Something you might not expect from this machine
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It’s not every day that you hear about an old iMac turning into a gaming machine, but that’s exactly what happened thanks to SteamOS. YouTuber ETA Prime recently showed how a 2019 Intel-powered iMac, bought for just $100, could handle modern games like Hades II and Forza Horizon 5 at surprisingly high frame rates.
The iMac in question wasn’t exactly cutting-edge. It was running an Intel Core i5-7500 processor paired with an AMD Radeon RX 560X GPU with 4GB of VRAM. With only 8GB of RAM, it’s a setup that most gamers today would consider outdated. Still, by installing SteamOS, ETA Prime was able to squeeze out impressive results that no one would expect from a second-hand computer this old.
This is why we need SteamOS on more devices
SteamOS has been gaining more attention since Valve made it possible to install it on all sorts of devices, not just the Steam Deck. It offers better performance compared to Windows 11, as demonstrated by Legion Go S reviews, and this iMac project is more proof that SteamOS is a great operating system for gaming.
When put to the test, the iMac showed just how capable SteamOS can make older hardware. Hades II ran at 1080p on high settings, delivering a steady 57-60 FPS. Forza Horizon 5 performed even better, reaching over 90 FPS at very low settings, though it mostly stayed in the 50-60 FPS range due to the GPU’s limited VRAM.
Older titles like Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal easily went past 100 FPS, while even demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 managed a playable 35-50 FPS (we’re being generous here) at 720p low settings. Interestingly enough, CP 2077 was recently released to Mac, but only for systems using an Apple Silicon chip, not the older Intel processors we see in ETA Prime’s project.
There were a few issues, of course. The iMac needed a USB sound card for audio, and Bluetooth controllers had mapping issues. But overall, the results were far better than most would expect from a $100 computer, and it’s something that we don’t get to see every day.
