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What RAM to buy to update new iMac launched today?

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lbass said:
I have been following the thread and I am down to these two ram options. Could anybody confirm that they are compatible and recommend one over the other?
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If you've been following this thread then you will know that both of these parts have been discussed in depth already with various users happily using both.

If you happen to care about such things, the iMac RAM is marketed as Mac-compatible by Crucial and is the same CL17 as Apple's stock RAM.

The Ballistix, on the other hand, is faster at CL16 and, although Crucial lists it as incompatible on their site, is 100% fine in the 2017 iMac, even installed together with the Apple stock RAM.

I've been using 2x16GB of the Ballistix together with 2x4GB Apple RAM (40GB) for a month now with zero issues.
 
I've used Corsair Vengeance Performance Memory 32GB for the last a few days and I'm quite happy with its trouble-free performance. I just ordered another set (because Amazon offered a very low price). So once receiving it, I can max out at 64GB and forget about RAM upgrade for my iMac forever:D
 
SaSaSushi said:
If you happen to care about such things, the iMac RAM is marketed as Mac-compatible by Crucial and is the same CL17 as Apple's stock RAM.

The Ballistix, on the other hand, is faster at CL16 and, although Crucial lists it as incompatible on their site, is 100% fine in the 2017 iMac, even installed together with the Apple stock RAM.
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Yes that's a great summary! I just find it hard to pick between officially compatible ram which is slower and supposedly incompatible ram which is faster! I am completely split. Might have to toss a coin.
 
RastabLind said:
Does anybody have and try this Crucial memory? Will it work and be compatible with the Original installed Apple ram (8Gb) and no issues with the new imac 5k 2017 (i7)?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B072...K16G4S24AM&dpPl=1&dpID=51CeSLOYNUL&ref=plSrch


Thanks,
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I believe that is the same RAM that can be found directly on Crucial.com and marked as "Apple Compatible". It's the set I have on order but the dates keep getting pushed back as to when it will deliver. I saw that it was available on Crucial.com recently however the price has increased from when I first put my order in on Amazon and since I still have another two weeks or so for my iMac to be delivered I am not in a hurry to get it.
 
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lbass said:
Yes that's a great summary! I just find it hard to pick between officially compatible ram which is slower and supposedly incompatible ram which is faster! I am completely split. Might have to toss a coin.
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You wouldn't go wrong with either. If it were my choice, I'd get the cheaper one which appears to be the Ballistix at the moment by a whopping $6. :rolleyes:
 
RastabLind said:
BH photo sells the 32 Gb (2x16GB) Crucial memory $29 cheaper than Amazon.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1346254-REG/crucial_ct2k16g4s24am_32gb_kit_16gb_x2.html
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Hard to beat that price. BH is also selling the Ballistix at the same price as Amazon.

One other possible benefit to consider is if you plan on upgrading to a full 64GB of Ballistix at some point in the future (as I do), or remove the Apple stock RAM for 32GB then you benefit from the slightly faster specs.

Actually, even with Apple's RAM I'm getting better speeds than the baseline in Geekbench. I've still yet to remove the Apple RAM to see if it does even better.
 
SaSaSushi said:
I've still yet to remove the Apple RAM to see if it does even better.
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It should. While CL16 is slightly better than CL17, it's still better. Meanwhile the system also won't need to sync the difference between the 2 types of RAM. So using full 64GB of CL16 (from the same vendor/model number) or only 32GB will have better performance. I'm waiting for my next 32GB Corsair Vengeance order to make my iMac 64GB of CL16 RAM.
 
Bob418 said:
It should. While CL16 is slightly better than CL17, it's still better. Meanwhile the system also won't need to sync the difference between the 2 types of RAM. So using full 64GB of CL16 (from the same vendor/model number) or only 32GB will have better performance. I'm waiting for my next 32GB Corsair Vengeance order to make my iMac 64GB of CL16 RAM.
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Yeah, thanks for your helpful benchmarks by the way. I hope you will post some more after you get the full 64. :)
 
SaSaSushi said:
Yeah, thanks for your helpful benchmarks by the way. I hope you will post some more after you get the full 64. :)
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Sure, I will. But this time I'll have to wait longer, likely 10+ days. Last time I used Amazon Global Priority Shipping which arrived in 5 days. I actually planed to settle down at 32GB, but Amazon suddenly offered me a very good price (about half of the list price then), so I took it. But with 32GB in hand, I'm not in hurry, so I save the shipping cost.
 
Bob418 said:
It should. While CL16 is slightly better than CL17, it's still better. Meanwhile the system also won't need to sync the difference between the 2 types of RAM. So using full 64GB of CL16 (from the same vendor/model number) or only 32GB will have better performance. I'm waiting for my next 32GB Corsair Vengeance order to make my iMac 64GB of CL16 RAM.
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I concur. I have slightly better numbers with just my (2) 16g DIMMS installed than with those plus the (2) Apple 4g. Identical DIMMS from the same manufacturer. No idea why. IMO, if your going to use all 4 DIMM slots the same size DIMM should be in all 4 slots for the best results. :apple:
 
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Arctic Moose said:
Does anyone have the part number of the 16 GB module from the Crucial "for Mac" kit? I'm curious if it is identical to that of those in the standard kit.
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IMG_5579.PNG
 
With 32GB of crucial cl17 ram is it okay to leave the stock 8GB of ram in the computer? Which configuration (in terms of the four slots) is best?
 
So upset that I had to cancel my iMac order tonight due to financial issues that have come up. I was THIS CLOSE to getting it (Thursday!) Oh well- I can still possibly get it by the fall.

Question- I ordered the Ballstix Ram by Crucial 32GB. It's unopened. I was considering returning it, or holding on to it. How long will it last if it's unopened? Is there a shelf life?
 
JasonMovieGuy said:
So upset that I had to cancel my iMac order tonight due to financial issues that have come up. I was THIS CLOSE to getting it (Thursday!) Oh well- I can still possibly get it by the fall.
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Sorry to hear about the setback. :( I hope you can reorder soon.

Question- I ordered the Ballstix Ram by Crucial 32GB. It's unopened. I was considering returning it, or holding on to it. How long will it last if it's unopened? Is there a shelf life?
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There is no shelf life and Crucial offers a lifetime warranty.
 
SaSaSushi said:
Sorry to hear about the setback. :( I hope you can reorder soon.



There is no shelf life and Crucial offers a lifetime warranty.
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Thanks SaSaSushi- and for all your advice. I hope I can get it too :) My only reason for wanting to return it is because I might not be able to buy a new iMac until December, and if they refresh the basic iMacs I am worried they may not have an option to install the ram yourself (like the Pro already is doing). SO I have to figure out if its best to return it, or hold on to it.
 
JasonMovieGuy said:
Thanks SaSaSushi- and for all your advice. I hope I can get it too :) My only reason for wanting to return it is because I might not be able to buy a new iMac until December, and if they refresh the basic iMacs I am worried they may not have an option to install the ram yourself (like the Pro already is doing). SO I have to figure out if its best to return it, or hold on to it.
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Well, I can absolutely promise you that there will not be any iMac updates through December. It will be next year at the earliest and I doubt very much they are going to be removing the user-upgradable RAM option for the regular iMacs.
 
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