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The gskill doesn't overclock to 2133mhz by itself. The Kingston ones do CL11 at 2133mhz automatically. No ideas if it's stable on the iMac 5k.

I can get the Kingston 2133 for the same cost as the crucial CL10 1866mhz

So I'm not sure which one to go for. However the reviews for the crucial CL10 have mostly pointed to short life span of the modules
 
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Link to reviews of short life span on CL10 please.


The gskill doesn't overclock to 2133mhz by itself. The Kingston ones do CL11 at 2133mhz automatically. No ideas if it's stable on the iMac 5k.

I can get the Kingston 2133 for the same cost as the crucial CL10 1866mhz

So I'm not sure which one to go for. However the reviews for the crucial CL10 have mostly pointed to short life span of the modules
 
The gskill doesn't overclock to 2133mhz by itself. The Kingston ones do CL11 at 2133mhz automatically. No ideas if it's stable on the iMac 5k.

I can get the Kingston 2133 for the same cost as the crucial CL10 1866mhz

So I'm not sure which one to go for. However the reviews for the crucial CL10 have mostly pointed to short life span of the modules

These Kingstons?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=9514488&sku=KS1-102776001
 
I posted my own thread but didn't get any answer.

Any thoughts on reusing my 4x8gb 1333MHz C9 ram from my 2011 iMac? Is there any real world difference between 1333 and 1866MHz?

Thanks!
Unless someone demonstrates otherwise, it seems like the 1333MHz won't work. Someone posted a thread today stating that they tried to install 32GB (4 x 8GB) of 1600MHz and the machine would just beep and wouldn't boot. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/question-about-adding-memory.1930280/

UPDATE: it is possible 1333 or 1600MHz will work since the poster I referenced used 1.5V (instead of 1.35) which is probably why it wouldn't boot. Others might be better to chime in on this.

Based on the video game benchmarks at the following url, it seems that there is minimal performance gain between 1600MHz and 1866MHz http://techbuyersguru.com/does-ram-speed-matter-ddr3-1600-vs-1866-2133-and-2400-games

"In the end, the chips fall as one might expect, at least in terms of order. Yes, the "fastest" kit is actually fastest, and the "slowest" kit is actually slowest. Even so, the difference are fairly small - they are just 1.4% in terms of average framerates and 3.9% in terms of minimum framerates. In between, the 1866 kit has a small lead on the 1600 kit, and the 2133 kit pulls just ahead of the 1866 kit . . . DDR3-1600 is typically cheapest, but if you can find DDR3-1866 or DDR3-2133 within a few dollars of DDR3-1600, consider it a small but worthwhile upgrade"
 
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Bear with me gang. I have read through this entire thread and my brain is feeling a bit melty. Also, it's midterm exams week at school. #brainmaxout

i have a new late 2015 27" i5, 2TB on the way. I would like to upgrade the 8GB to 24, by adding 16. And at a later date update to the full 32GB. (tho I hear that 64GB is actually possible. even as a designer using Ai & Ps, I am not sure 64 will ever be necessary for me).

As I understand from this thread, the iMac comes with CL13 (I have grasped this is a speed thing) & if I add CL10 which is faster, it will still run at the slower CL13. yes?

Questions:
  • any harm in adding the CL10, mixing w/ the CL13?
  • If I upgrade in 6 months to the full 32GB, and those are CL10, I assume it will all run at the faster speed then. yes?
  • what other specs do I need be aware of? I think I read 1866 MHz...?
Budget is an issue, so I cannot possibly just upgrade to the full 32GB right now.
Thank you in advance for any help you give my melted brain.
 
Bear with me gang. I have read through this entire thread and my brain is feeling a bit melty. Also, it's midterm exams week at school. #brainmaxout

i have a new late 2015 27" i5, 2TB on the way. I would like to upgrade the 8GB to 24, by adding 16. And at a later date update to the full 32GB. (tho I hear that 64GB is actually possible. even as a designer using Ai & Ps, I am not sure 64 will ever be necessary for me).

As I understand from this thread, the iMac comes with CL13 (I have grasped this is a speed thing) & if I add CL10 which is faster, it will still run at the slower CL13. yes?

Questions:
  • any harm in adding the CL10, mixing w/ the CL13?
  • If I upgrade in 6 months to the full 32GB, and those are CL10, I assume it will all run at the faster speed then. yes?
  • what other specs do I need be aware of? I think I read 1866 MHz...?
Budget is an issue, so I cannot possibly just upgrade to the full 32GB right now.
Thank you in advance for any help you give my melted brain.
I've had the same question for the fast few days and have been searching for an answer. What I have gathered is that the system most likely will recognize that they are different latencies and adjust them so they are both running at the higher latency (CL13). I believe there was a post in this thread where someone contacted OWC and OWC confirmed their ram (CL11) would work together with Apple's stock ram (CL13)--in this case you are relying on the word of the manufacturer, so if the ram doesn't work, you can probably return it for a refund.

However, there is a possibility that two different latencies won't work together and you will not be able to boot up your system or some other problem could occur. In this case, I have read you can take out the limiting ram (higher latency CL13) and then boot up with the lower latency ram (CL10) and there should be a way to manually adjust (via software/terminal?) the lower latency ram to take on the properties of the higher latency ram. You basically have to try it out and see if it works and go from there. Or, if you know certain combinations of latencies work together based on other users' experiences, you can choose to rely on those.

So far, I am not sure if anyone has posted if they have mixed the two latencies (CL13 and CL10) for the new iMac. I am not really satisfied with the answers I have found and I wanted to buy ram before my iMac comes in, so to be on the safe side, I have decided to just order 16GB (2 x 8GB) of the Crucial CL13 to use with the stock 8GB shipped with the iMac (for a total of 24GB).

When I am ready to upgrade from that, I can buy another 16GB (2 x 8GB) CL13 set to replace the two 4GB sticks (to upgrade to 32GB). Or if it more information becomes available about mixing latencies, eventually I might replace the two 4GB modules with 16GB modules in order to work towards maxing out the ram to 64GB (since I don't think the 16GB modules currently come in CL13, plus they are extremely expensive right now).

Aside from the CAS latency, some specs to look out for include:
--1866MHz DDR3 or 1867MHz DDR3 (Apple/OWC round up the "6" to "7", but it is the same frequency)
--204-pin (refers to the size of the ram, which is mobile ram so it is shorter in length than desktop ram)
--1.35V (this is low voltage, and some manufactures will label the ram DDR3L to refer to this)
--Non-ECC (this refers to unbuffered ram that will work with the iMac)
 
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I'm just waiting for someone to post a great alternative to OWC's SINGLE 16GB stick. Seems impossible that they're the only ones that seem to have a single 1866(7) 16GB stick.

Only one I've seen posted is that Kingston Hyper X running at 2133. However, and this is just me, but I've ALWAYS been weary about running RAM faster than the recommended spec'd mobo speed.

If someone can find me a single stick of 1866(7) 16GB RAM that's NOT OWC I'd be forever grateful!
 
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The gskill doesn't overclock to 2133mhz by itself. The Kingston ones do CL11 at 2133mhz automatically. No ideas if it's stable on the iMac 5k.

I can get the Kingston 2133 for the same cost as the crucial CL10 1866mhz

So I'm not sure which one to go for. However the reviews for the crucial CL10 have mostly pointed to short life span of the modules
No "overclocking" here: 2133MHz is a standard DDR3 speed, and both GSkill and Kingston have XMP profiles, who indicates to the CPU their nominal speed ;)
 
I'm just waiting for someone to post a great alternative to OWC's SINGLE 16GB stick. Seems impossible that they're the only ones that seem to have a single 1866(7) 16GB stick.

Only one I've seen posted is that Kingston Hyper X running at 2133. However, and this is just me, but I've ALWAYS been weary about running RAM faster than the recommended spec'd mobo speed.

If someone can find me a single stick of 1866(7) 16GB RAM that's NOT OWC I'd be forever grateful!
One more time: with Intel i5 or i7 CPU, the mobo doesn't control the RAM: the memory controller is in the CPU. And all i5 or i7 CPU sold today can handle at least 2400MHz memory.
 
One more time: with Intel i5 or i7 CPU, the mobo doesn't control the RAM: the memory controller is in the CPU. And all i5 or i7 CPU sold today can handle at least 2400MHz memory.


Yes I forgot about that. I'm sorry.

Still, I'm worried about being so close to that 2400MHz number. In my head I equate it to sustained engine performance vs longevity with cars. Yes I can drive my car at 120mph, but it's not healthy to sustain that speed all the time. Is my thinking on this wrong?

Are the Hyper X 2133 or OWC 1866(7) my only options for a single 16GB still?
 
Yes I forgot about that. I'm sorry.

Still, I'm worried about being so close to that 2400MHz number. In my head I equate it to sustained engine performance vs longevity with cars. Yes I can drive my car at 120mph, but it's not healthy to sustain that speed all the time. Is my thinking on this wrong?

Are the Hyper X 2133 or OWC 1866(7) my only options for a single 16GB still?
It is not overclocking. The CPU and the RAM are compatible with these speeds, you don't "push it". FYI you can find 3000 MHz memory for desktop Intel CPUs...
2400MHz is the max RAM speed for non "K" processors. "K" processors can go even faster without any damage.

And I don't know your experience with computers, but I've encountered dead HDDs, dead GPUs, but I've never seen a CPU dying in 20 years of computing ;)
 
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So is this the best option?
I would take the CL13 if you mix with Apple RAM, and the Ballistix if you don't mix with the Apple RAM. :)
We don't know how it will work if you mix CL13 and 11...
On the previous gen, if you were mixing 1600 MHz CL11 with 1600 MHz CL9, the RAM was running at 1333 MHz CL9...
 
I would take the CL13 if you mix with Apple RAM, and the Ballistix if you don't mix with the Apple RAM. :)
We don't know how it will work if you mix CL13 and 11...
On the previous gen, if you were mixing 1600 MHz CL11 with 1600 MHz CL9, the RAM was running at 1333 MHz CL9...

Thanks so much, and one last thing;

Can I just have the link to a single 8gb crucial CL13 on Amazon (as I'm in Australia, and they have decent shipping rates) ?? My thinking is 16gb is plenty for me as I do some gaming here and there and all other light tasks but I want to keep the 2x 4gb Apple Rams and leave one slot open in case I want to some time in the future throw in another 8gb to make it 24gb. Is that okay just to put one 8gb at this stage and leave one slot free? Thanks so much :)
 
Thanks so much, and one last thing;

Can I just have the link to a single 8gb crucial CL13 on Amazon (as I'm in Australia, and they have decent shipping rates) ?? My thinking is 16gb is plenty for me as I do some gaming here and there and all other light tasks but I want to keep the 2x 4gb Apple Rams and leave one slot open in case I want to some time in the future throw in another 8gb to make it 24gb. Is that okay just to put one 8gb at this stage and leave one slot free? Thanks so much :)
You can do that. You won't have the dual channel option activated (2 modules or 2x2 modules needed), but it's hardly noticeable I think.
For me the problem with your solution is that the day you want to add the last module, you must be sure you can find the same reference... It is really more stable if you use pair of identical modules...
 
Ok Alesc, i'm going to go ahead and order the (2) 16GB Hyper X modules. But before I do, would you happen to know of any other single 16GB RAM sticks compatible with the new 5K iMac? Or are the Kingston sticks the best price I'm ever going to find for right now?
 
You can do that. You won't have the dual channel option activated (2 modules or 2x2 modules needed), but it's hardly noticeable I think.
For me the problem with your solution is that the day you want to add the last module, you must be sure you can find the same reference... It is really more stable if you use pair of identical modules...

Okay that makes sense. In that case I either get 2 X 4gb modules or 2 X 8gb modules. I'm leaning towards 2x4gb modules as I think 16gb is plenty for light-moderate gaming (or so I've been told). Can I please have a link on Amazon to the correct one of its possible and I'll buy it immediately hopefully I receive it in time for when I get my new iMac, can't wait.
 
I would take the CL13 if you mix with Apple RAM, and the Ballistix if you don't mix with the Apple RAM. :)
We don't know how it will work if you mix CL13 and 11...
On the previous gen, if you were mixing 1600 MHz CL11 with 1600 MHz CL9, the RAM was running at 1333 MHz CL9...

OK, just to be sure. I want to mix the original ram with 2x8GB more, so this should be the ram to choose:

http://www.amazon.de/Crucial-CT1024...8&qid=1445349932&sr=1-3&keywords=1866MHz+cl13

Thanks everbody!
 
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Ok Alesc, i'm going to go ahead and order the (2) 16GB Hyper X modules. But before I do, would you happen to know of any other single 16GB RAM sticks compatible with the new 5K iMac? Or are the Kingston sticks the best price I'm ever going to find for right now?
Take 2x8, you will have 24GB, it is really huge and 8GB modules are less less expensive than exotic 16GB ones... And if you come short a day, you will replace Apple RAM by 2x8 or 2x16GBG (and the prices of high capacity modules will be lower in the future I think).

Okay that makes sense. In that case I either get 2 X 4gb modules or 2 X 8gb modules. I'm leaning towards 2x4gb modules as I think 16gb is plenty for light-moderate gaming (or so I've been told). Can I please have a link on Amazon to the correct one of its possible and I'll buy it immediately hopefully I receive it in time for when I get my new iMac, can't wait.
I game a lot on mine (Far Cry 3, Alien Isolation, Bioshock infinite... I've never seen more than 8-10GB of RAM occupied under my Windows session...
You need more than 16GB if you are editing HD/4k videos or very huge photos, if you use virtual machines... But for internet, gaming, casual photo editing, 16GB is enough.
Just think that if you buy 2x4GB, the day you will need more RAM, you will need to sell one pair of 4GB modules...
 
Is this really right?

From the specifications the original Apple RAM is DDR3L, but the mentioned RAM seems to be only DDR3.

Or ist 1,35V DDR3 Ram automatically also DDR3L RAM ?
 
Is this really right?

From the specifications the original Apple RAM is DDR3L, but the mentioned RAM seems to be only DDR3.

Or ist 1,35V DDR3 Ram automatically also DDR3L RAM ?
Yes, L is for Low voltage, 1.35V (versus 1.5V).
 
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