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Upgrading ram on new iMac 27in

V

vjaaan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 13, 2010
346
8
I just ordered a new iMac 27 inch. I am getting only 8gb ram because to upgrade would have meant another month before delivery. I am told I can easily pop in another ram chip to upgrade. I may be running Parallels and know it requires more. Is there a limitation on the size of the new ram I can add? Like, can I add a 32 to my 8?
And, I can buy it from another reputable place, not just Apple, right?

Also, do they need to be installed in pairs to run right? Like, is my 8 gb already set up as two 4's, and then do I need to instead a pair of 16s instead of one 32?

Thanks so much for any responses.
vjaaan
 
Last edited:
Yep just did that same upgrade 2 days ago. Took me more time to unpack the new ram then it did to install. Cake install.
 
Ok, so it is ok to have 2 4gbs and then 2 16 gbs. All 4 don't have to be the same. Just the pairs?
Thanks.
 
Thank you! Is there a particular place to purchase it that you would recommend? It was way too expensive from Apple, and I understand that it can be bought elsewhere and work fine?
 
I just realized something. The iMac I bought cannot take as much ram as I planned to put in. It says: 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory, configurable up to 32GB . So, to be sure, to run Parallels on this, will 32 gb be enough? Since it comes with 8, I guess that means I will need to order two 16s and take out the 2 4s that are in it?
I assume "configurable up to" means I cannot add a pair of 16s, because the total would be 40? Or am I reading that wrong. Does that mean the empty slots can only support 32 chips each?
 
I have 40GB ram now - 16GB x 2, and 4GB x 2 modules, for a total of 40GB. Does it make any sense to go to 64GB? Would the performance increase be worth the $150 to upgrade?
 
One last question (I hope): the online chat support "guy" from Apple's site told me yesterday that my new iMac 27" is a 2019 model, which does allow expanding ram up to 64gb (not just up to 32, which the sales website said). If this is true, I will want to add 32 mb (2 - 16s) for a total of 40. I figure no point in throwing out the 8 already there.
Which brings me to the question of which slots I use. Since they go in in pairs, does that mean slots 1 & 2 are taken by the two 4's and I would put my new 16s into slots 3 and 4? Because, I read somewhere that they alternate. Meaning slots 1 and 3 are used for the original two chips and my new pair would go into 2 and 4. (The computer is due to be delivered today, so I cannot look into it yet.)

Thanks so much!
 
vjaaan said:
One last question (I hope): the online chat support "guy" from Apple's site told me yesterday that my new iMac 27" is a 2019 model, which does allow expanding ram up to 64gb (not just up to 32, which the sales website said). If this is true, I will want to add 32 mb (2 - 16s) for a total of 40. I figure no point in throwing out the 8 already there.
Which brings me to the question of which slots I use. Since they go in in pairs, does that mean slots 1 & 2 are taken by the two 4's and I would put my new 16s into slots 3 and 4? Because, I read somewhere that they alternate. Meaning slots 1 and 3 are used for the original two chips and my new pair would go into 2 and 4. (The computer is due to be delivered today, so I cannot look into it yet.)

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Just put them in the empty slots and you should be good to go. If you weren't keeping the other RAM then yes you would want to alternate them
 
I was actually told by the phone tech support guy that it is best to remove the 8 gb already there and only use the 32 I am adding. Something about faster or smoother performance if all chips are the same size.
Anyone else ever heard of this?
 
I would like to Know the answer to weather is best to remove the original 8GB. I have just return to amazon the 16GB I bought last year as it gave me some issues as it is not the one apointed by Crucial for Mac anymore, but the one we were guessing early when the new iMac released.

Looking to get again 16GB, or maybe even 32GB, but would like to know how to install it
 
I did remove the original 8gb that came with the computer and installed just the 32 (2 16s). All my research was suggesting it was best to not mix the brands and the sizes.
 
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