# Apple iMac 5K

6 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple iMac 5K and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend the used 5K iMac as an external display for its sharp, beautiful screen and good value for the money.

## Why people recommend it

- Sharp, beautiful 5K display (5 comments): "I went from a 27" 4k display to my 5k iMac I converted to work as an external display. You can definitely see the difference, especially with text." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46573427)) "For a few hundred bucks you get a wicked 5k screen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47242770)) "The display on the iMac 5K was amazing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50261978))
- Good value for the money (2 comments): "For a few hundred bucks you get a wicked 5k screen" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47242770)) "Glossy display, and bang for buck!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46573418))
- Reuse of old iMacs (2 comments): "One of the best things I've done for my setup is convert old 5k iMacs to work as external display." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45827019)) "At least an old school 5K iMac can have some secondary use case" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46606468))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Apple iMac](https://hackerapproved.com/p/imac.md): 118 recommend
- [iMac Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/imac-pro.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+iMac+27-inch+5K+Retina+display&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.apple.com/imac/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Apple iMac 5K", https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-imac-5k/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).