Do I really need 32GB RAM?

There will never be a time in this lifetime for a computer to have too much ram. Go for it, especially for your needs. You certainly can't go wrong, right?

You'll be satisfied with the 8 trust me, if you feel like you need to expand on it. I'd say either add another 8gb, or 16gb.

32 is a bit overkill, from someone who edits videos and does heavy gaming on my own computers. I never exceed 10 or 12 at most pushing my computer, at this point 32gb is just a bragging point. There's almost no one out there that even reaches that amount in use actively and if someone here does I'd like some proof at the very least.

You'll be okay with one of the smaller upgrades trust me.

Jonathan20022 said:

You'll be satisfied with the 8 trust me, if you feel like you need to expand on it. I'd say either add another 8gb, or 16gb.

32 is a bit overkill, from someone who edits videos and does heavy gaming on my own computers. I never exceed 10 or 12 at most pushing my computer, at this point 32gb is just a bragging point. There's almost no one out there that even reaches that amount in use actively and if someone here does I'd like some proof at the very least.

You'll be okay with one of the smaller upgrades trust me.

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I'd say 16GB is probably today's safe zone. I've pushed the 8GB limit from time to time whilst using Xcode with a few other things open. Especially if I'm using PS to edit graphics for a game and then testing right away.

Grand Central is brilliant but not perfect.

Anyway if you can afford 32GB then go for it. Certainly can't do any harm.

gaddster said:

Maybe I am focusing on the wrong thing, i use a 21.5 dual core with 16gb 1067 ram and the machine struggles with video for sure

fine for dreamweaver and photoshop etc

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If it's struggling, that doesn't necessarily mean it's from lack of ram, especially since you say you are using a dual core? Do you mean you have a Core 2 Duo? If so then then video editing might need more processing power. Also what video editing program are you using?

gaddster said:

Maybe I am focusing on the wrong thing, i use a 21.5 dual core with 16gb 1067 ram and the machine struggles with video for sure

fine for dreamweaver and photoshop etc

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Yeah for anything like 3D rendering or video editing/processing I would first work with the graphics card and processor. In reality, even the 675MX would have sufficed but you definitely made the right choice in going with the 680MX. Putting it into General Terms, your RAM really would only affect your speed while handling multiple processes and having multiple things actively runnig.

32GB is extremely handy if you do any VM/Parallels stuff. I have Windows 7 in Parallels, and it flies with 16GB RAM dedicated to it.

16GB is likely to be adequate for what you do.
8GB is insufficient.
32GB is probably unnecessary.

Since you can get 32GB for about $170 why not just get the 32GB, like some one else said if you do any VM's it will help you greatly to have so much free ram to assign for the vm. Just use your iMac when you get it and if you feel it needs more RAM after the test then upgrade, if not you can just wait and ram will get cheaper over time.

Why not get 24GB?

gaddster said:

Thanks everyone..

could i purchase 16gb and utilise the 8 already in? (I know you have to do something in the setup like 8,4,8,4)

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ha just asked the same question

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Yup! That's what I plan on doing with mine, I don't need 32gbs because I'm going to be Dual Booting, so I don't need to have RAM to dedicated to VM.

But yeah, you can combine RAM in different combos, 24gb is a nice spot without spending too much cash.

My sister uses her Mid-2010 27" iMac less she doesn't use Handbrake, Toast, FrostWire like I do and I upgraded hers to 12GB since it was cheap, cost her $25 a year ago.

I don't even know if the Apps I listed uses RAM but if the price goes down, I will max her out at 32GB.

gaddster said:

Maybe I am focusing on the wrong thing, i use a 21.5 dual core with 16gb 1067 ram and the machine struggles with video for sure

fine for dreamweaver and photoshop etc

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You have to pay attention to where it's struggling. Is it out of ram and struggling? Beyond that while it's often safe to go beyond 8, you don't necessarily have to jump to 32. Cost obviously matters to you. Why wouldn't you simply buy 2x8 and see how it runs, then another 2x8 later if it's actually necessary? If it's a new computer, assuming this will last you several years, you should never be really out of ram aside from the times when OSX is just weird about letting go of inactive memory. Add it until memory specific problems go away. You don't need a whole thread of opinions to figure that out. For further reference look at the recommended specs in the software packages this thing will run.

Here's my take on this. You are already spending ~$2500 on this right? Why not spend another 200 for 4x8GB sticks and be done with it?

jnowakphoto said:

Here's my take on this. You are already spending ~$2500 on this right? Why not spend another 200 for 4x8GB sticks and be done with it?

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This is also what I think every time I see this question come up - for models that are user-upgradeable. I don't see the dilemma really, especially for the price of this upgrade. I know I use the full 32GB in my 2011 iMac, will put the same amount in my 2012 iMac which should arrive any day now.

I use two macs an mid 2010 imac and 2012 macbook pro which both use 8GB of ram both are running fine for small tasks like word processing, web browsing and casual gaming still runs fine. But seeing you are buying a new computer I would encourage you to put in 32GB as it will be advantage in the long run.

gaddster said:

Hey guys

Not long now before I receive my new imac 27 i7, 1TB fusion with 680mx and 8gb ram.. hopefully here in a week.

I do a lot of video editing these days (fcpx, premier pro etc) and had every intention to buy 32gb ram (probably crucial) BUT do I really need that much?

Am I being self indulgent here by maxing out the ram??

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32gb of RAM for an iMac is worth about 160 bucks.

Just buy it and forget about memory for a few years.

OS X will use it for caching (even if you aren't runnning apps that will consume it all), and more memory does make a difference.


8GB DIMMs are the biggest cost effective size at the moment. They're very cheap - you're talking a difference of 80 bucks between 16GB and 32GB on a ~ $1500+ (?) system. fill your slots with them and be happy.

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jnowakphoto said:

Here's my take on this. You are already spending ~$2500 on this right? Why not spend another 200 for 4x8GB sticks and be done with it?

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This...

Or one just spent $2,500 and budget just got a little tighter.


Again, the point is it can wait unless you really need it or simply have the funds to upgrade.

Seems quite unlikely that you'd need that much RAM. Start with much less. Check for page outs using Activity Monitor. Unless you're paging out, skip the extra RAM. Maybe donate some money to your favorite charity instead.

LPZ said:

Seems quite unlikely that you'd need that much RAM. Start with much less. Check for page outs using Activity Monitor. Unless you're paging out, skip the extra RAM. Maybe donate some money to your favorite charity instead.

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I second that. I currently have 24GB in my MacPro and I do need all of it—running Logic Studio and Kontakt 5, heavy-lifting GBs of sampled instruments and audio files.
Yes, look for page outs. That’s a fact-based answer to your question.
Then, avoid buying Apple’s boutique-pricing on RAM.

(I second the donating part as well.)

Jonathan20022 said:

There's almost no one out there that even reaches that amount in use actively and if someone here does I'd like some proof at the very least.

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You knew that there would be that one guy... After Effects is using about 22 of my 32 at the moment.

Really though, I could live with 16. It's just a matter of being able to have more frames cached at any given moment.

Even with no page outs, OS X will use extra ram as cache.