• out of stock

[eBay Plus, Refurbished] iMac 27" 5K Late (2015) i5-6500 3.2GHz 8GB RAM 1TB HDD $350.22 Shipped @ Harris Technology eBay

250
PLUSWK22

Original Coupon Deal

Yes, it is almost 10 years old. But the 5K panel in this machine is gorgeous. It's the same panel as LG's Ultrafine 5K, which sells for $1700 and it's also the same panel in Apple's own 5K Studio Display which sells for $2400. Personally I bought one of these converter kits for $375 and use the iMac as an external display, USB hub and charger all through a single USB-C cable.

Alternatively you could upgrade the machine to an SSD and an i7-6700K and it'd be very usable. Just beware the screens are difficult to remove and require a special thin plastic pizza cutter type tool to break the glue. Also, the GPUs in these have been known to fail over time.

EDIT: They sold out! For those asking how to open these up, watch a tutorial. You'll need to purchase this kit https://www.amazon.com.au/iFixit-Adhesive-Strips-Compatible-…

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closed Comments

  • fyi:
    27"

  • Dunno what to do with it…Old mac with 27 inch screen…

  • +8

    Almost 10 years old

  • +11

    Other than the 5k screen; this has very little practical application

    • The i5 6500 is slightly faster than an Intel N100, which many use for web browsing and movie watching. Replacing the HDD with an SSD gives you a very usable computer.

  • +2

    Up to what macOS could this run … if you did upgrade the CPU to i7-6700K & a SSD ?

    Could you run an Amazon Firestick by just sticking it into an HDMI port ?

    • Last year’s MacOS Ventura is the last you are going to get.

    • +1

      Google OCLP

  • I don’t see why we can’t get up to 7700k on this.

    • I can see the lack of native bios support for kabylake CPUs being a huge issue.
      try dropping a 7700k CPU into any PC skylake motherboard without the proper updates..

      • The 2015 uses DDR3, does that work with the 7700k?

  • My 27" 5K 2015 (late) is now a glorified YouTube/Netflix and an Apple News/Magazine screen…nothing more can come of it.

    • +4

      Got a couple in my office still and they barely creak along - they really struggle with anything beyond browsing.

      Can't believe OP spent $375 on the converter kit..!

      • Yeah I remembered last year Samsung OLED G8 34inch came down to 800-900 (bunch of loyalty discount, Samsung App Boxing Day 15% off, SSD bundle discount).

        I got my 49inch G9 for low 1400.

        $700 for a “10 year old” panel (potential for panel burn in) and risk of DIY, time for research. Maybe not worth. Probably you can shout out the extra and get an Odyssey G8 by working the same hours in Coles/Mac Vs research and DIY time.

        Unless you really enjoy DIY hahah. Maybe like me, this 5K iMac was like my dream computer back when I was in high school. I have build a lot of PCs, even with 4090. But I never build a monitor. Now my hands are itchy… must resist!

        I have too many monitors, don’t have another desk for this.

  • So, without converter it can't be used as external monitor?

    • +2

      No. It’s not a monitor.

  • +2

    Op is making all of us start a technology museum

  • +1

    So many hours of playing TF2 on this thing… RIP 32-bit

  • Only 8gb, no deal

    • +1

      There are 4 RAM slots at the back, user accessible, max RAM 32GB.

  • Yesterday a friend offered me a free, working 2010 he'd found by the side of the road (unwiped). I politely declined but should have told him to put it back really.

    • gotta check if there is a forgotten crypto wallet first! lol

  • Good enough for Zoom and Word?

  • Could install Linux on it and it would run fine and continue to be updated. Would be a nice machine actually. KDE Plasma 6 at 5K, nice!

  • Ummm can we install Windows on this?

    Please don’t flame me :D

    • +4

      Windows 10, yes! Windows 11, you'll have to manually partition, install from USB, then use the regedit work round for the TPM 2.0.

      • Thank you :)

  • Cheers OP. Out of stock though.

  • +1

    Mine is painfully slow to open apps (about 1 minute to open Safari). That said I do love the display and design (not the mouse). Been eager to swap out the HDD but I am to scared of cracking the display. So I mostly just keep it powered off to save electricity, and use my iPad instead.
    Edit: I did add 2 sticks of cheap RAM years ago, maybe I’ll go test the performance without them and report back
    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    • Easy to upgrade the RAM?

        • Thanks!
          With more 16/32GB RAM it should run faster?

          • @congo: I’ll be removing my 2x 16GB sticks shortly.

            • @muncan: Oh you already running 32GB and it takes 1 min to open Safari?
              Doesn't seem right?
              i5-6500 shouldn't take 1 min to open a browser?

              • +1

                @congo: OK, have removed all 3 ram sticks, I think one (green) might have been the original, as now my iMac won’t boot up! I’ll try again with the green one plugged back in, and my 2x 16GB (black) removed…
                Edit: OK booting up, it looks like the iMac needs at least 1 stick of ram to boot 😆 Performance seems about the same, I might try again with the default 8GB stick removed and my 2x 16GB sticks added only.
                Edit2: they’re on to us! Won’t boot with the 2x 16GB sticks alone, nor with the original 8 + additional 2x16. Will only boot now with the original 8 plugged in. Can I please use it as an external display? No? Damn you Tim Apple!! 🙅

                • @muncan: That's pretty wild. Have you looked into this more? I'd be suprised if it didn't boot up again with the same sticks of ram, in the same rail configuration as originally..

                  • +1

                    @WasBargain: I think it was playing tricks on me. After a mental break, I eventually managed to get it to boot with just the 2x 16GB sticks, but not after giving the underside of my index finger a RAM-stick-induced paper cut. Owwies!
                    I probably wasn’t pushing the power button properly, or allowing it enough time to allow it to contemplate its new existence before yanking the power cord out and retrying. All good now.

      • Piece of cake - there's a panel at the back for access

    • I've got a similar slow loading issue on a 2019 iMac in the office here - and I maybe have narrowed it down to HDD failure. Not sure if that's the case but even after a clean format and reinstall of Ventura, it runs like hot garbage, compared to the same iMac sitting next to it. Really weird. Can't swap ut the HDD so it might be a dead duck, unless I install the OS onto an external drive.

      • +1

        I worked as a Apple repair tech for a few years. Our most common job (besides cracked iPhones) was swapping dead or dying HDD's from iMacs. An authorised Apple repair shop will do this for you, but it will likely be $300 for labour and $200 for parts. Alternatively you could buy a 1TB SSD for around $120 and do it yourself. You need to watch a tutorial and buy this kit https://www.amazon.com.au/iFixit-Adhesive-Strips-Compatible-…

        EDIT: These 5K iMacs have a SATA drive for HDDs, and a proprietary SSD 256GB SSD stick used as a cache or 'fusion' drive. Like the other commenter, remove the HDD and just use the SSD. Or replace the HDD with a SATA SSD.

    • I've opened a few and although it's a little daunting at first it's quite easy to do. Take it slowly and watch the iFixit teardowns twice before starting :-) Adding a genuine Apple SSD stick is definitely a more expensive option, compared to Samsungs and adapters etc., but will ensure you don't run into any sleep issues. The last one I did (my old 27" 2017) had a 1TB SSPOLARIS drive (fastest Apple made) added to it, removing the old HDD completely. The speed difference, even coming from a Fusion drive, is very noticeable. Make sure to use genuine adhesive tape when you seal it back up. Non-genuine tape lacks the sponge layer, making it much harder to reopen without cracking the display.

  • I've actually been wanting to get a cheap Windows PC to run some applications that don't work on M* Series chips. How difficult would it be to install an SSD into this and run Bootcamp?

    • As per above for SSD installation, but in terms of installing Bootcamp, it's always been a breeze for me old older Apple systems.

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