Hello to everybody. I want to increase the Ram in my iMac, I noticed in the 'about this Mac' , in the memory section, that there are 2 4gb memory slots which the iMac came with, and two that are empty, that I presume I can fill up. I was wondering, is there a way to put even more Ram, such as 32gb? This would be desirable for me. Thanks in advance.
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Help regarding ram
- Thread starter Pinkly Smooth
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You can fill the empty slots. You can also replace the sticks already in there. It is generally a little harder for the memory controller to deal with mixed configurations like not all sticks being the same capacity. Might not matter. Might require it to clock them a little lower.
The type of ram you should get depends on the model of iMac. Apples website will tell you the details. There should be a direct link in about this Mac. 32gb is most likely fine for any remotely recent iMac. Either as 4x8 or 2x16. 2x4+2x16 for example is also possible though personally I’d avoid it.
Make sure to install ram in a channel configuration. Fill all slots with the same type of sticks or replace the two slots Apple used with the same type of sticks or add in pairs such that the pre-installed slots each pair up with one factory empty slot and each pair has equal capacity.
The type of ram you should get depends on the model of iMac. Apples website will tell you the details. There should be a direct link in about this Mac. 32gb is most likely fine for any remotely recent iMac. Either as 4x8 or 2x16. 2x4+2x16 for example is also possible though personally I’d avoid it.
Make sure to install ram in a channel configuration. Fill all slots with the same type of sticks or replace the two slots Apple used with the same type of sticks or add in pairs such that the pre-installed slots each pair up with one factory empty slot and each pair has equal capacity.
Use your iMac year and model number to determine RAM upgrade options
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Hello, yes the people at the shop told me they need to know the serial number of the iMac to know which Ram to put into it. Frankly, I am not savvy in the technical side at all, I just know what I want. Which website can tell me more about my specific model of Mac with regard to the type of Ram? I don't think I want to replace the sticks that are already there, just to fill the empty slots. As for what you said, my model is from the 2017. I've looked after it over the years. You mention the example of 4x8, there are only four slots and I believe my configuration is 4x4 Ram. I bought the iMac with 8gb Ram, and two slots are left, making it the most 16gb. I wonder if you can somehow put more slots than the ones shown. many thanks.
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If you add RAM to your iMac, you are not limited to using the same size sticks that are already installed. You can add a pair of 16GB sticks, if you like. You do not have to replace your existing sticks, unless you want to do that. The extra 32GB would then give you 40GB total. You can also remove the existing RAM, and swap those out to 16GB sticks, giving you the maximum for your 2017 5K-retina, which is 64GB. But, in my opinion, the more cost-effective upgrade for memory would be to leave the original 2x4GB, and add 2x8GB, which would give you a new total of 24GB.
Also, I suggest an upgrade to Monterey, or Ventura, because your High Sierra system will get less and less useful without updates.
Also, I suggest an upgrade to Monterey, or Ventura, because your High Sierra system will get less and less useful without updates.
The web site I linked as instructions on how to find your model id number, etc.
