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27 inch iMac RAM advice

B

boombox15

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 17, 2013
272
22
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Hi everyone

My 27 inch iMac is due to arrive tomorrow. Ordered back on Dec. 26th with 3.2GHz, 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM, Ge Force GT 755M.

I know you can upgrade the RAM in the 27 inch iMac, I was on the fence about 8 or 16GB of RAM, but decided on the 8GB. I think the most I may need is 16GB. I will only keep it until the 2014 models come out, so IF I do need to upgrade the RAM, who should I buy it from? I don't want to get faulty ram from a 3rd party company, and risk damaging my computer.

But my uses may not require 16GB, but these are the things I would do on the computer.

Use all of the pre-loaded apps
Download More from the Mac App Store
Store photos in iPhoto
Edit photos in Aperture
Make movies in iMovie and export movies
Use iWork for making documents

I only have 1 app open at a time, but may have 2 or 3 running in the background. My editing is done as a hobby as well. Not professional

And, I have never opened up a computer, so I just want to make sure I do this right, and if it is something I really NEED to do

I do plan on buying a Retina MacBook Pro as well, undecided on screen size though
 
boombox15 said:
Hi everyone

My 27 inch iMac is due to arrive tomorrow. Ordered back on Dec. 26th with 3.2GHz, 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM, Ge Force GT 755M.

I know you can upgrade the RAM in the 27 inch iMac, I was on the fence about 8 or 16GB of RAM, but decided on the 8GB. I think the most I may need is 16GB. I will only keep it until the 2014 models come out, so IF I do need to upgrade the RAM, who should I buy it from? I don't want to get faulty ram from a 3rd party company, and risk damaging my computer.

But my uses may not require 16GB, but these are the things I would do on the computer.

Use all of the pre-loaded apps
Download More from the Mac App Store
Store photos in iPhoto
Edit photos in Aperture
Make movies in iMovie and export movies
Use iWork for making documents

I only have 1 app open at a time, but may have 2 or 3 running in the background. My editing is done as a hobby as well. Not professional

And, I have never opened up a computer, so I just want to make sure I do this right, and if it is something I really NEED to do

I do plan on buying a Retina MacBook Pro as well, undecided on screen size though
Click to expand...

I also just got a Late 2013 iMac 27" with 8gb of RAM. I, however, wish to get 32gb of RAM and I am also going to buy some extra RAM and hope that I will not get faulty ones.

Everyone on the forum buys from OWC (macsales.com) Crucial, and Crucial RAM from Amazon. From what I have collected, it seems the OWC costs the most and OWC RAM is a bit of a tight fit in the iMac, Amazon is the cheapest, and all work well.

I, myself, have never upgraded RAM on an iMac 27" yet but have watched several videos and it does not look hard.

Here is one video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL_IaYBWVbw

Good luck!
 
My main question is am I fine with 8GB for my uses, or do I really need 16GB?

I am thinking of a 15 inch Retina MacBook Pro, but can't decide either to get

2.0/8/512/ Iris Pro

Or

2.3/16/512/Iris Pro/Ge Force GT 750M

I just don't know what to do, I could just keep 8GB RAM in my iMac and get the MacBook Pro with 16GB since it has a good video card
 
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Buy from any main online retailer; crucial/new egg(US)/ebuyer(UK/EU). (Use the Crucial checker app to determine what type you need and then buy elsewhere if cheaper).

As long as they have a return policy/warranty you'll be fine. RAM doesn't go wrong very often so there's not a lot to worry about here.

Whatever you do, never buy an upgrade from Apple, way way too expensive and you're not really gaining anything over another supplier.

As for wether you need that much? Probably not, depends on what you use it for. 8GB is plenty for most people, heck I manage on 4GB at the moment and don't feel like I'm suffering.
 
Us old school guys think there is no such thing as enough ram. That said, 8 or 16 will be enough for most people. One problem these days is the cost. Early in the year, I purchased 32 for 190. Couldn't do that now.
 
You should always test ram upon installation. Crucial is usually reviewed pretty well, regardless of whether you buy it direct or off Newegg. They're a subsidiary of Micron.
 
Update: Got my iMac yesterday, and just when I thought it was flawless, it turns out there is indeed a flaw with it!!!! :( :( :mad::mad::mad:

There is a piece of dust under the screen, it's small, but it's bothersome. I have chosen to return the iMac. But before I send it out, I did all of my normal things on the computer, and I found that 8GB is NOT enough for me, I checked activity monitor to see how much I used, and while I have safari open, email, and Aperture, it says 7.32GB memory used. So when I order the new one, I am for sure getting 16GB of RAM. Same goes for the MacBook Pro. The system does not seem to lag at all, but when I have used over 7GB already, I really need 16GB
 
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You can see how much RAM I have used, I am returning the iMac because of the defect and will for sure get 16GB of RAM, 8 is not enough for me.

But just to confirm, by saying that does it really mean I need 16 or more GB of RAM?
 

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For Aperture and movie work, you will want the extra RAM. It is extremely easy to put in. If you are happy with 16 (which is what I have and it works great) try hitting the market place section of the forum and buying the original RAM someone here takes out of their new machine when they upgrade to 32. Use something like PayPal so both of you have some protections.
 
I agree with the others here. Just get the 8GB version from Apple, and buy RAM from a 3rd party. It will be a good deal cheaper. Also, replacing RAM in a 27-inch iMac is really easy.
 
I think all I need is 16GB. My MacBook Pro will have 16GB of RAM so I want it to be equal. And also, when I return my iMac, I did price out 3rd party RAM for 16GB, and I would only save about $20-30, Apple charges $200 for it and 3rd party is about $170-180.

I don't need 32GB though, because then I don't get equal performance from a MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM.
 
boombox15 said:
I think all I need is 16GB. My MacBook Pro will have 16GB of RAM so I want it to be equal. And also, when I return my iMac, I did price out 3rd party RAM for 16GB, and I would only save about $20-30, Apple charges $200 for it and 3rd party is about $170-180.

I don't need 32GB though, because then I don't get equal performance from a MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM.
Click to expand...

Why not get 32Gig if you can ? My macbook pro has 16GB and I am putting my imac to 32GB.

After running photoshop and internet browser and VM fusion I only have about 5gb left of my 16gb. More ram the better :)
 
I just got 8mb from OWC and installed it yesterday to up my total to 16mb. It went in easily. I like OWC. They have great installation videos and customer service. That alone is worth far more than the 5 bucks you might save buying memory elsewhere.

Just my opinion/experience.
 
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