Early 2008 iMac RAM Question

[schaffinosx]

For some context as to why I'm asking this question, feel free to visit my thread in the Mac and PC Games forum: WoW Performance Issue.

I currently have 4 GB of RAM on my Early 2008 iMac. The website where I purchased my RAM (Crucial), said that the 4 GB I currently have is the maximum. However, after doing some searching on the web, some people are saying that my model can handle up to 6 GB of RAM, and some are saying that it has been tested to work.

So I come to you, the Mac experts of the internet, to tell me the truth. I feel as though 4 GB is the maximum. It's what I've believed for some time, and it seems to be the general consensus aside from a few people who claim otherwise. But if 6 GB of RAM is a possibly, then it's definitely something I'd like to check out.

 

[alust2013]

you can do 6GB, 4GB is just what apple said, which isn't necessarily the actual maximum.

 

[schaffinosx]

you can do 6GB, 4GB is just what apple said, which isn't necessarily the actual maximum.

Very interesting. I might consider getting some more RAM for my computer then. Let me ask this: If 4GB of RAM currently isn't enough RAM to run both OS X Lion and World of Warcraft with little to no lag, would a 2 GB memory increase solve that problem?

 

[alust2013]

Very interesting. I might consider getting some more RAM for my computer then. Let me ask this: If 4GB of RAM currently isn't enough RAM to run both OS X Lion and World of Warcraft with little to no lag, would a 2 GB memory increase solve that problem?

Possibly, and it would be a cheap upgrade. Maybe $20-25.

 

[schaffinosx]

Possibly, and it would be a cheap upgrade. Maybe $20-25.

The problem would be that I couldn't simply buy a 2 GB chip. Right now, my iMac has two 2 GB chips in it (as Apple recommends). So I'd have to purchase both a 4 GB stick of RAM, and a 2 GB stick of RAM.

 

[alust2013]

The problem would be that I couldn't simply buy a 2 GB chip. Right now, my iMac has two 2 GB chips in it (as Apple recommends). So I'd have to purchase both a 4 GB stick of RAM, and a 2 GB stick of RAM.

You would only need a 4GB stick. Just leave one of the existing 2GB sticks in there.

 

[schaffinosx]

You would only need a 4GB stick. Just leave one of the existing 2GB sticks in there.

In times of "crisis", my common sense seems to fly right out the window.

EDIT: I just checked some things out in Activity Monitor, and found something interesting. I closed all of my applications and launched Activity Monitor. With only Activity Monitor, Finder, and anything else that cannot be quit out of running, around 2.6 GB of my RAM is being used. Is this normal? Is Lion really that much of a RAM eater?