21.5" iMac Has No User-Upgradable RAM; 27" Has Four Accessible RAM Slots

[milo]

Shouldn't the model with 4 slots be able to handle 4x16= 64 gigs of ram?

[afd]

I think the lack of an optical drive is more off putting than soldered in memory. I can understand getting rid of it on a portable, you can plug in a USB drive when you need it, but on a desktop if you ever need it you'd plug it in and leave it cluttering up your desk, filling up a USB port. Plenty of us want to watch a DVD, or rip it, rip a cd a losslessy or burn a cd or DVD.
I know someone that just bought last year's iMac and I felt bad I didn't warn about the upcoming iMacs. Now I know he's got a computer that suits his needs better, I just feel bad that he could have probably got it cheaper.

[Lancer]

Do we think the 21.5" has soldered RAM or is it just like the HDD and Apple needs to upgrade it?

IMO most base model users will never upgrade the RAM and 8Gb will probably outlive the useful life of the computer.

Either way I'm looking at the 27" and will add 8Gb more RAM later.

[bearda]

Originally Posted by nagromme

There are only 17 people in the world who need to custom hand-install 16 GB of RAM in the smaller iMac.

But all 17 of them are about to post And I feel your pain: you need what you need!

I guess I'm one of the 17. Only 16 more to go...

I had 16G of RAM from Crucial waiting for my iMac the day I bought it. The 27" is too big for my desk and the extra RAM helps when testing VMs. No reason to pay Apple's insane prices for memory.

[Mike Oxard]

Originally Posted by supernaut

It also has a slower hard drive - 5400rpm rather than 7200 previously.

They still make 5400 rpm drives?

[GR33NIE]

Really dissapointing, makes me think of keeping mine upgrading the RAM and chucking in a big fat SSD more appealing

[afd]

Originally Posted by GR33NIE

Really dissapointing, makes me think of keeping mine upgrading the RAM and chucking in a big fat SSD more appealing

Me too. How do-able is the SSD? I seem to remember reading that the HD used some custom cable with a heat sensor or something?

[zone23]

deleted off topic..

[macleod199]

Originally Posted by afd

I think the lack of an optical drive is more off putting than soldered in memory. I can understand getting rid of it on a portable, you can plug in a USB drive when you need it, but on a desktop if you ever need it you'd plug it in and leave it cluttering up your desk, filling up a USB port. Plenty of us want to watch a DVD, or rip it, rip a cd a losslessy or burn a cd or DVD.
I know someone that just bought last year's iMac and I felt bad I didn't warn about the upcoming iMacs. Now I know he's got a computer that suits his needs better, I just feel bad that he could have probably got it cheaper.

I guess we could always hook up a Mac Mini server somewhere and use the drive from that. Although it doesn't look like you can rip from a remote drive. Sigh.

[LimeiBook86]

Originally Posted by Lancer

Do we think the 21.5" has soldered RAM or is it just like the HDD and Apple needs to upgrade it?

IMO most base model users will never upgrade the RAM and 8Gb will probably outlive the useful life of the computer.

Either way I'm looking at the 27" and will add 8Gb more RAM later.

That's what we need to wait and see. Although if taking off the iMac case (which from the explanation of how it's welded together) reveals RAM slots that doesn't really help us out either.

[GR33NIE]

Originally Posted by afd

Me too. How do-able is the SSD? I seem to remember reading that the HD used some custom cable with a heat sensor or something?

Not as bad as you think, lots of guides on YouTube

[trip1ex]

Originally Posted by nagromme

There are only 17 people in the world who need to custom hand-install 16 GB of RAM in the smaller iMac.

But all 17 of them are about to post And I feel your pain: you need what you need!

Yeah and there are 10 million others who swear (hand to god) that they would have bought a smaller imac if only they could install the RAM themselves and if only it was $30 cheaper.

[Rend It]

Used to be, the best bang for your buck in buying a Mac was to buy the bottom of the line, and upgrade hard drive and RAM over its life. However, even with the last gen iMacs, changing the hard drive was no small feat. Now, the 21.5" model has no user-serviceable features.

Apple is re-jiggering the value equation by only giving people who pay more (by getting the 27") the option to service RAM (no word on the hard drive or Flash storage).

Having said that, I have a mid-2007 iMac which was purchased with 4 GB RAM, and I haven't found a clear need to upgrade that. So, in some ways, I think Apple is trying to partially future-proof by including 8 GB in the new base model. It's not a ton, but the reality is that most people can use that computer for 4-5 years and never see the need for more RAM. This notion is further supported by the fact that the new Mini — which does have user-serviceable RAM — still starts with only 4 GB.

I don't know if I like this new anti-DIY Apple or not. But, I do know that paying an extra $400 or so to get a bigger screen (that I don't really need) and the ability to replace/upgrade RAM is not worth it for lots of folks.

[nrose101]

Unfortunately it is for me when trying to run final cut and also windows with fusion.

Originally Posted by Rend It

Used to be, the best bang for your buck in buying a Mac was to buy the bottom of the line, and upgrade hard drive and RAM over its life. However, even with the last gen iMacs, changing the hard drive was no small feat. Now, the 21.5" model has no user-serviceable features.

Apple is re-jiggering the value equation by only giving people who pay more (by getting the 27") the option to service RAM (no word on the hard drive or Flash storage).

Having said that, I have a mid-2007 iMac which was purchased with 4 GB RAM, and I haven't found a clear need to upgrade that. So, in some ways, I think Apple is trying to partially future-proof by including 8 GB in the new base model. It's not a ton, but the reality is that most people can use that computer for 4-5 years and never see the need for more RAM. This notion is further supported by the fact that the new Mini — which does have user-serviceable RAM — still starts with only 4 GB.

I don't know if I like this new anti-DIY Apple or not. But, I do know that paying an extra $400 or so to get a bigger screen (that I don't really need) and the ability to replace/upgrade RAM is not worth it for lots of folks.

[trip1ex]

Originally Posted by Rend It

Used to be, the best bang for your buck in buying a Mac was to buy the bottom of the line, and upgrade hard drive and RAM over its life. However, even with the last gen iMacs, changing the hard drive was no small feat. Now, the 21.5" model has no user-serviceable features.

Apple is re-jiggering the value equation by only giving people who pay more (by getting the 27") the option to service RAM (no word on the hard drive or Flash storage).

Having said that, I have a mid-2007 iMac which was purchased with 4 GB RAM, and I haven't found a clear need to upgrade that. So, in some ways, I think Apple is trying to partially future-proof by including 8 GB in the new base model. It's not a ton, but the reality is that most people can use that computer for 4-5 years and never see the need for more RAM. This notion is further supported by the fact that the new Mini — which does have user-serviceable RAM — still starts with only 4 GB.

I don't know if I like this new anti-DIY Apple or not. But, I do know that paying an extra $400 or so to get a bigger screen (that I don't really need) and the ability to replace/upgrade RAM is not worth it for lots of folks.

Yeah 8gb is somewhat future proof so kudos for them doing that because I have seen plenty of Macs with not enough memory in the base model.

A 5400 rpm hard drive though? Ouch. I think they should have just put a 128gb SSD in there. I mean I can always add an external drive for storage. Many will have a Time Machine back up drive connected anyway.

I can even mount it (out of sight) to the back of the Imac. There is a company that makes such a mount or shelf for this sort of purpose.

[Hakone]

For my needs, the iMac was the best announcement today. I was worried about upgrading the RAM but this is good news that we still can.

I'll take the high config 27", but add the Fusion drive. Doubt i'll need the i7 CPU, though.

I kind've think the rest of the hardware announcements flopped. =(

[patohi]

This new iMac only makes me think hackintoshs will be more appealing....
Less user upgradeable and no optical drive..... not to mention still very pricey...

[iBug2]

This is the first iMac which makes me consider switching to iMac when I "upgrade" my Mac Pro. 32GB Ram and GTX680MX should be enough for several years. The only question I have now is about the fan noise. I love the silentness of my Mac Pro and can't really trade that off.

[Lancer]

Originally Posted by LimeiBook86

That's what we need to wait and see. Although if taking off the iMac case (which from the explanation of how it's welded together) reveals RAM slots that doesn't really help us out either.

But it would make it upgradeable so later someone could refurbish the iMac with more RAM and bigger SSD when they come down in price. I'm sure it would be long before DIY instructions come out and videos appear on YouTube.

[ArthurDent-]

How is the RAM distributed in the 27"? Is it between all 4 slots, or between 2 of them?

[marc.cizravi]

reading people whine is really exhausting D:

[longofest]

Originally Posted by petsounds

RAM slots on the iMac? Is this what Tim Cook meant when he said he had something great in store for Mac Pro users?

No... Tim has something even better planned. The new Mac Pro will be the... you guessed it: Mac Pro Mini.

"Starting at $2999, the Mac Pro Mini is the best Mac we've ever made for the professional market. How can such small device be such a giant leap forward? Now with our state of the art Thunderbolt technology(1), there isn't a need to use internal PCIe expansion, but rather we can make our Aluminum and Glass (2) chasis thinner than ever and customers can expand using our optional Thunderbolt to PCI breakout box, which starts at $15,000.

(1) Thunderbolt technology originally introduced in early 2011
(2) Glass added for the heck of it"

[Rend It]

Originally Posted by trip1ex

A 5400 rpm hard drive though? Ouch. I think they should have just put a 128gb SSD in there. I mean I can always add an external drive for storage. Many will have a Time Machine back up drive connected anyway.

I can even mount it (out of sight) to the back of the Imac. There is a company that makes such a mount or shelf for this sort of purpose.

I can't agree more. I think this is clearly a lame move. Now, if I purchase one of these new iMacs, I plan on getting the Fusion drive, so I was holding out hope that the Fusion combo would include a 7200 rpm drive. I'm not particular optimistic, however.

Clearly, this wasn't motivated by costs. 7200 rpm drives are not that much more expensive. I'm guessing it's heat. It's also likely that the hard disks in the 21.5" iMacs are 2.5", rather than 3.5", since the max size is 1 TB. So, once again Apple, why must you make a desktop system so vanishingly thin that you have to move to mobile-sized hard drives?

It's a DESKTOP, for crying out loud!

[snebes]

I only skimmed the thread, but this article is only based on speculation. Not sure if anyone else had this opinion.

How many times has Apple said things are not upgradable, only because it was difficult to get to them? My guess, is the memory isn't soldered in this case. Neither is the HD. Opening the iMac, though, would be the problem.

I will hold my judgement until November--not that I am one of the 17, but because I sell memory and HDs to those 17 people

[wikus]

Originally Posted by nagromme

There are only 17 people in the world who need to custom hand-install 16 GB of RAM in the smaller iMac.

But all 17 of them are about to post And I feel your pain: you need what you need!

Yes, lets downplay individuals who do more than send photos to grandma and grandpa.

Apple doesnt give a damn about professionals, and neither do you.