans go full throttle 100% of the time), but a $16 sata cable adapter will allow you use the factory ssd plug in the back of the motherboard so you can run it as a second internal drive and still keep your dvd player, which can also be converted to a 3rd drive for even more storage. Looking forward to this series.

[@abdulazeez.98]

Awesome video as always. Can you show some normal usage on this iMac (browsing, word processing..etc)? Just so we get a better idea about its performance, synthetic benchmarks doesn't always reflect real world usage. Anyway, I'm eagerly waiting for the results of this project!

[@riclobosco6272]

I've got a 2011 21" i7 8GB, so not identical. I use the hell of out of it for Word, email, browsing, even watching streamed movies, iTunes & more. Freaking great iMac! I gather you can swap out the microprocessor on this, so if you're handy enough to tackle some mods & inclined, why not?

[@emmap8509]

2023 love that you add humor to your vids makes it much more ennoyable 😂❤

[@carlesmiquel]

This is a long one. My Mac Pro G5 dates back to the early 2000's. 1GB of RAM, two 500GB of spinning drives and a whopping 256 MB Radeon GPU. My ProTools Studio and HD FinalCut alongside Silver Bullet's suite and Aftereffect's rotoscoping work... not fast, but producing a song is pretty straightforward. I'm stunned at the ruggedness and reliability of this almost 20 year old machine. Double DVI 24 in monitors are still a delight!

[@Eweyhen]

Your eucalyptus joke was on point LOL

[@richardhobson3623]

I’d love to see the upgrade path.

[@twiztidsidfreak13]

I think it's reasonable to spend a little more than $100 but how much is based on needs and such. I will be watching future videos on this project and imac!

[@00SNIVY00]

I'm liking the video especially for the cat in the B roll

[@conrado800]

I have the same iMac. Got it for 180 on eBay because the hinge was a little loose. Shoved a credit card in there and it holds it fine. I would recommend replacing the thermal paste and the hard drive for an SSD.

[@suhailsurajpal]

Oh my god I love your personality 😂

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

You pulled it off!

[@49Macman]

Luke, I bought this one many years ago and still have use for it.The only reason why I upgraded to an i7 27 in. was because my Pro Tools music software wouldn't work beyond version 8.4.. without the architecture of a faster mac. I do screen share watching internet t.v. and a bunch of other cool things on it. However, I am currently having a hard time getting it to work as a dual display via Thunderbolt. The guy at apple spent a few hours with me to try to figure it out. However, I needed to use a mouse and a keyboard for it which I had upstairs. He and I talked about troubleshooting on Wednesday 11.6.19., so I hope it will happen. He is confident that it will. It's a steal at $100.00. It should be good for a while depending on what it is used for.

[@davidw.r.7801]

Just started following the channel after receiving this exact same machine for $0 from an estate sale, however there was a catch. None of the bluetooth input devices are being recognized. The computer boots to lock screen but I also have no password and no bootable media. I'm going to replace the bluetooth card and get a wired Apple keyboard to start with. Right now it's a nice looking 20 pound brick.

[@Time4SomethingReal]

I love the humor in the newer videos. Some filthy frank sparks and faces

[@macbitz]

Worth it for the CD drive alone. None of my modern Macs have a CD so I got a budget 21" with a CD and put it on the network.

[@yuyiboy]

I like this, but now I want to see that 17 cent build!!! 👍🏽

[@blessedlowery1193]

Yes! I think it is a great deal I would love to get the same or similar deal!

[@robbyprust]

I bought my first Mac last week , it’s a late model 2013 with 8 gig ram and 1tb drive . It upgraded to the latest macOS . Only paid $450.00 and was a refurbished unit. Not the fastest thing out there but for the money it was a good way to find out if I would like a Mac . Been a pc guy since the 80’s with a IBM PC . 640k memory and Monochrome graphics

[@CodaCM]

Some or the earlier 2010 models and lowest and models came with slower hard drives while the more high-end ones came with a WD Caviar Black hard drive

[@ajzuniga6977]

COOL Vid I always wondered how a 2011I Mac works ;)!

[@pilljr.3331]

Absolutely worth it!

[@luxembourger]

Actually, at our company all the 27 inch 2011 iMac failed because of the graphics card, but none of 21.5 inch with the same graphics card. I have two of them at home now and they still work.

[@kingneutron1]

MacsFanControl free software is your friend :)

[@danielsims5928]

I have an IMac from that year too. However mine is the top of the lines specs. Mine has 32 gigs of ram. I7 6ish core. It even has a 1 terabyte for space. And my speeds when it boots up is super good. It’s a 27inch. And have a 2k display!

[@getitenterprise]

like ur style guy!!! new sub

[@lattermanstudio]

I have a 2009 running Mojave and it runs just fine! 😀

[@Rendell001]

Very interested to see how you get on with this Luke, I myself have a late 2011 27" iMac which was the build to order version. It still runs well with the i7 3.4ghz cpu and a 6970 2gb gpu and 16gb of Ram but I'm looking to upgrade that as much as possible. Would be very interested to know what could be done in the CPU department as well as the GPU...

[@bringitonbatman]

Hey Luke, really interested to see the upgrades as it's something I plan to do for my parents. Is the CPU on this one socketed? And if so do you intend to add new thermal paste?

[@jackilynpyzocha662]

Superb deal!

[@twiztidsidfreak13]

This is a hell of a deal for someone getting into graphic work or video editing on a budget.

[@mylarhyrule3752]

As a guy with a core 2 duo in his 2009 iMac, an i5 would be the dream... It would make upgrading to an i7 an option.

[@Flojoe6274]

You're right -- I might even buy this.

[@pr9334]

Funny. I just bought the exact model for 140. Great condition, and it runs superb for what I need it to do, including run Windows on Parallels. Honestly has to be the best hundred dollars I’ve ever spent.

[@gershonvillamor4490]

As long as it runs the latest Photoshop and couple of emulators/retro games/90's/2000 to mid 2000's PC like games plus minor video editing just like my Macbook Aie 2015, I will be very contented with that iMac (:

[@vesperugo5159]

I own the same Mac and so i am very interested in the upgrades you may do. Greetings from Germany :)

[@marcusdavvid3133]

Great value for a great computer!

[@allennicholson4248]

I bought an iMac 2011 with a prototype Nvidia card in it. It had working bootscreen and brightness control. A few of us are working on vbios roms for the 765, 770 and 780 at the moment. We have successfully got bootscreen working and are working on getting the backlight working. There is a long thread on macrumors with the progress so far.

[@emmanuelealberti1397]

I just bought for 100€ a late 2009 21,5" iMac and I'm fine with it for basic tasks, light editing and music production.

[@DarioDarrow]

7:21 That’s the face of a cat who has all the jokes tested out on her.

[@macmund]

Wow that is a great buy! I would definitely get that except that I am in the Philippines. But if that is sold here that would be sold immediately esp running Sierra!