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

Memory Upgrade Easy? Best price?

B

Broric

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 1, 2009
210
24
Hey all

I have a 27" Late 2009 3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with 4GB of RAM (2*2GB I believe).

My first question is how easy is the ram to upgrade? From what I can tell it's just a case of unscrew the cover at the bottom and pop it in (and there are 4 slots in total?).

I looked on the Apple UK store and 2x4GB is £480 (with 2x2GB being £163). I work in a university so can get the education discount on these (I think) but still that's a LOT.

I then looked on Crucial (where I'd normally buy RAM from) and the prices were less than half those of the Apple site.

£280 for the 2x4GB, only £87 for the 2x2GB and £140 for a single 4GB
Is that really the case that the Apple prices are so inflated or is there some difference between the two?

Also I assume that even though I have 2x2GB installed at the minute, I could add a single 4GB into the 3rd slot as I don't need matched pairs, do I?

Cheers
 
No, it's just the case of apple inflating their prices. The default ram apple uses for their iMacs are samsung modules, and any other memory on the market would be just as good. You can find a 4 gig stick or 2 2 gig sticks for around 100usd at multiple resellers.

Replacing/upgrading ram on the iMacs is extremely easy. It's just a matter of powering down and unhooking the computer, then laying it flat and unscrewing the bottom panel. Don't be afraid to really push the sticks in, or really pull the plastic tabs out- as they're sturdy, and if you don't put some elbow grease into the procedure, you won't properly connect the ram sticks.
 
Its not THAT inflated. $180 USD for 2 GB from Apple......Sure its about $80 more to have Apple stick it in your machine and warranty it. Plus you dont need to rip into your brand new machine when it gets to your house.



....I must confess the last apple product I bought I bought the RAM separately.
 
Kronie said:
Its not THAT inflated. $180 USD for 2 GB from Apple......Sure its about $80 more to have Apple stick it in your machine and warranty it. Plus you dont need to rip into your brand new machine when it gets to your house.



....I must confess the last apple product I bought I bought the RAM separately.
Click to expand...

That's at least 2x the price! Plus you're not ripping into anything, just unscrewing a bottom plate.
 
You don't need matched DIMM pairs. The only negative is that the upper bank will be running in single channel mode with an 8% - 10% performance hit, but only for memory accesses within the upper 4GB. This will only occur when you're using more than 4GB. The lower 4GB, with all your apps, will run in dual channel mode. The advantage of adding a single 4GB DIMM, is that if you ever need more RAM, you can add another 4GB for 12GB total.
 
TMRaven said:
That's at least 2x the price!
Click to expand...

How is it at least 2X the price?

Apple=180
Elsewhere=100

180/100=1.8

And really I was giving the benefit of the doubt because your never going to find that RAM for $100...well maybe used on Ebay....any reputable place will be at least 120-180...
 
Thanks for the advice guys.

Are there any decent/cheap UK suppliers similar to macsales? I imagine I'd get hit with customs if ordering from the UK so that makes them not that much better than Crucial.
 
Kronie said:
Its not THAT inflated. $180 USD for 2 GB from Apple......Sure its about $80 more to have Apple stick it in your machine and warranty it. Plus you dont need to rip into your brand new machine when it gets to your house.


....I must confess the last apple product I bought I bought the RAM separately.
Click to expand...

Apple's warranty maxes at three years. The majority of memory out there is sold with a lifetime warranty. So not only do you save money, you get a better warranty. Apple is actually ripping you off by not giving you a lifetime warranty.
 
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