iMac 24" as a display?

On May 2, 2007, at 11:58 AM, Hector I. Macedo wrote:

> Although the time is early yet, I am wondering if when my 24" iMac
> will be too slow to work and it seems to me a pitty to discard such
> a great display, my question is: would it be possible to use the
> computer as a simple display for a more powerful one?

I think it's unlikely that you'll be able to physically connect the
iMac's LCD to another Mac. The first CRT iMacs used a standard VGA
connector between the motherboard and CRT so it actually was possible
to get in there and connect the display to another computer (or, more
often, connect the motherboard to a working external display). The
connection between your iMac's motherboard and the display is not a
standard external port like DVI or VGA. The diagram on this page
shows the connection to the internal display as LVDS or Low Voltage
Differential Signaling.

iMac Developer Note
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/HardwareDrivers/Conceptual/
iMac_0609_Combo/Articles/M50A_arch.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Low_voltage_differential_signaling#Applications

What might be possible is to buy another computer with an LVDS port
and run a cable to the iMac. You'd have to keep the iMac powered up
just for the display. It looks like some mini-ITX boards have LVDS
ports. Ultra-small boards aren't usually known for their performance
but this one can handle Core 2 Duo processors and its LVDS port is
dual-link which is required to support your 24" LCD's native
resolution (1920x1200).

MX945GM Intel® Core™ Solo/Duo, Core™ 2 Duo/ Celeron® M (65nm) Socket
M Mini ITX Motherboard
http://www.bcmcom.com/bcm_product_mx945gm.htm


What you should definitely be able to do, as long as the iMac still
runs, is extend a faster computer's display on to the iMac using the
same tricks Jeff Porten used to create his 23-inch MacBook.

Build Your Own 23-inch MacBook
http://db.tidbits.com/article/8849

On May 2, 2007, at 10:58 AM, Hector I. Macedo wrote:

> Although the time is early yet, I am wondering if when my 24" iMac
> will be too slow to work and it seems to me a pitty to discard such
> a great display, my question is: would it be possible to use the
> computer as a simple display for a more powerful one?

I'd just try using Screen Recycler to use the iMac's 24" beside
whatever else you have, perhaps a new 24 or future 30" iMac QuadCore!
Also, you could use something like Teleport to use your main keyboard/
mouse to work on the older iMac for any programs you still want to
run on it which don't need the latest and fastest processors. If you
connect the two with gigabit Ethernet you'll have a very fast second
monitor for keeping open windows running. Works just fine for me.

http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html

http://abyssoft.com/software/teleport/

Jeffrey