Can you mix ram?

[zjrhens]

I am looking at getting a core i7 iMac that comes with 4gb of ram. (2 x 2gb sticks) and I would like to upgrade it to 8gb of ram on the cheap. I was wondering if I can get 2 x 2gb sticks from Crucial if it will all work together as 8gb of ram. Here is the link for the crucial ram and the iMac I am looking at. http://www.crucial.com/store/listpa... Intel Quad-Core i7 (27-inch - DDR3) Mid 2010

http://www.macmall.com/n/macNavLinks-307?q=8184407

 

[r.j.s]

IIRC, there are only 2 slots - so, no, that will not work.

 

[zjrhens]

IIRC, there are only 2 slots - so, no, that will not work.

How are there only 2 slots if you can upgrade to 16gb of ram?

 

[r.j.s]

How are there only 2 slots if you can upgrade to 16gb of ram?

I just checked, there are 4 slots, so yes, you can do that.

 

[toxic]

yes, you can mix RAM.

 

[dborja]

As long as you mix them "in pairs". Like I have a pair of 4GB NuRAMs in the first bank and a pair of 4GB Patriots in the second.

 

[tc3jg]

As long as you mix them "in pairs". Like I have a pair of 4GB NuRAMs in the first bank and a pair of 4GB Patriots in the second.

so they have to be the same size? I have two 512gb sticks I think laying around from an OLD macbook could I stick those in my 27in imac for just a little boost? Or no?

 

[mulo]

so they have to be the same size? I have two 512gb sticks I think laying around from an OLD macbook could I stick those in my 27in imac for just a little boost? Or no?

probably not.
they need ot be the same kind and speed. though size can be mixed, and as some say it doesn't need to be in pairs, thats just preferable

 

[jotade11]

Oh my god, he's a time traveler. He has 512 -GB- RAM sticks and he calls them 'old'!

 

[TMRaven]

I believe the two ram banks have to have same amount of memory, rather one is a 4 gig stick and the other is 2 2 gig sticks. Timings/clock rate can be dynamically changed. It usually depends on chipset and mobo tho.

 

[Hellhammer]

I believe the two ram banks have to have same amount of memory, rather one is a 4 gig stick and the other is 2 2 gig sticks. Timings/clock rate can be dynamically changed. It usually depends on chipset and mobo tho.

I don't think so. iMac works fine even though the other bank is totally empty and people who have installed 12GB have just populated the empty slots (4GB in BANK1 and 8GB in BANK2).

With modern Intel chipsets and memory controllers, RAM can be mixed nearly as much as you like

 

[TMRaven]

Oh, I was talking about dual channeling.

 

[dlewis23]

You can mix and match ram with out any problems. If you leave a DIMM open tho you will lose Dual Channel.

 

[tc3jg]

now Im confused lol lets put it like this if I stuck my "old" lol two 512mb in the memory banks in my imac and to see if the machine recognized them could I tear anything up?

 

[toxic]

to be clear, you can put in whatever memory you like, as long as it's the same type (e.g. DDR2 667). they do not have to be in pairs — that's just for dual channel, which yields minimal (if any) real-world benefits for most users anyway.

now Im confused lol lets put it like this if I stuck my "old" lol two 512mb in the memory banks in my imac and to see if the machine recognized them could I tear anything up?

if the 512MB sticks are DDR3 1333 (I think that's what iMacs use now), then yes, otherwise no.