Are 4gb RAM sticks physically bigger?

[minusten]

Apart from the obvious difference in screen size, the 2nd and 3rd imacs in the new range appear identical with the exception of the fact that the larger one takes 16gb RAM, the other only 8gb. So are 4gb RAM sticks physically bigger, or does Apple ensure the hardware won't recognise more than 8gb in total to keep the machine at the lower end in terms of upgradeability?

 

[sammich]

No. The 27" iMac's have an extra 2 slots for RAM. That's why you can have double the maximum RAM. 4 GB is the biggest stick you can get today.

 

[maghemi]

All SO-DIMM DDR3 ram sticks are the same physical size not matter what capacity they are.

That is what's used in the new iMacs.

The smaller one has two ram slots. ie 2x4gb = 8gb
The bigger one has four ram slots. ie 4x4gb = 16gb

As has been said 4gb is the largest capacity ram chip currently available in SO-DIMM.

 

[minusten]

But the BTO page on the 21.5s shows 4x2GB as an option for the same price as 4x2GB in the 27s. That's my point, why not 4x4 if 4x2 will fit?