The M1 iMac is a decent computer,
but what if I told you
that you could build your very own custom M1 iMac
with the exact specs you need?
You know what?
That sounds like a good idea.
Let's do it.
(upbeat music)
Now, to preface this video,
I'm not trashing the M1 iMac by any means.
It's still a great choice and you should buy it
if you want that all-in-one experience.
But if you're like me,
you don't necessarily need all the features
the M1 iMac brings to the table,
like Retina display, webcam speakers
or the included Apple mouse and keyboard
which personally, I don't enjoy using.
I also want the ability to customize or swap some parts out
or not be quite as limited
by Apple's insane right to repair stance
if something stops working or gets damaged.
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At its core,
the new iMac is still just an M1 Mac
like a Mac Mini with a built-in screen
except, because of Apple's stupid pricing structure,
you need to get the 8-Core M1 iMac model
to get any kind of proper functionality
like the extra GPU core and additional USB-C ports.
This is going to cost you $1,500.
So this got me thinking, what if you didn't have the budget
for an 8-Core M1 iMac, or what if you perhaps
already have a nice monitor or M1 Mac Mini
or maybe you wanted something similar to an iMac
without buying an actual iMac?
So I decided to make my own custom hybrid M1 iMac
using an M1 Mac Mini as the brains
and parts from other companies to complete the setup.
Yeah, it looks a bit junky from the side,
but it is really functional
and has actually been awesome to use.
For example, I can use it on my main desk
with my Windows PC.
If I want to swap from macOS to Windows,
I simply click two buttons on the screen
to change the screen input
and tap two buttons on my keyboard and mouse
to switch the Bluetooth over as well.
And boom, two desktops with different operating systems
on my desk.
There's many more cool features,
so let's build it.
Shall we?
So when I was in the planning stages,
I realized there were a couple of things
that I really needed.
First of all, a large 27 inch 4K screen.
It needed to be height adjustable,
which the M1 iMac is not.
Also, it needed to be somewhat portable.
So if I needed to move it to a different room,
I could just do that very easily.
And it also needs to be customizable.
But for me personally, I didn't need speakers or a webcam
although those can easily be added in at a later date.
So let's start with the screen first of all.
So like I said before, it's a 27 inch 4K panel
and I'm using the Dell U2720Q.
It's around $600, which is expensive for screens.
So I'll mention a cheaper one a little bit later on
but I really do love the look and color scheme
of this Dell monitor.
It's kind of what I wish the iMac had looked like
because I really like those space gray
and darker color schemes.
Now, if you were building your own custom iMac,
I'd go with something like the LG 27UK650-W
for about $340 as you don't particularly need
the USB-C functionality that the Dell monitor
in this video has.
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Now, in terms of mounting the M1 Mac Mini
onto the back of the screen,
you have a couple of different options.
So you can use heavy duty command strips
which are basically Velcro
and you can buy strips that can actually hold a weight
of several kilograms.
And that's going to be more than enough for an M1 Mac Mini.
Now, I already had a Mac Mini mount from Sabrent
so I just used the Velcro loops to hang it
off the back stand.
Now, this really does depend
on your actual monitor of choice,
but worst-case scenario, again,
you can just use those command strips to attach it
onto the back of your monitor.
You don't need to worry about heat either.
The M1 Mac Mini doesn't get hot at all from my testing
and neither will these monitors.
Now, this is going to make the custom M1 iMac
almost as portable as the real M1 iMac.
You can just take off the Mac Mini off the back,
just unplug the cable and the whole thing will come apart.
Or you can even just pick the whole thing up and move it.
But it's a little bit riskier
if you do it that way in my opinion.
Now, moving on to cable connections.
All I needed for my particular setup
was the power cable coming into the monitor
and also the Mac Mini
and then just a little short USB-C cable
or HDMI cable connecting the Mac Mini
into the back of the monitor.
Now, you can use a HDMI or USB-C cable
depending on the inputs on your monitor,
as short as 30 centimeters
to actually connect the two together
which makes it all really nice and compact.
You can also route all the cables
through the routing hole in the back of the stand
to make everything look nice and neat.
Now, one thing to mention is
if you want to connect your Mac Mini
to the internet via an ethernet cable, you totally can.
You just have to route that
through the little routing cable hole in the stand
and attach it to the Mac Mini.
It is an extra cable cause obviously,
you don't get that really cool integrated ethernet port
power brick that you get with the M1 iMac, the 8-Core model.
So it is a little bit of a workaround but it is possible.
Personally though, I use wifi on my Mac Mini
as I probably assume most of you would do as well.
Okay, so moving on to accessories.
Now, this is where you basically have creative freedom.
So I particularly like the MX keys keyboard from Logitech.
I have a whole review on that on my channel.
Also, the MX Master 3, they're both wireless
both works super, super well, but again,
if you've already got keyboards or a mouse,
you can use those as well.
I also like the Keychron K6 Mechanical keyboard
which is really cheap
I think it's about $50 on sale at the moment.
That's a nice alternative as well.
Personally, I really do not like
the new Apple Magic Keyboard.
The keys feel really, really cheap
especially compared to the old one.
And I've noticed when I'm actually typing on it,
the keys really do not travel very well.
And it almost feels like they get stuck
which is just not something that I enjoy while typing.
Now, in terms of speakers, I don't personally use speakers
because there's other people around generally
even with the iMac's improved speakers.
They're not going to sound anywhere good
as a proper set of on-ear headphones.
So I've gone with a pair
of relatively inexpensive audio technicals
which get the job done for me.
So moving on to actually using this custom M1 iMac.
The experience has actually been really positive.
So again, it's basically an all-in-one.
It's just a screen right in front of you.
Nothing else, no bells and whistles.
It's quite simple and minimalistic,
and really does not take up a lot of room on the desk.
With the way I have this particular custom iMac set up,
all the ports are on the top.
So it's really easy just to move up a little bit
and see where you can actually plug stuff
into the back of the iMac.
Unlike Apple's iMac where it's just really, really awkward.
And if you're using anything that isn't USB-C,
you're going to need an adapter.
Now, another thing I really like is that again,
this monitor is completely adjustable.
So you have a heap of room.
You can swivel it left and right, lift it up and down,
tilt it back and forward, which is just nowhere
near the range of motion that you get
on the M1 iMac from Apple.
Now, some other things I really like
about this custom iMac
is that it's really, really upgradable.
So if the new M1X Mac Mini comes out
in a few months, for example,
all I have to do is just sell off the M1
and get the M1X version of the Mini.
And I just plug it into the back and I'm good to go.
Also with the monitor,
if I want to swap that out or upgrade it with say,
an ultra wide or a more color correct one for editing,
I totally can.
And if something does go wrong
with any of the components in my setup
or I see another comment calling me in Apple shield
my fist goes through the screen and I break the screen,
I can just swap everything out
and just replace it or even repair it myself
instead of having to rely
on Apple's really dubious repair policy.
So let's quickly talk about pricing.
Now, the M1 Mac Mini is about $650 on sale
add a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse,
command mounting strips, and that's about $1,165.
But depending on your keyboard and mouse choices,
that's anywhere from 340 to $400 left over.
If you need speakers or a webcam, for example,
which in my opinion, gives you a lot of leftover room
in the budget to mix and match or upgrade components
as you see fit to make your perfect setup.
Anyway, guys, that's it for this video.
Hopefully, you enjoyed my take on this.
If you have any comments or questions
about this particular setup, let me know down below.
But apart from that, I'll catch you in the next one.