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Late 2012 21.5in iMac RAM is upgradeable!

charlieroberts

charlieroberts

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 5, 2007
595
111
I thought I would share this;

OWC saves the day

There is hope! Although It does not look like an easy procedure! But if you have the guts and want to save a couple of bucks...
 
A

alexdd

macrumors member
Oct 26, 2012
36
0
"Professional Installation Recommended
It is required that heat be applied to the perimeter of the iMac to enable
the removal of the screen to access the memory bays inside."
 
D

Deathwish86

macrumors member
May 1, 2012
35
0
From ifixit:
You'll have to masterfully peel off the old double-sided sticky tape and apply new tape in order to reseal this iMac into original condition.
 
D

Deathwish86

macrumors member
May 1, 2012
35
0
It's not about saving 81$...It's about not putting all the money upfront, and spreading over a period of time. Same issue with the SSD.
 
K

kaellar

macrumors 6502
Nov 12, 2012
441
17
tuccillo said:
All of that to save $81 plus perhaps invalidate your warranty?
Click to expand...

hey guess what? not everyone lives in the US. here in Russia I'd have to wait a month and pay about 450-500$ for BTO 16GB RAM ONLY! Yep, our resellers are THAT good =)
the same thing with SSD btw, I'd rather purchase 256GB rMBP-format SSD at eBay for 350$ total and install it myself than pay apple's resellers twice more for Fusion Drive which is only 128GB.
 
B

bbapps

macrumors regular
Jan 19, 2008
248
0
Texas
I love ifixit tear downs....


Step 18 ¶
  • Good news: The iMac's RAM is "user-replaceable."
  • Bad news: You have to unglue your screen and remove the logic board in order to do so.
  • This is just barely less-terrible than having soldered RAM that's completely non-removable.
  • Our bargain-basement unit has a solid 8 GB of Hynix PC3-12800 RAM.
Click to expand...
 
M

MeFromHere

macrumors 6502
Oct 11, 2012
468
16
bbucy said:
I love ifixit tear downs....
Click to expand...

I like their pictures, but I dislike their heavy-handed, biased, and often inaccurate commentary.

  • They say you have to "unglue the screen", but it appears to be taped, not glued.
  • They claim to be surprised that the glass is glued to the screen, but this was one of the keynote features that Apple has been bragging about.
  • In some reviews they complain bitterly about "non standard" screws, while at the same time selling inexpensive tools to work with them.
  • etc.

Except for the adhesive holding the screen assembly (which I agree is unfortunate), this iMac seems VERY serviceable from the info I've seen so far.
 
justperry

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,558
9,750
I'm a rolling stone.
MeFromHere said:
It looks more like adhesive tape, not glue. Tape is WAY easier to deal with in many cases.
Click to expand...

I just checked out iFixit, it's foam adhesive, I used that stuff lots of time, and we throw away lots.( 2 sizes, only one needed)
If it is exactly the same we use in Electrical cabinets you don't need a heatgun, it is fairly strong but it rips apart easily with a bit of force.
 
A

Arman

macrumors regular
Aug 27, 2008
204
1
SoCal
The biggest drawback I see is the lack of a duel hard drive capability. Well have to wait and see how 27" tear down fair any differently. I opted for a 27" 1TB fusion. I am assuming that in the future I can switch out 1TB drive for an SSD for an all SSD setup.
 
B

bbapps

macrumors regular
Jan 19, 2008
248
0
Texas
Serviceable, but scary.. Just replaced the HDD on my mid-2007 iMac; I partially sheared a guide pin pulling the glass.

With the fused glass/LCD, the increase resistance of the foam adhesive, I assume there are still guide pins and magnets; in other words, lot more gotchas (e.g. Opps) pulling that screen.... Wouldn't want to do it just to upgrade some RAM on a 21.5 inch.
 
M

MeFromHere

macrumors 6502
Oct 11, 2012
468
16
bbucy said:
Serviceable, but scary.. Just replaced the HDD on my mid-2007 iMac; I partially sheared a guide pin pulling the glass.

With the fused glass/LCD, the increase resistance of the foam adhesive, I assume there are still guide pins and magnets; in other words, lot more gotchas (e.g. Opps) pulling that screen.... Wouldn't want to do it just to upgrade some RAM on a 21.5 inch.
Click to expand...

I took a steel safety pin with me to the Apple store yesterday. It easily found the magnets on the 2011 iMac. I couldn't feel a hint of a magnet on the 2012 model.
 
Nautilus007

Nautilus007

macrumors 68030
Jul 13, 2007
2,642
1,320
U.S
I'd rather spend the extra cash and not be stuck with a broken comp due to my idiocy. I remember taking apart Lego sets after being built and It never looked the same reassembled.
 
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