How to Use iMac As a PC Monitor
By Aramenta Waithe
The 27-inch Apple iMac is both a computer and a monitor in one package. The iMac has a display resolution of 2560-by-1440 pixels and has an LED backlight for smooth brightness and color response. If you purchased an iMac, you might find the display so pleasant to use you may decide to use it as an external monitor for your Windows-based PC. If your PC has a video card with a Mini DisplayPort output, the iMac can automatically pick up the computer's video output and display it on the large screen.
Step 1
Shut down the Windows PC and iMac.
Step 2
Plug the video cable into the Mini DisplayPort connector on your PC's video card.
Step 3
Plug the second end of the video cable into the Mini DisplayPort connector on the back of the iMac, to the left of the Ethernet port. Above the Mini DisplayPort connector is an icon of a rectangle flanked by two vertical lines.
Step 4
Turn on the PC and iMac. The iMac detects the PC's video output through the Mini DisplayPort, entering its built-in "Target Display Mode" and acting as an external monitor.
Step 5
Right-click the desktop after the Windows desktop finishes loading, and select "Screen Resolution."
Step 6
Click the "Resolution" pull-down menu and select "2560 x 1440."
Step 7
Click "OK" to adjust the video output of your Windows PC to match the resolution of the iMac's screen.
References
Tips
- If you have an aluminum Apple keyboard connected to your PC, you can toggle your iMac between displaying the video output of the PC and its own video output by pressing the "Command + F2" keys.
Writer Bio
Aramenta Waithe has been a professional writer and ghostwriter since 1989. Her work has appeared in Florida's "Sun-Sentinel" and the "Miami Herald." She writes about a variety of subjects from home improvement to medicine. Waithe attended the University of Massachusetts and Florida Atlantic University, majoring in oceanographic engineering.