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Memory upgrade to 4 gig on 24" imac

S

Seanrobrien

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 18, 2008
11
0
Just wanted to say hello I'm new here this is my 1st post. Great place......

What will an upgrade to 4 gigs do for me over the 1 gig the system comes with?

Where will I see the performance increases if any?

Thanks
SOB
 
Seanrobrien said:
Just wanted to say hello I'm new here this is my 1st post. Great place......

What will an upgrade to 4 gigs do for me over the 1 gig the system comes with?

Where will I see the performance increases if any?

Thanks
SOB
Click to expand...

It will give you......3gb more memory? :p

I know going from 1 to 2 will show quite a bit of difference. Apps open faster, less beachballing.

Above 2 though, unless you are running some seriously intense apps (photoshop, final cut, I dont know what else) I dont know how much difference you'll see. I have 4gb, really dont do anything that heavy. I had a mini with 2gb and really, honestly dont see that much difference from the mini with 2gb ram to my current 2.0ghz iMac with 4gb ram.

But ram is cheap, so why not max it out??
 
It helps when you have multiple programs open at once. Your computer won't come to a screeching halt. Some programs even when quit out don't release the memory that they used. So basically multitasking will be faster and you will be able to go even longer between boot ups. If you use Photoshop of FCP you will see huge performance increases.
 
You'll be able to have more programs open at once wihtout things slowing down.

Also, for programs like Logic, you can have more plug-ins open at once... more samples loaded up into memory etc.

Memory is pretty cheap these days... so I'd suggest a minimum of 2GB... but max it out if you can afford to (future proofing)...

But dont get it with your machine from apple... buy it from a 3rd party (sooooooooo much cheaper) and install it yourself (its very easy to do)... or get a friend to help if your unsure.

:)
 
Allocating 2GB each to Leopard and Vista in VMware Fusion I saw a night and day difference in performance from when I had 2GB total and did 1GB to each. Back then both OSes ran like molasses and I couldn't get anything done. Just shutting down Vista would take forever.

Thus, I can say with authority that if you plan on running Windows in a virtual machine it will be an upgrade well worth your investment. Both OSes run simultaneously now as fast as they normally do on their own.

Beyond that it could just be my imagination but OS X itself seems snappier with the 4GB than it did with 2.

Like the poster above said though, with RAM prices as cheap as they are right now why NOT max it out? ;)
 
When I got my Al iMac, it came with the stock 1GB of RAM. I placed an order for 4GB of RAM from OWC about a week after I ordered my mac, so I got to play with the iMac with only 1GB for about a week. When the RAM came in the mail and I installed it, I must say that the machine was significantly faster. I wouldn't say that the difference was night and day, because 1GB of RAM is nothing to complain about, but in retrospect, I would still have made the same decision and ordered the RAM. Now that I have had 4GB for awhile, when I use my girlfriends imac with only 1GB of RAM, I must confess that it seems a bit like a turtle. Too bad RAM isn't as cool as jewelry, otherwise I would give her some.:eek:
 
byocrysis said:
when I use my girlfriends imac with only 1GB of RAM, I must confess that it seems a bit like a turtle. Too bad RAM isn't as cool as jewelry, otherwise I would give her some.:eek:
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? Nothing says I love you like 4GB of good quality RAM. I'm sure if you gave it to her for a birthday present she'd cry with tears of joy. (or kick you in the n***s, one of those two). :p
 
Thanks

Thanks for the replies. I ordered 4 gigs from Newegg for $104.00.

I remember back in 1995 a 32 meg sim was hundreds of dollars. Now we are talking 4 gigs for only $100.00 amazing.........

Thanks Again
Sean
 
SaSaSushi said:
Are you kidding? Nothing says I love you like 4GB of good quality RAM. :p
Click to expand...

Could you define 'good quality ram'? I have been looking for a memory upgrade for my 2.4GB 24" iMac at the OWC site and there is lots to chose from, and a variety of prices...:confused:
I plan on running Vista on it as well...using VMware.

Thanks,

Jim
 
Memory seems like its adding 1 few seconds to boot time????

Memory seems like its adding a few seconds to boot time????


I just got some kingston memory. 2 2gig sims.

The boot time seems like its a little slower than with the factory 1gig

Sean
 
My 4gb upgrade from Crucial arrived today. Installation is incredibly easy, taking all of 5 minutes, mostly used to unplug then replug all the cables.

I haven't done anything to test the 4gb, but everything seems peppier.
 
jakfrost said:
Could you define 'good quality ram'? I have been looking for a memory upgrade for my 2.4GB 24" iMac at the OWC site and there is lots to chose from, and a variety of prices...:confused:
I plan on running Vista on it as well...using VMware.

Thanks,

Jim
Click to expand...

That was actually just a poor attempt at humor, Jim.

In my personal situation I replaced the Apple RAM with 2 x 2GB sticks of very reasonably priced Taiwanese RAM (marketed under the name UMAX here in Japan) in my 24" alu iMac and it has worked perfectly.

There have been reports of some compatibility issues with certain RAM on the iMacs though. I've heard Crucial and OWC are excellent.
 
RAM for the iMac

SaSaSushi said:
That was actually just a poor attempt at humor, Jim.

In my personal situation I replaced the Apple RAM with 2 x 2GB sticks of very reasonably priced Taiwanese RAM (marketed under the name UMAX here in Japan) in my 24" alu iMac and it has worked perfectly.

There have been reports of some compatibility issues with certain RAM on the iMacs though. I've heard Crucial and OWC are excellent.
Click to expand...

I have the 24" iMac with 2 gigs of RAM. I run Leopard and Parallels on it with the Windows XP OS. I use numerous graphics related applications on it including Adobe PS Elements 4.0 on the Mac OS and PS Elements 6 on the XP OS. I just bought my 4 gis today from the local Apple Store. They wanted like $350 when I first asked about the cost. I told the guy what I had seen it for online at some stores not related to Apple at all. I said what if I just buy the 4 gigs from you and install it myself and give you my 2 gigs? He ended up in stalling the 4 gigs for me and let me keep my 2 gigs. My cost to him was $200 even. I decided I would pay it because he included a lifetime guarantee for the RAM. That works well for me since that iMac will be with me quite a long time. I do not know how much difference one might see on an iMac running only the Leopard or Tiger OS but since I am using the above mentioned configuration, I have to believe there will be a major difference. I figure with RAM at the current price, I could not go wrong with 32 gigs if I was able to install it.
 
I'm getting Photoshop Elements 6.0 in a couple of weeks so I figured this may be a good time to boost my memory. I just purchased two-2gb samsung modules on ebay today for $89 each. It sounded too good to be true but the seller assures me they are "new" and the same ones that ship from the apple factory preinstalled. Applestore.com wants $300 for each module, which is utterly ridiculous. Anyway, the seller has extensive and impeccable feedback so i have reasonable trust that the product is as described. I have a 30 day money back guarantee should there be any problem. I'll let you all know how I made out.

Luis
 
The best online retailers also have a lifetime warranty. Why you would ever even consider buying from Apple I'm not sure.
 
jakfrost said:
Could you define 'good quality ram'? I have been looking for a memory upgrade for my 2.4GB 24" iMac at the OWC site and there is lots to chose from, and a variety of prices...:confused:
I plan on running Vista on it as well...using VMware.

Thanks,

Jim
Click to expand...

I've spent about ten years ordering RAM from Crucial/Micron (www.crucial.com). Their prices are good, they guarantee compatibility, and have an excellent return policy. I paid $99 for 2-2GB modules (They had a $10-off sale). Lifetime guarantee. Highly recommended.
 
Why I would consider buying from Apple

brop52 said:
The best online retailers also have a lifetime warranty. Why you would ever even consider buying from Apple I'm not sure.
Click to expand...

I feel quite comfortable in knowing if I have a problem with this RAM I got from Apple that I will be able to easily get it replaced. The store is 2 miles from my home and so it is convenient. As I said before, they charged me $200 total and gave me my old RAM back which I am selling on ebay. The reserve was met the first day so it looks as if I will get right at $45 to $50 dollars for it. So for right at $150 I for RAM from a company I trust at what I believe to be a fair price. Not having to wait for it to arrive in the mail or having to deal with an online type store was a bonus.
 
I noticed a significant change going from 2GB to 4GB. With 2GB, when I had several apps open, it would often take a while to switch between programs (especially when Firefox was one of the apps in question). Sometimes it would get me a beachball.

Since switching to 4GB, that has gone away. So going from 1GB to 4GB should be very significant.
 
no more page outs

I went from 1 to 4 GB via Crucial ValueRam and reduced a troublesome page out problem to zero on my iMac 24" 2.4Ghz (refurb).

The performance boost was definitely noticeable. Frankly I think Mac should install at least 2 GB in these puppies before they ship - 1 is just too danged few - and it would probably add little to the cost - every time I visit the Apple Store the iMacs with only 1 GB are much slower than they should be.
 
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