Apple imac m1 (2021) as a monitor for windows pc

no, not out of the box, they had something called target display once that did it for other macs not for windows computers though

you can check out if third party solutions will work

Duet Display or Luna Display.

Not as a first-class hardware monitor. The 24" M1 iMac doesn't have video input, and never supported Target Display Mode.

• Remote Desktop apps such as anydesk or teamviewer. Free for personal use, low latency if within same LAN/Wifi. No cable required.

Cons are that

1. Normally only mirroring screen is available. You could extend the screen to iMac with a virtual display adaptor that plugs to your laptop and emulates as a second display.

2. iMac resolution is limited to what PC supports.

3. Text might appear to be less sharp than desired, as they would be rendered as images rather than fonts.

• Some Mac-centric apps such as Duet Display (Paid app and payment depends on your use case), and Airserver that can make iMac an airplay receiver from PC with a few setups.

Personally I would use Duet Display if it requires only a small one-off payment.

FWIW, if you don't mind spending the money, Luna Display would allow you to use your iMac as a display for your Windows PC.

https://astropad.com/product/lunadisplay/

HappyL wrote:

It is justified to pay a smallish subscription payment to make use of 4.5k p3 display of the iMac then?

I don't know whether it is justified. However, the 24" Retina 4.5K M1 iMac isn't designed to act as a hardware display for another device – and if you want to use their particular workaround, a monthly fee is what they charge to let you do it.

HappyL wrote:

Personally I would use Duet Display if it requires only a small one-off payment.

Duet is a monthly subscription service.

Not exactly Target Display Mode, but VNC and http://www.anydesk.com/ offer crossplatform screen sharing and accessing the other computers within a window on the computer.

They seem to have changed their payment plan over the years. How smart they are! It is justified to pay a smallish subscription payment to make use of 4.5k p3 display of the iMac then?

I am not a regular Windows user, and had only used Duet for iOS devices.

With respect to Target Display Mode on older Macs, that disappeared when Retina displays came out. No Retina iMac has it. Even for the Macs that do support TDM, there are now restrictions that make it all but worthless.