Old $100 iMac runs Hades II at 60 FPS and Forza Horizon 5 at 90 FPS with SteamOS
Breathing new life into ageing hardware, a 2019 Intel-powered iMac bought for just $100 off Craigslist has been shown running modern games surprisingly well, all thanks to SteamOS. In a new video on their channel, the YouTuber showcased how well the 2019 Intel-powered iMac they found online for $100 runs modern games like Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and many others. The results seem pretty impressive.
The 2019 iMac in focus is powered by an Intel Core i5-7500 CPU, which is a quad-core processor with four threads and a 3.8GHz boost clock, but the creator noted that they only saw the CPU frequency go up to 3.6GHz.
The iMac also had an AMD Radeon RX 560X with 4GB of GDDR5 VRAM, based on the Polaris 21 GPU core. The YouTuber mentioned that if any of their viewers want to try running SteamOS on their old iMac, having an AMD GPU is essential. Models with Intel HD Graphics won’t be able to run SteamOS properly, the creator pointed out.
More specifically, ETA Prime was running SteamOS Holo version 3.7.13, and the iMac had 8GB of RAM. It is possible to upgrade the RAM on this specific iMac, but disassembling it to access the RAM slot is rather tedious, the YouTuber also mentions this in the video.
To get SteamOS up and running, ETA Prime used the Steam Deck recovery image and installed it onto the iMac’s 32GB SSD partition, which is a part of Apple’s Fusion Drive configuration. While the installation process was mostly straightforward, there were a few quirks like the internal audio didn’t work, requiring a USB sound card, and Bluetooth controllers had mapping issues.
Interestingly, the creator also experimented with the Simple Decky TDP Control plugin, typically designed for handhelds like the Steam Deck, to manage CPU power limits on the iMac. Though the i5-7500 is a 65W chip, they set the TDP limit to 40W to keep thermals in check, enabling performance mode and CPU boost for better gaming results.
Despite these limitations, the system was able to run a surprising number of games. Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite ran smoothly at 900p medium settings, hovering close to 60 FPS. Hades II held a steady 57-60 FPS at 1080p high settings, while Forza Horizon 5, running at 900p very low settings, occasionally spiked above 90 FPS but typically stayed between 50-60 FPS, constrained by the limited 4GB of VRAM.
Lighter and older games such as Left 4 Dead 2 and Portal crossed 100 FPS on high settings. Even Cyberpunk 2077 was somewhat playable at 720p low settings, where the frame rate hovered between 35-50 FPS without FSR. Enabling FSR 3 frame generation didn’t significantly improve performance, and instead introduced severe ghosting, with the YouTuber describing the gameplay as “weird.”
In the end, ETA Prime concluded that while this setup isn't ideal for everyone, it’s still a great way to repurpose old Apple hardware. It’s amazing how much life can be extracted from old hardware-if only the software is set up right. Especially in 2025, where upgrading to the latest tech has, if not become the norm, then certainly a form of peer pressure, enforced by everyone from the friends we know to the corporations we’ll never meet.
Be sure to check out the full in-depth video from ETA Prime on gaming with the 2019 iMac running SteamOS, linked below.
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