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iMac Ram

D

Duch

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 24, 2008
41
0
I am looking at purchasing a 20" iMac with 1 gig of ram. I will be looking to upgrade the RAM, and have 2 options.
option 1. buy 2 gig stick for $40 and have a total of 3 gigs
option 2. buy 1 gig stick for $25 and have a total of 2 gigs

I am wondering if it is alright to mix brands of ram, and sizes?
 
it's not ideal, but it'll work fine. there is a bit of performance gain from having matched pairs (same size and same manufacturer). the performance gain is arguably negligible.

Get the 2GB stick.
 
bozz2006 said:
it's not ideal, but it'll work fine. there is a bit of performance gain from having matched pairs (same size and same manufacturer). the performance gain is arguably negligible.

Get the 2GB stick.
Click to expand...

Unless you're doing something memory intensive (i.e. benchmarks) there's little to no difference in speed from matched memory. I recommend that you have more memory before matched memory, and that the larger capacity ram stick is in the first slot.
 
I don't have an imac, so this is a guess: i believe the RAM modules in the imac are "stacked", one on top of the other... maybe he means the "bottom" one.
 
bozz2006 said:
I don't have an imac, so this is a guess: i believe the RAM modules in the imac are "stacked", one on top of the other... maybe he means the "bottom" one.
Click to expand...

Actually, the ram is in an inline (side by side) formation. I forget which side is Slot 0 and which is Slot 1 (IIRC that's how they're labeled), but the Slot 0 should have the larger stick of ram for performance purposes.
 
The iMac is not for me, but for my sister, as she needs a new computer. I am sure she wouldn't notice the difference of a new vs old computer, so I am not worried about purchasing a new iMac for her. (it is actually trading my old unibody macbook for an iMac.)
 
Does it matter if I get 667mhz ram, or do I need 800? the iMac was purchased in oct of 08.
 
If the iMac was for me, I would put in 4, but my sister would never go near that amount. I am just putting in a bit more, because there is an open slot. :D. My Macbook Pro has 4:D.
 
Duch said:
Does it matter if I get 667mhz ram, or do I need 800? the iMac was purchased in oct of 08.
Click to expand...

Your mac will run all of it's memory at the speed of the slowest unit. Get 800Mhz ram if that's what is required, or your performance will decrease.
 
the difference now between a 2gb stick and a 4gb kit is small

one you've installed the RAM, click on the Apple > ABOUT THIS MAC > more info > memory
 
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