Who sells such a board?
It looks like there’s a way to use an iMac as a 5K Display involving a Luna Display Donble on one Thunderbolt port of the target mMac and the iMac connected via a second port.
While the clip has a published date in 2022, the web page shows an update in early October 2024.
This video explains it all https://youtu.be/0VXQu0fAc8s?si=jU1zYQ_SrlflO_Wa
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“Hangs off” just about describes the cascade of cables and hubs attached to my 2019 iMac 27”. It’s pretty scary back there.
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I tested this a few years ago and found that it wasn’t worth the effort, sadly.
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On the non-adjustable Apple 27" Studio Display, what’s the distance between the desk and the bottom of the display (i.e. where the pixels start)? I don’t see it in the specifications.
I mean, they give the overall height as 18.8", but that doesn’t help, because they don’t clearly give the panel portion height…
…unless the panel is 14.3" from top to bottom (shown in the “Studio Display with VESA mount adapter” picture), which would put the bottom of the panel at 4.5" above the desk? But even so, it doesn’t give the width of the bezel so still don’t know the true height of the display off of the desk.
With the adjustable arm, it goes (on the bottom of the monitor, which is 1/2 inch below the actual screen) from a low of 4.5 inches to the upper of 9 inches.
We should be able to compute it. They advertise the panel as 27", and the pixel counts are 5120x2880. Assuming square pixels (which should be the case for every computer monitor sold), that would mean:
- Aspect ratio: 5120:2880 = 1.78:1 = 16:9
- Using the Pythagorean theorem, this means 5874 pixels across the diagonal. So the ratio of diagonal to vertical is 5874/2880 = 2.04
- Applying that to the 27" diagonal, we get a vertical size of 27/2.04 = 13.2"
According to the picture of the display with the VESA mount adapter, the screen assembly (minus stand) is 14.3" tall. Subtracting the 13.2" panel height, we get 1.1" of vertical bezel space.
If the panel is centered in the enclosure (as it appears from the photos), that means the display assembly’s vertical dimensions should be 0.55" bezel, then 13.2" of display, then 0.55" bezel.
Woah, did you just do something useful with math?! Amazing! 
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I’m trying to decide if I need to spring for the adjustable height option.
My 27" 5K 2017 iMac’s display bottom is 6" from the desk, which puts it a little much too low for my taste. I like to have the center of the display at eye level.
If our math is correct, the bottom of the non-adjustable Studio Display would be at 5" above the desk. That’s slightly worse than the iMac.
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By the way, the DPI Calculator / PPI Calculator website is useful for these kinds of calculations. They even have a pre-set for the 5K 27" iMac.
It calculates the display height at 13.24". The actual answer is 13.2371", assuming the diagonal is exactly 27" and not rounded.
The alternative is a cheap stand that lifts the monitor off the desk surface and provides some additional usable space underneath it. Some of those are adjustable, or you can find a fixed one that’s at the height you want.
Dave
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I believe you are correct. The video above on repurposing a 5K iMac as a screen vs. the Apple Studio Display has a direct comparison. I just took a still.
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I found that an old book was the answer to affordable height adjustment…
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All my monitors use old books for risers (this is a 27-inch Thunderbolt Display I use with my M1 MacBook Air). Luckily, I have an entire bookshelf of old tech books so I can get the heights exactly right. 
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I measured my fixed-height Apple Studio Monitor.
The base is 0.25" thick, and when the screen is vertical, the bottom of the physical screen is 4.375" above the base. Add the 0.5" bezel, making the usable screen 4.875" above the base. Thus, the height above the desk is about 5.125".
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And another approach is a desk mount monitor stand (I got an earlier model of this one). They’re in the $100 range, and require a monitor whose built-in stand can be removed, but I think it’s wonderful. Bonus is a fair amount of extra desk space!
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I love it when people show their work. Thank you.
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I bought an M2 Mac mini when it launched and looked for a 27" Thunderbolt display which had several USB ports. I tried and LG but it was awful, sent it back and bought the Apple Studio instead. Yes, I have it propped up on a book but it has the quality and the ports that I need.
However, there appears to be something wrong with the Thunderbolt interface as the display randomly blacks out for a second or many seconds. I can’t tell if the problem is in the mini or the display and I can’t find other reports of this problem so it might just be my bad luck.
Are you using the cable Apple provided or a third-party cable?
This symptom (on HDMI and DisplayPort) usually means that the cable is out of spec (wrong kind or too long) for the resolution you’re trying to display. Packets are getting lost, causing the display to periodically re-sync to the signal.
If you are using a third-party cable, make sure it is appropriate for the resolution you’re trying to display. Try using a shorter one. If you have a passive cable, try replacing it with an active cable. If it’s not certified for Thunderbolt 3/4, try replacing it with one that is.