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OH damn! so you saying if i had to have warranty work done on it I have put the original back in. I was going for a 16GB kit therefore leaving me the 2x2GB original and was going to send them to OWC for the recycle rebate program

Keep the original ram. Like already stated, if you ever have to send it into Apple there will be far less "troubles" getting work done if you put it back in before hand.
 
Today I bought the 2011 iMac and the Apple Sales person tried desperately to sell me RAM. I already bought RAM elsewhere to install tomorrow. Was this just a sales ploy to get me to buy Apple RAM? He was trying to convince I would get 8 for 180 b/c they are giving you back money for the pre-built RAM. I got twice that for the same price!

All of you who have done this before - what kind of screwdriver do I need?
 
Today I bought the 2011 iMac and the Apple Sales person tried desperately to sell me RAM. I already bought RAM elsewhere to install tomorrow. Was this just a sales ploy to get me to buy Apple RAM? He was trying to convince I would get 8 for 180 b/c they are giving you back money for the pre-built RAM. I got twice that for the same price!

All of you who have done this before - what kind of screwdriver do I need?

watch this video it tells all
iMac mid 2011 Memory Install Video
 
May be a dumb question but is there any reason that I should not install my new crucial RAM before I boot the iMac for the first time?

I was planning on putting it in as soon as I got it in. Just didnt know if there would be a reason not to...
 
lol why would it void ur warrenty? of course not.. i dont understand why u chose corsair though, they have some pretty bad reviews there. id go with either crucial or OWC, im trying to decide myself too which one to get, im leaning towards OWC but it costs $15 more than the crucial but im not sure if its worth the extra money.

I use Corsair SO-DIMMs in all my Macs that use SO-DIMMs. Works perfectly fine for me. RAM is RAM. It's pretty hard to find 'bunk' RAM unless you're going out of your way to get it.
 
Just upgraded mine today with 8GB (2x 4GB) from OWC for a total of 12GB. Very happy with how it turned out. The hardest part was finding the right size screwdriver :D
 
May be a dumb question but is there any reason that I should not install my new crucial RAM before I boot the iMac for the first time?

Yes there is! Once your Mac is up and running to your satisfaction, you should run the Activity Monitor to see if you actually do need any extra RAM. If you don't need any extra RAM, contrary to what the uninformed think, fitting more will make absolutely no improvement to the performance of your Mac. So, in that case, why waste the money? :)
 
May be a dumb question but is there any reason that I should not install my new crucial RAM before I boot the iMac for the first time?

I was planning on putting it in as soon as I got it in. Just didnt know if there would be a reason not to...

I have the same question... If you KNOW you are installing extra RAM (I have 16GB 4x4 I'll be putting in my new 27" iMac when it gets here). Should you do it before the initial set up or turn it on, set it up, then turn the power off unplug and install.

Thanks,
Mike
 
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I have the same question... If you KNOW you are installing extra RAM (I have 16GB 4x4 I'll be putting in my new 27" iMac when it gets here). Should you do it before the initial set up or turn it on, set it up, then turn the power off unplug and install.

Thanks,
Mike

I turned it on and used Migration Assistant yesterday. Plan to install the RAM today! Wanted to be sure the hardware worked before installing non- Apple memory!
 
It's always a god idea to setup with the stock RAM, if nothing else but to make sure the machine works fine as supplied.

When handling RAM outside of it's static bag, never ever touch the exposed contacts with bare fingers otherwise you run the risk of frying the module with a static burst.
Always handle by the edges only and before even picking up a module ground yourself on a radiator or similar to dump any static.

I always leave a machine plugged in but TURNED OFF AT THE POWER POINT and ground myself on the chassis as the earth is always connected there, more so in an aluminium enclosure.
Also I always install iMac memory by sliding to the edge of my desk, tipping the screen back to expose the access cover and installing from there.

Once you're happy then install the RAM and verify it's detected by running profiler and checking under memory.

I have the same question... If you KNOW you are installing extra RAM (I have 16GB 4x4 I'll be putting in my new 27" iMac when it gets here). Should you do it before the initial set up or turn it on, set it up, then turn the power off unplug and install.

Thanks,
Mike
 
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My RAM is installed - didn't want to tug too hard on the black plastic pull tabs but you do have to apply a firm grip! Also, I had to gently rock the memory to get the 2nd memory "card" into the 2nd slot. Rebooted and now I have 16 GB - I'm ready to rock 'n' roll! Testing a few more things and then it is time to reformat my previous system and deliver to buyer!
 
Before I bought and installed, I read that you should not mix Apple RAM with non-Apple RAM. Now that it is installed and you're saying that I could have mixed and ended with 12 instead of 16, it is probably too late to return a pair of RAM. Oh, well!
 
$100 for 12 gigs or $200 for 16 gigs.

$100 for an extra 4 gigs seems silly to me.

it sure is silly :p

And just to make things clear guys, the Ram apple uses in the iMacs is made by Micron.

If you buy Crucial Ram you are more than likely receive ram made by Micron so u will be putting the same type of ram thats already installed by apple ;)

Now, crucial has ram sticks that are fully made by Micron but also has some that are PARTIALLY made by Micron, the way to know if your crucial ram is made by Micron is if u see the letters "FR" on the physical ram stick in the serial section.
 
it sure is silly :p

And just to make things clear guys, the Ram apple uses in the iMacs is made by Micron.

If you buy Crucial Ram you are more than likely receive ram made by Micron so u will be putting the same type of ram thats already installed by apple ;)

Now, crucial has ram sticks that are fully made by Micron but also has some that are PARTIALLY made by Micron, the way to know if your crucial ram is made by Micron is if u see the letters "FR" on the physical ram stick in the serial section.

Not true. All crucial ram is micron. Crucial is micron.

No, apple does not use micron in all their iMacs. Mine has elpedia, a foundry that also makes Kingston, ocz and others. Apple too knows that ram is ram.
 
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