Turn Your Broken iMac Into A New Standalone Display!

► Check out their kickstarter here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
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Today we’re turning my broken old 27” 2011 iMac into a functional standalone display with the help of Juicy Crumb Systems and their new logic board. #imac #display #repair
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Nathan Sivewright
Parcel Collect 10045 46100
Shop 4 254 Curtis Road
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More about the kickstarter project:
"Dust off your old iMac and turn it into an external display, dock, or fully fledged computer! These "CrumbGrades" are a simple drop in replacement for the original Logic Board of your 2011 27” iMac"

[@psivewri]

This seems like a pretty interesting endeavour, check out their kickstarter if it interests you :) www.kickstarter.com/projects/juicycrumb/juicy-crumb-upgrade-logic-board

[@iamdmc]

absolutely stupid pricing you can buy a great 27" 1440p or 4K monitor at these prices! And it would have warranty and be 10 years newer tech disappointed in your promotion of this overpriced kickstarter that will probably never ship

[@digitalrampage]

Thanks @Psivewri - Hopefully all the people who like the idea even those who dont have a compatible Mac can throw in a few dollars support (even a single $) to show the development team there is some love out there. We were over half funded in a week, so hopefully people see the value in this and future projects of the same style on other products

[@iamdmc]

@@digitalrampage your project is bad and you should feel bad

[@ekoprasetiyo]

How about the drives on the imac? Can it be connected to the board so it can function as a storage via usb?

[@Goldenboi69akacunt]

one question do you have a macOS Seirra install usb by any chance if you do pls can u respond because i have the exact same iMac 27"

[@T3CHGY007]

Man those old iMacs still has some of the best resolutions for viewing around! simply amazing!

[@HGAMES69]

Let's hope Apple doesn't try to shut this project down because it looks promising and shows potential reverse engineering.

[@poble]

have they actually gone after these kind of projects though?

[@zoomosis]

I don't see how they could.

[@elfedorausado]

I don't think they can. Controller boards for display panels have been sold for years now. There's a wealth of KZbin content around repurposing displays from otherwise damaged laptop and turning them into external monitors. In the Apple camp, Luke Miani did something similar with an iMac, turning it into a 4k display some months ago, so I guess there is no problem.

[@AmazedStoner]

I’m more curious as to why apple hasn’t thought of this as an available service already

[@GalenlevyPhoto]

Nah Apple won’t. People have done repurposing Macs for years. Swapping boards or making custom boards for older Macs.

[@rebelliousreptile7336]

Absolutly love the idea, especially the use of existing hardware on the monitor like the webcam and the optical drive. Ive seen these macs pretty cheap that are stuffed in the motherboard, cpu or gpu area so this could be a very affordable way of getting a great monitor with a ton of other goodies.

[@stevearkwright]

Alas, it’s not affordable. They’re asking US$249 for the *cheapest* board. You can buy a fancy HP 32" silver monitor - brand new - with $50 left over.

[@rebelliousreptile7336]

@@stevearkwright hold on there. The boards are expensive, sure, but when you add up the total costs, it can be a very good deal. You get 5k resolution, and then all the io including an optical drive, a USB hub and even a webcam. If you get the iMac for say $100, then try to find a monitor with all the same items as that.

[@thumbwarriordx]

Be very afraid of the VESA mounting option tho. They specced the screws to self-destruct and shear apart if you look at them too hard.

[@sf95super]

​@@rebelliousreptile733650$ a monitor and 10$ a webcam also with the european price that it's more expensive then American ones.

[@lasbrujazz]

I can only imagine when this product is finalized, the shape of the board would actually align with external ports on iMac chassis, making it a complete sleeper.

[@demorbe-official]

I love your creativity it's really awesome seeing you bring old stuff back to life.

[@videogalore]

Really interesting and long overdue too! Makes perfect sense as they begin to reduce support for the older macs, which are otherwise perfectly good!

[@HughJeffreys]

These guys reached out to me. I was keen to cover the product but they wanted me to sign an NDA that was marked as being from "iFixit". I said I wouldn't sign anything and asked them why they where calling themselves iFixit and never heard anything more...

[@cbee402]

?

[@butterfox863]

thats odd, btw love your videos #righttorepair

[@psivewri]

Their "IFIXIT Australia PTY LTD" ABN was registered back in 2012. They are trading as the business "Juicy Crumb Systems" as of August 2021. Maybe it's some sort of inside joke and they registered the company name prior to the American "iFixit" company having a presence here in Australia.

[@digitalrampage]

Juicy Crumb and its original parent company has owned the name iFixit in Australia since 2006. Someone from Juicy Crumb will be in touch soon to re-affirm this.

[@CHGOfficial512]

Shh apple might hear

[@joel.davey04]

thank you for releasing this it's really helpful bro.

[@jorge7282]

Your video has answered my questions. Thank you very much for sharing this method that works for all platforms.

[@hackintoshslovakia368]

absolut fantastic project, as always !

[@thebusinessfirm9862]

Great video, mate. Thanks for making it.

[@ericbauer4559]

Nice to see someone trying to make something out of these old but very nice iMacs. I have a 2010 27" that I put an M1 Mac mini inside along with connecting the speakers to USB amp, and installed a 2011 iSight camera. After accidentally killing the ebay display driver board, I took apart a 4k LG display and installed that instead. Just waiting on a replacement front glass panel and it'll be finished.

[@giorgos7six]

Hi Eric, you actually placed a MacMini inside that iMac?

[@ericbauer4559]

@@giorgos7six Yes, just the logic board and the power supply.

[@giorgos7six]

@@ericbauer4559 Wow this sounds awesome! Do you have a video of this installation?

[@ericbauer4559]

@@giorgos7six Not yet. It's pretty nice to use even though I don't get to use it daily since I just have it at work on my work bench.

[@rnt45t1]

Happy to see you posting again, my friend.

[@hazel_888]

really looking forward to this! i have a 2009 imac with a broken graphics card and i wanted to turn it into a display for quite a while!

[@Tom2404]

For 300AUD you can probably just buy another GPU and a usb capture card.

[@adamren7467]

Only compatible with 2011 27 inch ones.

[@samlawrence4670]

Disable the graphics card that one will work in target display mode.

[@Abhidoesfirestuff]

love your vids mane keep these innovative bits coming !!

[@BronyumHexofloride]

I do hope they go back as far as the G4, i got one collecting dust that hasn't worked in over a decade due to a logic board issue that id Love to turn into a stylish display for my various computers

[@zaamuro8408]

Great idea and amazing way of keeping Apple aesthetics around!

[@Roberto_79]

Looks amazing I have a 27 inch iMac up in the loft with a failed logic board which I was loath to get rid of as it was working so will before that. This is definitely a project I would like to attempt

[@andresbravo2003]

Looks good! I was really impressed! 😇👍🏻💙

[@digitalrampage]

Thank you! You can support the efforts with a crumbs up on the project!

[@RobertMizen]

This is awesome, such a great project.

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

Really cool video ! I did the same thing Years ago I have an Imac Lamp / an 2011 and 2009 Imac as Displays

[@RestInRaxys]

This looks so cool, hope they keep their promises

[@TimurTripp2]

This is amazing. I'd like to see a version for the iMac 5K as it can save people (myself included) so much money vs. buying a new Studio Display! The panel in our aging iMacs is still nearly as good as Apple's $1,600 display and it frustrates me so much that it can't be used as a standalone display, especially now with Apple's attempt to discontinue MacOS support for early models of iMac 5K. Unlike the 2011 it may not be a standard DisplayPort connector inside which is a problem though, at the time the DisplayPort standard couldn't handle 5K. I believe they got around this by using 2x DisplayPorts for the one display but I could be wrong.

[@c1bersnake]

Imagine dumping in the internals of a mac mini M2 pro and having a fully functional iMac pro lol

[@AsenIkonomov]

Pretty cool idea!

[@calebandkylerock]

Dang it bro! You beat me. I'm in the process of editing my video of a 2011 imac monitor! Great video as always mate!

[@Aldo.flores]

That’s an incredible way to turn an old iMac into a Thunderbolt Display for a couple bucks, hope they fix the cable position in the future and manage a way to reuse the existing ports on the iMac

[@jameslangridge8849]

I love the idea of being able to reuse something that would otherwise be thrown away or recycled.

[@digitalrampage]

Thanks! Please throw a dollar of support in if you could to help =)

[@virgomunoz]

I’m planning on doing this with a 2006 white iMac! The idea was to use it with newer software as if it had original hardware inside of it. I have a special connection to these computers because it’s what they had in the computer lab in elementary school

[@Bort_86]

I was thinking about doing something exactly like that (well, with the cheap AliExpress-stuff that’s around, USB-hubs and a lot of tinkering) and am on the lookout for a cheap broken iMac for that. While this kickstarter-project is pretty neat, due to budget constraints I will still stick to what I imagined.

[@FadiQv]

My thoughts exactly. The product is amazing, but at a £250 buy in, Its too expensive to be viable. Im sure cost will come down with time though.

[@theburntcrumpet8371]

This is so cool - I've always been a huge fan of the displays apple use in the iMacs so to be able to repurpose computers which would otherwise be ewaste as high quality, high resolution monitors is quite the achievement

[@Matthew_Finn]

Solid video!

[@dash8brj]

I hope this comes out for the 2014 iMacs, as my one has a stuffed logic board. I'd love to use it as a second monitor for my m1 macbook :)

[@avrel820]

Nice I enjoyed watching 😃

[@serg3615]

The Boards start at $386? For that money, you can buy a decent 4k or buy a Chinese board for $200 to convert 2015 images into screens.

[@nuherbleath461]

It’s a very good up cycle. The need to make some sort of brightness knob for the newer Apple cinema displays as they can no longer have their brightness adjusted due to it being in the os and that being removed.

[@ncwplaneteer7007]

I love this. I would love to see more retro apple videos

[@RandomActivities]

This is very cool!

[@uchihasasuke7436]

This is sick as hell, might try to make one myself

[@austinmerath9733]

Dreams do come true! I love it! But now we need one for the iMac G3 😆😆

[@digitalrampage]

Throw in a dollar of support to the campaign if you can! The G3 is certainly something we would love to do one day, but its much further down the list

[@BossBen1]

Really good video. Keep it up

[@zerocks88]

using this to put a new mac mini in is SUCH an awesome idea!

[@digitalrampage]

Thanks! Shoot us a Crumbs Up on the kickstarter if you can! =)

[@MyFriendlyPup]

You're rad dude.

[@harkiratkathuria318]

Yes! Another mac video !!!

[@spoons4904]

Great video

[@andrewdupuis1151]

i like imac monitors i have early 2008 imac it still works great

[@ngannon80]

Very cool!

[@cashwood]

I remember when you could do a similar thing with Target Display Mode on the pre-5K iMacs but the functionality was disabled in a later version of macOS (I think it might've been Mojave not sure)

[@THEcoolGAMER60]

Do u know why it was removed?

[@Sauceyjames]

@@THEcoolGAMER60 Apple needs to make money 💰

[@elu9780]

@@THEcoolGAMER60 Apple only removes functionality and usability to make more profit for themselves. That's it. There's literally no deeper reasoning for this - they don't care about end users. If they did, they would release unlockers for older iPad and iPhone models so that they would remain usable and not just stuck wherever they happened to be the last time they were used.

[@memediatek]

@@THEcoolGAMER60 they started selling displays

[@NickelLight]

@@sys-administrator /\

[@ericrhill]

Oh wow I've got a 2011 gathering dust under my desk. If this would let me upcycle it cleanly into an m1 I'd be so happy!

[@LoftechUK]

Great idea.

[@digitalrampage]

Thanks! Shoot us a Crumbs Up on the kickstarter if you can! =)

[@Pennerman]

I am currently using my 27“ 2011 iMac as a display for my 2012 Mac Mini via a 0.5m Thunderbolt cable. It would be nice to be able to use newer computers with different cables though!

[@ShockingPikachu]

Got to love upcycling!

[@digitalrampage]

Thank you! So do we, throw a dollar of support in if you can!

[@tunnandaaung2]

cool dude now i going to buy broken imac and try to test this :3

[@Geardos1]

really promising product, these displays are still good by modern standards and highly functional. Great way to prevent iMac e-waste.

[@digitalrampage]

Thank you for your kind words! People forget how good these displays are. When people say “But I can buy a better display for $200” they clearly haven’t used one of these as a standalone display! Give us a crumbsup on the Kickstarter

[@nenadtarlac]

Hope they make one for the 5k 2017 iMac. That’s a stunning display.

[@jasmidotormythrilaon]

Wow imagine using 3 2010 imacs as displays that sounds awesome

[@TheSpotify95]

4:29 Nice, it's good to know that other people also play the older F1 games :). Even without seeing the banner, I guessed it was from 2012 (or similar).

[@psivewri]

Yes, 2012 🙂

[@TheSpotify95]

@@psivewri F1 2012 was one of the first games I played on a PC - it was back when I was using a weak laptop, could barely get 20fps with everything set to low 😛

[@markredf150]

Awesome video! This is a heck of a way to prevent some huge e-waste. Do you know if it'll be available for the 21.5" models as well?

[@digitalrampage]

Throw us a dollar to show your support. We are planning on the 21.5 and the 2009-2010 models as well. The reason targeting this model occurred as a first was due to the significant number of dead units floating around for cheap.

[@a1m598]

@@digitalrampage your prices are ridiculous

[@digitalrampage]

​@@a1m598 Yet we are over half funded. We respect your choice not to like the project and welcome you to attempt to build a competitor for a lower price.

[@RageQuitSon]

​​@@digitalrampage (remove the ! For your website in your last public update) yo I LOVE your project but realistically, no. Preventing e-waste isn't worth over $250 USD. And I don't like the cockiness. Congrats on exceeding your goal! But a diy hack can't cost more than a brand new monitor. And if you release cheaper that's a HUGE middle finger to your backers.

[@mdanehenry]

Really interesting! I have an old 2007 iMac that I’d like to repurpose as a display only…

[@digitalrampage]

throw us a dollar. If this project gets over the line, the plan is to replicate it on to many older Mac models. The iMac G4 is the next in the pipeline currently due to demand.

[@bramvandenbroeck5060]

I am quite interested in a 2008 20 inch version of this mod, i have an old imac i would like to convert this way to be able to work with my m1 pro macbook pro! This would be so awesome! And i hope the G4 mod sees the light of day in the near future!

[@digitalrampage]

The G4 will be the next project when this crosses the line and ships. Throw some support on the kickstart with a Crumb Up if you can! Every support and dollar helps, and allows us to keep in touch in regards to the G4 project.

[@lgmnowkondo938]

Apple knew what to do with monitors...we need more with this exact design!! One piece of front glass over a screen with large bezels. Everyone thinks they want smaller bezels...this is so wrong!!! The bezel and smooth front glass are absolutely beautiful.

[@Sentinel-USA]

Amazing!

[@TheBasementChannel]

I’d be so stoked to get a 5k version of this board

[@CesareVesdani]

Does this mean that you can turn any broken computer into a standalone display? That's cool. Turning a broken iMac into a tablet.

[@paulb4uk]

Very neat idea to reuse these as a stand alone monitor if the computer fails .

[@SPARTAN_Cayde-26]

I would make a all in one pc out of my old laptop with this thing!

[@digitalrampage]

Throw a dollar in support if you can! The best thing is, eventually when this is commercially successful, the M1 bracket solution could be repurposed for any stick PC or mini PC that runs on 12V power

[@lowlowseesee]

This looks like what I’m looking for

[@TheMetalMag]

my 2013 is still working perfect

[@TamarinPamarin]

Nice one

[@giorgos7six]

Awesome board and video, congrats #Psivewri! Is the camera operational? 🙂

[@Pendleton115]

Hi, the camera, SD reader and other accessories are all operational on the "DockPro" model!

[@giorgos7six]

@@Pendleton115 what other accessories are operational on the Dock Pro and what on the Dock Lite model?

[@GayDingo]

Would love this to upgrade my late 2013 iMac my dad uses with M1 hardware.

[@ptfrodrigues9300]

I want new car videos :D xD Keep up the good work!

[@IshtiaqAlam]

That Mitshubishi Magna tho 🔥

[@silviurec8550]

This is actually a good idea Like I can now use more monitors for paying less and more resolution, instead of buying a cheap monitor with less resolution

[@AztkSmooth]

Man I need this my 2012 27 inch hasn’t been working for the last year due to similar issues. Still turns on though.

[@BrianJones-wk8cx]

Very very interesting! Will be keeping my eyes on this project, thanks for the heads-up!

[@digitalrampage]

Thanks Brian. Throw your support behind this project with a dollar if you can. The lite is expected to ship earlier then expected as we are now just arranging a last minute change and manufacturing partner - The pro has greater challenges but everything is possible!

[@BenjaminMillar]

Bake the GPU! I've resurrected 4 2011-era 27" iMacs this way :)

[@joelcarterramadge183]

Would be even better in a 5K iMac, both for higher res screen and speakers. I have always wanted to do this because the body of the iMac looks so great.

[@LeBeautiful]

Hopefully Apple doesn't show no prying eyes to this, this is such an awesome mod.

[@Supercon57]

What a great way to bring new life to an otherwise unusable great screen just collecting dust

[@digitalrampage]

Thanks! Shoot us a Crumbs Up on the kickstarter if you can! =)

[@MoeGravey]

I like the idea of the m1 in an old Mac. would be interesting to see guts of a framework laptop thrown into it.

[@thomasandrews9355]

Ha, they are using Newark / Farnell caps. nothing wrong with that, just surprising :) I use them myself.

[@tld8102]

wow. i think there would definitely be a aftermarket for this modification to microsoft’s surface studio

[@georgesenda1952]

Their kickstarter ends before the end of the month. I hope they extend it.

[@digitalrampage]

We expect to reach the goal with more videos coming. but throwing a dollar in will help if you can!

[@The_10mm_socket_you_lost]

Ngl, i hope that this can support the older iMacs like the 2007 iMacs. I have one with a bad gpu and would love to connect a m1 Mac mini into it.

[@digitalrampage]

Throw us a dollar in support of the campaign. Next is the iMac G4, then we go with demand based feedback on which models are thereafter. We have gone for one of the most technically challenging up front. We are nearly there. The revision 5 is far more polished.

[@feedmyintellect]

I installed Chrome OS Flex on my 2011 iMAC and turned it into a fantastic Chromebook that will receive security updates for many years to come. The Core i5 in my iMAC along with 8GB if RAM makes it quite a powerful Chromebook.

[@kayburcky7146]

That board you inserted is a panel controller, "logic board" is the edgy name apple gave to their Mainboards...

[@edmn]

Would love this for a 2015 5k iMac.

[@musicCheckers]

Look at Luke Miani he has one 😊

[@digitalrampage]

Throw a dollar to support the team. The 5K iMac is likely second in line after the iMac G4 for this project.

[@Mitchellwow]

It would also be nice to see support for the built-in cd player

[@digitalrampage]

The Pro version does support the CD Drive.

[@BluIceLollyUltra]

Nice Hyundai Nathan!

[@Ahsaniscool987]

This man is criminally underrated

[@Ahsaniscool987]

Scammer

[@calvinficenec7538]

I did this a while ago with an $80 board from eBay on a free, dead 2009 27” iMac, and this does everything that I had imagined I would want from the board. The one I got has a lot less features.

[@digitalrampage]

The benefit of this is the lack of need for soldering, a power supply and backlight driver. We use the original Apple Power and Backlight meaning you get great quality display and full brightness. Yes its more expensive, but it has more features and requires little technical experience.

[@maxymko]

Would you please advise the search keywords? I’ve been looking for a while, and wasn’t able to find anything like this.

[@calvinficenec7538]

@@maxymko I just found a sticker on the back of the panel with the model number and typed that into eBay with the phrase “driver board” or “control board” after it.

[@maxymko]

@@calvinficenec7538 Ah, I see. Thanks for feedback.

[@caviar_dreamz]

You can switch the integrated GPU off using an application. I forgot what it was called, but I've used it on a Macbook Pro with a failing GPU and it switches back to Intel graphics. I think there's also a verbose command to switch it off too.

[@ronkemperful]

Much better and more practical than converting the iMac to an aquarium. And no skinny fish needed. Sadly I got rid of my 2011 iMac because it would have cost 400$ to replace a broken power button… this would have been a great project for it, especially with a secret M1 Mac Mini inside.

[@kv3513]

That concept is awesome. Definitely need one.

[@digitalrampage]

Throw some support on the kickstarter if you can! Even a dollar to show support is what we need to show the team we are on the right track!

[@PurpleSucks.]

I saw your comment on luke's vid and i wasnt sure u were gonna make this lol

[@lands1459]

could you maybe do a video on GPU replacement? i have a 2011 21.5" iMac, A1311 with an HD 6750M in it. works fine but i heard they have issues so it would be nice to know how to replace it should i ever need to

This is so weird! I just today have researched how to convert my dying imac 27"into a monitor. I guess Big Brother google is everywhere. But really weird since I was already subscribed!

[@GalenlevyPhoto]

That would be a great project if my 2017 iMac stops working in the future. It’s a excellent 5k display.

[@rayproductionsbackupchanne3862]

i have a old first generation intel imac here with a fully fried gpu. would be cool to use this to make it atleast not full ewaste.

[@digitalrampage]

Eventually we will. But we need your help to get over the line on this. Give us a crumbs up to help on the Kick Starter! :)