Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

DDR3 RAM for Late 2009 iMac

costabunny

costabunny

macrumors 68020
May 15, 2008
2,466
71
Weymouth, UK
Arthagnan said:
It has 1066 MHz DDR3 sticks in it.

Would 1600 MHz DDR3 sticks work too? I assume they will underclock run at 1066 MHz anyway.
Click to expand...

as long as the voltages are within the accepted envelope then there should be no reason that the 1600's would not work (albeit at 1066 as generated by the memory bus).

simply put - yes they should work ok
 
A

Arthagnan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 13, 2009
106
0
Sweden
costabunny said:
as long as the voltages are within the accepted envelope then there should be no reason that the 1600's would not work (albeit at 1066 as generated by the memory bus).

simply put - yes they should work ok
Click to expand...

Then I will buy 4x4GB and try out. I'll report back later.
 
A

Arthagnan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 13, 2009
106
0
Sweden
I bought 2x4GB (store only had one box left).

b40893.jpg


I installed them in the upper row and booted my iMac.

b40895.jpg


BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Hm, did not work.

Back with the old modules, and booted fine.

I returned them to the store and got 4x4GB Team 1333 MHz modules.

b40894.jpg


Same procedure, upper row, two modules to start with. Booted it up again, and BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...


This time I moved them to the lower slots, booted it up again and it WORKED.

Then tried all four. BEEP... BEEP... BEEP... WTF...

Then I tested three modules and one slot empty. BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

Hmm, after that I mounted one of the old 2GB modules in the empty slot together with three new 4 GB modules, and it worked. So I now got 14 GB of RAM.

No idea really. Two modules works great in the lower slots. But not in the upper.

b40896.png
 
Last edited:
Dadioh

Dadioh

macrumors 65816
Feb 3, 2010
1,123
36
Canada Eh?
Arthagnan said:
It has 1066 MHz DDR3 sticks in it.

Would 1600 MHz DDR3 sticks work too? I assume they will underclock run at 1066 MHz anyway.




http://www.corsair.com/en/memory-by...imm-memory-upgrade-kit-cmsx4gx3m1a1600c9.html
Click to expand...

Is it a Core2Duo or the i5/i7 iMac model? On the i5 and i7 the memory controller is built into the CPU so it will auto detect the memory speed and run at that. The Core2Duo machines have the memory controller in the Nvidia MCP chip so not sure if it will try and upclock the memory the same way the i5 and i7 will.

I have two 2009 27" iMacs (one i5 and one i7). They are both happily running 1333MHz memory in all 4 slots.
 
A

Arthagnan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 13, 2009
106
0
Sweden
Dadioh said:
Is it a Core2Duo or the i5/i7 iMac model? On the i5 and i7 the memory controller is built into the CPU so it will auto detect the memory speed and run at that. The Core2Duo machines have the memory controller in the Nvidia MCP chip so not sure if it will try and upclock the memory the same way the i5 and i7 will.

I have two 2009 27" iMacs (one i5 and one i7). They are both happily running 1333MHz memory in all 4 slots.
Click to expand...


It's a Intel Core 2 Duo (3,06 GHz).

But when I ran 2x4GB in the lower row it reported 1333 MHz.
 
Dadioh

Dadioh

macrumors 65816
Feb 3, 2010
1,123
36
Canada Eh?
Arthagnan said:
It's a Intel Core 2 Duo (3,06 GHz).

But when I ran 2x4GB in the lower row it reported 1333 MHz.
Click to expand...

It may be a limitation of the Nvidia MCP then. With my Macbook Pro's with that same Core2Duo/Nvidia combination I know they are finicky with RAM. I stick with PC3-8500 (1066MHz) RAM in those because it is really hit and miss with the 1333MHz RAM unfortunately. I have even had trouble with some PNY PC3-8500 RAM that "should" work but was giving me grief.

If you want the 4 X 4GB combination to work I suggest getting PC3-8500 1066MHz sticks.
 
A

Arthagnan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 13, 2009
106
0
Sweden
Dadioh said:
It may be a limitation of the Nvidia MCP then. With my Macbook Pro's with that same Core2Duo/Nvidia combination I know they are finicky with RAM. I stick with PC3-8500 (1066MHz) RAM in those because it is really hit and miss with the 1333MHz RAM unfortunately. I have even had trouble with some PNY PC3-8500 RAM that "should" work but was giving me grief.

If you want the 4 X 4GB combination to work I suggest getting PC3-8500 1066MHz sticks.
Click to expand...

Yes, I bet you are right.

I might just run it with 14GB and return one of the 4GB modules.
14GB is plenty, and I think it will run with out hassle. The guy at the store was really nice.
It adds up.
 
Dadioh

Dadioh

macrumors 65816
Feb 3, 2010
1,123
36
Canada Eh?
Arthagnan said:
Yes, I bet you are right.

I might just run it with 14GB and return one of the 4GB modules.
14GB is plenty, and I think it will run with out hassle. The guy at the store was really nice.
It adds up.
Click to expand...

Interesting. It sounds to me as if the MCP is getting the RAM timings from that one slot. Probably it looks at all slots and picks the lowest speed and then forces that timing on all the other slots. So what you are achieving is forcing the system to run all the memory at 1066MHz.

If it works it works so you should be happy with the 14GB. Happy iMac'ing
 
haddy

haddy

macrumors 6502a
Nov 5, 2012
513
211
NZ
Dadioh said:
Is it a Core2Duo or the i5/i7 iMac model? On the i5 and i7 the memory controller is built into the CPU so it will auto detect the memory speed and run at that. The Core2Duo machines have the memory controller in the Nvidia MCP chip so not sure if it will try and upclock the memory the same way the i5 and i7 will.

I have two 2009 27" iMacs (one i5 and one i7). They are both happily running 1333MHz memory in all 4 slots.
Click to expand...

Ummm are you saying that you used PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz SO-DIMM 204 Pin CL9 SO-DIMM Memory in your Nov 2009 iMac [same as mine]?
Is there a noticeable speed difference?

On a different note this machine was crapping out.....grey screen etc. I finally figured out it was a failing Magic Mouse.....now gone back to wired extended keyboard and wired mouse. Much much better. I will never use a bluetooth input device again;)
 
Dadioh

Dadioh

macrumors 65816
Feb 3, 2010
1,123
36
Canada Eh?
haddy said:
Ummm are you saying that you used PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz SO-DIMM 204 Pin CL9 SO-DIMM Memory in your Nov 2009 iMac [same as mine]?
Is there a noticeable speed difference?

On a different note this machine was crapping out.....grey screen etc. I finally figured out it was a failing Magic Mouse.....now gone back to wired extended keyboard and wired mouse. Much much better. I will never use a bluetooth input device again;)
Click to expand...

Yes. I have 1333MHz modules in both my iMac 27 2009 i7 2.8GHz as well as my wife's iMac 27 2009 i5 2.66GHz. They both run flawlessy. But I didn't get it for speed improvement. It was strictly based on finding a good deal on memory that happened to be that speed. The difference in Geekbench was trivial, maybe 1 or 2%. Any difference I noted was probably due to jumping from 4GB to 16GB.

IMHO, if you have a choice go with the stock 1066MHz stuff for compatibility. If you get a good deal on 1333MHz stuff then you are probably safe but don't expect a big speed improvement.
 
haddy

haddy

macrumors 6502a
Nov 5, 2012
513
211
NZ
Dadioh said:
Yes. I have 1333MHz modules in both my iMac 27 2009 i7 2.8GHz as well as my wife's iMac 27 2009 i5 2.66GHz. They both run flawlessy. But I didn't get it for speed improvement. It was strictly based on finding a good deal on memory that happened to be that speed. The difference in Geekbench was trivial, maybe 1 or 2%. Any difference I noted was probably due to jumping from 4GB to 16GB.

IMHO, if you have a choice go with the stock 1066MHz stuff for compatibility. If you get a good deal on 1333MHz stuff then you are probably safe but don't expect a big speed improvement.
Click to expand...

Hi......thanks for that. Maybe I'll try them though, RAM is just so cheap.
 
haddy

haddy

macrumors 6502a
Nov 5, 2012
513
211
NZ
Dadioh said:
Yes. I have 1333MHz modules in both my iMac 27 2009 i7 2.8GHz as well as my wife's iMac 27 2009 i5 2.66GHz. They both run flawlessy. But I didn't get it for speed improvement. It was strictly based on finding a good deal on memory that happened to be that speed. The difference in Geekbench was trivial, maybe 1 or 2%. Any difference I noted was probably due to jumping from 4GB to 16GB.

IMHO, if you have a choice go with the stock 1066MHz stuff for compatibility. If you get a good deal on 1333MHz stuff then you are probably safe but don't expect a big speed improvement.
Click to expand...

Okay put 16GB of 1333MHz in today .....just going fine......touch wood:)
 
A

Arthagnan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 13, 2009
106
0
Sweden
I replaced the last 2 GB module (1066 MHz ) with a Corsair 4 GB "Apple-memory" (1066) today, but it didn't work. BEEP BEEP BEEP.
 
haddy

haddy

macrumors 6502a
Nov 5, 2012
513
211
NZ
Dadioh

Dadioh

macrumors 65816
Feb 3, 2010
1,123
36
Canada Eh?
haddy said:
Hey do you think our machines (late 2009 i7 iMacs) would run (8GBx4), 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600 memory modules? That is recognise 32GBs of 1333MHz RAM;)
Click to expand...

The most common response that I have seen is that the 2009 only supports 16GB of RAM. But I did see a post on this forum by a guy who says he has 32GB installed in his iMac 2009 27" i7 machine. I would try it myself but 16GB is already overkill for me. My page outs are always 0.
 
cranborile

cranborile

macrumors newbie
Mar 8, 2014
1
0
Adelaide, South Australia
Late 2009 imac & DDR3 1600MHz

I just installed 4 x 4GB sticks of Samsung DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800 in my late 2009 imac and it works perfect! It originally had 4GB of DDR3 1066 PC3-8500. Been running now for over a week & imac hasn't skipped a beat if anything I recon its slightly quicker. The imac has dropped the RAM speed down to 1333MHz so Im assuming that this imac cant support 1600MHz. Ive seen quite a few posts from others saying that the late 2009 imac will take up to 32GB (4x8) of DDR3 1333. Im yet to try this but once an 8GB stick crosses my path I will certainly give it a try.
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2014-03-09 at 4.45.32 pm.png
    Screen Shot 2014-03-09 at 4.45.32 pm.png
    79.3 KB · Views: 1,806
  • DDR3.JPG
    DDR3.JPG
    52.1 KB · Views: 1,244
  • Screen Shot 2014-03-09 at 4.24.39 pm.png
    Screen Shot 2014-03-09 at 4.24.39 pm.png
    62.9 KB · Views: 1,081
  • Screen Shot 2014-03-09 at 4.25.12 pm.png
    Screen Shot 2014-03-09 at 4.25.12 pm.png
    156 KB · Views: 1,097
Last edited:
pierino84

pierino84

macrumors member
Jan 9, 2007
71
18
Rome, Italy
I just installed 2 x 4GB of 12800 DDR3 in the bottom banks of a mid 2010 27" iMac. The SDRAMs come from a mid-2012 MacBook pro. The iMac recognizes the two 1600MHz banks as 10600 @ 1333MHz, so they are down-clocked. That's the best way to recycle RAM!;)
 
V

viply1

macrumors newbie
Oct 10, 2017
2
0
Arthagnan said:
Hmm, after that I mounted one of the old 2GB modules in the empty slot together with three new 4 GB modules, and it worked. So I now got 14 GB of RAM.
b40896.png
Click to expand...
Im having the exact problem now when I tried to upgrade from 2*2GB to 4*4GB RAMs. Did you find any solution?

When I install 2*4GB (8GB total) rams alone - BEEP infinitely
When I install 3*4GB (12GB total) rams alone - BEEP infinitely
When I install 4*4GB (16GB total) rams alone - BEEP infinitely

But.....
When I install 2*4GB + 1*2GB(old one which came with the iMac) (10GB total) - Boot up fine
When I install 3*4GB + 1*2GB(old one which came with the iMac) (14GB total) - Boot up fine

Im unable to max the memory to 16GB because of this.

And here I am wondering how do I get 16GB to work? :(
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom