Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Intel Imac Memory

V

vidiot

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2006
19
0
Hi all,

I have purchased Intel Imac, and want to upgrade the memory.. First what is the memory technical spec i need to order?? Any recomended place to purchase?/And If i add a gig stick to the already 512 me i have, will there be a performance hit?? In other words does this need matched up pairs??

Thanks so much..

mike m.
 
I have a 17" Intel iMac and bought a 1GB stick from OWC. As with every other order of mine through them, all went well, and they tell you exactly what RAM to buy. I just ordered a 2nd 1GB stick from them.

The jump from 512MB to 1.5GB is huge - matched or not, things will be much better. I jumped to 2GB only because, during development work, I tend to swap too much at 1.5GB. There is, in theory, a plus to matched pairs, but this thing flies at 1.5GB (as long as, say, I'm, not using over 1.5GB...).
 
Revlimit Punk said:
The ram specifications are written in the manual (duh).
I found http://www.crucial.com to be a good place to buy quality ram.
I don't know if matching pairs will mean better performance.
Click to expand...

There is only one slot on the iNtel iMacs. It is a 32-bit processor however, so it is pretty unlikely that you will see a speed boost with matching pairs.

And please don't insult other forum members with (duh). They may be new to Macs and didn't look in the manual. But they should, I agree, look at the manual and read it.
 
Duh ! Is right.. i should have read the manual.. Oh well just got the system today, and was so excited..You know how it is..I just jumped in and started exploring..Reading manuals.. that sounds like work..

Thanks again..

Mike m.
 
I would recommend DMS in the States, or CanadaRAM in Canada, depending where you are. Regardless of where you buy your RAM, make sure of two things: that the company explictily gaurantees Mac-compatibility of its RAM, and that it has a lifetime money-back gaurantee on its RAM. Few places meet these qualifications, but if you want the best for your machine, this is the safe way to play it. Putting generic RAM in your Mac just isn't worth it die to the headaches it might cause you at a later date - it's risky. Even if you have to pay a bit more, who cares - you're investing a decent amount of cash into your new machine, why skrimp on something as important as RAM? That's my philosophy at least. :cool:
 
Mechcozmo said:
There is only one slot on the iNtel iMacs. It is a 32-bit processor however, so it is pretty unlikely that you will see a speed boost with matching pairs.
Click to expand...
How does that have anything to do with anything? The Core Duo uses a chipset that supports dual-channel RAM, so yes you may see some kind of speed increase with a matched pair (might not be noticeable in day to day usage, but it will be there). This has nothing to do with the bitness of a processor. My AMD Athlon XP 2000+ on an nForce 2 motherboard supported dual-channel RAM 3 years ago, and it's a 32-bit processor.
 
I'd say for everyday tasks going from 512-1GB is about equal as going from 1GB-2GB. I'm hoping the 2GB DDR2 sodimms come out so I can have 4GB of ram. :)
 
epepper9 said:
I'd say for everyday tasks going from 512-1GB is about equal as going from 1GB-2GB. I'm hoping the 2GB DDR2 sodimms come out so I can have 4GB of ram. :)
Click to expand...

I thought iMacs were capped at 2GB (2.5 if you're sneaky) ?
or did you mean in another machine?
 
jsw said:
No, there are two. At least one slot is filled at the factory, but that RAM is removable as well.
Click to expand...

You are right... I forgot to mention the other RAM socket. :eek: I was referring (in my mind) to the original iMac which had two user-accessible slots, vs. the later revisions (and this one) which have one user-accessible and one Apple-only one.

Cless said:
How does that have anything to do with anything? The Core Duo uses a chipset that supports dual-channel RAM, so yes you may see some kind of speed increase with a matched pair (might not be noticeable in day to day usage, but it will be there). This has nothing to do with the bitness of a processor. My AMD Athlon XP 2000+ on an nForce 2 motherboard supported dual-channel RAM 3 years ago, and it's a 32-bit processor.
Click to expand...

Sorry... I was using my knowledge of some older Macs and was confused about that argument since it had always been explained that way.
 
Mechcozmo said:
You are right... I forgot to mention the other RAM socket. :eek: I was referring (in my mind) to the original iMac which had two user-accessible slots, vs. the later revisions (and this one) which have one user-accessible and one Apple-only one.
Click to expand...
Umm, sorry, the Core Duo has 2 memory sockets both user accessible

iMac G4 - one user accessible SODIMM, 1 internal (technician accessible) DIMM
PC133 on 700 and 800 MHz models, PC2700 DDR on 1 Ghz and up

iMac G5 (A and B revs) two DDR DIMM sockets user accessible

iMac G5 (iSight) one DDR-2 DIMM socket only, plus 512 Mb soldered on

iMac Core Duo two DDR-2 SODIMM sockets, user accessible
 
CanadaRAM said:
Umm, sorry, the Core Duo has 2 memory sockets both user accessible

iMac G4 - one user accessible SODIMM, 1 internal (technician accessible) DIMM
PC133 on 700 and 800 MHz models, PC2700 DDR on 1 Ghz and up

iMac G5 (A and B revs) two DDR DIMM sockets user accessible

iMac G5 (iSight) one DDR-2 DIMM socket only, plus 512 Mb soldered on

iMac Core Duo two DDR-2 SODIMM sockets, user accessible
Click to expand...

:mad: I looked back and realized that the website I got my information off of re-used their G5 picture. I didn't bother to check otherwise.
Well, now that I've destroyed all credibility, the sky is green and pigs do fly but only if your potato has reached -291˚ Celsius.
And the little green men on Mars are actually purple.

:rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back