New iMac. Which RAM? From where?

[I am Sampson]

Depends on what you use it for really. I've heard that 2Gb is a good "sweet spot" for generally usage and 4Gb isnt noticeable to alot of people who don't deal with intensive programs/lots of programs (i.e. very large photoshop files, rendering, encoding etc) for general email, websurfing ilife, I don't think you'd see a really big difference between 2Gb and 4Gb. But then, I am once again guessing/basing on previous threads I've read. I've actually never used a mac with more than 1Gb myself, so I wouldn't take my advice as having a great deal of weight!

 

[CanadaRAM]

the new iMacs are apparently capable of running RAM at 800MHz, but is this really true?

I beleive what would limit it to 667Mhz is the type of chipset in the iMac, and I've read so many different things about santa rosa vs montevista or whatever they are called that i ended up confused about what the new specs really are

MacRumors Guides: Hardware: Understanding Intel Mac RAM

 

[denisb1]

New Imac. Which ram?

That makes sense. OK, another question. As my iMac only has 1GB RAM at the moment, will adding another 1GB be really noticeable, and speed it up alot? Or would you recommend going for 4GB. Considering, 1GB is only £14.09, and 4GB will cost £70.49.

I am not sure which would be best. Just the 1GB extra, and saving money, or losing 1GB in my machine, and adding 4GB for the cost above. Any recommendations or opinions?

I must have 500 posts on the new Imac and some techies have experimented with different amounts of ram VS speed and have come to the conclusion that there is a speed increase up to 3GB but not that much from 3 to 4GB. Conclusion get 4GB Ram. Crucial has the correct ram. Don't forget, you get what you pay for.

 

[akidd]

Depends on what you use it for really. I've heard that 2Gb is a good "sweet spot" for generally usage and 4Gb isnt noticeable to alot of people who don't deal with intensive programs/lots of programs (i.e. very large photoshop files, rendering, encoding etc) for general email, websurfing ilife, I don't think you'd see a really big difference between 2Gb and 4Gb. But then, I am once again guessing/basing on previous threads I've read. I've actually never used a mac with more than 1Gb myself, so I wouldn't take my advice as having a great deal of weight!

My advice is to get it from Crucial. My iBook G3 (now grlf's) and iBook G4 have Crucial momorary and both work a treat. I'm a journalist and I Photoshop, Quark, FTP etc, ect (basically run the magazine) on the G4, all with no probem. On Friday I'll be putting Crucial memory into an eMac I bought for when I don't want to take the iB into the offfice and expect this to have the same effect. As a company are going to buy a new iMac (probably the 24in 3.06) and get Crucial 4Gb memory for it.

I seem to rember that Apple says OSX needs 2Gb to run properly. I'd get the other 1Gb (it'll be cheap) and see if you need any more as you go along. At that point you'll discover everyone else has upgraded to the 4Gb and no-one wants the 1Gb sticks in terms of value.

Surely there must be computers we can give these to, rather than chucking them. Eg, someone send one to this tread's starter. But generally, couldn't we as a user community have some sort of project where unwanted 1Gb sticks went to a charity/charities, regardless of where in the world?

 

[luffx]

You can use 800MHz RAM & take advantage of it.

It's too bad that the FSB is 1066, but the memory controller is limited to 800MHz. It's rather lame.

 

[Petoz]

I have had another thought. Could I add a 2GB stick of RAM to the iMac, so it has a total of 3GB? Do the new iMacs allow mixed RAM? I know the previous ones did, but am not sure about the ones released on monday.

This would be easier, as I could buy a 2GB stick, and use the 3GB total until I can afford the further 2GB to make it 4GB.

 

[neilkachu]

Hi,

Yes you can put 3Gb in if you like. Both slots dont need to be filled or the same size.

FYI crucial now have the new iMac's RAM listed in their system, £70.49 for 4Gb.

link


Happy shopping.

 

[rjp]

Developer note...

Where did you get this informative developer's quote?

I'd like to see the same for the most recent MBP memory.

I am wondering if it can use CL4 RAM.

Thanks
Rich

 

[cherry su]

DDR2-800 SO-DIMM from Newegg.com

 

[CanadaRAM]

I have had another thought. Could I add a 2GB stick of RAM to the iMac, so it has a total of 3GB? Do the new iMacs allow mixed RAM? I know the previous ones did, but am not sure about the ones released on monday.

This would be easier, as I could buy a 2GB stick, and use the 3GB total until I can afford the further 2GB to make it 4GB.

Don't want to be a bug on this, but the answer is in the Guides link already posted. We don't write and maintain the Guides just for our own amusement... it would be encouraging to think that people used them, sometimes.

MacRumors Guides: Hardware: Understanding Intel Mac RAM

"All Intel Core Macs will run with mismatched RAM, and will run in dual-channel mode. Core 2 Duo Macs can run a 3 GB configuration (1 GB + 2 GB), which on average can be faster than a 2 GB matched pair if you are multitasking or using heavy programs like Photoshop, digital audio and digital video production that can benefit from the extra 1 GB. In general, more RAM trumps matched RAM. For more information, see Matched RAM on Intel Macs."