How to make best use of Intel iMac going forward?

Question

I have an intel iMac 2017 3.8GHZ 5K Retina with 64GB RAM, 2TB Hybrid drive and it works great.However once the Intel chips EOL occurs, I would expect the OS, software support etc to fade away.I usually don&rsquo;t upgrade machines unless it is needed, so do you have any ideas on repurposing the Intel Macs going forward if they are in good shape?Thanks!

__d · Accepted Answer

It'll be 2023 at least (and likely 2025) before Apple's OS support stops, although applications might stop shipping Intel updates before Apple does.
I ran my PowerBook (with PowerPC CPU) for quite a few years after the Intel switch with no problem, although to be fair, I wasn't using a lot of commercial software, so upgrades weren't a problem until Apple stopped supporting PPC.
Perhaps at that point, something like ElementaryOS might be the best path? See https://elementary.io/

PaulHoule · Answer

You can run Linux or Windows on them for one thing.

warrenm · Answer

First, you've got years to worry about thisSecond, there'll likely be a Linux distro you could run on it in a decade when it's finally fully EoL'd