RAM Slots Question

Ne0the1 · Jan 8, 2013

Hello all,

I have a quick question,

Which ram slots, are utilised first on an iMac, does anyone know?

or in what order?

Eg, say you have 8GB and you're using 2GB, or Have 8GB and using 4GB, which slot or slots are being used?

Thanks in advance.

WrrN · Jan 8, 2013

Mine has this:

The two 4's are factory and the 8's are Crucial added by me. Don't know if this helps.

Gav2k · Jan 8, 2013

It really makes no difference in the real world but you should try to use matched pairs where possible.

Ne0the1 · Jan 9, 2013

So, would the first two factory units, be the ones used first.

The reason i'm asking is because I have the same situation as you, two factory and two crucial, I would like to make use of the crucial memory, as I believe they are better quality.

WrrN said:
Mine has this:

Image

The two 4's are factory and the 8's are Crucial added by me. Don't know if this helps.

nosnhojm · Jan 9, 2013

WrrN said:
Mine has this:

Image

The two 4's are factory and the 8's are Crucial added by me. Don't know if this helps.

Did you move your 4gb RAM from their original slots? It looks like you are not properly matching the RAM pairs in banks (i.e, the two 4gb sticks should be in bank 0).

Edit: I may be wrong on this; trying to figure out exactly where matched pairs should be seated (same bank or different banks but same dimm slot)

Solution: Seems that you are supposed to match the RAM into different banks, but same dimm slot. Lots of confusion online about this.

Ne0the1 · Jan 9, 2013

nosnhojm said:
Did you move your 4gb RAM from their original slots? It looks like you are not properly matching the RAM pairs in banks (i.e, the two 4gb sticks should be in bank 0).

Mine are all 2GB's, I didn't move the original two, which are Elpida, I inserted two 2GB crucial's into the remaining slots, I want to be able to utilise the Crucial memory first, which slots should they be in?

Bear · Jan 9, 2013

Ne0the1 said:
Mine are all 2GB's, I didn't move the original two, which are Elpida, I inserted two 2GB crucial's into the remaining slots, I want to be able to utilise the Crucial memory first, which slots should they be in?

There is no reason to move the RAM around. Even if you swapped the RAM around, there's no guarantee what is going to be where in memory aside from some bits of the OS.

WrrN · Jan 9, 2013

nosnhojm said:
Did you move your 4gb RAM from their original slots? It looks like you are not properly matching the RAM pairs in banks (i.e, the two 4gb sticks should be in bank 0).

Edit: I may be wrong on this; trying to figure out exactly where matched pairs should be seated (same bank or different banks but same dimm slot)

Solution: Seems that you are supposed to match the RAM into different banks, but same dimm slot. Lots of confusion online about this.

I left the factory RAM untouched and added the Crucial to the existing vacant slots. My system is running perfectly. Not sure if this is the best or not so feel free to elucidate me.

grapes911 · Jan 9, 2013

Bear said:
There is no reason to move the RAM around. Even if you swapped the RAM around, there's no guarantee what is going to be where in memory aside from some bits of the OS.

I believe this is true. To add to it I'd bet that it spreads data across sticks anyway.

Bear · Jan 9, 2013

WrrN said:
I left the factory RAM untouched and added the Crucial to the existing vacant slots. My system is running perfectly. Not sure if this is the best or not so feel free to elucidate me.

This should've been the best way to go unless your iMac was misconfigured (unlikely) at the factory.

WrrN · Jan 9, 2013

To add to the madness, read this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1522312/

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RAM Slots Question

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