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iMac 27 RAM

C

conkerbot

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 26, 2010
51
24
Hi,
Well, I've decided that after wrestling with Windows on this laptop, it's time to move to a mac. So looking round the specs for the 27" iMac, I was wondering whether I should save the money and pick up more RAM from Crucial afterwards, or will this void the warranty?

Also, read somewhere about the system being really picky with 16gigs installed - I'm using Blender and Unity at the moment so the ability to upgrade if need be is quite important - so how does the system fare with 16gs?

Thanks in advance :)
 
conkerbot said:
Hi,
Well, I've decided that after wrestling with Windows on this laptop, it's time to move to a mac. So looking round the specs for the 27" iMac, I was wondering whether I should save the money and pick up more RAM from Crucial afterwards, or will this void the warranty?

Also, read somewhere about the system being really picky with 16gigs installed - I'm using Blender and Unity at the moment so the ability to upgrade if need be is quite important - so how does the system fare with 16gs?

Thanks in advance :)
Click to expand...

Upgrading the RAM to 16GB should be OK however there have been some reports of problems. Taking it to 12GB seems to be no problem at all. Also adding RAM is incredibly simple and will not affect your warranty unless you are like the idiot that didn't follow directions and jammed it between the slots and got it jammed in. He's the 1 in 1000 you read about.

Here is a link to the manual, you can tell for yourself how easy it is to upgrade, the instructions are on page 37.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iMac_Mid2010_UG.pdf
 
Apple RAM is a rip off, so buy from after market. As long as you don't start mixing modules, you should be fine.
 
RAM is user upgradable on the iMac. It's pretty easy to do and if you've done it in the past on a Windows desktop or laptop, you should have no problem.

You can go to OWC (macsales.com) and buy RAM at a much better price than Apple would sell it for. I'm sure a lot of members here would vouch for OWC, and in my experience, they are fantastic!

You can probably get compatible RAM elsewhere as well. I've only purchased Mac RAM from OWC (or Apple).


EDIT to add: Hellhammer is very knowledgeable. :)
 
Last edited:
Okay thanks guys. I'm fine with upgrading ram, just making sure Apple wouldn't throw a fit. Also OWC seem to be US only and need to get it from somewhere in the UK.
 
Is there really issues with going to 16? I just went to 16 myself, and Ive seen some jumpiness in some daily routines. I have four 4 gb cards in it, so should I maybe remove one and add a 2gb card, dropping it to 14?
 
The.316 said:
Is there really issues with going to 16? I just went to 16 myself, and Ive seen some jumpiness in some daily routines. I have four 4 gb cards in it, so should I maybe remove one and add a 2gb card, dropping it to 14?
Click to expand...

My iMac is very stable at 12. You would be better off keeping them in matching pairs to troubleshoot your problem. From my research there are a fair amount of reports with issues going to 16. Try going to 12 and report back your findings.
 
It's a shame that it isn't stable with 16 :( but I don't think "limiting" myself to 12 should cause THAT many issues :p - when I purchase my iMac I'll be sure to comment on the ram situation on a post. Thanks for reassuring a mac noobie like myself :)
 
The.316 said:
Is there really issues with going to 16? I just went to 16 myself, and Ive seen some jumpiness in some daily routines. I have four 4 gb cards in it, so should I maybe remove one and add a 2gb card, dropping it to 14?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what you mean by jumpiness. Can you describe for us what you mean?

If you have the 16 GB problem that is documented at the Apple Support Forums, there's no mistaking it because your iMac will just freaking, totally, instantly shut down for no reason.

One second you're buzzing right along at typical excellent iMac efficiency and then *pop* there is just a black screen.

I had two issues with trying to go with 16 GB.

My first issue was following Crucial's online tool for a recommendation. My iMac wouldn't even start with their RAM. Then they wouldn't even contact me back after two weeks of waiting for an RMA number, so I had to get rid of that memory on my own.

My second problem occurred when I bought 16 GB of NuRAM from OWC. It appeared to work fine, for a while, but the shutdown problem reared its ugly head.

OWC were very good with issuing an RMA and sending me 12 GB of Samsung memory which I have been using ever since, with no problem.

:)
 
So the conclusion is that the iMac works best with 12GBs of RAM and is unstable when used with 16GBs of RAM?
 
So if I wanted to buy 8 gigs of ram (two 4 gig sticks), then take two 2 gig sticks out of my imac and put the two 4 gig sticks in there to get 12 gigs of ram, it wouldn't work?

It has to be three 4 gig sticks for it to work?


I'm new with this stuff too, so don't mind me.
 
McRCN said:
I purchased 8 GB of RAM from OWC and it arrived yesterday. Installing it was simple, it took about 5 mins from start to finish.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2010/DDR3_21.5_27

With the 4 gigs my iMac came with puts me up to 12 GB. Based on my research going up to 16 does not have much bang for the buck. I will let it ride for now.
Click to expand...

So you purchased an additional 8 Gig from OWC. Did you just leave the 2 sticks that came with the iMac in their original slots and just put the additional two in?? That is what I am planning to do also.
 
threeputt said:
So you purchased an additional 8 Gig from OWC. Did you just leave the 2 sticks that came with the iMac in their original slots and just put the additional two in?? That is what I am planning to do also.
Click to expand...

I initially had that 'setup' as well. But I figured I coudl give it a go to change that. So, I took out the initial 2Gb sticks and I inserted them into the other empty 2 slots. Now, the new 2x 4GB sticks from OWC will be going into the slots the older ones came out. I actually noticed a speed increase:p
 
iDutchman said:
I actually noticed a speed increase:p
Click to expand...
Unless there is something really screwed up, no you didn't.

Any speed differences are not RAM related. Even on an iMac quad, which supports faster RAM than Apple actually ship with it, the speed difference (which affects only a particular part of the system) is minute and not even reliably detectable with artificial tests.

To cover other points above:

As long as the RAM matches the exact spec required, there is no issue. If there is a problem with RAM, the computer will lock up or crash. Any 'jumpiness' cannot be RAM related.

RAM is also only of use if you use it - a stupidly simple statement but needs saying. Take a look in Activity Monitor. If you have no swap usage or even free memory, you do not need to add more RAM. If would make no difference.
 
threeputt said:
So you purchased an additional 8 Gig from OWC. Did you just leave the 2 sticks that came with the iMac in their original slots and just put the additional two in?? That is what I am planning to do also.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is exactly what I did. Everything has been stable since I installed it.
 
I have 12 gig (added 8 gig from OWC) in my iMac and had thought about going to 16, but haven't seen the need in the Photoshop work I am using it for.
 
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threeputt said:
Excellent, thank you, mine is on the way. I am in Canada so probably won't receive it for a week or so.
Click to expand...

did you order your ram thru owc? did you get charge extra for custom/duty fee? i'm thinking of buying 2x4gb to add to my existing 2x2gb to make it 12gb.
 
delacruzjeff said:
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did you order your ram thru owc? did you get charge extra for custom/duty fee? i'm thinking of buying 2x4gb to add to my existing 2x2gb to make it 12gb.
Click to expand...

Yes, ordered from OWC/MacSales, not received yet, will let you know. I asked for USPS express mail, I have had luck in the past with this service instead of UPS or Fedex.
 
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