Yes I guess that is what seams to be the only way these machines will recognized more than 4GB, I am not 100% sure but this is what has been shown here a proved acceptable, I have not seen a single person confirming they have an imac early 2008 with more than 4GB of RAM specially using the 800 MHz version, I also bought the 3.06 early 2008 and would like to have 6GB so my question is would having a 2GB 800 MHz and a 4GB 667 MHz work sell together? can a 2GB 800 MHz and a 4GB 800 MHz work perfectly? or is 100% required to have ONLY 667 MHz sticks installed in order for the machine to work well and recognized the 6GB? Many people would be thankful with any response regarding this questions.
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6gb in IMac SR- Confirmed working!!!!
- Thread starter desantii
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I have a late 2008 Imac24 3.06 and I installed a 4gb 800mhz along with the 2gb 800mhz and it was very unstable. I sent back the 4gb and installed another 2gb 800mhz and now the machine is fine. with 6gb installed it would freeze up at least 2 times a day. No freezing with 4gb 8oomhz. That's just my experience.
But look at the first post, it seams that the people that installed the 667 MHz RAM (2X 4GB + 2GB 667 MHz kit) on this type of iMacs had success and their machines seam to be working fine with nor problems. I don't know if this 2.4GHz SR iMac is the same as the 3.06GHz though, I wish someone had tried this already on the 3.06 iMac using 6GB of 667MHz RAM.
I've been trying to follow all this, but my head is spinning...can someone condense this for me? 
If I pick up a refurb'd, previous gen iMac -- a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo 24" with DDR2-800 RAM and a 1066MHz FSB -- is that a "Santa Rosa" iMac and will that actually handle 6GB? Thanks!
EDIT: Holy crap, maybe I don't care...4GB SO-DIMM's are expensive! $200-$300 from what I'm seeing. Considering you can get 2x2GB for $40, I'm not sure another 2GB is worth $200+.
If I pick up a refurb'd, previous gen iMac -- a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo 24" with DDR2-800 RAM and a 1066MHz FSB -- is that a "Santa Rosa" iMac and will that actually handle 6GB? Thanks!
EDIT: Holy crap, maybe I don't care...4GB SO-DIMM's are expensive! $200-$300 from what I'm seeing. Considering you can get 2x2GB for $40, I'm not sure another 2GB is worth $200+.
early 2.8ghz imac ddr2 800
ok so im new to the form let me clear this up for me. If i have a 2.8ghz imac early 2008 ddr2 800mhz can i install a 4gb chip and a 2gb chip or 800mhz memory or do i have to use the 667mhz memory and do u think i will see a difference or should i just stick to 4gb of the faster stuff
ok so im new to the form let me clear this up for me. If i have a 2.8ghz imac early 2008 ddr2 800mhz can i install a 4gb chip and a 2gb chip or 800mhz memory or do i have to use the 667mhz memory and do u think i will see a difference or should i just stick to 4gb of the faster stuff
we all have some newbie question once in a while
so would there be a way for these iMacs to support 8gb after snow leopard?
i'm pretty sure is a hardware restriction, but it's ok to ask right
so would there be a way for these iMacs to support 8gb after snow leopard?
i'm pretty sure is a hardware restriction, but it's ok to ask right
so would there be a way for these iMacs to support 8gb after snow leopard?
i'm pretty sure is a hardware restriction, but it's ok to ask right
Sorry, man, it doesn't. I guess logic board doesn't support 8GB
so would there be a way for these iMacs to support 8gb after snow leopard? i'm pretty sure is a hardware restriction, but it's ok to ask right
It's possible, but unlikely. Apple is notorious for handicapping its computers. The most infamous example are the Calistoga-based iMacs, MacBooks, MacBook Pros and Minis with Core Duo/Solo cpus. Despite having a memory controller that can address up to ~3.2 gb of RAM, they won't even boot if you put anything more than a 1 gb stick in either SO-DIMM slot (i.e., 2 x 1 gb max).
The iMacs of this thread topic have the Santa Rosa chipset, which has a memory controller that can address 8 gb of RAM. But for whatever reason, they cannot under OS X. It has to something about the Apple computers, because my hackintosh has an 8 gb limit (Asus p5k-e) and OS X addresses all 8 gb just fine.
Activity Monitor and RAM Advice
Although this is an old thread, it seems to be still active. My iMac is one of the ones that can take up to 6GB RAM. Right now I have 4MB and do use intensive applications like Final Cut, Photoshop LE, compressor and the like. Yet Activity Monitor shows that I still have a lot of RAM free when using these applications. Is activity monitor a reliable indicator of how RAM is being used or does it not take into account disk swapping and the like? Will I notice an improvement going to 6GB (or will there be a degredation due to non-paired parts and the hit to my wallet?)
Although this is an old thread, it seems to be still active. My iMac is one of the ones that can take up to 6GB RAM. Right now I have 4MB and do use intensive applications like Final Cut, Photoshop LE, compressor and the like. Yet Activity Monitor shows that I still have a lot of RAM free when using these applications. Is activity monitor a reliable indicator of how RAM is being used or does it not take into account disk swapping and the like? Will I notice an improvement going to 6GB (or will there be a degredation due to non-paired parts and the hit to my wallet?)
Note that the memory runs in dual-channel for the first 4GB. Only the remaining 2GB (half of the 4GB stick) will run in single channel. If you have 10X or less pageins to pageouts, you could use more RAM.
Well page ins are 418mb, outs are 0 and Free 1.97GB However, virtual memory per application is almost 2gb for Final Cut and 1.44 for Firefox. Does that just mean it's allocated but not used?
You are looking at the wrong collumn: 'virtual memory' is what this process could [in theory] address if it uses the hard disk-memory as extension to your RAM.
Physical memory is what is interesting. This shows the actual allocated RAM and is typically much less...
Click at the 'Memory' tab. It tells you how much free RAM you have on your system. And, yes its reporting is reliable.
Cool this is the one I have.
Where's a good place to get 4 Gig Ram modules????
Thanks
Me too?
Hi all
Thanks for all the research and info here - another reason why being a Mac user is so cool - all the support from like-minded Mac freaks! I've been using Apple since days of the IIe - so we go WAY back.
I now have a 24" 2.8 iMac Extreme - it has the 256Mb ADI Radeon HD2600 Pro card. Model identifier (from System Profiler) is iMac7,1. Bus speed is 800Mhz and RAM speed is 667Mhz. I don't know how to identify if it's a Santa Rosa chipset - could someone please tell me?
It currently has 2x 1Gb RAM and I want to upgrade to the max possible - which I thought was 4Gb. Indeed that is what the Apple site says. However, according to the OWC website, I can put a 2Gb and a 4Gb module in - giving 6Gb total. However, when I contacted OW, they said that I can only do 2 x 2Gb.
This thread seems to suggest that my iMac can handle and use 6Gb.
Just wanting to make sure before I order this as I live in New Zealand so returning it would be a big hassle!
Thanks in advance!
Regards
Matthew
Hi all
Thanks for all the research and info here - another reason why being a Mac user is so cool - all the support from like-minded Mac freaks! I've been using Apple since days of the IIe - so we go WAY back.
I now have a 24" 2.8 iMac Extreme - it has the 256Mb ADI Radeon HD2600 Pro card. Model identifier (from System Profiler) is iMac7,1. Bus speed is 800Mhz and RAM speed is 667Mhz. I don't know how to identify if it's a Santa Rosa chipset - could someone please tell me?
It currently has 2x 1Gb RAM and I want to upgrade to the max possible - which I thought was 4Gb. Indeed that is what the Apple site says. However, according to the OWC website, I can put a 2Gb and a 4Gb module in - giving 6Gb total. However, when I contacted OW, they said that I can only do 2 x 2Gb.
This thread seems to suggest that my iMac can handle and use 6Gb.
Just wanting to make sure before I order this as I live in New Zealand so returning it would be a big hassle!
Thanks in advance!
Regards
Matthew
i have exact same machine - want 6GB
Matthew - I have exact same system. I have upgraded myself to a 1TB internal drive. I need more memory. At this point i am considering going to OWC and spending the 150 for a 4GB card and see what happens unless someone else has experience. I have had luck upgrading older MBP's to more than what Apple has listed as their max capacities as i think many of these systems will take more its just that apple wont support all of the possible configurations
Matthew - I have exact same system. I have upgraded myself to a 1TB internal drive. I need more memory. At this point i am considering going to OWC and spending the 150 for a 4GB card and see what happens unless someone else has experience. I have had luck upgrading older MBP's to more than what Apple has listed as their max capacities as i think many of these systems will take more its just that apple wont support all of the possible configurations
Hi Alan
I'd be very interested to hear if it works - please let me know. It seems that one needs do more than just look at the 'About my Mac' window to determine that the Mac is actually able to use the 6Gb - according to posts earlier in this thread, in any case.
BTW, newegg.com appears to have a suitable (and highly recommended) 4Gb module for $130. Link is : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231202
Hope to hear from you soon - with news that it works!
Matthew
I'd be very interested to hear if it works - please let me know. It seems that one needs do more than just look at the 'About my Mac' window to determine that the Mac is actually able to use the 6Gb - according to posts earlier in this thread, in any case.
BTW, newegg.com appears to have a suitable (and highly recommended) 4Gb module for $130. Link is : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231202
Hope to hear from you soon - with news that it works!
Matthew
i almost pulled the trigger however there is word new imacs coming so i think i will wait just a bit to see if they suprise us with a material upgrade in performance.
the other issue is that i want a system that will boot into 64bit kernel so at some point we can take advantage. right now the 7,1 imac wont.
the other issue is that i want a system that will boot into 64bit kernel so at some point we can take advantage. right now the 7,1 imac wont.
Great!
Hi Alan
Good on you for taking the leap - here's hoping that it works - then I'll be able to do the same. Just hope that OWC has a suitable 4Gb + 2Gb set as Newegg won't ship (or even sell) to buyers outside the States.
I look forward to your hopefully good news.
Matthew
Hi Alan
Good on you for taking the leap - here's hoping that it works - then I'll be able to do the same. Just hope that OWC has a suitable 4Gb + 2Gb set as Newegg won't ship (or even sell) to buyers outside the States.
I look forward to your hopefully good news.
Matthew
I have 3 gigs today in my iMac, and my page ins are 4.34 GBs and page outs are 6.30 GBs. Sounds like a clear cut case of needing extra RAM, doesn't it?