Use iMac(2012) as Display on Thunderbolt PC

Hi all,
I'm currently thinking about getting the new iMac 27" when its finally available in December. Currently I'm only using a PC and I'd like to keep the PC for gaming and Windows specific Software. In this case I'd like to use the iMac as PC-Display. Unfortunately the new iMac will only have Thunderbolt connectors.
My first question is if i'll be possible to use these Thunderbolt-Ports as Video inputs and secondly if it'll be possible to connect a Thunderbolt-equipped PC to the iMac and use it as Display in Taget Display Mode (e.g. with Asus P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt Mainboard).
As long as it's not possible to connect a PC to an iMac and use it as Display I'll not be able to switch to Apple.
Thanks in advance for your help!

Why not install MS Windows on the new iMac and run your video games on the iMac, you can run your games natively in MS WIndows by using Boot Camp for the best user experience.
iMac's have had Thunderbolt connections since 2011 so this isn't anything new. However to answer your question about a Thunderbolt equipped PC, you need to contact the developer and see if their boards support Target Display Mode on Macs. That is the name of the feature you are inquiring about. You can find out more about TGM by reading Apple's Target Display Mode 2011 Macs article.
Also please click the More Like This link directly to your right for similar posts as yours.

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How can connect my macbook pro mid 2012 to my imac 21.5 inch mid 2010 ?? I want to use imac like a display for macbook.

How can connect my macbook pro mid 2012 to my imac 21.5 inch mid 2010 ?? I want to use imac like a display for macbook.

Target Display Mode: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
with a mini display to mini display cable. Attach it to the Thunderbolt port on your MBP and to the mini display port on your iMac.
How do I enable TDM?
Make sure both computers are turned on and awake.
Connect a male-to-male Mini DisplayPort or ThunderBolt cable to each computer.
Press Command-F2 on the keyboard of the iMac being used as a display to enable TDM.
Note: In Keyboard System Preferences, if the checkbox is enabled for "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard functions keys," the key combination changes to Command-Fn-F2.

Using iMac 2011 to display a PC

Dose anyone using iMac 2011 to display a PC by Mini displayport to VGA(or DVI) cable!
I used a Mini displayport to VGA cable and press commead+F2 button, but it was nothing happen.
that is the cable I've used.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB572Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDA5OQ&mco=MTA4MzU1NDg
Should I change other cable? or it just can't be work!!
Tks,

You cannot use a 2011 iMac in Target Display mode.
Target Display only works with the 2010 iMac.

Using '09 iMac as Target Display via Thunderbolt Cable Fail

I have a peculiar situation that I hoping someone can decipher with certainty:
I have a late 2009 iMac core i7, 27" running 10.9.1
I just received a Mac Pro - my plan was to use the iMac as a display for the Mac Pro at least for a while. I purchased a thunderbolt cable. I have connected the mac pro via thunderbolt cable to the mini display port on the iMac.
Unfortunately I simply cannot get CMD-F2 to work, or FN-CMD-F2 on the iMac. I have tried PRAM resets etc. The system does nothing when I hit those keys. I verified the mac pro is working via HDMI.
I am now wondering if I have the right cable. I understood thunderbolt and mini display port to be interchangeable and backward compatible so that my situation would work.
What am I missing? Thanks much, really would like to get this mac pro on screen without buying a new monitor!

I found that MDP iMac MUST use a MDP cable. Which of course is not as easy to come by as the thunderbolt which I picked up. Really annoying.
http://blog.macsales.com/10899-target-display-mode-and-thunderbolt

Connecting iMac Keyboard to Macbook Pro while using iMac as external display

I'm trying to using my iMac wireless keyboad for my macbook pro while my iMac is in external display mode but I can't get the keyboad to connect. I've tried disconnecting the wireless keyboard from my iMac but it won't go into target display mode without the keyboad. Can I used my iMac wireless keyboard with my Macbook pro while my iMac is being used as an external display?

No, not reliably. If it's paired with both machines you can turn it off and turn it back on but it's a toss up which machine it will connect with. If you took it to another room so the iMac didn't see it, you'd have to disconnect the minidisplay port/thunderbolt cable and then it would exit target mode display.

Using iMac as external display on MBP (Lion)

I'm trying to use my 27" iMac as the external monitor for my MBP, both running Lion. I saw an article (support.apple.com/kb/PH4469; seems to be unavailable now) and said I just need to hit command+F2 once the computers are connected (using thunderbolt to thunderbolt cable). However, Command+F2 doesn't appear to have any effect.
Please advise.
TIA,
David

but I have as of yet not found a straight answer.
I think you are getting the straight answer. You need "buy a display" because a display has a video input port. An iMac has a video output port, but NO video input port. Therefore, you cannot use it as an external display, like a regular display.
You could give the iMac a video input using a USB interface device, but the cost of such a device that would provide good quality video into the iMac would cost about the same as (or more than) a low cost LCD display. And it would probably not be ideal in terms of performance.
You could also use this clever program to use a fast network connection and VNC to display the MacBook Pro's second screen on the iMac screen.
http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html
In your case, the program will create a virtual screen for the MacBook Pro and shares it with the iMac in much the same way as the +screen sharing+ feature. Disadvantages are relatively slow image refresh rate (because the signal is going over the network) and the need to have the iMac turned on and running separately. The speed part will not be that bad in your case, if you use a Cat-5e or better Ethernet cable to connect the two Macs, so that you will have gigabit speed. You can give it a try at no cost to see if it is an acceptable solution (in time-limited demo mode).
I use this program to give my iMac a third display. The +third display+ is an old PC laptop running Linux (Ubuntu).

Can I startup with Leopard from Mac Mini using iMac G5 as display?

I'm considering a mac mini purchase after the release of leopard. I have a iMac G5 that is not cutting it for film rendering. I would like to use it as a display for my Mac mini. Can I use Startup disk and work in the Mac Mini's OS?

No, you can't use a G5 iMac as if it were the mini's boot drive and display, and even if you could, that's an incredibly expensive drive and display. It would make far more sense to sell it and use the money to purchase a fast external drive and good quality monitor for the mini.
The nearest solution allowing you to continue to use the iMac and output the mini to it is to use the iMac to control the mini using one of the many flavors of VNC. That will allow you to display the mini's output, in effect in a window on the iMac. However, while this would allow you to take advantage of the mini's processing power, performance of the network connection is likely to influence the efficiency of possible use for applications such as video project development which rely heavily on continuously streaming data.
I find it curious that the G5 iMac is so woefully ineffective in this use that you would be considering this. What specification is the iMac, what video software are you using, and in what way do you find it problematic?

Using iMac as external display with MBP, can this be done?

I know...
This has been posted before, but I have as of yet not found a straight answer. Mostly peoples recommendation is: "Buy a display".
However, I have an older iMac, 20" and I have a newer MBP 15". The MBP has a faster graphics card, better processor and more RAM. But I still like sitting at the table using my iMac, because the comfort of working is better this way.
Now seeing that I have both, is it possible to connect the two, and use the iMac for a display? Preferably without having to buy a whole lot of expensive cables, applications or do strange hacks risking hurting myself or my computers
Thanks all
Have a nice day

but I have as of yet not found a straight answer.
I think you are getting the straight answer. You need "buy a display" because a display has a video input port. An iMac has a video output port, but NO video input port. Therefore, you cannot use it as an external display, like a regular display.
You could give the iMac a video input using a USB interface device, but the cost of such a device that would provide good quality video into the iMac would cost about the same as (or more than) a low cost LCD display. And it would probably not be ideal in terms of performance.
You could also use this clever program to use a fast network connection and VNC to display the MacBook Pro's second screen on the iMac screen.
http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html
In your case, the program will create a virtual screen for the MacBook Pro and shares it with the iMac in much the same way as the +screen sharing+ feature. Disadvantages are relatively slow image refresh rate (because the signal is going over the network) and the need to have the iMac turned on and running separately. The speed part will not be that bad in your case, if you use a Cat-5e or better Ethernet cable to connect the two Macs, so that you will have gigabit speed. You can give it a try at no cost to see if it is an acceptable solution (in time-limited demo mode).
I use this program to give my iMac a third display. The +third display+ is an old PC laptop running Linux (Ubuntu).

Using iMac and the display for MacBook Air

Evening all
I'm trying to hook my MacBook Air up to my iMac in order to use my iMac as the Macbook's display.
I've just been out and bought a thunderbolt cable, plugged one end into my Macbook and the other into my iMac... pressed command + F2 but nothing happens?
I've also tried command + ctrl + F2...
Where am I going wrong??
Thanks for your help.

Unfortunately the instructions do not help me... They suggest that the target display should function provided that a thunderbolt cable is plugged in to each device... however, when I press Command and F2, nothing happens?
I've tried rebooting both computers, resetting the PRAM and nothing works?

Using iMac as external display from Macbook Pro flickers static and crackles.

I'm trying to use my iMac as an external display.
When I plug in my early 2011 Macbook Pro into my Mid 2010 iMac via a Belkin Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort, the iMac screen flickers with static and there's random crackling noises.
Weird thing is, when I try the same thing with a new Macbook Air, everything works perfectly!
Here's a quick video demonstrating what I'm talking about - http://youtu.be/xxTXVRffWwE
Are the two not compatible or do I just have a defective Macbook Pro? The Macbook Pro works fine with the Cinema Display I have in the office...

Huh, It should work like this:
Target Display Mode: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Apple Support
iMac Model
Cable Supported
Port on Source Computer
iMac (27-inch Late 2009)
Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort
Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt
Actually that table seems illogical. The cable supported is mini to mini display but the port says "or Thunderbolt"
Does that seem contradictory to you?

Using iMac as a display.

The new iMac is out - yeah! I am curious about one thing - can I connect my MacPro to it using a thunderbolt cable, thereby using it as a monitor for the Pro. Will functionality (keyboard, mouse) switch to those that are connected to the iMac? I guess the question is - can I use my new iMac as a cinema display and to what extent?
Thanks!

I'm just a user, too - we all are around here. I don't have an iMac handy (haven't had one since aught-six) so I can't tell you exactly how it works.... make a trip to your local Apple Store and I'm sure that they'll be able to answer your question (or maybe a MBP/iMac owner will slip in on this discussion).
Clinton

Using iMac as external display, keyboard, mouse

I would like to use my iMac as an external display, keyboard, and mouse for my windows laptop. Is there a gizmo that will allow me to do this?
When I am using my work computer (windows laptop) at home, I prefer to have a full size display, keyboard and mouse and would like to see if I can use my iMac for this purpose.
21.5” iMac mid-2011

dwh wrote:
I would like to use my iMac as an external display, keyboard, and mouse for my windows laptop. Is there a gizmo that will allow me to do this?
When I am using my work computer (windows laptop) at home, I prefer to have a full size display, keyboard and mouse and would like to see if I can use my iMac for this purpose.
21.5” iMac mid-2011
No, not unless your Windows box has a Thunderbolt output port which it almost certainly does not. Please carefully read Apple's Target Display Mode 2011 Macs that extplains.

Use iMac in Target Display Mode with a Power Mac G4

I would like to connect my Power Mac G4 MDD (Model = http://support.apple.com/kb/SP63) to the new iMac (27 inch, Mid 2010) in Target Display Mode. That is, I want the new iMac to be the display for my Power Mac G4. Has anybody done this (including using the iMac 27 inch, Late 2009, which can also do this)? In a general sort of way, this sort of thing is described on this support page: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3924.
The problem: The iMac requires a Mini Displayport connection. The PowerMac has ADC and DVI-I display connections and also came with an adapter for converting DVI-I to VGA. How can I convert/adapt to get the appropriate Mini Displayport connection?
Gefen makes a converter (http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=8913) that will convert DVI-D to Mini Displayport, but the description explicitly says that it will work with DVI-D only while my PowerMac has DVI-I. I know that these are two different, incompatible connections.
Is there another converter that works with DVI-I? Or is there a way to adapt from DVI-I to DVI-D? Or how about a VGA or ADC to Mini Displayport converter?
Thanks.

japamac-
Thanks so much for your reply. You're right on target for what I'm looking for and that article is VERY helpful! If you don't mind, I do have a couple more questions/clarifications.
1) First, I think that I didn't read the Wikipedia reference concerning DVI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DigitalVisualInterface) closely enough. It includes the following paragraph. If I understand it and what you said, it shouldn't be a problem to connect the male DVI-D of the converter into the female DVI-I socket of my Power Mac. Right?
+The long flat pin on a DVI-I connector is wider than the same pin on a DVI-D connector, so it is not possible to connect a male DVI-I to a female DVI-D by removing the 4 analog pins. It is possible, however, to connect a male DVI-D cable to a female DVI-I connector. Many flat panel LCD monitors have only the DVI-D connection so that a DVI-D male to DVI-D male cable will suffice when connecting the monitor to a computer's DVI-I female connector.+
2) I'm not clear on the difference between the Altona AT-DP200 and the Gefen converter. The Gefen converter is somewhat less expensive, so I'm trying to figure out what the downside is. The article you mentioned says that the ATP-DP200 "doesn't scale images", but that seems to only be an issue if I'm trying to connect other devices (PS3, Blu-ray), not if I just want to connect my Power Mac.
The description of the Gefen converter includes the following drawbacks:
+The only major drawback to Gefen's solution is no support for VGA devices or HDCP. A minor gripe would be the fact that the Gefen device only accepts one input resolution and only outputs one resolution (1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz). These limited options aside, the Gefen device looks like it could do the basic trick of transforming a DVI signal to Mini DisplayPort so that you could use your 27" iMac for a few more purposes, provided that the input signal carries the required 1920 x 1200 resolution.+
I'm not clear on what the practical impact of those limitations would be. I don't think the the lack of support for VGA devices or HDCP is an issue for my application. But I'm wondering about the statement that it only accepts one input resolution and outputs only one resolution (1920 x 1200) and the need for the input signal to carry 1920 x 1200. I take it, first of all, that the Power Mac can supply that input resolution. And, what is the impact of the device only having that resolution output to the iMac screen? That is, how would that look on the screen, ugly or okay? Finally, would the Altona device provide a better looking output on the iMac screen because it can apparently handle different resolutions? The manufacturer's description says, "Resolutions: all resolutions up to 1920x1200 (It is Important to select one of the resolutions that display
is capable of displaying, refer to your display’s users manual)."
Thanks again.

Using imac duo as display

Hi,
i have a PS2 video game console. I was wondering what was needed (if possible) to use the iMac duo as a display for my PS2. Basically, becomes a t.v.???

Try using the Elgato DTT Hybrid USB you can plug in PS2, sky box etc plus it has freeview built in
http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetvhybridna

HT3924 Using iMac as external display for PC. Question re: Cables

I have a PC laptop with an HDMI output, but not a mini displayport. I have a 27" iMac with a mini displayport jack. If I want to use the iMac as an external monitor for the PC laptop, can I use a mini displayport to HDMI cable? Or does my laptop need to have a mini displayport jack as well?
Thanks

This approach will only work if the OP has a 2009 or 2010 27" iMac. It will not work on any other iMacs. What he is attempting to do is called Target Display Mode, TDM is addressed in these two Apple articles:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3924
and
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3775

Use iMac(2012) as Display on Thunderbolt PC

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