New iMac Arrives Today- Memory Question

[hazeydavey]

I ordered a 27" with 8 GB memory. I bought 2 units of 8 GB to upgrade to 24.

Should I start machine up, go through set up and then add the memory modules? Or should I add them and then fire it up?

 

[twilexia]

You should add them first before starting it up. It's really easy. If you turn it on and add it later you'll have to power off and wait 10 minutes (based on apple's recommended instructions) for it to cool off and the electrical charges to dissipate.

 

[Gwendolini]

The consensus is to power up the iMac without additional RAM first to see if it is working correctly and then when you do the next restart add the new RAM. Never heard of the 10 minute wait times though, never waited that long either.

 

[twilexia]

The consensus is to power up the iMac without additional RAM first to see if it is working correctly and then when you do the next restart add the new RAM. Never heard of the 10 minute wait times though, never waited that long either.

When I got my iMac I put in the 32GB g-skill ripjaws immediately. Booted it and it recognized as 32GB 2133 mhz. I don't see any reason why you need to boot it first, if it doesn't work with your RAM from the get-go then why would you expect it to work later?

From apple's website itself:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201191

Warning: The internal components of your iMac can be warm. If you've been using your iMac, wait ten minutes after shutting it down to let the internal components cool, then continue with these instructions:

 

[Weaselboy]

I ordered a 27" with 8 GB memory. I bought 2 units of 8 GB to upgrade to 24.

Should I start machine up, go through set up and then add the memory modules? Or should I add them and then fire it up?

I would start it and run the system setup first so if it is DOA or there are any immediate issues there is no chance of Apple blaming either your RAM or you for messing up something during the installation.

 

[Gwendolini]

When I got my iMac I put in the 32GB g-skill ripjaws immediately. Booted it and it recognized as 32GB 2133 mhz. I don't see any reason why you need to boot it first, if it doesn't work with your RAM from the get-go then why would you expect it to work later?

From apple's website itself:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201191

Thanks for the link, though it never bothered me, since I didn't run my iMac at full speed before upgrading the RAM.

As to why bother checking out the iMac first, well, it is just the consensus here due to checking that the iMac is not faulty and the RAM is not faulty. Everyone works differently of course.