iMac 2.4 GHZ Intel Core 2 Duo UPgrade questions

[freshgirl604]

HI All! First and foremost I want to say thanks for all the previous inquiries about this topic. I know I may get some fuss about starting another, but I also wanted to introduce myself and say Hello from the new member

I have a iMac 2.4 ghz intel core 2 duo with 3GB ram at the moment. I just upgraded to Aperture 3 and will not be handling more photos than usual. Will also be doing some Video edits. Currently with 3GB of ram, I am seeing the colorful beachball quite a bit, and have also seen colored boxes in lines randomly when switching applications, or when Aperture is processing an image. I will have PShop open as well.

After reading a few posts I understand that my iMac is capable of unofficially supporting 6GB. I was able to find a single 4G RAM that is compatible ( advised from the rep on live chat); but wanted to get your opinion. Would i see a difference in image processing speed and overall iMac speed? ( I am handling large quantities of ram/jpg images and hd video from canon 7d)

Site is: http://eshop.macsales.com/basketHandler.cfm?do=updateBasket
Ram is: 4.0GB PC-6400 DDR2 800MHz SO-DIMM 200 Pin Memory Module (Major)

And after my research online i read that it is really easy to install. how will i know which RAM to remove from my iMac now. Will the number be indicated in the front of the piece?
1X2GB and 1X1GB

thanks in advance for the help everyone.

 

[djc6]

Would i see a difference in image processing speed and overall iMac speed?

Check out this article:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1342

In particular, pay attention to the page outs. A page out is when you run out of RAM and the contents of RAM get stored on the hard drive. If this happens a lot on your system, then you should see some speed improvements by increasing the amount of RAM.

I would google more about 'page outs' there is lots of information on how to use them as an indicator of if you need more ram. For example, the rate of page outs - page outs per second, etc. If they are very frequent, this would make your computer slow.

 

[alust2013]

That will definitely improve your overall performance, especially with editing photos and videos. The ones you remove should be labeled, but if not, just take one out and replace it with the 4GB stick, then turn the computer on. Click the apple, then about this mac. It will tell you either 5GB or 6GB depending on if you pulled the right one. If it's the wrong one, just swap the two original sticks.

 

[freshgirl604]

awesome, thanks so much for the suggestions. I wlll look into page out more as well.