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16gb Corsair ram on sale today only

QUESTION.

Is it better to have 2x2GB adding up eventually to 16GB or is it better to have 2x8GB adding up to 16GB? I am guessing it is the latter because that way you have more slots left, right?

EDIT: It would be better to have 4x4GB wouldn't it? In which case, is this really all that good of a deal? 2x4 is not as good as 4x4, right?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
QUESTION.

Is it better to have 2x2GB adding up eventually to 16GB or is it better to have 2x8GB adding up to 16GB? I am guessing it is the latter because that way you have more slots left, right?

EDIT: It would be better to have 4x4GB wouldn't it? In which case, is this really all that good of a deal? 2x4 is not as good as 4x4, right?
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter. As long as it's in pairs and the pairs are the same amount you will get dual channel. But even if you lose dual channel it's not a big deal.

If you keep the stock 2x 2gb and add 2x 4gb you still get dual channel and it all works. 8gb sticks are expensive. 4x 4gb works just fine. If you need to go beyond 16gb for some reason then you'd have to use 8gb sticks. But it all depends on what you use your computer for.
 
archer75 said:
It doesn't matter. As long as it's in pairs and the pairs are the same amount you will get dual channel. But even if you lose dual channel it's not a big deal.

If you keep the stock 2x 2gb and add 2x 4gb you still get dual channel and it all works. 8gb sticks are expensive. 4x 4gb works just fine. If you need to go beyond 16gb for some reason then you'd have to use 8gb sticks. But it all depends on what you use your computer for.
Click to expand...

If I buy 16Gb from Apple, it comes 4x4, right? So if I ever wanted to go higher, I would have to replace all of that Apple RAM with two 8GB sticks, correct?

So, to 'future proof' my machine, I should just buy a 4GB iMac, then buy two 8GB sticks and get up to 16GB that way, right? That's, technically, the best way to get to 16GB, right?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
If I buy 16Gb from Apple, it comes 4x4, right? So if I ever wanted to go higher, I would have to replace all of that Apple RAM with two 8GB sticks, correct?

So, to 'future proof' my machine, I should just buy a 4GB iMac, then buy two 8GB sticks and get up to 16GB that way, right? That's, technically, the best way to get to 16GB, right?
Click to expand...

How you get to 16gb is irrelevant. 2x 8gb sticks would be you at 20gb of ram. If you plan on needing 32gb then 8gb sticks are your only option.

But do you really need that much ram? What do you use your computer for?
 
archer75 said:
How you get to 16gb is irrelevant. 2x 8gb sticks would be you at 20gb of ram. If you plan on needing 32gb then 8gb sticks are your only option.

But do you really need that much ram? What do you use your computer for?
Click to expand...

I'm an inordinate multi-tasker. I usually have endless pdf, Word documents, and browser tabs open, and occasionally Photoshop and iPhoto as well, not to mention DVD Player and VLC. Right now, with the 2GB of RAM on my Mac Book Pro it can sometimes take up to 10 minutes for my computer to recover from severe slow downs (i.e., slow downs where it takes forever for the MBP to respond to, for instance, clicking the 'x' on a browser window or switching taps).

Oh, and I TRY to play the occasional game at highest settings, maxed out. But it doesn't work out very well so I want to get a machine that can actually run such high settings smoothly.
 
Amnesiac1 said:
I'm an inordinate multi-tasker. I usually have endless pdf, Word documents, and browser tabs open, and occasionally Photoshop and iPhoto as well, not to mention DVD Player and VLC. Right now, with the 2GB of RAM on my Mac Book Pro it can sometimes take up to 10 minutes for my computer to recover from severe slow downs (i.e., slow downs where it takes forever for the MBP to respond to, for instance, clicking the 'x' on a browser window or switching taps).

Oh, and I TRY to play the occasional game at highest settings, maxed out. But it doesn't work out very well so I want to get a machine that can actually run such high settings smoothly.
Click to expand...

You still won't need 32gb. I doubt you'd even use 16gb. I'm using the stock 4gb right now. Tons of tabs open, apps, etc. And my daughter was watching a bluray rip earlier and still didn't max the ram.

Playing games at high settings depends on the video card and the cpu. Ram only helps if the game has what it needs. And 4gb is enough. I've been gaming yesterday while i've had several apps in the background and chrome with many tabs open. No problem.

Photoshop can benefit from more ram depending how many layers you are working with And it would help very large aperture libraries.

I would start with the stock ram and leave activity monitor open and see how it goes and what you are actually using. You may find you don't need anywhere near as much ram as you are thinking.
 
So what you are saying is...

I should start with 4GB and then, if I need more, the upgrade is both cheap and simple?

But would it be that much of a mistake to just get my iMac with 8GB to start with? It's only a $189 upgrade from Apple. The 16GB is over $500, so yeah, that's a bit unreasonable, but why not just have it already in your system from the get-go if the price is only $189?
 
I know, I know, brands don't matter. But would you consider Corsair a better choice over the Crucial and G.Skill ones?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
So what you are saying is...

I should start with 4GB and then, if I need more, the upgrade is both cheap and simple?
Click to expand...

Bingo.

Amnesiac1 said:
But would it be that much of a mistake to just get my iMac with 8GB to start with? It's only a $189 upgrade from Apple. The 16GB is over $500, so yeah, that's a bit unreasonable, but why not just have it already in your system from the get-go if the price is only $189?
Click to expand...

$189 from apple for 8gb or $150 for 16gb from newegg. Or $75 for 8gb from newegg brings you up to 12gb.

Apple's pricing on ram is an ass raping. Without lube. It's not gentle. In other words it's plain stupid.
 
archer75 said:
Or $75 for 8gb from newegg brings you up to 12gb.
Click to expand...

Link to what I need to do to purchase this, exactly? I may do this today... I won't be buying my iMac until June but I might take advantage of this sale today. I'll have the 4GB stock and I'll add an 8GB stick to bring it to 12GB. That sounds like a good plan if it will work.

And I'll do what someone else suggested: install it before I even turn on my iMac and while the plastic is still on the screen.
 
archer75 said:
How you get to 16gb is irrelevant.
Click to expand...

I want to return to this point, as well. I thought that it was important to have good pairings... i.e., getting to 16GB or 12GB with as few RAM sticks as possible was better than getting there with many RAM sticks. I'm right about this, am I not?

So, I guess my question is now, how do I get to at least 12GB with as few RAM sticks as possible?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
I want to return to this point, as well. I thought that it was important to have good pairings... i.e., getting to 16GB or 12GB with as few RAM sticks as possible was better than getting there with many RAM sticks. I'm right about this, am I not?

So, I guess my question is now, how do I get to at least 12GB with as few RAM sticks as possible?
Click to expand...

It's ram, you plug it in. It's not rocket science.

I don't think you'll need that much ram, but the link to some is on the first post. 2 4gb sticks will get you to 12gb and work fine.

How you get there is irrelevant.

Having 2x 2gb plus 2x 4gb is maintaining pairings. But you still technically don't have to.
 
Farthen said:
Because the Corsair RAM has a lower clock speed (1066 vs 1333Mhz)
Click to expand...

So I should go for the more expensive one, then. Or does that nitty-gritty stuff all end up being irrelevant (i.e. not noticeable) once it's in your machine?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
So I should go for the more expensive one, then. Or does that nitty-gritty stuff all end up being irrelevant (i.e. not noticeable) once it's in your machine?
Click to expand...

Get the 1333mhz ram in my link. It's the same speed of the apple ram already in there. And use the coupon code.

You could go with the slower speed ram but then the stock ram would then only function at that slower speed as well.
 
Dresevski said:
You need to match the specs that come from the factory, and that's the faster, more expensive 1333MHz
Click to expand...

I'm going to buy this one now (Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BC1339) to bring me up to 12GB (I'm leaving the 4GB Apple gives me in the machine).

...Does that match factory?

I figure it is better than Corsair because Apple tends to use Crucial RAM. If I'm wrong on that point, it is at least still a good choice, right?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
I'm an inordinate multi-tasker. I usually have endless pdf, Word documents, and browser tabs open, and occasionally Photoshop and iPhoto as well, not to mention DVD Player and VLC. Right now, with the 2GB of RAM on my Mac Book Pro it can sometimes take up to 10 minutes for my computer to recover from severe slow downs (i.e., slow downs where it takes forever for the MBP to respond to, for instance, clicking the 'x' on a browser window or switching taps).

Oh, and I TRY to play the occasional game at highest settings, maxed out. But it doesn't work out very well so I want to get a machine that can actually run such high settings smoothly.
Click to expand...

Then theres something wrong with your MBP. I do 10X that with 4 gigs of ram and a 2.4 C2D and rarely have slowdown issues. I wont even tell you how many windows and tabs I have open. Too many to count.

And why on earth would you try and play a game on the highest max settings when your MBP just chokes on it? You wont notice the difference if you knock the settings down.

If you are really bent on getting your iMac to 16 gigs -- then order the stuff from the first post. I dont think you will need it. Try your new iMac with the stock 4 gigs and see how it goes. IF you find it lacking, then spend $80-90 on 8 gigs (2 x 4 gigs) and boost the ram to 12 gigs. If it aint working at 12, it aint gonna work at 16.

You dont have to "match" factory ram. Theres NOTHING special about apple ram.

I dunno why this whole adding ram thing has had like 30 freakin posts. 4 slots, 4 sticks of ram. Add in pairs. Any size. Done.
 
Badger^2 said:
I dunno why this whole adding ram thing has had like 30 freakin posts. 4 slots, 4 sticks of ram. Add in pairs. Any size. Done.
Click to expand...

So you agree that adding this exact product -- Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BC1339 -- onto my existing, stock 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB from Apple... is a good idea/will work out/go ahead and do it already?
 
Amnesiac1 said:
So you agree that adding this exact product -- Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model CT2KIT51264BC1339 -- onto my existing, stock 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB from Apple... is a good idea/will work out/go ahead and do it already?
Click to expand...

For the 50th time. Yes, it will be fine. But I don't get why you didn't get the cheaper Corsair that the OP posted which I got earlier today (saw it on Newegg's email!).
 
I just ordered the RAM posted by OP, used the code also. $74.69, Pretty good price for 8GB of RAM. Thanks for the info!

So the 2x4GB Corsair will work with the included 2x2GB from Apple?
 
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